The Point #155 - Painful Relationships

This week we are beginning a series of audios about Jesus - The Master of Relationships. We’ll take several weeks to learn from the life of Christ, and how He handled relationships. This week we will look at how He dealt with difficult people. I hope this series is a blessing to you.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Many times I have mentioned that I love to study the life of Christ in the four gospels. It is a lifelong study for me. And I'd love to encourage you to also be a student of the life of Jesus. Really, every single thing about relationships is shown in how he treated someone, why he did something, why he didn't do something, what he said to people. It's so interesting to study his habits, his speech, the way he handled different situations. He's always the master teacher in our lives. And he lived on earth for 33 years. To gain our salvation, he had to die on the cross, shed his blood, and rise again the third day. But why did he stay 33 years? He could have done that when he was 16 years old or 20. He lived on earth 33 years, I believe, because he needed all of the experiences that humans would have. So he could be tempted in all points or tried or have the same trials as we have and understand us. He had a lot of quiet years in his life up until the age of 30. And that was to understand how it was to be a human, to um understand all that we went through, and that makes me love him so much. He understands us, he has compassion for us, so that since he's been back in heaven, he's been interceding for us, for the human race. And that's amazing to me to think in my 50 years of life that Jesus himself has been sitting next to his father, interceding on my behalf and my humanity and my fallen state, and and putting in a good word for me and reminding his father, it is tough down there. I'm so thankful that he was willing to do that while he was here on earth. And so I want to spend several weeks in studies that I have done recently. I've taught a college class called teaching teens. I have taught teenagers in school or Sunday school or online for over 30 years, uh, close to 30 years. And I have I love teenagers and young adults and teaching that age. And so I have given in my class about teaching teams many different lessons from the life of Christ about being a teacher. But these lessons they go for all relationships. This goes for a parent-child relationship, employee, employer, uh, a friend, or a neighbor. It's it's just so practical from the life of Christ, the things we can learn about relationships. So I wanted to zone in today on Judas Iscariot. It's so amazing to me that Jesus would choose him to be close to himself, knowing that he was a traitor, knowing what he would do. Jesus knew everything. Yet he had him come in with his 12 disciples. He was not afraid to put Jesus, Judas Iscaria, in the mix with his other disciples. He knew there was a reason, and that is what I want to say to you. I look at the passage in John, John um 18, and I I believe yes, John 13. I'm sorry, at verse 18, and Jesus is tell talking about his disciples near the end of his life, and he said, you know, he gave them many teachings in John 13. But then he said in verse 18, I speak not of you all, I know who I'm I have chosen, but that the scripture may be fulfilled. He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me. He's talking about Judas Iscariot, but he said, He's chosen him. There was a purpose for Judas to be in his life. The scripture was going to be fulfilled because of what Judas was due, would do. He would betray him and he would lead him eventually to be crucified because of his actions. God knew that before he came down to earth. The Bible has been written in heaven since before the earth was formed. He knew the end from the beginning. We live our lives as a tale that is told, but there is a purpose for every single relationship in our lives. That's what I take from this. Jesus knew that Judas had to be there for scripture to be fulfilled, for his plan to be laid out. And he got all the same teachings as all the rest of the disciples. He got to see Jesus and be up close to him. He had every opportunity to put his faith in him and to be saved. He had every opportunity. He had a great, the greatest opportunity of anyone who lived on earth. He was there with the Christ while he lived, walking and talking and seeing his miracles. But as far as for Jesus, and as far as for us, every single person in our life is there for a reason. Now, we deal with difficult people in our lives. This might be a coworker. This might be a relative. This might be a difficult season for you and someone that you're close to in your life, and you just think, this person hurts me. This person makes me sad. This person grieves me. This person makes me wake in the middle of the night and think about it. And it's hard to have this person in my life. And I don't understand why this person is in my life. And let me just encourage you today with the life of Christ. Every person that is in your life is there on purpose. It is our duty and our responsibility to gain wisdom through the Holy Spirit of God to understand what we can learn from that relationship, to understand how to love when we're hated. To understand how to be like Jesus. He did not mistreat Judas. It's amazing to me that in the upper room, when he said to the disciples, someone's going to betray me, all of them looked at each other and said, Is it me? Is it me? Nobody suspected Judas Iscariot after three and a half years of being together that close. Nobody suspected him. Jesus knew, but they did not realize it. So you might have someone that turns on you and you are just shocked. I mean, this could be a church situation. This could be any kind of a betrayal. And it's so, it could be a spouse leaves you out of nowhere. And you think, I cannot believe I did not see this coming. I can't believe this. I'm just shocked. I'm devastated. Jesus had that happen to him. The disciples never guessed, even to the very last day, it would have been Judas Iscariot. He did not show the signs to anybody. Jesus, only Jesus knew. But there was still a purpose for him to be in Jesus' life. And there is a purpose for every single difficult situation that you go through in a relationship. There is a purpose for it. And God does not waste pain. I am not saying, oh, it's fine, just forgive and get over. I'm not saying that at all. I am saying be encouraged. Jesus had betrayal in his life, but there was a purpose, and there's a purpose for it in your life. And it has to do with you and with Jesus. Learn what it is. Seek out from the Holy Spirit to know what you can take from this pain. I am praying for you, friends. I've been through a few dark times in my life. I am sure that many of you have dealt with so much more than I have, but in my own life I've been through trials and they were people that hurt me. And I'm sure in the future I will too. But I know and I trust God that every person in my life is there on purpose. So let's love God through continuing to love others.