Pastor Wayne Cordeiro
April 26, 2015 - W1517

Today, I am going to talk about cuts and bruises, and how to handle them.  In life, we will be criticized, maligned, condemned, and blamed.  Someone will misperceive something that you did or said.  Someone will get the wrong information about you, and pass it on as if it were true.   Talking about this reminds me of a four year old boy’s conversation with his grandfather.  He said, “Grandpa, how old are you?”  His grandpa thought for a while and said, “I actually really don’t know.”  His grandson then said, “You have to look at your underwear – the back of mine says 4-6.”  Wrong information, passed off as true.

I’ve found that the secret of success will not be determined by the amount of criticism that you receive or don’t receive - it will be determined by the way you respond to criticisms. Situations in life became most devastating for me when I poorly responded to criticism, and when I did not handle it correctly. 

During a recent flight to Los Angeles, I was seated next to a CEO who shared with me how he had overcome and survived several physical and financial setbacks in building a very successful corporation. In the course of our discussion, he asked me what I did.  I said that I was a pastor and asked him if he attended church.  He responded that he use to but stopped, because the parking configuration had changed.  This did not allow him to park in his usual parking space located right next to the main auditorium.  When he had told the usher that he was a high giver, and had done so for years, the usher responded, “Sorry, you can’t park here anymore.”  Well, he got so mad that he drove off and never returned.   It’s interesting how this man could overcome large obstacles, but could not overcome an insignificant problem that stood between him and knowing God more. 

While I was preparing for this sermon, I conducted some research on survivors.   This shed light on how small problems can destroy lives – not just big ones.  As I was studying, the names of three famous men came to my mind.  The first man was James Crutch who was one of 700 survivors on the Titanic after it hit an iceberg.  Most of the other passengers died in the icy Atlantic waters.  A few years passed and Crutch joined the army.  A war broke out and he was on the RMS Lusitania when it was hit by a German torpedo; however, Crutch survived this attack.  How did he die?  While crossing a creek located in the back of his house, he slipped, hit his head, and drowned in less than a foot of water.

The second man was James Berkeley.  He was a well-known safari hunter of man eating lions and tigers.  While in his back yard, his cat scratched him, and this caused blood poisoning, which contributed to his death a year later.

The third man was Charles Blondin, a famous tight rope walker who stretched a cable from the Canadian shore, and across the Niagara Falls to the U.S. Border.  He exhibited his balance by walking across the cable while pushing a wheel barrow filled with sand.  How did he die?  He died from complications of a fractured leg when he tripped entering his house.

These tremendous people overcame large obstacles, but were defeated by the smallest of problems.  How many relationships have been broken by a minor and often foolish and untrue rumor, or by miscommunication, or by misconception?  Ironically, we can overcome the biggest issues, but get defeated by the smallest cuts and bruises.  So how do we resolve this?  The Bible says, “Therefore, we do not lose heart, for while our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.  For momentary light affliction is producing in us an eternal weight of glory for beyond all comparison while we look not at the things that are seen, but on that which is unseen.  For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”  (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)

Notice those words, “For momentary light affliction.”  God is saying that He is going to take you through something momentary and light to build the character quality you are going to need.

Several years ago, I sat down with my daughter Abby who needed help with her math.  She had to figure out 35 problems using fractions. The first problem was how much is ¼ + ½? I showed her how to find the common denominator to get the answer ¾.  Abigail complimented me saying that I was so smart and a genius, then proceeded to ask me to solve the next problem, which I did.  She then proceeded to ask me to solve the third problem, until I told her that she had to learn to figure out her homework herself.  She responded that it was so painful and hard, and it would take her ten times longer to do so.  I again responded that she had to go through this, and learn how to solve those problems, no matter how hard it was.  This example can be applied to cuts and bruises.

What a wonderful life we would have if God could solved all of our problems.  But God says I love you too much to do your homework for you.  In the midst of working things out, you build wisdom, and the character qualities needed to convert mistakes into miracles. “Therefore, we do not lose heart…” (2 Corinthians 4:16)

God says the first thing you have to do when you go through cuts and bruises is to guard your heart.  In biblical times, the first line of attackers were slingers- men who used sling shots to hail rocks over the city fortress walls and into the city square where the water well was located.  Anyone trying to cover the well got pelted with these rocks.  When the well got clogged up with rocks, the people had to surrender to their attackers as they came out of the city, in need of water.

It is sort of like the Bible is saying, “Your heart is like a well, out of which will bring you peace and confidence.  When someone is trying to put you in a bad light, demean you, or condemn you, it is like a rock being hailed at you.   You can either become discouraged by letting it into your well and dwelling on it, or say no to it.  The Bible says, “Whenever you go into a town, whoever will not receive or welcome your message, when you leave, shake the dust off your feet.”   (Matthew 10:14)   Let it go.  When you leave the office shake off things that were said to you. Sometimes, after leaving a relative’s or a Christian’s home, you got to shake some stuff off.  Not everyone will like you.  You are never going to make everyone happy. 

I would like to share with you a scenario.  An irate customer who was at a tiny restaurant called the waiter and told him it was too cold.  The waiter humbly apologized, disappeared and came back and asked him, “Is that better now?” The customer said, “Much better.”  A few minutes later, the customer said, “Now it is too hot.”  The waiter apologized again, went in the back and came back, saying, “Is that better?”  The customer responded, “Much better.”  This scenario happened again, until the customer got extremely upset and stormed out of the restaurant.  The interesting thing about this scenario, is that the restaurant had no air conditioning.  Some people get easily frustrated over something that is not true.  If you allow people to keep criticizing you, and accept it into your heart, this will also poison you, and clog your well. This is why the Bible says, “A gossiping fault finding tongue is like a venomous snake.”  (Psalm 140:3)

There is a wonderful freedom to experience when we accept the fact that not everyone is going to like us.  Jesus wants to keep our hearts pure.  “Above all else, guard your heart, for it affects everything you do.” (Proverbs 4:23)

The first thing God says is to

1.       Watch your heart.  Make it a priority to keep it pure.

“…for while our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.  (2 Corinthians 4:16)   God is saying when something gets in our heart, do not let it fester – take care of it as fast as you can. 

Years ago, after going to bed, I got up because my eye was itchy; however, because I was tired, I went back to bed, hoping the itch would go away.  At 3 am I got up again, and my eye was really itchy.  This time I thought something had gotten into my eye, so I ignored the itch, and went back to sleep.  Well at 6 am I got up and could not even open my eye, because it was swollen shut.  As a result I had to go to the doctors and get some medicine.   Reflecting on this, I thought the same thing happens with our hearts.   When things get infected, do we delay going to God? The more we dwell on these things, the deeper the venom gets in. the Bible says, “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:17-18)

2.       Focus on what is eternal.

We want to look beyond the present, and into the future of what God wants us to do.  Several years ago, while I was taking a motorcycle class, the instructor told us not to look at the guard rail, but to look out of the turn, when maneuvering through a turn. This is because if you look at the guard rail, you will become one with it.  The same is true in life.  Whatever you look at, you become one with.  If you are constantly looking at condemnation and problems, then you will become one with them.

I often work on two lists – a To Do List and a To Be List.  The To Do List are things I have to do daily.  The To Be List is what God has called me to be.  This is to preach the gospel that converts non- Christians into converts, converts into disciples, and disciples into people who will be the light in the world.  People have told me that I should preach on other areas, but I don’t do that.  I stay the course of what God wants me to do.

Some of you have got to stop trying to please everyone, and to fix your eyes on what is eternal – what God has called you to do and be.  Someone once said to me “Wayne, if you fear God, you will fear nothing else. If you fear man, you will fear everything else.”

While our outer man is decaying, our inner man gets to be renewed daily.  Look not at the things you are seeing, but at the unseen.  Things that are seen are temporary.  Things that are unseen are eternal.  Can you say “Amen” to that? This is what we want to do.

Questions:

•          Share a situation where you need to guard your heart.  What is God trying to teach you?
•          How can you keep your heart pure?
•          What can we do to “shake-off” things?