"Moving From Bitterness to Forgiveness" | April 11, 2021

baptist dallas no matter where you are we hope and pray that this is a time you will grow in your relationship with god and others as we worship our savior together welcome to worship [Music] [Applause] [Music] good morning and welcome to worship at first baptist dallas today so good to see you we welcome guests i campus viewers let's stand together sing joyful joyful joyful we adore you god of glory lord [Music] drive the dark of doubt away giver of eternal gladness fill us with the right [Music] you are [Music] [Applause] you ocean depths of happy red [Music] you are the one who says [Music] away jesus you are my rescue jesus you are my rescue i give you everything i am jesus jesus [Music] jesus jesus jesus [Music] jesus [Applause] see you ocean [Music] you are the ones [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] praise the lord this morning he takes away the sins of the world we worship him today jesus our savior let's sing to god our father today our father everlasting the all-creating one god almighty through your holy spirit conceiving christ the son jesus our savior [Music] i believe in god our father i believe in christ the son i believe in the holy spirit our god is three in one i believe in the resurrection that we will rise again for i believe in the name of jesus yes we believe yet thank you lord [Music] our judge and our defender suffered and crucified forgiveness is in you descended into darkness euros [Music] [Music] in christ the son i believe in the holy spirit our god [Music] will is again for i believe in the name of [Music] jesus [Music] [Applause] [Music] i jesus christ [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] that me christ [Music] is we will rise again for i believe in the name of [Music] jesus [Music] [Applause] [Music] yes we believe [Music] in the name that match this name of jesus i believe in life eternal i believe in the virgin birth i believe in the saints communion and in your holy church i believe in the resurrection when jesus comes again for i believe in the name of jesus from your heart i believe in life eternal i believe in the virgin birth church i believe in the resurrection when jesus [Music] i believe in the name of jesus [Music] [Music] we believe this morning praise god incredible worship you may be seated and we certainly welcome each of you to first baptist dallas this morning for worship so glad you're here we also welcome each and every guest joining us in the room and on icampus this morning we have a very special gift just for you it's our pastor's best-selling a place called heaven devotional 100 days of living in the hope of eternity and guest as you came in this morning you received a worship guide you'll find and close this guest card please take the time to fill this out and keep the card with you and at the conclusion of the service take it outside these main worship center doors right there to the welcome center our staff is waiting there for you to exchange your completed card for your gift today as well as answer any questions you might have regarding our church if you can't make it to the welcome center you'll find some orange receptacles on your way out you can slip the card in one of those and we will mail you a copy of your gift guest joining us on icampus follow the link on your screen for your special gift as well again it's so good to see each of you this morning for worship so many exciting events are taking place in the life of our church at first baptist dallas let's all take a look together at the screen good morning we are so thankful to be with you in worship today we have an exciting spring ahead and want to take a moment to tell you about a few upcoming events next sunday evening april 18th is our kids worship art spring musical faith news come support our kids and enjoy a reception to follow parents and grandparents on may 2nd we will host a parenting conference with dr joshua straub he will host a hot topic session in the morning titled cultivating family in the fruit of the spirit and continue with a full seminar in the evening titled cultivating an emotional and spiritual growth environment for your kids you will also be able to tune in online finally it is good to gather together to worship please help maintain a healthy environment for everyone and using our hand sanitizing stations for more information on everything happening at our church visit firstdallas.org events so many exciting events to look forward to here at first baptist dallas well our pastor's here and ready to introduce a very special guest with us this morning pastor well that's right tyler she is the chief legal correspondent and supreme court analyst for fox news she's also the anchor of the very popular fox news at night and now she is the author of a book that in two weeks has become a new york times bestseller the women of the bible speak would you join me in welcoming back to first dallas our friend shannon bream shannon great to have you thank you so much thank you it's such a treat to be here to worship in person is such a treat it's a blessing to be here thank you yeah i told shannon this week i was talking to the vice president vice president pence and he talked about shannon breme and what a bright witness for christ she is wherever she goes and he said everybody loves shannon breem and that's true shannon thank you for being such an emissary for the lord wherever you are and we really appreciate that it's always my hope and my goal that people will see him that's that's our mission and by the way your husband sheldon let's welcome sheldon is over here too shannon you've written a great book but i have to ask you of all of the topics you could have written about why did you choose the women of the bible and why now you know fox actually came to me and said we're thinking about doing something in this space would you be interested and we started to talk about ideas about women of the bible and i thought what a gift it is to do this because they're just some stories that we've people are familiar with mary the mother of jesus maybe queen esther people who wouldn't pick up the bible we want them to pick up this book and so you know these stories are fascinating on their own these women there's a reason god includes them in scripture throughout the old and new testament so my hope is that people will hear these stories and it's so for some people it'll be the first time but each of these women is fascinating and has important lessons for us some of them are very faithful from the beginning others are flawed they make some questionable decisions but i love including them as well because clearly god wanted us to see he can work through all of us even when we get off track when we're willing to come back he can work through all of that and redeem the messes and the mistakes we make as well you know it's interesting a lot of people are picking up this book they've never read a christian book before but they like fox news or they like shannon bremen this is their first entree really into the christian faith of all of the characters you chose here if you could only book one for your show fox news at night which one of these women would you choose i would say i probably changed day to day because there's so many good ones but really deborah i love from the old testament because she is a lesser known story for a lot of people especially those who are not people of faith or in the church but she was a judge when israel was in bad shape and they needed leadership she was revered and respected for her decision making for her guidance and at some point god says you're to go into battle against the canaanites and they're badly outmanned and she goes and calls her general barack to come in and she says god says we're going to go to battle against the canaanites and he says um i'll go if you go but if you don't go with us i'm not going i mean clearly on paper this didn't look like a good battle plan a good idea but she had faith and courage and she said okay we're gonna go but because of your hesitance the opposing general cicero the bad guy on the other side he'll actually be delivered into the hands of a woman and we see later that's yael so it's another woman um but deborah also after they have this great victory that's clearly the lord's intervention here she also leads this song of praise so i i love that she's sort of brave enough to go into battle she's sort of a praise of worship leader um and she was considered wise as a judge as well so i think it'd be fascinating to pick her brain you know it's one thing to have an interesting character but in your study which of these women inspired you the most personally which could you relate to or learn from the most i start the book with this story and we mentioned her again this woman that was in the gospel a number of times we don't know her name but we know she had this issue of bleeding or illness for 12 years and i love that when we meet her she's in a terrible place and her story is such a beautiful ending she had spent everything she had so there was nothing left for her financially no doctor had been able to help her but she'd heard about this jesus and so she thinks to herself if i could just get close enough to touch the hem of his garment that would be enough to heal me so immense faith from her and i shared um in my first book and when i was here last time that i went through a time of chronic pain and illness for years and going from doctor to doctor looking for answers so i've always had a soft spot in my heart for her and her story but what i learned in writing the book is that during those times she probably would have been very much isolated because of this illness she wouldn't have been worshipping in the temple or in the marketplaces or with crowds so for her to go to jesus in this crowd was a pretty bold gutsy move and the scriptures tell us as soon as she touched that hem of his garment she immediately was healed but jesus knew power had gone out from him as well and he turns around and says who touched me to one of his disciples who i'm sure was chuckling like sir you're in a crowd all the time people are always touching you um so he knew who it was and we're told in the gospel she fell down trembling before him she knew that she could be exposed he could have chastised her for being there even or for reaching out to him without asking for a miracle and he didn't do any of those things the first thing he says to her is daughter so he gives her complete compassion and acceptance and he says your faith has made you whole it's clearly his divine power but he credited her with her faith and in front of this crowd he telegraphed complete acceptance of her and i just think it's such a beautiful story of her faith and of christ's compassion yeah you know one of the things i have found is one thing that keeps a lot of people away from christianity or away from the bible is this myth that is still out there that somehow the bible treats women as second-class citizens your book dispels that what what did you learn and how jesus interacted with women that spoke to you yeah we have these uh 16 women that we look at but i included this last chapter about jesus's interaction with eight more women because i thought their stories were so important and to see that relationship you mentioned christ went to people who were outcasts who were unlovable i mean the woman caught in adultery where he has that famous line you without sin cast the first stone and he says to her who's left here to contend condemn you as they had all you know slunk away with their stones and left um and she said no one he says neither do i condemn you go and sin no more he doesn't um make any um quotation about that but he says i don't condemn you we see his conversation with the samaritan woman which was completely against every norm of the day and we see women who were close to him in his inner circle like mary and martha lazarus sisters mary magdalene others who studied with him all of those things would not have been normal for the day so he shows great respect for women great compassion we see real relationships always treating them as equals and pointing to them often times to the disciples to say look at this woman the woman who went and gave such a small amount but for her it was nearly everything he said this is the kind of person to emulate so he clearly thought women were equals they are in the image of god and that they were respected and revered by him now even though this book is about women it's not for women only what do you hope people men and women alike will take away from this book what is the message you want to communicate i think every one of these stories translates to 2021 these are very modern day problems we see real marriages we see sibling conflict we see illnesses financial trouble widowhood infertility all of those things translate to now so the same god who was working in all of these situations and in many of them there was a period of waiting of coming to god beseeching him being in prayer before him and he's not on our time schedule he has a perfect plan that's much better than ours we see in this book a couple of women who try to help god out you know we all do that sometimes like look at my plan let me help you out here is if you haven't considered this avenue and we see that all through the book so i think there are so many lessons that are timeless that um the same god who was working then is working in our lives now he sees us he hears our misery and our sorrows and over the last year everybody has had that on some level or multiple levels and so through the struggles of the last year he is faithful and consistent through all time and space and so i hope people will see that the way that he worked in these lives he is still there for us today shannon was nice enough to get up very early this morning and signed a number of copies of her book and for those of you here at first baptist dallas you can pick one up after the service great book to give us a gift to somebody mother's day is coming up soon as well in fact here is only one of the few places you can get the book right now because it's out of stock but we encourage you to pick up a copy of the women of the bible speak and for those of you watching at the first dallas high campus we encourage you to go to amazon barnes and noble or any of the e-tailers and order your copy of the women of the bible speak aren't you grateful to have a strong christian like shannon bremen the media shannon thanks so much for coming back again it was great thank you pastor and uh shannon and sheldon always good to have you with us to worship with us at first baptist it's time to read god's word now and what a joy it is to be able to read great instructions out of god's word that apply to us today we're reading ephesians 4 verses 29 through 32 and we will read from the new american standard bible and those will be the words you'll see on the screen in the worship center and for eye campus as well so that we can all read god's word together and the pastor will illuminate these verses as well in his message coming in his invincible series in just a few moments we stand to honor the reading god's word so i invite you to stand with us now if you will as we read ephesians chapter 4 beginning with verse 29 ending with verse 32. let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment that it may give grace to those who hear and do not grieve the holy spirit of god by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you along with all malice and be kind to one another tenderhearted forgiving each other just as god in christ also has forgiven you i think we ought to take that last verse with us all week long and see what a difference it will make in our lives in the lives of those around us may god bless the reading of his word you may be seated now as ben lavorne our executive pastor comes to lead us in prayer as we continue our worship this morning you'll have the opportunity to leave your ties and offerings in the boxes at the exits as you exit the worship center this morning during this time of commitment if you'd like to give online you can do so at first baptist firstalist.org forward slash give online you can also click the gl give link on the icampus but right now as we approach our father together i'll invite you as you're able to kneel all over the worship center as we go to the lord in prayer gracious heavenly father we rejoice as we come into your presence this morning lord we thank you for your abundant blessing for us lord for your indescribable your incomprehensible love for us for the joy of our salvation father we thank you that we can come to you in new creation that you have stripped off the filthy rags of our sin and clothed us in the righteousness of christ we thank you that we have an advocate before your throne our savior your son jesus christ in that we can be made useful as an instrument in the hands of the master lord as we've been reminded this morning we thank you that you use ordinary people to do extraordinary things for your glory and we pray that we would be useful to you lord we pray that you would work in our church and even as we give to you our tithes and our offerings lord we pray that you would use those resources and that you would use us to be a light to the world to share your love and to share your gospel to share what you have done in our lives so that others can come to a saving knowledge of your son jesus christ and we pray this in his name the name of jesus amen [Music] who can satisfy my soul like you who on earth could comfort me and love me like you do who could ever be more faithful true i will trust in you i will trust in you my god who can satisfy my soul like you do who on earth who could ever be more faithful true i will trust in you [Music] [Applause] who is [Music] foreign [Music] upon who could ever be more faithful true lord jesus lord jesus [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] is [Music] is [Music] [Applause] is [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] thank you so much leona rupert and marvelous first dallas choir and orchestra for your music today we welcome those of you who've joined us in our day one worship service as well as the multitudes watching around the world on our first dallas eye campus and the literally millions of you who watch on pathway to victory or listen we're so glad to have you worship with us today it's an old story but it's still one of my favorites about the man that was bitten by a dog that was later discovered to have rabies they rested the man to the hospital and discovered that he too had contracted the dread disease this was in the day before there was any cure for rabies so the doctor had the unfortunate task of telling his patient that his case was both incurable and terminal we'll try to make you as comfortable as possible the doctor said but i have to advise you you better get your affairs together quickly well the patient was stunned he couldn't believe it finally he summoned the strength to ask for a piece of paper and a pen and he began to write about an hour later the doctor checked back up on the patient and he saw that the man was still riding furiously the doctor said well i'm glad to see you're getting your will together the man looked up and said doc this ain't no will it's a list of all the people i'm going to bite before i die you know we all carry around a list like that in our heads don't we a list of people would like to bite or at least get even with before we die your list might include a friend who betrayed you a mate who deserted you an employer who mistreated you perhaps your list even includes a relative who abused you now the fact is we can't control the hurts that come into our life have you discovered that you cannot control what other people do to you we have no control over that what we do control is our response to those hurts that are committed against us hebrews chapter 12 verse 15 says see to it that no one of you comes short of the grace of god that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble and by it many be defiled when hurts come into your life god gives you a measure of grace but you can receive or resist that grace you can either use that grace to let go of that hurt or offense or you can make the choice to hang on to that offense until it metastasizes into a tumor of bitterness i'll have to say in 40 plus years of ministry i think the number one issue by far that i've seen that people struggle with is this whole issue of forgiveness what am i going to do about the offenses that come into my life you know when i talk about forgiveness being the bottom line issue in life i'm talking about either receiving god's forgiveness for sins you've committed or extending that same forgiveness to other people in our series invincible we're talking about the ten mountains that separate us from the blessed life that god has for each of us in the bible a mountain many times represents an impossible situation and jesus said if you have the faith of a mustard seed you can move a mountain what he's talking about is the ability to not necessarily pick up and actually literally move a mountain but to conquer it and today we're going to talk about how to conquer the mountain of bitterness and the only way to do that is by moving from bitterness to forgiveness if you have your bibles turn to ephesians chapter 4. i want to talk first of all about the root cause of bitterness what is it that causes us to be bitter two words unresolved anger unresolved anger is the source of bitterness in fact i put a little formula on your outline to remember unresolved anger plus time equals bitterness now what do we mean by anger write down this definition anger is the natural physical and emotional reaction to a perceived injustice anger is the natural physical and emotional reaction to a perceived injustice first would you notice that anger is natural do you know the reason you get angry because you were made in the image of god genesis 1 27 god gets angry and that's why we get angry and that's going to surprise some of you but the fact is whether you're a christian or not you've been made in the image of god now it's true sin has marred that image it's defiled it but there is still a residue of the image of god in every human being and that's why we get angry we're made in the image of god if you look in the old testament the word anger is used 475 times in the old testament 355 of those times it refers to the anger of god god gets angry and so we get angry now if you're thinking well that's that old testament god he's not present anymore i choose to go with the new testament god jesus christ who never got angry oh really look at his reaction to the pharisees his harshest words were for the pharisees the religious hypocrites look at what he did to the money changers in the temple the fact is we get angry because god gets angry secondly anger is based on perceived injustice what makes us angry is perceived in justice as we are worshiping here today at first baptist dallas there is a major trial going on shannon covers it almost every night there's a word said about it about a minneapolis police officer who extinguished the life of another person you can't help but watch that video and grow angry there's something inherently wrong about what we're seeing the reason we get angry is because we're created in the image of god we know that's not right now notice i said a perceived injustice sometimes we get angry over situations we don't have all the information about that's what the defense in this trial is going to argue yeah that's what you see on the videotape but there's more to the story than that maybe there is maybe there isn't but the point is when we perceive that an injustice has occurred we grow angry and thirdly note that anger always deserves and results in a response it's a response a physical and emotional response let me ask you a question is love wrong well it depends when you think about it if you talk about loving your mate loving your child loving god no love isn't wrong but if you're talking about loving somebody else's mate if you're talking about loving greed or loving pornography yes that's wrong it's the same thing with anger is anger wrong it depends in how it is expressed in ephesians 4 verses 26 and 27 paul writes be angry and yet do not sin do not let the sun go down on your anger and do not give the devil an opportunity be angry and yet don't sin isn't that an interesting verse did you know nowhere in scripture is there a verse that says be lustful but don't sin or be greedy but don't sin those things are inherently wrong anger whether it's right or wrong depends upon how it is expressed in a companion book to ephesians colossians chapter 3 verse 8 paul writes by now but now you also put them all aside anger wrath malice slander abusive speech from your mouth anger is the bottom line term here the reaction we have to perceived injustice but anger can express itself correctly or incorrectly paul lists all the incorrect ways to express anger through wrath or malice let's just take those first two wrath and malice what is the difference between wrath and malice every time i read this verse i can't help but think of the story of bill and tom friends who were having coffee at an all-night diner and about one o'clock in the morning they were philosophizing and bill was talking about and tom about the difference between irritation anger and rage and bill said let me show you the difference pulled out a cell phone put it on speakerphone and called a random number one o'clock in the morning the person on the other end answers grogly and bill says is jones there person says there's nobody named jones here and he hangs up the phone bill said to his friend that that is irritation let me show you anger he calls the same number again person answers is jones there i told you there's nobody named jones here he slams down the phone bill said to tom now that is anger you want to see what rage is he calls one more time the phone rings and rings and rings and finally the person picks up what do you want bill says this is jones has anybody been calling for me [Applause] there's a difference between anger irritation rage let me show you the difference in the scripture here wrath he said put it all aside wrath wrath is the outward expression of anger a wrath comes from a greek word that means to erupt it could be translated rage have you ever had somebody say the wrong thing to you and just hit the wrong button and your mouth is like vesuvius i mean you start letting out all of this vial and venom and so forth we talk about people going into a blind rage that's one way anger can express itself but another way is through malice you know what malice is it's that underground hatred for another person sometimes when somebody hurts us or wrongs us we don't want to express it outwardly we know it's not in our best interest to do it if it's our mate or an employer but we turn that anger inward and malice probably is best described as that desire to hurt another person for hurting you anytime you get a chance to speak against that person you do anytime you get a chance to act against that person that you do it's that low grade but very real hatred of another person and if you allow that malice to stay in your heart over a long period of time it turns into a tumor of bitterness that destroys not only you but it destroys everything and everyone that you come in contact with what are the consequences of unresolved anger of bitterness look at the physical consequences my friend and late christian psychiatrist dr frank minorith wrote that anger creates through or diminishes the lymphocytes in your body which results in decreased antibodies necessary to fight off infectious diseases dr minerath wrote pent up anger is probably the leading cause of death in america isn't that interesting unresolved anger bitterness is the leading cause of death in america there are emotional consequences to bitterness the greek word in the scripture for bitterness is the three-letter word pick p-i-c and that's a perfect description of what bitterness is instead of releasing a hurt and wrong committed against you you continue to pick at it and relive it over and over again that's why the writer of hebrews said again hebrews 12 15 see to it that no one comes short of the grace of god that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble and by it many will be defiled james garfield had been president of the united states for only about four months when he was shot in the back by a man carrying a revolver on july the second 18-81 and while president garfield remained conscious doctors tried to probe the wound looking for that bullet to retrieve it but they were unsuccessful in finding it garfield clung to life throughout the months of july and august he finally died in september of 1881. why did he die not because of the gunshot wound itself but from the infection that was caused by the constant probing of that wound by the doctors that's what happens when you make the choice to instead of releasing a hurt holding on to it probing it reliving it over and over again every time you relive that hurt you're allowing your enemy to hurt you yet again one of the greatest illustrations of the emotional consequences of bitterness it's found in charles dickens classic novel great expectations did you ever read great expectations in college or in high school if so you remember the unforgettable character miss havisham miss havisham when she was in the prime of her life was engaged to be married the date was set the wedding ceremony was going to be at nine o'clock in the morning she put on her bright white wedding dress there was a big reception scheduled at her parents estate after the wedding ceremony when the morning came the church was filled with friends and family members miss havisham was in her white dress and at ten minutes till nine word came to her that her fiance would not be coming he had fallen in love with another woman and had decided to marry her days months years passed but not for miss havisham dickinson said dickens said time stopped for her at ten minutes till nine when that word from her fiance came from that point on all of the clocks in her mansion were set to ten minutes until nine that's the moment her life changed and for years every morning she would get up and put on that wedding dress that she was planning to be married in as the years passed that wedding dress became tattered and yellowed with age for decades the cake and the food that had been planned for the reception was laid out on the tables and never removed on a web-covered table what remained of the reception feast now sat rotten and covered in mold rodents scurried in and out of the room that was to have hosted the party many years later miss havisham said to a visitor on this day of the year long before you were born this heap of decay was brought here it and i have worn away together the mice have gnawed at it and sharper teeth than the teeth of mice have gnawed at me what bitterness does it gnaws at your soul but the physical and emotional consequences of bitterness pale in comparison to the spiritual consequences of bitterness what are the spiritual consequences of bitterness jesus used a great story to illustrate those consequences we've talked about it before the story in matthew 18. the parable jesus told about a slave who owed his king 10 000 talents of gold a talent was 70 to 80 pounds i did the calculation one time ten thousand talents of gold would be about sixteen billion dollars in today's uh went outside and he found a fellow slave of his who owed him it's impossible to forgive those you're not first willing to blame secondly trust in the sovereignty of god joseph didn't hesitate to blame his brothers but notice what else he said as for you you meant it for evil but god meant it for good in order to bring about this present result and to preserve many people alive joseph was saying yes you were wrong but guess what the god i serve is bigger than you are the god i serve was able to take the worst thing that you could have done to me and he used it for good you remember what the good was because he was in a place of power in egypt when a famine came he was in the position to make sure his brothers and his dad who were the nucleus of the nation of israel didn't starve to death had there not been any brothers and any father there never would have been a savior of the world jesus christ who hundreds of years later would come to save us from our sins you meant it for evil but god used it for good joseph lived to see the good that came out of what his brothers did to him he wasn't saying there was anything good in what his brothers did he was saying god used it for good joseph was fortunate enough to see the good that came out of his brother's hurt many times we go through our entire life without ever seeing any good from the hurt that came into us came into our lives but we still trust in the sovereignty of god ladies and gentlemen let me say this as clearly as i know how to say it you will never be able to forgive other people until you believe in a god who's bigger than your enemies a god who is so powerful he can cause all things to work together for good to those who love god and those who are called according to his purpose i want to be very careful here because i know this is a highly sensitive topic for some of you here some of you watching maybe you are the victim of abuse maybe abuse you experienced as a child people i've talked to who have gone through that have said i just can't believe in a god who would have the power to have prevented that abuse or stop it and didn't do so i understand that emotion but what's the alternative if you don't believe in a god who could have stopped the abuse or permitted it then you're left with a god who is not all-powerful is there really any comfort in trusting a god who would like to stop evil but just doesn't have the power to be able to do that if that's the kind of god you choose to believe in then that makes you and me victims of a random universe that means we're victims of whatever people want to do to us and it has no purpose we're victims of circumstances that conspire against us we're the victim of random cancer cells that choose to multiply is there any comfort in believing we live in a random universe or is there comfort in believing in a god who never wills evil but still has the power to take the worst things that happened to us and use them for our good and for his glory you'll never find peace with your circumstances until you believe in a god who is bigger than the circumstances and the people in your life god causes all things to work together for good to those who love him and those called according to his purpose third how do you move from bitterness to forgiveness admit your own failures and receive god's forgiveness admit your own failures and receive god's forgiveness ladies and gentlemen you cannot give away something you don't have to begin with if you find it impossible to forgive that other person it may be because you have never received god's forgiveness in your life you know i like to explain it this way every one of us in our minds has what i call the guilt blame seesaw you all remember riding the seesaw when you were children you know how the seesaw works you get on one end the friend gets on the other end and as long as the weight is evenly distributed you stay in balance but remember what happened when that kid would suddenly jump off his end of the seesaw what happened you come crashing down right we had that same kind of see-saw in our minds i call it the guilt-blamed see-saw we all have a certain amount of guilt whether we realize it or not for the things we've done we know we're wrong so we're sitting with our guilt on one end the only way to balance that is to blame other people for something else as long as we're blaming other people we're able to keep our guilt in check but when you ask somebody to forgive another person that's like asking the other person to hop off the seesaw and you're left with your guilt alone and you come crashing down no the only way to get rid of your blame without crashing in your own life is to also remove your guilt and that's what becoming a christian is all about when you trust in christ as your savior you admit you're flawed you're sinful when you trust in christ for your salvation you're getting rid of your guilt and at the same time getting rid of your blame toward other people now that's not psychological mumbo jumbo that's exactly what paul talked about in ephesians 4 32 the passage we just read be kind to one another tenderhearted forgiving one another just as god in christ has forgiven you you can never forgive somebody else without first receiving god's forgiveness in your life and finally how do you move from bitterness to forgiveness by actually choosing to forgive your offender just as there is a point in time when you have to choose to trust in christ for your forgiveness there comes a time when you choose to forgive another person again that word forgive means to release to let go of when you forgive somebody listen to this you're not letting go of your memory of that event trying to forget is impossible that's a biological effect that's not a spiritual effect you're not diminishing what somebody else did to you hey you're not even giving up your desire to see somebody pay the consequences for what they did we all desire justice that's because we're made in the enemy image of god no what you do when you forgive is you're letting go of your right to settle the score you're letting go of your right to hurt somebody else for hurting you what you're saying is god i don't want to carry this around any longer i'm releasing to this person to you to let you do what you think is best so that i can be free to get on with my life and guess what that's a decision you can make right now regardless of what that other person does or doesn't do in mark 11 25 jesus said whenever you stand praying forgive if you have anything against anyone so that your father who is in heaven will also forgive you of your transgressions if you're here in church this morning if you're sitting at your laptop watching or watching on television you have the ability where you are right now to let go of that offense you don't have to wait till your offender ask for your forgiveness you don't have to wait until they earn your forgiveness jesus says let go of it let me deal with it let me remove that mountain of bitterness so that you can enjoy the blessed life that i have planned for you and you know when you make that choice to let go to forgive an amazing thing happens the late louis meads wrote when we forgive we set the prisoner free and the prisoner we set free is us let's bow together in a word of prayer it's impossible to give to somebody else well you haven't received yourself and so i realize there are some of you here today some of you watching this program maybe one reason you're finding it difficult to give forgiveness is you've never received god's forgiveness for your sins remember the difference between how much that person has hurt you and how much you and i have hurt god is the difference between 16 and 16 billion dollars are you ready to admit your shortcomings your sin and trust in christ as your savior it's so simple to do all you have to do is say god i know i'm a sinner i know i deserve your punishment but i believe that jesus died for me to pay the debt i owe for my sins and right now i'm trusting in him for my forgiveness the bible says if you'll say that even right now to god doesn't matter what you've done how long you've done it god will wipe the record clean he will give you that gift of eternal life but i also realize many of you watching right now you've already made that decision to receive god's forgiveness your challenge is forgiving somebody else who is wrong you since i began preaching this message 30 minutes ago maybe god has brought to mind to somebody in your life you need to forgive the most important decision you could make right now is that choice to forgive that other person and so this is the prayer that i want to lead you in if you're ready to experience the freedom that comes from forgiveness if you're ready to get rid of that mountain of bitterness that has been blocking you from god's blessings in your life if you're ready to move from bitterness to forgiveness i want to invite you to pray this simple prayer with me dear god you know how much and then put the person's name in your prayer how much they've hurt me you know the effect it's had on my life but god today i'm making the choice to forgive to let go of that hurt to let you deal with that person and today i'm not forgiving because they've asked for my forgiveness or they deserve my forgiveness i'm choosing to forgive because you have forgiven me of the unspeakable father i'm choosing to forgive today so that i can be free to get on with the life that you want me to experience father whenever i begin to think about that hurt again remind me that on this date today on april the 11th 2021 i made the choice to let go of that hurt in my life in jesus name now with every head bowed every eye closed nobody looking around i'm not going to ask you to come forward or anything like that but if you made that choice to forgive would you just raise your hand briefly where i can see and pray for you many many many many many of you god bless you as you do that father take these decisions and sanctify them for your purpose in jesus name amen for those of you watching online today if you prayed either the pray a prayer to trust in christ for your salvation or you prayed to forgive somebody else go to your screen the top of the screen i prayed the prayer with dr jeffers just click on that and i'll be notified of your decision you don't have to wait another moment you can do that right now and we'll spend you send you some special material free of charge of what it means to live as a christian for those of you who are here today with us let me encourage you to take out the card that is in your bulletin and especially for those of you who prayed the prayer to trust in christ as your savior check that third box if you would uh if you're a guest today check the first box maybe you want more information about first dallas you can check that second box or even if you'd like to join the church in these waning days of the pandemic we're still joining by card and if you'd like to join our church check that final box as well when you have completed the cards uh take them with you drop them off at the welcome center and we will exchange your card for a copy of my brand new devotional a place called heaven devotional 100 days of living in the hope of eternity it is my gift to you simply for visiting first baptist today if you don't want to stop at the welcome center uh just drop it off in one of the orange boxes on the way out we'll process the card and get the information to you and the book this week thank you so much for doing that and everybody remember to go out to the book table on the concourse right outside the worship center to get your copy of shannon brings book the women of the bible speak shannon signed those early this morning and you'll want to have your copy remember it makes a great mother's day gift as well so i hope you'll get a copy today speaking of special uh guests you may have seen on the imag screen that on sunday may 23rd judge kenneth starr is going to be here with us you may not know judge starr actually worships with us whenever he's in dallas he's going to be in our second service today and he's going to be here to talk about his new book on religious liberty so mark that date down as well sunday may 23rd but would you join me one more time and saying thank you to our great friend shannon and sheldon green for coming today thank you all for being with us hope you have a great rest of the week we'll look forward to seeing you next sunday let's stand together as tyler comes to lead us in our final song thank you pastor let's worship together as we close singing his praise this is our story this is my story this is my story this is [Music] god bless you church i campus family thank you so much for being here today and joining us in worship we hope that you are blessed by today's service make sure to invite your friends family and loved ones to join you each and every week right here on the first dallas i campus also stay connected with us all week long on our social media channels and join our new icampus global facebook group to know what's going on right here at first baptist dallas we love you guys so much and we'll see you next week hi i'm robert jeffress pastor of first baptist church in dallas we are so excited to have you join us on the i campus today for a time of inspiring worship and biblical teaching you are part of a vast online community gathered from all over the world we consider you a part of our first baptist church family and we hope you feel a part of what god is doing in and through first baptist dallas no matter where you are we hope and pray that this is a time you will grow in your relationship with god and others as we worship our savior together welcome to worship [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] good morning and welcome to worship at first baptist dallas it's great to see you let's stand together we welcome guests eye campus viewers joining us blessing joyful joyful joyful joyful we adore you god of glory lord love hearts unfold like flowers [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] you are the who says [Music] you are giving and forgiving [Music] ocean depths of happiness [Music] you are [Music] [Applause] is you are my rescue jesus you are my rescue i give you everything i am jesus jesus you are my rescue jesus you are my rescue i give you everything i am [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] you [Music] happy bread [Music] [Applause] [Music] from [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] praise the lord he takes away the sins of the world he's our father our savior we worship him today let's declare this truth [Music] our father everlasting thee all creating one god almighty through your holy spirit conceiving christ the son jesus our savior [Music] i believe in god our father i believe in christ the son i believe in the holy spirit our god is three in one i believe in the resurrection that we will rise again [Applause] jesus yes we believe [Music] high [Music] is [Music] i believe in the holy spirit our god is [Music] again i believe that jesus christ [Music] is [Music] that jesus christ is [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] yes we believe in the name that match this name of jesus i believe in life eternal i believe in the virgin birth i believe in the saints communion and in your holy church i believe in the resurrection when jesus comes again for i believe in the name of jesus i believe in life [Music] [Applause] foreign [Music] the is [Music] jesus amen we believe this morning incredible worship church you may be seated and let's turn our attention to the baptistry well church family we have the joy of observing the ordinance of baptism today and it is my privilege to baptize my youngest daughter this is vivian felton and vivian trusted jesus as her savior over a year ago and she has been eagerly and patiently awaiting this day when she can testify of her faith to you by following the lord in baptism so vivian because you've trusted jesus as your savior and in obedience to the lord's command i baptize you in the name of the father the son and the holy spirit we're buried with christ in the likeness of his death and raised to walk in the new way of life [Applause] amen we welcome everyone to first baptist dallas for worship today and if you're a guest with us thank you for joining us both here in the room this morning as well as on icampus we have a very special gift just for you it's our pastor is best selling a place called heaven devotional 100 days of living in the hope of eternity and guest as you came in this morning you received a worship guide you'll find enclosed this guest card please take the time to fill this out and keep the card with you at the conclusion of the service take it outside these main worship center doors you'll find the welcome center and our staff is waiting there for you to exchange your completed card for your gift today as well as answer any questions you might have regarding our church you can't make it to the welcome center you'll find some orange receptacles on your way out you can slip the card in one of those we'll mail you a copy of your gift guests joining us on icampus follow the link on your screen as well for your gift again it's great to see each and every one of you joining us today for worship lots of exciting events are taking place here at first dallas so let's all take a look together at the screen [Music] good morning we are so thankful to be with you in worship today we have an exciting spring ahead and want to take a moment to tell you about a few upcoming events next sunday evening april 18th is our kids worship art spring musical faith news come support our kids and enjoy a reception to follow parents and grandparents on may 2nd we will host a parenting conference with dr joshua straub he will host a hot topic session in the morning titled cultivating family in the fruit of the spirit and continue with a full seminar in the evening titled cultivating an emotional and spiritual growth environment for your kids you will also be able to tune in online finally it is good to gather together to worship please help maintain a healthy environment for every whole distancing and using our hand sanitizing stations for more information on everything happening at our church visit first dallas.org events so many exciting events to look forward to here at first baptist dallas well our pastor's here and ready to introduce a very special guest with us this morning pastor that's right tyler she is the chief legal correspondent supreme court analyst for fox news and she's host of the very popular fox news at night she's also the author of what has become in two weeks a new york times bestseller the women of the bible speak would you join me in welcoming our good friend shannon bream welcome shannon good to have you with us i told shannon this week i was talking to our former vice president he said i am a huge shannon breen fan because everywhere she goes she radiates jesus christ and i know all of our people feel that way as well thank you for being such a strong presence for christ wherever you are thank you and we're excited about your new book man two weeks and every store is out of it nobody i hate to tell you we sold out all of the books in the first service there are no books here but you can get it at amazon.com women of the bible why this book and why right now shannon you know fox actually came to me about writing this book and they had some ideas and i was thrilled to have the opportunity to do this and we started to talk about who to include and how to put this together and if you've grown up in church you'll know a lot of these stories i heard them in sunday school in church growing up but there are a lot of people who won't pick up a bible and so we thought these stories are fascinating they're page turners on their own we don't have to add a thing to them but we'll put them in this collection we'll study them together and give people an opportunity to find out about these amazing women i learned a lot in the process even though i knew these stories about queen esther or mary the mother of jesus but we tried to include a good variety for people who might not pick up a bible but they'll pick up this book you have 16 women that you talk about and you've paired them interestingly if you could only select one of these 16 women to book for fox news at night for an interview which one would you choose i've told you this i would change day to day because i think they're all so fascinating um but i really think deborah would be a great interview this is somebody who was a judge she was in leadership over the nation of israel at a time that they'd gotten themselves into a really difficult place we all know the story just as in our own lives that israel had wandered away from god they were asking for help and she was there settling their disputes answering their questions and at one point got the word from god you're gonna go into battle against the canaanites terribly oppressing the israelites treating them awfully but they very much outmanned them out gunned them they had 900 chariots they were known for and israel didn't have that they didn't have the materials they didn't have the artisans to do those kinds of things um so on paper this did not look good so when deborah calls up her top general barack and says the lord has told us we're going into battle against the canaanites he says i'll go if you go with me if you don't go i'm not going he clearly thought on paper this did not look like a good idea but debra was faithful and she was obedient which i think is a real challenge to watch that the world would have said this is a fool's errand but she knew god was sending them and so they went they were victorious and part of the story that i love the scripture does include that it rained so heavily the lord sent so much rain those chariots were no good because their wheels all got stuck uh and the israelites had a resounding victory over um because of a part of deborah's faithfulness over the canaanites you know it's one thing to be interesting but i'm sure as you studied these 16 women one spoke to you the most and probably inspired you the most which one was it and why yeah there's a woman that i like so much we we use her twice in the book we actually open the book with her because she's the woman from the gospels we don't know her name she was clearly important her story to be included she had a suffering of an illness an issue of bleeding for 12 years and when we meet her we find out she's penniless now she's gone from doctor to doctor she's spent everything that she had no one was able to heal her so i think about how destitute she must have been at that point and what i learned in the book as well in writing the book uh is that in the customs of those times she probably was very isolated too like many of us have felt during the pandemic stuck at home and um unable to be with other people in our faith communities um she wouldn't have been in the market places she wouldn't have been around crowds because she would have been considered unclean so she hears about jesus and she decides that she's going to step out on faith thinking if i just can get to this person and touch the hem of his garment that will heal me and i've been open in my first book and when i've been here before about a chronic illness and a long journey with living with daily pain that i had going from doctor to doctor so i've always felt great kinship in her story um and so she goes and she finds christ he's in a crowd she touches him and the scripture tells us immediately she was healed but jesus also knew what had happened that power had gone out from him he turns around and says who touched me and to one of his disciples i hear the laughter in his voice where he's sort of saying you're in a crowd all the time people are always touching you but he knew it was something different and so we're told in the gospels that she was trembling she fell down before him because she's now completely exposed and instead of berating her for being there for leaving her home for reaching out to touch him without permission to touch his garment he instead turns to her and says the word daughter in every account we see that's the very first thing he says to her telegraphing to everyone complete acceptance of her and he gives her credit he says your faith has made you whole it was clearly his divine power but i just love the compassion that he has for her i've always identified with her story and he is always aware of our pain he has timing and he has a plan and he knew that day that he would cross paths with her and she would be healed because of her faith that's great you know one reason i'm so enthusiastic about your book is it dispels a myth that a lot of people have about the bible and about christianity that keeps them away from faith and it's the myth that the bible treats women as second-class citizens uh what did you learn especially from the study of how jesus interacted with women that spoke to you and that we all need to be reminded of such a great point because we see in his relationships with women throughout the new testament that they were peers they were friends they were part of his inner circle they studied with him um we have the story of mary and martha the two sisters of lazarus who were very close to jesus they were close friends and i think about the fact that mary studied at his feet and in those days um the religious instruction and somebody an exalted rabbi that jesus would have been considered a teacher in those days um generally that would have been reserved for men to learn with them but he always treated women in his circle as true friends and with great respect and created in the image of god i mean equal and so we see him go to a lot of women too in the bible who were outcasts from society the woman who was caught in adultery um who was there facing being stoned to death and saying to these men jesus did um you without sin cast the first stone and that leaves none of us none of us were left there and so they each walk away and he says there's no one left to condemn you i don't condemn you turn from your sin but i don't condemn you we see his interaction with the samaritan woman at the well which again broke every norm of the day in so many different ways but the fact that he gave them great compassion he the message was clear turn from your sin but um there was compassion there was acceptance there was forgiveness and i just love to see his interactions with these women especially because um they weren't the norm well now this is a book about women but it's not just for women whether it's a woman or man reading the book what's the one takeaway you want the reader to get from this book i think all of the problems we see in the book are timeless we see real marriages real marriages that had trouble we see sibling rivalries we see illnesses and infertility and widowhood problems that we have today in 2021 and after the last year that everybody's been through so much pain and anxiety and loss i think seeing god work in their stories over time centuries ago reminds us he's the same god today whether we're male or female whatever our background or our challenge is he's working in that and we include women as the bible does who are flawed who make very questionable decisions um we have tamar in here which is not an easy sunday school story to tell we have rahab the harlot and i wanted to include all these women to show that just like us they sin they make bad decisions they're flawed god works through all of it and we're willing to come to him with our mistakes and with our messes he can redeem them and use them for his purposes and i think that's true um whatever our background and wherever we're coming from so um the book is not sanitized just as these people weren't sanitized in the bible so we do share a lot of the men's stories along with the women's um to show that god works through all of us great and small well that's a great message we all need to have and i really highly recommend the book it's great by the way for mother's day coming up to give a book to somebody you care about i just wish we had some here to sell but we sold out but let me say to those of you here at first baptist or those of you watching online right now you can go to amazon.com barnes and noble or any of the e-tailers to get a copy of the book again it's the women of the bible speak the wisdom of 16 women and their lessons for today by shannon breme shannon thank you for coming today let's show our appreciation to shannon and her husband sheldon for being here with us today [Applause] thank you pastor and thank you shannon and sheldon for being with us it's always a delight to have you with us in worship it's time to read god's word and we're reading today ephesians 4 verses 29 through 32 from the new american standard bible those will be the words you'll see on the screen here in our worship center and for eye campus as well and the pastor will illuminate these verses uh in his message coming up in his series invincible in just a few minutes we stand on to the reading of god's word so i invite you to stand with us as we read ephesians chapter 4 beginning with verse 29 ending with verse 32 let no unwholesome word proceed out of your mouth but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment that it may give grace to those who hear and do not grieve the holy spirit of god by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you along with all malice and be kind to one another tenderhearted forgiving each other just as god in christ also has forgiven you i wonder what hap would happen if we took that last verse read it every day and live that way for the next week or two or beyond i believe god would honor that in our lives and it would impress the people around us as well of god's great power and love well if you'll be seated now ben lavorne our executive pastor is coming as we prepare to dedicate our gifts to god at this time was we continue our worship during this time of commitment this morning in just a moment we'll go to the lord in prayer together now you'll of course have the opportunity to leave your tithes and offerings in the boxes as you exit the worship service this morning or you can give online at firstdallas.org forward slash give online or simply by clicking the link on the icampus platform but right now as we approach our lord together i'll invite you as you're able to kneel all over the worship center gracious heavenly father we rejoice as we come into your presence this morning lord and we thank you for your abundant blessings that you've poured out upon us lord we thank you for your indescribable your incomprehensible love for us lord we thank you for the joy of our salvation and even for the opportunity to come together as brothers and sisters in christ and worship you corporately here in the worship center and also online lord we thank you that when we come before you we approach you as a new creation that you have stripped away the filthy garments of sin and you have clothed us in the righteousness of jesus christ we thank you that he stands for us as an advocate before your throne and that you make us useful in your service as instruments in the hands of our master lord we pray that you would use us that you would work through our lives and through our church that even our tithes and our offerings would be used to advance your kingdom and for your glory lord may we stand as a beacon of truth as agents of light that share your love and your gospel and your mercy and your forgiveness with the world we pray this this morning lord in the saving name of jesus christ amen [Music] who can satisfy my soul like you who on earth could comfort me and love me like you do who could ever be more faithful true i will trust in you i will trust in you my [Music] who on earth [Music] i will trust in you my god [Music] [Applause] [Music] up [Music] who could ever be so faithful true lord jesus [Applause] [Music] is [Music] is [Music] oh [Applause] [Music] is [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] there is [Applause] [Applause] everything [Applause] [Music] hey [Music] [Applause] [Music] thank you so much leona rupert and tremendous first dallas choir and orchestra for your music today we want to welcome the multitude of you who are watching on our first dallas eye campus from all 195 countries around the world and to the literally millions of you who are watching us on television or listening on radio on pathway to victory we're so glad you joined us for worship today it's an old story but it's still one of my favorites the story about the man who was bitten by a dog that was later discovered to have rabies they rushed the man to the hospital and did test and discovered that he too had contracted the dreaded disease this was in the day before there was any cure for rabies so the doctor had the choice of informing his patient that his case was both terminal and incurable we'll try to do everything we can the doctor said to make you comfortable but i strongly urge you to get your affairs together as quickly as possible well the patient was stunned he couldn't believe it finally he summoned the strength to ask for some paper and a pen and he began to write as fast as he could about an hour later the doctor came by to check up on his patient and he saw that the man was still riding the doctor said well i'm glad to see you're getting your will together the man looked up and said doc this ain't no will it's a list of all the people i'm going to bite before i die you know we all carry around a list like that in our minds don't we people we want to bite or at least get even with before we die your list might include an employer who has mistreated you maybe your friend who betrayed you maybe a mate who abandoned you possibly even a relative who abused you have you discovered that you cannot control what other people do to you as hard as you try you cannot control what people do to you but you can control your response to those hurts that come into your life you can either release them let them go or you can hold over onto them and turn them over and over again in your heart until they metastasize into a tumor of bitterness that's why the writer of hebrews said in hebrews 12 15 see to it that no one of you comes short of the grace of god that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble and by it many be defiled bitterness is a deadly acid that not only destroys the container in which it's kept the heart but when it seeps out it destroys everyone and everything it comes into contact with i can tell you after 40 years of being in ministry i would say the number one issue christians and non-christians struggle with is the issue of forgiveness either receiving god's forgiveness for their own sins or extending that forgiveness to others who wronged them in our series invincible we're talking about conquering the ten mountains that separate you from the blessed life god has planned for you in the bible a mountain was a metaphor for impossible situations remember jesus said if you have the faith of a mustard seed you can do what you can move mountains now obviously that was hyperbole but he was saying you don't have to be victims of impossible situations you can conquer those mountains that separate you from the abundant life jesus promised you and today we're going to discover how to conquer how to scale the mountain of bitterness by moving from bitterness to forgiveness i can say without any hesitancy that no decision you make affects your physical emotional or spiritual health any more than the issue we're talking about today moving from bitterness to forgiveness if you have your bibles turn to ephesians chapter four ephesians chapter four first of all what is the source of bitterness two words unresolved anger in fact on your outline i put a little uh formula that will help you understand bitterness and its cause unresolved anger plus time equals bitterness now what is anger anger is the natural physical and emotional reaction to perceived injustice it is a natural physical and emotional reaction to a perceived injustice notice three components of that definition of anger first of all anger is natural do you know the reason you get angry it's because you're made in the image of god who gets angry genesis 1 27 says god created men and women in his image and although sin that came into the world in genesis 3 although sin has certainly tainted and marred the image of god there's still a remnant of that image that exists not only in christians but in non-christians alike and the reason that we get angry is because god gets angry did you know in the hebrew old testament the word anger in hebrew is used 475 times 355 of those times it refers to the anger of god god is a god who becomes angry over many things including injustice now for those of you who say well that's just the old testament god i like the god of the new testament better jesus because he never got angry oh really read again i mean he got angry at the religious hypocrites the pharisees he overturned the money changers and their tables in the temple he got angry over injustice and that's why we get angry secondly anger is based on perceived injustice we get angry when we perceive an injustice has occurred for those of you watching on television right now as we worship there's a trial going on that has captivated the american attention it is over a police officer in minneapolis who is accused of murdering a suspect who was in his custody and uh when we watched that video of that officer kneeling on this man's neck for nine minutes there is something about it that causes all of us to be repulsed we look at that and we say how could such a thing be we get angry because of the injustice now the defense is going to argue we don't have all of the story and that's why i say we get angry over perceived injustice maybe we don't have all the information maybe we do but whenever we perceive an injustice has been done we get angry and then the third component of this definition anger always results in a response anger has to express itself it always results in a response let me ask you a question is love wrong well it depends doesn't it if you're talking about loving your mate loving god loving your children no love isn't wrong it's right but if you're talking about loving somebody else's mate or loving greed or loving pornography then love is wrong it depends but notice about anger you could say the same thing is anger wrong well it depends in ephesians chapter 4 verses 26 and 27 look at this paul says be angry and yet do not sin do not let the sun go down on your anger and do not give the devil an opportunity isn't that interesting be angry but don't sin never in the bible does it say be lustful but don't sin or be greedy but don't sin greed and lust are always wrong but not anger it depends upon how we respond to that anger in the companion book of the new testament the book of colossians paul explains this about anger and the natural responses of it in colossians 3 8 he writes but now you also put them all aside anger wrath malice slander abusive speech from your mouth now anger is a general term every other word here is an expression of an anger you can respond to anger with wrath or with malice or with slander or abusive speech let's just look at these first two expressions of anger put them all aside anger wrath and malice bill and tom were two friends who were drinking coffee at an all-night diner it was about one o'clock in the morning and they got to philosophizing and they were talking about the difference between irritation anger and rage and bill said to his friend let me show you the difference between the three he said let me show you irritation he picked up his cell phone put it on speaker phone and dialed a random number one o'clock in the morning person on the other end groggily answered hello bill said is jones there there's nobody named jones here and he slammed the phone down bill said to his friend now that's irritation let me show you anger about five minutes later he calls the same number is jones there i told you there's nobody named jose he slams down the phone bill said now that is anger now let me show you rage he calls the same number for a third time the phone rings and rings and rings and rings and finally the person answers what do you want now bill said this is jones have there been any calls for me there's a difference between wrath and malice when you get angry or angry you're going to respond sometimes you respond with wrath that word wrath is the word we get rage from have you ever had somebody say just the wrong thing to you at the wrong time it's just like it pushed a button the wrong button on you and all of a sudden your mouth became like mount vesuvius you started spreading and spilling out this venom i mean that's that's what we call rage we talk about people in a blind rage they can't even control themselves but other times when you get angry with somebody better sense prevails maybe it's with an employer or a mate and you decide to internalize that feeling of anger that's what malice is malice is that inward ill will you feel for another person you're not overtly angry with them in fact people brag on you for how well you're controlling your anger but inside your seething and you look for any opportunity to act or speak against the other person or to do them ill that's malice and the bible says if you contain malice in your heart for a long enough period of time that turns in to bitterness make no mistake about it anger suppressed is just as deadly in your heart as anger expressed and that's why again hebrews 12 15 says see to it that none of you come short with the grace of god that no root of bitterness springs up and defiles many what are the consequences of long-term unresolved anger of bitterness first of all they're real physical consequences to bitterness the late christian psychiatrist dr frank minerath noted that anger decreases the lymphocytes in our bodies and result in depressed antibodies necessary to fight infectious diseases in fact dr minrath made this comment he said quote pent up anger is probably the leading cause of death in america isn't that amazing a doctor a psychiatrist saying the leading cause of death in america is unresolved anger secondly beyond physical consequences there are emotional consequences that word bitterness comes from a greek word three letters p-i-c pick when the writer says let uh no one come short of the grace of god that no root of bitterness springs up that word bitterness pick perfectly describes what bitterness is instead of letting a hurt heal a person who's bitter keeps picking at that offense reliving it over and over again in his mind not realizing he's doing himself much more harm than the other person even knows about when you pick when you relive a hurt over and over again you're allowing your offender to keep hurting you which makes no sense whatsoever i think about james garfield who had been president of the united states for only really less than four months when he was shot in the back with a revolver on july 2 1881 while garfield was still all conscious the doctors did everything they could to probe that wound and define the bullet and they were unable to do so through the months of july and august of 1881 garfield hung on to life but eventually he died in september of 1881 not from the gunshot wound he died from an infection that was caused by the doctor's constant probing of that wound what a great example of what happens when we refuse to let go and instead hold on to an offense and relive it over and over again one of the greatest illustrations of the emotional consequences of bitterness comes from charles dickens classic novel great expectations do you remember the character miss havisham in great expectations in the prime of her life she was engaged to be married the date for the wedding was set it was going to be at nine o'clock in the morning the wedding chapel was filled with family members and the friends there was going to be an elaborate reception at her parents estate but at 10 minutes till 9 word came that her fiance was not going to be coming he had fallen in love with another and married her instead dickens says at that very moment time stopped weeks months years passed but not for miss havisham the clocks in her mansion from that point on were set at 10 minutes till nine o'clock so that she could remember what had happened to her every morning she would get up and put on her white wedding dress and spend the day sitting in that dress years past the wedding grant gown became yellowed and tattered with age but she still dressed up in it every day for decades the food and desserts that had been planned for the reception continue to lay on the table where they had been first set over a period of years they became rotten and covered with mold rodents scurried in and out of the room where the reception was going to take place many years later miss havisham said to a visitor on this day of the year long before you were born this heap of decay was brought here it and i have worn away together the mice have nod at it and even sharper teeth than the teeth of mice have gnawed at me that's what bitterness does it gnaws at your very soul but the physical emotional consequences of bitterness pale in comparison to the spiritual consequences of bitterness what happens spiritually when you refuse to forgive another remember the parable told in matthew chapter 18 by jesus there was a slave who owed the king 10 000 talents of gold the talent was about 70 or 80 pounds of gold and here was a slave who owed the king 10 000 talents i did the calculation that would be about 16 billion dollars in today's dollars the slave hold him and the king said i want my money and i want it now and the slave said king please be patient and i will repay you everything not sure exactly how he planned to repay 16 billion dollars but he begged for mercy and that hardened king seeing that slave beg bow down and beg for his life something was moved inside of that hardened king he had mercy on him and jesus said he forgave him he released the slave of what was owed the bible says the slave got up thanked the king and off he went and his first stop was to a friend of his a fellow slave who owed him 100 daenery a denarius was 16 cents 100 daenery would be 16 dollars and he grabbed that fellow slave by the nape of the neck and began to choke him and say repay me what you owe me and that second slave said be patient with me and i will repay you everything but unlike the king this first slave was unwilling to forgive and when the king heard about what had happened he had that first slave dragged into the palace and seething with anger the king said how is it that you who have been forgiven so much could refuse to forgive so little and then the king ordered that the slave be turned over to the torturers in prison until he should repay everything and then jesus added this to his audience matthew 18 35 so shall my heavenly father do the same to you if each of you does not forgive your brother from your heart when we understand the great debt from which god has forgiven us we have the obligation to extend that same forgiveness to those who wrong us jesus is denied not not at all denying the wrong that may have been done to you the real hurt that you may be experiencing he's not asking you to deny that hurt he's just asking you to keep it in perspective he said remember the difference between how much that other person has hurt you and how much you have hurt god is the difference between 16 and 16 billion dollars and then just in case anybody misses it jesus said again in matthew 6 14 to 15 here are the spiritual consequences of unforgiveness if you forgive others for their transgressions your heavenly father will also forgive you but if you do not forgive others then your father will not forgive your transgressions don't try to explain away what jesus said he was very clear if you don't forgive others god will not forgive you forgiveness is the obligation of those who have been truly forgiven how do we move from bitterness to forgiveness the bible gives us four important steps on that road to forgiveness number one you have to acknowledge first of all that you have been wronged you have to acknowledge you have been wrong some people try to be more spiritual than god is and they want to just say well forgiveness means i'll just play like this never happened i'll do this mind game and just erase this from my memory no that's not what forgiveness is you cannot forgive somebody you're not willing to blame forgiveness is a debt when somebody wrongs you they owe you a very real debt and until you acknowledge the wrong and the debt you can never release somebody from it i think about for example the story of joseph we're going to look at the story of joseph this summer but remember his story when he was a teenager he was sold into slavery by his brothers and and through a series of miraculous circumstances he ended up being the second in command to pharaoh and egypt decades after his brothers wronged him and left him for dead they were reunited with joseph and remember what joseph said to them in genesis 50 20 he didn't say guys it's good to see you again let's just let bygones be bygones maybe you all were having a bad day and that's why you did what you did but let's just forget about it did he say that no in genesis 50 20 joseph said to his brothers and as for you you meant it for evil he's very clear what they did was wrong and until you're willing to acknowledge what was done to you was wrong you'll never be able to forgive again you cannot forgive those you're not first willing to blame acknowledge that you have been wronged secondly trust in the sovereignty of god joseph didn't stop there he said you meant it for evil but god it's a key word a phrase in the life of joseph but god but god you meant it for evil but god used it for good to bring about this present circumstance and to preserve many people alive you remember the story because joseph ended up in egypt and became pharaoh's right-hand man he was able to provide food when there was a worldwide famine not only for egypt but for his brothers and father who were the nucleus of the nation of israel i mean think about it had there not been a joseph in egypt this nucleus of the israelite nation the twelve sons and jacob they would have been obliterated obliterated there would have been no israel there would have been no jesus the savior of the world who came from the line of david none of that would have happened if joseph had not ended up in egypt and joseph wouldn't have been in egypt if his brothers had not sold him into slavery you meant it for evil but god used it for god you know what joseph was saying to his brothers he said what you did was wrong but thank god i serve a god who's bigger than you are a god who has the power to take the worst things you did to me and still use them for good ladies and gentlemen let me just say this you will never be able to truly forgive until you trust in the sovereignty of god to believe in a god who is so big so powerful so loving he can take the worst things people have ever done to you and use those things for your good and for his glory i want to be very careful here because i know this is a sensitive topic there are some of you who are struggling right now with forgiving somebody who may have abused you even as a child i've talked to people who have gone through that horror and they said pastor i just can't believe in a god who would have the power to have prevented that abuse or have stopped that abuse and yet chose not to stop it i can't believe in a god like that and i understand that i understand that sentiment but i always try to gently say to them do you find more comfort in believing in a god who wasn't able to stop the abuse a god who doesn't have the power to control the circumstances of your life do you really want to serve a god that makes you nothing but a victim of random circumstances and random people and people are free to hurt you however they want to without any purpose at all no the comfort comes from believing in the god of the bible the god who works in ways we don't understand a god who would never condone evil or create evil but is able to use evil to achieve his purpose in your life and for his glory a god that paul described in romans 8 28 a god who causes all things to work together for good to those who love him and those who are called according to his purpose sometimes like joseph we get to see some good that comes out of the hurt we experienced as an old man he was able to look back and say to his brothers you meant it for evil god used it for good many times we live and die without ever seen the ultimate plan of god it won't be till heaven that we get to see what that ultimate plan was but whether we see it or not our healing comes from believing in that kind of sovereign god who causes all things to work together for good third how do you move from bitterness to forgiveness admit your own failures and receive god's forgiveness you cannot give away something you don't have yourself it is impossible for you to truly forgive others if you've not been forgiven by god in the bible there's an inseparable link between receiving god's forgiveness and extending that forgiveness to others i think about it as a as an emotional seesaw you remember playing on seesaws when you were little you know how it works you get on one end and then hopefully somebody of equal weight gets on the other end and as long as you are balanced the seesaw remains in equilibrium but remember what would happen that jerk you were playing with would get off first and let you come crashing down the other side remember that no to maintain equilibrium you had to maintain the weight on both ends of the seesaw now think about that picture each one of us carries an emotional seesaw in our minds on one end is guilt that we feel for things we've done wrong and the only way we can keep from crashing down is if we balance our guilt with blame toward other people who have wronged us as long as we have the same amount of guilt and blame we're able to rationalize things but whenever you ask somebody to forgive another person it's like asking that person on the blame end to get off the seesaw and all you're left with is your guilt over what you've done and you come crashing down no the only way to keep an equilibrium is before you ask somebody else to get to to before you forgive somebody else for what they've done and get rid of the blame you have to get rid of your guilt and the only way to get rid of your guilt is through faith in jesus christ the moment you trust in god for the forgiveness of your sins it removes the guilt that you have and only then can you quit blaming other people for what they've done and that's why ephesians 4 32 says be kind to one another tenderhearted forgiving one another just as god in christ has forgiven you does that make sense you cannot give to others what you have not experienced yourself and then finally and most critically moving from bitterness to forgiveness there has to come that time when you choose to forgive your offender just as there is a moment in time you choose to receive forgiveness when you trust in christ as your savior there has to be an actual time when you choose to release your offender of what they've done to you now remember when you're forgiving you're not denying the reality of the hurt you're not diminishing it in any way you're not even letting go of your desire to see that other person experience justice for what they've done to you when you forgive what you're giving up is your right for vengeance you're right to hurt somebody else for hurting you when you forgive somebody what you're saying is god what this person did to me was terrible it's wrong they deserve to suffer for it but i'm going to let you settle the score today i'm surrendering this offense to you so that i can be free to get on with my life and by the way you can do that regardless of what the other person does or doesn't do remember in matthew or mark 11 25 jesus said whenever you stand praying forgive if you have anything against anyone so that your father who is in heaven will also forgive you of your transgressions you can be sitting here in the pews of first baptist church dallas you can be sitting watching on your laptop or television it may be you haven't seen your offender in years and maybe they're even dead but you and you alone have the power to forgive you don't have to wait until that person asks for your forgiveness you don't have to wait until they repent you don't have to wait until they make some change when you put conditions on your forgiveness you're making yourself an emotional slave to that other person but when you forgive you're letting go so that you can be free to experience the abundant life that god has for you and here's the best part as louis mead says when you forgive you set the prisoner free and the prisoner you set free is you let's bow together in a word of prayer i know i'm speaking to some right now who may be here in our worship center or watching this program and your most desperate need right now is to receive forgiveness before you can forgive anybody remember forgiveness is the obligation of those who've been forgiven and if you find yourself saying i just can't forgive this person it very well may be because you've never truly confessed your sins to god and received his forgiveness it's no accident that you're watching this broadcast right now or that you're here in our church god is giving you the opportunity right now to receive his forgiveness maybe you would say in the quietness of this moment dear god i know i failed i know i'm a sinner i know i deserve your judgment but i believe what the bible says that you sent jesus to die on the cross for me to take the punishment that i deserve to take for my sins right now at this moment in time i'm trusting in jesus to save me but today i realized many of you watching or many of you here are already christians but you're struggling with this issue of forgiving somebody else you will never be truly free to experience what god wants for your life until you let go and so today if you're ready to choose to forgive your offender and experience the abundant life i want to lead you in a prayer that i encourage you to pray to god right now dear god you know how much and then put the person's name in there how much this person has wronged me and hurt me they deserve to pay for what they've done but father today i'm letting go of that hurt and offense and let you deal with it today i'm choosing to forgive not because the other person deserves to be forgiven not because they've asked to be forgiven i'm forgiving today because of the great forgiveness you've shown me through jesus and dear god whenever that offense comes back to my mind and i'm tempted to blame again help me remember what i did today on april the 11th 2021 i made the choice to let go to forgive and i pray this in jesus name now with every head bowed nobody looking around i'm not going to let ask you to come forward or anything like that but if you prayed that prayer to forgive somebody else who has wronged you would you just raise your hand briefly so i can see and know to pray for you so many of you yes god bless you god bless you you know i'd encourage you if you did pray that prayer somewhere in your bible maybe on the back page right today i chose to forgive you can reverse their initials if you want to for what they did to me sign it dated and whenever you're tempted to relive that experience go back and look at what you signed today father thank you for being a god who forgives and empowers us to forgive others we thank you in jesus name amen now for those of you watching online today if you prayed either one of those prayers to receive god's forgiveness or to forgive somebody else go to the top of your screen and click on the link that says i prayed the prayer with dr jeffress as soon as you do i'll be notified of your decision and we have some free material to send you about what it means to live as a christian so go immediately to the link at the top of the page i prayed the prayer with dr jeffress now for those of you in our service today if you would take out your card that's in your bulletin the welcome card and if today you prayed the prayer to trust in christ as your savior just check that third box i know we have many guests here today and if you're a guest check the first box maybe you'd like more information about our church you can check that many in the first service joined our church today you can do that by checking the final box and when you have completed the cards you can drop them off at the welcome center and in exchange for your card we want to invite all of our guests today to receive a complimentary copy of my book a place called heaven devotional it's just been out a couple of months it's our gift to you now we have none of shannon's books today we've got plenty of my books i don't know what that says this is brain but anyway they're yours today if you're a guest here be sure and pick those up and as far as shannon's book although we don't have any here today you can get them at amazon barnes and noble any e-tail alert and i hope you'll pick up a copy of the women of the bible speak would you join me one more time and saying thank you to shannon and sheldon green for being here with us what an honor to have you guys thank you now somebody told me judge ken starr was here ken are you here somewhere some there he is and alice is there as well judge starr has a brand new book out on religious liberty and he's going to be here may 23rd and i'm going to get to interview him about this very important topic in today's world so judge starr and alice we look forward to having you back at first baptist dallas as well thank you for coming today hope you have a great week we'll look forward to seeing you this coming sunday let's stand together now as tyler leads us in our final song thank you pastor let's worship together going out singing his praise this is my story this is my song praising my savior all the day long [Music] this is my story this is [Music] god bless you church i campus family thank you so much for being here today and joining us in worship we hope that you are blessed by today's service make sure to invite your friends family and loved ones to join you each and every week right here on the first dallas i campus also stay connected with us all week long on our social media channels and join our new icampus global facebook group to know what's going on right here at first baptist dallas we love you guys so much and we'll see you next week you

Channel: First Baptist Dallas

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Length: 174min 20sec (10460 seconds)

Published: Sun Apr 11 2021