5.20.09 Forgiving The Hardest Person To Forgive–Yourself

Last week, we talked about forgiving others…
This week, we’re going to talk about forgiving the hardest person there is in the world to forgive—YOURSELF!
Have you ever done anything that you felt so bad about that you couldn’t forget about it and you couldn’t seem to forgive yourself?…
 Pulling hair on the bus
 Cussing a kid out at school
 Getting into arguments during basketball

Many times in life we find it hard to forgive ourselves…this is due to GUILT.
 Sometimes guilt is felt only because we know we did something bad and we’re afraid we’re going to get in trouble
o Selfish guilt
 Sometimes we feel guilt because we actually feel remorse for what we’ve done.
o True guilt
 Mike Vick—will he feel sorry so that he can play again, or is he sorry because he knows he did a horrible thing?

GUILT IS NOT ALWAYS ALL BAD
 God uses guilt to correct us.
o 2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.
 Rebuking!!!
• When you do bad things, you SHOULD feel guilty. That’s the Holy Spirit convicting you.

GUILT SHOULD ONLY BE A TEMPORARY THING
 4 things to do to forgive yourself when you experience guilt
o Address your convictions (guilt) by SEEKING forgiveness
 Go to the person and/or God and ask for forgiveness
 James 5:16—Confess your sins to each other.
• Even if another person doesn’t forgive you, you still are “off the hook” because God always forgives a repentant sinner.

o Learn your LESSON
 Proverbs 26:11—As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats its folly.
 Realize what your wrong was and analyze why it happened!!!
• Also—realize the ways you get hurt and quit hurting others in the same way…
o Gossip
o Driving

o Change the direction you’re heading
 In other words, after you’ve learned your life lesson, change your ways and quit your wrongful behavior.
 If you keep doing what you know is wrong, you’re going to feel guilty!!!
• (It’s like an air traffic controller’s warning not being taken into consideration)

o MOST IMPORTANT TO FORGIVING YOURSELF…
o Don’t look back!!!
 Once you’ve asked for forgiveness, learned your lesson, and changed your bad behavior, refuse to look back with regret and guilt.
 Philippians 3:13-14—Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal…
 Christ died so that you could be forgiven…you don’t have to live in guilt and regret. It’s your choice now.
 Guilt will hold you back from being all that God wants you to be…don’t let Satan win out in this area.