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Is Pride Keeping You From Healing Church Pain? | There's No Pain Like Church Pain
š Church pain is real. It leaves scars, doubts, and questions that donāt go away easily. But sometimes the barrier to healing isnāt just what happened to usāitās the pride that keeps us from taking the steps God is asking of us.
In 2 Kings 5:1ā14, Naaman had the power, position, and influenceābut he also had leprosy. When Godās prophet gave him simple instructions to be healed, his pride almost stopped him. How often do we do the same with church hurt? Whether itās thinking āI shouldnāt have to go through thisā or āThey should treat me betterā, pride can keep us from stepping into Godās plan for restoration.
š” This message in the No Pain Like Church Pain series will help you:
Recognize the subtle forms of pride that block healing
Let go of the need for recognition or validation from imperfect people
Step humbly into Godās path for renewal
You donāt have to keep running. You donāt have to keep hurting. Healing begins where pride ends.
So for about 10 minutes I was convinced that King Henry VIII reigned in the 1100s. 10 minutes only. Somehow my clock got messed up in my head and I'm having an argument with a family member Now. I know that he was king during the 1500s, but for some reason I'm thinking, no, no, no, no, it's 1100s. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I'm like arguing for this. I'm like do you not know that? Like I love history and I would know that this is true, and they're like no, it's not true. Look it up. And I came back to my senses. What am I psycho? I know that that's not the right year, but for 10 minutes I was convinced I was ready to go down with the ship on this. One minutes, I was convinced I was ready to go down with the ship on this one and I was just straight up wrong.
Speaker 1:You ever had misplaced certainty. You ever just been like confident oh, no, no, no, it's this. You're watching the game and you're like that ref is so wrong. That's not even how it's supposed to go. I played football in high school. I know the rules here. And then you Google it and you're like oh, I guess he's right, all right, or maybe you were like you were teeing up the sale. You were ready to make the sale and you know exactly what this client needs. You know everything. You're laying it out. You're about to close the deal and you find out you misread the entire situation. You're not even close to what they need and you absolutely misread the situation. Or maybe I know some have done this you get this text and you're like what? And you're something burns on the inside. If you're like I can't believe they said that. And you start firing away and then wisdom hits you for half a second. You're like let me reread that. And you realize you misread the text and they weren't trying to diss you. In fact they were saying something very kind. We can all get a little bit misplaced in our certainty from time to time. What that is? It's the sin of pride. We can all be overconfident. We can all be absolutely sure I'm the one who would know. I'm the one people consult. I am right.
Speaker 1:We're in a series called Church Pain. First few weeks we talked about a lot of pain that church people, churches have caused and it can be like life pain. It can be long-term, it can be difficult to recover from and we spent three messages talking about that. We're actually going to talk about that a little bit more in the last few weeks of the series, but then last week we talked about sometimes we're experiencing pain in a church, but it really is God attempting to bring his loving discipline into our lives. It's not necessarily that the church is trying to hurt us. It's that God needed a context to bring his loving discipline into our lives. It's not necessarily that the church is trying to hurt us. It's that God needed a context to bring some correction to us, and he was using the church that we happen to be in. I love the way John Bevere says it. He's got a great book called the Bait of Satan. He says this no matter what the scenario is.
Speaker 1:We can divide all offended people into two major categories those who have been treated unjustly or those who believe they have been treated unjustly. People in the second category believe with all their hearts that they've been wronged. Often their conclusions are drawn from inaccurate information. I don't know about you. I've been both. I've been legitimately wronged and then I've been wronged in the sense that I think I'm being wronged, but then, upon further conversation or further reflection no, actually I was just misreading the situation we talked last week about, how Jesus doesn't just come to rescue us, he comes to purify us, and when he does that, he brings a little bit of difficult circumstances into our life.
Speaker 1:Now, his motive is absolutely loving, and yet he does that. He brings a little bit of difficult circumstances into our life. Now, his motive is absolutely loving, and yet he's still is trying to get our attention and straighten things out. I had a neighbor that had a little baby tree in their front yard and it was growing like over to the left Okay, so it was going to grow sideways and he wisely took a rope, tied it to a stake and put the stake in the ground and then the little mini tree was standing up on its own. Now it was going to fight against that rope for a while. It kept trying to go to the other side, but that stake held it in place so that it would grow straightened up.
Speaker 1:Sometimes God has to put a little rope around us and put a stake in the ground and it's a little bit cross-grained to where we want to grow. And yet the Lord is like no, you're going to grow this way so that you can grow up straight up Instead of bent over to the side and all kinds of things you didn't want in your life happening. That's what he does, and so he says in Hebrews, chapter 5, hey, don't like, take it lightly, don't make it so. That's not a big deal that God would bring his loving correction into your life, but don't be deflated by it either, because he's doing it because he loves you and because he wants to bring good into your life and he wants to bring Christ-like character into your life.
Speaker 1:Now here's a harder pill to swallow in this message. Okay, here's what it is. We need to be aware that there are things from Jesus that will hurt your pride. There are things from Jesus they're from him, they're godly, loving, fatherly discipline that will hurt your pride, even as you're getting upset, even as you're getting offended, even as your life is being pruned, even as you're confused. What is going on here now, in the midst of all that Jesus will, because he loves us, he will oppose and hurt our pride. He puts us in the pressure cooker. And we said last week so try not to run. If you're in the pressure cooker, try to remain. Try to just stay still for a minute. Don't leave the church and go to another one. Just try to stay still and just wait a minute and see if we can't get some clarity on what is the lesson here. Is maybe my pride supposed to get hurt? Well, naaman was in the pressure cooker. We're just going to jump right into the story, second Kings 5.1.
Speaker 1:Now Naaman was commander of the king or of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man Somebody say great man. He's a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded, both because through him the Lord had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy. Now he had this little gal, this little servant girl, living in his house, and but he had leprosy. Now he had this little gal, this little servant girl, living in his house, and she knew he had leprosy, and she was actually a former Israelite. And she said hey, master, if you'll just go over to Israel, there's a prophet there, he will heal you. And so he's like, wow, really. And so he goes to his king. The king tries to like, make a connection with the Israelite king because, hey, I'm going to send a guy over there. First he freaks out a little bit, but then he's like okay, I'm going to trust that you're doing right by us. And so Naaman comes with gifts. He comes ready he's kind of a big deal. He comes on in and he goes to Elisha that's the guy's house, who would heal him.
Speaker 1:So Naaman went with his horses and chariots verse 9, and stopped at the door of Elisha's house. Elisha sent a messenger to say to him go wash yourself seven times in the Jordan and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleaned. Now notice, elisha didn't come to the door. He didn't even come to the door. He didn't even come to the window. He didn't tell him. He didn't even give him the instruction. He didn't tell him. He didn't even give him the instruction. He said hey, my servant, you go tell him what to do. And you know that Naaman, he's kind of a big deal. Okay, it's kind of a big deal. So this guy doesn't. He's used to status, he's used to people knowing who he is. He was great man, even in the sight of the King. The king is like this is my boy, right here. Everybody celebrate him. So he's used to a certain amount of pomp and parade.
Speaker 1:So verse 11, but Naaman went away very angry and said I fought. Somebody say I fought, I fought, I fought. I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord and wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. Do a little great, googly, moogly do, and it would just all be done. Thought there'd be a little show. Are not Avanah and Farpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than the waters of Israel? Couldn't I wash in them and be cleaned? So he turned and went off in a rage.
Speaker 1:Dude is offended because what God wants him to do is more simple and requires more humility than he, in his greatness, is used to doing. He's like I've got expectations of how you treat people like me. I've got a certain level of dignity. Profit from Israel, by the way, we've kicked your butt multiple times in battle, just so you know. And I was the general. What was the problem? His expectation was in the way of his miracle. His expectation of how he should be treated is in the way of his miracle.
Speaker 1:Verse 13, naaman's servants. This dude's lucky. He's got some good folks around him. Somebody say I need good folks around me. Yeah, because someday you and I are gonna pull a Naaman. We're gonna be absolutely insane for a second, and we're gonna need some people to come up to us just like this.
Speaker 1:Naaman's servants went to him and said my father, that just means it's an endearing, affectionate term. If the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more than when he tells you wash and be cleansed. So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God told him, and his flesh was restored and he became clean like that of a young boy. Wow, now you should know that it works out well for Naaman. He actually converts, he becomes, he believes in the true God, Yahweh. He even tries to give all that stuff away, and so he's having a great day. He's now healed and in some sense, knows the true God in a better way.
Speaker 1:But we have all, probably, like him, been offended at some point, and probably we've been offended saying but I'm right, but I'm right, now we can probably make the case. I'll bet you he's right. I'll bet you those two rivers in Damascus, they probably are cleaner than Jordan. Damascus, they probably are cleaner than Jordan. Yep, that's great. However, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter that he's right. It's not like the cleanness of the rivers is what actually gets him his healing. It's not the cleanness of the rivers, it's the God of the river. He can pick any river he wants. It's the obedience to do in faith what he was told to do. That's what brings about the breakthrough.
Speaker 1:So, dear heart, we got to understand. Sometimes, you know, I mean I like to be right, you like to be right, but it doesn't matter that we're right, it doesn't matter if you're right or not, because it's not conforming you to more Christ-like character, and that's what he's trying to do. And so sometimes that happens in church context. I, that's what he's trying to do, and so sometimes that happens in church context. I just want to like give us a little asterisk. I'm going to give several situations that involve the church. I'm not in any sense saying the church is right or always right. All we're saying is it's the context of where this is happening. Are you ready? So try not to run. Don't run from church pain when you are number one under listened to. Don't run from church pain when you are number one under-listened to. Don't run from church pain when you're under-listened to Look, we've all experienced what it's like to become offended because we feel like someone is saying we are less smart than we think we are, or we're less authoritative than we think we are.
Speaker 1:And I mean, I want to be right. You want to be helpful, like everybody gets to say stuff, and hopefully it is helpful and hopefully it is right. But what about when? What about when we're getting offended, though, because our advice is not heeded? See, we got as right as you might be from time to time, can we just know Okay, like the disciples were wrong all the time, okay, so.
Speaker 1:So, john and James, they're like I'll tell you what, jesus, why don't we do this? I'll just bring down fire on the Samaritan village and that'll be a good idea, right? And he's like you guys don't even not what we're going to do. Why did you arrive at that conclusion? Peter gets right up in Jesus' face. Oh, no, no, no. Lord, I know that you're right about everything, but you're not right about this. You can't go to the cross. No, no, no. And what does Jesus say? Peter, you remind me more of Satan than of my friend right now. Get out of my way. So, if can we just own. If they can be wrong, we can be wrong about the plan of God or what's supposed to be happening or what our wisdom would lead us to. And I know what this is like, yo. You know people.
Speaker 1:People tell me stuff all the time that they think is right and they think is the right thing to do. People come to me and they're like hey, carter, you know we need to start talking about and teaching this really fringe weird idea about hell. So, but I'm right, so you just go ahead and do that, pastor. Or I want to start this ministry and I just think that I'm the perfect person to run it. Now, they don't really understand how much behind the scenes has to go into that. They're probably overestimating just how qualified they are. But they're like I'm right, or I mean just so. You know.
Speaker 1:People come to me all the time Like you need to be more political or you need to be less political, and it's both. I've had people tell me you need to preach shorter. That's what we need. You need to preach longer, carter. What are you doing? Trying to rob us of God's food? So I, like I know what it's like to feel this Lots of voices coming at you and some of them are a little bit offended that there's not instant agreement. We got to be careful. We got to be careful whether it's leaders at work, whether it's our family, whether it's at church. We got to be careful when we start to think or say I have the mind of God on this, I have the mind of God. I wish that they would get it. They don't get it, I get it. I agree with God. Everyone else should agree with me.
Speaker 1:When I was a really young Christian, I was at this church and I picked up this theology book and I was like, oh, this is what my church needs. I'm reading through this. It had a very kind of special way about looking at the gift of speaking in tongue, spiritual language and I was like my pastor, if he would just get this, turn this whole church around, like it is the whole different thing. And so I'm like, yeah, I get behind the book and hand it to him and he was nice, but he wasn't excited about it. Okay, and the truth is, as I look back on that now, like I've had a whole lot more school and a whole lot more time as a pastor, I would just tell you what I was doing in that moment was a little bit like a guy that just figured out how to use the screw gun, going up to a master builder and say this is how you should run your construction company, like I. Just I had no idea, I didn't know the world I was talking about, I didn't know all the questions, much less all the answers. So for me to think, to presume now I understand, like dude he was, he was being nice because you don't, you don't even get what he knew right in that particular moment.
Speaker 1:Cs Lewis says this. He says a proud man is always looking down on things and people and, of course, as long as you're looking down, you cannot see something that is above you. And here's why it's a big deal, guys. It's not just that it's bad to get offended, it's that it's a trap. It's a trap, dude Right, it's trying to sabotage your life because the devil wants you walking around, but he also wants you spreading it. He wants all of us to get so offended. We tell other people and they get offended on our behalf. And now entire families fall apart, businesses fall apart and churches fall apart because we walked into the trap of offense.
Speaker 1:And this is what. This is what Isaiah says, and we just need this reminder in this little moment when we feel under, listened to, for my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are my ways. Your ways, declares the Lord, as the heavens are higher than the earth. So my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. Can we? Let's just have a moment together and let's just all like, say in our hearts God does not necessarily agree with me about everything. God does not necessarily agree with me about everything. He's not waiting for other people to agree with me about everything. What he's likely waiting on is for me to agree with him about the importance of humility. That's probably more what he's after. So what do we do? Well, we just pause from time to time, we just take stop.
Speaker 1:We plan on the idea that we will probably sometimes overestimate our opinions and our strengths, and this is why Paul was so adamant in Romans, chapter 12. He says by the grace given to me, I say to every one of you, not some of you, every one of you. Everybody needs to know do not think more highly of yourself than you ought, but think rather think of yourself with sober judgment and accordance with the faith God has given you. He's saying guys, you, you gotta, you have to take a sane view of yourself. We naturally puff up and we have to like, puff us down or de-puff whatever that is.
Speaker 1:So when you're about to post something online, maybe we just consider for a second. I'm going to slow down Maybe, instead of like and give whatever. I'm going to give to that. I'm just gonna say maybe there's more to this situation than what they wrote about. You know it's not even it's not. Maybe there's more to this situation than what they wrote about. You know it's not even. It's not even there's more in there. There's just more to it and I should just slow down and be a little bit nice. Maybe I should try not to run when somebody doesn't immediately take my counsel, I should try not to run and try to just be still and take it like that little tree, just take the rope, because God says my gift will make room for me. So maybe I'll just pray God, whoever needs to hear my voice. I pray that you would just cause them to hear it, if it needs to be heard at all.
Speaker 1:Because here's two questions that we can ask that I found really helpful. One is do I need to have an opinion about this at all? Sometimes I have an opinion and it just like do I need an opinion about this? Does does Naaman need an opinion about the dirtiness of the Jordan? Like, does it matter? No, it doesn't matter at all. Do I need to have opinion about this? And what might they see that I don't yet understand, because the amount of stuff, even for all you know, in the places you are an expert, for all you know, there's so much more that you don't know than you do know. So we just have to count on the fact that there's probably other things here that I could learn that God would want me to know.
Speaker 1:Here's number two Don't run from church pain when you're underappreciated. Don't run from church pain when you're underappreciated. Don't run from church pain when you're underappreciated. Naaman became offended because Elisha didn't value him the way he was used to being valued. He was a big deal. His king loved him, everybody loved him where he was from, and yet this pipsqueak prophet didn't at all.
Speaker 1:Now I mean, look man, I love to be encouraged. You love, I'm sure you love to be encouraged. Everybody needs to be encouraged. Everyone should be appreciated, like for all that we do. We should honor everybody as much as we possibly can, and, to be sure, especially in church environments, family environments. All the work we're asked to do is hard and it'd be nice to get a thank you from time to time, but there's a little. To do is hard and it'd be nice to get a thank you from time to time, but there's a little, there's a little lie that begins to slip in there. It's not just that. Yeah, you should be more appreciated, it's.
Speaker 1:I'm getting angry because I'm not more appreciated. It's beginning to get under my skin Now. Now I'm starting to think things like, man, these stupid church people, what are they even doing? They claim to be loving. I'll tell you what I wish I had a really loving church, because they would love me well, they would love me, right. And we start to get very self-absorbed. And let's just own it, dude, even if you're right, even if, like, they're just absolutely undervaluing you, and I hate that. I don't want that to be true. But let's say that they are.
Speaker 1:Stay calm and pass the test. Stay calm and grow through it. Look, you're already tied up in the rope. Okay, you're already in it. You might as well grow from here. You might as well get better by practicing the character of Christ.
Speaker 1:So let's talk about a couple of ways you can do. Can do that first. You're not going to want to hear this, but, um, when you're, when you're feeling underappreciated, just know first. I don't want anyone to feel underappreciated, but when you are, first practical thing you can do is tell people. Tell somebody, like all right, I shouldn't need to tell anybody. Why should I have to tell them? Well, here's why Because mature people take responsibility for telling people things that they cannot know. I'll say it again Mature people take responsibility for telling other people things that they can't know. They can't know It'd be nice Occasionally. Sometimes, I believe the spirit of God will just pop something in somebody's spirit and they will know they can't know It'd be nice Occasionally. Sometimes, I believe the spirit of God will just pop something in somebody's spirit and they will oh my gosh, I know this. I want to go, try to encourage that person. Or they might notice oh, they weren't around, or I'm going to just check in, and those are awesome and dear times.
Speaker 1:But if you're expecting people to just know dude I mean this lovingly that's just magical thinking. That's not how the real world works. People don't just know stuff. I'll give an example I know a lot about many people in this room. I know some of the problems you have. I know there's a handful of you that are going through a horrific life moment right now. Now the rest of you I'll bet most of you don't know that. You know why you don't know Because they didn't tell you. You're not just going to know. So if you don't know that about them, how are they all supposed to know it about you, unless you tell them that's how it works in the real world. I wish it wasn't that way, but that's really how it is.
Speaker 1:So that means tell me, tell your leader, just come up, hey, and it works best. If you're like man, I'm just really feeling underappreciated right now. I'm sure the enemy's trying to get at me with this. But you know, can I just tell somebody and then we can talk about oh, thank you for telling me, let's figure out a way to make that reverse. But we can't do that until somebody tells us I mean you, because the deal is if you're sick, you tell her. Right, you don't just like get mad that they're not coming into your house. So you're like church should be different. But it doesn't make sense practically how it would be. So we tell people, but then we also take stock and we and we ask the question. This isn't for everybody, but I'm saying it was for me, so I'll give you my story.
Speaker 1:Sometimes, my friend, even when we're really giving it all, we're getting a little bit too impressed with ourselves. We're getting a little bit too high on just how big a deal we are, just how much we're a martyr for the kingdom. Before we started the church torch that turned into part of this church, there was about two years before we actually started that, I was already pastoring a group of people and so every week we would meet and it was. It was heavy stuff, man. Not only was I pastoring them, but we were developing leaders, and so there's all kinds of like extra life stuff.
Speaker 1:In the midst of my full-time job, in the midst of having three kids, in the midst of a gorgeous wife, I'm trying to like cram all this in and I get to the point at one day I'm just feeling a little bit sorry for myself, because this is hard. I'm like God, how can you ask me to do all this Now? I didn't really want an answer. I didn't want him to like speak to me from the whirlwind. I just, I was just grumpy, but sometimes we're like that, and I believe he brought me to a scripture that was pointing out here's your spiritual pride, like you'd think. Oh no, you're doing a great job, carter, you keep it up. No, he didn't say that at all. Here's what he said.
Speaker 1:Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or licking after sheep this is Jesus talking to his disciples. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, come along now and sit down and eat. Won't he rather say prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink. After that you may eat and drink, because that's what a servant would do for the master. Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, you should say we are unworthy servants, we have only done our duty. Now here's just something to pay attention to. When you've done everything you've been told to do, how many could say I've done everything Jesus has ever told me to do? Or maybe you did some things he told you definitely not to do? What I'm saying is, guys, we're already all of us because we're all sinful. We're already subpar servants in the sense that we didn't do everything that we were told.
Speaker 1:And so in his mercy somebody say mercy, In his mercy, he's given you a whole lot more than a subpar servant deserves, not the least of which is his glorious, awesome presence. And you gotta ask when you signed up, like when you started this, did you really sign up so people would appreciate you? Probably not. Probably. For most of us it was like, oh, I think God wants this, I think like he's the king and he should get what he wants and so I want to serve him. So for that to switch over to, well, I want more appreciation from humans. Well, that's not why you got in it to begin with. So why is that the deal now? Now check out.
Speaker 1:Jesus is so dope that, even though he just said you know you're, you're really, in a lot of ways, an unworthy servant that I'm just really loving by letting you participate. But then he says in Luke, chapter 12, verse 37, because Jesus just flips everything. He's just so good, he just blows your mind. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake. When he comes, truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them reclined at the table and he will come and serve them, even though they don't deserve it. He says if you will keep your lamp lit, if you will keep the fire in your heart, if you keep pursuing him imperfectly, he says, even though I know that it's grace that you're on the team, you're going to get to heaven and I'm going to serve you. I'm going to show everybody. Oh yeah, look at this servant. They had my back in the dark when it wasn't obvious that I was king.
Speaker 1:Hey, you want to spare yourself a lot of church pain. We got to remember, we got to reflect on the idea. Guys, your reward is not here. This is not where it is. These people all mean, well, they're sweet and fantastic, but they're like yay, that's not it, okay, like that's not the reward. The reward is there and that's what we've got to keep our minds on call with somebody. The reward is there. Here's the last one. Try not to run from church pain when you feel under honored, when you feel under honored.
Speaker 1:He was highly regarded, he was used to honor. Elisha did not understand his status and his importance and sometimes, when people don't understand, like, um, someone of my whatever deserves more than this. When, when people don't understand, we start to get wounded. We even might call it church hurt and I don't think that that's really a fair thing to call it, because it's really just pride hurt, like that's really what it is when we're vying. We want everyone to know our competence. We want everyone to want our counsel. We want everyone to just think that they are awesomely spiritual, deep and spiritually deep and you should just listen to everything they say. When we're in some kind of mode like that, we need to humble ourselves and get out of it quickly.
Speaker 1:I had a friend that I'll just call captain frustrated. Captain frustrated and I were in ministry young, early in life, and we were kind of like peers. We were kind of like peers, we were kind of on the same level, but he was consistently sad, slash resentful, slash angry, because he would try to like force his leadership on people and he'd be angry that they didn't follow him, like the Lord had not given him people following him and he was constantly. He was, he was surprised every time and he was hurt every time and I felt so bad for the guy. He clearly had some things that had gone wrong with how he saw himself, but every time people didn't like think he was the guy. It was like breaking his heart all over again for Captain Frustrated and I I felt bad and I knew that.
Speaker 1:I thought I don't think, captain Frustrated, that you know the secret that Jesus talked about. I don't do the secret perfectly, but but we all have to know the secret. The secret is when you're invited, take the lowest place so that when your host comes he will say to you friend, move up to a better place, then you'll be honored in the presence of all the other guests. What Jesus is talking about in Jesus' time it was a very status aware culture, and so you'd come into whoever was hosting the party and whoever was like the most important person. They get to sit next to the host and there's popularity. So if you're the least popular person, you're down at the end of the table like all right, stay over there. And so Jesus says here's what you do Just walk in and take the lowest place to begin with, because Jesus is the real host.
Speaker 1:And when Jesus sees us pursue humility, he takes a look inside of our heart and he says oh, no, no, no, humility. He takes a look inside of our heart and he says oh, no, no, no, we're going to move you up. And when Jesus moves you up, there's nothing anybody can do about it. But, my friends, jesus is also very serious. When we move ourselves up and it's not time, he's like, sorry, let's go ahead and move that chess piece over here, because it's just not time for that yet. Guys, disciples, this is hard and we don't even know we do it.
Speaker 1:We need to resist wanting to be great in people's eyes and we just say, jesus, you just make me whatever you wanna make me in the way that most glorifies you, because you're going to be tempted to run. You're going to be tempted to run when you're not listened to, when you're not appreciated and when you're not honored, and you're going to be offended again. And this is what we all got to prep for. So right now, I just want us to take a moment. Is there somebody you need to forgive at this church or another church that they didn't honor you rightly and they should have, and they didn't listen to you and they they it would have helped and they didn't appreciate you and you should have been appreciated, but they didn't. But maybe also God was pointing out your pride, but you still need to forgive them. It's okay to forgive them. Is there anybody you need to forgive so you can be free today?
Speaker 1:Here's the other thing, though. Not only are we going to keep running into being offended, our sin offends a holy God. He's a loving God. He's the kind of God that'll come running after you to rescue you, but our sin offends a loving God, and he's not like. He's not like Elisha. Elisha wouldn't even come to the window. Jesus came down on the cross.
Speaker 1:But it's really, in some ways, just as easy, if not easier, for you and I than it was for Naaman, because the way to be cleansed for us is just to go to Jesus, and his blood is what cleanses us from all of our sin, and we can be tempted, maybe like Naaman Some people like you've had a lot of religion in the past, and you might even get offended to say it can't be that easy. I feel you, but Naaman, just humble yourself. He's made it as easy as could possibly be by putting your faith in the son of God. Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord, he says, will be saved. If you seek him, you'll find him when you seek him with all of your heart.
Speaker 1:So I wanna do two things. I wanna pray for two different sets of people, and you might be both. I want to together ask God to forgive the people that hurt us, and I want to together ask God to forgive us. If we've not yet asked for his forgiveness, let's bow our heads and do it right now. Man, it's hard to let go of some of these things, god, because they keep rolling up.
Speaker 1:But would you forgive the one who hurt us, the one who undervalued us, the one who should have listened but didn't? People got hurt because they didn't listen even maybe God would you forgive the one who should have listened but didn't? People got hurt because they didn't listen even. Maybe God would you forgive the one that didn't see who we were really? They didn't look hard at all, they didn't see our soul. They kind of dismissed us. They kind of they're not important. They didn't check back in, they didn't come back around.
Speaker 1:And whether I'm prideful or not, god, I just want to ask for your help to forgive them. They know not what they do, lord, just like I don't know what I do. Forgive them and heal me from the church pain that that might've caused. And now, yahweh, I'm coming to you on your word, because you are the truth and you only tell me the truth. I have offended you and I thank you that, instead of condemn me, you come after me and you open your arms and you shed your blood on the cross to clean me. I believe that today I ask you to forgive me, and I believe that you do forgive me. Would you cleanse me deeply. Keep cleansing me, god. Fill me with your Holy Spirit. Cause me to come, run hard after you, cause me to fall in love with you in a way that I don't even know is really possible, but I'm asking for it. Father, would you come in Jesus' name? Let's keep our eyes closed and head bow for just one more moment.
Speaker 1:If you prayed that prayer for the first time, jesus, come, forgive me for my offenses. I want you to raise your hand on the count of three. Be really bold. Naaman had to go outside and get in the water. You don't even have to do that, but I want you to be really bold and just acknowledge before God I'm the one who needed to be forgiven of offenses, with your head bowed and eyes still closed. On the count of three, shoot your hand up. One, two, three Hands up.
Speaker 1:God, I'm the one. I'm the one. I'm Naaman. I'm the one who did it. I'm the one who needs your forgiveness. I see those. I see that one. I see that one. I see those back there. I am Naaman. Lord, I thank you that you clean me completely with the blood of Jesus and you set me up right, jesus, and you set me up right God. Help me free others of the offenses they've had toward me, the same way you've done it in my case. In Christ's name, amen. Hey, thanks for tuning in today. If God has used the ministry of Fierce in your life, please consider paying it forward with a financial gift at fiercechurchgive. If you want more resources like this, check out all of our channels at YouTube, tiktok and Instagram, check out our podcasts and check out our blog at fiercechurchblog. If you haven't already, please consider sharing this to help people you know take their next step. We'll see you next time.