Bless Like You Never Been Hurt Series

Introduction

Today, I want us to move our priestly duty of being a channel of blessings to a higher level. It might be easy for some of you to bless a stranger; it might be easy for some of you to bless a family member; it might be easy for you to bless a fellow church member. But I would dare say that most of us in this room would struggle to bless someone who has hurt us. And blessing someone who has hurt you is moving your priestly duty to a higher level.

What is our natural response when someone hurts us? I can think of two. The first is to get back at the person in some way for what they have done to us. The second natural response is to say that I will have nothing more to do with them.

The Bible's response, the correct response as a New Testament priest, is that we should bless the person who has hurt you. Let me read to you the actual words of Jesus found in Matthew 5:44 (NKJV) 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.

And then in the Gospel of Luke, Luke hammers home that exact same point again by requoting the words found in Matthew's Gospel. Luke 6:27-28 (NKJV) 27 "But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you.

So, it is clear to me that it is God's intention for you and me to bless others like we never been hurt. I must overlook the hurt and bless is what Jesus is telling us. I know that I cannot do that in my natural strengths because naturally I want to get even or have nothing more to do with you. And Jesus wants to teach you and me something today because Jesus tells us not to be hurt by anyone in this life is impossible. We better learn to deal with it, and we better not be the cause of hurt in others. Luke 17:1 (NKJV) 1 Then He said to the disciples, "It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come!

And that is where this sermon is headed. How do we learn to give blessings to the person or persons that has hurt you?

Point #1

I need to realize when hurt comes my way that God is at work in my life making me the Christian man or Christian woman that He wants me to be.1 Peter 3:16-17 (NKJV) 16 having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. 17 For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.

The question is: "Am I going to look at the hurt or am I going to look at God? If I look at the hurt, my response is to seek revenge or cut off all relationship with that person. If I look at God, and what He is teaching me in my life as result of this hurt, then I can respond in the way that God wants me to respond.

In my years of ministry, I have learned that sometimes when the worse things are happening to a Christian that you see the best come out in them. I always go back to the story of Pat Schmidt. She was a good Christian woman but when her body got ravaged by cancer and the way that she dealt with it revealed that she was more than a good Christian woman; she was a great Christian woman. The best came out in Pat Schmidt when she got cancer. Opposition came against her and instead of folding up her tent, she soared.

Remember, the story of Job and how his hurt came at the hands of the devil. Early in the story there was a stark contrast as to how Job's wife handled the hurt and how Job handled the hurt. Job put his focus on God and not on the hurt. Job 1:21 (NKJV) 21 And he said: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, And naked shall I return there. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; Blessed be the name of the LORD."

In contrast, Job's wife looked at the hurt rather than God and she responded this way. Job 2:9-10 (NKJV) 9 Then his wife said to him, "Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!" 10 But he said to her, "You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?"