Speaker: Bobby McDonald
Title: Difficult People
Date: 10-11-2015
Our Goal as Christians is this: To be an exact reflection of Jesus, the Son of God (Romans 8:29)
We do this individually by growing in purity in our personal lives (1 John 3:2-3)
We do this corporately by becoming fully functioning members of a local Church (Ephesians 4:11-16)
Summary
The speaker discusses how Christians are called to reflect Jesus by growing in personal purity and functioning within the local church. He shares three lessons learned from difficult people: first, recognizing that we ourselves are flawed, which fosters mercy; second, embracing the call to love enemies and pray for persecutors, mirroring God's kindness to us; and third, understanding that influencing others is best done through gentle love and warmth rather than force or confrontation.
Outline
The message in plain words, in the order it unfolds. Select a time to jump the video to that moment.
Bearing with difficult people like Jesus didThe disciples argued about greatness while Jesus bore a heavy burden, reminding us that Jesus endured difficult and selfish people throughout his life.
Experiencing cruelty in a fallen worldRemembering an unprovoked encounter with a bully in school highlights how the world is filled with evil people because the devil is the prince of this world.
The first and most important lesson: I am one of themThe greatest motivation for being patient with difficult people is recognizing our own sinfulness and receiving God's incredible patience.John 8:7
The kingdom of God is filled with people fed up with themselvesThe poor in spirit are like beggars who recognize their own evil and ask God for help, and to them belongs the kingdom of heaven.
Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute youWhile we may need to avoid certain people, we are always responsible to love them, do good to them, and pray for them just as God loved us while we were His enemies.Matthew 5:44
The sun and the wind illustrationJust like the sun made a man take off his coat through warmth while the wind's force only made him hold it tighter, we should love people rather than trying to force or control them.
Having the nature of our FatherBelievers are called to have a new nature that loves even enemies and prays for them in secret, imitating how Jesus sought to save rather than gossip about the Pharisees.
Jesus's deep longing for the rebelliousEven after rebuking the Pharisees' hypocrisy, Jesus expressed a heartbreaking desire to gather them under His wings like a hen gathers her chicks.
A gentle answer turns away wrathProverbs 15:1 provides an excellent anchor during hostile moments, teaching us to use our tongues to prevent wars rather than start them.Proverbs 15:1
Being a peacemaker instead of a fighterInstead of returning evil words for evil words like a fighter, God wants us to be peacemakers who calm situations by returning gentle answers.
Abandoning the quarrel before it breaks outQuarrels start like letting out water, so we must abandon disputes and stop them before they start by returning good for evil.Proverbs 17:13–14
Having as much peace as possibleGrounding ourselves in these biblical principles allows us to live peaceful lives and be like our Father, who wishes the best for everyone, especially those who treat us wrong.
Speaker: Bobby McDonald
Title: Difficult People
Date: 10-11-2015
Our Goal as Christians is this: To be an exact reflection of Jesus, the Son of God (Romans 8:29)
We do this individually by growing in purity in our personal lives (1 John 3:2-3)
We do this corporately by becoming fully functioning members of a local Church (Ephesians 4:11-16)
Summary
The speaker discusses how Christians are called to reflect Jesus by growing in personal purity and functioning within the local church. He shares three lessons learned from difficult people: first, recognizing that we ourselves are flawed, which fosters mercy; second, embracing the call to love enemies and pray for persecutors, mirroring God's kindness to us; and third, understanding that influencing others is best done through gentle love and warmth rather than force or confrontation.
Outline
The message in plain words, in the order it unfolds. Select a time to jump the video to that moment.
Bearing with difficult people like Jesus didThe disciples argued about greatness while Jesus bore a heavy burden, reminding us that Jesus endured difficult and selfish people throughout his life.
Experiencing cruelty in a fallen worldRemembering an unprovoked encounter with a bully in school highlights how the world is filled with evil people because the devil is the prince of this world.
The first and most important lesson: I am one of themThe greatest motivation for being patient with difficult people is recognizing our own sinfulness and receiving God's incredible patience.John 8:7
The kingdom of God is filled with people fed up with themselvesThe poor in spirit are like beggars who recognize their own evil and ask God for help, and to them belongs the kingdom of heaven.
Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute youWhile we may need to avoid certain people, we are always responsible to love them, do good to them, and pray for them just as God loved us while we were His enemies.Matthew 5:44
The sun and the wind illustrationJust like the sun made a man take off his coat through warmth while the wind's force only made him hold it tighter, we should love people rather than trying to force or control them.
Having the nature of our FatherBelievers are called to have a new nature that loves even enemies and prays for them in secret, imitating how Jesus sought to save rather than gossip about the Pharisees.
Jesus's deep longing for the rebelliousEven after rebuking the Pharisees' hypocrisy, Jesus expressed a heartbreaking desire to gather them under His wings like a hen gathers her chicks.
A gentle answer turns away wrathProverbs 15:1 provides an excellent anchor during hostile moments, teaching us to use our tongues to prevent wars rather than start them.Proverbs 15:1
Being a peacemaker instead of a fighterInstead of returning evil words for evil words like a fighter, God wants us to be peacemakers who calm situations by returning gentle answers.
Abandoning the quarrel before it breaks outQuarrels start like letting out water, so we must abandon disputes and stop them before they start by returning good for evil.Proverbs 17:13–14
Having as much peace as possibleGrounding ourselves in these biblical principles allows us to live peaceful lives and be like our Father, who wishes the best for everyone, especially those who treat us wrong.
