Scripture: Psalm 147:3
Goal: to teach believers how to get healing from God.
Date: 15- 10-2006
Introduction:
Excuse me: Is the human brain better than the computer? Or is the computer better than the human brain? Although scientists often say that the human brain is far superior to the computer, it is actually unfair to compare it with the computer. No matter how exquisite the computer design is, it can't compare with the rich emotion and understanding of the human brain. But the computer has a function that we always want the human brain to have, that is, it can delete all unnecessary data. Think about it, wouldn't it be great if you could erase some bad memories from your mind? In fact, in the 1950s and early 1960s, someone invented a "shock therapy". It is an attempt to use electrotherapy to erase people's memories of some events that cause sadness and pain. But God has a better and more beautiful way, that is, he can heal the wounds of our hearts. Treatment is a better method than deletion. It only treats the symptoms, not the root cause, and treatment is the fundamental problem. In God's redemption plan, healing emotions is an indispensable part. He once told people on the earth, "... because I, the Lord, heal you" (for example. 15: 26). Psalm 147:3: "He healed the sad people and wrapped their wounds. God's healing includes not only our bodies, but also our hearts, including those painful memories. Good memories are blessings, bad memories are injuries, and "injured memories" can even cause many inner struggles in our lives.
A couple took their four-year-old child to travel far away by car. It is getting dark. The husband said to his wife, "What do you think? She said, "I'm very tired. Stop the car. The husband hesitated and said, "I want to walk a few miles before dark." "Then he walked on. Soon after, there was a loud noise and the car lost control. Finally, the whole car overturned. The parents climbed out of the badly damaged car and tried desperately to save the child trapped in the car. The child was rescued and died on his father's arm in just a few minutes. Father felt very sad. He said, "It's all my fault. If I had listened to my wife, we would have stopped long ago, so our children are still alive. He always blames himself and thinks he should take full responsibility. This kind of pain became his injured memory. I believe that we all have some injured memories more or less. Maybe we hurt others intentionally or unintentionally, or others hurt us intentionally or unintentionally. Those people may be your relatives or people you never thought would hurt you. Or your parents hurt you when you were a child, or your spouse hurt you. Or a friend betrayed you, or you did something unknown. However, these past events are one scar after another, which deeply hurt you, traumatized you and caused inner struggle. No matter how the past events hurt us, we believe that God will heal the sad people and bind up our wounds. How does God heal a broken heart? God's way is not to erase memories, but to heal our wounds with his love, his forgiveness and his acceptance.
First, you need to know the truth about forgiveness.
How to treat the trauma of the mind? First, we need to know the truth about forgiveness. When our hearts are hurt, nothing is more important than forgiveness except love. In all aspects of life, "forgiveness" can be said to be a protective wall to prevent the breakdown of interpersonal relationships. Why is forgiveness so important in life? It's simple, because no one in the world is perfect and no one needs forgiveness from others. We are weak. If a person lives in this world and has never offended others, then he will never have to say, "I'm sorry, please forgive me." Or, "I forgive you." But a person who knows himself and his weaknesses knows his mistakes and faults and needs forgiveness from others. When you forgive others, you will know a deeper gratitude, that is, gratitude to God. Jesus once told a story about a slave who owed his master a lot of money. The master forgives his servant with his heartfelt kindness, but when another person owes his servant a small debt and can't repay it, the servant keeps that person in prison until he can repay it (too 18+0-35). This is what we often do. We often hope that others will forgive us as soon as possible, but we are always unwilling to forgive those who have hurt us. Paul wrote in a letter to the church in Colossia: "If one person has a grudge against another person, always tolerate and forgive each other;" The Lord forgave you, so you should forgive others. [Col. 3: 13] Jesus also made it very clear that if we can't forgive others' sins, our heavenly father won't forgive us (Mt. 6: 15). Generally speaking, we can forgive others because God is kind to us and is a response to God's gratitude. How far do you think it is to forgive others? How long does it take to forgive others?
According to the Old Testament, when Absalom, the son of King David, rebelled and tried to kill David, David did not hate Absalom. On the contrary, when Absalom was killed, David said sadly, "My son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! I wish I could die for you, Absalom! My son! My son! (2 Sam. 18: 33) David's performance fully expressed the spirit of forgiveness. One time. Peter wants to know how much forgiveness there will be; So he asked Jesus, "Lord, how many times should I forgive my brother for sinning against me?" "Seven times? For Peter, seven times is very lenient, because the rabbi at that time taught that forgiveness is enough for three times. After three times, if that person still offends you, it depends on whether he is an enemy or not. Jesus clearly said, "not seven times, but seventy times seven!" "Does this mean that we have a 490-yuan forgiveness ticket, and when this ticket stub is used up, we can treat that person as an enemy? Don't! Not seven times or 490 times, Jesus clearly told us that forgiveness is endless (see Mt 18: 2 1-22). Make sure that you have been forgiven by God.
How to treat the trauma of the mind? Second, make sure that you have been forgiven by God.
How vividly the poet described God's forgiveness. 【 Psalm103:1-12 】: "How high the sky is from the ground, how kind he is to those who fear him! How far is the east from the west, how far is our deviance from us! " How high is the sky from the ground? Unable to calculate! Because there are still days ahead. How far is it from east to west? It is impossible to calculate, because East and West will never meet. Similarly, God's kindness and forgiveness to us is immeasurable.
There was a gentleman who was very upset, although he accepted Christ as the savior in his life. But because his mistake led to the breakdown of his family, he begged the Lord to forgive his mistake, and he also felt that the Lord had accepted him; But his wife said that she could not forgive him and make up with him. So he had a psychological problem: "Did God really forgive me? Or is the result I am facing now a punishment from God? Maybe you will have something that has happened that deeply bothers you, and you know that this behavior is a sin in the eyes of God, and people around you will not forgive you, which becomes a wound in your heart. Look at what the Bible says: "If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1: 9) When we sincerely confess our sins to God in prayer, we can believe that God will forgive us our sins because God keeps his promise. There are two aspects to be explained about God's forgiveness: (l) God's forgiveness is unconditional. Don't think that you can't come to God for help after practicing, because any self-improvement plan is useless. With our weakness and transgressions, we come to the throne of God's mercy, seek his forgiveness, and always take him as our help. In fact, our unwillingness to approach God is the biggest obstacle.
"Because our high priest is not unable to sympathize with our weakness. Like us, he has been subjected to various temptations, but he has not committed a crime. Therefore, we just came to the throne of compassion without fear, in order to get pity and grace as timely help. (Hebrews 4: 15- 16) New translation (2) God's forgiveness is infinite. Some people think that God's forgiveness is limited to the first mistake, but after repeating it two or three times, they begin to doubt whether God's forgiveness is still valid. Some people think that some bad behaviors, such as abortion, adultery and homosexuality, cannot be forgiven. Neither of these ideas is correct. When Paul wrote to the Corinthian church, he listed countless evils: "Don't you know that unjust people can't inherit the kingdom of God? Don't deceive yourself. No matter adulterer, idolater, adulterer, child molester, lover, thief, greedy, drunk, abusive or blackmailed, they can't inherit the kingdom of God. (before forest 1. 6: 9- 10) Then he said, "Some of you used to be like this, but now you have been washed, sanctified and justified by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Spirit of our God. (before forest 1. 6: 1 1) Therefore, we must understand that as long as one sincerely comes before God to confess and repent, there is no sin that God does not forgive. Many times, we always dwell on the past, but God has erased all the past as if nothing had happened. Because Christ has paid the price for us, that is to say, Christ has suffered the punishment we should bear, and now we can bear Christ's forgiveness of sins. Forgiveness is very important for the change of a person's life. When the Lord Jesus approached those who needed forgiveness, he said, "I forgive your sins." Then he said, "Go! Stop committing crimes from now on. These words of Jesus will have a power to help a person turn over from depravity and start over. Forgiveness inspires those who seek repentance. He would say, "I must wash my hands of it and stop committing crimes. "I don't want to disappoint people who love me again."
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Third, forgive those who have hurt you.
How to treat the trauma of the mind? Third, forgive those who have hurt you.
There is a small cemetery with a tombstone engraved with the word "forgive" and nothing else. And these two words are like a big question mark. Forgive what? Forgive who? Have some unfortunate things happened that make someone need to ask for forgiveness from others? Have you ever been in a situation where you were deeply hurt and couldn't forgive that person? If your answer is "yes", you must be burdened with a lot of troubles. When we are wronged or hurt, how can we overcome the pain and resentment in our hearts?
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There was a businessman who left his wife and children to do business abroad for several years. When he came back, he found his wife in love with his best friend. He lost his wife and children, and his best friend.
In this way, for almost two years, this kind of resentment and trauma has always existed in his heart. He tried his best to forgive them, but it was always ineffective. Hatred haunted him day and night. He prayed to god to get rid of hatred in his heart, but it didn't help. Finally, he went to the priest to talk about his pain. He asked the priest, "What can I do to forgive them?" The priest replied, "Nothing! 」
The priest went on to explain that Jesus Christ died on Mount Golgotha for the sins of the world, and Christ had done it for us before we became Christians. The priest advised him to accept God's prepared forgiveness. He accepted, and began to feel that the resentment in his heart was slowly disappearing, so he forgave his wife and his good friend.
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We know that God wants us to forgive others, just as God forgives us. We tried to forgive, but it didn't work. Resentments or wounds in our hearts can never be healed. What shall we do? First of all, you should firmly grasp the fact that you can't forgive others by yourself. Usually we don't want to tell God frankly how much we want those who offend us to be punished. We just had a polite conversation with God instead of going up to him and admitting, "God, I just can't forgive that guy. In fact, we must frankly express our feelings to God, and let God intervene in our lives and treat them.
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Second, you should pray for those who have hurt you, that is, those who you can't forgive. If you remember Jesus' prayer, "Father! Forgive them because they don't know what they are doing. " Gradually, you will feel pity for those who hurt you. You begin to understand that as a person, like everyone else including yourself, you are weak. When you do this, your resentment will gradually turn into compassion and finally become a heart that can forgive others.
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However, this does not mean that you have to live on a desert island with people who hurt you all your life; But when you see that person, you no longer want to avoid him; When someone mentions that person's name, you stop flat-mouthing.
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Forgiveness is first a matter of free will, and then an emotional problem. We must first make up our minds and say, "Yes, I want to forgive him. I have decided to forgive him. Because this is what God likes me to do. " Then you will find that your heart moves with it, and as a result, your heart is released. Fourth, we must forgive ourselves.
How to treat the trauma of the mind? Fourth, we must forgive ourselves.
Forgiveness is like a tripod, with three pillars, without which it is incomplete. These three pillars are (1) the relationship with God, (2) the relationship with those who offend you, and (3) the relationship with yourself. There is no doubt that it is much easier for some people to pour out their hearts to God and ask for his forgiveness than to forgive themselves.
There was a 20-year-old young man who divorced three years ago because he committed a felony. Although he understood God's promise that "if we confess our sins, God will be faithful and just, and will forgive us our sins", he could never forgive himself and even wanted to die. Some people believe that God has forgiven them, but they can't forgive themselves. If you are the same, ask yourself a question: "Now that God has forgiven me, what right do I have to refuse to forgive myself?" ? In truth, even if God has forgiven you, you have no right not to forgive yourself. If you can't forgive yourself, you will only destroy your inner peace and still have to bear the burden of sin. Since Jesus died to bear your sins, why do you have to bear the burden of sin? God didn't ask you to bear this burden. You bear it yourself, as if you were denying what Jesus did for you. In order to further help yourself get rid of those broken memories, maybe you can do the following. First, find a time to be alone with God. Quietly meditate, Jesus was hanged on the cross with your sin and tasted all the pain and loneliness. Recalling your painful past and the crimes or behaviors that plagued you seems to be crucified.
Next, take a blank piece of paper, write down all the past events that bothered you in detail, and then knead the paper into a ball. Then meditate. Jesus is standing in front of you. He holds a pair of loving hands and a paper ball, so you don't have to bear those burdens anymore. Remember, from God's point of view, those things of the past have indeed passed, how far is the East from the West, and how far is the transgression he told us!
Finally, you can burn the paper. When the paper burns, it reminds you that you have entrusted the past to Jesus, and you don't have to bear those burdens anymore.
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Conclusion: In 1956, there were five young American missionaries who prayed and sang with one heart: "We have a story for all nations". After singing this missionary poem, they said "goodbye" to their family and colleagues, and went to preach the gospel to the uncivilized people who had never heard of the gospel. A few days later, there was bad news. They were all killed.
Everyone is very sad. Why did God allow this to happen? Many years later, at a World Evangelical Conference in Berlin, Germany, a woman named Elisabeth Elliot took a local who killed one of the five missionaries to testify, and the husband of the woman who translated for him was actually one of the missionaries who were killed that year. What made the murderer repent and believe in the Lord and have the courage to stand on the stage to testify? What makes this lady stand with her husband's murderer? There is only one reason, that is, God's infinite love and forgiveness. God's love is forgiving love. He forgives and forgives our sins, so we can also forgive those who hurt us. God's love and forgiveness can heal any mental trauma, including our inability to forgive our sins. May we all experience God's wonderful and great love together. Amen!