Seven Words Of Wisdom Series

The historical event that we remember and celebrate on Easter morning is the resurrection of Jesus Christ; in which He rose from the grave, defeating sin and death for all who put their faith and trust in Him. However, this morning, we’re not going to look at the resurrection; were’ going to look at what preceded it, which is the crucifixion, and what Jesus said while hanging on the cross.

In the cross of Jesus Christ, we find victory over adversity. We’re going to discover seven words of wisdom based on Jesus’ seven words spoken on the cross; words that help us deal with any and every struggle that we face today. This morning’s message, which is inspired by a teaching I heard nearly twenty years ago, is based on what’s called “the seven last words of Christ.”

What we know as Good Friday was not a good day for Jesus; it was a bad one. It was a day of betrayal, beatings, rejection, pain, and loneliness. It was a day of adversity to the max. We will likely never experience what Jesus went through; yet each of us will experience trouble and adversity at some point in life, especially those who are called to follow after Christ. You see, we’re called to take up our cross, meaning that we too will suffer.

On the cross Jesus left us an example to follow; one that will help us deal with adversity; and He left us this example, because He realized that we too would suffer; that we too would experience difficult days. So, let’s now examine Jesus’ seven statements that will help us in overcoming our struggles.

Point # 1: Forgive Everyone Who’s Trying to Harm You (Luke 23:34)

Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.

The first point in dealing with adversity is to forgive everyone who’s trying to harm you.

Often, times of adversity are the result of what people do. People, through free will, are given a choice in life to make their own decisions as to whether or not they will follow God and His commandments or go against Him. People are going to commit sin, and many times they will hurt others along the way; and oftentimes, we just happen to be in their path. But, Jesus points us to a starting place in dealing with the hurt that people inflict on our lives, and that starting place is in realizing that people don’t always know what they’re doing.

Now, that’s probably not the way that many of us feel about hurtful situations. We tend to see things from the viewpoint of our experience, and when bad things happen, it appears that whoever did us wrong knew exactly what he or she was doing; and it must have looked that way from the cross as well. When Stephen was being stoned because of his powerful and convicting testimony, he realized that the people in the angry crowd didn’t really know what they were doing; and so, that’s why he prayed, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin” (Acts 7:60).

We need to learn how to forgive, because forgiving those who hurt us is the key to not feeling victimized, and the key to maintaining our peace. “A friend of Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross, once reminded her of an especially cruel thing that had been done to her years before. Miss Barton seemed not to recall it. ‘Don’t you remember it?’ her friend asked. ‘No,’ came the reply, ‘I distinctly remember forgetting it’.”(1) You see, only when we can learn to forgive will we find peace of mind in the midst life’s difficulties.

True forgiveness springs from gratitude to God, because He forgave us. This truth is found in Ephesians 4:32, which says, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” In Matthew 7:12, Jesus told us, “Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them.” We all want to be forgiven, and we all want to experience the emotional and spiritual release that results from having the burden of our past wrongs lifted from us. If we want others to forgive us, then we must be willing to forgive them as well.

Jesus said in Matthew 6:14-15, “If you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” It’s important for us to forgive others when they harm us or do us wrong, because in doing so we maintain a right relationship with the Heavenly Father. When we’re confident that we’re doing the will of the Father, and when we feel that God is on our side, then with this assurance we will be able to make it through difficult times.