“Verbal Abuse, Victorious Availing"

Part 1

     

    The loved one of a dear friend recently experienced what might be called slanderous ridicule and abuse by another professing believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.  The matter has been addressed, but so far to no avail.

    These events and the concerns of the parties involved have led me to consider the Biblical teaching regarding "corrupt communication" that tears down rather than edifies (Ephesians 4:29).  How do we respond, think, believe, speak, and act when slandered, ridiculed, and verbally abused?  We will consider this vital matter in several messages over the next few days, seeking the light of God and His truth that illuminates the spiritual journey we must travel upon this difficult path.

-1- 

"Consider Him"

    Every spiritual truth, issue, experience, and response must begin with consideration of the Author of our faith.  Regarding verbal assaults by others, what do we know about the Lord Jesus Christ?

    "What glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take patiently?  But if, when ye do well and suffer of it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.  For hereunto were ye called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow His steps, who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth, who, when He was reviled, reviled not again.  When He suffered, He threatened not, but committed Himself to Him that judgeth righteously" (I Peter 2:20-23).

    The Lord Jesus knows slander.  He knows ridicule.  He knows unjust verbal abuse.  He knows.  Moreover, He experienced the pains and wounds such words inflict upon our hearts.  "My soul is among lions, and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword" (Psalm 57:4).  Our blessed Lord felt the feelings we feel when verbally attacked.  Being "full of compassion", He also shares our experience when we feel the points of spears and arrows that pierce us with wicked words, and the slashing edge of the sharp sword of slander that draws blood from deep within our souls (Psalm 86:15).  We thus begin by seeking His solace and comfort, and by following in the footsteps of He who "committed Himself to Him that judgeth righteously."  "O Lord, Thou art my God… Thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in His distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall" (Isaiah 25:1; 4).  

    Trouble, pain, loss, sorrow, and difficulty, in whatever their form and measure, offer to us the opportunity to know the Lord Jesus in ways that pleasure does not provide.  This truth does not blunt the point of the spear or dull the edge of the sword.  Cruel words hurt us, no less than they hurt our Savior.  They do, however, provide opportunity to seek our Lord and His comfort in a manner that identifies us with the Lord Jesus. God does not determine cruel verbal abuse. He does, however, offer to the trusting heart a view of the Lord Jesus upon which we cannot gaze until we have known at least a portion of the arrows and swords He knew.  Thus, we begin our response to the sin of others by looking to the salvation of the Savior.  He fully knows the pain inflicted by verbal derision, in whatever form, and He can do something about it.  He can comfort our hearts, and then pave a path of opportunity to know and glorify Him that would never have existed apart from the difficult challenge.  This is God's present way in our lives.  Challenge provides opportunity.  Here we begin our response to cruel words, by "looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith" (Hebrews 12:2).  Such a gaze of faith will not disappoint us as verbal abuse leads to victorious availing of Christ and His glory.

"Unto the upright, there ariseth light in the darkness.  He is gracious and full of compassion, and righteous."

(Psalm 112:4)

"The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord.  It is enough of the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord.  If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?"

(Matthew 10:24-25)

Weekly Memory Verse

    Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

(I Corinthians 15:58)

"Directed Steps"

    "O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself.  It is not in man that walketh to direct his steps." 

(Jeremiah 10:23)

    

    Great peace descends upon us and arises within us when we acknowledge our inability to successfully chart the course and navigate the seas of our lives.  God did not make us to do so, but rather to look to Him for the knowledge, wisdom, and enabling that leads us ever on and safely on.

    "He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool… In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths" (Proverbs 28:26; 3:6).  

    This does not mean that we disengage our minds and simply wait for our Heavenly Father to move us as if we were pawns on a chessboard.  On the contrary, those who look to Him for guidance become far more mentally active as we realize that our capacities for thought, planning, and determined action serve as the stewards of God's ownership and will.  We embark upon our paths by trusting Him - "Commit thy way unto the Lord" (Psalm 37:5).  We also seek to walk in the attitude of faith and submission to the reputation and will of another - "Let us walk in the light of the Lord" (Isaiah 2:5).  Upon this basis, the Holy Spirit works within us to motivate and empower our human capacities whereby we think better and more clearly.  This leads to better planning and analysis, which results in decision making and actions empowered by God's grace, as received and assimilated by faith.  "Think soberly (soundly and with self control), according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith" (Romans 12:3).

    As the saying goes, a mind is a terrible thing to waste.  It is even more terrible to mistakenly view our ability to think, plan, and act as the master of our destiny.  Our brains are rather stewards who live by the auspices, authority, and actualization of Another.  We begin our days and our ways by "looking unto Jesus, the author… of our faith" (Hebrews 12:2).  We then live in confident expectation of His guidance as our Lord fulfills His promise to direct our steps…

"For with Thee is the fountain of life.  In Thy light shall we see light."

(Psalm 36:9)

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy is understanding."

(Proverbs 9:10)

Weekly Memory Verse

    Therefore, my beloved brethren, by ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

(I Corinthians 15:58)

"Awake"

"Awake"

     

    Nearly thirty times in its teaching and counsel to believers, the New Testament commands us to "watch."  

    "What I say unto you, I say unto all, "Watch" (Mark 13:37).

    Walking with God by faith requires a spiritual alertness based upon confidence and expectation of His involvement in our lives, and also recognition of the challenges presented by our spiritual enemies.  In the present moment, for example, we must either remain awake or wake up.  Such vigilance results from our Heavenly Father's faithfulness as He works within us to maintain our awareness of both Himself and of those who seek to distract us from Himself.  However, we also play a role in the matter of wakefulness, first by confidence in the Lord's aforementioned activity on our behalf.  We will not remain alert by merely seeking to discipline ourselves to stay awake.  We rather "look unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith", trusting our Savior to form within us expectation regarding God's involvement, and also vigilance regarding the world, the devil, and the flesh.  In essence, we begin our "watch" by the "look" - of faith (Hebrews 12:2).

    Upon this basis of trusting not in ourselves but in the Lord Jesus, we then realize He will lead us to avail ourselves of the gifts He provides that either keep us awake, or wake us up.  The Bible serves as the primary source of light in this and in all matters.  "My son, attend to My words, incline thine ear unto My sayings.  Let them not depart from thine eyes" (Proverbs 4:20-21).  We personally read and study the Scriptures, of course, but we also avail ourselves of Biblical light by regular fellowship with others who share our confidence in the Lord Jesus.  This includes personal friendship with fellow believers, church involvement, and exposing ourselves to the illumination God sends forth by preachers, teachers, and authors He calls and sends forth to proclaim and teach His Word.  Believers serve each other by exemplifying and communicating The Scriptures, and thus promoting the spiritual wakefulness that keeps our eyes open to realities unseen to those who sleep.

    The Lord works to keep us awake, or to wake us up when necessary.  We respond by availing ourselves of the gifts He gives to maintain watchful alertness.  Much is at stake in the lives of His trusting children, including glories missed because we do not expect our Lord's involvement, and challenges poorly confronted because we fail to be wary of our adversaries.  Again, may we "watch" by "looking".

"Awake to righteousness and sin not."

(I Corinthians 15:34)

Weekly Memory Verse

    Therefore, my beloved brethren, by ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the world of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

(I Corinthians 15:58)