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?"
The difference between Job and his wife is where they put their focus. Job put his focus on God and his wife put her focus on the hurt.
And that is the same with you and me when hurt comes our way. We need to ask ourselves when we have been hurt is my focus on the hurt or is my focus on God.
Unfortunately, many of us are like Job's wife. And some of you are saying, how can you say that Bro Dave? My answer is that I see how we respond when we lose someone we love. Instead of drawing closer to God, and being in His church house with other Christians, we push away from Him and focus on our hurt. I understand, it is easy to push away and blame God. Why did He let that happen but that is not the right response?
So, what is it going to be in your life: focus on the hurt or focus on God? You cannot bless if your focus is on the hurt; you will bless if your focus is on God.
Point #2
I can bless you, even if you hurt me, if I can believe that God will make right how I have been wronged.
We all know the story of David and Saul. Saul became jealous of David's accomplishments and pursed David to kill him. David had opportunities to kill Saul in this game of pursuit and he refused to act and called upon God to vindicate him. David chose to bless Saul rather than fall to the level of Saul.
1 Samuel 24:14-15 (NIV) 14 "Against whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom are you pursuing? A dead dog? A flea? 15 May the LORD be our judge and decide between us. May he consider my cause and uphold it; may he vindicate me by delivering me from your hand."
Psalm 135:14 (NIV) 14 For the LORD will vindicate his people and have compassion on his servants.
There was a Scripture in the Gospel of Matthew that gave me fits for years. Let me read it to you. Matthew 5:38-40 (NIV) 38 "You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' 39 But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.
Those three Scriptures make it sound like the Christian ought to be some type of doormat for the world. I agree that we are to be loving, forgiving, and giving to those who have hurt us, but should I let people run all over me? And I have been asked that question on several occasions in my ministry. Why would God want people to walk all over us?
And I found my answer by looking at what the Scripture did not say. Just because Jesus tells us that we must turn the other cheek and give up our cloak, does not mean that our Heavenly Father is ok with His children being slapped or taken to court and having things taken from them unjustly. And He will take the action that is necessary, not me.
Can I tell you today that God has no problem squaring up an account? God takes seriously when his children come under attack. And it will not go unanswered. Romans 12:19 (NIV) 19 Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord.
With God handling my vindication, my focus can remain on being a channel of blessing. I don't need to get sidetracked and get even instead I can bless you and blow your mind by being that blessing because God is going to make everything right.
Point #3
I can be a blessing when I grow to the place spiritually that I can be at peace even though not everybody is at peace with me.
Psalm 119:165 (KJV) 165 Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.
Psalm 119:165 (YLT) 165 Abundant peace have those loving Thy law, And they have no stumbling-block.
Very young in your Christian maturity, it is amazingly easy for the devil to get you off track spiritually by bringing people in your life that will hurt you by what they say to you or what they do to you. That is why it is so important in the early stages of your Christian to get you planted in a church family.
But God's promise to each one of us according to Psalm 119:165 is that we can get to the place spiritually that although the devil may place people in our life that will hurt us, it will not get us off course.
Here is a true confession. I can remember as a young preacher when I was doing everything that I could to do to serve God, be a husband to Anne and handle my other responsibilities, it would devastate me when someone would come up to me and say something hurtful to me about my ministry. It would just set me back for a time. Now I am not to this place yet in Psalm 119:165 but I can see that I have grown in this area of my life. It still hurts me and sets me back for just a moment, but I keep pressing on. And maybe one day I will get to the place, when someone hurts me, I don't skip a beat and keep on coming.
And God is calling each one of us as priest to get to that place that although someone may hurt you that you keep on blessing them. And we can say that I am blessing like I have never been hurt.
Let us pray!
