Mark 6:14-29 (ESV)
Amos 7:12-15 (NIV)
The Lord be with you
And also with you
Let us pray:
Creator, Sustainer, Almighty God, we thank you that we are able to come together this morning and worship you in Spirit and in truth. We pray that you would be with us this day, May your spirit fall down upon us gathered here this morning. May we hear the message you have for us today so that we may follow your will for our lives. Speak Lord…your friends are listening.
Read Mark 6:14-29
Rejection…rejection…rejection…If any of you have had any dealings with a teenage you know what I am talking about. Boy…we adults are so stupid in most of their eyes. (Come on…you know what I’m talking about) We try to help them and lead them in the right direction and we get rejection. We get “I know what I am doing”, “why are you always bothering me, I’m not stupid you know”, “that may work for you but it won’t for me.” We try to get them to listen…to not make the same mistakes we have made or seen others make…but still...Rejection. Why is so hard for some people to understand that we are just trying to help them live a better life…we are just trying to help them stay away from a pitfall we see them heading towards?
The Prophets in the Old Testament knew what we are talking about. No one really wanted to hear what they had to say. They didn’t want to hear that they were not doing what they were supposed to be doing(Who does?). Some were killed for what they had to say (unfortunately…that still goes on today). Look at what happened to Amos in the passage that was read this morning. He went to talk to the people of Israel to tell them that they were doing wrong in the sight of God. Well…Amaziah(the priest of Bethel) heard this he went straight to the king…you see…Amos had said that the king would die by the sword and that Israel would go away into exile away from where they were. He wanted to talk some sense into the people of Israel…and what happened…he was told to get out…go back to your own land…prophesy there not here…this is not your place…this is the kings sanctuary…the kingdoms temple by Amaziah. Of course they didn’t want to hear the truth…it was not in their favor.
Again in the scripture I read from Mark, we see rejection but…we also see what can happen because of jealousy and anger. Herod respected John the Baptist…he was confused and perplexed when John spoke but he heard him gladly. Well…John was going about saying that Herod was wrong for marring his brother’s wife Herodias and so, to protect her…for her sake…he had John arrested and put in jail. Well…Herodias was not happy about that...her name had been slandered(so she thought)and was out for blood…she wanted this man killed for his offense towards her. Herod on the other hand feared John and knew he was a righteous and holy man so he wanted to keep John safe. She had a grudge against John (and I am sure she was not to happy with her husband either…the nerve of him not killing this guy for her). I wonder how long she held this grudge against him…the scripture doesn’t tell us but I am sure she festered about this John person.
Now here is what happens when anger and a grudge come together ad fester for a while…When Herod was having a party and had his daughter dance for them…he promised her whatever she wanted up to half his kingdom (that must have been some dance). She went to her mom for advice on what to ask for (This is a place where we can see how our advice to those who seek it can either be for good or bad, how we need to be very careful with of our own motives when giving advice) and she thought…Bam…revenge at last…off with his head (as the Queen of Hearts would say)…and by the way…serve it up on a silver platter for me. (Talk about being an opportunist…Herodias knew that Herod had given his word…his oath in front of other people. She knew that he could not go back on his word...besides…he offered his daughter anything up to half the kingdom. How many times do we wait for our chance to get revenge? How many times have we given advice that suits our needs and not necessarily the needs for the person asking?)
So…what are we to do when we come under fire...what are we to do when the gospel is hard for others to take? Well…Acts 18:9 tells us that Paul was told in a dream that he had to face his fear of speaking up. The Lord told him in a dream “don’t let anyone intimidate r silence you, No Matter What Happens, I’m with you and no one is going to be able to hurt you.” You see…the Lord is our courage under fire. I was reading an article on line from “Called magazine” and the name of the article was “Courage under Fire”. You see…it stated that “We can find strength in knowing that when we speak up for what is right, the Lord is on our side. Controversy doesn’t thwart Him, and it certainly cannot surprise Him. He will give us the strength needed to be bold, courageous and strong.” Mother Theresa knew firsthand what it felt like to be booed, rejected and threatened because she was willing to say what was unpopular. When she was asked how it felt she simply said “I offered it to our Lord. It’s all for Him, no? I let Him say what He wants…we must tell the truth.”(Courage under Fire)
We have a choice in life. We can both not say anything and make everyone around us not feel uncomfortable around us (All the while the truth is eating us up inside) or we can speak the truth in love. The article ended with something that really made me think. It ended with “Like Paul and Mother Theresa, we must not be afraid to speak up when it’s the right thing to do. Opposition will scare us, and fear will attempt to silence us – but we can remember that the Lord will be our courage under fire.” The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. The Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.
Amen.
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