Old Hatred For A New Year

RISE AND SHINE FOR JESUS!

By Pam Iannello

(my late mother)

Some of us drag old hatreds into every, fresh, new year that is granted us, continually filling the pages of our lives with the toxic waste of our offenses. Have you ever sought revenge with a despiteful heart because of hatred that has been continuously plaguing you? People often call revenge "sweet" and forget to incorporate God’s perspective on the matter! So today we are going to search our hearts to see if a spirit of vindictiveness is manifested in our lives…

Ezekiel 25:12-17 (KJV)

Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because that Edom hath dealt against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and hath greatly offended, and revenged himself upon them; [13] Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also stretch out mine hand upon Edom, and will cut off man and beast from it; and I will make it desolate from Teman; and they of Dedan shall fall by the sword. [14] And I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel: and they shall do in Edom according to mine anger and according to my fury; and they shall know my vengeance, saith the Lord God. [15] Thus saith the Lord God; Because the Philistines have dealt by revenge, and have taken vengeance with a despiteful heart, to destroy it for the old hatred; [16] Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will stretch out mine hand upon the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethims, and destroy the remnant of the sea coast. [17] And I will execute great vengeance upon them with furious rebukes; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall lay my vengeance upon them.

The Edomites were descendents of Esau, Jacob's twin. They were in constant conflict with Israel, the descendents of Jacob. They did everything they could to annoy the Jews. They rejected Moses request to pass through their land… They opposed King Saul and they fought against David… They opposed Solomon and Jehoshaphat and rebelled against Jehoram… Edom's hatred of Israel began with Esau selling his birthright to Jacob many years earlier. It was old hatred that had intensified as it was carried forth from one year into another. In fact, Edom never forgave and always sought to pay back double. And ladies, the Lord was not pleased with the longstanding hostility that existed here and the repeated animosity that was openly expressed. Now God must deal with Edom and erase her as a nation. Acting out of malice of heart, the Phillistines were also mentioned in this text as having fallen prey to such vindictive behavior…

• Are there any isolated incidents that have ignited your hatred which has now grown to saturate all your dealings with a spirit of revenge?
• Are you someone who lives in constant conflict with certain persons?
• What vindictive exercises has your heart been prompting you to carry out?

Luke 9:49-56 (KJV)

And John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name; and we forbad him, because he followeth not with us. [50] And Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us. [51] And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem, [52] And sent messengers before his face: and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him. [53] And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem. [54] And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did? [55] But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. [56] For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. And they went to another village.

In this portion of scripture, Christ’s disciples were ignorant of the prevailing motives of their own hearts, which were pride and carnal ambition. Are you equally unaware of your condition? In fact, by these two texts we see that Jesus warned against and rebuked retaliating attitudes in His children. It has been said that if we don’t leave it to God to take vengeance FOR us, He will take vengeance ON us, and I couldn’t agree more. And so, when we store up old hatred and look for every occasion to vent it, we are pursuing serious trouble for ourselves! We have no business setting out to destroy other people’s lives, no matter what they have done to us. It's easy for us to think we are faithful to Christ in such matters, never considering that we are doing harm instead of good when seeking our own methods of dealing with people. (Violent people usually meet a violent end!) Therefore, all of us should beware of hiding spiteful motives under the cloke of religious zeal and calling it "righteous indignation". Watch your heart closely; what you may think is godly zeal may actually be ungodly anger, fed by pride and motivated by self-interest. And that is nothing more than a RELIGIOUS TEMPER TANTRUM.

Proverbs 24:29 (KJV)

Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me: I will render to the man according to his work.

By taking revenge, we try to prove OUR own power and authority, yet it often proves our fear and self-doubt! As we take matters into our own hands, we operate under the false assumption that we are GOD. Remember, strength is not found in revenge; FORGIVENESS is stronger than revenge! Our desire should not be to keep score or get even, but to love and forgive. It is a Christ like response to injustice...

Matthew 18:21-22 (KJV)

Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? till seven times? [22] Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.

Recognizing the risks involved in relationships, Peter asked Jesus how to handle them. But notice Peter came to the Lord IN PRIDE, certain that his brother would sin against him, not HE against his brother! It seems Peter even thought the number of times he suggested was fair when it came to forgiving someone was an admirable quantity. I expect he even thought he was quite holy for such a lenient attitude. Man has his own limitations and measures and we usually think we've been virtuous in our estimations - until we measure ourselves by the Lord’s example!

• What are some situations others have faced that you would find difficult to forgive?
• How likely are you to forgive someone beyond three times?
• Are you more alert to personal offences or your ability to forgive?

Perhaps you've thought that you've forgiven someone “as much as they deserve” or as much as you should. Maybe you think you've exhibited great faith and love toward an offending individual, and convinced yourself you've done right in order to clear your conscience in the matter…. Well, Jesus introduces the idea to Peter (and to us!) that there is NO LIMIT to be set on forgiveness. Jesus exposed the fact that Peter’s question revealed that he was planning on KEEPING A RECORD OF WRONGS!! Is that your plan too? I hope not! We must view every single offence through God's eyes and not our own and respond accordingly, in COMPLETE forgiveness! Monitor your mercy, not the misdemeanors that come your way.

Psalm 130:4 (KJV)

But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.

Forgiveness is found with God. If you are wrestling with forgiveness, you aren’t looking to the Lord because that is precisely where you’ll find it! And ladies, if God is so willing to forgive us, why are we so unwilling to forgive others? Only a lack of the fear of the Lord could produce such indifference in us! FORGIVENESS is the oil that keeps homes and churches running smoothly. It is inevitable that sinners will sin; that's why forgiveness is needed! So get the right battle plan and stick to it…

WHAT DOES GOD DO WHEN HE FORGIVES?

Isaiah 43:25 (KJV)

I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.

Isaiah 44:22 (KJV)

I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee.

WHAT SHOULD WE DO WHEN WE FORGIVE?

Not REMEMBER our offences... When we forgive, though we are not able to forget the hurt, it is a CHOICE we make not to bring up the matter anymore. God cannot forget because He is God. However, when we sin against Him and ask for forgiveness, He will not bring up and use our sins against us in the future. What a blessing!

So it is when you say "I forgive you" - you are promising someone NOT to bring up his sin to him, to others, OR TO YOURSELF in the future; you are burying it for good. You will not use it against that one who sinned against you. To operate any other way, is to operate in a spirit of REVENGE! And it controls all you do from that point on...

• What individuals do you need to release from the past today?
• Is it possible you aren’t grateful for God’s forgiveness in your own life?

Unforgiveness is deadly… When God forgives, He makes it possible for us to RETURN UNTO HIM, to reconcile our relationship. Forgiveness breaks the cycle of retaliation and leads to reconciliation.

• Has your so-called forgiveness made it possible for individuals to “return unto you”?
• Can your offenders ever hope to experience sweet fellowship with you again - free from the threat of the past?
• Are you in the habit of blotting out transgressions for God’s sake?

If not, you are living in a spirit of revenge and a person who seeks revenge digs two graves!

Romans 12:19-21 (KJV)

Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore, if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

The Christian must not play God. Revenge should be left in God's hands - the law is HIS - not ours to take into our own hands! Returning evil for evil, good for good is the way most people live today. But God's people must live on a higher plane! Show Jesus is Lord of your life by overcoming evil with good...

• What are some practical ways that you can show mercy toward someone who has wronged you?
• Have you ever been able to love, honor, or bless an individual who has hurt you?

Natural behavior must be met with supernatural behavior for godly results to occur. To do so requires faith - believing that God CAN work and accomplish His will in our lives and the lives of those who spitefully endeavor to hurt us. And it also requires love, because our first inclination is to fight back…

Leviticus 19:18 (KJV)

Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.

Remember, bees kill themselves when stinging others… Revenge is a lust of the flesh! It's a confession of pain that has not yet been yielded to the Lord. Pray that God would deliver you from the lust of always vindicating yourself. If we disregard this particular warning of God, we are disobeying God’s Word and we'll be defeated by our enemies. Plus, we'll end up destroying ourselves…

Proverbs 25:28 (KJV)

He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down and without walls.

Yes, the things people say or do may HURT us, but they can never HARM us unless we let them get into our system and poison us. If we spend time pondering the enemy's words, we give Satan a foothold to launch another attack - closer to home! Therefore, it is best to pray and commit the whole matter to God. Our duty is not to protect ourselves, but to OBEY THE LORD and leave the results with Him, TRUSTING God to deal as He deems necessary, and then get back to our own work!

Anything that keeps you from doing what God has called you to do will only help the enemy!

Proverbs 20:22 (KJV)

Say not thou, I will recompense evil; but wait on the Lord, and He shall save thee.

• Are you tempted to "get even" with someone for their ill treatment of you, while waiting on the Lord to intervene?
• How much effort do you put toward ruling your own spirit to keep yourself from returning evil for evil?

Ladies, “getting even" is literally what we are doing when we take revenge on other people - our behavior becoming parallel with their behavior, descending to their level in vengeance and losing the advantage that God says we can have when we leave the matter with Him - IN FAITH! The best revenge is not to be like the one who did the injury, but to be like Christ! The important thing is not that we are vindicated before our enemies, but that we become more like GOD in our character. What we need is an attitude of heart that expresses itself positively when others are negative, generously when others are selfish, kind when others are unkind, holy when others are unclean....

1 Thes. 4:6-7 (KJV)

That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified. [7] For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.

The Bible says the fool hath said in his heart there is no God. Have you believed that without realizing it?? Many of us live like athiests, in a hopeless state, by taking matters into our own hands and avenging our enemies. That’s what makes forgiveness so difficult… God has clearly reminded us today that HE IS THE LORD - He will take care of such things for us! Leave your old hatreds behind and bring righteousness into your new year…

God Bless,

Pam

Isaiah 60:1&2

Copyright 2007 Pamela A. Iannello