February 14
PROVERB 28:1
Jesus sought to thin out the crowds with a difficult word, saying, “You must eat My flesh and drink My blood if you wish to be My disciples.” At this saying, the multitude and many of His disciples turned aside and no longer followed Him. Instead of running after them in an effort to make Himself understood and accepted, He watched them go. Then, turning to the Twelve, He said, “Do you also want to go away?” Here is a Man who is not afraid to be misunderstood because He is not afraid of people, what they will think, or what they will say about Him unjustly.
To overcome the fear of man, we must not only be willing to be misunderstood and unappreciated, we should expect it. Then we will be free to speak what God has given us and will not be troubled should others fail to grasp the significance of it.
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Chip, how true. I am sure many of us here on your site can relate to being misunderstood and our understanding of the Harlot church and coming out of her among other things in His word that is rejected by many and they are actually rejecting Christ. I know that I suffered fear of man many years until God showed me what it truly was and you are right on brother Chip. You are so right that we can’t be God’s spoke person if we are looking to fulfill our weaknesses and fear man. I overcame by truly understanding ‘who I was in Christ.’
God has opened my eyes to many of my weaknesses and my flesh hates it but I thank God that in His power I can overcome and being misunderstood and rejected by man does not bother me anymore. I will not compromise His Word or be afraid to speak the insights and truths He has given me from His Word. Bro. Chip, I am willing to be misunderstood and I now know I should expect it. Thanks.
Loved it and would like more scriptures referencing it ! Thanks
Thank you Chip for that timely word. I need to hear Father so clearly so that I can be confident to speak when He gives me words. After a visit from the local vicar I am aware of the very real threat should I continue to follow Jesus. I had a lovely conversation with a stranger yesterday while having a coffee when I chose to say that I was following Jesus.
How true Brother Chip, I have just experienced what you have written “to overcome the fear of man we have to be ready to be misunderstood & unappreciated & then we can speak without fear what God wants us to reveal to others”. I was given Power of Attorney by a friend & when he asked me to do something unlawful & I refused he really turned against me & spoke harshly to me asking me to resign. I have been witnessing to him for over 40 years & he has mocked me saying I am worse than John the Baptist. He is seriously ill now & doesn’t have long to live. his wife has left him & his children are unable to look after him. he is quite alone & I feel the time is drawing near & the battle is raging in the heavens for his soul. I had so many obstacles when I tried to help him & now he too has turned against me, but the victory is the Lords & I know that today was the turning point as I have not feared him & I have shown him kindness when he was so angry. I know I can now speak freely what God has given me for him. Praise our Almighty God for He is Faithful always. bless you & thank you for your encouraging words today
And just think, He promised people would believe we were foolish! I once heard an old gentleman pray that “Lord, I know we are foolish, and I pray that we foolisher and foolisher…” Being thought ignorant is sooo much better than being deceived!
Thank you, Chip, for posting this message again.
I went on to read the article, The Fear of Man, to doubly enforce what is being said in the message. There is a book, Dealing with the Praise and Rejection of Man, by Bob Sorge, that I find to be insightful and gives some practical wisdom around addressing this issue.
Let us pray for one another that we may be “bold as a lion”.
Good morning Chip 🙂 loving each post,thank you.
God bless you 🙂
I know the feeling of being misunderstood and it does not make you feel really good. I believe that is where I have to humble myself and be strong in Him and strong for Him. It is what Jesus said in His word that he was rejected and we would be also if we stood with Him and for Him. But oh at the end, praise God, at the end it will be worth it all. Thank you Bro. Chip for these encouraging words today.
Thanks Chip for those words of encouragement. ALWAYS when needed!…. 🙂
It is hard to not be troubled when those the closest to us refuse to grasp the significance of what we are all about, and call us names and ridicule us for who and what we choose to be. What always draws me back to Jesus is the FACT that He is touched by ALL that we go through, as He Himself has suffered the same. Not only was he rejected by His disciples that night, but He was rejected and ridiculed by His own when He returned to His own home-town, most of his own family being in the thick of it. They would think, “Who does He THINK He is? – isn’t he just my own brother? – just a mean carpenter? What makes HIM an authority over us?….I’ve known him all my life, and he is just one of us! Come ON!” They all would gladly have killed Him for Who and What He claimed to be. There is a similar occurrence in the Old Testament of Joseph and his own brothers who despised him, rejected him, took him out and sold him into slavery as far away from them as possible!
There is an old saying, “Familiarity breeds contempt.” Expecting it is part of being a follower of Jesus…. 🙂 “The beloved of the LORD shall dwell in safety by Him who shelters him all the day long, and he shall dwell between His shoulders” (Deut.33:12) What awesome words of comfort – what a promise!
“Do not be afraid of their faces, For I am with you to deliver you,” says the Lord…”In God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”…The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”…So we may boldly say: “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”(Jer.1:8, Ps.56:11, 118:6, Heb.13:6)
Vast subject…
I have several other reasons to have “fear OF people”, but among others it is not so much on what they are going to do on me or think wrong of Me… (I had so much experienced this kind of painful things…) – but it is above all that… I really care for people… I am attached to them… and this becomes the fear of not having the possibility of being In relation with people I love ;
And sometimes also the fear of not being able to do them any good any more, not Brig able to help them by bringing them things or explanations… (as God will of course allow and vive me); And so it sometimes turns into a fear FOR others…
I can no longer help them concretely if they are suspicious of me, hate me and do not want to talk to me anymore… Well, maybe I should study the thing from another angle… ?
Sandrine, I just read your comments and want to encourage you. For DECADES my family have spat on me and ridiculed and hated me and my stand and faith in Christ. They could never understand why I have done what I have, which was simply to obey the call of God on my life. I have struggled with this even though I knew that when we take up our cross and follow Jesus we are PROMISED that we WILL be persecuted and hated for His name’s sake. Read Matt.10:34-39. Yes, I love my family, my two kids….but my love for Jesus is and must be greater than my love for them. God WILL comfort our hearts when this happens, as Jesus well knew how that felt as some of his OWN family did not believe in Him.
Too, read the story of the rich young ruler in Matt.16:19-22, Mark 10:17-22, Luke 18:18-23. Jesus was VERY sad when the young man turned and walked away. Jesus loved him. But, one thing He did NOT do, was to run after him begging him to stay and not to abandon the God that he had so diligently obeyed in the Law until then. MANY WILL walk away when God FINGERS the very thing that is preventing them from complete and total surrender to Him. Their idols are worshiped and loved MORE than the God who gave them life and everything they have! We too have to simply stand and watch them walk away sorrowful.
I have been mentoring a young man lost in addiction and prison, in and out, for 7 years now. He was doing great in his last stint in prison, and had become (I thought!) spiritually mature enough to resist temptation to go back to his old ways, haunts and people when he got out. I love him dearly….like a son! But he did go back, and was unwilling to pay the price, and is now doing just the same old same-o. He won’t come near me, probably convicted and shamed. But he has, like the rich young ruler, made his choice, full well KNOWING what he was doing. I can’t and won’t do what Jesus did not do, and that is run after him. I can only pray for him and leave him to make HIS choices in life…..ONLY Jesus can turn his life around. Jesus must have watched THOUSANDS turn away from Him when He was here with us. There were only 120 in the upper room after He went to be with His Father….that really speaks volumes. Where were all the other hundreds of thousands He ministered to?…..making THEIR choices for eternity, just as they are today.
Love you, girl, and want you to know that there is One who KNOWS EXACTLY how you feel…, Jesus.
Hello,
Thank you for this encouragement and sharing,
Since my last posted comment, I have changed a little… (not necessarily in a good way… I don’t know)… I mean I got tired of wanting to do too much for others and being afraid of not doing what they want or not what it should be.
On their side… they always do what they want and not what I might need… and tell me that it is their right not to do what I advise them (advice they asked me for… and to which I tried to answer)…
Whether they are believers or not, it is if they adopt the same attitude…
So yes, we can only pray for them… and for us… that God will act… that He will help them and us… give us confidence… and sometimes to know what to say and do, or not say or do… whatever the cost.
I experience that the human being will always find a way to hurt us… he even sometimes does it unintentionally… being afraid of it hasn’t changed anything for me… and… yes we end up expecting it…
But maybe I expect it too much now… because when I share what I think others will do, they say I’m paranoid… 😉….
Yes… it’s true… no one knows how I feel except Jesus. « Nobody knows the trouble I feel, nobody knows, but Jesus »
I am happy to see someone who cares about people in prison… 20 years ago I was “verbally bullying” Christians because I would have liked to know people who go to visit those locked in psychiatric hospitals or prisons… but they were just… locked into the system of “churches”.
Thank You.