Treasured Truth

If you’re going to thrive when you’re criticized, you have to have meaningful evaluation of the criticism, then you have to have the absence of retaliation.  Because often, the first thing we want to do when we are attacked is to do what?  Attack the other person back!  If we can learn to resist the urge to retaliate, then we’ll be able to move beyond the criticism more easily.

Do you sometimes feel held back by criticism?  Does it really bother you when someone criticizes you?  Pastor Ford reminds us that there are too many of us who are stuck on a lower level of success in life because we can’t stand to have somebody be critical of us. In order for us to thrive when we are criticized, we must accept the criticism then discover if there is any truth behind it.

When you are criticized, it usually demonstrates that you’re making a difference or at least trying to.  If no one is criticizing you, then you’re probably not doing anything, saying anything, or trying to be anything that will make a difference.  As Christians, we all ought to be receiving criticism simply for being associated with Jesus Christ.

Have you noticed that often people will put expectations on you for things that they’re not even capable of themselves?  And often those expectations are just too high and don’t make any sense?  You have to understand that you’re simply not going to be able to be everything that everyone expects you to be and you can’t make everyone happy.  Today, Pastor Ford will remind us to consider these things when we are being criticized.

If you want to thrive when you’re being criticized, the first thing you have to do is get comprehension of the criticism you are facing.  You have to analyze and scrutinize it.  You have try and get behind what the motivation is for that accusation. That will help you determine if it’s true or not and how you need to respond.

Do you feel that you need a little more Jesus in your life?  If we really love Jesus, then we’ll draw near to Him.  We’ll also want to get to know Him better.  How do we do this?  Pastor Ford says we should seek communion with Jesus.  Join us today as we start a new message from Hebrews 10.

As we conclude this study on teamwork, Pastor Ford explains what the priority of our commitments should be.  Our first commitment is to our Sovereign.  Our second is to the saints.  And the third is to the service, in that order.  If the service is messing up the saints, then it’s messing up our commitment to the Sovereign and whatever the service is, it shouldn’t be done.

It’s very easy to form your own agenda when you’re in ministry.  And Pastor Ford explains that you can know when you’re doing something for yourself and not for the Lord when something doesn’t go your way and you get mad about it.  That’s a clear indication that you’re not seeking God’s glory, but instead you’re seeking your own.

As we begin a new study in 1 Corinthians 3, Pastor Ford reminds us that we Christians are all on the same team and we must work together to accomplish ministry.  And Christians who realize that all unity in ministry is based on the finished work of Christ, will glorify Him by uniting themselves.

There are several things that Pastor Ford wants to encourage us not to forget.  He says don’t forget about the goodness of God, the glory of God, or the grace of God.  Because if we do forget these things, then our forgetfulness leads us directly to our sinful tendencies.