A REWIND OF THE

SERIES SO FAR

“S - A - F - E - L - Y”

SUPPORT

We must support each other

unconditionally, tangibly

& continually

Help carry each other’s burdens. In this

way you will follow Christ’s teachings.(Galatians 6:2 – God’s Word Translation)

ACCEPTANCE

Because Jesus accepted

you,

you must accept others

Christ accepted you, so you should

accept each other, which will

bring glory to God.

(Romans 15:7 – New Century Version)

BITTERNESS OR

FORGIVENESS WHICH WILL YOU CHOOSE?

Bitterness is like drinking

rat poison and waiting

for the rat to die.

(John Ortberg)

BITTERNESS =

PIKRIA (GREEK)

Anger or disappointment

because of another person,

resentment

Watch out that no poisonous root of

bitterness grows up to trouble you . . .(Hebrews 12:15 – New Living Translation)

Banish bitterness, rage and anger,

shouting and slander, and any and all

malicious thoughts—these are poison.

(Ephesians 4:21 – The Voice)

By all means don’t brag about being

wise and good if you are bitter . . .

that is the worst sort of lie.

(James 3:14 – Living Bible)

PERSONAL COST:

Bitterness is a poison and it

will always harm you

RELATIONAL COST:

Bitterness is a cancer and it

will spread to everyone

SPRIRITUAL COST:

Bitterness is a sin and it will

lead you away from God

Do not seek revenge or hold a grudge

against anyone. Instead, love your

neighbor as you love yourself.

(Leviticus 19:18 – The Voice)

You can become bitter or

you can become better –

it’s your choice.

And forgiveness is the key.

MY STORY

Dennis Rearden

FORGIVENESS =

CHARIZOMAI (GREEK)

Freely show favor to, to grant

pardon, extend kindness,

unconditional mercy

Forgive one another as quickly

and thoroughly as God in Christ

forgave you.

(Ephesians 4:32 – The Message)

Try to understand other people. Forgive

each other. If you have something

against someone,

forgive him. That is the way

the Lord forgave you.

(Colossians 3:13 – New Life Version)

But if anyone has caused harm . . .

I encourage you to offer him

the grace of forgiveness . . .

So instead of continuing to ostracize

him, I urge you to demonstrate

your love for him once again.

(2 Corinthians 2:5-8 – The Voice)

Forgiveness is remembering

how much you’ve

been forgiven

The kingdom of God is like a king who

decided to square accounts with his

servants. One servant was brought

before him who had run up a debt of

a hundred thousand dollars.

He couldn’t pay up, so the king ordered

the man, along with his wife, children,

and goods, to be auctioned off at the

slave market. “The poor wretch threw

himself at the king’s feet and begged,

‘Give me a chance and I’ll pay it all

back.’ Touched by his plea, the king let

him off, erasing the debt. “The servant

was no sooner out of the room when he

came upon one of his fellow servants

who owed him ten dollars.

He seized him by the throat and

demanded, ‘Pay up. Now!’ “The

poor wretch threw himself down and

begged, ‘Give me a chance and I’ll pay

it all back.’ But he wouldn’t do it.

He had him arrested and put in jail until

the debt was paid. When the other

servants saw this going on,

they were outraged and brought a

detailed report to the king. “The king

summoned the man and said,

‘You evil servant! I forgave your entire

debt when you begged me for mercy.

Shouldn’t you be compelled to be

merciful to your fellow servant who

asked for mercy?’

‘The king was furious and put the

screws to the man until he paid back

his entire debt.

And that’s exactly what my Father

is going to do to each one of you

who doesn’t forgive unconditionally

anyone who asks for mercy.

(Matthew 18:23-34 – The Message)

Forgiveness is relinquishing

your right to get even

Forgiveness is repeating the

process as long as

necessary

Forgiven people forgive people.

That is the starting point for

genuine forgiveness. If you

don’t feel forgiven,

you won’t want to forgive

anybody else. If you’re hard on

yourself, you’re going to be

hard on others. But the more

grace you receive from God,

the more gracious you’re

going to be to others. The more

forgiven you feel by God,

the more forgiving you’ll be

toward others.

How can you tell when you’ve

really forgiven somebody?

When you can look at that

person’s hurt and not just your

own and pray for God to bless

him or her. You ask, “How could

I ever do that for the person

who’s hurt me?” You can’t

unless you allow the love of

God to penetrate your life.

Only the love of God can help

you do something like that.

Let’s Pray