Restored: The Hard Work of Relationships

RESTORED #2

All of us have relationships that need restored.

Gen 25:24-27 And when the time came to give birth, Rebekah discovered that she did indeed have twins! The first one was very red at birth and covered with thick hair like a fur coat. So they named him Esau. Then the other twin was born with his hand grasping Esau’s heel. So they named him Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when the twins were born. As the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter. He was an outdoorsman, but Jacob had a quiet temperament, preferring to stay at home.

Gen 25:28 Isaac loved Esau because he enjoyed eating the wild game Esau brought home, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

Gen 25:29-33 One day when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau arrived home from the wilderness exhausted and hungry. Esau said to Jacob, “I’m starved! Give me some of that red stew!” (This is how Esau got his other name, Edom, which means “red.”) “All right,” Jacob replied, “but trade me your rights as the firstborn son.” “Look, I’m dying of starvation!” said Esau. “What good is my birthright to me now?” But Jacob said, “First you must swear that your birthright is mine.” So Esau swore an oath, thereby selling all his rights as the firstborn to his brother, Jacob.

Gen 25:34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew. Esau ate the meal, then got up and left. He showed contempt for his rights as the firstborn.

What you despise right now, you will regret later.

Gen 27:41 From that time on, Esau hated Jacob because their father had given Jacob the blessing. And Esau began to scheme: “I will soon be mourning my father’s death. Then I will kill my brother, Jacob.

• When we are emotionally led and living out of a toxic place, none of our decisions make sense.

Gen 32:24-28 This left Jacob all alone in the camp, and a man came and wrestled with him until the dawn began to break. When the man saw that he would not win the match, he touched Jacob’s hip and wrenched it out of its socket. Then the man said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking!” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” “What is your name?” the man asked. He replied, “Jacob.” “Your name will no longer be Jacob,” the man told him. “From now on you will be called Israel, because you have fought with God and with men and have won.”

Gen 33:2-4 He put the servant wives and their children at the front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph last. Then Jacob went on ahead. As he approached his brother, he bowed to the ground seven times before him. Then Esau ran to meet him and embraced him, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him. And they both wept.

RESTORATION STARTS WITH FORGIVENESS

• You taking responsibility for your choices.

MAP OF REPENTANCE

• Sight of sin
• Sorrow of sin
• Confession of sin
• Shame about my sin
• Hatred of my sin
• Turning from sin

FORGIVENESS IS A PROCESS

• The grudge you are holding onto will eventually start holding you.

1. Acknowledge the pain.
2. Think through the experience – what you went through and why you feel that way.
3. Imagine yourself on the other side.
4. Remember God’s forgiveness.
5. Remember the biblical command.
6. Let go of the hurt.

FORGIVENESS HAS CONSEQUENCES

• Let go and drop the revenge.

The person you hate the most – God didn’t create them to be your enemy – they were designed to be your brother or sister.