Retaliation

Retaliation.  It’s in our veins.  Have you noticed we all (well, most of us maybe) like those Charles Bronson, Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan or Steven Seagal movies of the underdog who was misused, abused, beaten up, and then at the end of the movie gets back at his enemies!  Or maybe the primetime “teleserye” where the poor girl is mistreated by the rich mayordoma, and in the end the poor girl gets her way.  Or  the criminal who used his power to destroy others, and in the end ends up in prison, or with a disability.

If you hurt me, I’ll hurt you back.  If you insult me, I’ll insult you back.  As far as history can bring us, even in Jesus’ time, this was the “rule” in the heart of people.  What is interesting is that Jews used the law to justify their retaliating against a wrong done to them.

Matthew 5:38 (NIV)
38 "You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.'

Now that’s what we want!  You take my eye, I’ll take your eye, plus a little more.  If a driver cuts in my lane, I’ll run after him and cut in his lane!  If someone hits me, he’s dead meat!  Many times we imagine these scenes in our minds.

But what did Jesus teach?  What was the right application of this law?

Matthew 5:39-42 (NIV)
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.
41 If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.
42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

These examples of our Lord were not criminal acts, or acts of evil in society.  These were personal circumstances, insults and maltreatment towards a person. What our Lord was saying was simple – Don’t Retaliate!  Don’t be like them, don’t have the same heart, the same evil motive, the same anger as those who are insulting or maltreating you!  Retaliation must never be in the heart of a Christian.

Many will ask if these commands of the Lord are literal – turn the other cheek, give him your cloak, walk with him two miles.  These were just Jesus’ way of saying – don’t fight back.  Don’t do the same.  Don’t resist.  We should respond as Jesus responded to insults and pain.  How did He respond?

1 Peter 2:21-23 (NIV)
21 To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.
22 "He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth."
23 When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.

To be struck on the right cheek was not only painful (for it would be the backhand that would strike), but it was considered an insult.

Our Lord did not retaliate, did not threaten, when others were insulting Him and treating Him badly.  He instead ENTRUSTED HIMSELF TO HIM WHO JUDGES JUSTLY.  When we retaliate we entrust ourself to ourself.  But when a Christian is insulted, or maltreated, he first entrusts himself to a greater and more powerful Judge!  He allows God to take control of the situation, and not himself.

Romans 12:17-19 (NIV)
17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody.
18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
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.

Patience

Galatians 5:22 The fruit of the Spirit is…patience.

All of us need patience.  Why?  Because there’s always someone who is slower than us, who doesn’t understand how we understand things, who doesn’t do things the way we do it.  One of the hardest truths to accept is that God created all of us different from one another.  We always want people to be like us.

A dictionary defines patience as “good natured tolerance of delay or incompetence”.

Why is patience such an important character to have as a Christian?

1.  Patience is a character of holiness.  And God calls us to be holy.

Colossians 3:12 (NIV)
12 Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

As God’s chosen people, holy…we are to walk in patience.

2.  Patience is a character of love.  And, as Christians, we are called to live a life of love.

Ephesians 4:2 (NIV)
2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

In 1 Corinthians 13 the first characteristic of love is patience.

3.  Patience is a character of a godly man/woman.

Proverbs 14:29 (NIV)
29 A patient man has great understanding, but a quick-tempered man displays folly.

Proverbs 15:18 (NIV)
18 A hot-tempered man stirs up dissension, but a patient man calms a quarrel.

Patience is a fruit of the Spirit, because true patience comes from God.

God is patient.

2 Peter 3:9 (NIV)
9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

And God is love.  So He knows how to be patient, and this is the patience He gives us.

So as God the Holy Spirit indwells and fills our heart, His character, His life, is molded into ours.

So where should this patience be practiced or seen in our lives?

1.  With one another, or in our relationships.

Ephesians 4:2 (NIV)
2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

Is there someone we have been impatient with recently?

2.  In affliction.  This is one area where we tend to be impatient!  And this is with God!

Romans 12:12 (NIV)
12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

James 5:10-11 (NIV)
10 Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
11 As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.

Sometimes the only way for us to experience God’s compassion and mercy is when we are going through affliction, through suffering.

It’s not God taking away the affliction that is important, but what He is teaching us, showing us about who He is during affliction that is important.

Speaking God’s truth to our self

Psalms 42:5-6 (NIV)
5 Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and (6) my God.

I remember reading this years ago in D Martyn Lloyd-Jones’ book “Spiritual Depression”:

"Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself? Take those thoughts that come to you the moment you wake up in the morning. You have not originated them but they are talking to you, they bring back the problems of yesterday, etc. Somebody is talking. Who is talking to you? Your self is talking to you. Now this man’s treatment [in Psalm 42] was this: instead of allowing this self to talk to him, he starts talking to himself. “Why art thou cast down, O my soul?” he asks. His soul had been depressing him, crushing him. So he stands up and says, “Self, listen for moment, I will speak to you.”"

How important it is for us to be “speaking truth” to ourselves – God’s truth.  For only God’s trust settles down our hearts.

Consider another psalm:

Psalms 22:1-2 (NIV)
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning?
2 O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, and am not silent.

David begins by expressing his frustration, feeling that God has forsaken him!  Oh, don’t we feel that way also many times in our life?  But he continues and says:

Psalms 22:3-5 (NIV)
3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the praise of Israel.
4 In you our fathers put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them.
5 They cried to you and were saved; in you they trusted and were not disappointed.

That was the truth that prevailed in his heart.  No matter how forsaken he felt, he knew that God was enthroned as the Holy One, and history showed how He delivered his forefathers, and how they were not disappointed when they trusted in Him.

Then he goes at it again, and starts feeling bad, this time about himself:

Psalms 22:6-8 (NIV)
6 But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people.
7 All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads:
8 "He trusts in the LORD; let the LORD rescue him. Let him deliver him, since he delights in him."

He was a worm, not a man.  People mocked him, made fun even of his faith.  But, again, the truth concerning God prevailed:

Psalms 22:9-10 (NIV)
9 Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you even at my mother's breast.
10 From birth I was cast upon you; from my mother's womb you have been my God.

Even if he felt like a worm, God being His creator, and the One who safely and faithfully brought him out of his mother’s womb said otherwise.  From birth he was in the arms of his Lord.

Eventually he concludes and says:

Psalms 22:11 (NIV)
11 Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help.

Are we speaking truth to ourselves?  Do we take time to know more about the truth concerning our Lord and God?  Only our knowledge of the truth, the truth about our God, can truly comfort our hearts.

The “look”

Right after Peter had denied the Lord for the third time, Luke describes what happened:

Luke 22:61 (NIV)
61 The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter.

Peter must have thought that while he was denying the Lord left and right Jesus had no idea what was happening.  He was wrong.  Right after he denies Jesus three times the Lord turns and looks straight at Peter.

Man, that must have been the most painful moment of Peter’s life!  At that moment he realized that he had hurt the Lord whom he claimed he loved and would follow up to death!  And he realizes this after Jesus looks straight at him.

Have you noticed that while we are committing sin we totally forget that our God is watching us?  Then, a few moments, seconds even, we feel the eyes of the Lord upon us, giving us that “look”.  And our hearts weep, realizing we have sinned against our God.

David had a similar feeling.

Psalms 39:13 (NIV)
13 Look away from me, that I may rejoice again before I depart and am no more."

David had sinned, and he felt God staring at him, bringing conviction upon his heart.  That’s why he asked God to look away from him.

But the “look” that God gives is not a look of condemnation, but a look of grace.  When Jesus looked straight at Peter it actually moved Peter to reflect on what he had done:

Luke 22:61-62 (NIV)
61 The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: "Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times."

62 And he went outside and wept bitterly.

Peter remembered what the Lord had told him a few moments back.  Jesus actually warned Peter through His word, but Peter did not heed that warning.

It’s a look of grace.  A look that makes us realize the wrong we had done.  A look that reminds us who we have sinned against – our Lord Himself.  It’s a look that causes us to weep.

But it is also a look that brings us back.  Peter ran and wept bitterly, but he did not run away from the Lord.  He stayed with the other disciples, and when Jesus had risen from the dead, He reinstated Peter and commanded him to feed His sheep (John 21).

Christians treasure that “look”.  Yes, it’s a look that causes us to weep, to realize the sin we have committed against our Lord.  But it is also a look that beckons us to return.

Luke 22:31-32 (NIV)
31 "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat.
32 But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers."

God’s Peace

Galatians 5:22  The fruit of the Spirit is…peace

We all want peace – peace of mind, a peaceful life, a life farthest from worry, anxiety.  A dictionary defines peace as  “The absence of mental stress or anxiety”.  Now that’s peace!

The Greek word used in Galatians 5:22 simply means “peace”, but also implies “prosperity”.  When you think of it, when a person is prosperous he is at peace.  There is no stress or anxiety, for he knows that his prosperity will take care of things for him.  Now that’s the peace of this world.   You know what the peace of God is?  Take away the prosperity, abundance, material things, etc. – and still enjoy no stress or anxiety – that’s the peace of God!  It’s a peace that is not dependent on what we have, or on what is happening around us.  It’s a peace from God.  It’s a peace of God.  It’s knowing God is there.

John 14:27 (NIV)
27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

The peace that God has for us is a peace that is totally different from the world!  And this is the peace that our Lord wants us to have.

After Jesus had told His disciples that He was going to be crucified, He told them He would leave them peace.  But how could they have peace when their Lord was about to be captured and put to death?  Many of us may ask a similar question – how can we have peace when there are so many problems, hardships or trials that we face everyday?  If Jesus left us peace, why can’t I feel it?

Jesus continued and said - “MY PEACE I give you”.  The Lord wasn’t leaving His disciples just any ordinary worldly kind of peace.  It was His peace He was leaving us!  What is God’s peace?  Think about it – does God panic?  Is there anything too difficult for the Lord?  NO!  This is why He is the God of Peace, and it is His peace He gives us.

That’s why He also said “I do not give to you as the world gives”.

How does the world give us peace?  Through circumstances.  When we have what we want, when things go our way, when we are farthest from trouble, hardship in life…when everything is going our way – then we have peace.  Many Christians mistakenly ask God to give them peace the way the world gives peace!  We ask God to take away the problems, to give us things that will give peace to our hearts.  But this is not how, or what, God wants us to be asking for.  He wants us to ask for His Peace.

That peace is found IN HIM.  Not in His answers to our prayers.  Not in HIs miracles.  Not in His solutions.  Peace is found in Him.

Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Oh for the peace of God to guard our hearts and minds!  That’s what we need.  But notice that the passage does not say anything about God answering our prayer, and that answer will give us peace.  All it says is “present your requests to God”.  Many of us still pray “Lord, if you will just give me this, or give me that, I will have peace”.  But all God asks is that in everything we present our requests to Him.

To present our requests to God we come into His presence.  And when we come into His presence, knowing He is right there, assuring us that He is in control, filling our hearts with His promises…this is what gives us peace.  And even if it takes days, months even years for the prayer to be answered, we will still be at peace!  For we know that He is holding our lives, and that He is there for us to trust in.  Even if our prayers are never answered, our hearts will be at peace – in Him, in knowing that our lives are in His hands, and that He knows what is best.

That’s peace.  That’s the peace of God, His peace, a peace we have from being with Him, knowing Him.

2 Peter 1:2 (NIV)
2 Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

We have abundant peace through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.  The more we know Him, the more at peace we will be in our life.

2 Thessalonians 3:16 (NIV)
16 Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.

How NOT to deny Christ

What do we remember about Peter?  He denied the Lord three times.  Even if he was mightily used by God to begin the building of Christ’s church in the book of Acts, we always remember his sin – denying the Lord, not just once but three times.

Many times during the day Christians are exposed to situations and circumstances that also tempt us to deny our faith and love for our Lord Jesus Christ.  We are tempted to do something opposite our Lord’s teachings, or to act or live as if we did not know Him.  Just like Peter.

Let’s allow the circumstances that lead to Peter’s denying his Lord to teach us how we can overcome this temptation to deny our Lord before others:

Luke 22:31-32 (NIV)
31 "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat.
32 But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers."

Even before the situation came where Peter was tempted to deny his Lord, Jesus warned him.  Satan was out to sift him like wheat!  Now this is something that every Christian needs to remember – we have an enemy!  And all he wants is to destroy our faith, dilute our testimony, so that others may not believe in the Lord we follow.

But Jesus gave him words of assurance – But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail.  This prayer of Jesus was actually answered, for even after Peter did deny his Lord, he did not run away from Him.

Sadly, Peter did not rely on his Lord, but on his self.  Peter was self confident.  Look how he replied:

Luke 22:33-34 (NIV)
33 But he replied, "Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death."
34 Jesus answered, "I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me."

Jesus knew that if Peter relied on himself, he would eventually deny Him.  A Christian is never to be self-confident.  No matter how spiritually “high” or strong you may feel right now, do not rely on your own strength to fight temptation!  Our dependence must be in our God!  Our Lord continually strengthens us, intercedes for us in heaven, that our faith may also not fail! 

Luke 22:54 (NIV)
54 Then seizing him, they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest. Peter followed at a distance.

Notice that Peter did not publicly proclaim himself a follower of Christ.  So, when the opportunity came for him to do so, he opted to deny Christ.  How easy it is to deny who we love when we walk so far from them!  It’s the same with Jesus.

Many Christians are like that, walking as “secret followers” of Christ.  So, when given the opportunity to do something contrary to what our Lord teaches, we quickly compromise.  Why?  Because we followed at a distance.

Walk closely with God, everyday, privately and publicly.  Enjoy God’s presence in prayer everyday.  Show everyone who you follow, so that when the temptation comes to deny Christ we will stand for Him rather than deny Him!

Luke 22:55 (NIV)
55 But when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat down with them.

Instead of separating himself from those who mocked and ridiculed his Christ, Peter sat down with them. Of course he would feel the pressure of denying Christ.  He was sitting right beside them!

Many Christians make the same mistake.  We hang around with the wrong crowd.  Their talk and actions contradict the teachings of our Lord.  So what happens?  We laugh with them, talk the same talk, walk the same walk.  We end up denying the Lord we claim we follow.

1 Corinthians 15:33 (NIV)
33 Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character."

How can we overcome the temptation to deny Christ?  1.  Know you have an enemy, who is out to destroy you!

2.  Trust totally in the strength and grace that your God provides.

3.  Do not walk with God “from a distance”.  Walk closely with Him, privately and publicly.

4.  Do not sit down with those who publicly mock our Lord and His teachings.

JOY

Galatians 5:22  The fruit of the Spirit is…joy

The Greek word for joy simply means “cheerfulness, i.e. calm delight” —Strong's Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary

Happiness.  I remember there was a movie a few years back entitled “Happyness”, where a man lost his job, lost his home, and he and his son just kept on moving, kept on looking for work until eventually he got the break he was hoping for and became successful.  This is what people hope and pray for – that break in life that will bring them happiness…joy.

I don’t think anyone can claim that we cannot find joy in this world.  There are many things that bring us joy – good weather, good circumstances, our loved ones, money, fame, success.  All these things bring us joy.  What I believe is the main difference between what the Lord offers and what the world offers is the QUALITY of joy.

God’s Word speaks of a GREATER JOY:

Psalms 4:7 (NIV)
7 You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound.

When Jesus was speaking to the Samaritan woman by the well, in John 4, He compared the satisfaction of natural water with the “water” He could give her:

John 4:13-14 (NIV)
13 Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again,
14 but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."

This is what best describes the joy of the world – it is temporary.  We will just thirst again.  But the joy God gives us is a never ending joy.  Why?  Because it is found, and founded, on eternal things.  In fact, it is a joy anchored on the eternal life Jesus gives us.

1 Peter 1:3-6 (NIV)
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade--kept in heaven for you,
5 who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
6 In this you greatly rejoice…

We Christians still make that mistake, as human as we are, of seeking joy in the things of this world.  Our joy comes from the gift, not the Giver;  from the blessing and not the Blesser.

True Joy is a fruit of the Spirit.  As we walk with the Spirit, as we allow Him to fill us, remaining in His presence, God’s joy comes in our hearts.

Romans 15:13 (NIV)
13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.