Here are a few notes I made from a message by Ivan Tait called "The Purpose of Ugly and Difficult People".
Once you get this in perspective, you can take them on strategically and love them deliberately with God's ability. It's not just some irritant trying to take you with them to Hell! It's someone God is using to reveal the enemy in your life. Check it out!
It's warfare!
"The #1 problem in your life will always be people. If you don't learn how to handle and manage people, they will manage and handle you. All of you have already have enough experiences with people that have made your lives bitter. They have twisted your insides; they have led you to say things and do things that you regret. People have provoked you to actions that are terrible. Things you want to forget about. Things you don't want to hear; things you don't want to remember; and even some of those people you don't want to remember. You wish there was a magical "forgetter".
But you know, the only thing that's never going to go away are people. If you kill one, another one takes it's place! So we know that killing people is not the answer...
What needs to change is not the person, but what needs to change is us. If we get the victory inside, you will have victory outside...
(So go ahead and hug somebody and say, 'God's about to teach you how to love me, praise God!')
"Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing."
1 Cor 13:1-3
So the guage that God uses to measure how close you are to Him is your love walk towards ugly and difficult people. God makes it real clear that He is not impressed by loving people who love us. He's impressed by loving people who do not love us. That's the true test of how close we are to God.
As soon as God is ready to give you a promotion, He will bring a person into your life to do some things...
You understand that men are shallow. People are shallow and will judge by the outside, not by the inside, and you have got to come to grips with a few realities.
#1 You're never gonna change people, and some people will never change. You're going to have to live with some of those people till you die. They are not going away. You're related to them. They are your Mom; they are your Dad; they are your brothers; they are your sister; they are your husband; they are your wife; they are your children; they are your parents; and, whether you like 'em or not they are what they are. Either they will ruin your life or you will be educated and learn how to walk with them and keep your peace; keep your joy; keep your love; keep your power; keep your anointing; and keep your happiness. Otherwise, your happiness is in the hands of all the people who have the power to provoke you. and you've got to make a decision to keep being a slave to all the ugly and difficult people of your life, or if you want to get free.
Let's look then at the purpose of ugly and difficult people...
The #1 purpose of ugly and difficult people is to introduce you to yourself.
As soon as God wants you to see who you really are, He brings a person into your life to bring that out. This person is skilled in certain things. One, they're skilled in provoking you. They're skilled in offending you. They're skilled in hurting you. They're skilled in making you despise them and so their anointing that is beneficial for you is the anointing of flushing out the devil wherever he is hiding in your life. So after meeting these people, then certain reactions will take place.
The first thing God looks for is murder. So He will identify that, you will wish to murder these people, and then you will realize you have a heart that has murder in it...
And if you're not a murderer with your actions, then you become a murderer with your words. And then you become a speaker of Satan-ese, and then you become a professional prophet of Satan. Even though you're a Christian... So when ugly people are brought into our lives, they have a purpose. If you understand the purpose, you can walk through the process. If you don't understand the purpose you get stuck in the event, and then it cripples you. But if you understand the purpose, you can walk through the process.
You're looking at the ugly and difficult person. They're standing there, you now know the purpose of flushing out the devil, you say,
"Wow, wow, wow, man! I got prejudice! I'm a bigot! My God, I really feel like murdering people. I really want to cuss the person out. I'd really like to run them over with my car, right now. I'd like to get my shotgun and shoot them! Praise the Lord! How can I do this and get away with it, and still receive the blessing of the Lord?"
(continued)
Once you get this in perspective, you can take them on strategically and love them deliberately with God's ability. It's not just some irritant trying to take you with them to Hell! It's someone God is using to reveal the enemy in your life. Check it out!
It's warfare!
"The #1 problem in your life will always be people. If you don't learn how to handle and manage people, they will manage and handle you. All of you have already have enough experiences with people that have made your lives bitter. They have twisted your insides; they have led you to say things and do things that you regret. People have provoked you to actions that are terrible. Things you want to forget about. Things you don't want to hear; things you don't want to remember; and even some of those people you don't want to remember. You wish there was a magical "forgetter".
But you know, the only thing that's never going to go away are people. If you kill one, another one takes it's place! So we know that killing people is not the answer...
What needs to change is not the person, but what needs to change is us. If we get the victory inside, you will have victory outside...
(So go ahead and hug somebody and say, 'God's about to teach you how to love me, praise God!')
"Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing."
1 Cor 13:1-3
So the guage that God uses to measure how close you are to Him is your love walk towards ugly and difficult people. God makes it real clear that He is not impressed by loving people who love us. He's impressed by loving people who do not love us. That's the true test of how close we are to God.
As soon as God is ready to give you a promotion, He will bring a person into your life to do some things...
You understand that men are shallow. People are shallow and will judge by the outside, not by the inside, and you have got to come to grips with a few realities.
#1 You're never gonna change people, and some people will never change. You're going to have to live with some of those people till you die. They are not going away. You're related to them. They are your Mom; they are your Dad; they are your brothers; they are your sister; they are your husband; they are your wife; they are your children; they are your parents; and, whether you like 'em or not they are what they are. Either they will ruin your life or you will be educated and learn how to walk with them and keep your peace; keep your joy; keep your love; keep your power; keep your anointing; and keep your happiness. Otherwise, your happiness is in the hands of all the people who have the power to provoke you. and you've got to make a decision to keep being a slave to all the ugly and difficult people of your life, or if you want to get free.
Let's look then at the purpose of ugly and difficult people...
The #1 purpose of ugly and difficult people is to introduce you to yourself.
As soon as God wants you to see who you really are, He brings a person into your life to bring that out. This person is skilled in certain things. One, they're skilled in provoking you. They're skilled in offending you. They're skilled in hurting you. They're skilled in making you despise them and so their anointing that is beneficial for you is the anointing of flushing out the devil wherever he is hiding in your life. So after meeting these people, then certain reactions will take place.
The first thing God looks for is murder. So He will identify that, you will wish to murder these people, and then you will realize you have a heart that has murder in it...
And if you're not a murderer with your actions, then you become a murderer with your words. And then you become a speaker of Satan-ese, and then you become a professional prophet of Satan. Even though you're a Christian... So when ugly people are brought into our lives, they have a purpose. If you understand the purpose, you can walk through the process. If you don't understand the purpose you get stuck in the event, and then it cripples you. But if you understand the purpose, you can walk through the process.
You're looking at the ugly and difficult person. They're standing there, you now know the purpose of flushing out the devil, you say,
"Wow, wow, wow, man! I got prejudice! I'm a bigot! My God, I really feel like murdering people. I really want to cuss the person out. I'd really like to run them over with my car, right now. I'd like to get my shotgun and shoot them! Praise the Lord! How can I do this and get away with it, and still receive the blessing of the Lord?"
(continued)
