Sermons
Letting Go For Good
Series: Joy RobbersLETTING GO FOR GOOD
Sermon By Terry Siverd
Cortland Church of Christ / March 03, 2019
We are on the tail end of a sermon series that I have titled, “Joy Robbers”.
With this morning's message I want to pinpoint one of the most serious thieves.
This is a case of, “I have met the enemy and I am he.”
Our sermon topic today concerns the great damage that comes when we choose to engage in holding a grudge.
It is a form of self-pilfering - - when we hold a grudge we are robbing ourselves.
Sadly, this act of holding a grudge is not at all rare among us humans, but is one of our most common pitfalls.
And the really sad news is that this observation doesn't change dramatically when the focus zooms in on us Christians.
We have almost come to expect a dog-eat-dog mentality in “the world”, but
to see this same disposition take up residence in the church is truly shameful.
At the very center of holding a grudge is the failure to forgive.
“Grudge” is defined as, a deep-seated feeling of RESENTMENT or RANCOR provoked by some incident or situation.
Moments ago I referred to “holding a grudge” as a pitfall.
This is one of those instances where we whitewash sin. It's not so painful to speak of having
a pitfall, a shortcoming, a weakness, a character flaw, a defect or an imperfection, a foible, etc..
I am convinced that this kind of obfuscation is what allows the act of holding a grudge to linger among us.
We need to be honest with ourselves and our friends and family and call it what is it.
Holding a grudge is a SIN.
There is nothing obscure or unclear about the sinfulness of holding a grudge.
In fact, as sins go, holding a grudge is a really BIG SIN.
It is a sin that is so serious that it has the capacity to cause us to loose our soul in eternity.
Listen to the words of Jesus from Mk.11:25 - -
When you are praying, if you are angry with someone, forgive him
so that that your Father in heaven will also forgive your sins. / NCV
Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone;
so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your transgressions / NASV
When you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him,
so that your Father in heaven may forgive your sins. / NIV
When you stand praying, if you have a grievance against anyone, forgive him,
so that you Father in heaven may forgive you the wrongs you have done. / NEB
When you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against,
so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too. / NLT
As to the serious and far-reaching ramifications of this sin notice Mk.11:26 - -
But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your transgressions.
cf. Mt.6:14-15 / For if you forgive men their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
But if you do not forgive men, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.
Please don't raise you hand on this, but to illustrate the pervasiveness of this sin, let me ask - -
Have you ever heard someone say something like, “I will never forgive so and so!”?
This kind of statement is disturbing and alarming on multiple levels.
First, it is an expression of ignorance.
Some people seems to think it shows their strength. But, “Holding a grudge doesn't make
you strong; it makes you bitter. Forgiveness doesn't make you weak; it sets you free”.
Holding a grudge also fails to acknowledge and affirm one of one of the central teachings
of our Lord Jesus Christ - - that our forgiveness is predicated upon forgiving others.
Secondly, this word “never” is quite distressing.
When it comes to this thing called a GRUDGE some seem unwilling to BUDGE - -
their mind is made up and pride takes over and they are not about to relent, much less repent.
Thirdly, if we were to dig deeper as to the identity of “so and so”, we might be shocked to
find out that this “so and so” is actually a “brother so and so” or a “sister so and so”.
Col.3:12-13 / As those who have been chosen by God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion,
kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another and forgiving each other,
whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.
Fourthly, if and when we were to discover the nature of the grievance that has triggered
such a serious grudge, we're often surprised to find out how it was such a minor offense.
Some people are guilty of holding grudges for the silliest of reasons.
“He raised his voice to me.” … “He gave me a ugly look.” … “He didn't shake my hand.”
It is wrong to hold a grudge even when we have been on the receiving end of a big infraction,
but some get hung up on such little things - - things that don't amount to a hill of beans.
Biblical LOVE ought to trump any grudge.
1Pet.4:8 / love covers a multitude of sins
C.S. Lewis once wrote,
To be Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you!
< < < > > >
Holding a grudge is tantamount to self-destruction.
Grudges are a big waste of happiness.
Holding a grudge is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die.
Holding a grudge is like letting someone live rent-free in your head.
We often hold a grudge because we don't want to let the other person off the hook.
But who's really hooked: the one who's moved on or the one who's holding the grudge?
God is both merciful and longsuffering!
We love these attributes about our Heavenly Father.
He is patient with us. He bears with us.
So … why then are we are the very opposite of longsuffering and merciful with others?
Why is it that we are sometimes so short-tempered and impatient with our brothers and sisters in Christ?
> > > Read from Mt.18:21-35 < < <
There is something truly liberating when we let go of grudges.
As our sermon title implies: when we let go it is FOR GOOD.
Forgiveness is one of the most underrated tools in mental health.
Booker T. Washington contended that
“Holding a grudge does not hurt the person against whom you hold the grudge, it hurts the one who holds it.”
I understand the point he is making - - that we hurt ourselves first and foremost,
but I disagree that holding a grudge doesn't hurt the person against whom you hold the grudge.
When we stop holding grudges everybody benefits from that decision.
No one likes having someone holding a grudge against them.
No one who is close to the one holding the grudge finds any delight in such.
When did a true friend ever say to you, “I'm so glad to see that you're holding firm in holding that grudge.”?
Letting go is good for everyone involved!
Henry Eyring has noted: Carrying a grudge is a heavy burden. As your forgive, you will feel the joy of being forgiven.
Last Wednesday evening our midweek group studied from Acts 2.
We paused for a few moments to reflect on Acts 2:37.
The crowd listened intently to Peter's gospel sermon and vs.37 notes - -
when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to
Peter and the rest of the apostles, 'Brethren, what shall we do?
We preachers don't always know if you're listening.
We can't always tell if we breaking through to touch your heart.
Last Sunday afternoon Stephen Flask thanked me for my sermon.
Last Sunday I preached on “Robbed By Regrets”.
Stephen proceeded to tell me that he would not be here today because he needed to deal with a regret.
The implication was that he needed to go and make something right with another.
If you are holding a grudge, let go of it.
Life is too precious and forgiveness is too sweet.
Do not dare to stand before our longsuffering Judge and
tell Him you went through life unwilling to budge on a grudge.
