Breaking Free in Relationships
- Human relationship is a beautiful thing. However, there are relationships sometimes, keep us under control.
- Domination – is the ungodly control over a person in which pressure is brought to direct or change him/her in respect of their behavior and belief.
- Manipulation –is a more subtle form of control in which a careful strategy is used to change a situation or someone else’s mind to one’s own personal advantage.
- Intimidation – the use of threats or threat of violence to force others into, or refrain from, certain actions, often out of fear, sometimes bribery maybe followed.
- These are processes in which the choice of one person is not seen as relevant, that no or little freewill is given to an individual.
1. Three keys area for relationship.
- Family – Learned behavior in childhood, bad role modeling and inherited traits from ancestors.
- Church – The issue of authority.
- School and work – Teachers/school/class mates; bosses or colleagues who are exercising control.
2. Why do we control others?
- Learned behavior in childhood.
- Self defense – to appear strong and offensive, not weak. Make others fearful.
- Cover up of our inadequacy; Low self image; Jealousy and envy.
- Selfishness and selfish ambitions.
- Unhealed hurts, anger, bitterness, rejection, unforgiveness.
3. Jesus came to bring hope and healing to our relationships.
- Jesus is free from domination, manipulation and intimidation control. Let Him be the Lord of our lives.
- We wrestle not against flesh and blood.
- Ephesians 6:12 – For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
- Dealing with personal sins.
- 1 John 1:7-9 – But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
- Dealing with personal weakness.
- James 1:22-24 – But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.