The Consequences of an Unforgiving Spirit — Lou Sutera

The Human Cost of Unforgiveness

I mean, here's an interesting newspaper article. It said, if you lost family to genocide, could you forgive? Interesting, huh? And there's people send letters in. One is revenge over justice. And the other headline is never forget.

The other one, finding peace. One guy found peace. Another one, can't relate or can't forgive. Genocide. Suppose you have a family member in genocide. Forgive? Here's an interesting one. Louie Zamberini, he had a struggle to forgive.

You want to know why? Because he had a struggle to forgive his Japanese captors, who mercilessly tortured him for nearly two years. And there's a story how God broke his heart and he forgave those captors who mercilessly tortured him for two years.

I think those are the kind of stories if only you knew, huh? Only you knew. Well, you know what? I want to say to you, no matter how painful the stories we could hear in this meeting here tonight. And you know, because we're all human, we empathize with you.

We feel with you. And I'd hear your story and I'd say, oh, I can understand your pain, or I can't. But I can feel with you, and I can feel with you, and feel with you. We can emphasize where people have come from and the problems they've had in their life.

And our hearts go out to you because of that. But let me go on to say this. No matter what the situation that you can tell me if only you knew about my life, you'd understand why I can't forgive. I want to tell you, if you go out of this meeting tonight and still carry that situation where you say, I can't forgive because it's if only you knew, you'd know why.

The Spiritual Consequences of Refusing to Forgive

Let me tell you, the tragedy of that statement when you tell me tonight, I just can't forgive. I hope this is a night there's not a soul goes out of that door saying, I can't forgive. I hope. I hope it'll all be settled.

You know why? Here's why. If you tell me tonight you can't forgive, you know what you're doing to yourself? No matter how painful it is. That's why I'm taking two nights to talk about it. That God set you free.

What a night last night. So many folks in this meeting dealt with a sin of unforgiveness last night. I think half of the congregation. It was a marvelous thing. And I told them they're getting off light tonight, but they'll be glad.

And then they'll be blessed. But all for us to know, if you tell me tonight, if there's anybody in this meeting saying, I just can't forgive, you know what you're doing to yourself? You are opening yourself up to, listen, the potential of 12 other spirits beyond that unforgiving spirit.

If only you knew. I'm telling you what. Here are, and here's an hour sermon in about two minutes. You like that kind? Here we go. Here it is. You have a retaliating spirit, a destructive spirit, an impatient spirit, an unspiritual spirit, a proud spirit, a self-righteous spirit, a disobedient spirit, a rebellious, stubborn spirit, an angry spirit, a judgmental, critical spirit, an unforgetting spirit.

Talked a little about that last night. And then the bottom line is a prayerless spirit. Don't bother praying. I wonder, can you live with those 12 spirits? You see why? I said, no matter how painful your story, I hope there's not a soul that goes out of this meeting tonight saying, I just can't forgive.

The price is too high to pay when you tell me, I just can't forgive. You know, today in my studies, I looked at this and started reading some other articles about it. I came across a statement that just sort of shocked me.

It almost says an amen to what I just said. You know what statement is? It's a statement by Charles Haddon Spurgeon. Now you know when you say that, that's one of the great writers and great preachers of all times.

Great pulpiters of all times. And listen to what he said about it. And here's the statement. He said this, if you pray, if you pray. You remember, we ended with a prayerless spirit. That was the last one.

And we talked last night, and we talked Monday night about praying. We saw that DVD about praying to where God can answer. And Liz talks about praying for her children. And we all need to know how to pray.

What can we do without praying? And listen to what he said. If you pray with an unforgiving spirit, Charles Haddon Spurgeon now, you are signing your own death warrant. What a statement. You're signing your own death warrant, Charles Spurgeon.

What does it mean, death to what? Maybe not physical, might even be, but death to relationship with God, the kind of relationship you've ever had. Death to so many situations in your life. Death to relationship with your family and your children.

On and on it goes. We can build a whole message on that when he says that. So I suggest to you, what are the alternatives to reconciliation? You say, I won't forgive. What are the alternatives? I tell you, physical, spiritual, emotional, social, and mental effects.

When you tell me, I can't forgive. Spiritual, emotional, social, mental effects. And physical as well. An unforgiving spirit is poison to your soul. More poison to you, the person who holds it, than the person against the one you're holding against.

More damage to you. Unforgiveness does more damage to the vessel in which it's held, than the vessel against which it's held. A man that studies revenge, keeps his own wounds green. Amazing. You know, even in the world, in the world, Dear Abby, you ever hear about Dear Abby in our country?

She's the lady that people ask about this problem, that problem, and get answers. And Dear Abby, somebody wrote in, and Dear Abby says, Unforgiveness is pain. Forgiveness eases pain. That's the way the world talks about it.

You say, it's hard to forgive. I'll tell you, it's easier on you than taking vengeance. Easier than taking vengeance. When I suggest that, that whatever forgiveness costs you, unforgiveness costs you more.

Well, worse. You know what? We keep on paying. We keep on paying and paying. Which is why people carry drudges right to their grave. They're still paying for the unforgiving spirit right to their grave.

What a price to pay. Max Licato, one of the great writers in our country, puts it like this. Forgiveness is what? Unlocking the door to set someone free. And realizing that you are the prisoner being set free.

A lady who heard him say that, she said, wow, quite true. She said, we lock up ourselves with so much self-righteous anger. You know, we think we have a right to be angry about that situation. And she said, we lock up ourselves with so much self-righteous anger and we hold on to it.

And we hold on to our list of wrongs done against us. We just magnify those lists of wrongs done against us. The word forgiveness. You know what it actually means? It actually means to be set free, to be released from being tied up in knots.

That's what the meaning. Being set free, to being released from being tied up in knots. Forgiveness. Do you need it tonight? Well, interesting. When I was flying here in the airlines, airplane, they have these booklets where you can buy things, you know, these magazines there.

And I always like to look in, when I fly, I like to look in the pages where they have mottos that you can put on the wall. I like to see what they have where you can buy these mottos you put on the wall.

Interesting. And coming here, look what I found. Here's a motto that they talk about that you could buy. Anyone can hold a grudge, but it takes a person with character to forgive. This is the world, Tom.

When you forgive, you release yourself from a painful burden. Here's a motto you can buy. Forgiveness doesn't mean what happened was OK, and it may not mean that person can still be welcome in your life because of the situation.

It just means, this is what you can buy on the world now. You can buy it. It just means you have made peace with the pain, and you are ready to let it go. Isn't it amazing how much our Bible says, and look what they say, you can buy the motto from the paper there.

A Testimony of Forgiveness and Freedom

A number of years ago, Ralph and I had the privilege of preaching out in Kingston, Ontario, and Belleville, Ontario, Kingston, Ontario. And there was a lady there in that crusade that it seemed like she had such a heart for God.

She had a heart for God, but there was a wall. There was something blocking her experience with God and blocking her relationship with people round about her in the church. And the ladies in the church would come to Ralph and me and said, Vera, we just can't get close to her.

There's something there. Something there. And Ralph and I sensed the same, and we couldn't help her. About 10 years later, I think it was, we were in Belleville, Ontario, a little distance from Kingston, and one night, here she comes, the same lady.

And she said, Ralph and Luke, can we talk with you after the meeting tonight? Yeah. And she said, I need to tell you the story. And she told us this story. She said, when she was a teenager, she went to a Christian boarding school, went 1 ,500 miles away to go to a Christian boarding school.

And in that boarding school, the headmaster of that Christian boarding school was almost a man like the Jim Jones that carried on down there in Guyana years ago. And he had such a powerful influence on us.

And he talked me into having sexual relationship with him and carried on with me. And for those years, a number of those years I was there, carried on with him in such a way. I was almost like helpless from his advances.

And she said, there was a young man in the school there that felt the call of God on his life. He wanted to be a preacher. He wanted to be a missionary. And then he said, I'd like to date you. And he wanted to date me.

And so we started a date. He said, I love you. He said, would you be interested in marrying me? And she said, how could I marry him? I was so filthy. And be a missionary's wife? How could I? And she said no to that young man who wanted to be a missionary.

He didn't say no. She went out from that school. Instead of marrying a young man to serve the Lord, she got involved with a man who was an absolute alcoholic and an atheist. And she married that man. And she'd been living for years in a home where the man will not allow her to say Jesus in the house, no Bibles, nothing like that.

He let her go to church. And here's a woman who has a heart for God, wanted to serve the Lord, wanted to be in the Lord's work. And that's the marriage she was in, in that situation. And she came to us and said, Ralph and Lou, I want to tell you, I had to drive 1 ,500 miles to go into an office and let a man know that I forgave him from the bondage of that situation.

After how many years? She is as old as my twin brother. And that ain't no spring chicken, right? And I mean, when I say she is as old as he is, I am telling you, she was born on the very day he was born.

Not just on our birthday, on the day he was born. And this is how many years of wasted life in bondage. And she was now like a bird out of a cage. She became the pastor's right-hand man and all those gifts and talents and abilities came out.

After all of those years, I'm talking about years and years and years in bondage. Now, I've told you that story to tell you what she said she learned. Here it is. She said, I learned this. I learned if you can't forgive the past, you are paralyzed in terms of changing the future.

And that's what she was. Men and women, you know what? Without forgiveness, you'll stay stuck in the past and that's no place to stay stuck in. And there's where she was. She said, secondly, I learned that forgiveness was damage control.

She said, it gave me control over what that situation had done in my life. And then thirdly, she said, those who created yesterday's pains do no longer control tomorrow's potential. She was set free. You know when I tell you this and I was speaking in Prince George a number of years ago, and gave this story, I don't know if it was this story, but speaking on the subject of forgiveness.

And a man that night, God set him free from a bitterness of years standing. And when he gave his testimony, and I hope it's somebody's testimony here tonight. And she said these words, he said these words, God met me with forgiveness tonight from resentment, from bitterness and pain.

And he went on to say, another captive has been set free. Are there some captives here tonight to be set free? I'm believing God for it. You'll be set free. Now having said that as a background, let me just take the rest of the time and say what are the consequences of the unforgiving spirit?

Loss of God's Presence and Blessing

I told you the potential of having, first of all, 12 other spirits. Now what are the consequences? Let me quickly, because our time has gotten away tonight, but here, the loss and the power of the presence of God in your life.

The loss and the power of the presence of God in your life. Can you live without that? Loss of the power and the presence of God in your life. One great preacher in my country said, hidden bitterness, hidden deep in the soul, is a far more fruitful cause of spiritual defeat and powerlessness in the Christian life than we have any idea.

Hidden bitterness way back. And we wonder why we have no power in our Christian life. Secondly, I suggest to you, the law, here's the consequence of unforgiving spirit. You rob yourself of the blessing of God.

You rob yourself of the blessing of God. That's a high price. First Peter 3, 8, 9 says, not rendering evil for evil. Don't give evil back for evil. And don't give railing for railing. But contrary wise, 180 degrees, God says, I want to be different, give blessing for evil.

Give blessing for railing. Why? Knowing that you are there unto called. God says, I call the people to be so different from the way the world operates. I want people who they give blessing for railing, and they give a blessing for evil.

The world doesn't do that, but I want people to do that. Says, why? That you should inherit a blessing. You want a blessing? There it is. Thirdly, I suggest, consequence of unforgiving spirit, you break the wings of faith and prayer.

We said a prayerless spirit. Here it is in Timothy. Paul said, I will therefore, Timothy 2, 8, I will therefore that men pray everywhere. How? Lifting up holy hands. If you're going to pray, you have to have holy hands.

What do you mean, Timothy? Will you tell us what, Paul? What do you mean, holy hands? What are you talking about? Here it is, without wrath. No angry spirit, and without doubting. Yeah, if you have an angry spirit, wrath.

An angry, a bitter spirit, wrath. And there's going to be doubting in it. You'll doubt your praying, it won't go. Do you know that something's wrong? There it is. So you hush the cry of prayer, as we said.

The Forgiven Servant and the Debt of Mercy

The fourth consequence of unforgiving spirit, you bring upon yourself, what? Self-inflicted unforgiveness from God. I like that. You bring upon yourself self-inflicted unforgiveness from God. You know what?

In the Beatitudes, Matthew 5 and 7, it said, blessed are the merciful. What's merciful? That's a forgiving man. What's the blessing? For they shall obtain mercy. Yeah, you'll get mercy yourself, when you are merciful.

Oh, you come to the story of Matthew 18, where the unforgiving slave, what a story that is. What a story. Here's a man, you know the story, a man who was forgiven 10 ,000 talents. Now, you know, sometimes you read the word talent in the Bible, you wonder what it's all about.

Well, let me clue you in. 10 ,000 talents is the equivalent of probably 25 million dollars today. 10 ,000 talents, 25 million dollars. And you know what? He begs for forgiveness, 25 million. He begs for forgiveness.

Somebody said, how'd he get that money? How'd he get so rich? He probably was a tax collector or somebody and stole all the money from people and stacked it all up. Well, that'd be his name. But anyway, that's how much money he was forgiven.

And he begged for forgiveness and he got forgiveness. And then you know what? He went out and found the fellow that owed him some money. And you know what the other fellow owed him? The other fellow owed him 100 denarii.

100 denarii. Now, you don't know what that is. That's the equivalent of 10 ,000 dollars. He got forgiven 25 million. And he had a guy who owed him 10 ,000. And you know what? That guy, he gets grabbed by it.

Says, hey, pay me up right now. Pay me up right now. You know, 10 ,000 dollars, that's about three months' salary in the culture. And you know, he could have worked that off in a little bit of time if he'd had a little time, you know.

But the guy said, no, right now, right now, I'll throw you in prison. How do you like that? Isn't that amazing? What nerve. What nerve. Just for a minute, the man probably, when he saw the man coming, he figured he was going to be invited to the celebration, his party.

Instead, he grabbed him and he said, hey, pay up. What nerve. Well, I'll tell you what, men and women, what nerve we say. I'll tell you, it stands to reason that that represents the heart of your life and mine when you and I have been forgiven far more than $25 million, amen, an eternal debt.

And then we refuse to forgive somebody who gives us a little $10 situation in the light, in comparison to the eternal debt, or 10 ,000. What's 10 ,000? You know, we're talking general terms. Isn't it amazing, men and women?

Stands to reason, if your sins have been forgiven by Jesus, you have been forgiven eternal debt, what is this business that you would have? Any kind of situation in your life be too big to be forgiven when you've been forgiven like that.

The Bible says that the Lord, when he heard about the man that he wouldn't forgive, the guy of the little bit, he said, take him and throw him in prison until he pays me back all that he owes. Never in 10 lifetimes could he even pay $25 million back in the culture of that day.

There it was. There it was, turned over to the torturers. You know, Jesus tells us this story. And you know why he tells it? Because he wants this story, not to be a story you just read back there, but he wants it to ring through the corridors of time and come right into this meeting here tonight for you and me.

And he does it. Jesus puts the finger into that story. When he says these words, he says, Jesus, so shall your heavenly Father do to you if each of you does not forgive his brother from his heart. How do you like that?

The story teaches us a few things. Here it is. It teaches us if we don't forgive others, then why should God forgive us? The story teaches to ask God to give me something that I refuse to give to somebody else is the ultimate insult to God himself.

How could you insult God any more than that? You ask him to give you what you won't give somebody else. What an insult to God. I believe the story teaches the person who cannot forgive others is actually breaking the bridge, the bridge over which he himself needs to trod.

Why? Because this agreement with Satan blocks God's forgiving him. You don't have a forgiving spirit. Look at it. It's really men and women in agreement with Satan. When you say you can't forgive, a man came up to Charles Wesley and he said, I never forgive.

Charles Wesley turned about and said, then, sir, I hope you never sin. Do we get it? An unforgiving spirit, here it is, is ignoring the truth. Here's why we carry an unforgiving spirit. We are ignoring a truth, what?

That our sin against God is more serious than anybody else's sin could be against us. Therefore, whatever it costs us to forgive someone else will be infinitely less than what it costs God to forgive us.

Somebody wrote a poem that put it, when we talk about what Jesus did, in blazing light your cross reveals the truth we dimly know. How small the debts men owe to us, how great our debt we owe to you. I was reading an article about a Christian counselor who was counseling a couple because the man had lived for a number of years in private immorality.

His wife didn't know it. He was a leader in the church, and his wife didn't know what was going on in his life. And then he got under such conviction after years of carrying on an immoral relationship.

He got under such conviction, he knew he had to cough it up as it were. And he went to the pastor for counseling, and then he knew he had to ask his wife for forgiveness in the situation. And the pastor had to deal with that broken hearted wife for years and years, and she knew nothing about it.

And then finally, God gave her the ability to forgive that man, that husband. And the pastor said, I'll never forget the words, no matter how painful. He said, I was seemingly almost more angry, and I didn't even take it as well as she took it.

I was a pastor of the church, and to think, all those years he made such a profession, and that's the way he was living. He said, I'll never forget the words. It came off her lips. She said, how could I not forgive him when the Lord has forgiven me of so much?

Bottom line, folks. Bottom line, basically teaches that God's forgiveness for us and our forgiveness of others are inescapably bound together. We ought to pray, Lord, forgive me as I forgive those who have broken my heart, just like I have broken your heart.

Forgive me, Lord, as I forgive those who have broken my heart, just as I have broken your heart. There is the basis of forgiveness, the view of what my Lord has done for me. There's no situation can go unforgiven.

No basis for it. And then I suggest to you, consequence of an unforgiving spirit is physical problems, potential health problems, health problems. You know, some people go to every doctor going for their physical problem will never get healed.

Bitterness, Health, and the Body

Their problems are, one doctor said these words, a doctor has proven that bitterness in the heart is the most devastating physical sin that any person can commit against his physical body. It thins out his bones.

It'll destroy him. It will break down the immune system of the body to at least 40 different diseases. Bitterness breaks down the immune system to 40 different diseases. Dr. Francis in Dallas, Texas, said, anger causes headaches and other things.

There is need of forgiveness, which cleanses the heart of bitterness. Medical doctor. A doctor on television in Toronto, not even a Christian. And he was being interviewed and he said, anger and hostility release hormones that increase susceptibility to heart attacks.

I'm just telling you what he said. Another marriage counselor on television said, you've got to forgive because it's too expensive to your body. That's the world talking men and women. Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

You know where Mayo Clinic in my country is? That's the last stop between there and heaven. You know, goodbye little darling, I'm parting. That's the last stop. In line of Americans, Mayo Clinic has the answer.

If they can't fix you up, Mayo Clinic, goodbye. And so, Mayo Clinic, there it is. Mayo Clinic says, all those people drive thousands of miles and hundreds and thousands of miles to go to Mayo Clinic because they'll fix you up.

You know what Mayo Clinic says? 70 of the people who come have wasted their time. They said, we cannot cure them with the instruments of medical science. What their problem is, they have passed the sickness of their mind and spirit onto their body and they need spiritual healing.

Huh, amazing, isn't it? Physical problems. Does the Bible say it? Here it says in Proverbs 11, 17, the merciful man, that's the forgiving man, does good to his own soul, but he that is cruel, that's the unmerciful man, troubles his own flesh.

Hmm, interesting. One prisoner, my country was ready for execution and they had him, a death sentence on him, he was heading to the gas chamber and three days before he was going to be executed, they found out he wasn't guilty at all and they found the guilty person.

After all of those years, three days before execution, he was let out. Now, would you love to have been in the press corps to interview him and ask him a few questions after he'd spent all that time in prison and three days before execution, he gets out?

What question would you ask him? You know what question, aren't you bitter? Over all the years you spent in prison, all the money you spent on the cases and so forth, aren't you bitter? You know the press corps would ask that, right?

So, he gave him an answer. What do you think he said? He said these words, you have to give up your bitterness. If the state doesn't kill you, you'll kill yourself by holding on to your bitterness. Can't preach any stronger than that.

Do Not Let the Sun Go Down on Wrath

Ephesians 4 .26 says, let not the sun go down upon thy wrath. How many times have you disobeyed that? That means, let the sun go down upon the wrath. You know what that, that doesn't mean just before you go to bed and go, dear Lord, if I've committed any sin tonight, forgive me.

No, when the sun goes down, that's about supper time, isn't it? Sun goes down, supper time about? Spaghetti and meatballs time, right? Or something like that for Italians. Supper time! Don't let the sun go down upon your wrath.

You know what God's saying? Don't even eat your supper with an angry spirit. Hmm, interesting. You know what? I'll tell you what, here's the problem. You know, our wives want to feed us so many vitamins.

We men, you know, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, all these vitamins and all the rest of it. They give us vitamins because they're going to keep us healthy. I want to tell you something, all those vitamins, it's not what you eat that's your problem.

It's what's eating you is your problem. And you know what they say? That if you eat food with an angry spirit, medical science says that if you eat a meal with angry spirit, your food, no matter how much nutrition your wife put into it, turns into poison in your system.

That's why God said, don't let the sun go down upon your wrath. Don't eat supper, even, because of what it'll do for you. Now, men and women, I suggested so much more we could say about it, but I want to first of all say that there's some people who have physical problems, not all physical problems relate to what I'm saying, but there are some physical problems that relate to what I'm talking about and can go to any doctor anywhere in the world and you'll not find healing until you settle this unforgiving spirit.

Satanic Advantage and Relational Damage

What about this consequence of unforgiving spirit? You know what you do? You cause Satan to take advantage of you and your family. You open the door to Satan and say, walk in, devil. When you have an unforgiving spirit, you see why I'm telling you, maybe I'm telling you why Charles Haddon Spurgeon saying, praying with an unforgiving spirit, you're signing your death warrant.

You cause Satan to take advantage of you and move in. We say, is that in the scripture? Sure. Second Corinthians two verses 10 and 11 says these words, Paul speaking to the Corinthians says these words, because they had a man there that they needed to forgive.

There was a brother in the Corinthian church that needed forgiveness and the apostle Paul wasn't there and he's writing to those brothers who are responsible for the situation and to deal with this brother.

He was said to them, he said, to whom you forgive says, I want you to get forgiving him. To whom you forgive, tell him that I forgive him also. Here I am Paul, I'm not there, I'm away, but let him know how thoroughly he's being forgiven that I want to go on record.

Let brother Paul say, let him know that I'm forgiving him too. Lest Satan should get an advantage of us. Satan already had advantage of him, but he said, let's be so thorough with our forgiveness that Satan have an advantage over us for we are not ignorant of his devices.

Now the Bible says in Ephesians 4, 22 and 27, it talks about, it says, be ye angry and sin not. It's a different kind of anger and sin not. Let not the sun go down upon your wrath. I quoted that verse before, there it is, but I didn't finish the verse.

Here is the last part of it. Let not the sun go down upon your wrath, neither give place to the devil in that verse. See, following an angry spirit, it's like opening the door and saying, come on in and you're giving place to the devil.

Much we can say about that. But what about the effect? Here's the consequence, the effect on other people. The effect on other people. You cannot have an unforgiving spirit and not have it affect other people.

Affect on other people. You know, right here in Saskatoon, when the revival was on in Saskatoon, there was a lady there came one day, one night to the meeting. And she came that night to the meeting with the determination that if God didn't touch her that night, if God didn't change her that night, she was committing suicide because the church was right there by the bridge, by the river, and she was going to jump off if God couldn't do anything for her in the revival there.

And you know what happened? She came and then we had, after the meeting, we had what we call the afterglow and people started giving testimonies. And she was in that meeting there. And she sensed, I'm going to cry out for help about now.

Why? What was her problem? I'll tell you what. She and her husband took in a lady whose husband had run off on her. And they took this lady into the home and the lady's daughter, child, and they took into the home.

And you know what happened? Being nice to this lady, took her in, in a little bit of time, the lady and her husband started to carry on and they ran off to Edmonton together. That marriage is broken up.

They were doing a nice thing. And look what happens. The bitterness in that woman, she was as bitter as bitter can be. Her children would go to school and they'd come home with Alice in Wonderland stories.

And in that home it was Alice in Blunderland because that was the name of the woman from Saskatoon now living with her husband in Edmonton. On and on there. She cries out for help in that situation. She cries out for help and it's getting near midnight and we have people sharing.

She's crying out for help in that situation. And you know that's the blessing of when we open up like that and we have people sharing because there's somebody there that probably can relate more than even a preacher.

The lay people, you people talk to each other and can relate. And they started to minister to her. And there's a young man, a 17 year old, 16 year old young fellow there. And he said, Ralph and Lou, can I say something?

I'd like to say something to him. That's a free for all. Anybody want to say? What do you want to say to the woman? Can I say it? Yeah. He said, I'd like to tell her. I was raised in a home just like she's raising her children.

And the same thing happened. I can almost identify totally with what that woman is talking about because the same thing happened in my home. And I want now as a child to tell her, as a 17 year old to tell her how it affected me.

Said, you know what happened to me? She said, he said to her. My mother taught me to hate that woman that went off with my dad. You know how it affected me? I turned my hatred not on that woman, but I turned my hatred onto my mother for teaching me how to hate human beings.

And that was about the last straw. I'll tell you that woman, that was all she needed to hear. Cried out for help. The Christians gathered around her and they prayed over her. And in that situation, God set that woman free.

And I wish I could bring her here for you to see her today. The situation has not changed one iota in relation to her marriage. But I'm talking to you about a lady. If you'd see the smile on her face and the joy of God in her face and the family that was spared.

She would be in the mental institution or in the grave today because she was on every kind of pills. The one to stay awake, the one to go to sleep. She had been visiting psychiatrists. She was suicidal.

You name it, she was all there and going to commit suicide that night. I wish I could bring it to you here 30 or 35 years later. God set her free. The effect it has on others. The children, the family will be affected.

Grieving the Holy Spirit

And then, you know what a consequence when you carry an unforgiving spirit? You grieve the Holy Spirit. The Bible says, Grieve not the Holy Spirit whereby you are shielded unto the day of redemption. Ephesians 4 .30.

And it says, How do you grieve? Let all bitterness, first thing. And wrath, second thing. And anger, third thing. And clamor. And evil speaking be put away from you. And malice. And be kind one to another.

Tenderhearted. Now listen. Forgiving one another. Even as God, for Christ's sake, hath forgiven you. Grieve the Holy Spirit. Can you live a life where the Holy Spirit is grieved? How much we need Him in the day and age we live.

Judgment, Pride, and the Choice to Forgive

And then, consequence of unforgiving spirit? You bring upon yourself the judgment of Almighty God. The judgment of Almighty God. The Bible says in James 5 .9 Grudge not one against another. Grudge not one against another.

Brethren, lest you be condemned. Now the word grudge in that scripture is a jurisdiction word of jurisprudence. It's like you're the judge on a court case. It's not just we think I have a little grudge.