If Jesus hadn’t come to earth in the flesh and lived here victoriously over sin, we would have a loophole to keep on sinning. But He did indeed live a sinless life, die to pay our penalty, and was resurrected to indwell and empower us to overcome sinful lusts.
So, since Christ suffered in the flesh for us, for you, arm yourselves with the same thought and purpose—patiently to suffer rather than fail to please God. For whoever has suffered in the flesh—having the mind of Christ—is done with intentional sin—has stopped pleasing himself and the world, and pleases God—so that he can no longer spend the rest of his natural life living by his human appetites and desires, but he lives for what God wills. (1 Peter 4:1-2 AMPC)
What a gift Jesus has purchased for us: Freedom from the ensnaring power of sin!
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Gratitude is our shield against the negativity, and gratitude is also our sword against the ambushers. But using these pieces of our armor is exhausting, which means we also need a way to recover from the attacks of negativity.
Jesus began His public ministry with a sermon that prompted Luke to record that “everyone spoke well of Him.” But in less than 60 seconds, after Jesus outlined how His ministry would unfold, Jesus is being criticized to the point where those same praising people are now ready to throw Jesus off a cliff (Luke 4:18-29)!
Elbert Hubbard wrote, “If you have something others don’t, know something others don’t, or do something others aren’t doing, then, rest assured, you will be criticized. … To avoid criticism say nothing, do nothing, and be nothing.”
Even though Hubbard is probably right, Christians don’t have the option to “say nothing, do nothing, be nothing,” because Jesus has called us to go into all the world, preach the Good News, and be salt and light. That means we will be victims of criticism. We can use our shield and sword of gratitude, but we are also going to need some medicine to help us recover too.
“Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me” is a lie. Words do hurt.
Jesus told us these stinging words would be thrown at us like sticks and stones in Luke 6:22. When we are criticized, we have to be careful not to get embittered. How does that happen? We are naturally self-protective, so criticized people become critical and cynical unless they can be healed and have joy restored.If we hold on to our hurts, bitterness can fester in our hearts (Hebrews 12:14-15).
Look at David in Psalm 69. He acknowledged the attacks from his enemies and how it made him feel, but then he applies the healing medicine of gratitude—
But as for me, afflicted and in pain—may Your salvation, God, protect me. I will praise God’s name in song and glorify Him with thanksgiving. (Psalm 69:29-30)
Our healing is in our thanking!
Medical research has shown that gratitude improves physical health—it reduces stress and resets the heart’s healthy rhythm. This is just as true spiritually: gratitude is our medicine.
You may be thinking, “How can I bless critical people? How can I be grateful when I’m surrounded by such hostility?”
David also wrote Psalm 23 for us. This is the psalm that begins, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want.” But notice especially the words of verse 5: “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.”
It is precisely in the presence of enemies that God invites us to abide with Him and to receive His medicine of anointing. But I also see that our Good Shepherd doesn’t just give us adequate blessings, but overflowing blessings—enough for me and more to share with those around me.
In the New Testament Greek, one word for “bless” is eulogeo which literally means “good words.” Jesus, Paul, and Peter all tell us that when we are victims of the sticks and stones of negative words, we are to respond by saying good words both to God and to those who are hurling evil words at us (Matthew 5:43-44; 1 Corinthians 4:12; 1 Peter 3:9).
Peter shows us exactly how Jesus did this when He was hanging on the Cross and enduring the sneers, mocking words, and insults from those surrounding Him (1 Peter 2:21-23; Luke 23:35-39). Instead of throwing evil words back at them, Jesus blessed them by saying, “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).
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It would be nice if complainers were satisfied just complaining to themselves, but they’re not. Do you know the cliché misery loves company? It’s just as true for complainers: They really want others to join them in their bellyaching!
I think a good word for what these negative people do is ambush. The dictionary says that means to lie in wait with hostile intent. Jesus told His followers that this ambushing behavior was going to happen. In Luke 6:22, He uses the word “when” not “if”—
Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man.
We see this vividly portrayed in the life of Daniel. This man had done nothing but helpful things since the moment he arrived in Babylon. He faithfully served foreign kings, never wanted any recognition for himself, saved lives, interpreted dreams, and explained confusing things. He had a great work ethic and impeccable integrity. But the complainers still wanted to ambush him (see Daniel 6:1-5).
One psalmist described these ambushers in terms of a hunting lion: His mouth is full of lies and threats; trouble and evil are under his tongue. He lies in wait near the villages; from ambush he murders the innocent. His eyes watch in secret for his victims (Psalm 10:7-8).
Doesn’t this sound like what the devil does too? Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8).
Jerusalem was surrounded by three armies that were lying in wait to ambush the Israelites. After God told the people of Jerusalem that He would deliver them, King Jehoshaphat sent out his army with the worshippers at the front of the ranks. Then listen to how worship not only thwarted the ambushers but boomeranged their evil plans back on themselves—
As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated. The Ammonites and Moabites rose up against the men from Mount Seir to destroy and annihilate them. After they finished slaughtering the men from Seir, they helped to destroy one another. (2 Chronicles 20:22-23)
When we worship God and sing our grateful praise to Him, we put the sword of God in our mouths. And there isn’t a more effective sword against the darkness than the (S)Word of God (Hebrews 4:12; Revelation 1:16; Ephesians 6:17)!
Paul told the church at Colosse that singing our praise to God with other saints was an encouragement to all who heard those worshipful songs (Colossians 3:15-17).
So when the ambushers are surrounding you, use your thankful songs as a shield, as a sword, and as an encouragement to others!
If you’ve missed any of the other messages in our series The Great Attitude of Gratitude, you can find them all here.
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You may have heard it said that Christians are supposed to pray for those who are in governmental leadership positions over them. Is that really true? And if it is, what exactly are we supposed to pray for them?
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Doctors and scientists have repeatedly shown how important sleep is for us physically, mentally, emotionally, and even spiritually. So it’s an important question to ask: Are you getting enough sleep?
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King Herod Antipas was the son of King Herod the Great. Herod the Great is the one who tried to kill Jesus shortly after He was born, and in the process murdered numerous infant boys in and around Bethlehem (Matthew 2:16).
Herod Antipas seduced his sister-in-law Herodias (who was married to his brother Philip), who then divorced her husband to marry Antipas, who had also divorced his own wife (Matthew 14:3). This is also the Herod who so desperately wanted to see Jesus perform a miracle (Luke 9:7-9, 23:6-10).
Antipas was no choir boy! And yet he had a strange fascination with spiritual matters. Not only did he want to see Jesus, but he liked hearing John the Baptist preach. At the same time, he hated John’s message that said he was living in sin (Mark 6:17-18; Leviticus 20:21). Herod wanted John dead, but he also feared the backlash from the people who thought John was God’s prophet. Later on, he tried to protect John from death, but in trying to save face with his guests, he had to have John killed (Mark 6:26; Matthew 14:5).
Herod Antipas continually flirted with sin—never killing it, never running away from it. And this eventually caught up with him.
The Gospel of Mark records, “Finally the opportunity came” (Mark 6:21). Herodias’ daughter performed a seductive dance for Herod on his birthday, which cause him to say in front of everyone, “I’ll give you whatever you want.” Prompted by her mother, this young lady seized the opportunity and said, “I want the head of John the Baptist on a platter!” Following in his father’s footsteps, Herod Antipas became a murderer.
If sin is left close, it will kill you. The Bible tells us sin is crouching nearby, always looking for an opportunity, always a part of the devil’s scheming plan to destroy us (Genesis 4:7; Luke 4:13; Ephesians 6:11; 1 Peter 5:8).
Let us not make the same fatal mistake that Herod Antipas made by flirting with our sin instead of killing it. Paul wrote, “So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. … [N]ow is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language” (Colossians 3:5, 8).
Or, as John Owen put it, “Be killing sin, or it will be killing you.”
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Mobs are scary things! Almost anyone can get caught up in the ugly mentality, vile words, and inexcusable actions.
Even professional soldiers. When Jesus was arrested, He was turned over to “the governor’s soldiers” (Matthew 27:27). These are professional soldiers. Punishing people—even carrying out capital punishment—was their job. But they gave in to the mob’s thirst for blood and made a sport out of punishing Jesus, doing what was outside of their job description.
The mob outside Pilate’s courtroom was stirred up by the religious leaders, and they “shouted all the louder” for a murderer to be released to them instead of a Healer (vv. 20, 23).
Even as Jesus hung helpless and dying on the Cross, the religious leaders continued to incite the crowds with their taunting, prompting even other condemned men to join in (vv. 39–44).
How easy it is to get caught up with the loud voices of the hour and to join our voices and actions with theirs! Mobs are hungry things and they continually devour almost anyone around them.
But Jesus didn’t succumb to the mob mentality. He didn’t even say a single word to those who taunted Him so mercilessly. Instead, as Peter recorded for us,
“To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His steps. ‘He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in His mouth.’ 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.” (1 Peter 2:21-23)
The unexpected way that Jesus responded got people’s attention. A professional soldier, a centurion, after watching how Jesus conducted Himself as He died, had to admit He was the Son of God.
It’s so tempting to join with the loud voices around us. It’s even more tempting to shout back at those who are insulting us. But let us remember the example of Jesus, and perhaps offer a prayer like this:
“Holy Spirit, help me to not succumb to the loud voices, nor to lash out against people who torment me. But, like Jesus, may I entrust myself “to Him who judges justly.” May my quiet lifestyle be a testimony that gets the attention of others. In the name of Jesus I pray this. Amen!”
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Father’s Day can bring up a lot of different emotions for folks. Growing up, you might not have had a very good experience with your father or perhaps you didn’t have a father involved with you at all. Maybe you look back on your own history as a Dad and have some regrets. Perhaps you’re an empty-nester now or maybe you’ve never had kids of your own.
Regardless of your experience with your father or with your own circumstances, I think there are some things that we all naturally expect from our Dads. These are things that we should honor and things we as Dads should strive to demonstrate in our lives.
Luke introduces us to a man in the Book of Acts named Joseph. We don’t know if he is a biological father or not, but he is presented to us as a spiritual father that we would do well to emulate. In fact, we only know his name is Joseph from our first introduction to him. This man was such an inspiration to so many people that he was given the nickname Barnabas—the name that is used everywhere else in the New Testament.
When we think of our list of attributes of an ideal father, I think we all look to our fathers for these five things.
(1) Be there when we are getting started. Barnabas was there when Saul (later named Paul) first became a Christian and when the first Gentiles became Christians (Acts 9:26-28; 11:19-23).
(2) Provide for us financially. Barnabas is the first person mentioned by name that gave a significant and much-needed financial donation to the Church (Acts 4:34-37).
(3) Help us learn to leave our nest and fly on our own. Barnabas gave Paul his first leadership role in the Church (Acts 11:25-26).
(4) Step back as we learn to soar on our own. Barnabas took the lead in the first commissioned missionary journey, but then we see him stepping aside for Paul to take the lead (Acts 13:1-2, 13).
(5) Continue to “be there” for us even after we’ve left the nest. Barnabas also picked John Mark to accompany him and Paul on that first missionary endeavor, but when Barnabas stepped aside for Paul, Mark headed home instead of continuing on their trip. Later on, Barnabas wanted to give Mark another shot, but Paul was strongly against that. As a result, Paul and Barnabas parted company, with Barnabas taking Mark with him. From this point on, Luke doesn’t tell us anything else about Barnabas, but we know that Mark became the first one to write his Gospel account of the life of Jesus and that he became reconciled to both Paul and Peter, becoming an invaluable help to both of them. Although we don’t read what happened, I think it’s a good bet that all of this came about through the encouragement of Barnabas (Acts 13:13, 15:36-40; 2 Timothy 4:11; 1 Peter 5:13).
The name Joseph means “exalted.” Joseph was born into the tribe of Levi, placing him at the heart of the Jewish faith, yet he risked it all to not only acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah but to be so invested in the Christian Church that they called him Barnabas. Luke tells that his name means Son of Encouragement.
The word “encourage” literally comes from in + courage—to put courage into someone, to inspire others with the courage or confidence they need to do something great.
The word “encouragement” in Acts 4:26 in Greek is paraklesis: the same word used for the Holy Spirit.
Fathers can only put in others what is already in themselves.
Acts 11:24 tells us that Barnabas was “a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith.” Because He was full of the Spirit of God, he could put that courage and security in others around him.
Guys, it’s the same for us today. We have to be filled with the security, the joy, and the courage that springs eternally from the Holy Spirit. Only when we are filled with the Spirit can we put something truly impactful into the lives of our kids—both our biological and spiritual children.
We don’t know how old Barnabas was. We don’t know if he had children of his own or not. All we know is that he was a good man that was full of the Holy Spirit, and that gave him the courage to put into others.
What a great example for all of us to follow!
If you’ve missed any of the other messages in our series We Are: Pentecostal, where we’ve been learning about the blessings that come to those who are baptized in the Holy Spirit, you can find all of those messages here.
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We’ve just looked at two back-to-back bold statements of Jesus. To the Sanhedrin, He said, “I am the I AM,”and to Pontius Pilate, He said, “I am a king.” Christ’s third bold claim essentially amounts to, “And I don’t have to prove either of these to you; I don’t have to argue with you about it.”
After He was arrested, there was a back-and-forth shuttling of Jesus from the Sanhedrin to Pilate, then from Pilate to King Herod, and then back to Pilate again. Pilate told the Sanhedrin, “I find no basis for a charge against Him.” But the Sanhedrin countered, “But He is stirring up trouble all the way from Galilee to here in Jerusalem!” (see Luke 22:67-23:11).
Pilate was looking for “an out”—a way he could safely discharge or punish Jesus that would keep both the Sanhedrin and his Roman superiors happy. So when Pilate heard that Jesus was from Galilee, he was more than happy to pass this “hot potato” to King Herod. When Jesus was hauled before Herod, we read that he was greatly pleased to see Jesus.
Why was that? To answer that question, we need to understand who Herod was. His name is Herod Antipas, and he was the son of Herod the Great. Herod the Great was king when Jesus was born, and he was the one who attempted to kill Jesus.
Herod Antipas was infamous for having seduced his sister-in-law Herodias, whom he married after divorcing his wife. Shortly after this, Herod arrested John the Baptist for calling out this marriage as sinful. Herodias especially was embarrassed by this and wanted John killed, but Herod feared the backlash from the people if he did this. Eventually Herodias got her way and Herod was forced to have John beheaded (Matthew 14:5; Mark 6:17-28).
When news about Jesus began to reach his ears, Herod thought that Jesus was John reincarnated and he wanted to see him (Luke 9:9). So now when Jesus is brought before him, Herod is looking for a magic trick—Jesus remains silent. Then the religious leaders resume their accusations against Jesus, and still He remains silent. Then Herod and his soldiers began mocking and ridiculing Jesus, and amazingly, He still doesn’t say a word.
Jesus knew the Scriptures that make it clear that there is nothing to be gained by bantering with fools. For instance, Solomon wrote,
Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be just like him. … Don’t waste your breath on fools, for they will despise the wisest advice. (Proverbs 26:4, 23:9).
So here is the next bold claim from Jesus: {Eloquent silence.}
Even in the face of accusation, ridicule, and mocking, Jesus refused to engage in meaningless arguing with Herod or the Sanhedrin’s false witnesses. His silence was so eloquent that it got the attention of Governor Pilate:
“Then Pilate asked [Jesus], ‘Don’t You hear the testimony they are bringing against You?’ But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge—to the great amazement of the governor.” (Matthew 27:13-14)
Let’s learn from Jesus: Sometimes the best thing to say is NO thing!
Peter pointed Christians to this example of Jesus when he wrote—
To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His steps. “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in His mouth.” 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. (1 Peter 2:21-23)
Jesus called us to let our good deeds shine brightly to bring glory to God. Fools will ridicule and mock and accuse us, just as the religious crowd did to Jesus. Let’s not let our bantering with fools put out the light of our testimony.
When I was a little kid in Sunday School, we used to sing a song called This Little Light Of Mine. We would hold up our pointer finger like a candle as we sang.But holding up our pointer finger across our lips is also a way to let our light shine too. Your silence in the face of foolish ridicule will speak so eloquently!
Let’s learn this lesson from Jesus. Instead of bantering with fools, entrust yourself to the perfect Judge who is perfectly keeping track of every word. He is the One who can add eloquence to your silence as you shine brightly for Him.
The writer of Hebrews assures us that Jesus had to be made like us in every way so that He could experience every temptation that plagues us.
Craig T. Owens 