Trauma-Responsive Pulpit Series: Justice, Mercy, Judgment

Hello, welcome. Welcome to today's message and teaching. Oh, the Holy Spirit put on me a message today and helped me to build it. And I am going to do a special teaching. I'm going to present via a PowerPoint. And I'm going to deliver you his truth as he gave it to me. Holy Spirit, I just invite you into this time that we have together. May your words of truth resonate throughout this entire presentation. And may any veils that are over their eyes be lifted off over their heads so that they can see the truth and anything that's covering their ears that they could hear the truth. Spirit, have your way in this time that we have together. I'm Tammy Toni Butler, survivor of child sex trafficking, set free by Christ, founder of Reflective Spaces Ministry, a healing ministry where we work with survivors of all kinds of trauma, human trafficking included, and exploitation. And I'm also the host of Reflective Hours With Tammy Tony Butler. A transformative podcast. And YouTube channel. For transformational healing. Through Christ. Christ broke every chain. Set me free. He can set you free. I encourage you to tune in. To past episodes. This podcast. For reflective spaces ministry. Check out our blogs. Check out our YouTube channel. and like and share, also with reflective hour, so that many can be set free and know the truth. I'm going to go into the teaching now and pull up the PowerPoint. Literally, this is fresh, just hours old of him giving me this word. There'll be a prophetic word at the end that he wanted you to know and to listen to. All that I am is because of Christ. I sold everything to follow him. He's everything to me. And I speak his truth today of hope and healing, freedom. Let's dive in to the teaching. I'm going to bring up the PowerPoint now. I'm going to add it into the stage. We are going to be talking about justice, mercy, and judgment. Thus saith the Lord. Again, the teaching and message is by me, Tammy Toney Butler. Today's scriptural references. Jeremiah 12. Colossians 4, Luke 6, Matthew 4, and Amos 2. We're going to start with Jeremiah's complaint. It's as if there was a case introduced into the courtroom of heaven and it needed to be decided. We're going to be reading out of Jeremiah 12, the Life Application Study Bible, the New International Reader's Version. And I'm going to turn in my Bible to Jeremiah 12, and I'm going to read it as the Holy Spirit wanted me to. Jeremiah's complaint. You are always righteous, O Lord. When I bring a case before you, yet I would speak with you about your justice. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease? You have planted them and they have taken root. They grow and bear fruit. You are always on their lips, but far from their hearts. Yet you know me, O Lord. You see me and test my thoughts about you. Drag them off like sheep to be butchered. Set them apart for the day of slaughter. How long will the land lie parched and the grass and every field be withered? Because those who live in it are wicked. The animals and birds have perished. Moreover, the people are saying, he will not see what happens to us. The next section, God's answer. If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan? Your brothers, your family, even they have betrayed you. They have raised a loud cry against you. Do not trust them, though they speak well of you. I will forsake my house, abandon my inheritance. I will give the one I love into the hands of her enemies. My inheritance has become to me like a lion in the forest. She roars at me, therefore I hate her. Has not my inheritance become to me like a speckled bird of prey that other birds of prey surround and attack? Go and gather all the wild beasts, bring them to devour. Many shepherds will ruin my vineyard and trample down my field. They will turn my pleasant field into a desolate wasteland. It will be made a wasteland parched and desolate before me. The whole land will be laid waste because there is no one who cares. Over all the barren heights in the desert, destroyers will swarm. For the sword of the Lord will devour from one end of the land to the other. No one will be safe. They will sow wheat but reap thorns. They will wear themselves out but gain nothing. So bear the shame of your harvest because of the Lord's fierce anger. This is what the Lord says. As for all my wicked neighbors who seized the inheritance I gave my people Israel, I will uproot them from their lands and I will uproot the house of Judah from among them. But after I uproot them, I will again have compassion and will bring each of them back to his own inheritance and his own country. And if they learn well the ways of my people and swear by my name, saying as surely as the Lord lives, even as they once taught my people to swear by vow, Then they will be established among my people. But if any nation does not listen, I will completely uproot and destroy it, declares the Lord. You reap what you sow. Life was extremely difficult for Jeremiah, despite his love for God and obedience to God. Not all of God's answers to prayers are nice and easy to handle. Jeremiah 12, 5 through 6. We must be committed to God even when answers to prayers do not immediately come or are packaged differently than expected. Now let's look at Colossians 4 in the Life Application Study Bible, the New International Reader's Version. So I'm going to turn in my Bible to Colossians 4. And I'm going to be reading out of Colossians Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair because you know that you also have a master in heaven. Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful, and pray for us too that God may open a door for our message so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders. Make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. Final greetings. Titius will tell you all the news about me. He is a dear brother, a faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. I'm sending him to you for the express purpose that you may know about our circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts. He is coming with Onesimus, our faithful and dear brother, who is one of you. They will tell you everything that is happening here. My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you his greetings, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. You have received instructions about him. If he comes to you, welcome him. Jesus, who is called Justice, also sends greetings. These are the only Jews among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have proved a comfort to me. Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured. I vouch for him that he is working hard for you and for those at Laodicea and Hierophilus. Our dear friend Luke, the doctor of Damascus, Demas sends greetings. Give my greetings to the brothers of Laodicea and to Nympha and the church in her house. After this letter has been read to you, see that it is also read in the church of the Laodiceans and that you in turn read the letter from Laodicea. Tell Akipas, see to it that you complete the work you have received in the Lord. I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace. Be. We must be gracious with our words. Courteous. Respect others as we want them to respect us. Colossians 4, 6. We need to really consider having a trauma-informed pulpit without compromising the message of the gospel. Season with salt makes the word edible for all. It encourages dialogue and meets people where they are in life. We must remember that when someone comes into our place of worship, they may have experienced spiritual abuse at the hand of someone they trusted. They may have church hurt. They may have some form of trauma. Most men and women have had some form of trauma. One in three to one in four have experienced a sexual assault as a child and never told a soul. So you are ministering to a world now that has been shaped and molded by trauma. That must translate into a different way of ministering through a trauma-focused, compassionate lens. Now let's look at the sins of sexual attitude and behavior. Paul says, put to death these things, destructive to groups or the church. We can look at Colossians 3, 5. Evil desires, sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and greed. There's the sins of speech that Paul references. Paul says to rid ourselves of these things because they're relationship breakers, covenant breakers. Anger, malice, slander, filthy language, lying. We can look to Colossians 3.8. Signs of love. Paul says to practice these things. They are relationship builders and covenant keepers. And remember, the greatest commandment is to love. Love God with all your heart. Lean not on your own understanding and love that neighbor as yourself. Compassion, kindness, humility, patience, gentleness, and forgiveness. Look to Colossians 3.12. Now we're going to go to Luke and we're going to read 37 to 38. Jesus talks about criticizing others. Do not judge and you will not be judged. Do not condemn and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and it will be given to you. A good measure pressed down, shaken together and running over will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. He also told them this parable. Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eyes? and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye how can you say to your brother brother let me take the speck out of your eye when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye you hypocrite first take the plank out of your eye and then you will be clear you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye jesus teaches about criticizing others A forgiving spirit. Compassionate rather than critical. Treat others generously, graciously. Love others, not judge them. This is the message that we are to take from this. We look at Matthew 4, 1 to 11. Matthew 4, 1 through 11. This is where Satan tempts Jesus in the desert. Then Jesus was led by the spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. After fasting 40 days and 40 nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, if you are the son of God, tell these stones to become bread. Jesus answered, it is written, man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. If you are the son of God, he said, throw yourself down for it is written. He will command his angels concerning you and they will lift you up in their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. Jesus answered him, it is also written, do not put the Lord your God to the test. Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. All this I will give you, he said, if you will bow down and worship me. Jesus said to him, away from me, Satan, for it is written, worship the Lord your God and serve him only. Then the devil left him and angels came and attended him. Let's look at that a little bit more. Satan tempts Jesus in the desert. Again, Matthew 4, 1 through 11. Temptation number one, make bread. There was a physical need, an area of lack Satan wanted to exploit. Jesus was hungry. Maybe he had some impatience. He had fasted for 40 days. And you know how you get when you're hungry and you want to eat. The devil knew what he was lacking and he used it to come in and try to exploit that weakness. Temptation number one, make bread. Would God provide? Our flesh can have doubts when we are in seasons of lack. We can be in disbelief. Will you patiently wait for God's answer or will you try to force an outcome in your own strength? Lord Jesus' response, Deuteronomy 8.3. See, Jesus quoted scripture, and I'm going to read out the New International Reader's Version. He took your pride away. He let you go hungry. Then he gave you manna to eat. You and your parents had never even known anything about manna before. He tested you to teach you that man doesn't live only on bread. He also lives on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. So he fought him with the sword of truth, the word of truth, the scriptures. And that's how you resist the devil today. You quote scripture back to him. Revelation, depend on God. Focus on God's purpose for your life over and against any promises that Satan tries to bring to you and deceive you with. Temptation number two. Dare God to rescue you. Scripture out of context. Satan took scripture out of context. There was an emotional need, an area of lack Satan wanted to exploit for security, protection. Temptation number two explored, dare God to rescue you. Again, misapplying scripture. Would God protect? Our flesh can have doubts when we are in seasons of lack. We can have pride, insecurity, and test God. What was Lord Jesus' response to Satan? He quoted scripture. Deuteronomy 6.16. We're going to read the New International Reader's Version. Don't test the Lord your God as you did at Massa. Revelation, do not test God. Focus on God's plan for your life. You have to surrender your will for God's will. And we love telling God what to do. I know I did. I still do. And I'm learning. I'm I'm always learning and I'm much better as I grow in faith than I was before. But I have to really look inward and say, you know, how am I praying? Am I kind of telling God what to do and what I want him to do and ordering him around? Or am I surrendering and making him the master of my life? Not my will, but his be done. And that's our prayer that we should be praying. Temptation number three, worship me. Satan, God of this world, he wanted he wanted to be worshipped. He wanted Jesus to worship him. There was a psychological need there, an area of lack that Satan wanted to exploit. Again, he was weak. He had been fasting. He was tired and he was being tested. significance, power and achievement. Many of us can want to be powerful. We can want people to like us. We can want to be quite successful. And that could open us up to this psychological need for acceptance, which could lead us to a pathway to being vulnerable to sin and susceptible to the world system of leadership instead of standing up and standing out for Christ and resembling heaven and the kingdom, we can sadly bow to the culture of the world and surrender to the culture of the world just to fit in because there's some part of us that needs to be accepted. Temptation number three, worship me. Again, Satan, the God of this world, wanted Jesus to worship him. Would God rule? Our flesh can have doubts when we are in seasons of lack. Is God truly in control? And we know that he is. Do you desire a quick end to your pain, torment, trial or season of lack or suffering? Do you just want it to be over and you say yes to the first job opportunity that comes or the first house that you see or an opportunity and you don't pray first, you don't ask God, you don't seek his will? You say yes to that door, but did God open that door? Is that for you? Is that the pathway that you're to go? Is it in line with God's will? Are you trying to force an outcome? Are you trying to get a quick end to the uncomfortableness of not knowing? Because when you walk in faith, you truly walk by faith and not by sight. And it can be uncomfortable. And you just want to do anything to end that. That's where you're tested and tried in the furnace and the refiner's fire and you're purified and you learn that patience and you have that enduring faith that can't be shaken. Do you try to work in your own power to control an outcome? Do you provide your own solution and become the God of your own life? I've been guilty of that, trying to control an outcome, especially of those of us who've suffered abuse and violence or been hurt, especially if we've been hurt by men. We do see God as male or Jesus. And so a lot of us can look at that as this power and control dynamic, and we can have a hard time with surrendering to his will for our life. But it's in that power of surrender, it's in that letting go and letting God that you truly find life and And I have been miraculously changed because of Christ's mercy and grace in my life. And you can be too. Lord Jesus' response, again, he quoted scripture. Deuteronomy 6.13. I'm going to read out the New International Reader's Version. Worship the Lord your God. He is the only one you serve. When you make promises, do so in his name. Revelation, do not compromise with evil. Focus on God's person. Focus on the goodness of God, his promises. God is truthful. He's faithful. He always keeps his word. His word never returns void. Lack, area of need, plus doubt. Need will be met in a timely manner or at all. equals inappropriate desire, which leads to temptation and sin. So I say that again, if you have some area of weakness, some area of lack, and then that doubt comes in through Satan or him whispering in your ear, then you can have this inappropriate desire to end that suffering quickly, to get out of that trial, to get out of that adverse situation and to end that season that you're in and that can lead you into temptation or sin. I'm not talking about an abusive situation here between an abusive spouse or someone that's in some type of relationship like that. That is something that you pray on and God will give you the strength and the timing with which to get out of that situation that you find yourself in. And again, there's always hotline information and information that you can find on our website, www.reflectivespacesministry.com. So if you need some support, there are hotline support available that you can call. We must, as a church, as a body of believers, remembering Christ is the head and we're the church, we are to provide Maslow's hierarchy of needs. We are to remove the pathway to temptation and eventual sin. If we supply that need that that individual has for food, clothing, shelter, water, a place to sleep, if we provide that stability, access to health care, pathways to overcome poverty, then we can eliminate what the devil can use to entice someone into that sinful nature or sinful desire. Now let's look at Amos 2, and again, we'll be reading out of the Life Application Study Bible. This is what the Lord says. For three sins of mode, even for four, I will not turn back my wrath, because he burned as if to lime. the bones of Edom's king. I will send fire upon Moab that will consume the fortresses of Kira. Moab will go down in great turmoil amid war cries and the blast of the trumpet. I will destroy her ruler and kill all her officials with him, says the Lord. This is what the Lord says. For three sins of Judah, Even for four, I will not turn back my wrath because they have rejected the law of the Lord and have not kept his decrees. Because they have been led astray by false gods, the gods of their ancestors followed. I will send fire upon Judah that will consume the fortresses of Jerusalem. Judgment on Israel. This is what the Lord says for three sins of Israel, even for four, I will not turn back my wrath. They sell the righteous for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals. They trample on the heads of the poor as upon the dust of the ground and deny justice to the oppressed. Father and son use the same girl and so profane my holy name. They lie down beside every altar on garments taken and pledged. In the house of their God, they drink wine taken as vines. I destroyed the Amorite before them, though he was tall as the cedars and strong as the oaks. I destroyed his fruit above and his roots below. I brought you up out of Egypt and led you 40 years in the desert to give you the land of the Amorites. I also raised up prophets from among your sons and Nazarites from among your young men. This is not true, people of Israel, declares the Lord. I'm sorry, is this not true? People of Israel declares the Lord. But you made the Nazarites drink wine and commanded the prophets not to prophesy. Now then I will crush you as a cart crushes when loaded with grain. The swift will not escape. The strong will not muster their strength. And the warrior will not save his life. The archer will not stand his ground. The fleet footed soldier will not give away and the horseman will not save his life. Even the bravest warriors will flee naked on that day, declares the Lord. Sins then were the same as the sins now. Incest, lust, greed, profiting from the downfall of others, slavery, sexual immorality, idol worship, open rebellion against God, blatant disregard for the revealed law of God. Israel and Judah knew what God desired, but chose pagan worship and following the world's false system of religion over God's will. If we know the right path, refuse to obey, and operate in blatant rebellion, we will face judgment. God condemned Israel for five specific sins. selling the poorest slaves, exploiting the poor, engaging in perverse sexual sins, taking illegal collateral for loans, and worshiping false gods. Amos spoke to the upper class. There was no middle class, only the very rich or the very poor. Sounds like now. Do not be greedy and unjust. Instead, God expects us to live out our faith by helping those in need. Do you attend church and fulfill religious rituals, but ignore the plight of the poor and the oppressed? Do your life and actions reflect Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior? Let's take a moment of reflection and truly look inward to see if we are mirroring Christ with our life and actions. And I received a word today from the Holy Spirit through a download from our Lord. And that prophetic word I am required to give you today as a watchman on the wall to let you know that the Lord placed this heavily on my heart. And I have to bring this truth to you in this entire teaching he gave me. Thus saith the Lord. Thus saith the Lord, repent and turn back to me before my judgment is certain. Turn back to me, turn back to me. Woe to the one that does not heed this word. Thus saith the Lord thy God. We have reached a season, a season in time to where we must follow God. In action and deed, the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior. Are we mirroring his life? Are we looking to the epistles for the example? Are we looking to the acts of the apostles? Are we a purified bride, a true church with Christ as the head and we the body? Or have we become contaminated by the world? by culture, by agendas, whether religious or political. We truly have to turn inward during this season of time and look and see, because that is a word for you that he had today. This entire teaching was downloaded to me this morning and I put it together in a PowerPoint and the Holy Spirit helped me. I've never done anything like that as far as for a teaching before. He felt very strongly that he wanted me to have you to have this word. Judgment is certain if we do not turn back towards him. And that's what repentance is. It's turning back to our first love, saying, you know what? I missed it, God. I missed it. We've missed it as a nation. We've missed it as a world. Forgive us. Forgive us. Forgive us. We repent. We turn back and we will stop doing those things. The hour has come to where the trumpet is sounding. The scales have tipped. Judgment is certain if we do not repent and turn as a nation and as a world. He is a loving God, a God of mercy, but he is also a God of justice and judgment. And I fear him. I fear that if I don't bring this teaching to you the way he gave it to me, I fear him, but not he's a good father. He loves us. But again, we have free will and we need to choose. Do we choose the path of least resistance and go with the culture and the world? Or do we choose the path of righteousness for his name's sake? The narrow gate, the narrow path. That's the teaching he had for you today. I pray that you've received it in the way in which he gave it to me. That you have the clarity and the wisdom and the insight and the knowledge that he wants you to get from it, to glean from it. so that you too can spread this word of truth to those around you. The hour has come. He's assembling his bride. He's coming. And we have to be ready with our lance full of oil. Are you ready? Have you repented and turned? I'm telling you daily, I'm repenting. It's hard. We live in a deceptive world. I'm I'm always, you know, quoting scripture and resisting the devil just like Jesus did. And remember, Jesus wept. Jesus, he felt our infirmities. By his stripes, you were healed. Walk in his healing and his love. Recognize the hour has come. Repent and turn. Don't keep sinning and doing the same things over and over again and expecting a different outcome. Sin has consequences. We can't compromise with it. We can love the sinner, but not partake and condone the sin. We're all vessels that were broken and needing to be filled. We needed the refiner's fire and to be molded and shaped as the potter does the clay. That's the word he has for you today. God bless you. God keep you. Holy Spirit, fill them up. Strengthen them. Help them to understand, to heed this word, to know that you're speaking your truth to them out of love. But to say it's time now. Turn from your sinful ways. Turn back to God. Repent. Ask the Holy Spirit to come live inside of you, knowing that Lord Jesus is the Son of God, that he died on the cross, was resurrected, ascended to the right side of the Father, and let him come into your heart and be Lord and Savior of your life. Ask him to wash you clean of your sins, to gain that forgiveness, and let him be the Lord and Savior of your life. Surrender to his will. You'll never regret it. I haven't. Thank you so much again. Join us for the next teaching that we have. God bless you. God keep you. He loves you and I love you. Good night or good morning or good afternoon, depending on where you are in the world and listening to this.