Sermon Tone Analysis

Last week, Pastor Bill concluded our series called “Our House,” which sought to cultivate the same attitudes as Christ Jesus.

That series led us through the first half of Romans chapter 12, and today, we begin a new series through the latter half of Romans 12 titled “People Are the Worst!”

Don’t you love that title?

In the second half of Romans 12, the Apostle Paul outlines a road map for how trusting Jesus can influence our best actions to people when they show up with their worst.

Who has ever experienced someone’s worst?

Yes, all of us!

Who has ever given someone their worst?

Yes, all of us!

Recently, while I awaited to board a plane for my return trip home from Atlanta, the gate agent announced that no more roller boards would be allowed in the overhead bins, to which the gentlemen behind me started dropping F bombs like a WW2 bomber as if this announcement only affected him.

Cmon man!

The other morning, while taking my kids on a scooter walk around our neighborhood, I rolled my baby daughter Eden’s scooter over a gigantic pile of dog poop right in the middle of the sidewalk… so big, in fact, that I wondered if someone had been walking their pet rhinoceros.

People are the worst, aren’t they?

But guess what, we’re people.

We’ve all experienced the worst of people and have also given our worst.

Which begs the question: when people show up with their worst, what do you do?

Do you show up with an equal or worse response?

Do you ignore it, altogether?

Are you passive?

Or, do you show up with your best?

I’m inclined to think based on our shared human experience that we probably don’t often choose to show up with our best when people give us their worst.

In fact, we probably show up with less than our best, right?

We retaliate.

We mismanage our emotions.

We lose control of our thoughts and give others way too much of our mind’s attention.

We gossip.

We vent on others.

Sometimes, we might even harm someone else completely unrelated to the situation because we don’t know how to process what we just experienced.

We respond in all kinds of ways.

Some of us right now may even be harboring resentment in our hearts from someone’s worst done years ago.

A moment ago, I listed surface level moments when strangers gave me their worst, but what do you do when a colleague, a friend, or even someone part of our Christ Journey familia gives you their worst?

Or worse yet, how do you respond when a trusted loved one gives you their worst?

These kinds of behaviors can change the course of a person’s life, as many of us have either experienced ourselves or witnessed.

As a side note: to heal from someone’s worst done against you may require the trained skills of a pastor or therapist - in addition to devotional prayer, worship, and reading God’s Word.

This message may trigger past trauma for you, and if so, then on behalf of your pastors, we would be honored to join you on your journey to restoration and connect you with resources to assist you.

One of those resources is a weekly community called Renew that helps people discover freedom from hurts, habits, and hang-ups.

***Show Renew Slide

If during the course of the message you feel the Spirit’s nudge to learn more about Renew or speak with a Pastor, then please feel free to contact us at christjourney.org/connect and one of our pastors will respond to you within 24 hours.

This message today won’t be addressing past traumas.

We have dealt with that topic in the past and will certainly do it again in the future, but today, we are seeking to answer the question: what do you do when someone splashes their bad day, bad decision, or bad words all over you?

Do you respond with your worst, or do you show up with your best?

We don’t control much in this life, but God granted us the freedom to decide how we respond to others.

Do you live on the ground level, feeling the full force of the hurricane’s wind against you, or do you rise above someone’s worst into superhero status, bullet-proof, high-flying living?

Is that kind of life even possible?

According to God’s Word, every believer has superhero potential coarsing through your veins through the power of God’s Spirit alive in you, so how might you cultivate the kind of life that shows your witness to God’s kingdom, while maintaining healthy emotional stability that offers your best in every situation?

The Apostle Paul outlines two primary changes in Romans chapter 12 that every believer undergoes to live your best superhero life in Christ.

First, we change the way we think about our attitude from the self to Jesus.

Paul writes in Romans 12:2, “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.

Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”

The war wages here.

Our identity begins here, our thoughts live here, our words and opinions and perceptions of reality are formed here, so ground zero for God’s sanctifying work starts right here in the life of every believer.

Paul said it like this in Philippians chapter 2:

Philippians 2:3-4, “Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others.

Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.

Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.”

As we offer our lives to God, we become transformed by consciously choosing to create new patterns of thoughts and behaviors.

Now, thank God that he didn’t leave us to do this on our own.

He gave us His Holy Spirit to help us.

By ourselves, we can’t stop the hurricane force of our thoughts.

We need an anchor to secure our lives, and God provided that to us through the person of the Holy Spirit who inhabits the life of every Christian upon their first confession of faith.

This is a promise that Jesus gave to us on the night before he went to the cross, saying:

***If you love me, keep my commands.

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth.

The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him.

But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.

John 14:15-17

Then, the second change that Paul outlines in Romans 12 is second, we change how we view others through Christ’s transformational work in us.

As God’s Spirit changes us more and more into Christ’s likeness and character, then more and more we learn how to view others through Jesus’ compassionate eyes.

Becoming transformed into Christ’s likeness doesn’t make us better than others.

We’re all fatally flawed in the image of God.

The only difference is that for some of us, we have turned from our own way back to our Heavenly Father by placing our trust in Christ the Son for the forgiveness of our sins.

We’re all terminal.

We’re all in need, but for Christians, a bad day presents a superhero opportunity to help another terminal soul find and follow their Savior back to their Heavenly Father!

Amen?!

Now, as we turn our attention in this series to the latter half of Romans 12, the Apostle Paul transitions his teaching from attitude to practical, hand-on actions that flow from a life saved by Jesus:

Paul wrote in Romans 12:9-11:

“Don’t just pretend to love others.

Really love them.

To pretend is to lie.

Don’t lie to yourself.

Sometimes, we’re the easiest ones to deceive.

Truth is founded on love.

If you can reciprocate truth with another human being, even a stranger, then you will know that God’s spiritual fruit of love is bearing forth in your life.

Paul continues:

Hate what is wrong.

Hold tightly to what is good.

Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.

Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.

Here, Paul gets so practical to life.

If you hate anything, Paul says, hate the opposite of what Jesus loves.

What does Jesus love?

He loves people and hates anything that harms people, which God’s Word calls sin.

Sin unravels the restorative work of Jesus.

It breaks creation and breaks our lives apart.

Paul says hate the wrong sin in your life, and instead, ‘hold tightly to what is good.’

What is good?

The Old Testament prophet Micah defined good for God’s people, saying

“O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, [[[meaning withhold your punishment from what people deserve]]] and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8

If you do right, then you won’t need to fear anyone or anything because your conscience will be clean.

You won’t need to look over your shoulder or try to remember the thread of your lie.

If you love mercy, then you won’t need to carry the burden of another person’s wrong because you forgave “just as God through Christ has forgiven you.”