Are You OK Being Hated

I was out walking this morning listening to a teaching on my phone and in the middle of it the Holy Spirit asked me a question, “Gena are you OK being hated?”

I wasn’t ready for such a deep question before 8 AM or before I even worked up a sweat, but Gems it stopped me in my tracks. Am I OK being hated?

My first response was No.  Rejection is  one of the enemies best weapons against me. It’s something I have to keep in check almost daily.  I have allowed the Lord to rip that root out of my heart and soul yet that toxic plant tries to grow it’s ugly seed again and again.

So why wouldn’t I want to be hated? Because that would mean being rejected.

So I have to ask myself what am I willing to sacrifice to not be hated? I guess that’s what the Holy Spirit was asking me this morning.

Hebrews 13:12-14  And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore.

 For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.

Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp; go forth from the ceremonial law, from sin, from the world, and from ourselves. Living by faith in Christ, set apart to God through his blood, let us willingly separate from this evil world. Sin, sinners, nor death, will not suffer us to continue long here; therefore let us go forth now by faith and seek in Christ the rest and peace which this world cannot afford us.

Hebrews 13:12-15 The Message

^10-12 The altar from which God gives us the gift of himself is not for exploitation by insiders who grab and loot. In the old system, the animals are killed and the bodies disposed of outside the camp. The blood is then brought inside to the altar as a sacrifice for sin. It’s the same with Jesus. He was crucified outside the city gates—that is where he poured out the sacrificial blood that was brought to God’s altar to cleanse his people.

^13-15 So let’s go outside, where Jesus is, where the action is—not trying to be privileged insiders, but taking our share in the abuse of Jesus. This “insider world” is not our home. We have our eyes peeled for the City about to come.

Jesus was led outside the city to be crucified because of the ceremonial law followed by the Jews. He was treated as an offender. Keeping the Levitical law would, according to its own rules, keep “sinners” away from the Holy altar. This letter in Hebrews was written to Jewish believers who were tempted to abandon their faith and return to Judaism and the temple. The letter seems to encourage the readers to share in Christ’s humiliation and rejection by His own community, He was left alone on that cross.

I think most of us can embrace the teaching here that Christ died for all sinners, we embrace the message of love and acceptance so why would the  Holy spirit ask if I was OK being hated?

We find that answer in Matthew.

Matthew 24 ⁹ “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. ¹⁰ At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, ¹¹ and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. ¹² Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, ¹³ but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.

OK Gena side journey. I recently went to Toyota to see about selling my car or trading it in. In my journey I am always trying to find ways to keep my overhead down.  I never know where I will be living and was hoping to lower my monthly payment. I spoke with a brother in Christ, we will call Tom, who worked there. Tom counseled me not to purchase a car and we talked about refinancing, he asked if I had my paperwork from when I bought the car. I laughed at the thought of still having paperwork from 2 years ago and if I did, that I would have any idea where it was. The only thing I have kept on a regular basis is my family.

Tom told me if I could find the documents to bring them to him and he might be able to help me. He gave me his cell number so I could contact him directly.

So here comes the typical Gena move. I was looking through my car for the contract and found 2 papers from Toyota with my car information on it. I was so excited to find them that I took pictures and text them to Tom. About an hour later he called me and said “Miss Gena is there a reason you text me pictures of your oil changes?”  

You see Gems I saw the part I was looking for on those papers so I didn’t bother to keep reading the rest. I just wanted what I found to work for me, but it couldn’t because it wasn’t the true contract.

We are currently living in a world where believers read what they want to see in God’s word but not the whole message. We don’t want the commands and obedience of the word and many are falling away from the truth of God’s message and their relationship with Christ as a whole. Matthew 24:10 clearly says many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other.

Gems we have to be ready because a line is getting drawn and we are all going to have to decide where we stand just like the readers in Hebrews. It’s not a matter of will you be hated but when.

I am currently working as a prayer counselor and for many of the callers it seems like they are calling into Santa’s wish list line, “tell God I want this or that.”

We are not allowed to preach or teach on the call which is wisdom in some cases however it can work against you . The prayer team can only use God’s word however the caller only wants you to pray the good stuff. I have had to become very strategic in my verse choices.  I share the promise available to them along with the command that goes with it. I have had many ‘believers” hang up on me because they don't want to be held responsible for their side of the relationship, they just want the blessing.

Many of the media wars we are experiencing with believers, not the lost, are those who want to pervert the word of God. If you don’t line up with them you are soon hated. We are hearing more and more of Preachers and teachers giving false messages. They are willing to water down or just plain change the word of God to be what their itching ears want to hear. They want to give you an oil change instead of a covenant change relationship.

We too are going to have to live “outside the camp” outside the worlds views of what's acceptable. We are going to have to decide to be set apart, to be God’s holy people. We have to be willing to suffer, right now it’s just words for the most part for the Western church but in the days to come it may be physical suffering for you as well. We have to endure the hated city we live in now with the hope of our eternal home that is yet to come.

What does that look like for you to be hated by your camp of people for Yeshua?  What are you having to stand firm on or speak truth about? What groups are you going to have to offend for the cause of truth?

Gems are you OK being hated?

My prayer for all of us is to be strong and make it to the end. I know with God all things are possible. I know we can live without fear because perfect love cast out all fear.

I know I can be hated as long as I KNOW I am also loved.

So I will answer your question Lord, yes I’m OK with being hated.