Having great peace when you hurt
Key Passage: Psalm 119:165
Date: June 7, 2024
Only a boy named David, only a little sling. Only a boy named David, but he could pray and sing. Only a boy named David, only a rippling brook, only a boy named David, and five little stones he took, and one little stone went into the sling, and the sling went round and round.
And one little stone went into the sling, and the sling went round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round and round. One little stone went up in there and the giant came tumbling down.
What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again? Nothing but precious is the flow that makes me white as snow. No, I know. Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Amen, amen. Thank you so much. I’ve seen more smiles on that special than I’ve seen in a long time. I’ll tell you what, eh? I think that’s the most smiles I’ve ever seen in any special around here.
And praise the Lord for it. Turn your Bible, if you would, to Psalms 119. Psalms 119. And one verse, verse number 165. I believe the Lord would have us deal with this just briefly tonight. By the way, just thinking, RJ, his grandpa is having health issues. And RJ, love him, would you pray for his grandpa, please?
And he was at church with him a couple weeks ago. And would you pray for his grandpa? That would be a blessing. And Mr. Ferris is his name. Psalm 119, verse number 165, 119:165 of the book of Psalms. And Brother Anthony said, if she sang everything right, he did it. If she didn’t sing it right, Ms. Cotora did it.
And she did a good job. Oh, Mr. Cotorza, I can’t say that anymore. I can be quiet. She’s back in here now, and so she’s checking out. Psalm 119, verse number 165. Would you please stand as we read that out loud together, please?
Well, I wasn’t planning a little bit of said it, so I guess we have to do it. Read it out loud together. I don’t know where it came from, but it came. So let’s read it out together. Here we go, Psalm 119:165. “Great peace have they which love thy law, and nothing shall offend them.” Now let’s go to the Lord in a word of prayer as we get started tonight. Dear Father, I believe you have led this way to cover this verse. The words, Lord, I pray that you would help me to rightly divide your word. And Lord, would you bring healing and help, wisdom, comfort to people through your word? And Father, we’ll thank you, brag on you, and praise you for what you do. Lord, I ask you for that in the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen. Thank you so much for standing. Be seated.
I was in college. By the college, I played football. Now, don’t laugh. It’s not the Big Ten or SEC or anything like that, all right? You know, it’s a bunch of preacher boys getting together. It’s intramural, and we had a league, and we had dressed out, full pads and all that stuff. We did have flags.
You’re allowed to pretty much do anything but tackle, but tackling happened a whole lot. Now, after you’re a tackle guy, you’d pull his flag, you know. But it’s supposed to be flag, but a lot went on out there in that football field. The guy over it, he knew that. And so at the beginning of the game, he’d line us up, one team on one side, the other team on the other side. And he said, “All right, let’s quote it.” And we had all facing each other: “Great peace have they which love thy law, and nothing shall offend them.”
And he’d say, “Now, so when somebody comes along and knocks your block off, what are you going to do?” “Great peace have they which love thy law, and nothing shall offend them.” Are you going to get offended? And so on, he’d make his quote. That’s the only reason why probably I know the verse. We had to say it many times before a football game. And “Great peace have they which love thy law, and nothing—nothing—is when they tackle you, and the whistle’s already been blown—nothing shall offend them.” And that was the verse we’d have to quote. And there are some truths in that. I’d probably wise for them to do it. I learned a Bible verse out of it, amen for sure.
But sometimes I think we don’t fully understand the word offend. Nothing shall offend. Offend, we use the word pretty lightly. But offend, it doesn’t just mean you get hurt. It doesn’t mean if you love the Bible that nothing’s going to hurt you. It doesn’t mean that. How many of your favorite verse when it came to Bible memorization and quoting Bible, how many of you, your favorite verse from quoting Bible is John 11:35? Somebody say it for me. It’s a long verse. Would you say it, please? Oh, you got it. You got it, yeah. But Jesus did weep.
I can say it’s because of lack of faith that they had and all that. And I understand all that, but it doesn’t void that he wept.
Luke 19:41: “And when he was come near to the city of Jerusalem”—it is, by the way, that’s what we often call the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, which wasn’t really so triumphant. They rejected him as the Messiah. It was the official rejection. At the end of that, 19:41, when he was come near, he beheld the city and wept over it.
I don’t understand all the motions going on inside our Savior, but I know he wept over the city of Jerusalem that rejected him. It’s interesting, Isaiah 53, of that great passage about the suffering of Christ, how he suffered for me and you. The Bible says in Isaiah 53, “He was despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.” Of course, Jesus is God.
The Holy Spirit is part of the Trinity. These three are one. And grieve not the Holy Spirit, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. You can be grieved and quenched and so on. And I’m saying that to say, I believe Jesus hurt.
I don’t think it’s a sin to hurt. Genesis 6:6, talking about the Lord, “And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.” Normal, healthy, godly Christians get hurt.
You’re not normal if you’re not going to get hurt. In fact, Jesus said over there on the Sermon on the Mount, “Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.” It doesn’t mean those that love the Lord will never get hurt. Friend, you’d have to be in the grave to never get hurt. You’d have to be in the grave to never get hurt. You’re going to get hurt.
I’m part of living in this cursed world. You serve the Lord over the long haul, you’re going to shed tears. I remember an old preacher, Dr. Buffington, he’s in heaven now. And I remember he used to say, “Tears are a natural pressure relief valve that God built into you.” Now they’re almost shedding tears.
I remember Brother Howe was my pastor for years and years saying, when I get really a major trauma, a major issue, major hurt, he said, “I bleed for three days.” I’m just saying people hurt. We say those words, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” And that myth is busted for sure.
They usually hurt worse, longer often. I spoke with someone this week, and I think really the Lord’s usually kind of led me to preach on this. They said, “I shouldn’t have got hurt over that.” I say, “You’re normal. You’ve got feelings. You’ve got blood running through your veins. It’s not a sin for you to get hurt over that.”
It’s not wrong. You’re going to get hurt. If you didn’t get hurt over that, something would be odd about you.
It’s understandable. Can I put a definition on “offend” that helps me remember? It’s a little different, and by the way, it’s amazing who you go to for definitions of words, the differences you get. But offend is when you get offended, you end up off in the end.
Now you understand how I’m breaking the word “offend” down. It could cause you to stumble. It could cause you to get off track. It could cause you to get bitter. But you end up off in the end. You’re offended. Oh, in my Scofield Bible, the cross-reference for verse number 165—and how many got a Scofield Bible out there? You got a Schofield? Good. So if you look at the notes there, that little reference—it says in the Hebrew, is what they’re saying, “They shall have no stumbling block.” Offended, you’re not off in the end. You’re not sitting on the roadside. You tripped up and you just fell and you’re stumbled.
You’re not off in the end. You’re not off from serving the Lord in the end. Now let me just ask you, let me just ask you, since the Bible’s saying, “And nothing shall offend you,” get you off in the end—how much does it take for you to stop serving the Lord?
How much does it take to just say, “Well, forget church, a bunch of hypocrites there anyway”? Of course, hypocrites everywhere you go. Don’t go to Walmart. There’s a lot of them there.
Target’s got them for sure. Got a lot of amends on that there. Dillard’s has even got them if you ever got enough money. No, I shouldn’t say that. They’re everywhere. But I’m just saying, what is it going to take for you to be truly offended where it puts a stumbling block, where it causes you to be off from serving the Lord, from walking down the center of the road for the Lord?
What’s going to take to make you veer off in the end where you’re not serving the Lord?
At least like you ought to. By the way, you’re going to get hurt. You’re going to. It is part whether you’re serving the Lord or not serving the Lord, whether you’re in church or not in church. You’re going to get hurt. Somebody at work is going to say something. They’re not going to hurt your feelings. Somebody at family or union is going to say something. Somebody at church. Is that going to cause you to get bitter? That would be off from where we’re supposed to be.
And you get bitter. Someone said when you get hurt, you either get bitter or better. But is that going to offend you where you—you’re off from where you used to be serving the Lord? Offend you, it drives you away from the straight and narrow serving the Lord Jesus Christ. Some, when they get hurt, they end up being mean, hard-hearted. Sometimes they call it thick skin.
So they go around hurting everybody else. “Well, I’m thick-skinned. You got to have thick skin to be around me.” Well, maybe I ought to obey the Bible and “have your speech seasoned with grace always,” as the Bible says. Sometimes getting hit real hard knocks you off and you don’t end up where you used to be. You’re off. You end up in the wrong place. Are you, if something hurts you—and it will—are you going to be sucking on a dill pickle for the rest of your life? And that offends you because it causes you to get off in the end. You don’t have the joy of the Lord. Are you going to have guile in your heart, a little trickle, a little deceiving? You always got a little ill feelings in your heart towards someone or a certain sect of people because of what happened in your life, and it offends you, it causes you to get off a little bit. Is there nothing shall have offend them?
Maybe you say, “Well, I can fight fire with fire. They want to talk about them here to do this. I can get on their level.” And are you going to throw dirt with them? And that offended you to the point you got off in the end. Nothing shall offend them, the Bible says. Those that serve the Lord over the long haul, they get that wrong.
Sometimes we say, “Well, I want the Lord to use me.” Well, the Lord uses your people, use you. They do. And is that going to cause you to be offended? “Well, everybody’s using me.” And it causes you to get off of having that sweet disposition for the Lord. Nothing shall offend them. “Well, I can’t believe it. They’re talking about me.”
Well, I understand. I’m not saying those things you’re right. But is that going to offend you? Offend you where it causes a stumbling block? “Well, forget it, I’m not going to serve God anymore. I’ve been reading my Bible. It’s not doing me any good.” And of course, you get offended. Maybe a prayer doesn’t get answered like you would like. Is that going to offend you? And you say, “Well, I’m getting off of where I used to be.”
You’re going to have hurts. I shared with a person the day, “It’s all right to get hurt over the situation. You ought to get hurt over that. It’s how you handle the hurt.” Is it going to cause you to get offended where you’re just saying, “Well, I’m not going to be good to people anymore because they do wrong to me all the time”? Is it causing you to be off in the end?
Everybody that’s been in the service of the Lord, whether in the full-time ministry, called it, or just in the pew for very long and serving God and trying to witness and be a testimony—anybody that’s been that for very long at all, you’re going to get hurt. And somebody’s going to say things you ought to say. Remember someone came to and they said, “Well, so-and-so said such and such.” And I said, “You know, they probably shouldn’t have said that.” And I think they said they shouldn’t have, but they probably didn’t wake up and have their devotions that morning.
And they’re not close to the Lord like they ought to be, like all of us do from time to time. But is that going to cause you to be offended?
We’re not always here. I’m not always here, but I love this poem. If you like it, you can let me know while I’m reading it for us. I like this poem. He says, “I’m a soldier in the army of my God. The Lord Jesus Christ is my commanding officer. The Holy Scripture is my code of conduct. Faith, prayer, and the Word are my weapons of warfare. I have been taught by the Holy Spirit, trained by experience, tried by adversity, tested by fire.”
“I am a volunteer in this army. I am enlisted for eternity. I will not get out, sell out, be talked out, or pushed out. I am faithful, reliable, capable, dependable. If my God needs me, I am there. I am a soldier. I’m not a baby. I do not need to be pampered, petted, primed up, pumped up, picked up, or pipped up. I’m a soldier.”
“No one has to call me to remind me, write me, visit me, entice me, or lure me. I’m a soldier. I’m not a wimp. I’m in place, saluting my King, obeying his orders, praising his name, building his kingdom. No one has to send me flowers, gifts, food, cards, or candy, or give me handouts. I do not need to be cuddled, cradled, cared for, or catered to. I’m committed.”
“I cannot have my feelings hurt bad enough to turn me around. I cannot be discouraged enough to turn me aside. I cannot lose enough to cause me to quit. When Jesus called me into this army, I had nothing. If they end up with nothing, I still come out ahead. I will win. My God has and will continue to supply all my need. I am more than a conqueror. I will always triumph. I can do all things through Christ.”
“The devil cannot defeat me, people cannot disillusion me, weather cannot weary me, sickness cannot stop me, battles cannot beat me, money cannot buy me, governments cannot silence me. All hell cannot handle me. I’m a soldier. Even death cannot destroy me. For when my Commander calls me from his battlefield, he will promote me to captain and then allow me to rule with him.”
“I’m a soldier in the army. I’m marching claiming victory. I will not give up. I will not turn around. I’m a soldier marching heaven down.” Here I stand. Will you stand with me? I like it. I don’t always live up to it, but I like it. You’re going to be hurt. Somewhere along the line, you say, “You know what? I’m not going to change. I’m going to keep serving God.” Now there’s a key in this verse to us doing that.
We really haven’t focused at all on the first part of the verse. Would you look back at the verse, please, one more time at least? Verse number 165, Psalm 119. Would you notice that first part of the verse? We’ve covered “and nothing shall offend him.” Look at that first part: “Great peace.” Great peace.
“Have they which love thy law.” The law there, of course, the Bible. Psalm 119 is the Bible talking about the Bible. You see, the way I keep from getting off in the end is by loving this book right here. Even when I get hurt,
Even when I don’t get my prayers answered like I want to, even when my godly mentor, who that friend hurts me, I still—I stay in love of that book.
Even when I’m hurt and wounded and disillusioned a little bit from the circumstances, I say, “You know, I’m going to stay in love of that book right there.” That book will keep you from getting off in the end. It’ll help you overcome the stumbling blocks. It’ll keep you serving God long term.
It’ll give you the comfort when you’re hurting by the person or the situation that you got hurt from. And I forget, the first time I think the Bible just came alive to me. I was a teenager. And I, of course, was raised in church and forced to learn Bible verses. And I’m thankful for that. Mom used to teach us Bible verses. I’m thankful for that.
I think the first time that just came alive, I was already saved, but I went to school, and there was a party. I knew I shouldn’t go to it, and I was invited to a party, and I said, “No.” Christian school, but in Christian schools, even things—a lot of things happen not to happen. I knew they’d be drinking and different things at the party, and I said, “No.” Most of the students were going to it, and boy, they called me names.
And it was one of those things, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words really hurt,” you know. It bothered me, and I went home. I didn’t do it like I should. I was just a teenager, but I opened my Bible that night and just seemed like God Almighty was there. First time in my life just seemed like God was talking. God Almighty was just kind of coming up.
It’s what I needed. It kept me from getting off. That’s what he’s saying. “Great peace have they which love thy law,” and nothing will be a stumbling block.
They’re going to get hurt? Yeah. “A just man falls seven times, but rises up again.” And the Bible, friend, I hope you’re in love of the Bible. It’ll give you comfort. It’ll give you direction when you’re about to veer off. By the way, it’s not bad, if you will, to veer off a little bit right here. But if I keep walking, I veer off pretty soon. I’m going to be pretty far off.
And the Bible—I stay in love with the Bible. Somebody knocks me a little bit and it turns me a little bit in the wrong direction. And if I’m not careful, I’ll stumble out of the way and I’ll end up off in the end. But I get in the Bible, it’ll give me direction. My standards, convictions, money, marriage. Hey, how do you keep from getting offended in the end? Loving the Bible.
It’ll give you security in a world where you’re going to stick out like a sore thumb if you live for God. Yeah, “all that live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” How do I keep from getting offended, get turned off a little bit in a different direction, whatever direction? Satan’s just trying to get you off. Loving the Bible. Just being in love with the Bible.
I mean, you get up in the morning, and yes, you’re like all of us. You have a tough time sometimes waking up. But you say, “You know, I need that. I need that book.” And you go to the Bible and you say, “Lord, I need something today. I’m a little cold-hearted. Would you speak to Paul? Would you give me something this morning?” It means you love the Bible, and God does give you something from the Bible, and so you say, “You know, the Bible says it.” So you write it down somewhere, maybe three by five card. You say, “I’m going to—I need that verse right there.” You love it.
“Great peace have they which love thy law.” It’ll give you sanity in an insane world. You know, this old world is just cattywampus. That’s just the honest truth. Good word, good word to describe this old world. And that Bible will keep it from getting offended. You just love it. Of course, the Bible describes it the best way. It’ll give you great peace.
“Great peace have they which love thy law.” You ever just get the Bible? I know I’m a little crazy on this. You ever just get the Bible? You ever just kiss it? I mean, don’t do it in front of anybody. All right, they’re going to think you’re weird, you know, but you just say, “Well, Lord, I love your Bible. I love it. I need it.”
Not so bad to do. I’m not perfect at it, but I try never to put something on top of my Bible on my desk. I want it on top, but there’s a bunch of things. I’m carrying it. I mean, we’ve got a smaller book, it’s easier to put it on top. No, I want my Bible on top. I just love your Bible.
I’m a little weird over some of this, and I don’t debate you over that, but I like it. Not always there, but I like it if the Bible is somewhere around when I’m sleeping, I like to have it open. I don’t know why. I just—I want the devil to know it’s open somewhere, amen. I mean, not a certain passage, but I just like it. Hey, the sword is out of the sheath, amen, it’s ready to go, you know.
You’re loving the Bible. You don’t have your little things, probably a lot better than my little things, but loving the Bible. “Great peace have they which love…” You love the Bible. Don’t get tired of it. Don’t say, “Well, I’ve heard that before.” Love it. You know, a whole lot of people start off right, but a lot don’t end up right. They get offended. Something causes them to fall out of the race. Something causes them to change. God’s saying, “Hey, look, look, you’re going to—it’s going to battle is going to happen. You’re going to suffer persecution. You’re going to get hurt. You’re going to shed tears.” That’s part of this lifetime down here.
But you’ll have great peace if you stay in love with the book. Or maybe just read it and say, “Hey Lord, just give me a clause. Give me a phrase. Give me something out of the Bible.” Read it with your friends. Have Bible studies over. Talk about it. I want to be in love. How do I keep from being offended? I hope you like this. I want to go out of this race serving the Lord.
I don’t want to—you ever see some—I’ve seen preachers like this, they end up just being old grouches and grumps, mad at the world. They’ve had too many battles. I don’t want to be like that. “Great peace have they which love thy law.” In the middle of all, you can have great peace, love the Bible. And nothing—all hell can come against you. Nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing shall offend them.
I love it. I love the book. There was a girl. She had read a book, and she got done reading the book. She wasn’t done reading the book, and she said, “That was the dullest book I’ve ever read in all my life.” I’m just—my hat’s off there. She finished reading the book if it was that dull. That’s pretty good. I don’t think I would have done that. And she was young, a young lady. She met a guy, she fell in love, and she was just—she was falling in love. And one day she was talking with him, she said, “You know…”
She said, “I read a book, and the author of that book has the same exact name you do.”
And the young man said, “No, he doesn’t have the same name. I am the author of that book.” Well, she didn’t say anything. Praise the Lord. She didn’t tell him how dull it was. But they say she went home that night and she read that book, and she got so much into it because she was in love with the author. She stayed up—they stayed up till 2 a.m. That book was so interesting to her.
When you realize that book right there is a letter from God to you, you say, “I love that author of the book. That’s God.” And boy, you say, “I need God. I need you to speak to me, and I want to hear from you.” It changes your perspective on the Bible. It’s not just a book to you to spout all facts. It’s the book to change your life.
Someone said it’s not informational, it’s transformational—the Bible. I read this in the book. It’s interesting. He was talking about a man in the hills of Tennessee. And the man said he was standing pretty close to a cave, and he said he saw a black snake come out of the cave. And he’d seen the black snake go over to a plant and start eating some of the leaves on the plant.
And he stayed for a while. And he said, “I’ve seen that old black snake go back in the cave.” He was in the cave for a little while. And he said, “I watched.” He said, “Sure enough, a little while later, I saw that black snake come out again, and he ate a little bit more of the leaves of that plant.” And he said he did that several times. And he said it was an old—an old country man in the hills of Tennessee. And that old country man said, “I know what’s going on. He said that black snake is in there fighting a rattlesnake. And that rattlesnake bites him. He’s got instincts. He knows if he gets that plant, there’s healing in that plant for him. And it kind of dispels the enemy.” So I wasn’t sure—this is the sad part of the story here. Of course, it’s a snake, it’s not too sad, you know.
But that old Tennessee guy, he said, “I waited several times and seen it.” And he said, “One time that black snake went in the cave, and I thought, well…” He said, “I’m going to dig up that little plant, see what happens.” So I dug up the plant. He’d been there a while. Sure enough, that old black snake came out, and you could tell he’s looking for the plant. No plant.
And he said, “Sure enough,” he said, “I was kind of sad about doing what I did because sure enough, a little while later, that old black snake just curled up.” Now, friend, you’re going to get bit in this lifetime. Somebody’s going to hurt you. And it’s not right when they did, and problems are going to come and disappointment’s going to come in your life. But friend, that right there’s the plant. Man, just keep going back.
Don’t get offended where you say, “Well, forget it on the Bible.” No, stay in love of the Bible. “Great peace have they which love thy law, and nothing—nothing.” Well, I’ve seen some Christians go through great, great trials—a lot of our people, great trials. They’re not offended.
I promise you, one of the great secrets is they love that book. “Great peace have they which love the law, and nothing shall offend them.” Would you bow your heads and close your eyes, please?
Our heads bowed, eyes closed. You said, “Preacher, I’ve gotten hurt. Maybe in a way I did not even mention, but I’ve gotten hurt, but I want to, by God’s grace, not be offended. I don’t want to be a stumbling block. I don’t want it to make me veer off the path of serving God. God spoke to my heart. I’m hurt, but I want to handle the hurt right.” God spoke to my heart about that.
You know, just a little side note, but sometimes, sometimes we want to act so tough, “Well, that didn’t hurt me,” and we never deal with problems. “Blessed are they that mourn,” sometimes they need to mourn. “I got hurt over that. I need to handle it right.” “Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.” In the end, you don’t get off. You’re comforted. You keep serving the Lord if you get hurt but not offended. It’s key: loving the Bible.
I’m just proud of our people. You hear right where you ought to be on Mother’s Day Sunday night. I appreciate that. Big things the Lord’s pleased with that right there. That’s the big thing right there. Glad you’re in the house of the Lord. And what a great verse. Just imagine a bunch of preacher boys thinking they can play football though they can’t, lining up facing each other, yelling at each other: “Great peace have they which love the law, and nothing shall offend them.”
What a great truth. The Bible is full of great truths, all over, just full of it. And I’m glad you’re here tonight. Good to see Brother Josh slipping him back there. And good to see everybody out tonight. I appreciate it. Pray for RJ’s Grandpa, if you would please. And that would be a blessing.
Original File: Having great peace when you hurt - Pastor Paul Chisgar Sunday PM 50921