We started out this series with Jesus words from Luke 17:1 where Jesus declares that it is impossible to go through this life and not become offended. The Greek word used in that verse comes from the word, "Skandalon" and this word originally referred to the part of the trap to which the bait was attached. The word implies laying a trap in someone's way.The real skandal in the church today is that we seek forgiveness for our own sins, but don't practice forgiveness for those who trespass against us, insult us, hurt us and offend us. We want forgiveness but we also want revenge, you can't have forgiveness and seek revenge. Jesus teaches us that through the precedent of love we can overcome the hurts, mistreatments, and wounds that offense has inflicted on us through forgiveness. A person who cannot forgive has forgotten the great debt for which they were forgiven.
Date: 03/03/19
Scripture: Matthew 18:21-35 and Proverbs 19:11
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From Series: "Triggered: Overcoming Offense"
It destroys families, marriages, and even the work of the church to make disciples, the one thing that Jesus said must be done. It takes away any successes and advancement towards unity and fellowship, it turns love into hatred and peace into conflict. But that's not the worst of it, the worst thing it does is takes you away from the will of God for your life! What is this terrible, nasty, evil thing that causes all of this destruction? It's called, offense! Being offended is Satan's bait to trip you up and cause you to walk away from all that God has for you in life. When we define the word, "offense" the Bible says that it is an injury or wrong done to another person. It can be a stumbling block or a cause of temptation.
Battling the deadly trap of offense is the most important confrontation with truth you will ever encounter in your lifetime because at the core of the issue of offense is the difficulty with overcoming being offended. it often leaves us with resentment, hatred, and harboring unhealthy criticism for another. Satan the enemy of our very souls lays out strategically his most deceptive and deadly traps through offense. This is Satan best bait when enticing us to walk away from God's will in our lives and in the life of the church and no Christian is exempt from this deadly trap.
The good news is this: offense itself is not deadly if it stays in the trap. It is when we take the bait and consume it and feed it to our hearts that we become offended. When people are offended they produce a lot of poisonous fruit that wreaks havoc on all those around them. Things like, hurt, anger, outrage, jealousy, resentment, strife, bitterness, hatred, envy, and unhealthy criticism. What is even more dangerous is the pride in people's hearts that holds them back from repentance when they have taken the bait of being offended.
Remember, Jesus said that it is impossible to live this life and not have the opportunity to be offended (Luke 17:1) You can find the power to forgive and be released from the trap of offense! Join us on Sunday's starting January 20th for "Triggered: Overcoming Offense."
