HOW TO HANDLE HATERS
1 SAMUEL 9:1-2, 16-17; 10:21-27
But this morning, I want to talk about Haters... A hater is someone that is jealous and envious and spends all their time trying to make you look small so they can look tall… (Tell you…) When you make your mark, you will always attract some haters... That’s why you have to be careful who you share your blessings and your dreams with because some folk can’t handle seeing you blessed… (Just ask Joseph…)
But how do you handle your haters so that you won’t abort the blessings that God has for you…? How do you handle your haters so that you don’t miss the opportunities that have been scheduled for your life…?
In the text the people want a king because when they looked around, they saw that the other nations had a king. They mistakenly thought that the only way to beat the other nations were to be like them… (Help you…) It’s dangerous to be like somebody else… If God wanted you to be like somebody else He would have given you what he gave them… That’s why envy and jealousy does not make sense…
(Why?) Because it limits God… (Trying to say…) To want what somebody else has is to assume that what they have is the best that God’s got… IOW, you can miss something better that God has for you because you are concentrating on what somebody else has… Old folks used to say, “Be who you is… Cause if you is who you ain’t then you ain’t who you is…”
You don’t know what people have gone through to get what they have… (Problem I have with haters is that they see my glory, but they don’t know my story…) (Personal haters…) If the grass looks greener on the other side of the fence you can be sure that the water bill is higher there… Imitation leads to Limitation…
(Problem) They wanted what God wanted but they wanted it their way… God intended them to have leadership but not like everybody else. So God decides to give them what they ask for…
In Chapter 9, when Saul is chosen and the ceremony is to take place they cannot find him because he is hiding behind his baggage… To hide behind your baggage means you have to stoop down and look smaller than you really are. It gives you an inferiority complex and makes others look taller than you. But if you just stand up you will see that you are the equal to everybody else.
After the benediction Saul goes home and is joined by a band of men some of whom have a problem with the blessing that he has received and they refuse to follow him and even disrespect him by not bringing him an offering. They feel that he does not have the look of a king… They feel that he could not handle the job of being King…
(Help you out…) We’ve all got some haters among us…
Some people don’t like it that you can:
Come to church…
Get your praise on…
Shout in the aisle…
Dance in the pew…
Enter His gates with praise…
Bless His Holy Name…
Haters don’t want to see you happy…
Haters don’t want to see you succeed…
Haters don’t want to see you get the victory…
(Discovered…) His haters were not his enemies… His haters were in the group that was suppose to be on his side… You can handle it when your haters are your enemies, but how do you handle the haters who you least expect to have to have your guard up against…? You can handle your haters, first of all…
I. BY BEING CONFIDENT IN YOUR PURPOSE
When you have a purpose you can focus without being distracted…
When you have a purpose you don’t get upset when you are not invited out with friends…
When you have a purpose you know who you are and whose you are…
When you have a purpose you know where you’re going….
(Secret) Purpose does not mean having a job. You can have a job and still be unfulfilled. A purpose is having a clear sense of what God has called you to be… Your purpose is not defined by what others think about you… You will always be trying to get stuff because the more stuff you have will improve what will others think about you (cars, house, money etc) but the problem is what others think will only last as long as the stuff last…! Your purpose is not defined by how others think you can perform what you do… If I know it’s my purpose I don’t care what you think of the job I am doing…
I don’t come to church to make friends, join clicks, get your number; because I am lonely… I know my purpose… I been through too much to let you keep me from my purpose... You can handle your haters… I. By Being Confident In Your Purpose… Secondly you can handle your haters...
II. BY KNOWING SOMETHING ABOUT THEM
KJV-The Children of Belial-proverbial term to describe worthless men… Here’s the appointed king in the company of some worthless, trifling men, who are telling him he can’t do it, some worthless dysfunctional men…
Why should I let somebody who can’t get it together, keep me from having it together… (Trying to say…) Before you listen to folk, check out their history (marriage) can’t get along with their own husbands telling you how to get along with yours. Can’t keep a girlfriend tell you how to get a girlfriend…
It’s not that they don’t like you, they have a history of criticism... They were not Belial; they were the children of Belial… They had taken on the behavior of the people that produced them… (Help you…) Before you hook up with somebody you better go to a barbeque or a family reunion. Check out their mama, check out their daddy. Go meet Auntie Sue, Cousin Poochie because if there is dysfunction there it’s bound to show up in them…
If you’re going to handle your haters, you need to I. By Being Confident In Your Purpose… II. By Knowing Something About Them… The finally you can handle your haters...
III. BY REMEMBERING WHAT YOU HAVE IS BY DIVINE PEROGATIVE; NOT HUMAN MANIPULATION
(Big Problem…) The people wanted a king… They assessed their need and compared their need to what they thought Saul’s ability was... They looked at his background, resume... They saw where he was born but not where he was from… They saw where he was born in the natural, but not his home in the heavenlies… What they missed was that Saul had not asked for the job... He was young, no military experience, still wet behind the ears, still had milk in the corner of his mouth but what he did have was FAVOR…!
Favor will get you that:
Car you could dream about…
Job you applied for as a joke…
House you did not deserve…
Favor ain’t fair… Because God gives it to you at His prerogative so that He can get the glory…
(Trying to say…) When God gives you favor, you can tell your haters, “Don’t look at me… Look at Who is in charge of me…
Instead of hating on me, you need to understand that what I have I did not earn it... I can not afford it… I don’t have the education for it…”
(Trying to say…) You need to understand that favor ain’t fair… And the thing I like about God’s favor is that you can handle your haters when you remember that it ain’t about you, but it’s all about God… And what He’s done for you… (One question…) Has He done anything for you…?
