Pastor Richard Waialeale
October 24, 2021 - W2143

"Cuts & Bruises"

Home, Where Life Begins & Love Never Ends  

Pastor Richard Waialeale 

October 23 & 24, 2021 

Aloha and welcome, New Hope Oahu, those present and online! It is such a pleasure and an honor to have you worshipping with us today--from Hawaii and around the world! 

A couple of weeks ago I went around the Ministry Center and asked people about their home remedies.  Home remedies are medicinal purposes that our great- grandparents, grandparents, and parents have passed down to us.  Everybody had a home remedy.

Here's the ultimate home remedy!  Almost all the locals know that the Hawaiian sun on the beach has Vitamin D, and the ocean water has healing power!  So, whenever you feel sick and have a sore throat, you gargle with salt water and jump into the ocean and--boom, your sickness is gone! By the way, if you're online and have a home remedy, please e?mail it to me: Richard@eNewHope.org.  I'd love to hear what you have to say.  

In our series today, "Home, Where Life Begins and Love Never Ends," I want to talk about Cuts & Bruises and how to handle them.  The kind of cuts and bruises that I'm talking about is when we get hurt by criticism, or someone condemns and blames us, or someone gets wrong information about you and pass it on as true!  On social media, they give you a thumbs down or a dislike.

The only home remedy that heals these types of cuts and bruises are the ones from the Bible, but it will determine on how you respond to criticism! The most devastating situation that happened to me was when I responded poorly to criticism. Here's an example:  

Earlier this year I did a funeral for a dear brother who had moved from Oahu [Hawaii] to the East Coast; he is a hedge fund manager and opened a brokerage firm on the mainland.  As we talked, he said that when he first moved to the mainland, he had to overcome some physical and financial setbacks in building his career.  

Then, I asked him, "You came to New Hope back in the early 2000s, and you know how it's like, so have you found a church on the mainland?"  And he said, "Yeah, I was attending a church for many years on the East Coast, but one day I came to church, and someone was sitting in my seat!"  (How many of you can relate?) "I told the usher, 'I've been coming to this church for a long time.  You remember me? I'm a big giver and I'm on the board.  But somebody is sitting in my seat!'  The usher told him, 'Sir, we have an open seating policy, so you need to find another seat.  I can't tell this guy to move.'  My friend got angry and took his family and never came back to the church!

Here's the point:  It's interesting how this friend of mine could overcome large obstacles in life (physical and financial), but he could not overcome an insignificant problem that stood between him and God.  It's amazing how small problems can destroy lives! Some people can overcome large obstacles but are defeated by the smallest problems!  Is there a relationship in your life that have been broken by minor, foolish, or untrue rumors, miscommunication, or misperception? Ironically, we can overcome the large issues in life, but get defeated by the smallest Cuts & Bruises.  The way we resolve this problem is by going to the Bible:

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NIV says: "¹⁶ Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. ¹⁷ For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. ¹⁸ So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

"Momentary light troubles" is your Cuts & Bruises.  Allow God to take you through those troubles so He can build the character qualities that you will need to handle the cuts and bruises that you will face. Often, in the middle of working on our cuts and bruises, we are building wisdom and character qualities needed to transform our mistakes into miracles!  It's the reason scripture says, "Therefore, we do not lose heart!"  The first thing we must do when going through Cuts & Bruises is to guard our heart.  

"Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it." Proverbs 4:23 NIV

1. WATCH YOUR HEART; MAKE IT A PRIORITY TO KEEP YOUR HEART PURE

God is saying when something gets in our heart, don't let it fester.  Take care of it as fast as you can.  Renew your heart day by day; otherwise, it will get infected!  

"Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day." 2 Corinthians 4:16 ESV 

"So, we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:18 NIV

Most of the beaches on the islands have coral reef--coral is a living organism.  So, when you're walking on the beach and happen to step on coral, take care of it immediately! If the coral gets caught inside your foot--it doesn't grow out from your foot, it grows in the other way and gets lodged in and infection will set in! It's like a black sea urchin.  In life, when we get infected by cuts and bruises, often, we are slow to run to God and the longer we dwell on our cuts and bruises, it will grow, and the decay and infection gets worse!

Application:  Above all else, guard your heart from bitterness, unforgiveness, etc., for it affects everything you do! The condition of your heart is incredibly important! God says the most important thing about you is your heart--not your performance--it's your heart!  So, allow God to correct and adjust your heart.  It will affect the way you speak, act, and respond to people! 

2. ASK FOR AND APPLY WISDOM  

"If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you." James 1:5 NIV 

If you want to know what God wants you to do, ask Him, and He will gladly tell you.  God will instruct us, but we must ask him and apply wisdom. Wisdom is when God helps us see things the way He sees them!  He'll show us how He would define the situation, but we still must make the choice to agree with wisdom or to reject it.  

If we choose to agree with wisdom, we must correct our hearts and change our perspective.  Instead of saying things that I would like to say, I must correct my words and say the things that Jesus would say.  The Bible offers answers to the best questions that we should be asking, questions, such as, "What is my purpose?"  "What is God like?" "Can I be sure I have eternal life?"  The Bible doesn't answer every question that we might have, but it does answer every question that we should be asking.

“Jesus said, Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."Matthew 7:7 NIV 

Application:  When we choose wisdom and apply it, we will grow in wisdom and see things the way God sees them and define things the way that He would define them and have the same perspective that He has.  God is changing our hearts, so ask Him for applied wisdom, and you'll begin to see your cuts and bruises as something that becomes a classroom for character building and a teaching moment rather than torture or misery--it could become the beginning of a miracle rather than an offense!

3. FOCUS ON THE IS ETERNAL  

When it comes to what God wants us to do, look beyond the present into the future.  

¹⁸“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 4:18

When learning to ride a motorcycle, the instructor will teach you to execute a turn--it's quite incredible how you lean into that turn.  When you're riding along the guardrails, if you look at that guardrail, you'll soon become one of the guardrails!  So, the instructor will tell you to look out of the turn.  Don't look down into the turn.  Whatever you look at, you will become one with so, if you constantly look at condemnation and problems, then you'll become one with them! 

People have told me that I should speak on COVID?19 or the end times, but I don't do that.  I stay the course that God wants me in.  I stopped trying to please everyone and try to fix my eyes on what is eternal--what God has called me to be and to do! Someone once said this.  “If you fear God, you will fear nothing else. But if you fear man, you will fear everything else!” 

When we focus on what God is doing, we will begin to look more like the person He intended us to be.  However, if we fix our eyes on the problem, we start to look like the problem!  When you are getting caught up in cuts and bruises, it may be God's way of reminding us that our eyes are focused too much on the temporal objects in life.  

NEHEMIAH, OUR BIBLICAL HERO

Nehemiah, from the Old Testament, is our biblical hero; he took a lot of criticism but kept his focus on what God called him to do. On several occasions, this great?hearted statesman who feared God was openly criticized, falsely accused, and grossly misunderstood, but each time, he kept his cool and rolled with the punches.  He always considered where the source of the criticism came from and refused to get discouraged--he prayed to God and kept building the wall!  That's what God called him to do!

One of the occupational hazards of being a leader is receiving criticism--and not all criticism is constructive!  There's a strong temptation to say, "You know what, forget it.  I don't need this.  I give up.  I'm throwing in the towel--bailing out!"  Many have faded out of leadership because of intense criticism.  But listen, I firmly believe that any leader who does anything different or worthwhile and is a visionary can count on criticism!

Galatians 6:9 NIV says: "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." 

Do not give up! Allow God to build in you the character qualities needed to handle life's cuts and bruises. Someone once said this:  "He who throws dirt always loses ground."  There's another quote that says:  "The final proof of greatness lies in being able to endure criticism without resentment." When working things out, you are building wisdom and character qualities that you'll need to transform mistakes into miracles and be able to handle life's cuts and bruises!

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. What does 2 Corinthians 4:17 call our Cuts & Bruises?
2. When going through Cuts & Bruises, what is the first thing we must remember to do?
3. When you are faced with an insurmountable situation and you don't know what to do (you lack wisdom), what does the Bible say you should do?
4. Why was Nehemiah chosen as our biblical hero?
5. List three principles to remember when going through Cuts & Bruises.