Weekend Sermon

     I am happy to be with you this week for another edition of the Weekend Sermon.  I pray that all of you are doing well this day.
     This has been quite a week.  I have things to be thankful for.  I start a new job next week, and I may have another part-time job lined up.  The Lord has also blessed me this week allowing me to get articles to write.  It has been a stressful week as well.  Times are tough at my current job.  I have one week to go there.  Please pray that I will make it through.
     In your prayer time this week, please keep praying for an end to the Ebola outbreak.  Also, continue to pray for peace in troubled areas of the world including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Ukraine, Iraq and Syria.  One day, the Prince of Peace will return, and all will be made new.
     Over the past few weeks, I've experienced what have been some of the hardest times I've had to deal with since my parents passed away.  Much of this had to do with people who I thought were my friends turning against me.  They weren't what I thought they were.  I have to say that this really hurts, and it is very hard to deal with.
     This got me thinking recently about people in the Bible who had people that they trusted turn against them.  How did they feel?   What did they learn from their experience?  Let's spend a little time today looking at some of these instances in the Bible.
     First of all, let me say that I believe that everyone of us has at some time in our lives had the experience of having someone we thought that we could trust let us down, betray us or turn on us.  It isn't pleasant, as I am sure you know.
     The first person that comes to mind in this regard is Joseph.  Joseph was sold into slavery by his own brothers.  His own family members turned against him and did something really terrible to him.  Joseph was a survivor.  He made the best of a bad situation, and he rose by God's grace to the second highest position in the land of Egypt.
     Eventually, Joseph had the chance to get his revenge against his brothers.  However, Joseph forgave his brothers for the terrible thing they had done to him.  I'm not sure I could have done that if I was in Joseph's situation.
     The Bible says that, "Man meant it for evil, but God meant it for good" in reference to Joseph.  Even when something hurtful happens to us, Jesus can bring something out of it for our spiritual benefit.  We just might not see it right away.
     Samson was another man who was betrayed in the Bible.  He got himself in his own mess however.  Samson is a good example of not associating with the wrong people.  If Samson would have done what God told him to do, he would have been a lot better off.
     Hosea did do what God told him to do, and Hosea was betrayed by his wife Gomer.  She left her husband, and took up with other men.  This was a metaphor for the way the people of Israel had treated God.  Just as a wife leaves her husband for another lover, so too had the people of Israel left the true and living God for the worship of false gods.  God was deeply hurt by the actions of His people. 
     Hosea went and found Gomer and brought her back home.  In the same way, God came in search of sinners to bring the lost sheep back into the fold.
     David experienced terrible betrayal in his life.  He had a betrayal that in many ways seems to me to be the worst of all.  David's own son tried to overthrow him in a rebellion.  David actually had to flee.  Eventually, David's forces prevailed over Absalom, and Absalom was killed against the king's wishes.  Even though Absalom had done a terrible thing to him, David was deeply distressed at his son's death.  David said, "Absalom my son, would that I had died instead of thee."
     In Psalm 55,  David gives poetic expression to a time he experienced betrayal.  I love David's words in verse 6 were he says, "Oh that I had wings like a dove for then would I fly away and be at rest."  How often in the past few weeks I have felt like that.  I would love to just escape from all of the hurtfulness in this world and be with Jesus. 
     Now, for our greatest example in all things.  Jesus faced the ultimate in betrayal.  Jesus never did anything wrong, yet people hated Him.  In the end, one of His own close followers would turn Him in to the authorities so that He would be killed.
     Probably even more hurtful to Jesus were the actions of Peter.  Peter denied three times that he even knew Jesus.  Peter later felt so bad about this that he wept bitterly.
     How did Jesus act when He was betrayed or when people turned against Him.  Jesus forgave them.  Jesus even forgave the people that nailed Him to the cross.  I know that as a follower of Jesus Christ I am supposed to be a person who forgives.  I am trying to do that right now.  It's hard.  I am far from perfect.
     I often think of the ways that I've disappointed Jesus in my life.  It's happened many times.  Every time, He has forgiven me.  Jesus loves us even when we turn our backs on Him.  Just think about this.  The Christian religion has been around for over 2,000 years.  However, over 70 percent of the people in the world reject the message of Jesus.  Jesus loves them anyway.  It's hard to be a person of love like Jesus.  It should be my goal.  I will strive to do better with the help of the Holy Spirit.
    What lessons can we learn when we have faced betrayal by those we thought were our friends.  First of all, try to find the good that can come out of it.  Joseph is the example here.  Jesus is too, of course.  What seems so hurtful now may be the catalyst for something great the Lord wants to do in our lives.  Trusting in the goodness of Jesus is important in these times.  Joseph rose from slavery to be the second highest official in Egypt.  Jesus faced Calvary, but Easter Sunday was the ultimate victory.
     Another thing to learn is to be a person who is steadfast.  We should not be the kind of people who hurt others and turn away from them.  We must follow the example of Jesus in all things.
     Don't let the hurt of betrayal get you down.  I'm probably not the right person to be saying this right now.  But I am trying.  Trust in the Lord Jesus.  Also, realize that not everyone in the world will let you down.  I knew that I could always count on my Dad.  No matter what mess I got myself into, my Dad would always help me out.  He was always on my side.
     When we face hurt and betrayal at the hands of those we thought were our friends, we need to look to Jesus.  Jesus will never let you down.  He will never turn His back on us.  The Bible says that Jesus is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.  Your Mother, Father, brothers, sisters, husband, wife, children and friends may turn on you, but Jesus never will.  Trust in Him.  Serve Him.  Love Him.
     There are three verses about this theme that I would like to leave you with today.  Psalm 27:10, "When my father and mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up."  Isaiah 49:15, "Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet I will not forget thee."  Matthew 28:20, "I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
     Next week,  I will be very busy.  I will post when I can, but the sermon will be on Friday or Saturday.  May God bless you.  Amen.