DON'T TAKE MATTERS INTO YOUR OWN HANDS (Part I) edited
Don't Take Matters Into Your Own Hands • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 16 viewsThis messages encourages listeners to not return evil with evil, not to take matters into your own hands when you have been wronged. Instead, take it to the Lord in prayer.
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Take It To The Lord In Prayer
Take It To The Lord In Prayer
1 Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers!
2 For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb.
3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.
6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.
7 Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!
8 Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.
9 For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.
10 In just a little while, the wicked will be no more; though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there.
INTRODUCTION:
Have you ever felt the urge to cast aside your faith and religion to let someone have a piece of your mind?
Have you ever found yourself itching, burning with the desire to confront someone who stirs up trouble, schemes against you, and harbors ill intentions toward you?
Have you longed to address messy people who seem to take pleasure in irritating, agitating, and frustrating others? Has anyone else been there, or is it just me?
I call them agents of chaos. You know them. They plot, scheme, lie, and deceive, sowing seeds of discord and reveling in the misery they bring upon others.
If you have encountered them, then you're in the right place this morning.
Psalm 37 offers advice, wise counsel, that shows you how not to take matters into your own hands when you are faced with adversity.
The title of my sermon this morning is, "Don't Take Matters Into Your Own Hands." Oh yes, it is indeed good advice, albeit difficult to follow, easier said than done. Trusting in God Almighty and allowing Him to lead and guide your responses to your haters and evildoers is a wise thing, but it's hard to do.
Ask Nelson Mandela about it (God rest his soul).
Much like civil rights activist in America, Nelson Mandela took a stand against unjust apartheid laws and policies in South Africa. Can I tell you what Apartheid did?
Classified South Africans by race, creating segregation.
Provided inferior education for black South Africans.
Segregated public facilities into White only and Blacks only.
Prohibited interracial relationships.
Restricted black land ownership, leading to dispossession and relocation.
Sounds familiar?
Because of the stand that he took, Mandela faced the hatred of his oppressors, the violence of their actions, the bitterness of their prejudice, and was thrown in jail. But Mandela refused to take matters into his own hands.
He did not succumb to the temptation to repay evil with evil, to meet hatred with hatred?
No sir. Mandela knew the power of righteousness, the strength found in forgiveness, the freedom that comes from trusting in the Most High.
Falsely accused, unjustly imprisoned, and hated by his enemies, Mandela overcame it all and rose to become the President of South Africa. Tell me, won’t he do it?
But not only Nelson Mandela, King David, too.
Psalm 37, is a psalm of trust. It is a wisdom psalm, believed to be penned by the hand of David, an overlooked shepherd boy who became a king. If anybody knew well the trials of the righteous and the temptations to take matters into one's own hands, it was King David.
There were many occasions in David’s life that would have prompted him to say fret not over evildoers and be envious not over wrongdoers.
It could be that David wrote Psalm 37 when he fled from Saul, that jealous king whose heart was consumed with envy, afraid that David would take his throne.
It could be that David wrote this Psalm when he faced the treachery of his own son, Absalom, who sought to steal his throne.
It could be that David wrote this Psalm when he encountered the betrayal of those whom he once called friends, like Ahithophel (Ah - hith - tho - fel).
We don’t know for sure what prompted David to write Psalm 37, but we can be confident that he learned the power of trusting in God when you have haters and agitators.
EVILDOERS VERSUS WRONGDOERS
Psalm 37 points out two kinds of haters: evildoers and wrongdoers. Evildoers have malicious intent. They deliberately sow seeds of chaos, cruelty, and despair.
Wrongdoers may not have malicious intent, but they are selfish, unethical, and sometimes illegal in their plight to succeed.
Evildoers are spiteful; they knowingly inflict pain and suffering upon others. Their actions are calculated, their intentions dark and twisted.
Wrongdoers, on the other hand, may stumble from the path of righteousness; they are not necessarily malicious. They lack morals. They exploit loopholes, bend the rules, will cheat, and even lie to advance themselves or their selfish agendas.
Let me stop here to say if ever there was a place where wrongdoing and evildoing are totally inappropriate and unacceptable, it's in the body of Christ, within God’s holy church.
Saved people do not get joy from hurting others.
Saved people do not cheat and lie to get their way.
Saved people should live by the golden rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
CAROLYN BRYANT
Carolyn Bryant was an evildoer. You remember her. Because of her actions, her lies, Emmett Till—a young African American boy who moved from Chicago to the Mississippi Delta—was brutally killed. In fact:
Emmett Till was abducted from his uncle's home.
He was severely beaten, shot in the head, and mutilated.
His body was tied to a cotton gin fan with barbed wire and thrown into the Tallahatchie River.
His body was discovered three days later.
Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam were tried for his murder but acquitted by an all-white jury.
Now that is evildoing.
HOLLYWOOD PARENTS
Bryant was an evildoer. But the Hollywood parents who cheated to get their children admitted into elite institutions were wrongdoers.
They paid bribes to college coaches and administrators.
They hired individuals to take standardized tests in place of their children.
They falsified athletic achievements and extracurricular activities.
They manipulated college entrance exam scores.
They fabricated academic credentials and achievements for their children.
Now that’s just wrong.
There are even wrongdoers and evildoers in the Holy Bible.
Judas was a wrongdoer. He betrayed Jesus to his enemies for 30 pieces of silver.
What about King David; He committed adultery with Bathsheba and arranged for her husband Uriah to be killed in battle.
Then there is Jezebel; She promoted idol worship and sought to kill the prophet Elijah.
Do you remember Cain? He murdered his brother Abel out of jealousy.
Then there is Delilah, cunning seductive Delilah; She betrayed Samson by revealing the secret of his strength to his enemies.
Church, right is right and wrong is wrong.
Evildoers will intentionally cut your throat and don’t care.
Wrongdoers will lie, cheat, and manipulate to get their selfish ways.
PSALMIST'S ADVICE FOR DEALING WITH EVILDOERS FRET NOT:
That's why I find solace in Psalm 37, which provides guidance on dealing with evildoers and engaging with wrongdoers.
The first thing that David tells us is "Fret not yourself because of evildoers.”
The English root for "fret" is the word "fretten." Fretten is the same root that means:
To gnaw at you,
To consume you,
To burn in anger,
To be kindled hot.
I don't know about you, but I've experienced my share of people mistreating me, and I'll admit, I've done my fair share of fretting as a result.
It is fretting when the frustration boils within, and you feel the urge to cry out, "God, give me the chance to settle the score. Let me retaliate, let me expose their wrongdoings. Let me inflict the same pain they caused me."
But hold on, David advises us, before you hastily react to them, take a moment to reflect.
Before you indulge in gossiping about them,
Before you fire off a heated email in response to them,
Before you unleash your anger upon them,
Pause and examine yourself.
Admit that you're angry.
And remember, people are going to people, that is, people will always be people.
Haters will always hate. That’s what haters do.
You're not the first target, and you won't be the last.
As 1 Peter 4:12 reminds us, "Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you."
Let's be honest, folks.
Let's be real.
You’re heated.
Let's face it.
They've stirred up some serious anger in you.
Be authentic. Say:
If you are burning, say I'm burning up.
If you boiling, say I'm boiling.
David didn't just keep it to himself; he poured his heart out to God.
In Psalm 10, David questions God, "Why, O Lord, do you stand far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?"
In Psalm 35, David asks the Lord to defend him and rise against his adversaries, and fight against those who fight against me!
And in Psalm 59, David pleads, "Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; protect me from those who rise up against me."
But have you ever noticed that David pours out his heart in the beginning of some of the psalms. But somewhere along the way a few verses later, he transitions and affirms his trust in God.
It might be that telling God all about it has a way of calming your spirit.
This is good advice.
Your anger, it ain't doing you no favors.
It's just gonna raise your blood pressure, keep you tossing and turning all night.
But check this out, while you're losing sleep, those evildoers are just chilling at home, snoring away, catching those Z's.
When I think about evildoers, there is a song that comes to mind. If you know this song you're dating yourself and telling on yourself:
If loving you is wrong, I don't wanna be right
If being right means being without you
I'd rather live a wrong doing life
Your mama and daddy say it's a shame
It's a downright disgrace
But long as I got you by my side
I don't care what your people say
Your friends tell you it's no future in loving a married man
If I can't see you when I want, I'll see you when I can
If loving you is wrong, I don't wanna be right
Evil people know they are wrong. They just don’t care. Their goal is to hurt you. Your anger does not solve the situation. It is hurting you more than it is hurting them. Fret not because of evildoers.
Let it go.
Fretting leads to,
Increased blood pressure,
Weakened immune system,
Digestive problems,
Headaches and migraines,
Insomnia,
Mental health issues,
Relationship problems.
PSALMIST ADVICE FOR DEALING WITH WRONGDOERS BE ENVIOUS NOT
Next, the Psalmist says, "Covet not the ways of wrongdoers."
Wrongdoers are driven by selfish ambition. They crave wealth, power, benefits, and advantages no matter what it takes to get them.
But Jesus said it best: “But what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?”
The wrongdoers may sprint ahead, reaching the finish line before you do. They may brown-nose the boss to get the promotion ahead of you.
They may cheat to make themselves look better than you.
But mark my words, brethren, their victory is fleeting.
I have learned that if I get there the right way, when I arrive at your destination, guided by the hand of the Almighty, I don’t have to worry about paying somebody who got me in through the back door.
THE WHOOP
Now, I have told you to “Not Take Matters Into Your Own Hands.”
But can I tell you the right place to take your anger, to get rid of your fretting, to put away your envy. Songwriter said:
Are we weak and heavy laden,
cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge--
take it to the Lord in prayer!
Do your friends despise, forsake you?
Take it to the Lord in prayer!
WHOOP:
Don’t take it out on your enemies, take it to the Lord in prayer.
Don’t take it into your own hands, take it to the Lord in Prayer.
Don’t talk bad about them in the streets, talk good to the Lord in prayer.
Don’t put their names out in the street, put their names in spirit and take them to the Lord in prayer.
When they hate on you, pray.
When they lie on you, pray.
When they anger you, pray.
When they disturb your peace, pray.
When they try to steal your joy, pray.
When they go low, you go high.
When they talk about you, you pray for them.
When they do you wrong, do right by them.
And when you get through praying to God, get up off your knees and start offering praise to God.
Let the redeemed of the Lord say so. Praise God, everybody!
'Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens!
Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness!
Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp!
Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe!
Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, everybody!"
And why should we praise the Lord?
Because He is worthy of all praise and glory!
He's done mighty deeds, y'all.
He's brought us out of darkness into His marvelous light.
He's healed the brokenhearted and set the captives free.
He's provided for our needs and sustained us through every trial.
So, let us lift up our voices and praise Him!
Praise Him for His faithfulness, His goodness, and His mercy.
Praise Him with every fiber of our being, with every breath in our lungs.
For He alone is worthy of all praise and honor.
Praise the Lord, everybody!
Amen and amen!