WEBVTT - The Trap of Unforgiveness – Part 2 0:00:00.760 --> 0:00:03.200 What do you do with the pains and problems of 0:00:03.200 --> 0:00:05.440 your past? The ones that you just can't seem to 0:00:05.480 --> 0:00:08.719 let go of? Find out today on Bold Steps with 0:00:08.720 --> 0:00:09.560 Mark Jobe. 0:00:10.520 --> 0:00:14.600 There are some people in this auditorium. You struggle because 0:00:15.200 --> 0:00:18.119 you've been born again. You have the Spirit of God 0:00:18.120 --> 0:00:22.360 inside of you. But you have a past where there's hurt. 0:00:22.800 --> 0:00:27.000 And if you haven't processed the hurt, that hurt can 0:00:27.000 --> 0:00:28.880 turn to unforgiveness and bitterness. 0:00:41.159 --> 0:00:44.559 Welcome to Bold Steps with Mark Jobe. Mark is president 0:00:44.560 --> 0:00:47.199 of Moody Bible Institute and senior pastor of New Life 0:00:47.200 --> 0:00:51.040 Community Church in Chicago. And I'm Wayne Shepherd. Yesterday we 0:00:51.040 --> 0:00:54.440 began exploring the destructive trap of unforgiveness and how it 0:00:54.440 --> 0:00:58.200 affects our spiritual health. Mark reminded us that harboring bitterness 0:00:58.200 --> 0:01:01.800 not only damages our relationships with others, but also grieves 0:01:01.800 --> 0:01:05.240 the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. Today, we'll continue 0:01:05.240 --> 0:01:08.360 our journey through Ephesians chapter four, where Paul reminds us 0:01:08.360 --> 0:01:11.680 of an incredible truth that our bodies are the temple 0:01:11.680 --> 0:01:14.759 of God's Holy Spirit. So let's dive into part two 0:01:14.760 --> 0:01:18.200 of our message titled The Trap of Unforgiveness is here 0:01:18.200 --> 0:01:20.119 on Bold Steps with Mark Jobe. 0:01:21.800 --> 0:01:27.280 The address of God is your body. You are a 0:01:27.280 --> 0:01:31.960 temple of God. Your body is the dwelling place of God. 0:01:32.680 --> 0:01:36.200 Wherever you go, you bring God. Where you walk. God 0:01:36.200 --> 0:01:41.800 goes where you drive. God drives. When we dismiss today, 0:01:42.160 --> 0:01:45.920 we are dismissing thousands of people that go into every 0:01:45.920 --> 0:01:48.880 corner of Chicago. And if you're born again, you are 0:01:48.880 --> 0:01:51.640 taking the presence of God, the manifest presence of the 0:01:51.640 --> 0:01:54.280 Holy Spirit with you. We're going into every nook and 0:01:54.280 --> 0:01:58.320 cranny of Chicago because the church scatters, but God doesn't 0:01:58.320 --> 0:02:01.450 stay in the building. The manifest presence of God is 0:02:01.450 --> 0:02:04.610 with you via the Holy Spirit. And so wherever you go, 0:02:04.810 --> 0:02:13.210 you take God in a powerful way with you. Now 0:02:13.210 --> 0:02:15.170 that's a reminder, though. Your body is the temple of 0:02:15.169 --> 0:02:19.930 the Holy Spirit. What does that mean? Well, when you 0:02:19.930 --> 0:02:23.810 were born, you're born physically, but you have a soul, 0:02:23.970 --> 0:02:26.930 you have a spirit, and you have a body. Your spirit. 0:02:26.970 --> 0:02:32.049 Not not Holy Spirit, but your spirit is dead. Ephesians 0:02:32.050 --> 0:02:34.370 chapter two tells us that your spirit is dead because 0:02:34.370 --> 0:02:36.570 of sin. But when you come to God, he makes 0:02:36.570 --> 0:02:40.530 it alive. So the Holy Spirit interacts with your spirit. 0:02:41.010 --> 0:02:43.010 And as you live your life, when you sin, he 0:02:43.010 --> 0:02:46.010 brings you under conviction. He brings joy to your life. 0:02:46.130 --> 0:02:49.890 He guides you. He corrects you. He instructs you. He 0:02:49.889 --> 0:02:52.250 opens up your eyes to the Word of God. He's 0:02:52.250 --> 0:02:55.650 called the Paraclete, which means the coach, the trainer, the 0:02:55.650 --> 0:02:58.490 one that walks alongside of you. You have a personal 0:02:58.490 --> 0:03:01.850 coach living inside of you via the Holy Spirit in 0:03:01.850 --> 0:03:04.370 your body, that wherever you go, whatever you do, the 0:03:04.370 --> 0:03:07.730 Holy Spirit is there to guide you, push you, instruct you, 0:03:07.770 --> 0:03:11.769 help you worship. He cries, ABBA, father! When you worship today, 0:03:11.770 --> 0:03:13.970 when you are worshiping God, the Holy Spirit was saying, 0:03:13.970 --> 0:03:18.290 come on, worship the father. Come on, worship he's ABBA. Father, 0:03:18.290 --> 0:03:20.730 lift up your voice. Do you sense his presence? Do 0:03:20.730 --> 0:03:24.570 you feel him? It's the Holy Spirit. When you're tempted 0:03:24.570 --> 0:03:26.810 to sin, the Holy Spirit convicts you. You feel the 0:03:26.850 --> 0:03:29.290 guilt of sin. You feel the tug of the spirit saying, 0:03:29.290 --> 0:03:31.690 that's not who you are, that's who you were, but 0:03:31.690 --> 0:03:34.090 not who you are anymore. When you open up the 0:03:34.090 --> 0:03:37.170 Word of God and start reading, the Holy Spirit enlightens 0:03:37.170 --> 0:03:40.290 your mind and he starts teaching you about the Word 0:03:40.290 --> 0:03:44.290 of God. So your spirit is inflamed by the Holy Spirit. 0:03:44.290 --> 0:03:47.970 So he teaches you about the Word of God. You 0:03:47.970 --> 0:03:52.450 have God living inside of you. You say, well, pastor, 0:03:52.450 --> 0:03:58.610 I don't understand that. Well, we worship one God, but 0:03:58.610 --> 0:04:04.620 we worship one God in three persons. He's a triune God. 0:04:05.740 --> 0:04:10.100 It's hard to explain. It's the mystery of what theologians 0:04:10.100 --> 0:04:15.180 call the Trinity. But the essence of God is the 0:04:15.180 --> 0:04:17.580 same God the Father, God the Son, and God the 0:04:17.580 --> 0:04:22.260 Holy Spirit. He's the same. So he's got the same essence. 0:04:22.779 --> 0:04:26.900 He's got the same heart. He's got the same essence 0:04:26.900 --> 0:04:30.780 of his being, but yet three distinct persons. God has 0:04:30.779 --> 0:04:34.900 always existed that way. God the father never created the son. 0:04:34.900 --> 0:04:38.060 He's always existed as God the Father, God the Son, 0:04:38.060 --> 0:04:44.180 and God the Holy Spirit. Any teaching that teaches you otherwise, 0:04:44.180 --> 0:04:50.380 listen to me. It's heresy. Any teaching that devaluates the 0:04:50.380 --> 0:04:53.940 son or takes away from the Holy Spirit is not 0:04:53.940 --> 0:04:57.900 from the Word of God. And there's a lot of weird, uh, 0:04:58.020 --> 0:05:02.859 crazy doctrines about the Trinity or about the Godhead. But 0:05:02.860 --> 0:05:06.700 there is one God made up of three persons that 0:05:06.700 --> 0:05:11.780 have distinct functions. For example, when you pray, you pray 0:05:11.779 --> 0:05:16.060 to God the Father, but you pray through Jesus the 0:05:16.060 --> 0:05:18.979 Son that gives you access to God the Father. And 0:05:18.980 --> 0:05:21.739 it's the Holy Spirit that teaches you how to pray 0:05:21.740 --> 0:05:26.099 and what to pray. So it's one God operating in 0:05:26.100 --> 0:05:30.420 three distinct functions and three distinct ways helping you live 0:05:30.460 --> 0:05:34.220 out your walk in God. So the Bible tells us 0:05:34.220 --> 0:05:39.219 that when there is unforgiveness within our heart, we grieve 0:05:39.220 --> 0:05:43.980 the Holy Spirit. You say, well, why is that so important? Well, 0:05:43.980 --> 0:05:49.620 it's important because first Romans chapter 14, verse 17 says, 0:05:49.980 --> 0:05:52.619 the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating 0:05:52.620 --> 0:05:56.500 and drinking, but of righteousness, peace. And here it goes. 0:05:56.940 --> 0:06:05.070 And joy in the Holy Spirit. Galatians chapter five, verse 0:06:05.070 --> 0:06:08.110 22 and 23 talks about the fruit of the spirit. 0:06:08.430 --> 0:06:13.870 What is fruit? Well, if you walk by a pear tree, 0:06:14.510 --> 0:06:18.990 a pear tree that's healthy has pears at the right 0:06:18.990 --> 0:06:26.750 season because the fruit is the natural production of a 0:06:26.750 --> 0:06:33.270 healthy pear tree. When you are healthy and the Spirit 0:06:33.270 --> 0:06:36.070 of God is living inside of you, you will have 0:06:36.070 --> 0:06:39.990 the fruit of love, of joy, of peace, of patience, 0:06:39.990 --> 0:06:43.710 of kindness, of goodness, of faithfulness, of gentleness, of self-control. 0:06:43.950 --> 0:06:47.030 You will have that fruit. That's the natural fruit of 0:06:47.029 --> 0:06:50.430 when the spirit is alive inside of you. Listen to 0:06:50.430 --> 0:06:55.990 me well. The kingdom of God is made up of 0:06:55.990 --> 0:06:59.550 joy in the Holy Spirit. Over and over in Scripture, 0:06:59.589 --> 0:07:02.950 joy in the Holy Spirit are tied into each other. 0:07:03.710 --> 0:07:06.430 The fruit of the spirit is joy. Hear me well. 0:07:07.029 --> 0:07:10.950 There is no such thing as a spirit filled church 0:07:10.950 --> 0:07:16.710 that doesn't have joy. Joy is part of the natural 0:07:17.390 --> 0:07:21.230 essence of God. Some of you were raised in churches 0:07:21.230 --> 0:07:26.310 that felt like funeral homes. In fact, the more sad 0:07:26.310 --> 0:07:30.070 you looked, the more holy you looked. I don't know 0:07:30.070 --> 0:07:31.989 about you, but when I look at these stained glass 0:07:31.990 --> 0:07:36.110 windows and some of the pictures of quote unquote, the saints, 0:07:36.430 --> 0:07:40.710 they always look like they just drank lemon juice. When 0:07:40.710 --> 0:07:42.790 you look at them, I don't think I ever see 0:07:42.990 --> 0:07:48.950 pictures of saints smiling. They're all like this. And it 0:07:48.950 --> 0:07:51.630 feels like the the the meaner or sadder you look, 0:07:51.670 --> 0:07:54.950 the holier you are. Listen, can I tell you something? 0:07:55.750 --> 0:07:58.030 If we have the Spirit of God, there's joy in 0:07:58.030 --> 0:08:01.800 this place. Some of you come from backgrounds and you 0:08:01.800 --> 0:08:04.480 actually come to church and people are clapping and laughing 0:08:04.480 --> 0:08:07.440 and smiling and raising their hands, and and you get 0:08:07.440 --> 0:08:10.360 all nervous like, hey, are we like, are we allowed 0:08:10.360 --> 0:08:13.480 to do that in church? Is is that okay? I mean, 0:08:13.480 --> 0:08:15.880 this is I don't know, people are kind of making 0:08:15.880 --> 0:08:18.120 a little bit too much noise and they're laughing and 0:08:18.120 --> 0:08:21.720 they're clapping. Listen, the fruit of the spirit is joy. 0:08:23.000 --> 0:08:25.920 Joy is part of who we are. Joy is a 0:08:25.920 --> 0:08:28.840 result of the spirit. It's the essence of the spirit. 0:08:28.840 --> 0:08:33.560 Joy should be part of what naturally emanates out of 0:08:33.559 --> 0:08:36.440 you when you're full of the spirit. In fact, a 0:08:36.480 --> 0:08:41.000 joyless believer is a believer. That's, uh, there's something wrong 0:08:41.000 --> 0:08:49.439 with your spirituality. And listen. Unforgiveness. We cannot be grieving 0:08:49.440 --> 0:08:53.120 the spirit and have the joy of the spirit at 0:08:53.120 --> 0:08:57.560 the same time. Let me say that again. When you 0:08:57.559 --> 0:09:01.440 are grieving the spirit, the spirit is who should be 0:09:01.440 --> 0:09:05.160 producing joy in your life. When you are grieving the 0:09:05.160 --> 0:09:09.200 spirit that is should be producing joy. You cannot have 0:09:09.200 --> 0:09:11.880 the joy of God when you're grieving the Spirit of 0:09:11.880 --> 0:09:16.560 God at the same time. Therefore, some of us who 0:09:16.559 --> 0:09:20.280 should be experiencing the joy of God do not have 0:09:20.280 --> 0:09:22.760 the joy of God because the Spirit of God is 0:09:22.760 --> 0:09:25.640 grieving inside of us. So you feel the grieving of 0:09:25.640 --> 0:09:27.679 God instead of the joy of the spirit. 0:09:32.520 --> 0:09:35.240 You're listening to Bold Steps with Mark Jobe, who again 0:09:35.280 --> 0:09:37.679 is a pastor and a president pastor of New Life 0:09:37.679 --> 0:09:41.239 Community Church in Chicago and president of Moody Bible Institute. 0:09:41.280 --> 0:09:44.040 We'll continue today's message in just a moment. But, Mark, 0:09:44.040 --> 0:09:46.400 we get so many encouraging messages and calls from listeners 0:09:46.400 --> 0:09:48.680 who are being helped by these powerful Bible lessons on 0:09:48.679 --> 0:09:50.520 bold steps. I wish we could play them all, but 0:09:50.520 --> 0:09:52.480 we don't have the time. But I do want you 0:09:52.480 --> 0:09:55.040 to hear a voice message we recently received. 0:09:56.080 --> 0:09:59.480 Hello. Greetings. My name is Molly, Doctor Joe. I just 0:09:59.480 --> 0:10:02.329 want you to know that in my walk with Christ, 0:10:02.370 --> 0:10:05.969 you've been very encouraging. I've been wavering, you know, in 0:10:05.970 --> 0:10:10.210 and out, in and out. Very lukewarm. But your. Your 0:10:10.210 --> 0:10:13.170 words have been encouraging, and it's helping me to to 0:10:13.210 --> 0:10:16.330 just get focused and stay focused. So I just wanted 0:10:16.330 --> 0:10:18.810 you to know that. Be blessed. Thank you so much. 0:10:19.250 --> 0:10:22.810 Molly. It's so encouraging to hear you say that God 0:10:22.809 --> 0:10:24.650 is using this. I don't know where you're from, but 0:10:24.650 --> 0:10:27.850 I love your accent, by the way. And, um, you know, 0:10:27.890 --> 0:10:31.890 God is using these messages in so many different places. 0:10:31.890 --> 0:10:35.130 We hear from people really all around the world. Thank 0:10:35.130 --> 0:10:38.770 you for letting us know that ultimately, it's the Holy 0:10:38.770 --> 0:10:42.490 Spirit taking these messages to challenge people to live for him. 0:10:42.530 --> 0:10:44.890 Yeah. Thank you for contacting us. I'll give the number 0:10:44.890 --> 0:10:46.450 in a moment where you can call and leave a 0:10:46.450 --> 0:10:49.610 message for us. But Mark, our bold partners make this possible, 0:10:49.610 --> 0:10:50.170 don't they? 0:10:50.410 --> 0:10:53.689 They really do. And I want you to know bold partners, 0:10:53.690 --> 0:10:56.930 that I've mentioned this before, but God is opening up 0:10:56.929 --> 0:11:02.410 so many doors around the world. And we are broadcasting 0:11:02.410 --> 0:11:07.569 now from LA area and California to the other side 0:11:07.570 --> 0:11:09.410 of the continent and. 0:11:09.450 --> 0:11:10.970 Coast to coast, as they say. 0:11:11.250 --> 0:11:16.410 And new Jersey and Pretoria, South Africa. Just started there, 0:11:16.450 --> 0:11:21.490 and Malawi and Singapore and just a lot of places 0:11:21.490 --> 0:11:24.250 that God is opening up doors for us. And so 0:11:24.250 --> 0:11:28.210 continue to pray as we seek to keep up with 0:11:28.210 --> 0:11:31.170 these open doors and some exciting open doors that are 0:11:31.170 --> 0:11:33.730 coming at us really quickly. So thank you for being 0:11:33.730 --> 0:11:37.010 bold partners. A bold partner is someone that says, I 0:11:37.050 --> 0:11:40.970 give monthly to help this ministry. You can choose the 0:11:40.970 --> 0:11:43.570 amount that you'd like to give monthly, but you're saying 0:11:43.570 --> 0:11:46.610 I'm going to give on a monthly basis. It really 0:11:46.610 --> 0:11:50.250 helps us budget, especially at this time of the year. 0:11:50.250 --> 0:11:52.850 We truly appreciate each and every gift you give, especially 0:11:52.850 --> 0:11:55.969 when you become a monthly supporter. So thank you for that. Now, 0:11:55.970 --> 0:11:58.090 when you do become a monthly supporter, you'll receive a 0:11:58.090 --> 0:12:01.420 copy of Mark's book, unstuck. There's access to our Bold 0:12:01.420 --> 0:12:04.300 Partner post, and for those who give $30 or more 0:12:04.340 --> 0:12:07.940 each month, a 50% discount on all items at the 0:12:07.940 --> 0:12:11.420 Moody Publishers online store. Signing up is simple and easy. 0:12:11.420 --> 0:12:15.460 Just visit Bold Steps and to leave your voicemail message, 0:12:15.620 --> 0:12:21.380 as our listener did a few moments ago. Call (312) 329-2011. 0:12:21.820 --> 0:12:25.540 Now let's return to our message titled The Trap of Unforgiveness. 0:12:32.220 --> 0:12:34.540 I believe to be sealed with the spirit means that 0:12:34.540 --> 0:12:38.300 it's permanent, that it implies ownership, and that you cannot 0:12:38.300 --> 0:12:41.660 be unsealed. I believe once you are born again to 0:12:41.660 --> 0:12:43.620 the Spirit of God, I believe in the assurance of 0:12:43.620 --> 0:12:46.740 believers that if you're born again, you cannot be unborn again. 0:12:46.740 --> 0:12:50.020 You are sealed unto the day of redemption. You may struggle, 0:12:50.020 --> 0:12:52.740 you may fall, you may come under discipline, but you 0:12:52.740 --> 0:12:59.500 are sealed unto the day of redemption. Number two unforgiveness 0:12:59.500 --> 0:13:06.740 This evolves always if it's undealt with into something destructive 0:13:06.980 --> 0:13:11.220 in our attitudes and our behaviors. Notice what he says 0:13:11.220 --> 0:13:14.059 after do not grieve the spirit. He says, get rid. 0:13:15.220 --> 0:13:18.540 That means get it out of your system. Be done 0:13:18.540 --> 0:13:23.980 with it. With what? With the fruit of unforgiveness. What's 0:13:23.980 --> 0:13:27.300 the fruit of unforgiveness? The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, 0:13:27.300 --> 0:13:32.500 long suffering, gentleness, faith, meekness, temperance. The fruit of unforgiveness 0:13:33.580 --> 0:13:42.900 is bitterness, rage, anger, brawling, slander along with every form 0:13:42.900 --> 0:13:46.420 of malice. Now I want you to hear me well. 0:13:48.500 --> 0:13:54.820 Anger which is listed here. Anger is a secondary emotion. 0:13:55.700 --> 0:14:00.230 Counselors and and therapists would call it a secondary emotion. 0:14:00.590 --> 0:14:05.270 Anger is not a sin, it's an emotion. None of 0:14:05.270 --> 0:14:09.470 your emotions are sin. To be sad is not a sin. 0:14:09.470 --> 0:14:11.470 To be angry is not a sin. To be happy 0:14:11.470 --> 0:14:14.670 is not a sin. But it's what you do with 0:14:14.670 --> 0:14:19.830 your emotions that can become sinful. If in your anger 0:14:20.230 --> 0:14:24.510 you start to abuse someone that's sinful. If in your 0:14:24.510 --> 0:14:29.230 anger you start to verbally put someone down, that's sinful. 0:14:29.870 --> 0:14:32.510 So to have the emotions of anger is not sinful, 0:14:32.510 --> 0:14:36.670 but what you do with your anger can be turned sinful. 0:14:37.430 --> 0:14:40.670 So what the Apostle Paul is telling us is that 0:14:40.670 --> 0:14:45.430 you cannot grieve the Holy Spirit. The fruit of unforgiveness 0:14:45.830 --> 0:14:48.790 and he defines it bitterness. What is bitterness? Bitterness has 0:14:48.790 --> 0:14:54.990 been defined as the embittered or resentful spirit that refuses reconciliation. 0:14:55.430 --> 0:15:00.640 Rage is amped up. Anger that lashes out against the 0:15:00.640 --> 0:15:05.800 world and system and everybody. Anger can have multiple forms 0:15:05.800 --> 0:15:09.000 of expressions. It can simmer deep inside or it can 0:15:09.000 --> 0:15:14.160 explode on the outside. He talks about brawling, brawling. Is 0:15:14.160 --> 0:15:18.840 this this attitude in which you're always ready for a fight, 0:15:19.400 --> 0:15:26.360 always on the verge of altercation? Slander is when you're 0:15:26.400 --> 0:15:30.320 angry at someone. You speak ill of that person because 0:15:30.320 --> 0:15:34.960 you have anger or resentment inside of you. And malice 0:15:35.080 --> 0:15:39.880 is simply that desire to do evil against other people. 0:15:39.920 --> 0:15:42.400 Because you're so mad and angry at them that you 0:15:42.400 --> 0:15:45.320 want bad to happen to them. All of these are 0:15:45.320 --> 0:15:52.720 the fruit of unforgiveness. Now, there are some people in 0:15:52.720 --> 0:16:02.000 this auditorium that you struggle because You've been born again. 0:16:02.920 --> 0:16:06.560 You have the Spirit of God inside of you, but 0:16:06.560 --> 0:16:11.800 you have a past where there's hurt. And if you 0:16:11.800 --> 0:16:17.760 haven't processed the hurt, that hurt can turn to unforgiveness 0:16:17.760 --> 0:16:21.960 and bitterness. Look up at me. This is really important. 0:16:23.320 --> 0:16:26.920 Show me a 25 year old in this auditorium today 0:16:27.840 --> 0:16:30.720 that if when you were six or 7 or 8, 0:16:31.320 --> 0:16:36.640 you were verbally abused, physically abused, criticized, lived with an 0:16:36.680 --> 0:16:41.880 addict stepfather that maybe sexually abused you and you felt 0:16:41.880 --> 0:16:45.840 unwanted and demeaned by the time you're 25. If you 0:16:45.840 --> 0:16:49.720 have not dealt with it, you are an angry individual. 0:16:49.960 --> 0:16:56.360 There's rage, there's anger, there's slander, there's brawling. Why? Because 0:16:56.360 --> 0:16:59.680 there's a lot of pain inside that hasn't been processed. 0:16:59.840 --> 0:17:04.360 and your pain turns into undealt with anger. Explosive anger 0:17:04.359 --> 0:17:08.160 inside of you. People around you say, what's wrong with you? Ah, 0:17:08.200 --> 0:17:10.680 this world and you. If I didn't know. And you 0:17:10.680 --> 0:17:14.360 go off. Let me tell you, if you don't deal 0:17:14.359 --> 0:17:18.399 with the hurt of the past, if you haven't processed it, 0:17:18.440 --> 0:17:22.639 dealt with it before God gone through this process of forgiveness, 0:17:22.880 --> 0:17:25.480 then you let it simmer inside of you. And when 0:17:25.480 --> 0:17:28.440 it simmers inside of you, it turns into something that's 0:17:28.440 --> 0:17:32.080 toxic to you and to the people that are around you. 0:17:34.880 --> 0:17:37.960 In the city of Chicago. We hear about these crazy 0:17:39.040 --> 0:17:45.080 acts of violence. And one more time we'll hear on I-55, 0:17:45.119 --> 0:17:48.080 someone honked at someone. Someone gave him a dirty look. 0:17:48.080 --> 0:17:50.400 And before we know it, someone shot and killed on 0:17:50.400 --> 0:17:55.120 the expressway. And we say, wow, traffic is terrible in Chicago. 0:17:55.119 --> 0:17:58.480 Can I tell you it has nothing to do with traffic? 0:17:59.690 --> 0:18:04.010 This is not about the honk. This is not about 0:18:04.010 --> 0:18:07.730 the driving. This is about the guy that, at five 0:18:07.770 --> 0:18:12.050 years old, was physically abused, beaten up, and abandoned by 0:18:12.050 --> 0:18:15.810 a stepfather. And they haven't processed it. And they're full 0:18:15.810 --> 0:18:18.770 of anger and they're full of issues in their life 0:18:18.770 --> 0:18:22.930 that they haven't dealt with. And when you when you 0:18:22.970 --> 0:18:27.850 tip it, it spills out. If I had an opaque 0:18:27.850 --> 0:18:30.889 glass here, you wouldn't be able to tell what's inside 0:18:30.890 --> 0:18:34.210 of it. But if someone bumps me, whatever's inside is 0:18:34.210 --> 0:18:40.330 going to spill out. If I'm full of anger, rage, brawling, unforgiveness, 0:18:40.490 --> 0:18:43.410 then it takes a honk on the expressway and it 0:18:43.410 --> 0:18:47.010 spills out. And everything that's directed towards that stepfather that 0:18:47.010 --> 0:18:50.610 abused me now becomes the rage against the person that 0:18:50.609 --> 0:18:52.850 just honked at me. And people say, I don't know 0:18:52.850 --> 0:18:55.850 why I'm like this. I love my girlfriend or I 0:18:55.850 --> 0:18:58.290 love my wife and but I explode and I just 0:18:58.290 --> 0:19:00.420 call her things. I don't know what's wrong. I know 0:19:00.420 --> 0:19:03.300 what's wrong. What's wrong is you haven't dealt with your issues. 0:19:03.580 --> 0:19:05.859 What's wrong is you haven't gone to those hard places. 0:19:05.859 --> 0:19:09.140 What's wrong is you haven't processed your hurt, you haven't forgiven. 0:19:09.140 --> 0:19:11.379 You haven't gone to those places that are causing you 0:19:11.380 --> 0:19:14.659 to be an angry person. And until you deal with it, 0:19:15.140 --> 0:19:19.820 you may deal with the emotions. And you say, well, pastor, 0:19:19.820 --> 0:19:21.100 I know what I'm going to do. I'm just going 0:19:21.140 --> 0:19:27.500 to count to ten. When I'm angry. That's good. Ten, nine, eight, seven, six. 0:19:28.820 --> 0:19:30.379 I'm just going to go for a jog. Some of 0:19:30.380 --> 0:19:32.820 you are really good shape because you're you're angry so 0:19:32.820 --> 0:19:34.899 often you're going for a jog or I'm going to 0:19:34.940 --> 0:19:39.460 just breathe deeply. And you know what? I'm happy you're 0:19:39.460 --> 0:19:41.699 doing that because I don't want people around you to 0:19:41.700 --> 0:19:46.420 get hurt. But that will not deal with the core issue. 0:19:48.500 --> 0:19:52.420 The pressure cooker will still have pressure unless the flame 0:19:52.420 --> 0:19:56.219 is turned off, unless you deal with the root of 0:19:56.220 --> 0:20:00.580 your hurt, unless you deal with that unforgiveness. Unless you 0:20:00.580 --> 0:20:03.939 deal with the pain, unless you confront it and process 0:20:03.940 --> 0:20:06.940 it before God and deal with it, it will continue 0:20:06.940 --> 0:20:10.700 to surface. It will continue to boil up. So there 0:20:10.740 --> 0:20:14.220 are some people that are believers in this auditorium today. 0:20:14.540 --> 0:20:16.620 And you come to me, I know because you talk 0:20:16.619 --> 0:20:19.860 to me about it and you say, pastor, I don't 0:20:19.859 --> 0:20:22.659 know what happened. I was doing so good for three months, 0:20:22.660 --> 0:20:25.420 and then I fell, and then I did so good 0:20:25.420 --> 0:20:28.179 for five months, and then I fell again. And then 0:20:28.180 --> 0:20:30.380 I was doing really good for another four months. And 0:20:30.380 --> 0:20:32.699 then I fell again. Let me tell you what's happening. 0:20:34.500 --> 0:20:37.900 What's happening to a lot of people is that you 0:20:37.900 --> 0:20:43.460 do well until you get angry. And when you get angry, 0:20:44.140 --> 0:20:47.619 then suddenly all the old stuff, you, you go immediately 0:20:47.619 --> 0:20:50.619 back to whatever made you feel good in your old life. 0:20:51.900 --> 0:20:55.420 That's what it tells us earlier in this chapter, in 0:20:55.420 --> 0:20:58.580 Ephesians chapter four, verse 26 through 27, it says, be 0:20:58.580 --> 0:21:01.300 angry and do not sin. Listen. Do not let the 0:21:01.300 --> 0:21:04.939 sun go down while you are angry. Do not give 0:21:04.940 --> 0:21:12.100 the devil a foothold. When you become angry, you give 0:21:12.100 --> 0:21:15.980 the devil an opportunity and a foothold. You're doing really 0:21:15.980 --> 0:21:19.020 well fighting pornography. But when you got angry, you wanted 0:21:19.020 --> 0:21:21.899 something to make you feel better. And so you. You 0:21:21.940 --> 0:21:24.340 opened up that old pornography page that you go to, 0:21:24.380 --> 0:21:27.020 and you fell. You called up that old girlfriend and 0:21:27.020 --> 0:21:32.820 fell sexually. You went out and over drank. You lit 0:21:32.859 --> 0:21:35.139 up one more time that cannabis just to calm your 0:21:35.140 --> 0:21:41.980 nerves down. And you were doing so well. You know why? Anger. 0:21:43.940 --> 0:21:48.300 And so what the Apostle Paul is telling us is 0:21:48.300 --> 0:21:50.340 he's telling us that we have to deal with our anger. 0:21:50.340 --> 0:21:53.260 We have to get rid of this bitterness and rage 0:21:53.260 --> 0:21:59.300 and brawling and slander. It tells us in Matthew chapter six, 0:21:59.390 --> 0:22:03.630 verse 14, Jesus was teaching his disciples to pray, and 0:22:03.630 --> 0:22:06.790 at the end of the prayer he says, if you 0:22:06.790 --> 0:22:10.990 forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly father will 0:22:10.990 --> 0:22:15.150 forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your 0:22:15.150 --> 0:22:19.510 heavenly father will not forgive you your sins. What does 0:22:19.510 --> 0:22:23.030 this mean? It simply means that when you have unforgiveness 0:22:23.030 --> 0:22:26.990 in your heart, you're living in sin and God cannot 0:22:27.030 --> 0:22:30.630 release you from what you're continuing to do. You have 0:22:30.630 --> 0:22:32.830 to choose to get rid of it so God can 0:22:32.830 --> 0:22:39.149 release you from it. So the Apostle Paul is talking 0:22:39.150 --> 0:22:42.830 to these believers about walking in victory, and he's describing 0:22:42.869 --> 0:22:46.910 to them how they can overcome. And he ends up 0:22:46.910 --> 0:22:52.109 this passage with this last exhortation. Which leads me to 0:22:52.109 --> 0:23:00.590 my third point. Unforgiveness can only be overcome with Genuine forgiveness. 0:23:01.869 --> 0:23:05.750 So the Apostle Paul says in verse 32, be kind 0:23:06.070 --> 0:23:12.590 and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other just as 0:23:12.590 --> 0:23:18.030 in Christ, God forgave you. So the Apostle Paul really 0:23:18.030 --> 0:23:22.030 gets the root of the solution when he says, hey, 0:23:23.670 --> 0:23:28.710 you can't grieve the spirit by having unforgiveness that leads 0:23:28.710 --> 0:23:32.270 to the fruit of unforgiveness. Until you get to the 0:23:32.270 --> 0:23:36.510 point of saying, I gotta release, I gotta forgive, I 0:23:36.550 --> 0:23:37.470 gotta let go. 0:23:45.310 --> 0:23:47.949 You're listening to Bold Steps with Mark Jobe in the 0:23:47.950 --> 0:23:51.430 middle of a three part message on the trap of unforgiveness. 0:23:51.710 --> 0:23:54.310 Make plans to join us tomorrow to hear the final segment. 0:23:54.510 --> 0:23:56.790 And if you can't tune in tomorrow, you simply want 0:23:56.790 --> 0:23:59.109 to find more content from Mark. Be sure to visit 0:23:59.200 --> 0:24:03.960 our website. Bold steps.org. We're nearing the end of today's program, 0:24:03.960 --> 0:24:05.880 but before we close, I want to tell you about 0:24:05.880 --> 0:24:09.360 an exclusive new resource we have available something special from 0:24:09.359 --> 0:24:12.240 the desk of Mark Jobe. It's a brand new 15 0:24:12.280 --> 0:24:15.720 day devotional called More Than a Label Discovering Who You 0:24:15.720 --> 0:24:19.560 Are in Christ. In this powerful study, Mark takes you 0:24:19.560 --> 0:24:22.400 deep into God's Word to explore the truth about your 0:24:22.400 --> 0:24:25.800 identity in Christ. You'll discover who God created you to 0:24:25.840 --> 0:24:29.760 be and why your identity truly matters. This devotional will 0:24:29.760 --> 0:24:32.520 help you uncover your purpose and calling as you open 0:24:32.520 --> 0:24:35.520 God's Word and learn to live out your true identity. 0:24:35.840 --> 0:24:37.920 And during this month, we're happy to make this special 0:24:37.920 --> 0:24:40.399 offer available to you for a gift of any size 0:24:40.400 --> 0:24:43.840 to support this ministry. Don't let the world define you 0:24:43.840 --> 0:24:46.960 by labels. Step into the life and purpose God has 0:24:46.960 --> 0:24:49.479 planned for you. Get your copy of More Than a 0:24:49.480 --> 0:24:52.760 Label today, and begin your journey toward discovering the incredible 0:24:52.760 --> 0:24:58.439 person God created you to be. Simply visit boldsystems.org to 0:24:58.480 --> 0:25:02.560 donate or request more than a label by calling 800 0:25:02.640 --> 0:25:09.320 de Moody. That's (800) 356-6639. Or you can mail your donation 0:25:09.320 --> 0:25:13.200 and request for the devotional at Bold Steps. 820 North 0:25:13.240 --> 0:25:18.639 LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 606 ten. And don't forget to 0:25:18.680 --> 0:25:22.399 join our online community. You'll find daily inspiration and connect 0:25:22.400 --> 0:25:27.040 with fellow believers by following bold steps on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, 0:25:27.240 --> 0:25:30.639 and Mark Jobe's YouTube channel. Just search for Bold Steps 0:25:30.640 --> 0:25:34.440 Radio and become part of the conversation. I'm Wayne Shepherd, 0:25:34.440 --> 0:25:37.400 that's our time for today. Join us again tomorrow and 0:25:37.400 --> 0:25:41.160 Mark concludes this lesson on the trap of unforgiveness. That's 0:25:41.200 --> 0:25:46.560 Wednesday on Bold Steps with Mark Jobe. Bold steps is 0:25:46.560 --> 0:25:50.520 a production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.