Kerry Shook - Healing Habits For Healthy Relationships
Hey, we’re starting this new series this weekend I’m calling «Detoxing Your Life» because we’re going to learn over the next few weeks some healthy habits for healing relationships. And the Bible tells us that we better recognize and deal with the toxic relationships in our lives before they tear us up. But the Bible also says we need to recognize toxic habits in our own lives so we can build healthy relationships. What I’m saying is we all need some detoxing because we all have some unhealthy ways of relating that we bring into all of our relationships, and it causes deep hurt and disconnection with the people we care about the most.
So we’re going to look at a really strange and unusual passage in the Old Testament. It’s a really unusual miracle where a pot of stew that was poisonous got a divine detox by the prophet of God. So the pot of stew turns from toxic to terrific. And maybe you’ve never really heard this passage preached on. Maybe you’ve never read this passage, but the Bible is so amazing. I mean, every word is there for a reason. And in this little miracle, I believe there are some amazing principles on how we can experience a spiritual detox that brings healing in our current relationships and in our lives.
I want you to think about a relationship in your life right now that you care about that’s not going the way you want it to. I think we can all think about one or two relationships in our lives that aren’t going the way we want them to. We would like for them to turn around, or we want to be closer. Maybe we’re feeling some distance, or maybe that relationship’s just barely hanging on. Maybe you have a lot of great relationships that are healthy, but there’s one. I mean, you come to church, you’re happy, everything’s good, you’re feeling pretty good, but you remember that, and there’s some hurt, there’s some confusion, there’s some distance, or it’s just not what you want it to be. I believe God can do a miracle in that relationship. But most importantly, I believe God wants to do a miracle in each and every one of us.
So would you stand in honor of God’s word? And we’re going to look again at Elisha the prophet in 2 Kings chapter 4, beginning with verse 38. Elisha now returned to Gilgal, and there was a famine in the land. One day, as the group of prophets was seated before him, he said to his servant, «Put a large pot on the fire and make some stew for the rest of the group.» One of the young men went out into the field to gather herbs and came back with a pocket full of wild gourds. He shredded them and put them into the pot without realizing they were poisonous. Some of the stew was served to the men, but after they had eaten a bite or two, they cried out, «Man of God, there’s poison in this stew!» So they would not eat it. Elisha said, «Bring me some flour.» Then he threw it into the pot and said, «Now it’s all right. Go ahead and eat.» And then it did not harm them.
You can be seated. You know, to illustrate what we’re talking about, I’m going to make a pot of stew. Now, hopefully, it won’t be toxic, but who knows? We’ll see how it turns out because we’re going to feed it to all of you, and you can tell me if there’s poison in the pot. Let me give you some background for this miracle. Elisha, the old prophet of God, he had a school for young prophets, and he was teaching them and training them. They had gathered together in camp at a time when there was a famine in the land, a severe famine. The crops were dying. Food was getting scarce. There was no HB around for them to go to. So when it came time for dinner, Elisha tells his servant to put on a large pot. He said, «I need you to put on a large pot, start a fire, because God will provide.» Then they send out one of the young men to gather up some herbs or wild vegetables to add to the stew, and he comes across a wild vine that has all these ripe and nutritious-looking gourds and all these beautiful gourds just growing from it.
So he gathers up as many as he can carry. With the famine going on, I’m sure everyone back at the camp was really hungry. They’re starving, and they’re probably wondering when their DoorDash is going to finally arrive, and when it comes, what will it be. Sometimes, do you have that happen to you? You know, your DoorDash comes, and you go, «I’m so excited!» And then half of it’s not there. You ever had that happen? That’s so frustrating! I can just see the excitement on the young man’s face as he enters the camp with all these amazing gourds. Everyone’s patting him on the back, «Way to go! You knocked it out of the park! We’re going to eat good tonight!» I mean, they just knew the stew was now going to taste great and satisfy their hunger, but the stew was toxic.
Anytime we go out into the world looking for something that we can satisfy our deep spiritual hunger with, we’ll always end up with something toxic. It may be something that looks great and makes you feel good at first or helps you anesthetize your pain, but then it turns into a toxic addiction that poisons all your relationships. Or maybe you find someone in dating that you just know will make you happy-someone who’s going to meet all your needs. But if you’re looking to each other rather than Christ to satisfy the hunger in your soul, that means you’re starting the whole relationship with toxic expectations that cannot be met, and then it can turn into a toxic relationship. Anytime we look past God and go out into the world looking for something-even good things-to satisfy our deep spiritual hunger, we end up with something toxic.
Well, let’s look at this passage again. Look at chapter 4, verse 39. It says, «One of them went out into the fields to gather herbs and found a wild vine and picked as many of its gourds as his garment could hold. When he returned, he cut them up into the pot of stew, though no one knew what they were.»
So this guy goes out, and while he’s out there looking for something to add to the stew, Elisha and some of the others are there putting some stuff in the stew, like salt and pepper and maybe some wild onions. This is going to start smelling good! I don’t know if they had garlic, but I do. Now, I’m not really making vegetable stew; this is really more of a vegetable soup, and it’s supposed to be really nutritious, really healthy. You know, if you’ve got a cold or something, that’s what it said, you know, when I looked it up on the internet. And, um, so I don’t know exactly what it’s going to turn out like, but I’ll throw a few of the herbs in there and just see how the broth is going to turn out.
So all the young men back there at the camp were getting the stew ready, and then this young man comes in. They’re all excited, and he finds some wild gourds, and he starts cutting them up! Tell me you’re worried about my fingers right now! Don’t worry about that! That was last night, so I’m better today. Okay, them patched up. But what he does is he throws all these wild gourds in because that was the main deal, you know? It’s like, «Wow! These fresh wild gourds are in there! It’s great! It’s going to be so good!» And they stir it into the pot.
Now there’s a key phrase at the end of that verse that I just read, and it’s this: «Though no one knew what they were,» the young man stirs those gourds into the pot. Though no one knew what they were, none of them recognized the gourds in the stew were toxic. So none of them knew that the stew was toxic.
Now, think about that for a moment. They were all young prophets. I mean, you think they’d have some supernatural wisdom to discern that the gourds were toxic, or you’d at least think they’d have some common sense to ask, «Hey, where’d you get the gourds? What are these gourds? Should we eat these gourds? Are these gourds okay to eat? Are they healthy, or are they toxic?» I mean, these were prophets, but they didn’t see it. None of them knew what the gourds were. No one knew what they were. They didn’t realize they were toxic.
And I want you to know there are some really smart, really good, and godly people who never seem to recognize when a relationship they’re in is toxic and just tearing them up. We can become so used to it that we can’t see it. So we set no boundaries, and we keep eating the poison stew thinking it’s not going to be the same, «I’m not going to get sick this time.»
Now, some toxic relationships are pretty obvious. Did you hear about the woman in Australia? She’s been in all the news lately. Her name’s Erin Patterson. She was convicted just last month of murder because she intentionally poisoned four members of her family by putting death cap mushrooms into a beautiful beef Wellington she made for them. They had had some dysfunction, and she’d kind of separated from the family, but she pretended like she was making it all up and she was going to bring them all together. But she put death cap mushrooms in her beef Wellington. That’s literally the definition of a toxic relationship right there!
But the Bible is clear that we need to recognize and deal with toxic relationships because they’re destructive. Look at 1 Corinthians chapter 15. «Don’t be fooled by those who say such things, for bad company corrupts good character.» Now, Jesus tells us to be a friend to sinners, to unbelievers, to people going the wrong direction. But they’re not to be your closest friends-not friends you’re always doing life with-because they’ll drag you down.
When you become a Christ follower, you start to lose some of the friends that you once were close to because you’re going in a different direction. Now, hopefully, they’ll start going that direction and you’ll be the influence. But you can’t help that. They have their own choice. And so sometimes it’ll naturally just happen because you’re going a different direction. Some of the things that weren’t important to you at all are very important to you now. Some of the things that were important to you then, you know they’re worthless now. And so it’s not that we’re to be friends with everybody; we’re to reach out. We’re to love everyone like Jesus did. We’re to hang out with people that aren’t going in the right direction, but we’re not to be the closest friends with them, to always do life with them, to always hang out with them because they’ll drag you down.
It’s much easier to pull someone down than it is to pull someone up. But a lot of times we don’t think that, you know? «Well, I’ll be the influence on them.» But it says here that bad company corrupts good character, and it happens every time. And so we have to have some boundaries. Then sometimes you need boundaries in a relationship with someone that you love, but there are some very unhealthy parts to the relationship. Well, God can heal toxic relationships, and we’re going to see that and talk about that in this series. God can do miracles. But first, you have to face and address the dysfunction, and nothing changes. You’ll need to set up some boundaries in your interactions with them. Of course, if there’s abuse in the relationship, you need to get out for your sake, for your healing. You’ve got to get out.
The Bible says we need to recognize and deal with toxic relationships, but it also says first I have to recognize the toxic traits in my own life. The young man poisoned the stew unintentionally. He didn’t realize he was stirring in toxic gourds. And folks, we all have some toxic traits that we bring to the table, whether we realize it or not. We all have some poison that we put into the pot. We all have some dysfunction that we dump into every relationship we’re in. We all have some toxic habits that we add to the pot that get stirred into relationships, whether we realize it or not, because it’s really hard for us to see clearly and admit the toxic traits that we bring to the table.
Usually, we recognize pretty quickly and we judge the toxic traits in others, but we don’t see them very clearly in our own. You know, there’s this new thing going on today in our cancel culture where family members will cut off other family members just right out of their lives because they disagree on some issue like politics. Or I’ve seen grown kids cut their parents out of their lives because of one negative interaction or one mistake without recognizing all the mistakes they brought to the table for all those years. We all have some toxic traits. And if we don’t admit it and let God work on them, they’ll poison our lives and keep us from building healthy relationships.
I mean, we put good traits in the pot, don’t get me wrong, but then we add some toxic traits. You know, maybe we throw in some fresh carrots, but then we also throw in some moldy tomatoes. We throw in some unhealthy, maybe rotten carrots. I mean, we maybe throw in some healthy kindness, but we also throw in some toxic bitterness. Maybe we throw in some healthy love, but we also throw in some toxic selfishness. Maybe we throw in some real truth, but we also throw in some toxic lies that we stir into the pot. We all have some toxic traits we bring to the table and we stir them into the pot.
And if you’re a Christ follower, you’re a new creation. I mean, you have a new heart, a new heart’s desire to follow Christ. You have a new heart’s desire to love the people in your life the way they need to be loved. And you have the Holy Spirit inside you to give you the power to love the people in your life. But you also still have your flesh. And your flesh is toxic. My flesh contains the poison of pride. My flesh is filled with toxic selfishness, lies, lust, insecurity, and fear. But that’s not who I am. In my true heart, I’m a humble, loving, unselfish, honest, secure man of God who seeks to put God first and love others ahead of myself. That’s why my friend Dr. Paul Looney, one of our great pastors here, says, «We’re all a mix of awesome and awful.» And it’s true! I just don’t like to admit the awful.
We’re all a mix of toxic and terrific. And there’s always a battle between your flesh and the spirit, but in our relationships, we usually rationalize and minimize our toxic traits. «It’s not that big of a deal.» And maybe all the ingredients you’re adding to the pot are healthy except for one toxic ingredient that you haven’t dealt with. But it only takes a little bit of poison to really bring death to the whole relationship. Some of the poison we add to the pot we add unintentionally, but we don’t even realize that it’s hurting the relationship. Maybe it’s not a sin, but it’s really hurting the relationship.
We’ve all learned some ways of relating that cause confusion, misunderstanding, and hurt. You know, for years when Chris would bring up a hurt, something that she was feeling and she would feel hurt by something I did, and she would say it, I said, «Oh, you shouldn’t feel hurt by that! I didn’t mean that! I didn’t mean anything by that! That’s not what I meant by it! You just don’t understand!» So you don’t need to feel hurt about that. You shouldn’t feel hurt about that. And I would just dismiss her feelings because I’d done something unintentionally. «Oh, don’t worry about that.»
Can you imagine this young man as everyone who tried that stew was just hurting, throwing up, and feeling like they’re about to die, and he’s «Oh, you guys shouldn’t feel that way! I didn’t mean to do that! Oh, you’ll feel much better if you know that was unintentional! Yes, I put those poison gourds in, but I did it because I thought they were great and they were going to help you! So don’t feel bad about that! Don’t die because of that! Just get better!»
That’s what I was doing with Chris. You know, we’ve all learned some unhealthy habits, and to dismiss someone else’s feelings is really dumb and it’s dangerous. Their feelings are their feelings! Who cares if it’s unintentional or not-something you did? You’ve got to change that because we do a lot of dysfunctional things that really hurt relationships, and a little bit of poison can really bring death to a relationship.
So I’ve learned to go, «Tell me how you feel!» You know, «I need to know how you feel» and connect with those feelings so I can make the changes that I need to make because I want you to know how valuable you are. There’s only one solution to this dilemma that we all add in some toxic traits into every relationship. No matter how many good things we add in, we all add in some toxic traits, and it can ruin the whole stew. A little bit of poison poisoned the whole stew for these men and had terrible consequences that were about to happen.
And there’s only one solution for us-only one solution for all our relationships. Only one thing. And if you don’t get this, there’s no need to come to the rest of the series because we’re going to give you some really practical, powerful biblical principles on how you can develop some healthy habits that bring healing, some healing habits in your relationships. But if you don’t get this, it doesn’t really matter because this is the only way. We find it in this miracle. Look at it with me in 2 Kings 4:41. Elisha said, «Get some flour.» And he put it into the pot and said, «Serve it to the people to eat.» And there was nothing harmful in the pot.
What happened? So the guys were going, «I just tasted it, going, 'Man, there’s death in the pot! '» I mean, that’s what many translations said. «There’s just death in the pot! I mean, this is going to kill us all! There’s poison in this pot! It’s toxic!» And so what does the prophet do? Little teaching moment. He takes some flour and he begins to throw it in the pot. Now, why did he do that? Because he just wanted to thicken up the broth a little bit? You know, let’s just thicken that up a little bit. I saw that in a recipe. We thicken up the broth a little bit and, and you guys will really enjoy this. You know what? I know you’re saying it’s poison. «I, you know, don’t worry about it, I’ll thicken up the broth and then I’ll make it all.» But no, that’s not what he was doing. No, it was a miracle! It was a miracle of God! There wasn’t some scientific reason that that flour took the poison out and sucked the poison out. No, it was a miracle of God!
He threw some flour in, and now there’s nothing harmful in the pot. That flour always represents bread in the Old Testament and in the New Testament, and that’s what they consisted of-that bread that really gave them nourishment wasn’t like our breads today, you know? It had that protein in it. It was healthy, and that’s what gave them nourishment. That’s what would sustain them. Flour always represents bread. It’d be flour and oil, and that would represent life to them. Look what Jesus said in John 6:35. «Then Jesus declared, 'I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.'» Jesus is the bread of life. And this miracle points directly to Jesus in the New Testament. Jesus is mentioned all through the New Testament.
Did you know that in every book there are symbols of the coming Christ and the redemption? The one who will take all the poison out of our lives-the poison of sin and selfishness. The one who will take out all the bitterness and the grief and the destruction. Jesus Christ is the bread of life, the only one who can truly satisfy the deep spiritual hunger in our hearts, the only one who can heal us, the only one who can heal our relationships. So many times in the Old Testament, there’s symbolism of the coming Christ! Jesus is pointed to over and over again-the bread of life healed the stew. The bread of life brought about the miracle.
And I want you to know, folks, it’s Jesus Christ, the bread of life, that you’ve got to add to your relationship. He’s the only one that can take the poison out. He’s the only one that can give you the power to forgive when you’re hurt in that relationship. He’s the only one that can give you the power to always tell the truth to build trust. He’s the only one who can take the selfishness out and take the bitterness out. He’s the only one that can do that. You have to put Jesus into your relationships or you’ll never be satisfied, especially if you’re looking to each other in a close relationship, like a marriage relationship. If you’re looking to each other for your fulfillment, it just creates so much pressure that can collapse a relationship.
Now, it’s so interesting to me that Elisha didn’t try to get all the toxic stuff out of the stew. I mean, he could have said, «Okay, guys, I know it’s toxic; I know this young guy who brought these in. Didn’t mean to, but he’ll never go out and gather gourds for us again! Don’t worry about that; I’m going to stop that. You know, we’re not going to trust him anymore. Let’s get all this toxic stuff out of the stew, and then it’s going to be great because I know you guys are really hungry.» And he didn’t try to get all the toxic things out of the stew. He added something into the stew. And this is so important. What a great spiritual truth!
You know, we’re always trying to get the toxic things out of our lives and make the changes we need to make, or «I’m going to do so much better! I’m going to stop doing this! I’m going to start doing that! I’m going to take these unhealthy habits out of my life! Going to add these healthy habits!» And we’re always trying to make changes in our relationships. And really, we’re always thinking the other person needs to do a lot of changing! But it’s not that you need to take things out because you can’t until you add something in. And that’s Jesus Christ! I mean, that’s it! Jesus is the one who heals. Jesus is the one who saves.
The Holy Spirit of God is the one that gives us the power to do the things we need to do in our relationships. It’s only Christ! The bread of life brings fulfillment! It’s not that you can’t really take all the stuff out! That’s what some people are always trying to do! And that’s really religion when it’s all the dos and don’ts and trying to do all that. First, you got to add Jesus in, and it changes the relationship! You add Jesus in and put him first in your marriage, and it changes your marriage. You add Jesus in, and it brings healing to your heart. And then he gives you the power to start changing those toxic habits! He starts turning those things into something that is healing. He heals you! He changes it! He changes it from the inside out! We’re always trying to change from the outside in, and it never works!
Elisha didn’t take the toxic out of the stew; he just puts Jesus in! And that’s our only hope-to put Jesus in! And then every day, I mean, that’s when you become a Christ follower. It’s when you invite Jesus to come into the toxic stew of your life. And maybe you say, «Well, most of the stew of my life’s pretty good! I’m a pretty good person, you know, and I’ll probably get to heaven one day because I’m a pretty good person! Sure, I’ve sinned like everyone else! I got some toxic stuff, but it’s not that big a deal! It’s not like some of these other folks that I know.» But you see, the Bible says all of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s perfection, and heaven’s a perfect place for perfect people, and none of us can get there on our own. And that’s why we need Christ to forgive us of all our toxic sins and to make us whole again and to fill the hunger in our hearts.
And so when you first invite Christ into the toxic stew of your life, he forgives you completely! He comes into your life! He gives you his Holy Spirit as a deposit in your life to give you the power to do the things you need to do. And he starts changing you-not all at once as far as some of those toxic habits that you’re allowing your flesh to live out, but it’s one day at a time as you walk with him and you live from your true heart. That’s how the toxic habits start coming out of your life. But you’ve got to add Jesus in first!
And as a Christ follower, so many times we push Jesus to the side. We don’t let him take over the stew of our life! And we walk by the flesh! And that’s why maybe you’re thinking, «You know, hey, if I’m a Christ follower with a true heart and I’m a new creation, I’m not acting like it right now! I can’t seem to break free from this sin! I can’t seem to do anything about this struggle in my life!» Well, you know, what’s the deal? It’s because we start walking by the flesh rather than walking by the spirit. And that’s what it says in this next passage, Galatians 5:14. «For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' If you bite and devour each other, watch out, or you’ll be destroyed by each other. So I say, 'Walk by the spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.'»
And so it’s that daily going, «God, I just surrender to you because I know I can’t control my flesh, my selfishness. It’s going to come out, but you can with your power! So I want to walk in your spirit today!» So I ask you to give me the power to love the people in my life the way they need to be loved. «God, give me the power today to forgive. God, give me the power today to not be selfish, to put others ahead of myself. God, give me the power today to love my wife the way she needs and deserves to be loved.» Because, you know, I can start getting selfish. My flesh can get real selfish! I can get real prideful! I can do unintentional things, too, that are hurtful, that aren’t loving!
And so I need you today. For those of you who are parents, «God, I need your power today to be the parent that I need to be.» That I know I am! I don’t want my flesh to get in the way! «God, I need your power today to really live for you the way you want me to-to be a truth- teller! I want you today to give me the power to have victory over lust! God, I know you’re going to give me the power today to walk with you and not be selfish, to not be foolish! You’re going to give me the power today to have wisdom to make good decisions! You’re going to give me the power today to obey you because I know you know what’s best for me!»
It’s a daily walk because we have to be honest! God has created us awesome in our hearts! Once you’re a new creation, but we still got some awful, and it’s our flesh. And every day we get to choose whether we live by the flesh or we live in the spirit. And if you’re trying to do it on your own without the power of Christ in you, it’s almost like you’ve taken the flour out of the stew! All the toxic stuff’s going to come to the top! But if you have Christ in your life, you’re a Christ follower. You have the bread of life. You surrendered to him. And really, it’s death to your flesh! It’s death to your flesh so you can have life in the pot of your relationships! And then he begins to heal! He begins to work! His power starts shining through you!
But let’s be honest-you don’t have the power to do the things you need to do in relationships. I mean, really, you think about it-most relationship conflict, most relationship problems and issues, really, when you boil it all down, it’s just two selfish people trying to get their way. That’s what it is most of the time. And so you can’t love the people in your life the way you need to love them without Christ’s power. «God, love them through me today the way they need to be loved. I can’t control my flesh. So I give it to you and I give you control of me! Shine through me! Live through me! Love through me! Do it through me today, God! Because I need you and I have you, and I can do all things through you who strengthen me.» That’s what God wants to do through us!
It’s all about Jesus, the bread of life who gives us life. And that life brings life to our relationships. And even if you’re in a relationship that’s falling apart, maybe your marriage is falling apart, the bread of life can breathe life back into it and resurrect it. Of course, that also has to do with another person who has to make their choice if they’re going to choose the bread of life. But if they don’t and the marriage falls apart, God’s going to bring healing to you as only he can. He’s going to work a miracle either way.
And we’ve seen so many marriages restored only by Jesus. We’ve got a great counseling ministry that counsels with biblical principles, but they’ll tell you right away it’s only Jesus that can restore a broken marriage. It’s only Jesus that can restore a broken family. It’s only Jesus that can restore a broken heart and broken emotions. Jesus, the bread of life, brings life wherever he goes. And if you let him be the center of your life, first place in your life, he’ll bring life to you. He’ll bring you back to life. He will detox your life as you grow in him.
Now, I want you to look at 2 Kings chapter 4, verse 41 because we see here how Jesus works little by little in our lives as we walk in the spirit-how he does the detox over time. In 2 Kings 4:41, it says, «And there was nothing harmful in the pot.» So after Jesus comes in, there’s nothing harmful in the pot! There’s nothing hurtful in the pot! So after the flour is thrown in, nothing harmful! When you let Jesus take over your life and relationships, he starts changing the pot, taking the harm and the hurt out of the pot, bringing healing.
Now, the word for «harm» in the Hebrew is the word «ra,» which means «evil.» It can be translated «evil.» It’s used to translate the word «evil» so many times, and so it’s like there’s not going to be any more evil in the pot! And the word for «nothing» or «no thing"-that word for «thing» is «devar» and means no evil thing in the pot. Now, usually, the word «devar» is translated «word» or «words.» It can mean either things or words, so it could be translated «no evil words in the pot,» «no harmful words in the pot.» Why would you put words in the pot? And there’s no harmful words in a pot of stew. It’s kind of what it’s saying there.
One of the toxic traits that tear down a lot of relationships is toxic talk. We can stir a lot of toxic words into the pot and poison our relationships. Jesus starts taking out the harmful words! He starts getting really practical! Words have the power to build up or tear down a relationship! That’s why God wants to detox our talk so we can build healthy relationships. That’s just one of the things that God wants to do. In James 3:8, it says, «But no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison.» If a tongue is not controlled by Christ, it’s full of deadly poison! Tongues are toxic until we let Christ detox them.
In Proverbs 18:21, it says, «Words kill; words give life.» They’re either poison or fruit; you choose. Every day it’s a choice, isn’t it? «God, I want you to control my tongue because I have to admit I can say things that are foolish! I can say things that are hurtful, not even mean to! I can say things that are dishonest! So, Lord, I need you to tame my tongue.» There are toxic words that cause disconnection and death in a relationship, and there are healing words that bring life to a relationship. And we get to choose!
We’re going to talk about some of these practical things in this series. Jesus can take harmful bitterness and replace it with healthy forgiveness. He takes our tongues and tames them, you know? He can take the bitterness in our soul and he can bring forgiveness out of it. And that forgiveness is healing to the person who forgives. And sometimes it heals the relationship. Many times it does! God can take lies and he can turn them into truth and trust. And by the way, forgiveness and trust are two different things! We’re to forgive someone instantly when they hurt us, but it doesn’t mean that you trust them. You know they have to build back trust.
Someone who’s betrayed a spouse in a marriage' s got to build back trust. You forgive them instantly for your sake; Christ commands it for your own healing. But then you got to watch them to see if they’re going to build the trust back. But God can take those lies, and he can turn you into a person of truth that builds trust back. And that’s what Christ can do. It all comes back to Jesus. It all comes back to Jesus. It all comes back to Jesus. He’s the only answer! Jesus is the answer for you today-for all your relationships and for the world! It’s Jesus Christ! There is no other name! There is no other bread of life! It’s Jesus. Jesus. Jesus. Jesus, the bread of life!
Let’s stand, Woodland Church. And I want us to pray together because I know that this is a very sacred moment, a very divine moment. I know that there are connected with us online; there are those here at the Woodlands campus. There are those at our City campus, our downtown campus, who right now you know God’s tugging on your heart because he loves you so much. And you’re not sure that you’ve ever really let the bread of life take over your life. And you want that! You want that! You’re not sure you’ve ever gotten your salvation settled, and you want the bread of life to take over your life!
This is the time! This is the moment! Today is the day of salvation! I believe with all my heart God just spoke to my heart and said, «Today is the day of salvation!» Today is a day where so many people are going to come to Christ to get saved! Today is the day that so many relationships are going to get saved because they’re going to start walking in the spirit! Today is the day of forgiveness! Today is the day of truth! Today is the day of God’s power, the bread of life coming in and filling hearts and giving bread to those who are hungry! Are you hungry for Jesus? If you’ve never received Christ, let’s all bow our heads right now.
And would you just repeat this prayer after me? And I want you to say it out loud. And for everyone else, I mean, I know so many of you are Christ followers. I know there are many who haven’t committed to Christ yet, but for everyone who’s already committed to life to Christ, would you repeat this prayer after me too just to remind you of what Christ has done for you and also to make others feel comfortable to pray it for the first time? So would you just pray this out loud with me? Just everyone, and for those of you, this is your first time to receive Christ or you’re getting it settled, just know he hears that prayer. Just pray this out loud, everyone after me:
Dear Jesus Christ,
I realize I need you.
You are the bread of life.
Forgive me of all my sins.
Come into my life
And change me.
I accept your free gift of salvation.
Thank you for saving me.
Be the Lord of my life from now on.
For it’s in Jesus' name I pray.
Amen.