Heartland Community Church

The Heart of a Champion-Keeps Their Head in the Game
By Roger Pryor, Heartland Community Church

One of the big ironies in life is our propensity to resist God that keeps us from developing the heart of a champion. There is this internal battle that rages in us to resist him rather than bow the knee to his game plan for our lives. Why?

Here are three reasons we resist God and refuse to surrender to him:

1. I don’t want to give up control of my life because I don’t like being told what to do. It’s a pride thing.

2. I’m afraid if I give into God he’ll start meddling in some of my questionable habits, activities, and relationships that I’m not ready for him to work on.

3. I resist God because I’m disappointed or angry with Him. Something was done to me that God could have stopped, but He didn’t. There was a divorce, abuse, a death, a painful event, a career meltdown—something bad happened and rather than blaming others, I started blaming God and directing my anger at Him. Why should I surrender to a God who regularly disappoints me and lets bad things happen to me?

Let’s take a look at a person who went to his grave disappointed and angry with God. Life was not friendly to him. The wheels came off, and eventually he fell into a life of crime. He blamed God for his misfortune and closed off his heart from God and never got what he needed from life—grace, mercy and hope.

Here’s what I find amazing about his story and the crucifixion. We have the Savior of the world, Jesus, God’s innocent son, dying between worthless, guilty, condemned thieves. Why would God allow these two criminals a scene in this concluding drama of Jesus’ life? I think God wanted us to know that he understands and has a solution to our frustration and anger toward him and life. The drama as it unfolds on that Good Friday, as recorded in Luke, Chapter 23:

"Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals–one on his right, the other on his left. The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, ‘He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.’ The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar and said, ‘If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.’ There was a written notice above him, which read:’ THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.’"

Don’t miss the emotions of the spectators surrounding the cross. You have the crowd that was deeply disappointed--and rightfully so. Those people had followed Jesus and made sacrifices for him. They believed him to be the Messiah—God’s son—the King. But now, it seemed clear they had been deceived and misled by a charlatan. Real Messiahs, kings, Sons of God don’t get crucified or die.

Then there were the religious leaders who had been guarded in their comments about Jesus because they were afraid of Jesus’ power and popularity. But now that Jesus was contained on the cross, they (along with the soldiers) unloaded their laughter and insults upon him.

Even one of the criminals hanging beside Jesus (I’ll call him Hard-Hearted Harry) was blistering Him with words that probably silenced the crowd. Luke 23:39 says: "One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: ‘Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!’"

I wonder if the crowd had ever heard someone on a cross hurling abusive profanity at another person suffering the same torture? What was Harry saying? He might have said something like: "You’re not the Messiah who has come to set up His kingdom. You’re a phony who gave us false hope. You’re nothing more than a criminal like us. You can’t save yourself. God won’t save you. Nobody will save you."

What was inside Harry that caused him to verbally destroy someone going through the same torture and death? Somewhere along the way Harry confused life with God. He believed that God and life were synonymous. Life had beaten him up. Harry blamed God for everything wrong in his life. His bad circumstances were God’s fault. His dashed dreams and untimely death were God’s doing. So Jesus (being God) became the target of his verbal abuse. Harry’s fist was so tight; there was no possible way he was going to open it and ask God for help after the way God had disappointed him. He figured that God was mad at him, so Harry decided to be mad at God.

Some of you are like hard-hearted Harry. You’ve been deeply disappointed by life—your life is littered with relational road kill, your dreams have been dashed, your health has tanked, and your job stinks, all because God didn’t come through for you. He didn’t answer your prayers. So, you confused a bad life with God and become angry and hard-hearted toward Him.

At the risk of sounding offensive and insensitive, let me paint for you a different perspective about God. Let me ask you, has turning your back on God, shaking your fist at God, or hurling abuse at God brought you any peace or answers? Have the wheels of life stopped falling off? Has it softened your heart? Cooled your anger? Resolved your internal turmoil?

Tragically, by refusing to open his heart to Jesus, Harry was refusing to open his heart to the only One who could do anything about his circumstances. Jesus was the only one who could explain the disappointment and offer help. If Harry had cried out, "God, where are you?" God would have said, "I’m 12 feet to your left, hanging on a cross, suffering just like you are—paying the penalty for the sins of humankind."

If he had said, "Where have you been all my life? Why is it ending this way?" God would have answered, "I’ve been beside you all the time, engineering your circumstances for you to hang next to my Son—the Savior of the world who is the one person who can offer you what life couldn’t give you—grace, mercy and hope."

I know this may be troubling and offensive to some of you, and I understand. I have had my moments with God where I’ve ridiculed, complained and blamed him for my life’s circumstances. I’ve shaken my fist and hammered Him with the "why" questions. But I have also experienced turning to God out of my brokenness and desperation, and He has given me what this life can’t offer me—grace, mercy and the hope of eternity.

Let’s not forget there was another desperate criminal to Jesus’ right (I’ll call him Soft-Hearted Sam) who had every reason to be angry at God and shut him out. There’s no reason to believe that Sam was any better person than Harry. In fact, both had hurled insults at Jesus on the road to the place of crucifixion. Yet Sam had a change of heart about Jesus. He saw something different in Jesus. Maybe it was Jesus’ words of forgiveness to those who were crucifying him, Luke 23:34 says, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."

Maybe he noticed how Jesus responded to the barrage of insults: 1 Peter 2:23 says, "When they hurled insults at him [Jesus], he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats." Whatever the cause, soft-hearted Sam had a breakthrough. He believed that Jesus was who he said he was. He was able to divorce himself from blaming God for all the bad stuff that had happened to him. Read soft-hearted Sam’s conversation with the hard-hearted Harry in Luke 23:40-41: "But the other criminal rebuked him. ‘Don't you fear God,’ he said, ‘since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.’" He is essentially saying: "Jesus is not the one to blame. We deserve to die, not Him. It’s not Jesus’ fault we’re hanging on a cross. Your abusive profanity, anger and disappointment are misdirected. It’s your choices that are to blame, not God."

"Sam" then turns and talks with Jesus, in Luke 23:42: "Then he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’" He’s asking Jesus to give him what he doesn’t deserve, but needs the most: "Give me what life hasn’t given me. I know I can’t start over or turn over a new leaf. I can’t go back and make restitution. There’s no time for that. Give me what life has taken away from me. I don’t deserve it, but will you remember me when you come into your kingdom? Will you be for me what no one else has been to me? Will you do for me what life hasn’t done for me?"

In Luke 23:43, Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise." Notice that "Sam" admitted his own sinfulness. He believed in Jesus and asked for a spot in heaven. At that moment, Jesus forgave the "Sam’s" sins—based on his faith in Jesus.

"Sam" recognized what we all need to know: turning our disappointment and anger toward God locks us out from the one thing God wants to do on our behalf—He wants to give us heaven.

1 Peter 3:18 says, "Christ also suffered when he died for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners that he might bring us safely home to God."

Are you angry with God? God can handle your anger, but you can’t. God will survive your anger, but you won’t. As long as you clinch your fist at God for not coming to your rescue, all you do is lock him out of your life—the only one who can making sense of your circumstances or do something about what’s happening in your heart. God is the only One who can give you what life can’t give you—grace, mercy and hope for eternity.

When we unclench our fists and stop shaking our fist in the face of God, and we invite him into those difficult hurts and wounded places where we discover he is the giver of life who brings about the changes on the inside that ultimately work their way to the outside.