Hope for Deep Wounds Part 2

Wrestling gym pic

I sent this to Amy yesterday. This was a cool old gym. My text to her was don’t scratch and sniff whatever you do.

Last week, we did some digging to show that indeed some of us have some deep wounds.

I was thinking yesterday that everyone in the gym just became accustom to the smell yesterday. I am sure if you arrived late and walked in then you would know for sure.

The same can be true for deep wounds. You notice that the wound exist in the beginning and then slowly in your flesh you learn to live with it. Pretty soon the wound is all over you and you don’t even realize it. You are setting in a pool of stink thinking it’s normal and yet Jesus never intended that we live like this.

As I said last week, there was an extremely heavy spirit here last week as I taught through Hope for Deep Wounds.

I had planned to only spend one week on this topic, but after sensing how heavy this topic was, then I decided we needed more than one week.

The goal here is to move from Deep Wounds to healing. There is so much here for us as we move from deep wounds into healing.

Let me remind you of this

2 Corinthians 11:3 NKJV

3 But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

The serpent wants you to believe that deep wounds can’t be healed and you can’t experience freedom.

The serpent wants you to believe that it is super complex and your problem is too complex for you to experience healing from.

May our minds not be corrupted and may we believe that Christ does bring healing.

Jesus died and rose again as creator of the universe to set us free from the bondage of deep wounds.

Jesus is the solution.

The enemy says it’s complex and the Savior says it’s simple for me. I came to heal, save, and deliver you.

Genesis 32.

Genesis 32:3–6 HCSB

3 Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom. 4 He commanded them, “You are to say to my lord Esau, ‘This is what your servant Jacob says. I have been staying with Laban and have been delayed until now. 5 I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, male and female slaves. I have sent this message to inform my lord, in order to seek your favor.’ ” 6 When the messengers returned to Jacob, they said, “We went to your brother Esau; he is coming to meet you—and he has 400 men with him.”

Let me remind you that Jacob stole the blessing from Esau. Esau was the victim. Jacob is following what the Lord told him to do and he is about to encounter Esau.

Esau hears that Jacob is coming and he goes to meet him.

Notice that Esau hears of this and he is not outright seeking Jacob out but Jacob is coming near Esau.

The purpose of healing deep wounds is not to go fix it with whomever hurt you.

Married couples who are at odds with one another tend to want their spouse to change but do not want to change their own life. -Kerry Skinner

The purpose of healing deep wounds is to come into right relationship and freedom with our Lord and Savior.

People want to try and heal deep wounds by running to those that hurt you and hoping they will say all the right words to make you feel better.

I see this in relationships all the time. People get hurt by a boyfriend or girlfriend or spouse and they want to run to the person who hurt them and try to make it right and the other person is not ready for that.

The type of healing we are talking about in deep wounds is not available through the actions of someone else or something else.

The healing we are talking about is only available through Jesus.

I like that Esau’s heart is ready for when Jacob returns. That’s my hope for us who are working through deep wounds.

My prayer is that our hearts are right and ready for when the person who hurt us walks back into our life.

My prayer is not that we all take off running to find the people who hurt us and try and be healed that way. (That’s counterfeit healing) it has the appearance of healing but it doesn’t heal.

Esau’s heart is ready for the return of Jacob and he runs to meet him when Jacob is trying to get everything lined up.

Healing

Steps of Repentance

God I am Wrong

God I am Sorry

God Forgive me

God Cleanse me

God Empower me

Our focus this morning will be on step 5. God Empower me.

God empower me says that I am forever dependent upon the Lord to heal me of the sin or deep wound I am dealing with. Lord, I want to show mercy and so Lord empower me with Mercy. Empower me with the ability to forgive and spare someone of their consequences. My flesh is weak and I am not able to live a day without you filling me with Mercy in this situation.

Illustration

Bring someone on stage and ask them to place the screw in the board (without any equipment)

Give them the impact driver

It amazes me how we as humans want to be healed without giving God a thought. That is we want to accomplish the act of forgiveness in our flesh. We don’t want to admit that we need God in order to experience true forgiveness.

When I say I don’t believe that true forgiveness can really be experienced without the work of the Holy Spirit. The flesh wants to argue that.

We want to say no no no I believe I can in my flesh forgive people. (I want to scream out that’s a bad call haha)

The greatest failure as a believer will be when you are full of yourself

Kerry Skinner

We are drowning in a pool of our deep wound. We are there in the mess of our stink of a gym believing that we have the ability fix it in our flesh.

We are in the flesh and acting Godly. We are appearing like we are anchored. We act like we love those we hate

John 15:5 HCSB

5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without Me.

You can do NOTHING without me. The one who abides in me or the one who remains in me and I in him produces much fruit.

John 14:26–27 HCSB

26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit —the Father will send Him in My name—will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you. 27 “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Your heart must not be troubled or fearful.

These are red letters meaning words Jesus spoke and were recorded.

The Father will send Him in my name. He will teach you ALL(Circle All) things and remind you of everything I have told you.

One of my pet peeves when it comes to the Holy Spirit is that the Baptist have put him on the back shelf not to be messed with too much and the Pentecostals have made the Holy Spirit to be a show we see or encounter on Sunday.

The more I study the more I see that the Holy Spirit will teach us ALL things. That is the Holy Spirit is present in daily deep wounds. The Holy Spirit is present in loving enemies.

The Holy Spirit does not belong on the back shelf and the Holy Spirit is not just present on Sunday. The Holy Spirit will teach us ALL things.

I love that after the promise of the Holy Spirit he says, PEACE I leave with you. My PEACE I give to you.

Is the peace that Jesus gives insufficient? NO

Ephesians 1:13–14 HCSB

13 When you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and when you believed in Him, you were also sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. 14 He is the down payment of our inheritance, for the redemption of the possession, to the praise of His glory.

You were also sealed with the promised Holy Spirit

He is down payment(circle) or our inheritance. The downpayment is not delayed. It happens at purchase.

2 Peter 1:3 HCSB

3 His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness.

His divine power has given us EVERYTHING required for life and godliness.

2 Peter 1:4 HCSB

4 By these He has given us very great and precious promises, so that through them you may share in the divine nature, escaping the corruption that is in the world because of evil desires.

Through God’s great and precious promises you may share in the divine nature.

2 Peter and Jude: An Introduction and Commentary b. The Christian’s Privileges (1:3–4)

We are promised a share in his moral excellence during this life, and of his glory hereafter. For, taken together, the triple agency of the promises, the power and the person of the Lord Jesus regenerate a man and make him a sharer in God’s own nature, so that the family likeness begins to be seen in him.

Have you experienced the divine nature of Mercy in Jesus. Have you felt what is to be forgiven and spared of the consequences of your sin?

Through Jesus and the Holy Spirit you share in the divine nature. That is divine Mercy, love, patience, forgiveness, self-control is part of your Heavenly Father and through His promises the likeness of Him can be seen in you.

You can escape the corruption that is in the world

2 Peter 1:5–8 HCSB

5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with goodness, goodness with knowledge, 6 knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with godliness, 7 godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they will keep you from being useless or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Peter 1:9–10 HCSB

9 The person who lacks these things is blind and shortsighted and has forgotten the cleansing from his past sins. 10 Therefore, brothers, make every effort to confirm your calling and election, because if you do these things you will never stumble.

Many believers seem to desire forgiveness and cleansing from sin without any responsibility for serving Christ

Kerry Skinner

I have spent much of the time sharing something that is very simple with you. The Holy Spirit has been given to those who trust Jesus as their Savior. You are not alone.

Let me go back to my example of the gym.

You are setting there and not realizing that this deep wound stinks. It needs to be cleaned up.

So you turn to the Father and say Lord help me clean this up.

The Father is going to say, I have everything you need. You need soap? Got it. You need deodorant? Need some smell good or perfume? Got it.

You dive into cleaning up this wound and run out of soap. Remember that He equips us by his divine power. He does not run out. He gives us everything we need for life and godliness.

When Jesus heals us of deep wounds we are then called into obedience to Him for where he leads us next.