Setting The Easter Alignment

SPEAKER_00 0:08

Welcome and thanks for joining us on this episode of the Midweek Podcast, brought to you by a Fresh Wind Church. Each week, our team brings you new content to help you take steps towards Jesus and discover more in Christ. Today's episode is hosted by Pastor Ryan.

SPEAKER_04 0:27

Hey, welcome back to the Midweek Podcast. Pastor Ryan joined as always with Pastor Tim, and we are in week two of our series in the shop. And uh as we uh head into the the Easter season, we're we're putting the putting the car in the shop, getting some some work done, and uh trying to get our hearts and our lives prepared and aligned for Easter. Um, and uh, you know, Tim on Sunday, you were saying, you know, we're expecting God to do some big things uh in and through us this Easter so that um he can reveal his who he is and then also our purpose and the mission that he has for us. And so this is uh this is a time for us to kind of pump the brakes a little bit as we head into the Easter season and say, Lord, where him where where do I need some some realignment uh and and do this diagnostic on me? Open me up. Um and so that's what we've talked about in the first couple weeks. And um man, uh, you came out swinging.

First Love And Daily Disciplines

The Clogged Drain Metaphor

SPEAKER_01 1:24

Well, let me tell you something. Um Jesus made it clear in Revelation to the uh church of Laodicea. He said, You have lost your first love. I am, you're doing everything correctly, you're living your life, uh, but I'm not number one anymore. And I'm not saying I'm not number three or four, I'm near the top, but I'm not number one anymore. And that is something that a uh a Christian, you're gonna talk about that this week, that the reason for spiritual disciplines is to keep that in the forefront of your mind. If you continue your spiritual disciplines, you'll you'll realize when he slips down a notch and you can get him back up. That's right. But uh once we once we make that decision to make him number one, uh, we begin to align um with him. And that's that's the that's that's number one. You can't get away from that. Number two is to uh reconcile and uh clean up the tub. That's the way I like to look at it. When you're when you got um when you got some things in your life where your relationships have have hurt and they need to be fixed, whether it's your fault or somebody else's fault, it's like taking a shower and you got a good nothing's better than a good hot, warm shower until you start to feel the water coming up above your ankles. Like, what am I standing in? Yeah, and what am I doing here? And the little black flakes are starting to float through there.

SPEAKER_04 3:11

That's best when you're at a hotel.

SPEAKER_01 3:13

Oh yeah. Oh yeah. But that's how a lot of people are living their Christian life. They're um they're in a shower, they're trying to make God number one, but they refuse to clean the clog. And that clog is our relationship. And once it goes, once you get that cleaned out, you're free. Uh I I know listen, this is how bad it is in our society today, and not not just Christians, um, but it hurts Christians more because it has a spiritual significance. We are so wrapped up with our hurt in relationships that none of us ever get to take a full breath of air. I don't know if you ever hurt your ribs or not, but um you fall on your ribs or you get punched really good and uh you bruise your ribs. It is hard to suck in air without pain. And that's kind of how it is living with a uh relationship that is unresolved.

unknown 4:10

Yeah.

Forgiveness As Personal Freedom

SPEAKER_01 4:11

And uh that resolving is you, it's not them. You can't make them be who you want them to be, but you can deal with them as God would deal with them, and uh which is I forgive you. Uh, I need you to forgive me because I'm so mad at you, I want to kill you. But I want you to forgive me. Well, I'm not gonna forgive you. Well, that's fine. I did what I need to do. The drain is clear. Now I can take a deep breath without any pain. And um a lady was texting me um, I think it was Sunday night after church, and and she said, I just wish everybody would just do this one thing. Life is so much freer on the other side. Just every day there's not that thing. And uh it takes a while to work your way through your relationships and fix those things, and uh but once you do, uh life is free. Life is free, and you're gonna let someone else um steal your joy and your happiness. It's hard to get joy and happiness out of this life, and you're gonna take the little bit that you might get and toss it in the ditch because of someone else. It's time to stand up.

SPEAKER_04 5:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:34

You you brought it out on Sunday.

SPEAKER_04 5:36

Um and I I think this is where so many people struggle, is we feel like they need to they need to pay. They hurt me, they need to pay. And if I don't hold on to this thing, then who's ever gonna make them pay? Right. Um what's so silly about that is that person goes on living their life and they seem like they're doing just fine. Right. It's you. It's you that every time they walk in the room, you get it angry, you you get mad. You I mean, it doesn't matter, you could be having the best time of your life. They walk in the room and it's like, well, not gonna have a good time anymore.

SPEAKER_01 6:17

Right. There's always something.

SPEAKER_04 6:19

Yeah, you brought it up in in the sermon, you know. Even if if someone else just brings up their name and God forbid they talk about them in a positive way, right, you know, and it's your whole day's ruined now. Like that, you think you're punishing that person, and the whole time all you're doing is punishing yourself. That that lady who texted you, she's 100% right. It is free on the other side.

SPEAKER_01 6:42

Right.

SPEAKER_04 6:42

And I'm not to keep just quoting your sermon here, but you brought it up again on Sunday, is we're not saying you gotta be best friends with these people, right? We're not saying that what they did to you was was right, um, or that you don't need to have boundaries in place uh to prevent it from happening again. You know, we're scripture doesn't tell you just be stupid, you know. Um but it if you would just say, Lord, I I I'm I forgive them, I choose to forgive them. Um and man, you can start to move forward in freedom, and like you're saying, you can finally have joy and happiness in life again. Um and when they walk in the room, you might not go over and give them a high five, you know, hey, so glad you're here, but it's not gonna affect you.

SPEAKER_01 7:30

Right.

SPEAKER_04 7:30

You're not gonna have that pit in your stomach, that vial, you know, start rising up.

SPEAKER_01 7:35

And that's a process, but it's a process that's easily won once you go there the first time. And um, and every time it comes back, you can just forgive. And when Satan brings it up to you, you can say, Oh, thanks for reminding me that in this I act like Jesus and I forgive him.

Boundaries Without Bitterness

SPEAKER_04 7:53

I've encouraged people, you know, especially on those ones when when someone's really hurt you, um, go home, find a piece of paper, write down, I forgave this person in the date, and shove it in your Bible. No one needs to see it, but it's this reminder on this date, I already made that decision. Because the enemy is, he's gonna bring this back up to you. Someone's gonna say their name, you're gonna start feeling that way again, and it's that thing. And maybe you don't even write their name down because I'm not, you know, if it was your husband, you know, right? I'm not trying to get you to start something accidentally, just I forgave in the date, and you'll know what that means.

SPEAKER_02 8:31

Right.

SPEAKER_04 8:31

Um, but it's that decision saying, no, no, I already did this. I wrote it down, I made that commitment with the Lord. Devil, you you can't use this against me. You don't have permission to use this against me. Right. There's no condemnation for me. I'm in Christ Jesus. I laid that down and forgave.

SPEAKER_01 8:48

And it's important to make that decision. Which that's exactly the last two sermons have been about choosing, choosing to do these things. And on the other side, if you hurt somebody, um, and this is terrible. I I see it all the time. I I see pastors who come out of prison who went in there for awful things, and come out and start preaching and laughing and living in joy. And I I'm like, Man, the people you hurt. And we don't know what's going on in that guy's heart. We don't know how much regret that he has. Um but now he has joy. And sometimes the people that you've hurt see that and they resent you even more. So um you need to apologize to the people that you've hurt. Tell them you're sorry and make restitution and get that out of your way so they so they can deal with it. And it's easier for them to deal with it, I think, um when you recognize you're wrong. That's confession, right? I I was wrong. That no matter what the situation was, you hit me first or or you said that or you did this, but what I did on my own was wrong, and I am sorry.

Practicing Forgiveness Daily

SPEAKER_04 10:15

I was uh, you know, Joey and I we were talking about the message this week, and um I was telling her, I was like, man, I I've been trying to, you know, just go back in and start searching. Lord, is there anybody that I've hurt even unintentionally? Um because you know, I try to treat people well. Um I'm I'm one of those people that there's not much I'm gonna hold on to and I'm gonna put my stake in the ground, and I mean I will crawl over myself begging for your forgiveness, you know. Um but I'm like, that doesn't mean over the years I haven't hurt people, you know. Even if I was trying to to do good by them, that doesn't mean they took what I did as that way, you know. Um, and so I was I was racking my brain that way. Um, and I, you know, there's maybe one or two that I'm like, you know what, I might need to reach out to them this week, um, just to make sure. Um, and I don't know if they took anything I said wrong, um, but if they did, I I want to apologize. Um, actually, Jared called me and um guys, you know, we all had that kind of locker room banter. We're always picking on one another, you know. Um, Jared had cut his finger and uh went to the doctor. It was infected. I'm like, oh, did they have to cut it off? He goes, No, they're letting me keep it. And I was like, oh, he goes, what does that mean? Um, but I was like, you know what? After Tim's sermon, Jared, I probably need to apologize for everything I've ever said to you. So, Jared, this is my public apology too. Um, but then the other thing that I was trying to think of is when people, is there anybody that when they walk in the room, I have an emotional reaction to it negatively, you know? Um, and again, I was like, man, there might be one. And it's nobody in this church, so don't everyone's gonna be, is it me? No, it's none of you. Um and again, I don't know if the person knows. I've never treated them differently because of it, anything like that. But I'm like, Man, I don't know. And this is and so I'd be this will be interesting to get your perspective on this, maybe. Um, because what I was talking to Joy about, I'm like, I don't know if this person even knows I got this thing. I've never never communicated it to them, you know, whatever. But when they come around, there's a uh in me. And I was like, do I do I need to call that person and and apologize? Or do I just give that to the Lord? Um, because I'm not trying to, again, I'm not trying to start nothing that hasn't already been started.

Confession Restitution And Joy

SPEAKER_01 12:58

That's important not to go into details about what you're trying to uh unless you're the offender and you know exactly what it is, um, if you've been offended, then they don't need to know because they'll just justify it. Um or they'll say, I'm glad I got you then. Depending on who their personality is. Uh uh maybe, but it's leadership of the Holy Spirit. Hey, Satan's smart dude, and anything time he can start something, he'll start it. And um he can get he can he can take something that you've already forgiven, and you've made that stand and you've forgiven, and he'll come back. I don't think you have. I don't think you have. And you need to stand in faith that you have, uh, because he's just trying to get you started. Because he knows that as soon as you say that to that person, he's gonna do something else to make you mad, you know. And um, so there's people like that out there. I see um women and men, uh, when you go and say, Hey, you know, I got mad at you, and um and the Lord told me, and this is what I always I add that to your apology, the Lord told me I need to say I'm sorry, so I'm sorry. And um and they just act like, well, if that hurts you, you're weak. You know? Right. And um and you just need to log away. Um because they're they're looking for justification. You know, they don't want to be the bad guy in a situation. Nobody does. If someone comes to you, you're gonna feel the same way. But um let me tell you something. This is this is an important thing. Uh, because some people have offended you and they don't even know. Right. And and they might not even care. And so when you go to them, you don't want to get in this tussle. You're what you're doing is getting right with God by getting right with them. That's your that's your goal here, right? So getting into another tussle is, you know, and trying to straighten this out to who's right and who's wrong is is not what we're trying to accomplish. Right. You want to live at peace with them. And the the Lord tells you to to say this to them, then just say it and drop it. And I there's a lot of people when you go and say, Hey, I had something against you, and the Lord told me I need to tell you I'm sorry, they're offended. Well, I want to know what it is, you know. Well, you you don't get to know this between me and the Lord. See ya, and then you can't be gratified by the fact that they're upset. It I mean, there's a lot to this uh because when you're misaligned in your relationship, it deforms you. You know, you're you're not um something's messed up in you and it it's changed everything. So you you don't you don't want to play with that, right? You don't want to get out the hammer and put it in the forge and try to straighten it out. You let the Holy Spirit do that, or you're just gonna get messed up. I remember you came to me years ago, um, and I appreciate this in you, and said, Is there something between me and you? And I was like, What are you talking about? And uh, I don't know, you've been treating me kind of rough. And uh and I was, and I was just being a grumpy old man. And uh and I was like, Yeah, I yeah, I am. Sorry about that. And uh so uh those things need to be fixed. Now, if you would have never came to me, um you would have thought that I was treating you rough this whole time. Because I tell you what, if for five years you act a certain way to your wife or forget to do one thing for your wife every week for five years, and then you fix it, and five years later, when you haven't forgotten that and you forget it once, guess what she thinks? You always do that, right? That's what happens. So uh we have to be um we have to fix these things, we gotta clog that drain, uh get that uh clog out of the drain um so that we can be free. And I think I think we get uh malformed and we and we build these. Um if you were in my uh D class, we build these um emotional walls around this hurt that all that's gotta be taken care of for me to get right with this person, and that's not true. You say the words and the Holy Spirit does the rest.

When To Speak And When To Pray

SPEAKER_04 17:57

That's good. I uh I was talking to um I don't want to give any names uh or details, but a person in the church um had a really rough uh relationship with one of their their close family members, um just hadn't been treated very good by them. And uh after your sermon on Sunday, they they sent a text to him and said, Hey, I just want to let you know um that that you've hurt me, but but I forgive you for doing it. Um and the first text back said, uh, what did I do? I didn't know I hurt you, but I'm sorry. Um and they've had a chance to start texting and communicating back and forth for the first time in quite some time. And she was like, It's the first time he's ever said sorry to anybody that we know of, you know. Um, and and man, it just it broke me because I'm like, this is this is what people can experience if we would get over our pride, if we'd get over our anger, our need for vengeance or or whatever it is, and just say, Hey, I forgive you. Um, restoration can happen, um, reconciliation can happen. And it doesn't always happen. No, it doesn't always happen, but it can, the possibilities there, and what what Tim's saying here is so important. We we remove that clog from the drain, and now the Holy Spirit can begin to move through us again. Um man, you read some some scripture on Sunday that was rough. I mean, if if you hold this thing against your brother and you won't forgive him, well, God says, I won't forgive you. Well, hold on. Right.

unknown 19:38

What?

SPEAKER_04 19:38

Um I mean that this is this is serious stuff, and and we we walk around with it like it's like it's not a big deal. Right. Um the church has heard me talk about this a lot, but you know, when I when I talk about sin, I like the way I describe it is like it's playing with matches in a puddle of gas. Um we have no idea how destructive sin is. And so we're sitting here, we're striking the match, striking the match, striking the match. One of those times the fumes are gonna build up and you're gonna strike that match, and it's gonna blow up everything. This unforgiveness is striking that match over and over and over again. You're sitting there, and the Holy Spirit's like, listen, we can't be in communication until you let this thing go.

SPEAKER_01 20:24

Right. That's that's the scriptures I read on Sunday. And even this idea of reconciliation, him reconciling us so that we can reconcile others. It is crazy that that's our responsibility, but you don't hear that preached anywhere. Yeah, it's anywhere. This is our responsibility. And um, I didn't even get into the scripture. When I talk about forgiveness, I usually use the you know, the parable about the servant and the king, and the king forgave him millions of dollars, and he couldn't forgive a couple of pennies. And at the end of that verse of that story, he says, So the king delivered him over to the torturers until he could pay everything. Now, when you're being tortured, it's kind of hard to earn money to pay, right?

SPEAKER_04 21:23

Uh hey, I need to leave and go to work. No, you just sit right here.

Scripture’s Hard Words On Mercy

SPEAKER_01 21:28

And then what he says right after that, he says, and this is what the Lord will do to you who will not forgive their brother. Man, I tell you what, and it's something that, man, we gloss over and we don't think about, but uh, this is probably what's clogging your drain. If the Holy Spirit is not going through you, these two things. Now, what we're gonna talk about later in the shop is how to maintain these two things right Jesus number one, and then loving people free. Everyone and cleaning that clog. Once you get that done, I'm telling you, man, everything changes. Your freedom becomes you can taste it. You can breathe it in. These things are what G Jesus, he was after them, and he talked about it a lot. You love your brother. This is how they know your mind. You know, talked about unity all the time. And once you're free from this and you clean up your other relationships, whatever it looks like, and you get all that done, you're gonna live in a way that you don't want to get messed up again. So when you offend somebody or you're like, man, I shouldn't have said that, you're on the phone right away. Hey, I said that and I thought I was funny and I'm not. That's that's my apology. That's that's Tim Holtz. If you have to say that, then you're following in my footsteps. Um you need to, you need you'll start doing it right away because you don't want to lose it. Um it's uh it's actually just a wonderful thing. That there's a big problem here that we need to talk about a little bit because it's always who's gonna pay for how bad you've hurt me. Somebody's gotta pay. Let me tell you, brothers and sisters, and this is hard to wrap your head around. Jesus paid for that. He paid for that. When he hung on the cross, he was thinking about that situation that you were in. And you can forgive because the price has been paid in Jesus. That's right. And uh that person he may say sorry, he may come to Christ, he may do all kinds of things and not ever have to pay. But someone paid, and his name is Jesus.

SPEAKER_04 24:00

That's you know, reminds me of Jonah. Um, when Jonah went to to Nineveh and God ends up forgiving those people. We all think Jonah doesn't want to go to Nineveh because he's afraid of those monsters. Right. Um, and there might have been some of that, but when he goes, he preaches the worst sermon you've ever heard in your life. He's like, listen, y'all repent or God's gonna kill you. And he did it reluctantly. He's like, I don't even want to be here. But uh then he goes and he sits up on that mountaintop to watch them burn. He's just waiting for God burn them all up.

SPEAKER_01 24:36

He's that's my favorite book of the Bible.

Jesus Paid So You Can Release

SPEAKER_04 24:38

And when God doesn't, and the whole city comes out and and repents. Jonas ticked. He said, I knew you were merciful, I knew you would forgive them if they did this. That's what he's angry about. And and guys, I know when someone hurts you, you want them to pay. You want them to feel not even just the pain that they cause you, you want them to hurt worse. Um and it's not right. They should never have done it. But what Tim just said here, man, it's so important. Someone did pay. Now, if they never confess Jesus as Lord, listen, he says vengeance is mine. And if they don't repent, I mean, who wants to, you know, be in the hands of an angry God? You know? Um, but if they if they do repent, he's gonna forgive them. But that still means someone paid because he paid for it. They asked for his forgiveness, and because he already paid the price, they're forgiven, just like you are. I it it's you know, you look at the apostle Paul, you were talking a little bit ago about you know, these pastors who get out of prison and find joy and all this stuff. Man, I I can't imagine. We all look up to Paul and we're like, man, if I can only be like Paul. Yeah, we well, Paul is a murderer, you know, like rounding up Christians, locking them in jail, destroying families and communities. He was a terror, people were terrified when Paul came around. They're like, Everybody go hide. We don't want to be around this guy. And he said, Man, out of out of all the sinners, I'm the worst. Yeah, that's how Paul described himself. I'm I'm the worst of them. And and yet he was able to find that forgiveness through through Christ. Um, Jesus paid for it, you know, and and he's gonna do that for you, but he'll do it for for your enemy too.

Numb Hearts And Bitter Roots

SPEAKER_01 26:42

Yeah. And you know, I I've said this before: the most godly thing that you can do in this life is to forgive, is to follow Jesus into forgiveness. Listen, when you when you can't forgive or you have unforgiveness in your heart, you get a spiritual numbness because your communication uh with the Holy Spirit um dries up. You get a defensive identity, like a victimhood, and you're just waiting for someone to treat you like that one person did. And then you uh eventually, because you're not hearing from the Holy Spirit anymore, you you get into this uh performance-based life, you know, where you're trying to be good enough uh for the Lord, even though you know in your head that that's not how it works. And then in life itself, because God has turned you over to the torturers and you don't even know it, all of your relationships start suffering because of this one. Scripture says that a um bitter root grows up and affects everyone around them. And um it doesn't matter, you can move away from that person, you can do whatever. But we're talking a one-time uh humiliating humbleness, one time uh facing of whatever this thing is for the rest of your life of being free. And uh it's worth it. It's worth it. Not most importantly because your relationship with God is unclogged, um, but also for the freedom it brings.

SPEAKER_04 28:32

Years ago I saw uh I want to say it might have been Stephen Furtick down at elevation. He was uh preaching this sermon, and I think he called it the prison of a fence. Um and he's got this little you know planner's box thing on stage, probably you know, eight feet long, something like that. And he has just planks that go to a fence, and so he starts talking about you know using a fence with the physical representation of a fence, and so he's using these planks and he starts listing off these offenses and he shoves it into this box, and then he talks about another one and he shoves it into the box, and all of a sudden he's standing completely behind, you know, six, eight foot, ten-foot fence. Um congregation can't even see him preaching anymore. You know, there's a fence between him and them, and man, that visual visual representation of like, man, this is this is what a fence does to us is it builds this fence that blocks us off from our communication and our line with God and with one another so that we become isolated and alone, um, standing on the other side of that fence all by ourselves. Um, this is this is important stuff. And I love what you said there. One moment of humbling or humility of just taking it on the chin and saying, Man, will you forgive me? Or man, I'm I'm so sorry. Um, or I forgive you is worth it for a life of freedom.

One Humble Moment For A Free Life

SPEAKER_01 30:05

Amen. Amen. See, the reason you're resisting this um is not because of how wrong they are, it's because of uh it's because of pride and um the Lord resists pride and you're getting yourself in this circle of I'm not gonna do it, um, because it'll embarrass me. I'm not gonna do it because they're the one that was wrong. It becomes this um circle that you can't get out of. And you build those walls up, and then everybody that you love has to deal with those walls. And um you see it generational, if you're mad at your dad, guess who else is mad at your dad? Maybe not your wife, but your kids will be. They'll take an offense for you and they'll build a fence and their kids will do the same thing. And it doesn't ever stay, bitterness never just stays in one place. And I think sometimes we think this is all about me and I can do um it's not gonna affect anybody else. I'm not gonna let this go. But I I tell you, the longer you keep it, the more you'll fall in love with it. Some people love their hurt and and they can't separate themselves from it anymore. And that is something that the Lord wants to free you from. And uh so that goes back not to just uh in the shop number two, which is your horizontal relationships to those people around you, it goes back to in the shop number one, which is who's your priority. And if God's your priority, you can't love your hurt more than you love him. And you've gotta let it go. He has to be number one. And he will give you the spiritual power to forgive. He absolutely will. Because he wants to make you like him and you're growing in sanctification every day. So if you're gonna be like him, you're gonna forgive. I know this is heavy, and I know a lot of you you don't know what they did, and the truth is I don't want to know. But I know that you have to forgive. And sometimes when you're praying, um that person might be gone. They might have already passed on, and or you have no access to that person, you can still forgive. You can forgive, and like Ryan said, write it down uh and just say, God, this is what I'm gonna do. In Jesus' name, I forgive this person, write it down, and then you can go back to that every time that hurt comes back up. But the Holy Spirit wants to help you in an in a way that's as easy as possible so that you can give up your hurt. And when your vertical or your horizontal relationship, you got this hurt, um, it affects your spiritual sooner or later. Listen to me, this is this is awful, but it happens every day. Your hurt becomes more important than him. And then your hurt's number one in your life and not God. And so um all I can say is showers where the bathtub's filling up, it's just a miserable place, miserable place to be. And um I I just want to encourage you to step out of that tub, get that Draeno or whatever, and get that clog free. Just do this one thing um as much as it hurts your pride to do it, and then be free. Be free.

Pride’s Trap And Generational Hurt

SPEAKER_04 34:26

Yeah. Um Jesus, man, he he told us this. And again, I think you read the verse this past week or the week before, and I think I used it a couple weeks ago. Um, most important command is this love God and love people. It all comes back. He says, all the law, all the prophets, everything comes back to these two things. And and you said this earlier: if we would get these two things right, the rest of following Jesus is really just about obedience. It's that maintenance thing of staying in step with him, right? Abiding in him, abiding in him, yeah. These are the things that build the wall, these are the things that put hindrance between you and God. Um, where he says, I listen, until you take care of this, I'm I can't even hear you. Um, man, what an awful relationship to be in with God, um, where he can't even listen to your prayers because you won't forgive, you know? Um, and so it all comes back to this. If I love him and I'll put him first, and if I love people, meaning I'll forgive them, I'm I'm not gonna allow this thing to stand between us. Um I'm gonna love him the way that I love myself, the way that I would want you to forgive me if I wronged you, I'm gonna do that. Then man, the your Christian life becomes free. And we're gonna talk about spiritual disciplines and all this stuff coming up on Sunday. But man, you you you're free to do it. And those things begin to help you take those steps to towards Jesus. Um but until until you're doing this, man, it's it's like running on a hamster wheel, you know, and then you're coming to church, you're doing all this stuff, and you feel like you're not getting anywhere, you're not. You know, the tub's filling up. Um, you gotta, you gotta let these things go. And it it's loving God and loving people.

SPEAKER_01 36:22

Um and I don't I don't know how to get your priority vested here because we see people who are addicted to drugs, alcohol, porn, you know, whatever, whatever it is, and you're like, man, you know, this is the most important sin that I have, and I I really need to concentrate on this. No, listen to me. If you get number one right, then your addiction's in trouble. Number one, God is my number one priority. I seek first the kingdom of God. Your addictions will fall under that if you can get that fixed. Don't worry about those. Because when you love Jesus as much as a forgiven sinner can, then those addictions won't be worth it to you. So I'm not gonna let it stand between me and him. I love him too much. Just charge forward on number one, he's gonna be my priority. And number two, fix your relationships. Guys, this is where it's at. Now let me clarify all this because we've talked about forgiveness, reconciliation, and restitution. Let me just march it down one, two, three. First, forgiveness. It is commanded. You always are required to forgive. Well, what if they're not sorry? It doesn't matter. You still have to forgive. Okay. And then we go to number two, reconciliation. This is the ideal that, but it requires both parties to come together and and settle. And that's what we want. But it might not happen. And number three, restitution. As far as it depends on you, Paul said. So you have to take responsibility for your side.

SPEAKER_04 38:17

And so Tim, I want them to say they're sorry.

Love God First Then Others

SPEAKER_01 38:20

I know, I know. But listen, if they never do, you can be free. Yep. You can be free.

SPEAKER_04 38:29

This is so important, man. Um, because it you you you're holding the key to your own prison, you know? Um as much as it depends on you, which means you're not responsible for how they they take your apology. Um, you're you're not responsible for how they react to it, anything. But you can say, hey, you know what? I I think what I what I said last week, um, that might have hurt you. Um and I and I'm sorry. Would you forgive me? And like you said earlier, they might say, No, no, I'm still mad at it, mad about it, and I want to punch you in the face. Hey, I and again, I'm I'm sorry that that I did it, that I said it. I wish I could take it back. I know I can't, but uh, I hope one day you'll you'll be able to forgive me. And and you let let yourself out and you've unclogged that drain. Um, you know, I in all this, we're not trying to give you permission to go and uh hurt people and then just hey, I'm sorry, hey, I'm sorry. You know, yeah. Um actions speak louder than words. Um you have to to prove sometimes that your repentance to people by changing how you live. Don't don't go on hurting people and just saying, hey, I said I'm sorry and you're a Christian, you have to forgive me. No, you're just a stinking jerk, man. Stop it. Yeah. But if you if you can go to those people and apologize and ask for their forgiveness or start to forgive those people, man, you you unlock that that thing. And so um, yeah, reconciliation, that's ideal. We'd love for that to happen. I I wish I could sit here and promise you that your relationship with your with your kids or with your mom or dad or or whoever is going to be fixed. I don't know that it will be, but I know that you are you hold the key um to unclogging this drain, and and you can be in tune with God. Um, and you can have access to His His Spirit, His power in your life. Um, to take these steps, you just gotta forgive first.

SPEAKER_01 40:36

Yeah. God always resists the proud. Forgiveness changes your posture from pride to humility. Repentance changes your behavior, and restitution proves that it happened.

unknown 40:49

Yep.

Forgiveness Reconciliation Restitution

SPEAKER_01 40:50

You know, uh, restitution is where your humility becomes visible to people. So pride says they started it. Pride says, I'll forgive, but I won't initiate. They have to come and say they're sorry. And pride says, time will fix it, I'll forget it. Uh that's just your pride talking. Fix it. Fix it. You don't listen, you're missing out every day that you hang on to this. You're missing out on joy, you're missing out on sleep, less stress, um, uh bitterness, a bitter heart. Even doctors will tell you, you need to go see a therapist. You got to get rid of this. You know, uh, you're in here because your foot hurts, and and all you can talk about is what your dad did to you. You need to go see a therapist and get this straight. What you need to do is go to the Holy Spirit and say, God, help me resolve this and uh let me forgive. Although a therapist is a good good idea too.

SPEAKER_04 41:52

What I love about the passage you read in Matthew is we would expect it to say, you know, if you're at the altar and you realize you have unforgiveness, um, go apologize. Um, tell them you're sorry, whatever. Tell them you forgive them, then come back. When it says if you know someone has something against you, and man, that that's that's a different conversation because now I'm I'm the aggressor in this, and we always we want to look at how people have hurt me. Um, and Jesus saying, No, I need you to take a look and examine how have you hurt other people. Um, and like I said, sometimes that's intentionally. We want them to to hurt or whatever. We we're trying to get back at them. Sometimes it's unintentional, you know. We just, man, I I joke, you know, I tell jokes. I'm I'm sarcastic. Um, that's mine. I love sarcasm. And uh, we read a book one time and says, you need to get sarcasm out of your house. And I was like, this book sucks. I'm not reading it. Um, love it. But uh man, we we need to look and say, man, where where have I where have I hurt people? Man, this is this is an opportunity, um, especially as we head into Easter. You said it on Sunday. We get to be most like Jesus in this in this way. Absolutely. Um, and man, I I even loved, I don't know if you even said it in both services. I know I think it was service two. Um, but you said, man, anytime the devil brings it up, you just get to say, Hey, thanks for reminding me. I get to be like Jesus here.

SPEAKER_02 43:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 43:27

Um, how powerful is that? You know, there is nothing more Christ-like that we can do than forgive. Um, and the bigger they hurt you, the more Christ-like you can be. Right. You know, um, when you look and you realize all the things that God has has forgiven you for. Um, every time you let them down, every time you you swore that you weren't going to pick that thing back up, but you picked it back up when you said that you were gonna start doing it and you never started doing it. Um All those things and Christ said, Man, I forgive you for all of it. Um and then you get to turn around and say, Man, I forgive you. And this is this is why when you know, was it Peter that came up and asked Jesus, how many times should I forgive my brother who sins against me? Um what did he say, three times? Should I forgive him three times? He had to be thinking, that's that's a lot, you know, like if someone hurts me, all right, I forgive you. You come and do it again, okay, but I'll forgive you. By the third time, you're like, okay, this is a pattern. I'm not gonna keep forgiving you. And Jesus looks at him and says, Nah, not three times. Not seven times, but seventy times seven. This infinite supply of forgiveness. This is how important this is to Jesus.

SPEAKER_01 44:51

Um you can take that and start counting for the 400 times.

SPEAKER_03 44:56

Seven times 70. Okay, hold on one. Two. We're gonna get there eventually.

Identify Who You Need To Face

SPEAKER_01 45:02

So if they had uh offend you 491 times, then that 491st time you don't have to forgive. Just tell God Pastor Tim said that.

SPEAKER_04 45:15

I've done it 490 times now. It's you forgive them. Okay, I'm done.

SPEAKER_01 45:20

So I think we need to kind of identify um who we're talking about here. Uh, number one is who do I rehearse conversations about in my head?

SPEAKER_04 45:31

That can that can tell you Man, if I saw them, I would have told them I should have said.

SPEAKER_01 45:36

Or, you know, it might be your boss, and you might have said, I should have said this, or I should have said that. Yep. Um whose name changes my emotional temperature? If you just said a person's name and and it just changes your uh mood.

SPEAKER_04 45:57

Heart starts to beat a little faster, the palms get a little sweaty.

SPEAKER_01 46:02

Or you get a little sadder or um grumpy. Um so that's number two. Who changes my emotional temperature? Number three, when I'm waiting for someone else to initiate uh initiate, who am I waiting to initiate the fix of this situation? Um that's the person you need to go to. You know, and don't go and say, look, I've been waiting for you to come and say you're sorry, but you suck, so you never did that. I want you to know I forgive you. That's not what I'm talking about.

SPEAKER_04 46:41

But um You wouldn't do what you were supposed to, so now I have to be the bigger person and come over here.

SPEAKER_01 46:48

So, and um Yeah, some that might work for some people, but listen, um it's if there's a person like that you're waiting to say they're sorry, and um then you need to go. You need to go. And number four, what restitution would humility require? What what can you do to say you're sorry? I I tell you what, I've had to stand up in front of church because I talked about someone in front of church and used them for an example and it hurt their feelings. And I've had to get up in front of the whole church and say, that was wrong, and I am sorry, and I have to do it in front of everybody because I brought you all in on this.

SPEAKER_04 47:35

Yeah, and and you want to be the person with the microphone, right? Yeah. Sometimes it's better to just sit out there in the seat. Right. Right.

SPEAKER_01 47:45

No, let me speak. No, no, no, no.

SPEAKER_03 47:47

Wait.

SPEAKER_01 47:49

Uh so I I just want you to uh we're with you in this because uh we want you to live in freedom. That's right. We want you to be free. And uh and once you get past this um who's number one, and then I'm gonna clean up uh my relationships, the Christian life becomes so fascinating and full and free. And uh, yeah, well, I got this addiction, I got this thing. Well, the Lord's gonna work on that as he grows and sanctifies you, sanctifies you. But God came to reconcile reconcile humankind, mankind to himself, so that humanity can reconcile humanity.

SPEAKER_04 48:37

You have been given the ministry of reconciliation.

SPEAKER_01 48:39

And that is that is who we are. You're looking for an identity, that this is your identity. You're a uh reconciliator for Jesus, and that's what it's all about. So um get that done around you and encourage other people to do it too.

Start Small Start Sincere Start Now

SPEAKER_04 48:55

And here's here's our encouragement as we kind of wrap this thing up today. Um, one, you need to start small. Uh just just start praying, Lord. Um who do who do I need to to apologize to or who do I need to forgive? And um you know, Lord's gonna bring people to your mind and you know, maybe start with the easiest one, right? Build up some courage. Uh he'll he'll help you get to that that one, you know, that that's really bothering you. Um, but start small, start sincere. Uh, like I said, this isn't about just, hey, I'm sorry, and then I'm gonna keep going on doing the same thing. You know, we need to be sincere in this. Um, and finally start this week. Quit waiting, quit postponing this thing. It is clogging the drain, it is preventing the Holy Spirit from flowing through your life. Um, and and God says, I listen, until you take care of this, I I can't hear you. We need to start this week. And so um, I'm encouraged, like I said, Joy and I, we've already been talking about it, racking our brains. Who is it that I need to apologize to? Who is it that I need to forgive? Um, you got people texting you about it. Uh, I talked to that person yesterday who's already uh begun the process, and and it seems like maybe some reconciliation is starting to happen there. Praise the Lord for that. Amen. Um quit waiting. Start this week.

SPEAKER_01 50:21

Easter is on the way. Right. We think it's all about them, but listen, this alignment is not about them, it's about who you are becoming. That's right. When you get your relationships right, prayer flows, worship deepens, peace increases, spiritual power strengthens. This is how you want to live. Absolutely. You don't want to live waiting for somebody else to make you happy. So let's do it. Pray for us, Ryan.

Prayer Commission And Next Steps

SPEAKER_04 50:51

Well, you know what? Um coming up, unless anything changes, uh, this this Monday night, your discovery class is you will be like him. And we're talking about who who you're becoming and what it means to be like Jesus. You need to come to that discovery class next Monday and learn what it means for us to be like him. That's the promise. One day we'll see him face to face. We're gonna be just like him, Scripture says. So what an amazing truth. Father, we thank you so much for your word. Lord, we thank you even for these tough passages that uh, man, they punch us right in the mouth. Um, but Lord, they they're the things that that provide freedom in our life. And uh Father, it does. Our our worship and our prayer begins to deepen the peace that that we experience, uh begins to surpass all understanding. Um and Lord, the power that we have to say no to sin and yes to you begins to strengthen. Uh our faith is emboldened. And so, Father, I pray that we would not let anything stand between making you number one and loving people the way that you love them. Um Lord, just the way that we love ourselves. And most of us we love ourselves a lot. And so, Father, help us to start small, to start sincere, to start this week doing these things: forgiving, asking for forgiveness. Let us look and represent you in the world. Um, because we know that we are most like you and we choose to forgive. In Jesus' name.

unknown 52:19

Amen.

SPEAKER_04 52:20

Amen and amen.

SPEAKER_00 52:21

Thanks again for joining us for this episode of the Midweek Podcast. We'd love to hear from you. Let us know how God is using this resource in your life or send any podcast questions or topic ideas to podcast at a freshwind.org. If you would like to support this ministry financially and help us continue offering new resources that equip you to discover more in Christ, simply text any amount to the number 84321. We're so grateful for your support. Make sure to tune in next week for a brand new episode of the Midweek Podcast. Be blessed and have a great week.