HOW TO. MANAGE PROVOCATION

HOW TO MANAGE PROVOCATION. Managing Provocation :- Scriptural Perspectives The key words in this sentence are “manage” and “provocation”. “Manage”- Is to act on , to cope, to carry on, to function,to handle effectively, or an attempt to overcome difficulty or challenge. “Provocation”-Acts or words that trigger anger, hurt or calls for defense. It is an unfriendly behavior that causes anger or resentment. It is something said or done that is meant to annoy, or stir up a reaction in someone. It is to irritate or anger on purpose. Provocation can come inform of- Abuse. Being maligned. Being misconstrued. Cheating. Denial of privilege. False accusation. False witness. Insult. Lying against. Maltreatment. Mockery. If you are faced with any of the above or other similar means, how do you cope, resolve, handle or overcome the situation? This sermon focuses on how to handle such with relevance to the Scriptures. You are to respond in such a way that you will not sin against God no matter how grave the provocation may be. Psa 119:11 “ Thy word have I hid in my heart, That I might not sin against thee.” Since you are responsible for your own attitude, words and actions but you can not control the person provoking you, you have to maintain your own personal peace and control your emotions. And remember that the scriptures say ”If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with every one.”Rom 12:18. It depends on you to manage the situation with wisdom and respond with a milder or gentle answer. Pro 15: 1 A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” You are to be patient and not rush to respond as in Pro 15:18. “A hot- tempered person stirs up conflict, but the one who is patient calms a quarrel.” The person provoking you may be spoiling for a fight, the onus is on you as a believer to calm the situation and let peace reign. And also we are admonished to be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.James 1:19. And do not answer a fool according to his folly ,or you yourself will be just like him. Pro26:4. In other words, there must be a difference between you and a provoker. Your behavior must be christlike. More so the Scriptures say “Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. Rom 12:19. Brethren, if GOD says, he will avenge for you, why not allow him to do so? Keeping quiet is not weakness but strength and remember that you are admonished to not repay anyone evil for evil.Rom 12:17. Provocation pushes one into an instant action but reaction is optional and application of self control can act as a pause button. Self control is part of the fruit of the spirit which a believer must exhibit at all times. Provocation exposes what is already in one but one must let the Holy Spirit produce patience and self control. One should never respond impulsively. Provocation can also be managed by praying quietly to GOD to set a guard over one’s mouth and keep watch over the door of one’s lips. Ps141:3. For someone living an active prayerful life, it won’t be difficult to ask GOD for grace to be able to respond with wisdom and love or to keep mute or even walk away from the scene and go on one’s way as if nothing had happened. Let us consider how provocation was managed by characters such as Hannah, Nehemiah, Stephen and Jesus Christ. Hannah: 1 Sam1:10-21. Hannah in her deep anguish was praying and weeping bitterly at Shiloh, and as she kept praying to the LORD, in her heart and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard, Eli the priest sitting by the doorpost of the LORD’s house noticed her and misconstrued her heartfelt prayer as drunkenness. And Eli said, “ How long are you going to stay drunk?”Put away your wine.” This is provocative enough for you to be praying with all your heart to the LORD, and for someone to assume you were drunk. But instead of getting provoked, she responded calmly and with humility. “Not so, my lord,” “ I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring my soul to the LORD. Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief.” 1 Sam1:15-16. Eli asked her to go in peace and prayed that God of Israel will grant her what she had asked for. Brethren, provocation can be managed by being calm, polite, respectful and humble when responding, as demonstrated by Hannah.1Sam1:15. One can learn from the way Hannah managed when provoked. Nehemiah: Neh 2-6. Nehemiah was a cupbearer to king Artaxerxes in Susa. When he had that the wall of Jerusalem was broken down and its gates have been burned with fire he was heartbroken and wore a sad face to the extent that the king noticed his countenance and had to ask him the reason why. Because of his love and concern for his people and Jerusalem he had to give up the cupbearer job with the permission and support of the king to come to Jerusalem to rebuild the wall. But on getting to Jerusalem, while rebuilding with some like minds that he gathered, he was despised, humiliated, insulted, mocked and ridiculed by Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem. Despite all the provocations, through their actions , utterances and plots, Nehemiah was able to manage the situation very well. The provokers made statements like ” What are those Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble- burned as they are.? What are they building - even a fox climbing up on it would break down their walls of stones!”Neh2:2-3. When Sanballat and Tobiah heard what Nehemiah’s people said “Let us start rebuilding,” they mocked and ridiculed them and said “What is this you are doing?”Are you rebelling against the king?”Neh 2:18–19. Despite all these, Nehemiah neither dialogued nor traded insults with them, instead he prayed intermittently. He responded to each of their blasphemy with prayers as follows.”The God of heaven will give us success.”Neh2:20. Hear us, our God, for we are despised. Turn their insults back on their own heads. Give them over as plunder in a land of captivity. Do not cover up their guilt or blot out their sins from your sight, for they have thrown insults in the face of the builders.”Neh 4:4-5. Again the provokers and mockers planned to come and fight against Jerusalem but Nehemiah and his people prayed to their God.Neh 4:9. From Nehemiah’s response, one can conclude that he is a man of prayer, believes in the efficacy of prayer and he is a man of faith. He refused to be provoked to sin against God. He focused on what he was doing and he applied wisdom by posting guards to watch over the wall and ward off attackers. So the wall was completed in fifty -two days.Neh 6:15. Nehemiah was able to manage provocation by relying totally on God through prayer. He also applied wisdom and remained focused and strategic. Stephen: Acts 6:8-15, 72-60. Stephen, a deacon, was a man full of faith, the Holy Spirit and of God’s grace and power. GOD enabled him to perform great wonders and signs among the people. Because of this, opposition rose among members of the Synagogue against him. They argued with him and lied against him and secretly persuaded some men to say he blasphemed against Moses and God. They produced false witnesses who testified that Stephen kept speaking against the holy place and the law. He did not argue and did not trade words with them. But when the high priest asked him whether the charges against him were true, he did not defend anything , he only gave historical background of how the glory of God appeared to their father Abraham, and God’s promise to him through Isaac, and Jacob and how Moses and the Israelites moved through the wilderness. When he then said that they always resist the Holy Spirit and that they betrayed and murdered the Righteous One, members of the Sanhedrin became furious and gnashed their teeth at him. But He said” Look”, “ I see heaven open and the son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” Acts 7:56. This made them more furious and they all rushed at him, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Instead of reacting he prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” He fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” Acts 7:60. Having said that , he fell asleep. Despite all that was done to Stephen, he refused to be provoked, he maintained his composure and prayed, “Lord Jesus,receive my spirit,” and “Lord,do not hold this sin against them.” What a godly and peaceful way to manage provocation. Stephen showed us the most peaceful way to manage provocation: like Jesus,he prayed for those who were killing him.Acts 7:59-60, Lk 23: 34. Jesus Christ: Lk 23:1 - 46. Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ epitomises the ultimate in response to provocation. He perfectly demonstrated how provocation should be managed. Despite the fact that he faced the worst kind of provocation severally, he never sinned with his lips.1Pet2:23. The whole assembly rose and led him off to Pilate and accused him by saying,” We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Messiah, a king.” Lk23:1-2. So Pilate asked Jesus, ”Are you the king of the Jews?”He simply replied “You have said so .” Then Pilate announced to the chief priest and the crowd, “ I find no basis for a charge against this man.” Instead of agreeing to what the Pilate said,they insisted ,”He stirs up the people all over Judea by his teaching. He started in Galilee and has come all the way here.” Pilate then sent Jesus to Herod. Based on what Herod had heard about him, he asked him many questions but Jesus gave him no answer. Lk 23:9. He was vehemently accused, ridiculed and mocked by the chief priests, teachers of the law, Herod and his soldiers. Despite Pilate’s appeal to the mockers to let him release Jesus, they kept shouting , Crucify him! Crucify him.Lk 23;20. Pilate granted their demand and Jesus was led away, and he was crucified along with the criminals- one on his right and one on the left. On the cross , Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”Lk23:34. He was still mocked further, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself. “And there was a written notice above him , which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. Worst still, one of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him ;”Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us! Again he did not respond. Despite the fact that Jesus was insulted, mocked, humiliated,sneered at, spit at, rejected and provoked immediately following his trial and condemnation by Pilate and even when crucified, he remained well composed and silent. But still prayed “Father, forgive them,for they do not know what they are doing?” Brethren, we can learn from Hannah,Nehemiah, Stephen and from our Lord Jesus Christ who epitomises the perfect way to handle and manage provocation. Prayer: Father, Grant me the grace to manage provocation in a godly and peaceful way and the grace to apply wisdom and self control when I am provoked. Amen. In Jesus’ name. . .