WHAT TO DO ON THE WORST DAY OF YOUR LIFE

I have a message to pass on to you from Pastor Rick. Let me tell you how that came about.
Earlier this week, Rick gave me a call and said he had gone to the doctor and found out that he
had double pneumonia. That often happens by the way, after preaching eight million Easter
services and hugging all those people. e said, so I!m going to need you to speak this weekend.
This is before they found out about "atthew at the end of the week. e said, there!s something
I!d like you to speak on. There!s this little book I!ve been reading and I!d like you to talk to the
church about this book, the points that are in this book. The name of the book is ow to #urvive
the $orst %ay of &our Life.
$e have a pastor with a certain kind of spiritual sensitivity to us and to the Lord. #o even before
they knew what was happening, this is the message he wanted to be passed along to us this
weekend. #o I!m 'ust going to pass it along. The little book talks about an e(perience of )ing
%avid in * #amuel +, in a town called -iklag. %avid was living in this town and would go out
and do battle out of this town. .ne time after doing battle he and all of his men came back and
the town had been destroyed and all of their families had been taken captive. #o what did he do/
$hat can we learn from him/
0ecause as we!ve been walking through studying the 0ible recently we!ve been talking about the
fact that if you look at the 0ible and see the stories in the 0ible not 'ust as interesting stories but
as ways that you and I can learn how to live life. There are some things that we can learn from
%avid about how to live the life that 1od wants us to live even in the midst of tragic
circumstances.
Let me 'ust say something to a particular group of you as we walk through this ow to #urvive
the %ifficult %ays, what do you do when things are falling apart, what do you do when you can!t
find any hope in your circumstances. I know there!s a group of you who 'ust this last week
stepped across the line and you began a relationship with 2esus 3hrist. This Easter we had
almost three thousand people step across the line and say, I want to begin a relationship with
2esus 3hrist. $e applaud you who have made this step.
I 'ust want to say to you as you!re beginning this walk with 3hrist, this life with 3hrist, the idea
somewhere that being a follower of 2esus means life is now going to be perfect 4 there!s no such
thing as that. $e do get a perfect life in heaven. I am looking forward to that, aren!t you/ 0ut
on this earth we do face evil. There!s a lot of good in this world and a lot of good in 1od but
there!s also a lot of evil and trouble in this world. If you think you!re going to live a perfect life
because now you!re a follower of 2esus, you haven!t looked at the lives of the followers of 2esus
over the last two thousand years and the troubles that they faced. 5nd you certainly haven!t
looked at the 0ible and the troubles that faithful followers of 1od have had throughout the 0ible.
&ou haven!t looked at the life of 2esus. 2esus faced a lot of troubles.
#o the 6uestion is, how do you and I find 1od in the midst of the difficulties, the struggles of
life/ ow do we find the strength to walk through no matter what happens in life/
%avid here in * #amuel +, is an e(ample of what to do. $e7re going to talk about five things.
There!s more in this little book but we!re going to pick out five of them. 8ive things you and I
can do during the tough times.
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$hat!s the first thing you do when tragedy strikes, when your heart is hurting/
1. The first thing you o is you !ee".
That!s the most appropriate thing to do. &ou cry. The 0ible says in * #amuel +,9+:; When
David and his men reached Ziglag they found it was destroyed by fire and their wives and sons
and daughters taken captive. So David and his men wept aloud until they had no strength left to
weep.
I know some of us have been doing a lot of weeping this week. $eeping for my good friends
Rick and )ay and family. $eeping for my nephew "atthew whose life was lost. "y wife
3haundel, she!s Rick!s sister as many of you know. $eeping for their family. $eeping for our
church family and the hurt that we feel for somebody that we so deeply love. That!s the right
response. That!s the right first response.
If you!re wondering, is that the right response/ Is that really how we should act/
I would call your attention to the shortest verse in the 0ible, the easiest verse to memori<e in the
0ible. "any have memori<ed this one 'ust because it!s easy to memori<e. 0ut something in me
is grateful for that because it!s a truth we need to remember. 2ohn **9+=, Jesus wept. 2esus
cried. 2esus had tears. 5nd if 2esus as 1od in human flesh wept over the hurt of mankind, even
though he knew the hope that he was going to give, you and I need to weep.
I would say to you that weeping, crying, this is the step that so called mature believers try to skip
sometimes. >I!m above that now? I have so much hope in 1od I don!t need that right now.@
2esus in his humanity wept. e shows us that that!s e(actly what we should do. I know that 'oy
comes in the morning but the 0ible tells us that weeping lasts for the night because our heart is
hurt. Romans tells us that we!re to re'oice with those who re'oice and we!re to weep with those
that weep.
$e have a big church family. That means every week there!s a lot of people to re'oice with. 0ut
there!s also a lot of people to weep with. This verse, 2ohn **9+= where we see that 2esus wept, I
don!t know if you knew this, this isn!t the only verse in the Aew Testament that talks about 2esus
crying. There!s another verse that talks about his weeping in prayer.
ebrews =9B the 0ible says this, During the days of Jesus life on earth! he offered up prayers
and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death! and he was
heard because of his reverent submission.
$ith loud cries and tears 2esus talked to 1od. e had this position before 1od of what I would
call dependent petition. %ependent prayer. 2esus modeled for us depending on 1od, how to do
it. e knew that we have to depend on 1od all of our lives, so he showed us how. .ne of the
things he showed us is you talk to 1od with loud cries and tears. &ou pray with emotion.
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2esus grew up in a culture that was unafraid to show emotion. The 2ewish culture that he grew
up in, when they cried it wasn!t some little trickle down the cheek. It was loud wails. $hen the
men in that culture cried, when they mourned, they not only cried out to 1od, but in their tears
they would actually take the outer cloak that they were wearing and rip it in two as an e(pression
of their grief. They knew how to show emotion.
I need to learn something from the power of 2esus! emotion. 5 little paragraph from an article on
the emotions of 2esus by $alter ansen has always been meaningful to me. I guess because I!m
in that group that sometime has a hard time showing emotion. This group, by the way, is called
men. That!s the name of that group that sometimes has a hard time showing emotion. $e
actually all do sometimes.
Listen to what this paragraph says about 2esus and his emotions9 >I am spellbound by the
intensity of 2esus! emotions. Aot a twinge of pity but heartbroken compassion. Aot a passing
irritation but terrifying anger. Aot a silent tear but groans of anguish. Aot a weak smile but
ecstatic celebration. 2esus! emotions are like a mountain river cascading with clear water. "y
emotions are more like a muddy foam or a feeble trickle. 2esus invites us to come to him and
drink. $hoever is thirsty and believes in him will have his river of the water of life flowing
from his inmost being, 2ohn B says. $e!re not to be merely spellbound by what we see in the
emotional 2esus. $e!re to be unbound by his #pirit so that his life becomes our lifeC his
emotions our emotions. To be transformed into his likeness.@
#o the e(ample, as you and I look at the life of 2esus is clear. 2esus did not deny his emotions.
2esus denied himself by not always bowing to those emotions, not always doing what those
emotions told him to do. 0ut he didn!t deny his emotions. e let them out. e let them be seen.
e wept. e teaches us to act in ways that recogni<e the importance of our feelings. Aot to hide
them, not to bury them.
If you don!t see and I don!t see the importance of e(pressing my emotions, what happens is those
emotions actually end up controlling your life. $hen you try to bury an emotion, when you try
to submerge an emotion it pops out in all kinds of ways that control your life. It starts to run
your life.
The e(ample of 2esus is show your emotions. I know some of you are thinking, 3ouldn!t you go
too far with that/ Isn!t that a possibility, like too much emotion/
"aybe that!s true but that!s not where most of us are. "ost of us have a long way to go before
we get there. %enial of your feelings gives them a power over you that 1od never intended them
to have. It!s only as you see the importance of your feelings that you begin to act in ways that
keep those feelings from running your life. #o you talk to 1od with the emotion of your heart.
&ou depend on 1od with the emotion of your heart.
ow do I describe that emotion/ It!s like the emotion you!d have if you!re hanging off of a cliff
and you had a hold of a rope that was the only thing that was keeping you from falling. &ou are
hanging on to that rope with everything that you have. &ou!re depending on that with everything
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that you have. That!s our emotion with 1od. 1od, I!m depending on you with everything that I
have.
5s we walk through this message, I hope we!ll do these things as we talk about many of them.
#o in your mind right now, 'ust cry out in your heart for Rick and )ay and the $arren family, for
friends, for our church family. 3ry out in your heart for these people that we love. 3ry out in
your heart for the things that you!re facing. $hat you!re going through in your life.
I talk to many people and they say, I see someone else who!s hurting, but I can!t help but think
about the hurts that are in my life. 5nd I feel a little guilty about that.
%on!t feel guilty about that. $e!re all hurting. 5nd we all know that we are all hurting. I know
that Rick and )ay want you to sense 1od!s healing for your hurt. &our hurt. #o in your heart
right now cry out to 1od, >1od, we depend on you. $e need you for hope. $ithout you we
cannot make it through this.@
The first thing you do, the first e(ample we get from %avid of these five things to do is you
weep. &ou cry out to 1od.
#. The se%on thing you o is you on&t get 'itter.
"ake sure that you don!t get bitter. * #amuel +,9D, David was distressed because the men were
talking about stoning him" each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and his daughters.
The easiest thing in the world to do is to get bitter and out of that bitterness to start blaming.
$hen anything goes wrong in our lives there!s always someone to blame. There!s almost always
someone to blame, because we live in an imperfect world. The people around you are imperfect.
#o something they did or something they said either before, after, during, there is somebody to
blame.
The problem with blame is it ends up in bitterness. It ends up running our lives. I don!t want
that for my life. &ou don!t want that for your life. #o one of the things we have to do in the
midst of tragedy and the midst of hurt is to say, I!m going to make sure I don!t get bitter. I don!t
start blaming.
If we!re really honest, when we start blaming, one of the people we want to blame is 1od. $e
wonder, why/ I would be an absolute fool if I thought I could e(plain to you the whys behind
the une(plainable things of life.
I don!t know why with a lot of things. I don!t know why one young man dies and another young
man lives. I don!t know why somebody who seems so deserving dies and someone who seems
so undeserving, who!s hurt so many people, lives. I don!t know why one person gets cancer and
another doesn!t get cancer. I don!t know why one person gets healed of cancer and another
person doesn!t get healed. "aybe when we get to heaven 1od!s going to tell us the answer to all
of those why 6uestions. "aybe we won!t need the answer. 0ut right now I 'ust know? I don!t
know why.
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0ut I do know this9 I do know that even when I don!t know why, even when you don!t know
why, there is a 1od who will walk with me through that circumstance. I know that 1od can
handle all of my 6uestions and that he!ll keep walking with me. e will be with me through any
and every circumstance of life. I do know this9 There is a church family around me who loves
me and will be with me and will be praying for me. I do know this9 there is 1od!s $ord to give
me encouragement and strength and hope. 5nd I do know this9 That in the midst of all of my
6uestions there is a 1od who can handle every one of those 6uestions and more and keep on
loving me, never stop loving me and give me the strength that I need for today. That!s what I
hang on to.
In order to not get bitter, one of the tough issues that all of us have to face in life is the issue of
forgiveness. $hen I!ve been hurt it can turn so easily into an unforgiveness towards someone
because they were involved in my hurt. Enforgiveness is the easiest road to go down and
because they were so wrong and because my hurt is so huge, so large.
owever if you and I let that unforgiveness lie, if you let it grow in your life, bitterness always
grows right alongside of it. It might be seen by othersC it might be unseen by others. 0ut you
know it!s there. It!s there in the hardening of your heart. It!s there in the anger that will never go
away. It!s there in the apathy about life, that!s how it often shows up. &ou 'ust don!t care
anymore.
There are some of you here, you!ve been holding on to an unforgiveness, not 'ust for weeks or
even maybe a year or two, but it!s been decades. It!s my prayer that somehow in the grace of
1od 4 it can only be through his grace 4 that he!ll give you a releaseC he!ll give you a moment of
forgiveness right now.
Let me remind you that forgiveness does not mean saying that what they did was right or that it!s
okay, or that it doesn!t matter anymore. It matters. It hurt. It hurt your life and other people!s
lives. 1od will one day 'udge that in a way that only he can.
#o what does it mean to forgive/ It means that you let it go to 1od. I!m not going to keep
'udging them in my heart because it!s building a bitterness in my heart that I!m living with and
everybody around me is living with. #o I!m going to forgive. I!m going to let it go to 1od. I!m
going to find the strength to forgive in the fact that he!s forgiven me, more than I can imagine.
.nly by the grace of 1od can that happen but I!m praying right now that the grace of 1od is
happening. Right now, in some of your hearts, in some of your minds, you!re saying, I!ve never
been able to do it before but somehow in this moment, 1od, you!ve given me the grace. I say
those words in my mind. I forgive. I let it go to you.
$hen you do that, you!re fighting against bitterness in your life. &ou!re deciding to not get
bitter in life.
$hat do we do when everything falls apart, what do we do when there!s no hope to be found in
the circumstances of life/ 8irst you weep. That!s the right first thing to do. Then you make sure
you don!t get bitter.
Then %avid teaches us to do a third thing. This is something else you can do immediately.
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$. You en%our*ge yourse+f in ,o.
This is a familiar verse to some of you in this passage. * #amuel +,9D David encouraged
himself in the #ord his $od. e made a conscious decision to look away from the
circumstances that could be so discouraging and to look to the Lord his 1od and to look for
encouragement. e didn!t encourage himself in the circumstance. ow could he do that/ e
didn!t try to be a fake and a phony and try to make something good out of something that was
bad in their lives. Ao, he looked somewhere else. e looked to the Lord his 1od. 5nd that!s
where he found encouragement.
ow do you do that/ $hat does it mean to do that/ To encourage yourself in 1od. .bviously
it!s something we have to choose to do for this to happen. If you have no encouragement right
now from 1od in your life, what can you choose to do that can bring that encouragement into
your life/
There!s a number of things but let me 'ust talk about two of them. Two choices you and I can
make. &ou!ve already made the first one.
The first choice is get around 1od!s people. .ther people who are looking for encouragement
from 1od, you get around those kinds of people and you hear encouragement from them.
ebrews +9*+ says So encourage each other day after day as long as its still called %oday! lest
any of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. The encouragement of others keeps my
heart from being hardened. )eeps sin from deceiving me. )eeps me from going down the
wrong path. That!s the power of encouragement. 5nd that!s the power of your choice to be
together with 1od!s family, with 1od!s people. That!s the power of small groups & when we get
together in a small group to be with other people and to hear encouragement from one another.
$e need encouragement.
I totally understand that not everybody you meet, not even every follower of 2esus is a perfect
encourager in every moment. #ometimes they!re more discouraged than you are. &ou go to
somebody for encouragement and they!re taking you down a notch rather than up notch. #o
what do you do then/ The two of you go together and try to find somebody who is encouraging.
Look for somebody with a smile on their face. 8ind a person and talk to them.
Even when you!re discouraged you can encourage somebody else by letting them know they!re
not alone. 0y letting them know, I!m discouraged too. 0ut it!s okay. &ou don!t have to have
these flowery words or 0ible verses memori<ed. #ometimes the simplest phrase can make all the
difference in a person!s life.
#o %avid looked for encouragement. e encouraged himself in the Lord his 1od. e got
around 1od!s people.
5nd then he did a second thing. e got a word from 1od.
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%avid went to the priest and he got a word from 1od. e said, $hat does 1od have to say/
$hat!s 1od!s direction on this/ &ou get a word from 1od. &ou go to 1od!s $ord. 5nd you
look in 1od!s $ord for 1od!s direction.
$hat!s 1od!s direction when everything is falling apart/ The direction is not in the
circumstance. The direction has to be above and beyond the circumstances. 5nd the direction
that 1od wants to take my heart when things aren!t working in this world, when they!re falling
apart in this world, he wants to take my heart in the direction of hope. The hope that I can find in
him, the hope that I can find in others, the hope that I can find in eternity. 1od!s $ord is filled,
absolutely filled with verses about hope. Looking to him for hope.
Let me 'ust 6uickly walk through some of the 0ible, some of the verses in the 0ible about hope
with you. The hundreds and hundreds of verses. Remind you of a few of the most familiar of
them.
5s you walk through the 0ible you!ll come across a chapter like Psalm F+, %he #ord is my
shepherd! ' shall lack nothing. (es the one that leads me beside )uiet waters. (es the one who
makes me to lie down in green pastures. Then it says later *ven though ' walk through the
valley of the shadow of death! you will be with me. 1od is with you. That!s the hope that we
hang on to.
&ou keep walking through the 0ible and you come across Isaiah ;, *ven young people grow
weary and tired! but those who hope in the #ord they will rise up on wings like eagles. %hey will
walk and not be weary. %heyll run and not be faint. That!s the power of hope in your life.
&ou get new strength in your life, your daily life.
#o you look in 1od!s $ord and you look in the direction of hope.
$hen I think about hope I think about a moment in the life of 2esus that has always captured my
mind. It!s the night before 2esus died. e!s sitting in the upper room with his disciples. e!s
talking to them about the fact that he!s going to die the ne(t day. They didn!t know. They didn!t
understand. They were confused. 2esus looked them in the eye and he talked to them about
hope. 2esus said to them, %rust in $od. %rust also in me. 'n my +athers house are many
mansions and 'm going there to prepare a place for you. ,nd if ' go and prepare a place for
you! 'll come back and receive you to be with me where ' am. Then 2esus said, -ou know the
way where 'm going. Thomas was honest enough to say, #ord! we dont know the way youre
going. (ow do we know the way. I!m glad he asked that because then 2esus said this verse
that many of us know. 2esus said, &ou don!t know the way/ ' am the way! and the truth! and
the life. /o one comes to the +ather but through me.
$here do you find hope/ &ou find hope in 2esus. $here do you look for the direction of hope/
&ou look to 2esus.
#o many times when I face tragedy, when I face a crisis or I walk into a hospital room of a
family who are followers of 2esus facing a crisis, or a home. I see that they have hurt but they
also have hope. They have grief but they also have comfort. I so often wonder, where do you
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turn without 2esus in this moment/ e is the one to turn to. $here do you find strength without
him in this moment/ e is the one to turn to.
#o I encourage youC turn to him now. Turn to him like you never have. Pray that Rick and )ay
and their family will turn to him 4 they will. 0ut then also you turn to him right now. In the
midst of your hurt, turn to 2esus 3hrist for hope. Turn to him for hope.
Turn to him for the hope of eternal life. $henever we talk about death I know it!s scary for
some people because we haven!t thought about it. $hich is pretty silly if you really consider
this. $e all know that someday we!re going to die. 0ut think about this with meC most people
spend vastly more time preparing for their retirement which is going to last 'ust a few years than
preparing for their death which is going to last for all eternity. It makes no sense at all when you
think about it.
ave you prepared for your death/ ow do you do that/ &ou put your hope in 2esus 3hrist.
2esus said you put your hope in meC I will give you the gift of eternal life. &ou don!t have to earn
itC you can!t earn it. e!ll give it to you as a gift.
e bought that gift at a very steep price. That!s what the cross of 3hrist is all about. 0ut he
offers that gift to you. &ou can receive that gift right now. 2ust in prayer say to him, 2esus
3hrist, I put my hope in you. I put my hope in your forgiveness. I put my hope in your life. I
put my hope in you.
$hen you and I think about how we can encourage ourselves in 1od, we hope in him, we hope
in 2esus 3hrist. 5 couple ways we can do that is by being around 1od!s people, by looking to
1od!s $ord.
There!s a fourth thing that %avid teaches us to do. 8or many of us this may be down the road a
little bit. This isn!t the first thing you do. 8irst you weep.
(. /ut then o!n the ro* eventu*++y you get to * "oint !here you 'egin to +oo0 to the
future.
&ou begin to look past what you!ve lost and you begin to look to the future for what 1od wants
to restore. 8or what 1od wants to do. .ut of what you!ve lost or how he even wants to restore
what you!ve lost. 1od has the power of doing that.
In %avid!s life, for them they began to think where did our families go/ The men went out and
they looked towards finding their families. They began to look towards the future. They didn!t
'ust stay there and look at the ruins of the past. There came a moment when they got past their
weeping and they got past their grief and still weeping, still in grief, still hurting, they began to
look to the future also. $hat does 1od have to happen in our lives/
ow do you and I look to the future in the midst of tough times/ The way to look to the future is
to remember last week. Last week we celebrated Easter. 5nd Easter is all about your future. It!s
not 'ust about something that happened in the past 4 two thousand years ago. 0ut Easter is all
about your future. It!s all about the future that 1od has for you, what he wants to do in your life,
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in your circumstances, how he wants to make a difference every day of my life. That!s what
Easter is all about. That!s what the cross is all about 4 2esus dying for you. That!s what the
resurrection is all about. e gave his life for you.
Look to the future. If I!m going to look to the future in the midst of the tough times, what I!ve
got to do is find a way to live not 'ust in the ups and downs of my circumstances but to live
outside of, above those circumstances.

Rick and )ay have taught us this so many times. The circumstances of life are like a railroad
track. &ou!ve got both. &ou!ve got the good and you!ve got the bad. They!re happening all the
time in our lives. #o if I!m depending on my circumstances to show me hope, to show me the
future, I!m going to be in this up and down roller coaster of life.
8or some of you it!s going to feel up and down. .thers of you, you might have the blessing of
feeling up most of the time. 0ut most of us, it!s going to feel up and down most of the time. The
truth about circumstances is it!s pretty simple. I!ve got two kinds. I!ve got good circumstances
and I!ve got bad circumstances. The good circumstances 4 have you noticed this/ 4 they don!t
last long enough. 5nd the bad ones, they 'ust seem to stick around for too long.
If you and I are trying to put our hope in our circumstances, you!re going to have some great
days with 1od. &ou!re going to have some good days. 0ut you!re going to have some bad days
too. #o if I!m trying to put my hope 'ust in my circumstances it!s 'ust not enough. The good
ones don!t last. 5nd by the way, if all you!re putting your hope in is good circumstances, that!s
prideful in the end anyway. >I!ve got better circumstances than everybody else.@ The real truth
of the matter is, most of us face difficulties all of our life. I!ve got to have something outside of
that.
$hat!s outside of that/ The hope of Easter. $hat!s outside of that/ The fact that 2esus 3hrist
broke into history and changed your history. To let you know you don!t have to live a victim of
circumstances the rest of your life. &ou and I can live looking to the future that he has.
#o what do I do/ I look all the way through this life to the future, to the future of eternity. Aot
only the future eternity, you look at this life through the lens of where you!re headed, the hope
that you!re headed toward. 5nd you live life that way.
$hen you start to live life that way you become a different kind of person. I get thereC I get a
glimmer of it every once in a while. I want to live there in my life. I want us to live there in our
lives. That!s the kind of hope that he gives. &ou look to the future. &ou look to the future of his
hope in our lives.
$hen you!re going through tough times what do we do/ 8irst we weep. Then you don!t get
bitter. Then you encourage yourself in 1od. Then you look towards the future with hope.
0ut then there!s a fifth thing that they did that teaches us to do a fifth thing.
). The fifth thing you o is you *tt*%0 evi+.
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* #amuel +,9*B:*G, David fought them from dust until evening of the ne0t day. e went out
and he attacked those who had taken their families. e attacked evil.
That is the number one principle for defeating evil in our lives. To attack evil. It!s not what we
feel like doing. It!s not what I feel like doing. $hen evil comes into our lives, when trouble
comes into our lives, what we want to do is retreat. .ur heart says, is there somewhere I can run
to where this kind of evil will never touch me, never touch my family/ The evil of this world.
There!s no such place in this world.
5s I!ve said many times, the goodness of 1od is so great, we see it so many times in this world,
this world isn!t 'ust evil but there is certainly a lot of evil in this world.
#o what am I going to do about it/ Run away from it/ There are a lot of ways to try to run
away. &ou can try to move. &ou can try to hide out in church. There are people who try to hide
out in church, to hide out from evil.
That!s not what the 0ible teaches us to do. 5nd by the way, that!s not where the victory is found.
That!s not where the hope is found, that!s not where the strength is found. The strength is found
in deciding I!m going to attack evil.
&ou say, what can I do for Rick and )ay right now/ .bviously you can pray for them. Prayers
mean more than you can possibly imagine. .bviously you can do the little things like hug your
kids more closely or be kind to the people in your life.
&ou see this in Rick!s e(ample, you see this in e(ample of )ay!s life. Let!s 'ust take this one
step higher. Let!s decide the rest of our lives that we!re going to be all about attacking evil.
ow do you do that in a practical way/ $hen I talk about attacking evil what does that mean/
Let me give you some ideas of what I mean by that.
.ne of the ways that evil shows up in our lives is by what I call inner accusation. These voices
within that put you down, that say you cannot have faith, you cannot be a person that trusts in
1od.
.ne of #atan!s names in the 0ible is the accuser. 5nd 2esus wants us to overwhelm, overcome
the accuser, these inner accusations. &ou know what I!m talking about. #ome of you who 'ust
stepped across the line this last week to begin to follow 2esus, I know because #atan has no new
tricks. I know the accusations that he!s sending into your mind this last week. e said to you,
>$ho do you think you are that you think you could be a follower of 2esus/ Look at what
you!ve done. &ou don!t belong with those people. &ou don!t belong following 1od.@
I!m here to tell you that 2esus says the opposite. 5nd you and I have to go against, we have to
attack evil even as it comes into our minds.
Instead of arguing, here!s what you do. Instead of arguing with yourself about those inner
thoughts of inade6uacy or lack of faith 4 &ou could never start that kind of ministryH 1od could
never use you in that kind of wayH &ou know what I!m talking about. $e!ve all had these
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thoughts inside. They come again and again. Instead of arguing against them 4 I am a pretty
good personH ere!s the five reasons why. I should be able to do this ministry 4 you!re never
going to win that way.
ow do you win in this battle of inner accusation/ ere!s how you do it. &ou 'ust close your
eyes and you picture in your mind the cross of 2esus 3hrist. &ou picture what 2esus did for you.
Instead of arguing based on who you are, argue based on who he is. That!s how you attack evil.
The cross of 2esus 3hrist is the place where evil was defeated. I think many of us, when we
think of Easter, we think of the cross as the place of 2esus! defeat and we think of the resurrection
as the place of 2esus! victory. 0ut when you read the 0ible the truth is 2esus was victorious at the
cross and he was also victorious in the resurrection.
#o you look at the cross as a place of victory over evil. &ou look at the cross and say, #atan,
sorryH &ou lost. 2esus won. That settles it.
Listen to what the 0ible has to say about this. 3olossians F9*=, $od took away Satans power
to accuse you of sin! and $od openly displayed to the whole world 1hrists triumph at the cross
where your sins were all taken away.
#o when you face those inner thoughts of inade6uacy before 1od, those inner temptations to
think 1od could never love someone like you, you close your mind and picture the cross of
3hrist. 1od openly displayed his love for you there, openly triumphed over those accusations
there. That!s the way you and I attack evil.
5nother way to attack evil is when the outer confrontations come into our lives, the
circumstances, the criticisms, the confrontations, the times when life 'ust seems to fall apart.
$hat are you going to do when everything is 'ust falling apart around you in this world/ $hen
you!re faced with the circumstances of life that are falling apart, you begin to picture yourself as
someone who is rescued. &ou picture the rescue of 2esus 3hrist. &ou remember verses like F
Timothy ;9*G that says %he #ord will rescue me from every evil attack and he will bring me
safely to his heavenly kingdom. %o him be the glory forever and ever. ,men.
&ou can live the rest of your life in fear of what might happen to you. .r you can live the rest of
your life knowing that you!re rescued by the one who loves you the most, 2esus 3hrist. The
0ible says in 1alatians *9; (e gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age.
These two verse, F Timothy, 1alatians, they don!t pull punches when it comes to what happens
in this world. Aotice it says >every evil attack@ or >the present evil age@. 0ut that!s not where
the story ends. It also talks about the greatest rescue operation ever completed.
2esus came down from heaven to earth to throw you a lifeline. #o what do you do/ &ou grab
that lifeline for all it!s worth. &ou hold on to that for all it!s worth.
ow do you and I attack evil/ Let me tell you another way. I think this is the most powerful
way. ow do we attack evil/ The 0ible says when faced with evil we choose to do good.
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That!s how you attack it. &ou don!t do evil in the face of evil. That 'ust increases evil in the
world. $hen you and I are faced with evil we choose to do good.
Romans *F9F* says this very clearly9 Do not be overcome by evil! but overcome evil with
good.
This e(tremely significant verse tells you and I how important our focus is. $here!s my focus
going to be/ Is it going to be on the evil or is it going to be on the good/ &ou will never defeat
evil by focusing on evil. &ou will never defeat lust by focusing on lust. &ou will never defeat
hatred by focusing on hatred. &ou!ll never defeat unforgiveness by focusing on unforgiveness.
#o what do you do/ &ou defeat it by focusing on what is good. &ou defeat lust by focusing on
love. &ou defeat unforgiveness by deciding to forgive. &ou defeat hatred by deciding to serve
others, to give to others. That!s how you defeat it.
&ou defeat evil by living, by doing what is good. 5nd because of that, when we decide to do
that, there!s a victory that comes into our lives in the midst of any circumstance of life. It doesn!t
take away the hurt of the circumstance. 0ut it gives a victory over that circumstance.
The 0ible says in Romans G9+B, We become! through all these things triumphantly victorious!
by the power of him who loved us.
5gain and again we!re drawn back to the fact that 1od loves you. .ne of the strongest most
powerful ways you defeat evil by focusing on the good is by focusing on the fact that he loves
you. $e face this daily battle in life. #ome days are better than others. #ome weeks are better
than others. 0ut there!s this daily battle. 5nd in this daily battle we!re supplied with 1od!s love
with all we need for victory. e will not withhold any good thing from us. e will give us what
we need when we need it.
Evil is real. It impacts our lives every day of our lives. #ometimes we can hide from it more
than others. 0ut it impacts our lives every day of our lives.
0ut 1od!s goodness is also real. 5nd 1od!s goodness impacts our lives every day of our lives.
The 6uestion is which one am I going to focus on today.
I!ve always loved the lines of that hymn >Life is hard but 1od is good.@ I!m going to focus on
the goodness of 1od today. is goodness to take me through the circumstance that I!m facing
now. 5nd also to a circumstance of perfection with him in heaven. That!s what I!m going to
focus on.
#o what does this mean/ ow am I going to do this/ ow do I defeat evil, attack evil by
deciding to do what is good this week/ Let me give you some ideas, some things you and I can
do. &ou can start doing some of these right now. 2ust start with one thing. 2ust start with one
specific thought.
In one specific thought maybe even right now, attack evil by deciding instead of focusing on
what is bad, what is wrong, what is evil, what they did, what I did, instead of focusing on that,
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focus on the goodness of 1od. I!m going to focus on the love of 1od. In that one thought. 2ust
start there. "ove from the thoughts of accusation to the thoughts of victory of 3hrist!s love.
In one specific habit this ne(t week, an evil habit in your life, a habit that!s been tearing you
down, tearing the other people in your life down, how could you turn from that thought and
begin one specific good habit/ Instead of fighting the bad habit, trying to defeat evil that way
that!s never going to work, how could you turn to begin a new good habit/
"aybe it means going to 3elebrate Recovery every 8riday night. 5nd it starts this week. That!s
my new good habit.
.r maybe it means I!m going to start picking up 1od!s $ord and reading three, five, eight verses
out of it every day. #ometime during the day. 2ust read a little of 1od!s $ord. Let it feed my
soul every day of my life.
"aybe it means you call a friend and say, I 'ust need someone to encourage me. 8ind an
encouraging friend, by the way, if you!re going to call a friend to encourage you. >3an we go to
#tarbuck!s once a week and spend a half an hour and talk about things of faith/ $ould you do
this with me/@
That decision to pick up the phone, that decision to open the 0ible, that decision to show up at
3elebrate Recovery 4 it will change everything. #tart one good habitC it changes the entire
direction of your life.
#o how can we defeat evil in one specific thought, one specific habit, one specific relationship
this ne(t week/ ow in one specific relationship could you begin to see that what they met for
evil 1od can use for good.
That famous verse from 1enesis =,, how they meant it for evil. That doesn!t mean it wasn!t evil.
0ut 1od in his power, he!s more powerful than evil, he can use it even for good in your life. The
good for giving you compassion for other people facing the same hurt. The good for drawing
you close to him in the midst of this. ow in one specific relationship beginning even right now
in this moment they meant it for evil but 1od can use it for good. 1od can mean it for good.
I!m going to look at the good that 1od wants to bring into my life.
In one specific problem this ne(t week how could you begin to re'oice in what 1od is doing
through that problem that you!re facing right now/ ow he!s developing your character, your
heart. The problem is bad. $e don!t have to be fake and phony to say that 1od is at work in
our lives. &ou don!t have to pretend the problem isn!t bad. The problem is bad, the evil is real 4
the 0ible is clear about this. 0ut there is a 1od who is greater than that problem. #o how can I
begin to look to the 1od who!s greater and re'oice in the fact that he!s working in my life even in
the midst of this problem/
ere!s what I!m saying as we talk about this one specific thought or habit or relationship or
problem. 5nd turning from what is evil to what is good in our life. ere!s what I!m saying9 Let
your response to the pain of those you love be your decision to attack evil this ne(t week.
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Instead of your response to the pain of those you love be running away, trying to run away which
we could never do, turn that around and say my response ne(t week, the kind of person I!m
going to be, the kind of people we!re going to be is we!re going to attack evil this ne(t week.
If you say in your heart, >I!d like to do that, that sounds great but I 'ust don!t have it in me. &ou
said be honest about your emotions? "y emotions say I do not have that in me. I 'ust don!t feel
like doing that. I don!t feel like attacking evil. I don!t even feel like getting out of bed in the
morning if I!m honest about it.
#o what do you do when you feel like giving up/ 0ecause we all feel like giving up sometimes.
8irst of all you reali<e that we all feel that way sometimes. &ou!re not alone. $hat do you do
when you feel like giving up/
ere!s what you do. The first thing you remember when you feel like giving up is you remember
that he will never give up on you. 1od!s love, 1od!s grace, 1od!s hope, 1od!s strength 4 he will
never give up on you. 5nd that!s what you hold on to. That!s what pulls you out into a place of
goodness, a place of trusting him. &ou recogni<e in your mind and heart I have a 1od, I have a
8ather who will never give up on me.
This 1od who will never give up on you, this love that he has for you, one of my favorite verses
on that are at the end of Romans G 1an anything ever separate us from 1hrists love. Does it
mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity! or are persecuted! or hungry! or
destitute! or in danger! or threatened with death.... /o! despite all these things! overwhelming
victory is ours through 1hrist! who loved us. ,nd ' am convinced that nothing can ever separate
us from $ods love. /either death nor life! neither angels nor demons! neither our fears for
today nor our worries about tomorrow & not even the powers of hell can separate us from $ods
love. /o power in the sky above or in the earth below & indeed! nothing in all creation will ever
be able to separate us from the love of $od which is in Jesus our #ord.
That!s the hope that we hang on to. Let!s talk to 1od together to give us that hope.
Prayer9
.ur 8ather we come to you, we come to you... and we pray for your hope, for your strength,
your goodness, to be revealed in our lives as we look to you for strength and hope and
goodness. I pray with confidence that it will be. 0ecause we see at the cross the love that
you have for us. $e see it in our daily lives, the love that you have for us.
I want to encourage you 'ust to pray this simple prayer along with me. 2ust pray9 8ather,
when the tough times hit I want to be the kind of person who comes to you and shares my
hurt with you, like 2esus with loud cries and tears. I want to be the kind of person who
doesn!t grow bitter and blame, with unforgiveness, but who instead looks to you. I want to
be the kind of person who is encouraged in you through your people, through your $ord. I
want to be the kind of person who someday is going to begin to look to the future, the future
you have for me. 0ecause you do have a future for me. I want to be the kind of person who
attacks evil because you are greater than any evil that will come into my life. #o I pray for
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your strength to do this. I can!t do this on my own strength. 0ut I know that in the strength
of your love I will never be separated from you. The strength of your grace and power.
That you can do things in my life that I can never do. #o I pray for the miracle of your love
to happen in my life this ne(t week and in the lives of those that I love this ne(t week. $e
ask for this together, 2esus, in your name. 5men.
1)