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~Emotional Healing and Wholeness~ We all have a past that God wants us to acknowledge, understand and respond to in a Biblical manner. That response in vital to our future joy. Our response determines our happiness, hope and harmony. There are many wounded people walking the streets of our city. They have never been healed from the wounds of their past. Yesterday's hurts affect how we respond to people today. Jesus longs to heal painful memories and restore broken bonds. In Psalm 149:4 the Psalmist tells us, "The Lord takes delight in His people." That is spoken in the context of His healed children having freedom and liberty to joyfully praise Him. Many of Jesus parables deal with broken relationships. For example there are the parables of the Unmerciful Servant, The Two Sons, The Two Debtors, The Pharisee and the Publican. Jesus tells these stories so we can see how far we are from viewing life from God's perspective. The health of our relationship with
God is linked to our earthly relationships. That's why Jesus said, "Don't come and worship me if you have something
against your friend. Patch the relationship and then bring your gift to the altar." (Matt. 5:24) Jesus wants us whole and healthy. We all have
a past that God wants us to acknowledge, understand and responded to in a Biblical manner.
Our response determines our happiness, hope and harmony.
~Emotional and Spiritual Maturity Develop Together~ The maturity of our social relationships seems to be tied to our understanding and acceptance of the childhood influences that have shaped and moulded us to what we are today. Every adult has an incredible story
to tell about the things that shaped their lives. The most instructive part of that story
is how you are integrating the reality of the past with the cold hard facts of the
present. If your stories were told with clarity and candour they would be powerful
messages motivating positive change in others. ~The Curses In Our Past Impact Our Mental Health~ As we think of the pain of the past, it's imperative that we banish from our minds thoughts of blame. Blame promotes bitterness. Faith and forgiveness foster healing and wholeness. What are some of the past hurts that require special attention? 1. For some it's the sense of being abandoned. Someone you were leaning on dies, moves away or decides they don't want you in their life. People who have experienced abandonment find it difficult trusting themselves to new relationships 2. There are issues of control and authority that require healing. Once you have been manipulated and controlled in an unhealthy manner you develop a floating suspicion of all authority. This robs you of the capacity and ability of taking refuge under the shelter and protection of your Heavenly Father's authority. Because of past abuse by authorities you are unable to see the positive blessings in Godly authority. When we refuse the protection of
Godly authority that leaves us exposed to more hurt which means more bitterness, which
means more painful memories in the scrap book of our life. Can you see how our past
controls our present? Can you understand why some have such a hard time believing God has
no intentions of manipulating and abusing them? ~Things that we lose become curses of the past~ Lost opportunities, lost virginity, loss of self-respect, loss of property, loss of relationships etc. Old Testament people considered life's three greatest curses to be: poverty, slavery and barrenness. Financial loss, often causes deep hurt and bitterness. The Israelites felt slavery in Egypt and Babylon was a curse. Today, many people feel locked into slavery to the credit card companies. To them it's like a curse. Until they understand the root cause of their compulsive purchasing they will not escape their credit bondage. Since the Israelites lived on chiefly through their children, they considered barrenness a terrible curse. An example of that is seen in Isaiah. 4:1. God judged the pride and haughtiness of the Israeli women and they could not get pregnant. Isaiah said that seven women will take hold of one man saying, "Make me pregnant." Today the problem is reversed. Millions of mothers want healing from the painful memory of rejecting the children God placed in their wombs. How do we take the hand of Jesus
and walk back into the past and heal these hurtful memories that strangle our present
growth? ~Re-telling Our Faith History Fosters Healing~ As the Scripture writers recount
Israel's struggle when childless, landless or in slavery, they re-tell their faith
history. Scripture writers keep going back to five memories as the core of their faith
history: (1) Abraham's call, (2) slavery in Egypt, (3) wandering in the desert, (4) Mount
Sinai's law, and (5) the promised land. Our lives have parallels to the journey of the Children of Israel. What transpired for them over hundreds of generations, happens in a small way over our life spans. God called Abraham to take his barren wife and leave his home land and venture out in faith to an unknown land. Many of you have heard Jesus say, "Follow me." You believe there is hope and healing in Jesus. Family and friends question your new infatuation with Jesus. Spiritually you are following the beat of a different drummer. One day you realized you were still struggling with the old mess. You were confused by how you could follow God but still be enslaved in Egypt without any obvious options for freedom and healing. The event sparking this realization may have been a spouse walking out on you, a physical, emotional or financial crisis. You feel trapped, locked in the situation or condition and it's controlling you, it's calling the shots, you've lost your freedom. The day comes when you wake up and once again see a light. Jesus knocks on you door and tells you that you can find freedom from this helpless state. Your faith in God is renewed, restored and a miracle gets you out of your bondage, your Egypt experience. Deliverance brings you to Mount Sinai. At Mt. Sinai you have a fresh revelation of God's holiness. Up to this point you have been focusing on His love and deliverance and your own needs. Now you discover that God is a holy God and there are consequences for sin and disobedience. You have a renewed passion to be holy unto the Lord. That's part of the healing process. The day comes when like the Children of Israel, you stand on the edge of the promised land. It looks wonderful. This is what you've been looking for all your life but for some reason its too good to be true and you don't believe God will give it to you. And you return to the old harmful ways that bring you pain. Your unbelief sentences you to wander again in a dry and thirsty land. Today your painful memories of harmful ways cries out for healing. Many people feel there's a curse on
their life and they want it removed. Jesus said, "Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Remember, God wants to save you from the penalty of sin. That's why Jesus died on the cross. That's why it's important for you to cry out to God, "God, please save me! Forgive me for thinking I could live without you. I invite you into my life to be my Saviour and Lord." "Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." That also means saved from the power of sin. Salvation is also an on going process. Part of that process is the transformation of painful memories into an exciting faith history. You can take another step in that process this morning by reaching up and taking Jesus by the hand and looking at your past from His perspective. It's the same thing a parent does when a child becomes terrified and cannot sleep. Most of you have had the experience of your small child waking in the middle of the night and sobbing hysterically, shaking with fright. Many times you'll take your quivering little darling to the safety and security of your bed. That's what God does in the first part of our salvation. He says, "You can hide under the shadow of my wing." Next morning in the full light of day you'll walk the child around his/her room. You'll look under the bed, shine the flashlight to identify every item, the dead spiders, lost socks, everything. Then you look in the back of the closet, part the clothes, stand on a chair and inspect the top shelf. You satisfy the child that there is nothing to fear. Before Jesus can make all things new in our lives, we must release the hurts of the past to Him and give Him the permission to put them in the sea of His forgetfulness. We all have a past that God wants us to acknowledge, understand and responded to in a Biblical manner. Our response determines our happiness, hope and harmony. "He gave me beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. That we might be trees of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, That we might be glorified." by Eugene Harder |