Bunbury
Wed pm
27/07/2011
“What to do with a slap in the face”
Intro: *** As you all know Vergel & Lee have just recently moved into town & a new residence. They are now going through what we all hate about moving – trying to get everything in place / order again! One of the real problems of unpacking is trying to find places w/ everything. Anyone who has ever had to move a family into another house has had the experience of looking at something they’ve got to find a place for & saying to them/s –what am I going to do w/ that?
It’s that exact same thought I want to draw your attention to tonight ….. although it has nothing to do w/ unpacking it has everything to do w/ what you are going to do w/ something.
Here’s the question – “What do you do w/ a slap in the face?”
I was talking to my wife about this thought & she said – I cry! That’s what I do, because it hurts!!!
I guess that’s pretty normal for a lady to say that …..
Men probably process it a little different & say ……. I launch the other guy’s head right off his shoulders by hitting him back!
What we need to recognise is that the main issue to be processed is not the damage to our face but the damage to our heart when we take a slap in the face.
So t/n we want to give some thought to the question “What to do w/ a slap in the face”.
Text: Luke 6:27-31 ( NKJV ) 27“But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you. 29To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. 30Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back. 31And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.
The first thing you need to do w/ a slap in the face is …..
# 1. Expect it!
A. The first thing you can do w/ a slap in the face is expect that it will come!
a. Some believers seem genuinely surprised when it happens to them like something strange / unusual / unexpected thing has happened to them.
i. The truth is that if you aren’t expecting a slap in the face you are living in a dream world.
ii. I don’t know how many times I’ve seen an act of kindness repaid w/ selfishness & ingratitude.
iii. But what’s even more surprising to me is when people who are treated like this are so shocked!
*** I had a nephew who was into drugs, burgled a house, went to prison, bled family members financially dry & lied at every opportunity. I had a car that was not worth it for me re-licence. Due to the fact that this nephew didn’t have a car at the time I gave it to him instead of selling it for the $800-$1,000 I could have got for it. A couple of months later he wrecked it in an accident w/ a drunken mate.
When I heard the news it was no surprise to me at all! I thought – figures!
I expected as much! And it was no shock to me whatsoever!!!
iv. Why are we so shocked when a slap in the face comes to us?
1 Peter 4:12 ( NKJV ) 12Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you;
*** Loretta at outreach down at Take-Away City. She was mocked when she went to witness to some sinners & came back in tears & blubbering to us – ‘They mocked me!’
Well of course they mocked you! They’re sinners whose job it is to mock you!!!
b. In any pursuit there are going to be expectations of what is going to take place.
i. If you’re going to have a baby ….. there needs to be some expectations happening – labour / pain / difficulty / sleepless nights / crying baby etc.
ii. In getting fit there needs to be expectations – endurance / pain / hardship / stress / effort / puffing / aching etc.
iii. Jesus prepared the disciples for what lay ahead by telling them to have some expectations about pain.
Matthew 5:10 ( NKJV ) 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
iv. Even in our text here what we have is preparation & expectations about what can / will happen!
B. We need to balance this out however w/ the danger of embracing a victim mindset.
a. Sometimes we get a slap in the face / kick on the other kind of cheek b/c we deserve it!
i. When you live w/ a victim mindset you can’t take any kind of correction / rebuke / discipline w/o thinking – ‘I’m being picked on again!’
ii. You’ve got to be able to face the facts about your own shortcomings / failures / self indulgence.
iii. When a victim mindset has gripped a believer …… anything that challenges the issues / problems to them is interpreted as a slap in the face.
iv. This is a victim mindset & it is very dangerous / debilitating to your own personal development as a mature man / woman of God.
b. Don’t afford yourself the luxury in life of b/co a victim.
i. Victims are people that have been mentally / emotionally / socially crippled.
ii. If you’re finding that you’re spending a lot or even a discernable chunk of your time feeling sorry for yourself – you have a victim mindset.
iii. Victims are people who deny th/s the strength & objectivity to be able to confront life’s problems & break through.
# 2. Don’t take on the same spirit.
A. Think about the spirit of this world.
a. The spirit of this world which is the spirit of the natural man is to respond to others in exactly the same manner in which he is treated or worse!
i. It’s a spirit that says I will do to you exactly as you do to me & when that spirit is taken to an extreme it gets ugly.
*** In an article on 14 May 2011 entitled ‘Acid blinding sentence of Iranian man postponed’ it was reported that the blinding of an Iranian student by having acid dripped into his eyes has been reportedly postponed, just hours before the punishment was due to be carried out.
The procedure was planned to take place in Tehran at midday on Saturday in the presence of Ameneh Bahrami, the young woman he attacked and blinded, under a sentence called qesas (retribution in kind) imposed by a court in 2009.
She had demanded that the blinding be carried out after her university classmate Majid Movahedi threw a bucket of acid over her when she spurned his repeated offers of marriage. The punishment had been due to be carried out at the judiciary hospital in Tehran, under the supervision of a doctor and with representatives of the coroners' office and the prosecution present.
ii. As much as I believe that the punishment should fit the crime I find that kind of punishment abhorrent & I think most people would agree!
b. Now give some thought to the measure of punishment that the Bible condones in the O/T law.
i. Firstly God recognises that the b/c of sin & the nature of man there will be a need for punishment / justice in the wake of crime.
ii. The law is set down no less than 3x in the O/T where we read ……
Leviticus 24:19-20 ( NKJV ) 19‘If a man causes disfigurement of his neighbor, as he has done, so shall it be done to him— 20fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; as he has caused disfigurement of a man, so shall it be done to him.
iii. But think about the often ignored aspect of this law …… the limits of this punishment.
*** I was in Port Moresby in 1998 preaching at a conference there & during our time there a man in the village right next to the church had apparently beaten up a man from another village injuring him. W/I a few short hours a group of men from the village of the beaten man came to the village of the offender where they cut down an entire banana plantation right next to the church building & torched two houses in the village leaving everyone terrified!
In PNG its called payback! The only trouble is that the payback is often worse than the original payout!
B. Let’s contrast the idea of O/T justice / retribution w/ the new law that Jesus introduces us to.
a. Jesus here in our text is introducing us to the greater law of love.
Luke 6:27-28 ( NKJV ) 27“But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you.
i. What Jesus is saying to us here is “Don’t take on the same spirit as those who do you wrong!”
ii. In other words respond to hatred / injury / pain / injustices w/ an attitude of goodness.
iii. Meet a curse w/ a blessing …… & when people treat you badly appeal to the supreme court of heaven by praying for them!
iv. God’s plan / purpose for His people is that we would be a people who would have a different spirit.
b. The example that Jesus lived out b/4 us is the example that we should take / make the model of our lives.
i. Think about Jesus at his arrest / trial & crucifixion ……
1 Peter 2:21-23 ( NKJV ) 21For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving £us an example, that you should follow His steps: 22 “Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth”; 23who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously;
*** Most often we’re like the Irish boxer who got converted & was helping set up a tent for a tent crusade when a couple hoods came along & began mocking him & giving him a hard time. One of them stepped forward & b/c the boxer ignoring him landed a blow on one of his cheeks. He then said to the man my Lord instructed me to turn the other cheek which he did. As soon as he did the hoodlum struck him on the other cheek.
As soon as he did the boxer rolled up his sleeves & said to the aggressor, “MY Lord gave me no further instructions!” WOP! WOP! WOP!!!
ii. Listen to the spirit that Jesus embraced in 1 Peter 2:23 …. [He] committed Himself to Him who judges righteously;
iii. Effectively what the Bible is saying here is that Jesus surrendered his right to take revenge.
Matthew 26:53-54 ( NKJV ) 53Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels? 54How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen thus?”
iv. The moment you decide to fight back / take revenge instead of turning the other cheek you take the fight out of God’s hands & put it into your own.
Proverbs 24:29 ( NKJV ) 29 Do not say, “I will do to him just as he has done to me; I will render to the man according to his work.”
v. God never has opportunity to turn our trials into triumphs if we always want to play God & send lightning upon those who abuse us.
Luke 9:54-55 ( NKJV ) 54And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?” 55But He turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of.
vi. Jesus doesn’t want us to take on the same spirit of those who come against us –
Vs 27. ( TMNT ) 27“……. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst.
** Wm Barclay says “Retaliation however controlled or restricted has no place in the Christian life.”
# 3. What to do w/ a slap in the face.
A. First & foremost when it comes to a slap in the face – learn to take / accept wrong as a part of the Christian life.
a. Listen to how the W of God frames the reality of living the Christian life.
2 Timothy 3:12 ( NKJV ) 12Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.
i. U/s that if you’re going to live for the Lord its not going to be w/o cost!
ii. Street evangelism is a great way to b/co acquainted w/ the fact that some people are irate at the fact that you dare to represent Jesus in public / on the streets!
2 Timothy 3:12 ( TMNT ) 12Anyone who wants to live all out for Christ is in for a lot of trouble; there’s no getting around it.
iii. If you doubt this is true come to street outreach next time & stand on the street & witness to some sinners & you’ll see that what I’m saying is true!
……. 12Anyone who wants to live all out for Christ is in for a lot of trouble; ……
*** I was sitting in MacDonalds in Malaga one morning have a quiet coffee w/ a few friends after prayer & the next thing I know a young woman (I won’t call her a lady) was screaming at the top of her lungs at Jamie Harries.
I’m thinking to myself did he sell her a bad guitar / keyboard / overcharge her on a musical instrument??? Had he been rude to her?
No all he did was to witness to her at the service station across the road a few days b/4 & when she saw him this time in Mac’s she unloaded!
b. So the question that needs to be answered is what do you do when someone slaps you in the face like that?
*** I had one young woman who many years ago gave me a bit of a slap in the face while we were doing some street outreach. Her remark was particularly insulting & caustic.
So I took her slap in the face & raised her one by adding my own reply & saying to her “If I looked as bad as she did I’d take all the help I could get!”
It was like being on locale when a car bomb went off!
Needless to say she didn’t fall at my feet & ask what she must do to be saved – I won w/ the remark but lost in the contest for her salvation.
B. Jesus here is challenging us to wield the weapon of love!
a. Jesus is not saying – “Lay down & b/co everyone’s spiritual / physical / financial / emotional door mat.”
i. Jesus is not encouraging us to b/co wimps who are an easy prey for bullies.
*** There was a guy who went on an impact team w/ us a few years back. He was such a wimp that he practically asked to be bullied! His first bullying was at the airport when we arrived in the country. He was asked – “Have you been taking your malaria medication?” “No, was I supposed to?” B/4 we even got through immigration he wanted to go home & was actually whimpering. Later that night in the meeting I saw him squash a mosquito on his leg & in jest I looked at him w/ real concern at which he practically dissolved into tears!
A few days later we went out for a dive in a boat ….. the motor died on the way back in & we were about 2 miles off shore. At this he went into practically a sheer panic while the rest of us thought it was a very entertaining situation.
Needless to say we all got back home safe & well ….. some of us after being extremely stressed while most of us just had a good time.
ii. Jesus doesn’t want us to be wimps that have no backbone / drive / dignity.
iii. Nor is He saying just accept life w/o any justice / fairness / reason ….. b/c there are always going to be those who will take advantage of the other people’s weakness.
iv. He certainly isn’t saying that we have to get used to living life as losers either.
b. So what is Jesus saying?
i. He’s saying that I want you to fight / combat all these challenges w/ a different heart / spirit.
ii. B/c you are my people I don’t want you to behave like other people who don’t know Me!
Vs 27. ( TMNT ) 27“……. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst.
iii. Now the Bible says we are like vessels & we all know that vessels are made to be filled w/ something.
*** Now imagine that we have two vessels ……. one vessel is filled w/ hydrochloric acid, used for cleaning bricks. It is so concentrated that it takes the surface off concrete!
But in the other vessel we have honey.
Now when the vessel that has hydrochloric acid is bumped / knocked / slapped the hydrochloric acid is going to spill out & whatever it touches is going to get either burned or it will die!
But when the vessel that contains the honey is bumped / knocked / slapped & the honey spills out, whatever the honey touches it is going to soothe / nourish / bless.
iv. The primary thought of our text that Jesus is dealing w/ is what’s in the vessel & what’s going to flow out of it w/ the bumps / knocks / slaps of life?
v. Does what comes out of the vessel bring death to everything that it spills onto or does it bring life?
vi. Here’s what to do w/ a slap in the face …..
Romans 12:21 ( NKJV ) 21Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
