BREAKING FREE Week 10

BREAK FREE FROM BITTERNESS

Pastor Dr. Jackson Wambua
Deliverance Church Kakamega, Kenya
Hebrews 12:15 NIV
See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.

1. WHAT IS BITTERNESS?

Bitterness is hurt, anger, hostility, indignation, animosity, venom, acrimony, ill feelings, ill will, bad blood, resentfulness or harshness.


THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT BITTERNESS
1. Bitterness follows unwanted experiences - failures, disappointment, setbacks, that are perceived to be beyond one's control.
2. Bitterness is the result of a perceived right that has been violated.
3. Bitterness cause emotional, physical and spiritual bondage.
4. Bitterness affects not only us will contaminate all our relationships.


OVERCOMING BITTERNESS
*Steps for healing the hurt that won't go away.
1. Stop dwelling and retelling.
2. Seek grace.
3. What if our bitterness is toward God?
4. Forgive.
1. Forgiveness is a characteristic of our identity in Christ.
2. Forgiveness is more than an outward behavior.
3. Forgiveness is a deliberate decision to cancel the debt owed.
* The process of forgiveness includes (Five things).
1. Acknowledge the offense to God
2. Express to God how it made you feel
3. Express to God your decision to cancel the debt
4. Accepting the person just the way they are
5. Being willing to risk being hurt again
4. Forgiveness requires our trust in God's character.

BREAKING FREE Week 9

Message by:
Pastor Terry Crawford
Covenant Church
Shepherdstown, WV

Breaking Free of Procrastination

There are serious negative costs to procrastination.

7 Ideas to help O.R.G.A.N.I.Z. if untrained in time management.

• Organize your to-do list by importance.
• Remove distractions.
• Give yourself time limits.
• Award yourself when big task is completed.
• Never do exciting tasks first. Save for last.
• Itemize big tasks to break down into bite size.
• Zoom in on a single Task instead of multi task.

Fear, rebellion and selfishness / laziness are the core heart issues found in procrastination.

1 John 4:18 NIV
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

Psalm 56:3-4 NIV
When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise— in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?

Proverbs 17:11 NIV
Evildoers foster rebellion against God; the messenger of death will be sent against them.

Romans 13:1-2 NIV
Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.

Proverbs 21:25 NIV
The craving of a sluggard will be the death of him, because his hands refuse to work.

Colossians 3:23 NIV
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,

Identify your problem.

Psalm 139:23-24 NIV
Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.  See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Decide to care for others first.

Philippians 2:1-4 NIV
Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

Elicit accountability

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 NIV
Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor:  If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.

Aspire to live in today.

Matthew 5:23-25 NIV
“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift. “Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison.

Ephesians 4:26-27 NIV
“In your anger do not sin” : Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.

2 Corinthians 5:20-21, 6:2 NIV
 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.  God made him who had no sin to be sin us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God... For he says, “In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.

Next Steps:

Today I commit to…

• Get alone with God and ask Him to search my heart for any procrastination issue.
• Settle matters quickly.
• Ask Christ to be the Lord over my life.

Genesis Chapter 3 Free Fall Poem

Prolifik Films: FREE FALL, GENESIS CHAPTER 3-POET…: Free Fall

BREAKING FREE Week 7

Message by:
Pastor Jeff Kellogg
Covenant Church
Shepherdstown, WV

Breaking Free of Depression

Psalm 42:5,11
Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.

I. The Question

A. Surface problems

• Lack of self-acceptance (appearance, intelligence, capabilities, temperament, gender, race, nationality)
• Loss of something treasured (possessions, relationships, respect, unmet expectations, personal health, security, etc)
• Feelings of guilt (over past sins, ongoing bad habits)
• Unjust treatment (lack of appreciation, insults, injuries, abuse)

B. Root problems

1. Earthly value system

John 16:33
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18
¹⁶So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. ¹⁷For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, ¹⁸as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

2. Moral impurity

Genesis 4:6-7
⁶The LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? ⁷If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.”

3. Bitterness

Jonah 4:2-4
²And he prayed to the LORD and said, “O LORD, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. ³Therefore now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” ⁴And the LORD said, “Do you do well to be angry?”

C. Root cause

God’s offer/command	Our wrong response
1. Let me be your treasure	NO, I will pursue what makes me happy and content
2. Let me forgive you	NO, I’m doing nothing wrong; I will decide what is right for me, or NO, that’s too easy, I will work harder to be deserving of God’s favor
3. Let me administer justice	NO, I will do the punishing myself

D. No apparent cause

II. The Answer

A. Preach to your soul v.5,11

B. Hope in God v.5

C. I shall again praise him v.5

D. Remember God and past worship v.4,6

E. Believe in God’s control over your circumstances v.7

F. Trust in his steadfast love even when discouragement persists v.8

My Next Steps

• I will read and meditate on Psalm 42 this week.
• I will ask God to reveal any root causes in my life for persistent discouragement.
• I will preach to my soul this week when discouraged.

BREAKING FREE Week 6

Message by:
Pastor Terry Crawford
Covenant Church
Shepherdstown, WV

Getting Over Greed

HOW MUCH IS ENOUGH?

  Ecclesiastes 2:10-11
I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my labor, and this was the reward for all my toil. Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.

             

WHY DO I ALWAYS WANT MORE?     3 Misconceptions

 

1.  Having more things will make me more Happy.

  Ecclesiastes 5:10-11 (LB)

He who loves money shall never have enough. The foolishness of thinking that wealth brings happiness! The more you have, the more you spend..."

 

2.  Having more things will make me more Important.

  Luke 12:15 (Ph)
"Be on your guard against greed in any shape or form.  For a man's real life in no way depends on the number of his possessions."

 

3.  Having more things will make me more Secure.

  Proverbs 18:11 (LB)
"The rich man thinks of his wealth as an impregnable defense, a high wall of safety.  What a dreamer!"

 

A. The cure for greed is open hands and obedient hearts.

 

B. God has called us to a different economy defined not by Greed but by Generosity.

  Acts 20:35 the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.

  Hebrews 13:5
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.

  Philippians 4:12-13
I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

 

C. The Strength to be Content is only found in Christ.

 

Next Steps:

• I will get alone with God this week and honestly ask “How much is enough?”
• I will practice generosity this week by purposely giving to someone in need or to the church.
• I place my trust in Christ for the 1st time today to receive the strength I need for life.