THE TWO SIDES OF THE CROSS-How to Survive the Rough Side of the Cross (Part 2)

“ Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice” Ephesians 4:31 (KJV)

1.      Be Wary of Bitterness – Bitterness is a manifestation of an unforgiving, resentful, angry and belligerent heart, it is the number one killer of God’s grace in a believer’s life. The bible said in Hebrews 12:15 (KJV) “Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled”, it’s effect is very negative and far reaching. Generations have been destroyed, wars have been waged, destinies have been destroyed, dreams have been caged, potentials have been unlocked, callings unfulfilled, marriage destroyed, the list is endless, all because of bitterness. 

     If any believer wants to see smooth progress in his walk with God, then he must grow in the grace of dealing with bitterness, the scripture  said “ Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice” Ephesians 4:31 (KJV). We must purpose in our heart to seriously deal with bitterness and any of its traces in our lives. The truth about bitterness is that it is the number one killer of the “real you”. Let’s look at how our Lord Jesus Christ dealt with the attack of bitterness against him during his days on earth.

    The bible gave a narrative of how Judas one of Jesus’ disciples betrayed him according to John 18:4-12 (KJV) “Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye? They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them.  As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground. Then asked he them again, Whom seek ye? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus answered, I have told you that I am he: if therefore ye seek me, let these go their way: That the saying might be fulfilled, which he spake, Of them which thou gavest me have I lost none. Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest's servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus. Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it? Then the band and the captain and officers of the Jews took Jesus, and bound him.” 

     From this narrative it was obvious that Jesus Christ knew the intentions and the future actions of one of his disciple - Judas, so he pro-acted by expecting such behavior and he chose to forgive in advance and was not emotional about it. Christ remained calm in the midst of his arrest, he did not allow his emotions to have the better part of him as Peter did in the verse 10 of John 18  “Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest's servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus.” 

     You notice that Jesus chose in advance not to be censorious, vindictive and unmerciful to the failings of Judas, hence rebuked Peter for drawing the sword in John 18:11(KJV)  “Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath…………”. So for us to be able to overcome the effect of bitterness, we must choose to forgive in advance as Jesus did, I am sure you might be saying in your mind that ‘’ it is Jesus Christ, God in the flesh you are talking about here and that we are mere mortals” but there are several examples of such actions littered in the scripture by men of like passion like us. 

    The one that comes to mind is Stephen in Act 7:59-60 (KJV) “And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.” Choosing to forgive no matter how difficult the offence may seem, is the surest way of dealing with bitterness and its residual effect. We must grow in the grace to forgive so as to deal with any negative effect of un-forgiveness such as bitterness. You must purpose in your heart that everyone deserves your forgiveness; it must be your mantra. This position is the surest barrier against the onslaught of bitterness.

2. Grow in Grace – The word grace in Christendom has been widely defined “as unmerited favor”, but for the purpose of this explanation, grace is the ability to say no to what is wrong and yes to what is right before God. The bible says in Titus 2:11-12 (TNIV) “For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say NO to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age”. The ability to say no to what is wrong and remain calm in the midst of difficult situations is one of the effect the grace of God can have on a life of a believer. 

     This inner strength that comes from the Holy Spirit is what Jesus Christ exhibited when Judas brought the guards to arrest Jesus in the garden, He had the power to call judgement of God upon them and yet he chose to remain calm to allow God’s will to prevail. We would normally ask the question “how was he able to do that?” because most of us believers seem to be failing this test. But let us examine Jesus’ lifestyle and see where he draws that kind of strength from.

3.      Make time to pray - Before his betrayal by Judas and eventual arrest in the garden, Jesus spent a lot of time praying to God just to get himself ready for this theatrical, yet important arrest according to Mark 14:33-42(KJV) “ And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy; And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch. And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.  

   And he cometh, and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, Simon, sleepest thou? couldest not thou watch one hour? Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak. And again he went away, and prayed, and spake the same words. And when he returned, he found them asleep again, (for their eyes were heavy,) neither wist they what to answer him. And he cometh the third time, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: it is enough, the hour is come; behold, the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise up, let us go; lo, he that betrayeth me is at hand.” 

     You will notice from this narrative that Jesus knew very well that the task of going to the cross and its accompanying process was not going to be easy, so he needed to find grace by talking to God in prayer. He talked to God about his eventual arrest and his execution and even went further by asking God to waive off this part of the process according to Mark 14:35-36 (KJV) “ And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.” 

      He knew that it was only in prayer that he could find grace or be strengthened for this humanly impossible task. You will notice that even though he had wished for a waiver of this part of the process he was willing for God’s will to be done according to Mark 14:36. He knew that it is only in communicating with God that one can find strength; we need to engage God in conversation and pour our heart to him in prayer like Jesus did. We must be able to share our frustrations and struggle with God in prayer, He desires that kind of engagement from us. 

    God wants us to draw close to Him and depend on Him for help, the scripture says “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD…………………...” Isaiah 1:18(KJV) and Heb_4:16 (KJV) “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”  Praying to God is an act of humility, it is an evident that the arm of flesh will fail us, but only God’s mighty right hand can save us.

TO BE CONTINUED NEXT WEEK WITH THE SUB TOPIC

“How to Survive the Rough side of the Cross Part 3”

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