Broken without being Bitter

[revrandy]

The biggest hurdle to jump in overcoming bitterness is FORGIVENESS...

Once you've forgiven....you can begin the healing process...

[Malvaro]

Originally Posted by Malvaro

I heard Bro Hood preach a message a few years ago at a JCM conference.... Brokeness that Can't be fixed.... i should load it onto my 8525 sometime; its an excellent reminder of the value of brokeness, anytime, anyplace....

i can upload Mp3, if anyone is interested....

Per request....

http://www.savefile.com/files/902599

[LadyChocolate]

Originally Posted by revrandy

The biggest hurdle to jump in overcoming bitterness is FORGIVENESS...

Once you've forgiven....you can begin the healing process...

yes sir....that is so right.... it kinda reminds of something my mother is going thru right now... it's a silly analogy but fits.. she recently had a knee replacement and has been going thru lots of therapy. My mother can take a whole lotta pain, but she's in tears after each session. She exercises at home even though it's painful... She told me that if she doesn't go thru the pain, she's not going to walk again...

it's easier to "not" forgive. It takes a lot to forgive others for things they've done. But if I'm ever going to walk, I have to do it... I don't want to use crutches either......

[Rhoni]

Originally Posted by COOPER

But..........

..........some love the broken image.

They think the more they suffer, fast, get attacked by the devil etc...: they are more spiritual than others.

Some are broken and trial addicts.

Addicted to suffering and the thorn in the side syndrome.

Cooper,

You have well said...many enjoy being in the "VICTIM" role. I think that if many things are happening in your life that you feel 'victimized' there is a point you need to stop and re-evaluate your perception of the problem.

If the same things happen again and again to you - then you need to ask yourself, "How do I contribute to, or set this up to happen again and again in my life." If you look at yourself honestly or get with a friend that will tell you the truth and not tell you what you want to hear...then you will be able to look at this thing differently, and make the necessary adjustments in your life.

Coop, I will tell you that there are those who are threatening to the devil and his kingdom. God will allow things to happen to you to strengthen you for the battle. This is called PROCESS. It is unwise to set yourself up to being more spiritual than others, because that is not what it is about.

I deal everyday with those who "overspiritualize" their position. They make mistakes in judgement, and they have 'issues' and instead of looking at what they have done to put themselves in a bad position...they pray, speak in tongues, and sit back and expect God to fix it for them. Many times God just wants them to fix it themselves.

Many times it isn't about God or the devil...it is about our selves getting in the way!

Blessings, Rhoni

Originally Posted by revrandy

The biggest hurdle to jump in overcoming bitterness is FORGIVENESS...

Once you've forgiven....you can begin the healing process...

Rev,

I agree wholeheartedly with your statement. I will, however, add something to it. As one who was lost in a forest of bitterness for 18 years that all began with a single root, I confess that there was A hurdle jumped when I forgave those who I felt had wounded me but it was not the final hurdle. About 4 months after having been "healed" by forgiving Jesus very powerfully asked me a question he asked others often, "wilt thou be made WHOLE?". The instruction He gave me for moving from healing to wholeness in this area of bitterness was to go beyond forgiving to being forgiven. He instructed me to go to all that I had held aught against and spoken evil against and ask them to forgive ME! You can not imagine the complete release and wholeness that pervaded my life once I followed his simple, humbling instruction!

[Rhoni]

Originally Posted by philjones

Rev,

I agree wholeheartedly with your statement. I will, however, add something to it. As one who was lost in a forest of bitterness for 18 years that all began with a single root, I confess that there was A hurdle jumped when I forgave those who I felt had wounded me but it was not the final hurdle. About 4 months after having been "healed" by forgiving Jesus very powerfully asked me a question he asked others often, "wilt thou be made WHOLE?". The instruction He gave me for moving from healing to wholeness in this area of bitterness was to go beyond forgiving to being forgiven. He instructed me to go to all that I had held aught against and spoken evil against and ask them to forgive ME! You can not imagine the complete release and wholeness that pervaded my life once I followed his simple, humbling instruction!

There is a 12 step program for any addiction...and the steps have been covered!.

Bro. Phil,

I do agree with you both...healing is a process and that process begins with confession of how we contributed to the problem, forgiveness of ourselves and others, and making restitution where it is possible, and then the healing can truly begin.

Blessings, Rhoni

P.S. I will say that those you love the most, are the ones who hurt you the most [because it is your amount and depth of caring that causes the hurt]. There are times that the hurt cannot be expressed in word, there are no words. Until you can identify it to yourself then you have no basis on which to repair/restore the relationship. I have only found this to happen once in my life. It is then you shut down...and wait for God to speak.

[Hesetmefree238]

Very good, Brother.

[committed]

What a stirring post! Thanks for making us stop and think.
I get so tired of people arguing and spending so much time on 'conservatives' and 'liberals' and their differences. I often think, "what would happen if we forgot about the differences (and what we like/don't like about UPCI) and focused on the lost souls around us?"
Talk about a Revival!!

[RandyWayne]

He instructed me to go to all that I had held aught against and spoken evil against and ask them to forgive ME! You can not imagine the complete release and wholeness that pervaded my life once I followed his simple, humbling instruction!

This reminds me of the classic scene from "Srgt York", where he goes to the person who reneged on selling him his land and asked him to forgive HIM for simply getting angry (after the turkey shooting contest where he finally had enough money to complete the land deal).......

Hi,

personally, I feel that this topic of brokenness is being shared out of the context in the Christian circle. I became more aware of this lately.

We should also see what the word of God has to say about any topic and if our experience do not line up, we still go for the Word.

I am bringing these up because to me, brokenness to me is coming to an end of ourself, allowing the spirit of God to take over, to produce victory, healing, success, breakthrough and fruits in our life.

We all have tried and failed to walk the walk but only God knows how feeble our best effort it. Brokenness is having a revelation and coming to terms with our feebleness and it makes leaning on Him easy.

How does God break someone or rather produce brokenness? bible way..not by sickness or accident.

A good example and type of fleshy believer is Peter, who profess before all the disciples of his love for Jesus and how he will not forsake the Lord no matter what Happens.

We all know the end of the story. Peter is no where to be found when the Lord needed him most and he is put to flight by a simple servant girl, denying knowing Jesus.

But how did Jesus break Peter? Using the circumstances (I am very sure his denial of Christ must have broke something in him) , by asking him before his disciples ( imagine the shame and the embarrassment ) to come to terms with his inability to love Jesus wholeheartedly and unreservedly and allow Jesus to love him instead.

3 times he asked Peter if he love Jesus and if u look up the Greek, the first 2 love used is Agapao ( God's kind of unconditional love) and finally Jesus asked if Peter phileo (brotherly love) him.

Jesus nailed peter's self effort right on the head. Peter wept because he now knows how feeble his love for the Lord is and yet the Lord still choose to use him to feed the sheeps.. even though Peter's love for the Lord is not totally solid but a brotherly kind of love (from Agape to phileo).

Isnt this what most preacher advocate.. we must sacrifice, love the Lord with all our heart, mind, soul but point is, we are not that good and consistent with our love for him and we rather focus on His Love for us which is always constant and unchanging.

Point is Jesus will use or allow circumstances to break u,( so that u know its not about u loving him but His loving you), but sickness and disease, death, accident, death is definitely not one.

Paul goes through terrible situations but sickness and disease is not one.

If you want to be broken, worship him and let the Spirit remove all form of self righteousness, effort and then faith and service would be effortless.

Jesus said my yoke is easy and burden light. If your yoke is hard and burden heavy, I am afraid that it may not be the Lord's or u are doing it by your own effort.

Let the word interpret the word and not our experience or pet teaching.