Overcoming Offense in Christianity: A Guide to Trust and Faith

Understanding the condition of our hearts without God's word

The importance of self-denial and recognizing the enemy's deceptions

The role of the Holy Spirit in exposing our hearts and motives

The need for integrity, honesty, and pure motives in serving God and man

There is a scripture that should really touch and minister to our hearts. And it is found in Jeremiah 17.9. And this scripture is the truth of God's word which goes deep and somehow makes us at first reel back and say, whoa, this is a strong word. But this is true because it is God's word and it describes the condition of our hearts. This word in Jeremiah 17.9 is telling us of the condition of our hearts without the renewing of the truth of God's word and the living in that word in order that we may know what our hearts really look like. Many people take offense with this word. Jeremiah 17.9 The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, and who could know it? I, the Lord, search the heart. I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doing. The title of the message today is, What? Me offended? Surely not. Not me. You see, self-denial is one of the greatest deceptions and yet cunning and clever defenses the enemy has used on unsuspecting, growing and maturing, blood-washed children of God. God tells us in this scripture, this is so. Our hearts are deceitful. They do not tell us the truth. And we become good at stuffing anger and hurt and woundings of the past and even the present and offense. And we put a good face on and say, Sticks and stones may hurt my bones, but words will never hurt me. Well, not only does Jeremiah 17.9 make it clear, and God's word does not lie, But if we are in doubt regarding the issues of our heart, the author of the book of life has woven this truth throughout the living word so that God's children would not lose sight of the truth. The beautiful and encouraging part of this whole effort of renewal for the child of God is that precious Holy Spirit is at work making clear the motives of our hearts. And he does this by shining his light of purity in its deepest recesses to expose the dark and deceitful and wicked things which we are ignorant of and lie therein. An example of this would be found in 1 Samuel 16.7. When prophet Samuel went on assignment with his instructions from the Lord to anoint the next king who God had chosen to lead his people, Samuel thought Jesse's oldest son must be God's pick because he was so handsome. in 1 Samuel 16.7. When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, Surely the Lord's anointed stands here before the Lord. But the Lord said to Samuel, Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. In 1 Chronicles 28, verse 9, we see another example of the importance that God places upon the heart change once we come into his kingdom. We break into the account where King David is passing the baton on to his son Solomon. In his wise instruction, David gives him the key to any victory that he will ever have. in 1 Chronicles 28, verse 9. And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your fathers and serve Him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind. For the Lord searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you. But if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever. Verse 10, consider now, for the Lord has chosen you to build a temple as a sanctuary. Be strong and do the work. David's last public words to the people in his kingdom are the words and thoughts and meditations of his heart and the very reason why God loved this man so much and called him a man after my own heart. David's wise words are keys and insights for every true hungry child of God who seeks to know God in a vital and real way. Leaping forward just one chapter to 1 Chronicles 29, verse 17, we will see in King David's last words as he prays to God before the people the deep longing and desire of his heart. And please make special note, it is all a matter about the heart. 1 Chronicles 29, verse 17. I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things I have given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen the joy, how willing your people who are here have given to you. Verse 18, O Lord, God of our fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, keep this desire in the hearts of your people forever, and keep their hearts loyal to you. And give my son Solomon the whole heart of devotion to keep your commandments, your requirements and decrees, to do everything to build up the palatial structure which I have provided. David knew the most important thing for all people was the integrity of their hearts. Integrity simply summed up means honesty, sincerity, pure motives without any feign or evil intentions. Honest intentions without manipulations, pure, loyal, and wholehearted desire to serve God and man should become our desire. God indeed searches our hearts and tests our minds to show us what lies within its deepest recesses. This is to set us free and release us from our dark prisons. Dear Church, Jesus has done all of the above and now it is time for the great awakening within our heart. During Jesus' time on earth and before his crucifixion, at one point in his ministry, the people wanted to make him king. In John 2.24, the scripture tells us that Jesus would not entrust himself to them for he knew all men. Verse 25, He did not need man's testimony about man for he knew what was in man. This is speaking of man's heart. And without the true change of healing and deliverance, we are fickle and we will change and oscillate back and forth like the waves of the sea at any given whim. Now, this brings us to the main point and focus of this word today. The reason that Jesus would not entrust himself to man. The scripture says because he knew what was in man's heart. He did not need man's testimony because without the truth in man's heart, Jesus knew that man would quickly vacillate and betray his own heart in any given moment. You see, without the word of God, which is the truth, washing us anew, we will be greatly and easily offended at situations, at people and every injustice that comes our way. Jesus knew these people wanted to make him king because of what they saw him doing in the way of miracles and signs and wonders, which were the prophecies of the Messiah to come. And Jesus knew that when they heard his words and what they were now required to do in the keeping of the new covenant, which his father had sent him to give, Jesus knew the people would be offended at the words of truth that he brought and that they would turn on him in a moment and kill him, which they did because they were offended by his words. Dear church, offense is the greatest and probably the most deadliest sin that cripples a Christian's walk. There are people who for years will hang on to the smallest offense and hold on to a grudge with all of their might Their anger rages within And God word tells us such people will not inherit the Kingdom of Heaven Mainly this is so because the clay whom the great potter Creator has made rises up to declare back to God by saying, I hold the power in my anger and my revenge and my offense against my offender as a matter of control. This is my right. I have been hurt. It is not fair. Precious one, this is called sin in the kingdom of God. And this kind of sin leads to death unless repented of. This is vital truth. which should sink very deeply into our hearts. This is really saying that we should purge this kind of thinking and this lie of Satan from our lives. And as a child of God, believe and live what he tells us to do in his word. You see, this is controlled by an evil spirit which binds and tethers man to the earth. God's word tells us to repent and lay aside all malice of the heart. The prayer Jesus left us in the Gospel of Matthew 6-9 in the way that we should pray, Our Father who art in heaven. And part of that prayer declares, Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. There are people who over the smallest offense have programmed themselves to harbor each one with careful deliberation and retaliation waiting for the right moment to bring out the knife. But the sweetness of revenge is soon turned into bitterness. It is self-defeating. others ruffle their feathers and lapse into a spirit of sorrow and mourning and fret day after day until the root of bitterness grows deep within and it's not hard to spot or see the outward manifestation of offense in a dried up and angry prunish looking face or the facade of a smile which endeavors to hide the mask of offense I pray we ever learn to forgive as we hope to be forgiven, precious ones. Offense is the greatest and probably the deadliest sin that cripples a Christian's walk, as I have said. Let us learn from a man who delighted the heart of his Creator and yet at times provoked the discipline of God upon himself. we open today with several scriptures that showed king david's heart and the kind of person the eyes of the lord go to and fro over the whole earth seeking or looking for and that is those who are purely devoted in sincerity integrity and the purity of their heart's motives towards god This man, King David, was truly a man of action, regardless of whether it was running towards the action or whether it was in suffering. Either way, David was a man of action. He ran to meet Goliath and returned with the giant's head in his hand, or whether it was leading the troops to battle against the Philistines, David was in his element. David was a true warrior. He was a man who never feared the face of man. He was courageous, fearless, and full of confidence in God. And this is why he was successful and known as the greatest king except our Lord Jesus Christ. David was an example of one who stood in the time of his trouble with Saul, who sought to kill him by not raising a hand against the king. He had the opportunity to kill King Saul, but the most he ever did was to cut off the skirt of Saul's robe and even then David's heart convicted him. Let us understand the meaning of revenge. Revenge is premeditation of a desire to inflict punishment or harm on another, to pay back for an injury or an insult or an offense. Let us look at the account where David was almost driven to act upon an offense and how the wise words and actions of another spared him the throne. In 1 Samuel 25, verse 18, the story of David, Nabal, and Abigail. And Abigail was used here of the Lord in David's life by the wise words that she spoke to him. In 1 Samuel 25, verse 18, Then Abigail made haste and took 200 loaves, and let me preface this before we get going, that Nabal had insulted David. David and his army of men were surrounding the property of Nabal and Abigail and protecting them. There were bandits roaming in that day. And David and his men at that time were standing guard. And this was part of how they would survive. And people would bless them by giving to them as they stood guard around the property. This is where David had sent one of his men to go retrieve the foods and the things that they would need in order to live. David and his armies. So Nabal had sent an insulting word back with David's man, and this is where David's offense arose out of because of Nabal's offensive words. 1 Samuel 25, 18. Then Abigail made haste and took 200 loaves, two skins of wine, five sheep already dressed, five measures of parched grain, one hundred clusters of raisin, two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on a donkey. Verse 19, And she said to her servants, Go on before me. Behold, I will come after you. But she did not tell her husband Nabal. Verse 20, As she rode on her donkey, she came down, hidden by the mountains, and behold, David and his men came down opposite of her, and she met them. Now David had said, Surely in vain have I protected all that this fellow has had in the wilderness so that nothing was missed, all of that which belonged to him, and he has repaid me evil for good. May God do so and more so to David if I leave all who belong to him, one male alive by morning. Verse 23. When Abigail saw David, she hastened and lighted off the donkey and fell before David on her face as she did in humility. Kneeling at his feet, she said, Upon me alone let this guilt beat, my Lord, and let your handmaid, I pray, speak in your presence and hear the words of your handmaid. Verse 25, Let not, my Lord, I pray, regard this foolish and wicked fellow Nabal, for as his name is, so he is. Nabal means foolish and wicked. It is his name and folly is with him, but I your handmaid did not see my Lord's young men whom you sent so now my Lord as the Lord lives and as your soul lives seeing that the Lord has prevented you from blood guiltlessness and from avenging yourself with your own hand now let your enemies and those who seek to do evil to my Lord be as Nabal now this gift which your handmaid has brought to my Lord let it be given to the young men who followed my Lord forgive me I pray the trespass of your handmaiden for the Lord will certainly make my Lord a sure house because my Lord is fighting the Lord's battles and evil has not been found in you all your days though men have risen up to pursue you and seek your life yet the life of my Lord shall be bound in the living bundle with the Lord your God and the lives of your enemies them shall he sling out as out of the center of a sling. Verse 30, And when the Lord has done to my Lord according to all the good that he has promised concerning you and made you ruler over Israel, this shall be no staggering grief to you or cause for pain of conscience to my Lord, either that you have shed blood without cause or that my Lord has avenged himself. And when the Lord has dealt with my Lord, then earnestly remember your handmaid. Verse 32 And David said to Abigail, Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me. And blessed be your discretion and advice. And blessed be you who have kept me today from blood guiltiness and from avenging myself with my own hand. Verse 34 as for the Lord, the God of Israel lives, who has prevented me from hurting you. If you had not hurried to come to meet me, surely by morning there would have not been one left so much as one male to Nabal. So David accepted what she brought and he said to her, Go up in peace to your house. See, I have hearkened to your voice and have granted your petition. Verse 36. And Abigail came to Nabal And behold he was holding a feast in his house like the feast of a king And his heart was merry for he was very drunk So she told him nothing at all until the morning light But in the morning when the wine was gone out of Nabal and his wife told him these things, his heart died within him, and he became paralyzed, helpless as a stone. Verse 38, and about ten days after that, the Lord smote Nabal, and he died. When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, Blessed be the Lord, who has pleaded the cause of my reproach at the hand of Nabal, and kept his servant from evil. For the Lord has returned the wickedness of Nabal upon his own head. And David sent and communed with Abigail to take her to him as his wife. And when the servants of David had come to Abigail at Carmel, They said to her, David sent us to take you to him as his wife. Well, we have reason to remember those with respect and gratitude who have been instrumental to keep us from sin. Their wise, godly words and actions in our lives should cause a deep and respectful gratitude in our hearts for their liberating words. Abigail's words to David in the moment were wise words, an advice which kept him from being guilty of needless bloodshed and the rightful and just vengeance of God he would have invoked upon himself. The scripture tells us in Proverbs 25 verse 11, a word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver, like an earring of gold or an ornament of fine gold is a wise man rebuke to a listening ear. Hallelujah. And Psalms 141 verse 5 declares, Let a righteous man strike me. It is a kindness. And let him rebuke me. And it is oil upon my head. And my head will not refuse it. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. And this is what happened with Abigail's words when they came to David. Hallelujah. It was like kindness rushing towards him and a rebuke at the same time. It was like oil being poured upon his head and he accepted it. Well, one last count, precious ones. In 2 Samuel 16, verse 1, that we should look at here today in this word regarding offense, it is found that in 2 Samuel 6 verse 1, and we'll break into this account where David is fleeing from his son Absalom who is attempted to usurp his father's throne. 2 Samuel 16 verse 1. When David had gone a short distance beyond the summit, there was Zeba, the steward of Mephibosheth, waiting to meet him. He had a string of donkeys saddled and loaded with 200 loaves of bread, a hundred raisins of cakes, and a hundred cakes of figs and a skin of wine. And the king asked Ziba, Why have you brought these? Ziba answered, The donkeys are for the Lord's household to ride on, and the bread and the fruit are for men to eat, and the wine is to refresh those who become exhausted in the desert. The king then asked, Where is your master's grandson? Ziba said to him, He is staying in Jerusalem because he thinks, Today the house of Israel will give me back my father's kingdom. And the king said to Ziba, All that belongs to Mephibosheth is now yours. I humbly bow, Ziba said. May I find favor in your eyes, my lord, my king. As King David approached Gerherim, a man from the same clan as Saul's family came out from there. His name was Shimei, son of Gerah. And he cursed as he came out. And he pelted David and all the king's officials with stones, though all the troops and the special guard were on David's right and left. They surrounded David, in other words. and as he cursed Shimei, I said, Get out. Get out, you man of blood, you scoundrel. The Lord has repaid you for all the blood you shed in the household of Saul, in whose place you have reigned. The Lord has handed over the kingdom to your son Absalom and you have come to ruin because you are a man of blood. Verse 9, Then Abishai son of Zeruah said to the king, Why should this dead dog curse my lord, the king? Let me go over and cut off his head. Verse 10. But the king said, What do you and I have in common, you sons of Zeruah? If he is cursing because the Lord said to him, Curse David, who can ask why you do this? David said to Abishai and his officials, My son who is of my own flesh is trying to take my life. How much more than this Benjamite? Leave him alone. Let him curse, for the Lord has told him to. And it may be that the Lord will see my distress and repay me with good for the cursing I am receiving today. Verse 13. So David and his men continued along the road while Shimei was going along the hillside opposite him, cursing as he went and throwing stones at him and showering him with dirt. The king and all the people with him arrived at their destination exhausted and there he refreshed himself. There are main points here in the scripture that we need to see and imitate. The first is the absence of resentment from the heart of David. David did not have resentment in his heart, as we could see. And the second point was his entire resolve or resignation to God's divine will. And the third was his expectancy from God for walking through this trial God's way, that is, without revenge or offense. And the fourth point was that he was looking to the bright side of the trial and still having hope. This man Shimei was displaying the utmost contempt to the king. Yet David did not put out his hand to cut him down, and he could have because he was the king. This man was a bitter man, full of hatred for David, his leadership in word and also in his action. Everything that he was spewing out was bitterness and hatred towards the king and his leadership. Few people could bear the scorn that David did in this moment and yet walk away from it. I'm afraid most of us would have been tempted to take off Shimei's head first and then ask permission afterwards. You see, Abishai was a loyal servant to his king. he reacted with great zeal of heart, but of course not with great wisdom. We can't follow bad advice, dear church. And Peter was a similar case when Jesus told them of the suffering that he was going to go through. Peter spontaneously grabbed the Lord and started to rebuke him for what he was saying. every time I read that account I think oh Peter he grabbed the great creator the very one who spoke all things into existence and was rebuking him you see this is when Jesus turned to Peter and rebuked him and said get behind me Satan you do not have the things of God in mind but the things of man unless we know the truth we will never be set free. We will wander and fumble in the dark because we do not have the light of life living within us. Peter was offended by the Lord's words and yet this is why Jesus came. He came to please his Father in heaven by being our substitute, our sacrifice and go to the cross and die for all the whosoever's would choose him as their Savior and eternal life. There's a testimony that's told by a faithful pastor and preacher. This man tells of one of his parishioners who was offended by his faithful preaching. And the pastor tells it after having preached against the profaning and the irreverence of keeping the Sabbath day which was greatly abused in his church especially among the more wealthy brethren. This one particular member, who happened to be a servant of a nobleman, came to him after he gave the message and said, Sir, you have offended my Lord today. The preacher replied to the man and he said, I should not have offended your Lord, except he had been aware in himself that he had first offended my Lord. And if your Lord will be offended, my Lord, well, then let him be offended. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. You see, the wealthy nobleman took offense at the truth that the pastor was imparting to the church. And this is so true that many who hear the truth of Scripture find offense with it because of the condition of their hearts These kinds of people live in this horrible way of life from one offense to another because they never trusted in God at all. And they've never really accepted Christ as their Savior and allowed Him to show them what was really in their hearts. Remember our opening scripture in Jeremiah 17, verse 9, that the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, and who could know it? I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doing. Jesus says, if you love me, you'll obey my commands. This means then that we obey, we live, we submit to all the truths in the scriptures then. But this causes many folks offense. Because it does not suit the preferences for their appetites for the world and their fleshly desires, as the scriptures call it, lust of the eye, lust of the flesh, and pride of life. Some people join the church of Jesus Christ and after a time they are offended because the novelty of it wears off. Like a new thing in their life. It just wears off. They thought they were always going to be happy and somebody came along and offended them with something that they said and they lost their joy or their happiness and in their unregenerated mind and solution, carnal thinking, this gave them the right to leave offended and disgruntled because this was in their heart all along. Or they never studied the Word of God on a regular basis to have their minds renewed, empowered, and washed through the inherent power of God's Word. They thought they would give this salvation thing a try, like it was an offer to be tried out. And this way of life actually became a burden for many because it imposed more self-denial than they wanted to put forth or expected. They were offended because of the sometimes in-your-face messages or counsel that spoke to the very core of the sin from those who were sent to them to encourage, be a help to them and lift them to a higher place through the Holy Spirit working in them. Jesus has given the proper track or path to and pattern for us to follow when he said, Forgive, even to 70 times 7. So, dear ones, we must. David's words will continue to ring out through the centuries for those who will grasp them and these words I remind you again are let him alone let him curse me the Lord has instructed him to maybe that's why in the scripture one of the big reasons bless those who curse you and good will come out of it You can see the freedom in that word. If you have a present situation you are dealing with or even past offenses that have held you bound, then consider these situations and dealings as the Lord's knife doing surgery in your life. The Spirit of the Lord is like a mighty surgeon who lovingly prunes all that is not good in our lives. Remember, God is using this affliction for your good, just as David spoke. And through it, He's bringing the words of Isaiah 61, one to pass in your life. He's preaching the good news to your poor and needy soul in order that you may be built up in Him and stand strong and recognize and discern and have discretion of those deceitful things in your heart so that he might bind up your broken heart and proclaim liberty or freedom to you where you still may be imprisoned by the darkness of your ignorance or willful sin. Accept this present trial that you may be going through now and know your Lord's hand is upon it. In this message today, only a small part of a big subject of offense is possible to impart to you in this small amount of time, this little amount of time. And if you will take anything as a main point from this message today, let it be and learn from David and do not look at the affliction of offense, but rather from the bright side, that God may be using this affliction of offense for your good and for his end. It is really good and noble of David to make excuses for Shimei. David was willing to take the affliction, believing that God's divine will was being worked out and for in his very own life. All God does and ever will do for you and me, precious ones, is good. That's all he will ever do for us is good because he loves us. He is a God of love. And David knew that. And he put his trust and hope in God. The beauty of David's looking to God came out of this very calm and quiet remark. God will get me out of this. He didn't wish to have Shimei beheaded or leave a dead body. David knew that when he reacted correctly and looked on the bright side of the matter, God was going to come to his defense. He said, though my affliction is very bitter, God will come to my rescue. He had great trust and confidence in God fighting his battles for him. And if it were not for the mercy and promise of the Holy Spirit given to us, the all-faithful one to brood over the dark chasm of our empty souls and fill us with the love and the knowledge and wisdom of God, we would remain hopeless and helpless and would just exist as all those who do who live in the world who do not know or have not yet accepted God's own Son, Jesus Christ, as their Lord and Savior. But for those who are growing in Him by the power of the Holy Spirit given them we learn to take the Goliaths in our lives one at a time by faith and obedience and submission to God's Word. We soon learn that the joy of the Lord is our strength, and the Lord strengthens you and me in His grace when we are weak. Pray for patience towards men, and patience towards God. Pray for your eyes to see the light, even though the darkness may come. Just as David's example for us, he looked to the bright side of the offense. And then he didn't fall into a trap of revenge and offense to get back at his offender. Pray and learn to lean totally upon God and keep yourself in Christ Jesus your Savior, the one who took all of your offenses to the cross with him. Do not stuff your pain, your hurts, your offense and your woundings. Rise above it, precious ones, and take dominion over it. Jesus is the king over your life, or he is not. Learn to let him rule and reign over all of your heart. And let King David's words be like nails driven deep into your heart. Let these words always linger with you, bringing hope and light to your path. And then you will never be one who will stand in denial and say, What? Me offended? Surely not. Not me. David's words, Psalm 62, 5. My soul, wait upon God and silently submit to Him. for my hope and expectation are from him. He only is my rock and my salvation. He is my defense and my fortress and I shall not be moved. With God rests my salvation and my glory. He is my rock of unyielding strength and impenetrable hardness and my refuge is in God. Verse 8. Trust in. lean on, rely on and have confidence in him at all times. You people, pour out your hearts before him. God is a refuge for us, a fortress and a high tower. Precious one, rise above. Take dominion and lean on your high tower of strength who is Jesus Christ. Learn to live in him and offense will not be your enemy because Jesus will give you understanding and discernment in the lack of forgiveness and a heart of compassion for those who bring offense. Hallelujah.

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