Right Question, Right Response

Recently my Pastor, Victor Hudson preached a sermon titled, “Right Questions.” Let’s look into the sermon and what God is saying. As we do, let’s apply it to our lives and grow deeper in the Lord.

Have you ever been so hurt or betrayed by someone that the hurt slowly turns to hate? I think we all have been there. Have you ever secretly wanted to avenge that person? I believe we are all guilty of this at some point in our lives. Rejection and betrayal is never easy to deal with. However, if we don’t deal with it, we can never grow a deeper relationship with the Lord. Hurt that is not dealt with will turn into vengeance. The Word says in Deuteronomy 32:35, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; their day of disaster is near and their doom rushes upon them.” (NIV) So we must let God avenge our enemies. How do we do this in a healthy way? We start asking God the RIGHT questions. 

“Hurt people ask hurt questions.” –Pastor Vic

In Luke 12, Jesus speaks to a multitude of people. In verse 13, we see that a man has found favor with God. He was allowed to ask Jesus a question. However, the question he asks is centered on revenge. “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” (Luke 12:13 WEB) When God visits you, what questions will you ask him? Will you ask him to avenge your brother? Or will you ask him to heal you? We must mature and start asking God to heal us instead of avenging others. In actuality, God is going to avenge those who hurt you anyway. So don’t bring vengeance to God when He visits you. If you are going to succeed in 2012, it will be dependent upon what questions you ask God.

“The right response is determined by the right question.” –Pastor Vic 

Once the Lord heals you, He begins to take you higher because He knows that YOU trust HIM. So how do we ask the right questions? Let’s take a look at the preceding verse. In verse 12 the Lord says, “For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that same hour what you must say.” Jesus clearly gave instruction but the man was too hurt that he didn’t hear. The Holy Spirit will teach you what to ask the Lord in that hour of visitation. We must be in tune with the Holy Spirit so can hear the instruction clearly.

When you know you are great and God has favored you, it is extremely important that we ask the RIGHT questions. The man in verse 13 was obviously favored in order to speak to Jesus. But he was not prepared to ask Him the RIGHT question. The man did not recognize the favor he had been given. Don’t let hurt blind you from seeing your greatness. Unfortunately, the man could not get his eyes off of his hurt. Sometimes in life, all we see is hurt. But your hurt will block your future if you don’t ask Jesus to heal you. 

I truly believe we can all identify that we are “This Man” at certain points in our lives. But maybe you are reading this and you don’t see yourself in this man. You THINK you aren’t still bitter or vengeful against someone. That was me, until I started asking the right questions. So I strongly encourage you to start asking the Holy Spirit questions like, “Where am I still bitter? Can you expose areas where I have deep rooted bitterness?” Don’t let bitterness stop you from asking Jesus RIGHT questions. Questions like, “Lord will you still use me? Will you heal my wounds?” These questions take us to a higher a place in Christ. 

“The right questions determine the altitude you go!” –Pastor Vic