cover of Are We Willing to Let Go?

Are We Willing to Let Go?

Are We Willing to Let Go?

Christian Biblical Church of God

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The speaker begins by wishing the audience a happy Sabbath and discusses the importance of letting go of traumatic experiences and not allowing them to negatively impact our lives. They emphasize the need to forget the past and forgive others, citing scriptures that highlight God's ability to forget our sins and our responsibility to do the same. The speaker stresses the importance of reconciliation and forgiveness in our relationships with others, as well as in our relationship with God. They urge the audience to take this message seriously and to practice forgiveness in their daily lives. Well, thank you, brethren. Thank you for the patience. I'm hoping that you have more patience than I do sometimes, and we're still working on that. But happy Sabbath to you all. We aren't into Sabbath yet, but happy Sabbath to you all down under. And for those that are approaching Sabbath, I wish you a happy Sabbath day. Today, brethren, I'm going to talk on a subject that for many of us who have been in the church for many years have probably heard before, and myself being 50 years plus in the Church of God, I can truly say that as many times as you hear a message sometimes, it's good to be reminded as we as human, carnal-natured people, we tend to slip sometimes and let these things go. So the message this evening is, are we willing to let go? Many people of the world today have unfortunately endured many traumatic experiences in their lives. Maybe that traumatic experience was past physical, emotional, or even sexual abuse. Maybe it was an accident that forever changed someone's life. Maybe it was the end of a relationship or the end of a career. Or maybe it was the breakup of the church or any type of organization you belong to. Many times these traumatic experiences in our lives leave people disillusioned, disappointed, depressed, cynical, bitter, and negative in their outlook on life. Many of us, the called-out ones of God that God has personally chosen each one of us, have endured such traumatic experiences, I'm sure. And I want to tell you today that we cannot allow these experiences, as negative as they were in our lives, to rule our lives or dictate the outlook that we have in our lives and the lives of others around us. We cannot allow, brethren, these experiences to alter our relationship with the Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ. So thus the message titled today is, are we willing to let go? Are we willing to let go? And with this message, brethren, I would like to explore the subject of letting go all of these traumatic experiences that we've all had, and yes, instead of keeping our eyes focused on the goal of entering our Father's eternal kingdom. That is what we are all seeking. Put everything else aside and stay focused on what God, first of all, has called us out of this world and on the goal that we are seeking to enter our Father's eternal kingdom. I have broken this down into four points, and there may be many more. And there's many, many other aspects of this type of message that we could look at. But I want to concentrate on four points that I've come up with, and they're most critical to realize and understand. And the first point is, we must forget the past and forgive others. We must forget the past and forgive others. Now you may say, you've heard this many, many times. But brethren, when you assess and take the time to assess your lives over the years in the church of God, have you succeeded in forgetting the past and forgiving others? That's the question I asked. One of the incredible and wonderful characteristics of our Heavenly Father is that the perfect forgetfulness that the Father has. And a good example of this is found in Jeremiah 31. Let's turn to Jeremiah 31, verse 34. Jeremiah 31, verse 34. And they shall no more teach each man his neighbor, and each man his brother, saying, Know the Lord, for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sins no more. Is that not an impressive statement from God? This wonderful forgetfulness of sin by our Heavenly Father can also be found in the scriptures in Hebrews. Let's turn to Hebrews. I'll warn you, I've got lots of scriptures. And I may have to reduce a few of them, but I will try to cover what I can. Hebrews 8, verse 12. For I will be merciful toward their unrighteousness and their sins and their lawlessness, for I will not remember ever again. So, God makes that promise to us. Let's go over two chapters here to Hebrews 10, verse 12. 17, pardon me. Hebrews 10, verse 17. Because, whoops, I've got Hebrews 9, that's not what I want. Hebrews 10, verse 17. And their sins and lawlessness I will not remember ever again. So, that comes directly from God, that He will forget and leave that behind. In Psalms 103, David wrote of the perfect forgetfulness of our sins by our Heavenly Father. Let's turn to Psalms 103, verses 10 to 12. 103, verses 10 to 12. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, not rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so is his mercy towards those who fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. So, with these scriptures, brethren, we clearly see that the Father puts away our sins from his mind. As far as the east is from the west. And when we sincerely ask and humbly ask forgiveness of our sins, asking that our Heavenly Father would put them away with the blood of his Son, our Heavenly Father responds by forgiving those sins and putting them away for good, never to be brought up again. Brethren, let us ask, do we genuinely believe that, brethren? Do we genuinely believe that? What a wonderful blessing that is, that our Heavenly Father has given us through his Son, through Jesus Christ, through his sacrifice, that we have that opportunity. Do we? Do I? Do you have that perfect forgetfulness when it comes to forgiving others? This is not something that is natural to man. With our human nature, it is just not a natural thing for us to do. And without that Holy Spirit, man naturally wants to cling to those hurt feelings and to the injustices of the past, which have occurred to you personally. But brethren, we should look at it as brethren, for those that have been called out of this world that we don't find ourselves doing the same thing. The Apostle Paul addresses this very clearly in his epistle to the called out ones in Philippi. Philippians 3 verse 12. Not as though I already received or I've already been perfected, but I am striving so that I may also lay hold on that for which I also was laid hold of by Jesus Christ. Brethren, I ask you the question, are we forgetting the things that are behind us? Are we forgetting the things that are in the past? Or do we still cling to them? And they always come back basically to haunt us. Toward the end of chapter 9, many people were giving excuses for the delays in following Jesus, to whom Jesus gave this perfectly important message and replied. Let's turn to Luke. Luke 9 verse 62. But Jesus said to him, no one who sets his hand to the plow and looks back at the things behind is fit for the kingdom of God. It's fairly plain, fairly straightforward. We all know this verse very well, as we always associated with the context of leaving behind our former way of life. And that's what we are all striving to do. But Jesus' statement here can include also looking back on injustices and hurt feelings that have occurred in the past. Jesus preached a message of love and reconciliation with one another. Reconciliation of any injustices and hurt feelings with others is considered by the Heavenly Father and Jesus to be so important that it was a prerequisite for coming to the temple to worship the Father. Let's turn to Matthew 5. Matthew 5 verse 23 to 26. For this reason, if you bring your gift to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go your way. First be reconciled with your brother and then come and offer your gift. Verse 25. Agree with your adversary quickly while you are in the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge and the judge deliver you to the officer and you be cast into prison. Truly I say to you, there is no way that you shall come out of there until you have paid the very last coin. So brethren, here we see an example. By extension, do we go and reconcile with others with whom we've been at odds with for whatever reason before we worship our Heavenly Father. In Mark 11, Jesus discusses just how important, how critical, and how spiritually spiritually serious forgiving others is in our own spiritual lives. Mark 11. Mark 11 verse 25 to 26. Mark 11, 25 verse 26. I'm going to be bombarding you with lots of mess or lots of scripture today, so bear with me. But when you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive so that your Father who is in heaven may forgive you your offenses. For if you do not forgive, for if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive you your offenses. That's serious stuff, brethren. That's serious stuff basically laid out there for us. So brethren, if we do not forgive others their sins against us, our Heavenly Father will not forgive our sins against him. And that could be life-threatening in our spiritual lives. If we really look at it that closely, we must take this seriously. In the model prayer Jesus gave to his disciples, Jesus included that we should ask our Heavenly Father for forgiveness as we forgive others. And we all know that. We know that all, brethren. But do we actually practice that? That is the question I'm asking today. Are we letting that past, that part of our lives go by the wayside and letting it go? Matthew 6. Matthew 6. Verse 9. Therefore you are to pray after this manner, our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we also forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but rescue us from the evil one. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. Then you know, for if you forgive men their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. How much clearer do we need that to be told to us? To be told to us. If you go back to verse 12, the word in the, as in the Greek adverb has means as, like as, even as, or according as, in the same manner as. So Jesus commanded us to pray that our Heavenly Father would forgive us, our sins, in the same manner as we forgave others their sins against us. If you read on in verse 15, Jesus warns that just like in Mark 11 26, if we do not forgive others brethren their sins against us, then neither will our Heavenly Father forgive our sins against him. Again, brethren, we must take this to be a profoundly serious concept and truth which has significant ramifications and consequences on our present and future spiritual lives. Let's turn to 2nd Corinthians 5 verse 17. 2nd Corinthians 5 verse 17. Therefore, if anyone be in Christ, he is a new creation, the old things have passed away, behold, all things have become new. Paul exhorts us to forgive and to put the past behind us and to be new creatures in our relationship with our Heavenly Father in Jesus Christ. Let's turn to 2nd Corinthians 5 verse 17 to 19. Therefore, if anyone be in Christ, he is a new creation, the old things have passed away, behold, all things have become new, and all things are from God who has reconciled us to himself through Jesus Christ and has given to us the ministry of reconciliation. In Colossians 3, Paul exhorts the Colossian congregation to forgive others as Jesus forgave us. Colossians 3, Colossians 3 verse 12. Put on them as the elect of God, holy and beloved, deep inner affection, kindness, humility, meekness, and long suffering. Do we practice this command in our daily lives, brethren? Do we actually practice it? Let us be honest with ourselves. Do we truly forgive and forget the offenses against us? Or do we keep bringing up those offenses repeatedly and again? Do we treat offenses against us almost like a badge of honor? I'm asking the question. Or do we continually, repeatedly bring up the offenses, the hurt feelings, and injustices and injustices from our past, especially from within the church? Are we guilty of that, brethren? Are we guilty of that at times? Are we still talking about our former church associations and the offenses that arose and the hurt feelings from the divisions which occurred decades ago? Are we continuing to bring up injustices by the church leadership or by the church ministers or by other church brethren? When are we going to let all this emotional, mental, and spiritual baggage that weighs us down be put aside? When are we going to do that? We must sometimes sit back and seriously consider when are we ready to do that, as we are commanded that that is part of our spiritual growth process. In Hebrews 12, we read about the baggage that is weighing us down emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. Let's turn to Hebrews 12, 1 and 2. Hebrews 12, 1 and 2. Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great throng of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily entraps us, and let us run the race set before us with endurance, having our minds fixed on Jesus, the beginner and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that lay ahead of him endured the cross, although he despised the shame and hath sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. The Greek word or noun for weigh in verse 1 is agkos, meaning an encumbrance, a weight, a burden that bears upon us. Brethren, focusing on past offenses, the hurt feelings, and injustices by others, is certainly not a badge of courage, or a badge of honor, or a badge of distinction. But rather, in the end, it is a selfish, self-centered, self-focused continuation of the ungodly path, which, of course, cannot lead to righteousness. Why, brethren, do we sometimes insist on carrying off these emotional stabs repeatedly and again, just to refresh the wounds that we continue to hold on to? Why do we do that? Well, one reason is we still have that human carnal nature working within us, in our human lives. But we must come to the point that we have to resist that, to learn what we have learned, and to practice it. When Jesus was on the cross, dying after being tortured, beaten, mocked, and crucified, was he carrying off emotional stabs? Was he digging up all the iniquities and injustices done to him, brought upon him by unrighteous people? Let's turn to Luke 23, verse 34. Luke 23, verse 34. Then Jesus said, Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. And as they divide his garments, they cast lots. That was an awesome thing that Christ did, just to show the character that Christ had, and what we, brethren, also must seek towards. After all the torture, the ridicule, the taunting, the shame, the pain, and the suffering, Jesus asked his Father to forgive those people for the evil that they had done to him. If we are going to live Christ-like lives, and follow Jesus' example, are we, or where are we, in forgiving others? Where are we? We must forget the past, and forgive others. Okay, brethren, that's enough for point number one. Second point I'd like to cover is, we must eradicate all the roots of bitterness. Concentrating, as we've spoken before, on the past, and the offenses, the hurt feelings, the disappointments we've had, the injustices encountered in our past, produces a result of bitterness toward people. It's a natural thing. Bitterness towards organizations, bitterness towards organizations, towards groups, and towards life in general. In Hebrews 12 verse 14, we read about this root of business, of bitterness, sorry. Hebrews 12 verse 14. Pursue peace with everyone in holiness, without which no one will see the Lord. Looking diligently, lest anyone fall from the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness, springing up trouble you, and through this many be defiled. When looking up, the Greek phrase for bitter, root of bitterness, is risa picreas, meaning a root, a shoot, a source, being the genitive form of picrea. Just like in English, the Greek word risa can be used to describe the literal root of the tree. Matthew 3 verse 10. Matthew 3 verse 10. But already the axe is striking at the roots of the trees, therefore every tree that is not producing good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. However, just like in English, the Greek word risa can also be used to describe the source of something. In English, we can say that something is a root cause of something else. 1st Timothy 6 verse 10. 1st Timothy 6 verse 10. For the love of money is the root of all evils, by which some, while striving after riches, were seduced from the faith, and have impaled themselves with many sorrows. And we've heard that many a time, brethren, the root of money, the money is evil. So, in this verse, the Greek word risa is used to describe that the love of money is the root cause of, source of any evil. So, with that in mind, let us return to Hebrews 12 verse 15. Hebrews 12 verse 15. Look indeligently, lest anyone fall from the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness bringing up trouble you, and through this many be defiled. So, brethren, not forgiving others, not putting the past away in the past, but instead rehearsing over and over repeatedly in our minds all the injustices done to us in the past, and keeping and guarding all those hurt feelings that are bottled up inside us, and not showing any willingness to reconcile with others. Can you honestly say that maybe we have all struggled with this over the years? I know I have. I know I have. Sometimes not so flagrant, but sometimes it comes out. Whether I like to express it or not, it is something that keeps cropping up. So, this is the source, the root from which a deep, festering bitterness grows, brethren, and it springs forth in our lives, and sometimes has a very, very bad effect on our lives, whether we realize it or not. Whether we realize it or not. In Ephesians 4, the Apostle Paul exhorts us to renew the spirit in our minds, to set a new righteous course toward the kingdom, and to leave behind the bitterness and the anger that may have once ruled in our lives. Can we associate with that? Can we relate to that, brethren? I'm sure that many of us can. Ephesians 4. Let's turn to Ephesians 4. Ephesians 4, verse 22. Concerning your former conduct, you put off the old man which is corrupt according to deceitful lusts, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which according to God is created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. Therefore, let each one be put away, or put away lies, and speak the truth with his neighbor, because we are members of one another. When you become angry, do not sin, do not let the sun go down on your anger, neither give place to the devil. Let the one who stole, steal no more. Rather, let him labor with his hands, working with what is good, so that he may impart something to the one who is need. Do not let any corrupt communication come out of your mouth, but that which is good and needful for edification, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not vex the Holy Spirit of God by which you have been sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and indignation and wrath and clamor and evil speaking be removed from you, together with all malice, and be kind and tenderhearted toward one another, forgiving one another, even as God has also in Christ forgiven you. Paul exhorted the brethren in Ephesus, Are we putting away, brethren, all the bitterness and wrath and anger from us, and replacing those negative behaviors with kindness, tenderness, and forgiveness? Are we doing that? Where are we in our spiritual lives, where are we in our spiritual lives doing this? Are we eradicating that root of bitterness from our lives? I'll leave that with you. Point three. We must look to the future, brethren. So important, we must look to the future. Not only are we not to keep looking back behind to the past, but instead we also are to look forward to the future and to the things which lie ahead of us. As a runner in a race, are we truly reaching forward to the things that are ahead of us? We cannot effectively run if we are continually looking behind us. It throws us off our pace. Looking back over our shoulders interferes with our stride. And thus, as many experienced runners know, focuses only on what is in front of them or her. Where is our focus, brethren, in our race towards the kingdom of God? Where is our focus? Our Heavenly Father has given us so much to look forward to. One amazing event that we will all look forward to and have hope in is the first resurrection, or the resurrection of the firstfruits, or the resurrection of the firstfruits, represented and pictured by the holy day of Pentecost. With our understanding of who God our Father is in the Bible, First Thessalonians reads differently about how we should read it, or how we have read it for decades. Let's turn to First Thessalonians 4, First Thessalonians 4, verse 13 to 17. But I do not wish you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, that you not be grieved, even as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, in exactly the same way also those who have fallen asleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall in no wise precede those who have fallen asleep. Verse 16, Because the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. That we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, for the meeting with the Lord in the air, and so shall we always be with the Lord. Do we realize, brethren, that on that day of resurrection of the firstfruits we will see Jesus for the first time? Do we realize that on that day we will see our Heavenly Father for the first time on his throne? How glorious and exciting will that be! How glorious and exciting will that be! Brethren, this is the awesome plan that God has in motion for us. So let us look to that future which lies ahead. What more glorious scenario could we be part of? We are blessed, brethren. What more of a glorious scenario could we be part of? Let us now read a small portion of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. Matthew 5 verse 11. Blessed are you when they shall reproach you, and shall persecute you, and shall falsely say every wicked thing against you for my sake. Our reward is in heaven, brethren, and not on this earth. That is what we are called to be part of, brethren. Jesus proclaimed that our reward would come at his return. Matthew 16. Matthew 16. Jesus said to his disciples, If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, and let him take up his cross and follow me. For whoever desires to save his life shall lose it, but whoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his life? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his life? For the Son of Man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he shall render to everyone according to his doings. So, brethren, what is the reward that is being spoken of here? Revelation 5. In Revelation 5, our Heavenly Father and Jesus have something incredibly special in store for the saints and the firstfruits. Revelation 5 verse 9. Revelation 5 verse 9. And he sung a new song, saying, Worthy are you to take the book and to open its seals because you were slain, and did redeem us to God by your own blood, out of every tribe and language and people blood, out of every tribe and language and people and nation. As kings and priests, we will be assisting Jesus in administering his government on this earth, which we all know is represented by the upcoming Feast of Tabernacles. Revelation 20 verse 4. Revelation 20 verse 4. And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls, the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, and for the word of God, and those who did not worship the beast, or as I mentioned, did not receive the mark in their foreheads or in their hands, and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. That is what we have to look forward to, brethren. And as we approach another Feast of Tabernacles, we will be rehearsing that of what our future lies ahead. So brethren, the question to ask now is, why do we reign with Jesus for 1000 years? Does Jesus need our help? Does he actually need our help to administer his government on the earth? And we know the answer to this is definitely no. Jesus does not need us. He is Elohim, is very capable of doing this all by himself. But remember, the key, brethren, is that he willingly gives us that rulership with him in his kingdom, because that is part of the reward for our faithfulness to him and to our Heavenly Father in this lifetime that we are living today. Jesus told his disciples that our Heavenly Father will reward us openly. And what a reward that will be, brethren. Matthew 6, Matthew 6, verse 1 to 6. Beware that you do not bestow your alms in the sight of men in order to be seen by them. Otherwise, you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven. Therefore, when you give your alms, do not sound the trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogue in the streets, so that they may have glory from men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward. But when you give your alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be in secret, and your Father who sees in secret shall himself reward you openly. Verse 5. And when you pray, you shall not be like us the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogue and on the corners of the streets, in order that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you pray, enter into a private room, and after shutting the door, pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret shall reward you openly. Going down to verse 16. And when you fast, do not be as the hypocrites, dejected incontinence, for they disfigure their faces in order that they may appear to men to fast. Truly I say to you, they have their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you may not appear to men to fast, but to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret shall reward you openly. So brethren, we will be rewarded openly in front of everyone on earth by being part of that rulership headed by Jesus over the entire world. This will not be done in secret. We will be rewarded and honored very openly by our Heavenly Father and by Jesus for all to see and witness and show respect. People will come and prostrate themselves before us. That is what we have to look forward to, brethren. That is the future that is lying ahead for us. Revelation 3 verse 9. Revelation 3 verse 9. Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who proclaim themselves to be Jews and are not, but do lie. Behold, I will cause them to come and worship before your feet and to know that I have loved you. The Greek verb for worship is proskynio, meaning to kiss the ground, while prostrating yourself before a superior. Again, that is part of our reward, brethren. Jesus will willingly and gladly share his honor and glory with us. And as such, people will come and bow down before us like Joseph's brothers came down and bowed before him when they came to Egypt. Paul put our current lives of suffering, trials, injustice, pain, anguish, deprivation, and unpleasantness into perspective. Romans 8, Romans 8 verse 12, 18, pardon me, Romans 8 verse 18. For I reckon that the sufferings of the present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us. Our future, brethren, our future glory begins at the resurrection of the firstfruits, pictured by Pentecost. Brethren, is our future glory as an eternal spiritual being full of power, energy, and perfection really real to us today? Is it real to us? Do we focus on that incredible future? It is much harder to be offended with others, much harder to harbor resentment and bitterness towards others, and much harder to seek vengeance on others. We must be looking to and focusing on the future, brethren, and we have to remember that. So that leads us to the last point, number four, of letting go. Brethren, what do I mean by letting go? Well, to make the statement a little bit more emphatic, put emphasis on it, we must let go, brethren, and let God. We must let go and let God. In the end, we must turn the injustices done to us, our hurt feelings, our anger, our desire for vengeance over to our Heavenly Father. We must hand that over to Him. I was reading a journal several years back on alcoholism, and there is a process, a 12-step process to overcome that dysfunctionality which occurs by alcoholism and how it can be beaten, dealing with the detrimental grip it has on individuals. And the recovering alcoholics come to realize and accept that they themselves are powerless to overcome their physical, emotional, and mental sickness, and that they need a higher power to overcome and to conquer their alcoholism. It's an exceedingly arduous process they have to undergo. Recovering alcoholics live by a mantra. What is a mantra? A repeated slogan they always use and go back to, which is summarized by a 12-step process. And this mantra, this repeated slogan that they use, is a simple five-word phrase which is, let God, or let go, and let God. Let go and let God. This very simple mantra is so hard to truly implement in life, brethren, and I think that we can all appreciate that fact. I just want to quickly summarize by this example 12 steps of what they outlined for the alcoholics enormous. Number one, we admitted we were powerless over the alcohol, that our lives had become unmanageable. Point two, we came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to some type of sanity. And we decided to turn, point three, we decided to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood him. We made a searching and a fearless moral inventory of ourselves, and we admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being, the exact nature of our wrong doings. And we were ready, entirely ready, to have God remove all these defects of character, and we humbly asked God to remove our shortcomings. We made a list of all the persons we had harmed and became willingly to make amends to them all. And we made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others. We continued to take personal inventory, and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it. And we sought, through prayer and meditation, to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood him, praying only for knowledge of his will for us and the power to carry that out. Having had, point number 12, the last one, having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps that we have undertaken, we tried to carry this message to the alcoholics and to practice this practice, these principles, in all of our affairs. Again, these 12 steps that they had set aside were summarized by let go and let God. On a spiritual note, brethren, is that not a very valid statement? When you review those 12 steps, we can, all of us, can apply that to our spiritual lives. We just have to substitute sin for alcohol in those 12 steps. And we wind up for a recipe of repentance and conversion. Repentance and conversion. It is so true, after I read that, it stuck in my mind, but I can't remember exactly what journal I read that in, but it was several years ago. So, just substitute past injustices or hurt feelings or past abuse or anything that brings dysfunctionality to our personal lives, and you have a recipe for overcoming the personal inner struggles and battles that we continually fight in our physical and spiritual lives. In our physical and spiritual lives. Brethren, I ask you, and I'm also asking myself this question. Are there sins in our lives that we do not, or that we have not overcome? Are there sins which we continue to do even after decades of trying to overcome them? Are there sins in our lives that we just seem powerless to overcome? Does it seem that no matter how hard we try, we still fail? I'm asking this on a general basis, brethren. Is that not an honest question that we can ask ourselves? I will let you answer that personally, each one of you. The Apostle Paul wrote of a continual dichotomy in our spiritual lives. You may ask what dichotomy means. It's a division or a contrast between two things that are represented as being opposed or entirely different. Romans 7 verse 14. Romans 7 verse 14. For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, having been sold as a slave under sin. Because what I am working out myself, I do not know. For what I do not desire to do, this I do. Moreover, what I hate, this is what I do. But if I am doing what I do not desire to do, I agree with the law that it is good. So then, I am no longer working it out myself. Rather, it is a sin that is dwelling within me. Because I fully understand that there is not dwelling within me, that is, within my fleshly being, any good. For the desire to do good is present within me. But how to work out that which is good, I do not find. Can you relate, brethren? Can you relate to this, what we're reading? Reading on verse 19. For the good that I desire to do, I am not doing. But the evil that I do not desire to do, this I am doing. But if I do what I do not desire to do, I am no longer working it out myself. But sin that is dwelling within me. Consequently, I find this law in my members, that when I desire to do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law within my own members, warring against the law of my mind, and leading me captive to the law of sin that is within my own members. Oh, what a wretched man I am! Who shall save me from the body of this death? Death. Verse 25. I thank God. I thank God for his salvation through Jesus Christ. Because this, on the one hand, I myself serve the law of God with my mind. But on the other hand, with the flesh, I serve the law of sin. Brethren, do we read these verses and think, wow, that describes me too. In Luke 18, we will read the end result of the story of the young rich man who sadly left from following Jesus because he did not want to give up his riches as rich. Lifestyle. Jesus responded to his disciples by stating the difficulty of the rich man into entering the kingdom of our Heavenly Father. Luke 18, verse 26. Luke 18, verse 26. And those who heard this said, who then is able to be saved? Who then is able to be saved? In Matthew 19, 26, the parallel account that Matthew wrote, we read that Jesus said, with men, we read that Jesus said, with men, this is impossible. But with God, all things are possible. And brethren, we must remember that. With God, all things are possible. Mark 10, verse 27. Mark 10, verse 27. But Jesus looked at them and said, with men, it is impossible, but not with God, for all things are possible with God. Just a reiteration of that. This contrast is at the heart of the phrase, let go and let God. We, brethren, cannot do it by ourselves. But we can with our Heavenly Father's help. With Him, all things are possible. And the Apostle Paul discusses the righteous behavior that is at the heart of letting go and let God. Romans 12. Romans 12, verse 17. Do not render to anyone evil for evil, but be prepared to do what is right in the sight of all men. If possible, as much as your part, be at peace with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, rather lead this to God's wrath. For it is written, vengeance is mine, I will recompense, says the Lord. Therefore, if your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him drink. For in doing this, you will be helping coals of fire on his head. Brethren, do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Jesus commanded us to do something that is opposite, totally opposite of the human nature. And this incredible command can only be performed if we use our Heavenly Father's Holy Spirit that He has given us as a gift and love. And if we let go and turn the situation over to our Heavenly Father, He will deal with it. Matthew 5, verse 43, Matthew 5, verse 43. You have heard that it was said, you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. We've heard that so many times, brethren. Where are we, brethren, in loving and not hating our enemies, not seeking revenge on others when we are hurt by them, or praying for others who hurt us emotionally and physically? In today's unjust world, so full of the injustices, cruelty, hypocrisy, and evil, cruelty, hypocrisy, and evil, it is so easily to fall into the attitude of wanting immediate vengeance and justice on so many evil acts. But instead, do we look upon that evil and injustice with sadness, as Jesus did on the cross, asking our Heavenly Father for forgiveness upon them because of their ignorance of our Heavenly Father's love? Brethren, when we can get to that point, then we can truly say and truly have begun to let go and let God. So, in summary, brethren, we have reviewed and explored the four points of letting go, and there may be many more, but these are so important in our Christian walk with God, and we must take it seriously as we could determine our true future. Just rehearsing what I went over, we must forget the past and forgive others. Are we still mentioning the injustices and hurt feelings repeatedly from our past? All questions we must ask ourselves. Is our outlook changing so that we are forgetting the past and forgiving the injustices done to us? And most importantly, are we willing to forgive and to make amends? Point two, we must eradicate the root of bitterness. In continuing to perform our own personal examination that we started before Passover, are we finding that we are not forgiving? Before Passover, are we finding that we are bitter? Are we working daily to remove anything that would cause bitterness to spring up in our lives? We know that bitterness can cause spiritual problems in our lives if it is not effectively rooted out and dealt with. Point number three is we must look to the future, brethren. Are we continually looking back or are we looking forward to the future? The future in our Heavenly Father's kingdom. Is that kingdom and all the glory and the honor that we will receive from our Heavenly Father real to us or is it a fantasy? And point number four, we must let go, brethren, and let God. We cannot let go of injustices, the bad experiences, the hurt feelings, and the pain in our lives by ourselves, but we must come to that realization. And we just cannot accomplish that in any means by ourselves. Only through and by the Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ that they can ultimately help us through that with their spirit and the power that they have given us from our calling. It is not within us to forgive and forget. That takes letting go and letting God. With every day that passes, brethren, we are one day closer to our entry into the wonderful kingdom of God. We have so much to look forward to. We have so much to look forward to and excited about. And we have so much to motivate us to do better. To be better, to be stronger, to be kinder, to be more obedient. Yes, it is a challenge. But brethren, let us take this to heart. Now that we've approached and prepare for another feast of trumpets in the day of atonement, let us make an assessment of ourselves and put all aside which is getting in our way in becoming like God and taking away from the future that lies ahead for us if we do our part. And that is to let go and let God. Let God and let God be there in our lives. Lead us to that awesome kingdom of God waiting for us all. Brethren, let us take this message by God seriously and be willing to follow and adopt our heavenly father's will as our will. The act of turning our will over to him is at the heart of letting go. Let us put the confidence and the hope in God to be there and lead us on our path to our conversion and salvation. And let us be strengthened by the fact that God is in charge and is there for us. He's there for us. In closing, brethren, I ask this question one more time. Are you willing to let go? Am I willing to let go? Let us all think deeply on this and let us come to the point of completing that statement by am I willing to let go and let God be there for us, leading us and guiding us the whole way? God's will be done. Have a great Sabbath day, brethren. And again, like always, it was a pleasure to be able.