One thing that surprised me most when first called of God to serve as a leader for our local church, state group then in our national group of churches were those within the Body of Christ who mock you for doing the work the harassers want done—but not by you—them.  Do not think for a moment that the church is perfect—it is not. Do not think that the real Enemy does not attend our church services and events—he does.

Church defined is a group of people who say they believe in Jesus, praise Him, teach about Him, and thank Him on a Sunday, even committing to becoming like Him in every way.  But on Monday things come up in their minds, thoughts planted by the Enemy, they want changed—so, they call their leaders, challenging them to listen to their demands for greater service to them. They mask these demands with lies about how doing it their way will truly help others in need when their hearts reveal other motives.  Like David expresses in his words of lament at the beginning and middle of his prose; leaders have expressed the same— “God, are you hearing this? What are you going to do with the unhappy hecklers who seek self-indulgence over surrendered service to you?”

I had to learn to fall on my knees before God daily in surrender to Him first before answering the phone calls or in-person visits from unsatisfied “customer” attenders and improperly placed volunteers in service to our Lord.  God taught me in those quiet times of seeking Him first that He was going to use me in the process of reconciling the hasslers filled with their own hurt from other sources; to turn their attention back to God who gives all we need when we need it most.  This is the real work of ministry—always pointing the way back to God.  You see, most hecklers want to be heard and divas want to be seen but we learn to do so in private, speaking with the love God, doing the best we can to steer their attention back to God and what He wants—the God who shows no favorites among His children.

Jesus, our Master Teacher Leader, knew mocking.  He knew what it felt like as the Son of Man to be beaten down physically and mentally from the religious who had no real relationship with God. These were leaders who lived their lives driven by self-made laws and regulations produced to keep those under them in their place—beneath their feet of power!  They hated Jesus for proclaiming love, mercy, and grace as the Son of God.  So they manipulated the oppressive Roman government into crucifying Jesus.  You know the story and we know who wins in the end!  Jesus wins over the real Enemy of death by rising again to give us hope—the gift of eternal life for all who believe! We share in His victory because of the removal of our sins!

All believers are called and some are sent to the front lines of ministry in daily battles for the souls of real people in need of a Savior and Lord—many of those souls sit in our churches today.  Some have come for ages, are devoted leaders, committed to the rituals of doing church faithfully but doing it without having an intimate relationship with God through Jesus, Our Savior. They live miserably in search of contentment by seeking control when it is surrender to Jesus daily as an offering that will save them and set them free—Free to give what has so freely been given to them through the lifeblood of Jesus Christ!

Yes, as leaders who believe and proclaim the gospel of Jesus, we feel David words.

Psalm 35, The Message

A Psalm of David. 

^1-3 Harass these hecklers, God,
    punch these bullies in the nose.
Grab a weapon, anything at hand;
    stand up for me!
Get ready to throw the spear, aim the javelin,
    at the people who are out to get me.
Reassure me; let me hear you say,
    “I’ll save you.”

^4-8 When those thugs try to knife me in the back,
    make them look foolish.
Frustrate all those
    who are plotting my downfall.
Make them like cinders in a high wind,
    with God’s angel working the bellows.
Make their road lightless and mud-slick,
    with God’s angel on their tails.
Out of sheer cussedness they set a trap to catch me;
    for no good reason they dug a ditch to stop me.
Surprise them with your ambush—
    catch them in the very trap they set,
    the disaster they planned for me.

^9-10 But let me run loose and free,
    celebrating God’s great work,
Every bone in my body laughing, singing, “God,
    there’s no one like you.
You put the down-and-out on their feet
    and protect the unprotected from bullies!”

^11-12 Hostile accusers appear out of nowhere,
    they stand up and badger me.
They pay me back misery for mercy,
    leaving my soul empty.

^13-14 When they were sick, I dressed in black;
    instead of eating, I prayed.
My prayers were like lead in my gut,
    like I’d lost my best friend, my brother.
I paced, distraught as a motherless child,
    hunched and heavyhearted.

^15-16 But when I was down
    they threw a party!
All the nameless misfits of the town came
    chanting insults about me.
Like barbarians desecrating a shrine,
    they destroyed my reputation.

^17-18 God, how long are you going
    to stand there doing nothing?
Save me from their brutalities;
    everything I’ve got is being thrown to the lions.
I will give you full credit
    when everyone gathers for worship;
When the people turn out in force
    I will say my Hallelujahs.

^19-21 Don’t let these liars, my enemies,
    have a party at my expense,
Those who hate me for no reason,
    winking and rolling their eyes.
No good is going to come
    from that crowd;
They spend all their time cooking up gossip
    against those who mind their own business.
They open their mouths
    in ugly grins,
Mocking, “Ha-ha, ha-ha, thought you’d get away with it?
    We’ve caught you hands down!”

²² Don’t you see what they’re doing, God?
    You’re not going to let them
Get by with it, are you? Not going to walk off
    without doing something, are you?

^23-26 Please get up—wake up! Tend to my case.
    My God, my Lord—my life is on the line.
Do what you think is right, God, my God,
    but don’t make me pay for their good time.
Don’t let them say to themselves,
    “Ha-ha, we got what we wanted.”
Don’t let them say,
    “We’ve chewed him up and spit him out.”
Let those who are being hilarious
    at my expense
Be made to look ridiculous.
    Make them wear donkey’s ears;
Pin them with the donkey’s tail,
    who made themselves so high and mighty!

^27-28 But those who want
    the best for me,
Let them have the last word—a glad shout!—
    and say, over and over and over,
“God is great—everything works
    together for good for his servant.”
I’ll tell the world how great and good you are,
    I’ll shout Hallelujah all day, every day.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

God fights on behalf of his children who are committed to seek Him first and always.

Fear will arise for all of us; but know this—the presence of fear does not mean we have no faith. Fear visits everyone! Even Jesus as Son of Man experienced fear, knowing he would soon suffer greatly at the cross. (See Mark 14:33) But Jesus taught us a way to alleviate fear—pray to the God who dissolves our fear!  How many times throughout scripture from old to new does the word proclaim; “Fear not, do not be afraid, I am with you.”  When fear shows up, treat it like a visitor, not a resident, for fear robs us of peace, our smiles, darkens our grateful hearts and hinders our testimony of who God is in us.

Seriously, by God’s Holy Spirit power and help, replace fear with faith.  Fear comes from the Prince of Darkness and the “father of lies”. Faith deepens as we surrender to the Light of the World. Fear over faith indeed!

These are indeed the “hard fought hallelujahs” that David sings about at the end of his song.  May we sing of the glory of the Lord!

Lord,

Thank you for replacing my wonderings that lead to fear with a stronger faith resolve. You are my Strength and my Song. To you be the glory, honor, and prais!In Jesus Name, we sing and pray, Hallelujah and Amen