Letting Go of Bitterness

Hey, man. Hey, man. Hey, man. Amen. Hallelujah, you may be seated in the presence of the Lord in the presence of the Lord a man a man a man. What a beautiful name it is. What a beautiful name it is. We'll let our used to be dismissed with the pastor Chauncey and Lashanda and then so they can learn on their level. I never take it for granted a man that they have that kind of an opportunity. You'll notice that I've got a bit of a different set up today. I've actually got to chill know. I'm not Charles Stanley, but I sprained my ankle. And so I wish I wish I could say I sprained my ankle because I was taking his jump shot and you know at the buzzer and it was on a 3-point and all that good stuff. I didn't quite go like that. It actually has something to do with a little ball that was laying around the house and a dog named villager. You know, these it life in the life in the in the house with pets basically life in the house with pets. So I sprained my ankle. So, excuse me for sitting I normally don't send that stand up sit down or stand a man. It's so what we believe that God is going to still be glorified. A man. God is going to still be glorified. Amen. Amen. How was your week? How was your week? Hey, man. Hey man. Hey man, we can we can talk. Beauties of being in a relaxed and comfortable area a man and that's really the heart about church is just to be relational a man in that sense. It's all we want you to feel like when you're here you're in the living room with just we just here we just talk and we just sharing because we know that God calls us his friends and we know that we are joint heirs with me as we all related. We're all cousins in some kind of way a man and so we are to act like it sometimes like We are family. Amen. Amen. Let us pray Father in Heaven God. We thank you for this day God. God you have uniquely appointed this time for us to come Lord and to hear from you guys now father for everything that was brought in God everything that we are concerned about God right at this moment Lord arrest our minds God prepare our hearts Lord so that we can hear from you Lord father today God. We want to hear with our hearts God hearts that are calling out to you on this morning God with situations. We may be dealing with in this season God when we celebrate the birth of your son Jesus so far the right now God, I pray that I decrease Lord so that you may increase father and speak directly to these. Your people board is in the name of your son Jesus that we pray. Amen a man a man a man. We have been in the middle of a series anywhere close to get out today on traveling light. And what we talked about in the beginning of the idea of traveling light is that you know, as you get ready to pack stuff, sometimes you wind up packing stuff that you don't need and sometimes you want to go packing more stuff than you need. And sometimes you wind up leaving some stuff that you should have brought. That's usually my testimony and that's something that I should have brought a man the same way that as we go through like we pick up different things. Sometimes we get a little pain involved a little bit in this involves. Sometimes we we hold on to some stuff that we wanted to let go of that we should have let go up sometimes our mine keeps us wrapped up in some things at all. That's happening. Is it as we travel through this life because this place is not a home. That's we travel through this life. We pick up stuff. But God wants our burden to be like he wants us to not pick up the things that that that don't really matter a man. And so that's what the whole premise is around traveling light is in this season. When we know that when you look at TV, they going to take you to bring more of this get more of that buy a new one of those or different one of those God is saying I got some stuff for you that that money can't buy. I got some stuff for you that that that that the world doesn't even see him in order to do that. You got to move some stuff out of the way so that she can make some room for what I have for you and so last week we talked about the idea of letting go of stuff and some other things but this week I want to talk about letting go of bitterness And the reason why I want to talk about letting go of bitterness is because how many of you know that in this season not everybody's happy and joyous. Everybody celebrating in excited in and finding out he went to Jared's or Tiffany's. It's okay. We think we should be coming together. We should be having a great time as a tough season is a tough season a dear friend of mine lost her husband just several weeks, maybe a month or so ago. And one of the things that concern me the most about the fact that she lost them in this particular time. Is that season's get marked by events in your life. That's all I'm concerned and I'm praying for a heart that in this season with celebrating Jesus that our heart doesn't stay heavy. Then he helps her to travel light and remove something so that as she goes over the years. She can continue to have the joy that the world can't take away. But in order to do that, we got to let go of some bitterness. We got to let go of some business and that's hard for some people in hard for a lot of us. And I guess I'll ask right off the top as anybody ever dealt with bitterness before anybody ever find yourself thinking I wanted to forget that thing but I can't forget that thing or I'll tell you what I forgive. You. Just don't say anything just don't get involved. My grandma used to say the long-handled spoon long handle spoon. You might know something about that the ideas. Is that even though I say I forgiven even though I say I move past it, my mind hasn't moved past it. I'm still bound up by that thing whatever it is and sometimes the enemy will cause us to even think that I have a right to hold on to that thing. That's the thing was so bad and so tough that because it was so bad. It's so tough. I can hold that and whenever I need it, I can throw it out, you know like that cause we talked about a couple of weeks ago. I can say that you know, what all of that might be true, but I got this thing. And I'ma hold on to it a year after year and it's on my Reserve. So when we get into some kind of disagreement, I can throw it out the shut the conversation down. That may be somebody's message in a relationship right now. That's thing. That's kept holding on how many times do I forgive? How many times do I say that? It's not a problem that I didn't think about it anymore. The disciples asked Jesus how many times you got to deal with people how many times we got to forgive them? Jesus said seven times seventy eighty sensitive means a lot more than we will account for. But because God knows us how many times has he said? I know you offended me today, but my grace and mercy is still good in the morning when you wake up. I'm still here with open arms. I'm still here whenever you decide to turn because I'm more concerned about your attorney than the timing. And you got to understand that but somebody today that bitterness can cause us to not turn can cause us to hold on to things that the guy didn't call us to hold on to. So today. I want to talk about traveling light in letting go of some some bitterness letting go of some bitterness. That's what we want to talk about in this picture that you see here right now is a birthday party that I had the opportunity to celebrate with just a little while ago in the middle of the only one without a helmet on don't ask me. Why what I know. Why cuz she's my daughter. The one without a helmet is is is I youngest daughter Alexandria and what you see around there is a bunch of other friends that that have gotten involved. He would think when you pulled a bunch of girls together, they wouldn't think about things like this, you know, they might want to hang out some more but they were trying to find the roughest toughest thing they could get into but these are some of her friends And just last week she had the opportunity to share with me a situation or some tea and she calls it that's going on with her friends move much faster. She said that one of the girls in this picture has a real issue with another girl in this same picture, but they're both dear friends of my daughter. And what you said is an ass whooped what what happened? Cuz they all were together. I got the pictures to prove it. Everybody was happy and having a good time. And what was the problem and she said Dad I want to break it down to you like this. Basically, one of the friends heard from somebody else that this other friend didn't like them. I thought when they heard that the other friend that like them they said Well, it can't be a one-way thing that's got to be a two-way thing. So now I don't like them and so they talk between people on and on over the course of the week. Well, I never liked her. Anyway, well, she's annoying then that's the problem now. She's annoying excetera.

And what I realized in the middle of that, is that a c that been planted by somebody? Somebody whispered is somebody's here said, you know, I know she smiles. I know you are you ready to party together except you, but she don't really like you. And instead of checking to see with God instead of checking to see in invalidating herself. This other friend said, you know what I'll take that. And I will respond accordingly. How many times in our lives have we heard things or somebody spoken into our lives something? That wasn't even true? Something that wasn't even lining up with what God has called us to be or do but we taking it as that seed. And when we take it at that see that seat has no option but to grow. And when they grow it grows into a root of bitterness. It's a root of bitterness and so here it is in Hebrews 12 14 and 15 is the scripture for it. The person says make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy without Holiness. No one will see the Lord. So it's on to it see to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no Bitter Root grows up to cause trouble and defy me. That's what building it starts as it starts as a seed. It starts at something and starts as an incident that happened that I didn't address that I didn't have a conversation about that. We didn't come to a resolution with and I'll just hold on to it and it'll snowball and snowball and snowball. Brothers you may be able to testify to a discussion that started three weeks ago and got picked up today. And you wondering when we get to this conversation. How's this conversation happening now? I thought we discussed that. I thought that was covered several weeks ago. And what you find is it was a semicolon wasn't a. On that. It so now we back to finish it. We back to get it taken care of. Sometimes we have that kind of an issue going on in our lives. But here we see the scriptures just saying see to it that no Bitter Root grows up and causes trouble and defiles many. That means that the villages that we have is bigger than us. That means that it can spread to more than just us and sometimes we think well, it's just me. I'll just deal with it. I'll just handle it. But you can't just handle it by yourself because you are meant to be in community. You're in a relationship you did with some people on your job. You you have some things going on in the middle, even though you don't know it a little differently. Just enough, but somebody say I wonder what's going on. Like the friend did the other friend. Like the friend did the other friend so he doesn't understand. He's a big idea for the day. We must not allow a seat of offense to create a root of bitterness. The truth is we got all be offended at some point. And more than likely we going to be offended by somebody that's really close to us because those are the only people that we let get close enough to us. I don't really care what somebody on the street says that I'm passing by that I never see you again, but would somebody that I care about has something to say when somebody that I've opened up to has something to say and offends me in a certain kind of way that's a seed grow or go somewhere. And so we have to understand that we have to understand that we don't want that to be the case. But here's what you got to understand. You can't control what people do but you can control how you respond. Offenses will happen if you were talking to Jesus right now. He said look at my store. Look at all the things that happened to me and only reason why I came down to wrap myself in flesh it so that I can let you know that I got you that I see you that I know everything that you're going through and so if it was good enough or bad enough to happen to me says the Lord then obviously these are things that we must go through. But today we want to learn how to travel light and remove some of those things but what's the problem with bitterness? What's the problem? I can handle it? I just push it into that corner guys were real good at compartmentalizing. Let's just put that over in that corner and we can continue on I don't need to show any emotion. I don't need to deal with any of that. I'm just going to handle it because somebody told us that's how we we do what we just handle it. but I can tell you that from my own personal experience in my life and my family that I realize one day when I went back to the big house where everybody grew up and I thought everything was good after many many years when I T whisper to another uncle remember when and then Uncle whisper to my mom. Hey, yeah, I think you were part of that too before I know what they were back 20-30 years ago having this disagreement about some things that took place. Maybe it's just me and my family that have stuff like that to happen. But the fact of the matter is having that discussion because an offense that happened years ago never got resolved. You never got removed and that thing grew and grew and grew it even though it wasn't said, you know, that might have been an opportunity to go and call to pick up the phone and we decide opportunity for us to come together as a family at this one because I don't know who's going to be there. I got some people in my family that let you know if they come you, you got to be prepared for some things not everybody in my family saved. Hey, man, I'm praying for him everyday, but not everybody in my family is saying maybe in your family the same thing. And sometimes they don't need you to tell them that they're not saved a man somebody. Sometimes they just need you to live more than you talk. And let them see what God is doing in your life. That's how they know that businesses moved. That's why I didn't know that that route didn't grow up that way. But let me tell you just a couple of things.

Bitterness has a dangerous route. Its Genesis is dangerous by the fault is dangerous because somebody has been offended because somebody has been offended see to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no Bitter Root grows up to cause trouble and defile many other people are involved. But what are some characteristics that route you no roots got to go in the ground today date with nobody can see you in The Mists of whatever it is that's going on. If you ever had that experiment in school where they tell you put in a little cup with some dirt right and sit there and watch it for a seems like 10 months, right, but you put it in the window and you watch it every day you go back you don't see everything. And then all of a sudden somebody in the classroom gets a little something to stick through and then everybody starts anticipate when's my time when something going to happen with me? What bitterness is the same way? It's a seed that gets planted underground with nobody can see and nobody can really see how quick is growing until it rears its ugly head. until I situation you thought was going to go one way goes a whole different way because it's something that you didn't even know about didn't even think about Brothers we have a good opportunity saying I forgot it. I'm done with I think we over with it. The night if we resolved it or not, we not talking about anymore must be good. Until it shows up. Usually at the most inappropriate times. Usually when you least expect it, it shows up and when it shows up, you didn't know where it come from. Cuz you were thinking I'm watering this dirt. Everything is going well. Play me a sunshine just like a beautiful day until it shows up, but it didn't start that that's why we have to deal with these offenses when they happen in order for us to be able to travel light. We don't even know when your phix is taking a lot of times. Sometimes we don't even know that. Ever heard somebody say I apologize if I offended you. What if you feel offended that I put it on you and if if you can't handle it if you got a problem, right if your emotions are running a certain kind of way then I'm sorry, you feel that way. But usually that's not a genuine apology. That's usually a way to say I'll put that on pause and if you still feel that way a little while longer will come back and talk to her. God said we got to deal with it head-on. We got to recognize me by offended somebody and we got to say that I apologize for the offense not because you're offended but for the offense and it's hard, sometimes particularly guys. Because they have a so much better memory than we do. And usually needs to be spelled out in detail exactly what I did when I did it how I did it and how it made you feel. That's why I apologize that we would have been in this has that problem. Paul was actually talking about in 1st Corinthians 13 verses 4 through 5. And if everybody knows this particular 13, because he's the one love is patient. Love is kind some people probably had it in there. Where did you read all that kind of stuff in this grade at all. That kind of makes sense for usually by-and-by as my grandma would say it's time we get around the verse 5 verse says love is patient and kind we love that love is not jealous. All right. I'm cool or boastful or proud, but then when I get to verse 5, but then it does not demand its own way. It is not irritable and it keeps no record of being wrong. That's what we typically fall off right there. Cuz I got a record. If you telling me that that the party that says I got to keep no record. I got to keep no score. But then what happens when we get into anything to work back with? Let me share with you something about that. I talk to people all the time when we when we when we do counselors talk active listening. And when you do active listening what is sensitive means is I'm not listening for my response. I'm listening so that I can hear you. And that's real hard for us sometimes because as they're talking with yep, yep, I got to come back for that. I'm ready. Just wait till they finish soon as they finish. I'm going as soon as they get done. I'm going as soon as they get that one thing. I got it all lined up. But what happens if we don't do well at multitasking so why we are preparing ourselves for the report why we are preparing myself to come back or clap back if that's something you don't have to do all of that. That means we're not listening. That means we're not actually hearing the offense of the heart of the person that is actually sharing with us. And if we don't hear it, it's hard for us to recognize how painful it is. How often it happens or how tired they are of it. That's why we have to make sure that we don't let any fees laying in the dirt and come back and and go up into something. We didn't expect the other thing that produces poisonous fruit. Poisonous fruit in other words that thing that comes up as a result of the building. This is never good. It's never good. It's just like a tree if you are from Florida, I've lived in Florida long time if I walk out into an orchard and I see an apple on the ground. I know it didn't come from one of these trees. At least you should have come from one of these streets a man that because we know that a tree Bears a certain kind of fruit. For the fruit that bitterness Bears is poisonous. It doesn't help. It isn't something that we can use in a certain kind of way to get our way but it's poisonous. Let's look at it and Hebrews here. We are again in 15 at the very end of it. It says God and that no Bitter Root grows up to cause trouble and the files mini that means there's a sense of urgency to dealing with this. There's a sense of urgency to dealing with the things that that that we have have offended others with the bitterness that we have. There's a sense of urgency to deal with it. Not a good news. And all of this is that the other person doesn't have to release you from it. You don't have to necessarily go back and find somebody who doesn't want to talk to you who doesn't want to say anything and you don't necessarily have to give them the opportunity to inflict more pain. What you do have to do is leave it with the Lord. You got to leave it with him. You got to say that I understand that I offended this other person and I've reached out the way that I can reach out and I've done the things that I can do, but Lord I'm giving it to you. Because he can speak when we can't speak Bill listen to him when it won't listen to us. And so we have to understand that we cannot let it grow up to cause and defile many. Because been in this is not just a root. It's a root that produces bad fruit. It's a root that produces bad fruit. In the country, we have something called rutabaga and maybe I haven't heard of that. But basically it's something that that you only would really get if you were in the country and you find it to be something to eat on and I remember I was asking my grandmother one time in the first lady a semester to eat on that's my country coming out right but here's the point the point is is that when I you talk to my grandmother about that simple, what's the point? There's so many other things to eat. Why is that something that you got to eat? And then I realize she said, you know, where do we put in some more than we boil it boil it boil it and we drinking is good for you. And and what comes out of it is natural in and working well for you and we would leave it. She would leave it in these containers and I'm thinking of myself. What is this? You can't pickle the you know, you know what that's what she would do because she knew that if she kept going with it eventually something was he part of it. Something would contain and connect to the water and all that kind of thing with bitterness is also a root. Which means that Whatever Gets in the middle of it speaks out into it that picnic that long drive that holiday that time when you thought it was going to go whole different way out into those things. That's why I delivers bad fruit because oftentimes we don't even remember or know that we've offended somebody. But what kind of cars does it take to ask? Have you been offended? How about I offended you? In the corporate world, we have something called a 360. And a 360 is basically a high performance review. That's they're not just with your boss, but it's done with the people you work with and it's done with the people that work for you or subordinate to you. That means even a little man in the Mailroom get to vote on how your performances. Not at all just your boss or just the people that you've navigated with but everybody gets that I wonder if we did a 360 in our lives. And we said wifey husband, doing. That's something I asked at the end of the year. I know we want a bigger car. I know we want our financing line of a sudden we buy we doing sometimes it's hard to do. And just listen actively listen. Not say what they got one. I got one two, they got to I got to 2, but I only did that because Right, you know all of that. I wonder if we was actually go and ask how that would turn out because that's what God is calling us to do he calling us when we deal with this bitterness and these things that are going on if I have been offended and I'm carrying bitterness as a result of it. Now is the time to share. Listen, I got this thing that I'm dealing with that you may not even know that this caused the problem be causing me, but I need to share with you how this made me feel. And because it made me feel a certain way. I have a certain type of feeling about you. That's why I don't call. That's why I don't come by. That's why I skipped some things that you would think we normally do but God is saying to us that we have to all take responsibility to remove the bitterness boots ever heard the saying bitterness and hatred is like drinking poison expecting somebody else to die. Imma, drink more and more and more cuz as soon as I get it all in me, surely they going to die. Truth is you just died? and it eats you up from the inside and it crowds out the very space that God is saying I want to use to give you that joy that surpasses all understanding to help you realize who you are in me and not who they say. You are a man. Hey man, how do you kill the root of bitterness? How do you kill it? Right I can tell you that. I used to get Roundup and a whole bunch of other things that I would put it down and and and I would think that should be the end and fell as you know, you put it down to you think I thought that was going to die on the commercial they just spray and as soon as they spray everything falls over but I sprayed and nothing happened and I spray it again and nothing happened and I'm going along the Route and nothing happened. I decided to switch the granules. To see if maybe that would work, but it don't work. Can you turn around you read the instructions which is hard for us to do until you listen you put this down the can train an hour after that. You can't put this down and water your grass at the same time because you're watching it off. You can't put this down at the wrong time when you're not expecting any rain because the grand Euler's granules don't have an opportunity to seep into the soil in other words to get down to the roots. What STDs? God is saying for us a lot of time. Let's not free stuff over. Let's not just just getting to placate the situation and say that hey I must be good at as long as we can move forward to the next thing we good when I said pay attention. This thing is a root that has to be dealt with. Any instructions are in my world. The instructions are in my word every single thing that we're dealing with every single Bitterroot that we have has been dealt with and God's word. And that's how come we have to learn the weed eater instructions? So, how do you do it Paul says in Ephesians 4 31 and 32 you do it this way. He says get rid of all bitterness rage anger harsh words and slander as well as all types of evil Behavior. That was fifteen years is he's dissected this thing. We were just say you mad but he said there's a dim between bitterness and rage between rage and anger between anger and harsh words and between harsh words and slander. Some of us have to give to getting back and folks. Some of us, you know, the harsh words. That's my sort of choice. I can cut somebody up with the things that I say some people all I'm going to do is I'm a blow up and when I blow up that's going to tell you get away to wait as long as as if that happens then we good cuz I don't have to deal with it because you moved away. That's what that raised look like. And then there's that quiet bitterness that likes to sit in seats and just be quiet and wonder why I didn't get better why nothing's happening. Why are we together? Like everybody else seems to be together. We have another argument of several months, but things still ain't right route. And we have to be bold enough to ask each other. Hey, is it me? What does it mean? What did I do? And actively listen for 32 says it this way instead he's how you kill each other hard it to each other forgiving one another. Why should I forgive them? Just as God through Christ has forgiven you Did you know that before we came to Christ we had offended God. Did you know that I'm very existence in the things that we we think I'm a good person we have still offended God. Adam a shoot at when you fell in the garden that we would always have something that we need to do it. That's why I new mercies come every day. That's why he says that because you want you to know you going to fall short. But I'm here the next morning when you get up. That's how we deal with the route. We become kind to each other tender-hearted to each other and we forgive just as Christ has forgiven us. So the question is this if I kill bitterness with compassion. Which is really what it boils down to and that's the opposite of it. Somebody's hating on me. We struggling in our life. I got a bad boss or a bad co-worker and you're telling me that I'm supposed to be compassionate. Just doesn't seem right that sound like the thing that I would do if it was me. That's why we didn't like about that's why I went nuts writing it because there's a standard that we have to strive to it, but it's not natural to us. An eye for an eye. That sounds like all kind of thing. Right right. You do me I do you that sounds like I kind of think but the way to kill the root is with compassion. It's with compassion be compassionate to one another forgiving each other just as Christ. God has forgiven you because we were forgiven that's what empowers us to be forgiving. Maybe something we can do about our own self. We have to pray for the Holy Spirit to deal with us in a way that he is leading us to be compassionate to respond out of it. That's why so important before we pick up the phone to have that conversation and imma give you some advice for anybody that's thinking I was I'm going to walk out of here and imma call somebody and everything is going to be great and all been in this is going to be removed. Let me caution you okay? I understand. You have to be prayed up about this. You have to be moving and operating under the gifts of the Holy Spirit to do it. That doesn't mean you know, every verse in the Bible. That doesn't mean that you graduated from the Seminary that just means that you're yielding to the Lord. And he'll give you what to say. He'll tell you when to call but most importantly he will prepare the hearts of the person on the other end. That's what you got to understand before you run out and do that when I get the car sound when you come back next week. I tried that that didn't work. I just want to let you know that's what you got to do what you got to be prepared for that. Alright, one of the best ways to show compassion is to pray for someone who hurt you. That's the best way to show it and the beautiful thing about this is they don't have to be here for this to take place. Too often we say Hey, listen, we like to pray if anybody need special prayer. Now, if you start that, you know, I got some people that's probably offended that I have offended and that maybe I said word for then maybe I'll pray for them because we know that the best way for God to bless us it to get in the middle of your blessing somebody else, you know that and so that's what prayer do princess that I'm taking the focus off of me and the stuff that I need and I'm praying for that other person. I'm praying for that other person. Let's make it in scripture is Jesus talking to Luke 16:28. He says bless those who curse you. And pray for those who spitefully use you not just use you not just use you in a little bit. Okay, but spitefully use you and other words. They knew what they were doing. They intended to do what they did. Even those people. We need you to pray for those people. He just says bless the person that curse you but pray for the person despitefully use you. From now on we think about prayer and we say Hey, listen, I got it. Somebody might say I got a couple people to add to list now now that I realize that I'm supposed to pray for them to be part of the plan to the God desires them to learn how to pray for those who spitefully do it. When you got to you got to kill the root of bitterness with forgiveness. Tough we got to kill the root of bitterness with forgiveness because that's the only way you let it go. That's the only way you let it go. You cannot forgive it and keep it. We tried that but it don't really work. And God is going to see you imagine you could you come here to church and you have all these things going on your life and and God sees all the things about you and all those things on you and he said to pick it back up take it back out. Goddess and let it go leave it at the altar let him figure out how to handle it because he will do it. Some of us sometimes you gotta leave some people at the altar that we've been trying to change that we need to fit a mold that we need to fix the way that we wanted to be respond to way. I like for them to respond. Sometimes you got to people here and say God you deal with it. You talk to them you created them so, you know things that I don't know and all I'm working with is what I can see touch feel here, but God, you know their heart. So you got to leave it here. So we kill bitterness with forgiveness. Visa for 32 very same script to get rid of all bitterness. That's how you started first thing get rid of the bitterness get rid of the root get rid of the things that I taken place because when you do that all the other things will fall into play 32 says be kind but again at the end of this says forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgave you. But here's what I want you to understand about forgetting to forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you. Discover that you are the person that's actually bound up by the forgiveness is not the other person. Nobody's sitting waiting on you to forgive them before they move on in their life and it's hard for some people and I get it when the Christmas season but there's some people that don't come to your dinner in a couple of weeks that you going to have some pity this where you going to have an opportunity over the next couple of weeks and I'm trying to prepare you okay to deal with what's going to happen over the next couple of weeks when people come together to forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you So when we come together when we say I want to be set free delivered a man. Is not set free has to go through forgiveness. Do I still want to be? Am I willing to forgive to be set free and my willing to have compassion to be set free because that's what allows it to happen. That's how come people like Paul can praise the Lord in jail in the middle of that. They're dealing with because even though their physical body was bound. They were free. He was free because he recognized who he was who is he was in the Lord and I wonder how many of us we've gotten together things are moving along. Everything seems to be going the way it's going but I just got this thing. That keeps bothering me. Let me give you some some some empirical text for that. When that person walks into the room does anything change? Stop and think about that. I forgiven her. It's no big deal. Just don't ever have a in my sight again. Just come by again. I want to move my Cube down the street somewhere, right? That's how you know, that's still something to be dealt with. When you find yourself in a relationship and you having conversation in his conversations important that you get to and you realize I have that take a detour here cuz this is going to lead us down the path. Or you hear that thing in that other person's voice? that thing This is beware. Danger Will Robinson write something might happen if you keep down this path. Sometimes they made me say to you. You don't want to go there. You don't want to have that conversation. Because I'm locked and I'm loaded. And I'm ready. That's how you know, you have that thing in the middle of your but God is saying that we're supposed to travel lights this journey we have on Earth. It's supposed to be a good journey not without trials not without tribulations, but good because he's walking with us. And he's walking with us and said hand it over hand it over hand it over and we said no I got it. I got it, but you know, but you're falling. That's why we have new mercies every day cuz you didn't I didn't give it to me yesterday. Let's try again. Let's see what happens. In this season when people are celebrating the birth of Christ and they're giving different kinds of gets the best gift we can give is to release ourselves. Do forgiving somebody else do not letting a root of bitterness seat itself and grow and fester in US. Did you go to that thing can pass on to kids? Did you know that that that bitterness can pass on to children whether you sit down and say child I want you to be bitter or not. We often say that a mother knows that child but a child also knows their mother and their father. And sometimes we have to set the standard and be the example, but we don't want to be a false witness. So when we say we forget we want to forgive when we say we want to remove the route. We want to dig it up. We want to read the instructions all that's basically what it is and God's word is our instruction on how to deal with every single thing that we are dealing with. And so now what I asked you again. when we pray put those people in those things in your mind. Put those concerns in those issues that you've been holding onto in your mind. And set yourself up to let it go today to truly be set free. So you can travel light the way that God has called us to travel like a man a man. Let us prey. Father in heaven God we thank you Lord that you are the bearer of every load that we have. Father we thank you Lord that on this day God you showing us some things God in this season of joy and happiness and and God some of us have even wondered. Why not me. Why don't I feel it. Father. Thank you for exposing God the root of bitterness to us Lord. Father we pray right now God that now that we can see it God. Now that we understand it help us to give it to you Lord. Help us to truly be set free and delivered God according to your word Lord. Father in this place got their relationships that are strain for No One Good Reason God. but father, you know and father we pray right now God. Show it to us God so we can give it to you Lord. Father some of us may be struggling even at this moment god with the name that is showing up god with the people that we haven't forgiven god with the situations God we continue to rehearse over and over again. Buy the ticket from us right now. Help us Lord to pray for those who have spitefully used us God. Help us. God to bless those God. Who have cursed us God? Because father we understand God that you are The Giver of all good things. And because of that God we seek your mercy. We seek Your Grace God we seek your Holy Spirit God to give us the wisdom and discernment guide on how to approach him when to approach God. But most importantly God help us to be free. Help us to walk out of here differently than we walk in. Help us to know God that there is no other way to Freedom Tower. but through you father we tried it on our own guy. We tried it at a counselor's office guy. But Father a true God is one that you have to pull up Lord. So far the work in our heart. Do surgery if you have to God. But father make us over again in your image with your likeness god with your mind. butterfly children in the other room Father they have seen anything God heard anything God. That is caused a Bitterroot guide to begin to Fester even at that young age. Father we intercede right now on their behalf. But you would touch them God that you would remove the guy that you would fill those empty spaces god with your love and your compassion. Father we thank you. We also know God that was someone here today. It may be time for a relationship.