Psalm 51:5-7 NLT
For I was born a sinner— yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.
But you desire honesty from the womb, teaching me wisdom even there.
Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

• Baggage are things from our past that are negative that we bring into our present and it affects us in a negative way.

Three types of baggage that keeps us from being TRULY FREE from your past:

#1) INIQUITIES

Exodus 34:6-7 NKJV

And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.”

Iniquities = Hebrew word avah = twist, distort, or bent toward a sin; generationally transferred sin

• An iniquity is any form of behavior you recognize in your parents’ lives or family history as being unbiblical, not representative of the character of God, and which has had or is having a generational influence.

Deuteronomy 5:9-10 NKJV

“for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.”

• Each one of us must deal with iniquities in our own lives in order to be truly free from our past.

Luke 11:47-51 NLT

What sorrow awaits you! For you build monuments for the prophets your own ancestors killed long ago. But in fact, you stand as witnesses who agree with what your ancestors did. They killed the prophets, and you join in their crime by building the monuments! This is what God in his wisdom said about you: ‘I will send prophets and apostles to them, but they will kill some and persecute the others.’ “As a result, this generation will be held responsible for the murder of all God’s prophets from the creation of the world— from the murder of Abel to the murder of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, it will certainly be charged against this generation.

#2) INNER VOWS

Inner Vows = Self directed promises in response to pain, experience or difficulty in life

A) Inner Vows Are Unscriptural

Matthew 5:33-37 NLT

You have also heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not break your vows; you must carry out the vows you make to the Lord.’ But I say, do not make any vows! Do not say, ‘By heaven!’ because heaven is God’s throne. And do not say, ‘By the earth!’ because the earth is his footstool. And do not say, ‘By Jerusalem!’ for Jerusalem is the city of the great King. Do not even say, ‘By my head!’ for you can’t turn one hair white or black. Just say a simple, ‘Yes, I will,’ or ‘No, I won’t.’ Anything beyond this is from the evil one.“

• Inner vows are self-focused, self-serving commitments that in many cases goes against God’s will in our lives.
• It’s possible for a Christian to live his entire life with four or five major inner vows operating under the surface of his consciousness, while living with the impression that he is completely submitted to the Lord.

B) Inner Vows Have An Unforseen Effect

• One of the most dangerous things about inner vows is that when they are directing our lives, God isn’t.

C) Inner Vows Are the Most Powerful Level Of Commitment

• Inner vows are the highest level of commitment for most people.
• This point explains why there are so many precious, sincere Christians who say they love God, but have so many areas of their lives operating in such opposition to His purposes.
• As believers we must be careful not to let anything get in the way of our commitment to Jesus Christ.

#3) UNFORGIVENESS

(Ref: LOVE IS A BATTLEFIELD PT 6 Oct 15, 2023)

Matthew 18:23-35 NLT

23 “Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him. 24 In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars. 25 He couldn’t pay, so his master ordered that he be sold—along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned—to pay the debt.

26 “But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’ 27 Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt.

28 “But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment.

29 “His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it,’ he pleaded. 30 But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full.

31 “When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that had happened. 32 Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. 33 Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ 34 Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt.

35 “That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.”

A) Unforgiveness has the power to separate us from God.

Isaiah 59:2 NLT

It’s your sins that have cut you off from God. Because of your sins, he has turned away and will not listen anymore.

B) Unforgiveness has the power to keep our sins from being forgiven.

Matthew 6:14-15 NLT

“If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.

C) Unforgiveness is the fuel that energizes bitterness and resentment.

Ephesians 4:26-27 Passion

But don’t let the passion of your emotions lead you to sin! Don’t let anger control you or be fuel for revenge, not for even a day. Don’t give the slanderous accuser, the Devil, an opportunity to manipulate you!

Hebrews 12:15 NLT

Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many.

• If you have been holding a grudge against someone for a while, it’s not God. Because God never holds grudges.

D) Unforgiveness causes power failure.

• Our power source is love.

John 13:35 NLT

Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”

E) Unforgiveness blinds our spiritual and mental eyes.

Luke 6:27-28 NLT

“But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you.

Romans 12:21 ESV

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

5 Steps To Being Free From Baggage

#1) RECOGNIZE

#2) FORGIVE

#3) REPENT

#4) SUBMIT

#5) PRAY

Matthew 16:19 Passion

I will give you the keys of heaven’s kingdom realm to forbid on earth that which is forbidden in heaven, and to release on earth that which is released in heaven.”

Ephesians 6:12 Passion

Your hand-to-hand combat is not with human beings, but with the highest principalities and authorities operating in rebellion under the heavenly realms. For they are a powerful class of demon-gods and evil spirits that hold this dark world in bondage.

CONCLUSION

Psalm 51:5-10 NLT

For I was born a sinner— yes, from the moment my mother conceived me. But you desire honesty from the womb, teaching me wisdom even there. Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Oh, give me back my joy again; you have broken me— now let me rejoice. Don’t keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my guilt. Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me.