Pastor Wayne Cordeiro
June 24, 2001 - W0125

Weíre going to talk about cuts and bruises ñ ways to soothe disputes. Weíve all heard of these, the family feuds like the Hatfields and McCoys ñ people who were once friends, but now are a little antagonistic. Sometimes these tragic things happen because of a major betrayal or fallout, but more often, they happen because of a small bruise that was inadequately taken care of.

I was doing some studying on some amazing survivors and saw a recurring illustration of how we can overcome huge obstacles in one area, and trip over the smallest in another:

His name was James Crutch. When the Titanic went down in 1912, James Crutch was aboard and became one of the few survivors of that cold Atlantic night. Three years later because he was in the navy, he was on the USS Lusitania when it was torpedoed by a German U-Boat. He survived a second scare in the ocean. How did he die? He slipped on a rock at a stream near his house, and drowned in one foot of water!

Another man was named Jim Berkeley. He was a great safari hunter and went on over 50 safaris with many man-eating animals. How did he die? Was it from the claws of a wild lion? Nope, a cat in his backyard scratched him, gave him blood poisoning, and he died a year and a half later.

Isnít it amazing? I wonder how many relationships are torn apart from the smallest things. We can overcome huge obstacles, then one day we get tired, and we fall over the dumbest things. How do we overcome these situations since it is inevitable that we will face cuts and bruises in everyday life?

Today we will take our cornerstone scripture from second Corinthians. It is not only a promise, but also an instructional verse that will help us to understand how to deal with disputes that can cut us.

What God is saying is that there are opportunities in momentary afflictions that will help us to grow. Now you might think it would be nice if God removed these struggles in our lives. But, they become the classroom of character and serve as mentors of maturity. In fact, the way we respond to trials will determine who we are and what we will become.

We are going to have cuts, scrapes, and bruises. If God were to remove all of these situations from us, it would mean that He doesnít love us. He wants to build our character, so instead of taking away all of the tough situations in life, He promises to give us the edge to overcome these barriers ñ walking with us through all of our struggles. He will give us instruction, but He loves us too much to do everything for us.

So where do these disputes come from? There are three main sources:

• Intentional hurts
• Unintentional hurts
• Self-inflicted ñ where we create a hurt that doesnít exist

Self-inflicted hurts are particularly insidious because they result from applying the wrong spirit to an event or a piece of advice that does not exist.

Since there are going to be cuts and bruises in our lives, what can we do to with our hearts to keep us from falling prey to an inner infection from these small scrapes?

You are going to hear comments and statements from people everyday, and we are prone to making our heart vulnerable and susceptible. However, God calls us to guard our heart and watch what we receive because it affects everything that we do.

"Heart" is the internal dictionary by which we define everything that happens around us. We each are building that internal dictionary which controls how we perceive the events of the world around us. One person will define a certain event a certain way, and another differently. Same event, different definitions. The programming of this dictionary is controlled by what we receive into our heart, so we need to choose to let in only good treasures. What is inside you, good or bad, will come out.

So what should we do if there are already stains upon our heart?

• Let Jesus wash you immediately.

Donít let the stains sit while you stew about it. Go to the cross and let Him wash you immediately! Donít be afraid to come to Him daily if thatís what you need.

• Refuse to be offended.

Taking offense is a choice and the opportunities to take offense surround us continuously. Jesus had many, many opportunities during his lifetime where people were trying to slander him, and plot for his murder. Prophetically, Isaiah 42 tells us Jesusí decision:

Itís a choice about where we set our hearts. If we choose to be offended, we have just made ourselves a victim to that personís comments, statements, or betrayal. Now we can lay blame, and rationalize our own behavior where we donít have to try and overcome our tough situations. It is the lazy way out! Refuse to be offended so that you will not be a victim, but a victor!

When we say ëJesus is Lordí, we are saying that He is the one that rules and reigns in our lives. Who is Lord in your life is the one that will determine your future, whether it will be fruitful or barren. Who is Lord in your life determines whether it is going to be a good day or a bad day. If I say as a victim, "it is someone elseís fault," guess what? You have just made that person lord, because that person has now determined your future. You are going to give up on life simply because you are serving the wrong lord! Once you do this, the miracles of God stop.

You might think that it might be nice if all the disputes that cause cuts and bruises were gone from our lives. So why does God allow them? God allows these disputes in our lives so that we:

• Return to whatís basic.

Through these disputes, God is weaning us off of dependence upon other people as the source of our value or self-esteem. When we come to Christ, we have a tendency to find our identity and self-esteem in others, and when they mess up, we ask "Why?!" It is because God wants us to return to Him, and define our identity and values in Him.

Someone told it to me this way because I was complaining about some things going on in my life, and it was hurting. I told him, "Iím seeking God for an answer but I hate it, I hate it!"

And he told me, "Wayne, donít ever despise anything that takes you to your knees."

Sometimes we donít realize that Jesus is all we need, until Jesus is all we got! Then you realize that God is pruning us and weaning us off of other people to give us our identity and value. No, it is Jesus that we must return to.

What is wisdom? When encountering a situation, wisdom is seeing things the way God sees them. Thatís it. When we ask God for wisdom He will provide us with His perspective. Now, it is still our choice. We can reject wisdom ñ we know what to do, but we donít do it. If we continue to reject wisdom, soon wisdom will be far from us, and we become someone who is unwise.

So God will show us wisdom, but it needs to be applied. The more you apply it, the clearer, the more readily you will receive wisdom.

When the currents of disputes rush in, how can we keep our hearts buoyant enough so that we donít sink under the layers of cuts and bruises?

What the Apostle Paul is saying, is that we need to look beyond what weíre going through right now, and onto the purposes of God. If we concentrate on the temporary situation that weíre in, then weíll get completely submerged in it. Look beyond, and see whatís eternal.

DQ 4: Think about a current problem in your life. What would happen if you were to worry constantly about that problem? What would happen if you were to concentrate instead on a long-term goal?

DQ 5: How will you be different from what you learned today?