Dealing With Harsh People Series

Please open your Bibles to Romans 10. The first 11 chapters of Romans gave us the foundation for the Christian faith. Look at Romans 10:9………...

Do you believe in your heart that Jesus Christ is your only Savior? Let us say this together: Jesus is my only Savior and Lord!

In Romans 12-16, God gives practical instructions on how to live the Christian faith while we’re still here on earth. The first thing we learned and most important in our lives is the worship of God! We are to worship God with everything! We are to see God wherever we go, whatever we’re doing, we are to praise God and give Him thanks. (show picture) How are we doing with this?

Think about this for a moment: God never sleeps; but God can’t wait for us to get up and say hello to Him! And God planned out our day and He is at the edge of His seat waiting to see how we are going to respond to the wonderful things He has ordained for each one of us personally. Yes, life can be difficult at times, but I guarantee that everyday there is something to be thankful for from God. God loves you and me! The problem of course is we don’t look for God in every situation! Don’t be a Christian Zombie, be a WAMB; Everyday, look for every opportunity to worship God with your attitude, mind, & body!

And the second thing we must do as Christians is not to grieve the Holy Spirit (show yield sign). If you are a true Believer of Christ, you have God the Holy Spirit living within you every moment of your life! And according to Galatians 5:22-23, all we have to do is yield to the Holy Spirit and we will produce love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

How is our yielding?

Everyday we should take a moment to stop and smell the roses God has given us; then worship Him! Everyday we should look for opportunities to yield to the Holy Spirit!

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to earth not only to seek and save the lost but also to provide abundant life for Christians while waiting for His return. How are we doing? Before we can proceed with the rest of God’s instructions in Romans 12-16, we must be committed to these 3 fundamental truths: Believe in Jesus Christ, Worship God always, and Yield to God the Holy Spirit. Right where you are, please take a moment to quietly pray and commit to these truths………

Sing along with me:

He is Lord. He is Lord. He is risen from the dead and He is Lord. Ev’ry knee shall bow, Ev’ry tongue confess, that Jesus Christ is Lord

Please open your Bibles now to Romans 12.

We have noted how we are to relate to God, how we are to relate to our family, and how to relate to Christians at church. God now instructs Christians how to relate to people outside the church. Read along with me v14-21…….

v14 tells us, we are to bless those who persecute us; bless not curse. What does this mean? The original Greek word for bless is eulogeo which means to speak well of. The original Greek word for persecute is dioko which means to harass, to trouble, to mistreat. And the original Greek word for curse is kataraomai which means to call doom or evil on a person. How do we react when someone harasses, troubles, or mistreats us? Someone cuts you off on the highway, how do you react? Someone tells you to go back where you came from with your pineapples and coconuts, how do you respond?

You see, God knows that, even if we are Christians, when we are harassed, troubled, or mistreated, we will curse those people. It is the automatic response of the flesh.

But Christians are to say no to the flesh and yes to the Holy Spirit! And so, God tells us Christians to watch our attitudes and our tongues in responding to people who hurt us. Christians are to speak well of people, even those who hurt us! Yes, this is not easy. Why? - because we can not do it by ourselves. We need the help of God the Holy Spirit to bless those who hurt us! If we are not true believers of Christ, if we are not committed to worshiping God, if we are not yielding to the Holy Spirit, we can not bless those who persecute us. Blessing those who persecute you is a sign of your faith in the Triune God!

How can we live this out? May I suggest this: When someone hurts you, just hold your tongue and pray. When God tells you what to say to bless the person, that would be the time to speak, otherwise, don’t say a word!