2020 0628 Carry on Blessing

Action So far

Action Plan 1 = Serve the Lord = never grow tired of doing good

Action Plan 2 = Everyday Habits = joyful in hope, Patient in affliction, Faithful in prayer

Action Plan 3 = Real Genuine Love = true love from Jesus through us to Others

Action Plan 4 = Practice Hospitality = sharing yourself with others

Romans 12:14 NIV

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.

Three Key Words

Persecute

Bless

Curse

Persecution leads to a choice - bless or curse

Definition of Persecution

hostility and ill-treatment, especially because of race or political or religious beliefs; oppression.

Similar: oppression victimization maltreatment ill treatment mistreatment abuse ill us age discrimination tyranny tyrannization punishment torment torture pogrom witch hunt red-baiting harassment hounding harrying badgering teasing bullying molestation persistent annoyance or harassment.

Persecution

usually involves a systematic, persistent and prolonged time of bad behaviour

spiritually this is my suggestion

it is an opposition to the spiritual peace that you have in Jesus Christ

it is the way of the world, the influence of the Kingdom of darkness or the manifestation of the sinful man within you

persecution is when YOU GET HURT somewhere in your being and your response may not be godly

Strength of Persecution

it is the ongoing and directed negativity toward you

it can be minor or very serious

it can be emotional or verbal or physical or psychological

it could be against your personality

it can be deliberate or incidental

not here to highlight persecution but to strengthen you to become the child of God

2 Corinthians 9:8 NIV

And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

walk as you should in the power of Jesus Christ

Our Initial Response to Bad Things

are you offended?

are you hurt?

do you want to run away or hide?

do you want to get revenge or pay back?

do you quietly acquiense and pretend it did not matter?

does it become worse no matter what you do? turns into bullying or harassment (physical or sexual)

do you get belittled or insulted or shame?

do you think like a victim or a loser?

We have a choice to be godly or not. to bless or to curse

Longyard Pub

last night Parra vs Canberra

some fellows drinking

one bloke called me 2 different names due to my time at Farrer

no recognition who who this bloke is

not a pleasant EXPERIENCE

COMPLAIN TO THE STAFF, they talked to the guy no action but he left 10 minutes later

hard to stick up for yourself

hard to enjoy the moment of watching the footy and having dinner

all these wonderfully witty comebacks going through my head

the devil had set this moment up simply because I am preaching a message of freedom tody

Our Choice - bless or curse

we can decide to do godly and bless

we can decide to do ungodly and curse

forgiveness is the most basic form of blessing there is

forgiving someone opens the floodgates of Christ’s grace and mercy

Blessing is essentially forgiveness

a big statement - the best type of blessing is forgiveness

forgiveness is the starting point of a Christian’s walk

Christ has forgiven us our sins, our shortcomings, our turning away from God or not coming to him

forgiveness may initiate a godly response but there is a fullness associated with the blessing

to bless is to actually apply a good or positive outcome upon the person

Curse is the Devil’s Outcome

2 Corinthians 12:20 (NIV2011) I fear that there may be discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder.

to bless is the way of Christ

any other response must be considered a curse

bless and do not curse

do not repay evil for evil

Luke 6:28 (NIV2011) 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.