Trash Talk
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Have you ever been intimidated by the way someone spoke to you? Or on the flip side, have you ever been the one intimidating others by how you talk?
Michael Jordan is widely considered one of the greatest players in the history of basketball. With six NBA championships, five regular season MVP awards, three all-star MVP awards, and an Olympic gold medal, Jordan was certainly one of the most decorated players in the league. But Jordan from hi athletic ability, one thing Jordan was famous for was his ability to get into his opponents’ head with intimidating trash talk on the court. During one face-off between the Orlando Magic, Jordan dominated top Magic scorer Nick Anderson by telling Anderson his moves beforehand:
“I’m coming down. I’m going to dribble it between my legs twice. I’m going to pump fake and then I’m going to shoot a jumper. And then I’m going to look at you.”
Jordan followed through and delivered that final look, and Anderson could only stare helplessly.
Jordan’s trash talk had been credited for throwing his opponents off their game and even for ruining their careers. In the 1995 NBA Playoffs as the Charlotte Hornets were trailing the Bulls by one point, Muggsy Bogues took possession of the ball with Jordan guarding him. After a while Jordan- who was over 6 feet tall- stopped guarding and stepped back to give the 5’3” Bogues space to shoot, delivering a pointed insult about Bogues’ height. Bogues later said that moment ruined his career, and it certainly seemed to be true, as his average points per game were cut by half for the rest of his time in the NBA.
Trash talking is almost expected in sports, and while between friends it can be a way of joking and having fun, one of the uses of trash talk in competitive situations is to shake opponents’ confidence and make them fear or even believe they’ll be defeated.
In 2 Kings 18, the people of Judah find themselves in a situation where their confidence is being attacked. While Sennacherib had certainly tried to do that before with his deception, this attack was different because it was entirely a war of words.
Before we discovered that Hezekiah came back from a pretty big mistake and prepared himself and his people for Assyria’s attack on Jerusalem. In 2 Kings 18, as they waited for the attack, they were approached by some of Sennacherib’s messengers, led by a man named Rabshakeh. He set himself up in a place where all of Jerusalem could see and hear him. Instead of offering new of peace or compromise, he strategically and skillfully mocked the people and began to intimidate them.
And Rab-shakeh said unto them, Speak ye now to Hezekiah, Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence is this wherein thou trustest?
Rabshakeh delivered a stinging speech with the goal of making the pole afraid. This is an interesting contrast to Hezekiah’s last speech to them, which intended to give them courage. Now, instead of feeling powerful. the people felt panic. Could they believe what Hezekiah had said about God giving them victory? Or were they going to believe the words of the enemy standing before them with his massive army to back him up? We’ve been talking in our lessons about dark horses, unlikely candidates who come up from a place of obscurity or disadvantage to claim victory. I’ll tell you right now, no dark horse ever experienced victory by listening to an enemy’s trash talk. But I’ll also tell you, there will be times in your life when you feel like trash talk is all you can hear around you. Times when your faith is tested and you’re bombarded with lies and feelings of discouragement, fear, insecurity, condemnation. How do you combat the lies?
The first step is to determine which voices you’re going to listen to. Right voices lead to right choices. You must recognize that the voice of the enemy will only speak lies meant to break you down and make you doubt yourself and your God. If you listen to this voice, it will steer your life into the path of destruction. So Don’t Listen! Don’t believe the voices that you’re not good enough. Instead to hear and focus on the voice of truth which comes from God’s Word and from people He places in your life.
Let’s look to Rabshakeh’s speech to find five common lies the enemy voices tell us and five truths straight from God’s Word we should listen to instead.
Lie # 1: Your Past Will Haunt You Forever
Lie # 1: Your Past Will Haunt You Forever
Rabshakeh’s first move is to attack Hezekiah’s past mistakes. We know Hezekiah wasn’t perfect. In fact, that’s what makes him such a great dark horse. He didn’t have it all together. Just a few verses before this, he stole money from the house of God to pay Assyria. Now thanks to Rabshakeh we learn another mistake he made:
And Rab-shakeh said unto them, Speak ye now to Hezekiah, Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence is this wherein thou trustest?
Thou sayest, (but they are but vain words,) I have counsel and strength for the war. Now on whom dost thou trust, that thou rebellest against me?
Now, behold, thou trustest upon the staff of this bruised reed, even upon Egypt, on which if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt unto all that trust on him.
Hezekiah had made an alliance with Egypt, yet another wicked nation Judah had not business dealing with. You remember Egypt, right? As in the what we have been learning on Wednesday night’s. What was Hezekiah thinking Egypt again?
Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; And stay on horses, And trust in chariots, because they are many; And in horsemen, because they are very strong; But they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, Neither seek the Lord!
Rabshakeh asked the same question, but his point was to mock the deal because at that time, Egypt was not a strong nation and would not be a good ally. In fact, he called Egypt a “bruised reed,” or a weak stick that wouldn’t be able to support Judah but would break if they leaned on it for support. Probably the worst part about Rabshakeh’s words is that they were absolutely right. Hezekiah had made yet another big mistake that could put his people at risk. But where Rabshakeh was wrong was in implying that Hezekiah’s was permanent, that it would break and hurt him so much that he could never recover.
Truth #1 Your Past Doesn’t Define You
Truth #1 Your Past Doesn’t Define You
The enemy wants you to believe that your mistakes are who you are, that you can never get past them. This is lie brings thoughts of guilt and condemnation that can tear you down and feelings of insecurity that stop right in its tracks whatever progress you’re making in life. But here’s the truth: God can take your mistakes and turn them into miracles. Here’s the truth: when Jesus died on the cross to bring your forgiveness of sins, that forgiveness was unconditional. When you trusted Him as your Saviour, He made you a completely new creation.
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
The truth is, in Jesus, there is not reminder of the mistakes you made in your past. There is only grace and forgiveness, love and rest.
As far as the east is from the west, So far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
So when Satan tires to remind you of your past, silence that voice by reminding him of his future:
And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
Lie #2 You Are Powerless
Lie #2 You Are Powerless
After Rabshakeh reminds Hezekiah of his mistake, he turns his taunting on the people of Judah:
Now therefore, I pray thee, give pledges to my lord the king of Assyria, and I will deliver thee two thousand horses, if thou be able on thy part to set riders upon them.
How then wilt thou turn away the face of one captain of the least of my master’s servants, and put thy trust on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen?
He told the people that even if the king of Assyria straight up gave them horses for the fight, they probably didn’t have enough trained riders to even make use of them. Burn! At that point, some of Hezekiah’s men stepped in. They could see the impact Rabshakeh’s words were having on the people, they tired to slow him down by asking him to speak in the Syrian language, which they could understand but the people couldn’t. But Rabshakeh ignored them and instead got louder and more intimidating:
Then Rab-shakeh stood and cried with a loud voice in the Jews’ language, and spake, saying, Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria:
Rabshakeh’s message to the people was loud and clear: “You are powerless to stop me or what’s about to happen. You can try, but nothing you can do will help. You’re smaller and weaker. You don’t have a chance.”
Truth #2: You Can Make A Difference
Truth #2: You Can Make A Difference
Maybe you can relate to Hezekiah’s situation here. Maybe in your life you’ve tired to silence the voice of the enemy only to hear it get louder and louder instead. Maybe you’ve tried to do what’s right and tune out wrong influence, but it seems like it’s harder then ever and nothing you can do will help. well, that’s exactly how Satan wants you to feel . He wants you to believe that no matter how hard you try, you can’t make a difference. But the truth is that as a child of God, you don’t have to rely on your own power. You can draw on the power of the Holy Spirit of God Almighty, the Creator of the universe. This is the same power that raise Jesus from the dead:
But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
And the truth is, with this power, you most certainly can make a difference. Jude said it this:
And of some have compassion, making a difference:
and Paul wrote:
And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
The enemy wants you to believe that no matter how hard you try, you can’t make a difference. But remember, God’s ability to use you is not dependent on man’s affirmation of you. It’s not about what people think we are capable of, it’s about what God says we are capable of. When Austin Gutwein was nine, he saw a movie about children in Africa who were orphaned when their parent died. He wanted to do something to help, so he used his love of basketball to a charity called Hoops of Hope to raise money for these orphans. He raised $3,000 in his first year just by just shooting free throws- 2,057 free throws, to be exact, one for each African child who became orphaned every day. Today, Hoops for Hope has raised millions of dollars from people all over the world who have joined the cause. When asked what the experience taught him, Austin said he learned he really could make a difference: “ This generation can step up and really change the world… and you don’t have to wait to be adult to do it.”
You can make a difference. Don’t listen to the lies of the enemy.