Hey, welcome back here to the Semi -Seminarium,
another week, another episode of the Bible Study
Series. We like to call it the Bible for Grownups.
Tonight, we're going to wrap up this idea of
how we fake out parts of our lives. We put on
a mask and we just pretend. And we've looked
at ways in which we fake out ourselves. We looked
at ways in which we try to fake out our sins.
Tonight, we're going to look at how we are just
trained to fake out our hurts. Put on a mask.
Pretend everything's okay. When people ask us,
are you okay? I'm okay. That's not true. Anyway,
I'll see you on the other side. You guys mind
if I go ahead and get started? Tonight I'm kind
of wrapping up these, we've done these like two
or three times where what we've been doing is
and the idea kind of comes from the saying that
many of you have heard. Maybe not everybody,
but many of you have, and maybe many of you have
said it. Many of you have said it and lived it,
or at least tried to live it. I have. And that
is the saying, have you ever heard the phrase,
fake it until you make it? Fake it until you
make it. Is that a, is it possible to fake it
until you make it? You know, I've been thinking
about it. There's a part of me that feels like
I'm standing in front of you right now as proof
that faking it until you're making it works.
But I think that we can have short -term success
faking it. But I think the reality that we all
know is eventually the faking catches up to us.
It distorts our reality. It changes the lens
by which we see the world, the way we see ourselves,
the way we see our relationship with God, our
ideas of sin. All of those things are affected
when we put on a mask and try to fake out who
we really are. So today, I'd like to talk about
hiding our hurts and to show my age. For many
of you of a certain age who won't even get this
reference, it doesn't really matter, but there
was a legendary coach in the NFL a long time
ago by the name of Bum Phillips. And Bum Phillips
was quite a character. He was a very funny guy,
had a big cowboy hat, Houston Oilers a whole
bit. And one of the things that Bum Phillips
is kind of famous for saying is, he said there
are only two types of coaches in the NFL. those
who have been fired, and those who will be fired.
And I could say the same thing to us, that there
are two types of people in the world. Those that
have been hurt significantly in their life, and
I hate to say it, But those of you who may not
have been significantly hurt in your life, the
chances are incredibly unfortunately that you
will. So, because the truth is, we live in a
sinful world. It's a reality we as Christians
acknowledge. As a result of it being this sin
-filled world, it's also very... Pain -filled
as well. Jesus says in John 16 and 33, he says,
I've told you these things so that in me you
may have peace. Okay? But then he goes on to
say, he's kind of making a promise. In me, you
will have peace, right? Because Jesus just doesn't
say stuff willy -nilly. We've learned that as
we study the words of Jesus. He was very careful
about what he said. When he said it, why he said
it, all that stuff. And we kind of take it as
a rule around here that when Jesus said it, he
meant it. Right? So he says, yes, in me you'll
have peace. But then he also says something else
that seems to be a guarantee in life. And that
he says, in this world, you'll have trouble.
But take heart, I've overcome the world. Statistics
and surveys show, if you can imagine, that even
in a setting like this, one that people might
consider intimate, one in three people in the
crowd are probably hurting significantly. One
in three. Reality is probably one in three of
you are going through something very, very, very
painful in your life right now. Because the truth
is, in this sinful... and pain -filled world,
many of us go through difficult times. And because
we like to try to fake it till we make it as
we go through these difficult times, we feel
like it's just natural that we should hide our
hurts, to try to fake it other people out, to
even fake ourselves out, that what's really hurting
us, destroying us, ain't. In fact, Just real
quick, take a look around. Just look around the
room. Take a look around, right? To your left,
your right. What you see, people like me, people
like you, too, who are skilled at trying to fake
it, wearing that mask, not because we're bad
people, rest assured, but because we're hurting.
And the society in which we live has trained
us to hide those hurts. So I'd like to call it
out, identify it, talk about it tonight, hiding
our hurts, so that maybe if we recognize it in
ourselves, we can drop that mask. Now, I also,
talking about Jesus and his promises, I want
to make a promise that no matter what your hurt
is, please hear this, if you're hurting today,
Or maybe, unfortunately, you'll be hurting in
the future. No matter what or when your hurt
is, where it comes from, there is one thing that
we all have in common with our hurts. Never,
please, do not forget this. Be encouraged by
this. No matter what your hurt is, there is and
there always is hope behind that hurt. There's
always hope behind a hurt. Let me read to you.
We were talking about David writing these psalms
of sorrow and asking for forgiveness. Here's
one, I think, David looking for peace. This is
Psalm 62. It's verses 5 through 8. And essentially
what this is, is David crying out to God. He
says, Find rest, O my soul, in God alone. My
hope comes from Him. He alone is my rock and
my salvation. He is my fortress, and I will not
be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend upon
God, for He is my mighty rock, my refuge. Trust
in Him at all times, O people. Pour out your
hearts to Him, for God is our refuge. So there
is hope behind the hurt, and the good news is
God has blessed you. With, I mean, a tremendous
pastor who can help you explain this truth. So
that we can all drop the mask, reveal the hurt,
and find the God who is waiting there with that
hope behind our hurt. So, how do we do it? Right?
If you were the one hurting, how do we let God
heal us? Well, this is our first thought for
tonight. We find hope and we find healing in
God. We find our hope, our healing, our comfort
in God. Okay? And you say, what does that mean?
It means we so often go looking for that hope,
that solace or whatever when we're hurting, and
just about anything else we can think of but
God. Right? Often we find ourselves at the bottom
of the river with the anchor tied around our
neck, and then we go, maybe it's time to turn
into God. I've tried looking everywhere else
to find this hope when God was here all along.
So I want us to make sure we orient our thoughts
in that direction first as we continue. And in
thinking about that, we also need to remember
God never promised us that we wouldn't get hurt.
This is... I think as someone that considers
himself an apologetic, apologetic in the church
is someone who like, I like to try to meet people
who have questions about faith or Christianity
or might have their doubts. And I like to meet
with them in a space where I can at least get
them to consider some things I'm trying to lay
down, right? And what I find in talking with
people so often is they are rejecting a God.
that I don't worship, that I don't even think
exists. Right? And then you wonder why they're
disillusioned. Well, one of the disillusionment,
one of the parts of disillusionment people often
have comes from this kind of thought that, wait,
I thought if I believed in God and I started
to go into church kind of regularly that everything
was going to be okay. Right? And I want to say,
who told you that? That's not in there. Right?
I don't believe in that God either. If I did,
it would be gravy, right? I mean, everybody wins
the lottery. There are no red lights. I don't
know how we avoid having wrecks because God's
got his hand on us as we drive. Somehow or another,
we don't bump into each other. Right? That's
crazy talk. Nobody's promising that. So God doesn't
promise that there isn't trouble, that you aren't
going to hurt. Unfortunately, that's why I can
say it with certainty. God doesn't promise that
there won't be pain, but God promises that through
that pain, you'll never leave us. And that's
the thing that makes God different than any other
thing. As parents, if you have a parent, you've
been around kids. When our kids get hurt, there
are things that kids do. There are things kids
don't do. Right now, my son, when my son gets
hurt, he doesn't, most kids wouldn't come up
and say, Dad, can you please tell me the specific
diagnosis of my pain so that I can believe God
for a supernatural healing? My kid doesn't say
things like that. Our kids don't come up to us
and say, Hey, Mom, can you please teach me three
indisputable laws? of the universe to make sure
I can't and won't ever get hurt again? They don't
ask that. Our kids don't ask questions like,
why do bad hurts happen to good people when they're
children? When our kids get hurt, they only want
one thing. They want a safe place. They want
a soft shoulder to cry on. They want someone
to... recognize their pain. And there may be
somebody here, you're carrying a wound that you've
masterfully been hiding, and I mean masterfully.
My prayer is you'd have the courage, rather,
to run into the arms of a loving Father who will
find that He is with you in that hurt, and He
won't leave you, and He cares about your hurt.
Okay? Sounds pretty good. So how do we go from
here? I'm going to ask you to take a step this
evening. I'm going to ask you to acknowledge
what it is. In your head, for some of you, it
might be a subtle wound, a subtle hurt, or a
subtle betrayal. For others of you, I can assure
you there will be no mistaking about what that
hurt is. It is so profound, and it has affected
your life in about every single way, and you
don't know how you'll ever get over it. Let's
think about that hurt in our thoughts right now.
Some of us, we find that life may have unexpectedly
thrown us a curveball. Maybe you're unemployed.
Maybe whatever it is. Maybe your wound is towards
God. Because maybe you do. You feel like maybe
somehow or another God has let you down. That
God has failed you. Right? And you know what?
That's okay. If you're hurt right now because
of your past, it might be, you know, right now
my wound is towards God. That I don't feel like
God has given me a square deal. That's real.
That's okay. You do not have to run from that.
Others, you know, there's been infidelity, cheating
on people, somehow, you know, betrayal, right?
And you almost don't want to forgive. And you'd
rather just endure the pain and never trust again.
Right? Because somehow or another, that might
just seem easier to do than confronting it. And
I wish this wasn't the case. Statistically, I
know that it is. There are those of us here,
someone listening to this message, at some point
in your life, you were betrayed by somebody you
trusted. You were taken advantage of. And you
know what? It wasn't your fault. And to this
day, you might find it nearly impossible to trust
somebody. I want to encourage you to take a bold
step. And in your heart, call that out for what
it is. Acknowledge it. Because I believe that
God wants to do business today. Spiritually speaking,
I think God's come here to sell some cars today.
Right? So how do we... How does God heal us from
these wounds that we carry? Well, there's a couple
of ways, millions of ways, but I'd like to talk
about a couple of ways this evening. One, and
this is something I want to, I just really try
every Wednesday night to really reinforce this,
but I hope you share this idea with me too, because
community, Christian community that we're supposed
to live in, it does not happen in rows. It happens
in circles, just like this. And you know what?
These are opportunities where God can heal you
through other people. God heals us through God's
people. When we're kids, right? Like I was talking
about kids instinctively, when they get hurt
immediately, immediately they make a beeline
to the person they trust the most. Why? Because
they're hurt and they feel the most vulnerable.
And they know that because of that trust, they
can be comforted. And that their heart can be
healed. But as we grow up, something changes.
And the hurts come and keep on coming. And the
betrayals happen one after another. Instead of
running to the people we should trust the most,
we often find ourselves running from them. We
isolate ourselves and we put on that mask. We
say things like, oh, I'm good. Right? How you
doing? I'm good. The biggest Christian lie in
the church. How you doing? Good. More than likely
you are not doing it. Statistically speaking,
we just talked about it. You're not. You know,
I'm not really carrying around a serious wound.
It's not that big of a deal. It's just a flesh
wound, right? God wants to heal you. God wants
to heal me through his people, through the greatest
blessings, particularly in our lives right now,
sitting to your left or to your right. God wants
us to do what Paul calls us to do in his letter
to the Roman church in chapter 12 and 15 of that
epistle. Scripture says rejoice with those who
rejoice and mourn with those who mourn. In that
way of bearing one another's burdens, find healing
and make no mistake. I mean, whatever you are
facing, God won't waste it. God does not waste
a single hurt. Paul says in Corinthians 2, in
the first chapter of that letter, he says, Why?
Why does God comfort us? Well, Paul says, remember
from Sunday we were doing these? He says, We
can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort
we ourselves have received from God. And this
is the biggest truth. It's just going to happen.
Don't worry about it. This is the biggest truth
in the world. I hope that through the experience
of your spiritual maturity, I know some of you
have. You now have hurts in your past that maybe
you're celebrating from or you don't feel chained
by anymore. And you very well might have used
that experience to help another through a very
similar thing. Right? I know for sure some of
you have. That's what I'm talking about. God
healing others through you. God heals us through
other people. God also heals us through His presence.
We have become as a people gifted, skilled. at
developing incredibly complex coping mechanisms
to deal with our pain. And I want to tell you
with respect, but boldly, that the presence of
the Almighty God is infinitely better than whatever
you're doing, you shouldn't be doing, and wish
you weren't. Whatever your coping mechanism is,
whatever is just not that big a deal, the presence
of God is better. Scripture tells us in the Old
Testament, Hebrew Scripture, to repent and turn
to God, that times of refreshment might come
from the presence of the Lord. God heals us with
his presence. We've been talking about David.
We talk about all the parts of David's life.
Before the big important parts, before David
was king, he actually spent quite a bit of time
on the run in the desert for his life. His entire
life up to this point was honestly marked by
just trying to stay alive. Why? Because the current
king, King Saul, had released more men than you
could ever imagine to try to kill David. Why?
Because Saul knew the truth about David, and
he wasn't super excited about giving up his throne
to this kid. And in all fairness, put yourself
in Saul's golden sandals, right? So David's on
the run. constantly in danger, constantly being
accused of all kinds of horrific things by others,
and yet in the 71st Psalm, in the 14th verse,
he says, but as for me, I will always have hope,
and I will praise you more and more. But as for
me, I understand not everybody's going to be
like this. I understand people might look at
me and say, What are you hoping for? This is
hopeless. Not me. I'm going to trust in God all
the more. I'll praise you all the more. And remember,
I'm trying to be the apologetic guy. I can just
sit, maybe someone sitting here saying, you're
listening to this and say, Jim, how can you say
that? How can you say that I can and always will
have hope? Because people have betrayed, people
have abused, people have been cheated on, people
have been extorted. Do you have the audacity
to stand there and say there's always hope? Yes,
I do. Because there is. Psalm 46 and 1 says,
God is our refuge and our strength, and ever
-present help in trouble. And for that reason,
we should always have hope. The prophet Isaiah
says in the Old Testament, right? And remember,
Isaiah is writing at a time when the city of
Jerusalem is about to fall and the temple is
about to be destroyed and everything that the
people thought about as Jews and the way they
saw the world and God and other people and all
of that was about to crumble to ruins. Isaiah
is a prophet. Isaiah, this prophet of God, has
come to the people to tell them, what is about
to happen, right? And look, if Isaiah didn't
believe in what he was saying, speaking truth
to the power, like going up to the king and calling
him sinner man, right, back in the day would
have been a sure death sentence. So I believe
that Isaiah believed what he said. And he says
this in his prophecy. He says he, and a lot of
people believe, that he is prophesying about
Jesus in the future. He was pierced for our transgression.
He was crushed for our iniquities. Punishment
that brought us peace was upon him. And therefore,
by his wounds, we're healed. We will always have
hope. Hebrews 13 and 5 says, because God said,
never will I leave you and never will I forsake
you. Psalm 147, he is... Healed the brokenhearted,
He binds up their wounds. The 91st Psalm says,
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will
say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God in whom I trust. There's always hope.
And we Christians hopefully are convinced that
that hope has a name, and it's Jesus. Some of
us still, though, find ourselves hiding. Still
trying to fake it. Still hiding behind the hurt,
behind the wounds. You feel and you know that
in some way it does in fact separate you. It
veils you from God. Faking it, it steps in the
way of the intimacy you should have with God.
And I pray that God can breathe His Spirit into
you. Like Paul says in Romans 8, for I'm convinced.
that neither death nor life, nor angels nor demons,
the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither
height nor depth, nor anything else in all of
creation will be able to separate you from the
love of God that is in Christ Jesus. He's our
God. He's our comforter. He's our friend. Six
closer to us than a brother or a sister, a sibling.
He's our refuge, our fortress, our high tower,
our deliverer, the healer of our hearts. Friend,
know that He's here today. He's saying to you,
those of you that at least, some of you that
might be courageous enough to run into His arms,
you might say, I'm here. I've got you. You're
going to be just fine. Amen? Thanks, guys. Well,
I don't know. What do you think? I think the
idea of faking it until you make it is very similar
to I don't know, trying to Live your life and
pay your bills using a credit card that you can't
pay off. Oh, it works for a while and it can
actually be a lot of fun. But eventually, eventually
you can't run from the bill. You can't run from
the truth. You can't run from the reality of
life. And as we've certainly discovered, one
of the realities of our lives is sometimes it
hurts. And sometimes it's not even our fault.
There's no reason to hide that hurt. In fact,
through God, I think we can learn to embrace
it. Learn from it. Become stronger because of
it. Anyway, that's something to think about.
Until next week, friend, be blessed.