Sermon Tone Analysis

: 18-23

Matthew 18:21-35

I still have a praise inside of me

I been through the fire and

I been through the flood

Broken in pieces

And left all alone

But through it all God blessed me

And through it all God kept me

And I still have a praise inside of me

Yes I still have a praise inside of me

Can I get a witness here?

I been through the fire

I been through the flood

Broken in pieces

And left all alone

(Leader)

But I got good news tonight

But through it all

But through it all God blessed me

Through it all God kept me

And I still have a praise inside of me

Let me tell you what my praise is

There is a praise in my spirit

A praise down in my soul

A glory hallelujah

That cannot be controlled

And I still have a praise inside of me

Introduction

Conflict doesn’t just weigh down the spirit; it can lead to physical health issues.

Whether it’s a simple spat with your spouse or long-held resentment toward a family member or friend, unresolved conflict can go deeper than you may realize—it may be affecting your physical health.

The good news: Studies have found that the act of forgiveness can reap huge rewards for your health, lowering the risk of heart attack; improving cholesterol levels and sleep; and reducing pain, blood pressure, and levels of anxiety, depression and stress.

And research points to an increase in the forgiveness-health connection as you age.

In other words the older you get the more important it is for you to forgive from the heart!

According to Doctor Daren Swartz, M.D., the director of the mood disorders adult consultation clinic at the Johns Hopkins Hospital “There is an enormous physical burden to being hurt and disappointed,” Chronic anger puts you into a fight-or-flight mode, which results in numerous changes in heart rate, blood pressure and immune response.

Those changes, then, increase the risk of depression, heart disease and diabetes, among other conditions.

Forgiveness, however, calms stress levels, leading to improved health.

According to Doctor Daren Swartz, M.D., the director of the mood disorders adult consultation clinic at the Johns Hopkins Hospital “There is an enormous physical burden to being hurt and disappointed,” Chronic anger puts you into a fight-or-flight mode, which results in numerous changes in heart rate, blood pressure and immune response.

Those changes, then, increase the risk of depression, heart disease and diabetes, among other conditions.

Forgiveness, however, calms stress levels, leading to improved health.

Forgiveness is not just about saying the words.

“It is an active process in which you make a conscious decision to let go of negative feelings whether the person deserves it or not,” Swartz says.

As you release the anger, resentment and hostility, you begin to feel empathy, compassion and sometimes even affection for the person who wronged you.

Studies have found that some people are just naturally more forgiving.

Consequently, they tend to be more satisfied with their lives and to have less depression, anxiety, stress, anger and hostility.

People who hang on to grudges, however, are more likely to experience severe depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as other health conditions.

In the text,

Peter thought he was “extra-spiritual” for offering to forgive seven times, because the Jewish rabbis said that three times was enough.

Jesus put no limit on forgiveness, for true forgiveness comes from a heart of love, and love keeps no record of wrongs ().

The lesson of the parable is obvious: if the king could forgive the servant’s debt of $12,000,000, certainly the servant could forgive his friend’s debt of about $15! We forgive others because Christ has forgiven us (; ).

Keep in mind that this has nothing to do with salvation; it is a matter of “family forgiveness” between siblings in Christ, not between God and the sinner; so do not read eternal judgment into v. 34.

God will certainly deal with a believer who harbors an unforgiving spirit.

One of the evidences that a person is saved is love for the brethren ().

Christians who cannot forgive others have forgotten what Christ has done for them on the cross.

1 cor

The High cost of unforgiveness

I have seen so many people in spiritual bondage due to unforgiveness.

It is a common source of bondage and demonic harassment, as Jesus warns us about in .

, "And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.

So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses."

That is nothing less than a strong literal warning that a person can fall into the hands of demonic spirits for torment and harassment if they are unforgiving and bitter inside.

I have seen it again and again, it is not an uncommon scene to find a person harassed by demons because of bitterness in their heart.

Bitterness is also known in the Bible as spiritual poison:

Unforgiveness not only gives demons the right or ability to torment us, but it also prevents God from forgiving our own sins!

Now this is serious, this means that when we cry out for God's help, but have unforgiveness in our hearts, He looks down and our sins are before Him.

It puts up a wall in our relationship with our heavenly Father.

Jesus was very clear that if we are to be forgiven, we cannot be unforgiving towards others:

Matthew 6

Beyond this, bitterness is also a very common means for a born again believer to become spiritually defiled, that is, polluted or unclean spiritually:

Hebrews

Notice the word 'many' in the above verse... this is a very common means for people to become defiled and open themselves up for spiritual harassment from the enemy.

There are somethings that belong to God!

Unforgiveness is actually taking something that belongs to God, and taking matters into our own hands.

God's Word tells us clearly that we should allow God to bring His wrath upon that person, and let Him have the room to repay those who wrong us:

Those who have wronged us will reap what they sow.

If you chose to forgive somebody, they may be off your hook, but that doesn't mean they are off God's.

God's Word tells us clearly that what we sow, we shall reap:

What unforgiveness actually is

Unforgiveness is actually a form of hate against another person.

If a person hates somebody, it is a sign that the person is lacking love in their heart.

Why?

They are not firmly rooted and grounded in the love of Christ, and Christ's love is not flowing through them.

As simple as that sounds, that's how it works.

What somebody may have done against us is one thing, but if you take Satan's bait of unforgiveness to heart, it will do much more harm than they did.

Do you want to continue to allow their mess to trouble you even more?

Have they not done enough damage?

Allowing yourself to hang onto hard feelings and become bitter is only causing your wound to become even more infected spiritually.

Honestly tell yourself, what good is it doing you to hold onto the hurt and bitterness that the enemy has tried to plant within you?

It is doing nothing but harm, and is holding you in bondage spiritually.

The only reason you are holding onto those feelings is because it feels good inside.

Don't let this fool you, that’s why the bible calls it spiritual poison:

acts

The reason Satan wants you to hold onto that bitterness is because it is poison to your soul.

Jesus said that the devil came to steal, kill and destroy.

Satan wants to do just that to you.

Know wonder Satan makes unforgiveness 'feel good'... he wants your soul to be poisoned!

Don't let him do this to you... stop him dead in his tracks!

Release yourself from those hurt feelings, and let them go... stop holding onto those feelings, and let that poison out of your soul!

Let me give you a few tools that you can use to help you overcome this stronghold in your life!

Use props

Sometimes a ritual can help us come to terms with someone or something that has hurt us.