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The Bible does not record that Jesus reacted to any of the men who left Him. His only delight was to do the will of the Father. In doing so He would benefit the greatest number of people.
Jesus?” The pastor dropped his head. “That is exactly what the Lord said to me about
Jesus would not be controlled by others. He would speak truth even if it meant confrontation and ultimately offense. If you desire the approval of men, God’s anointing cannot fall upon you. You must purpose in your heart to speak the Word of God and perform His will even at the risk of offending others.
Jesus wkuldnt be controlled, You cant expect to be a pekple pleaser and have God's anointing
Again Jesus did not compromise truth in order to keep them from being offended. The townspeople were so angry that they tried to kill Him by pushing Him off a cliff (Luke 4:28–30). Even when His life was in danger He continued to speak the truth. How we need more men and women like that today!
Things were already tough enough as it was. The religious leaders were plotting His death. His own hometown rejected Him. His family thought He was out of His mind. To add more pressure, many of His own staff members left offended. But Jesus still did not compromise. He just told those who were left that they were also free to go if they wanted to.
Many ministers are afraid that if they do not fulfill their people’s expectations they will hurt their feelings and lose their support. They are trapped by the fear of offending others. They are controlled by their own people, not God. As a result, little of eternal value is accomplished in their churches or congregations.
When you live for the will of God, you will not fulfill the desires of men. As a result, you will suffer in the flesh. Jesus suffered His greatest opposition from the religious leaders. Religious people believe God operates only within the confines of their parameters. They believe they are the only ones who have an “in” with God. If the Master offended religious people as He was led by the Spirit two thousand years ago, those who follow Him will surely offend them.
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If anyone challenges the truth of the gospel, it is the time to be offensive without apology. We must determine in our hearts that we will obey the Spirit of God no matter what the cost. Then we will not have to make the choice under pressure because it will have been made.
Cannot apologize for defending the Gospel from arrack. Cant worry about offending
I declare that I will never compromise the truth of God because I fear that truth will offend others. I am determined to feed and nurture the ones to whom God has sent me with His truth and knowledge. Holy Spirit, pour the fresh oil of Your anointing over my life, that I may continue to fulfill Your will in
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Jesus was asking Peter, “If I am the Son of the One who owns the temple, then am I not free from paying temple tax?” Of course He would be exempt. He would be totally justified in not paying the tax. Yet watch what He says to Simon Peter: Nevertheless, lest we offend them, go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first. And when you have opened its mouth, you will find a piece of money; take that and give it to them for Me and you. —MATTHEW 17:27, EMPHASIS ADDED
Jesus proved His rights regarding the temple tax to Peter and the rest of the disciples to exemplify the importance of laying down our lives to serve. He never wanted freedom to be a license to demand our rights and cause another to be offended and stumble.
—MATTHEW 18:6–10 This entire chapter of Matthew is about offenses. Jesus is clearly saying to get rid of whatever causes sin, even if it is one of your New Testament privileges. If it causes your weak brother to sin, cut it off before him.
Jesus offended some people as a result of obeying the Father and serving others. His offense did not come by demanding His own rights.
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helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify. Let no one seek his own, but each one the other’s well-being. . . .Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
all. Use your liberty in Christ to set others free, not to assert your own rights.
offense, another root will spring up in place of the love of God. It is called the root of bitterness. Francis Frangipane gave an excellent definition of bitterness: “Bitterness is unfulfilled revenge.”1 It is produced when revenge is not satisfied to the degree we desire.
Assistants to leaders in a church often become offended by the person they serve. They soon become critical—experts at all that is wrong with their leader or those he or she appoints. They become offended. Their sight is distorted. They see from a totally different perspective than God’s.
They believe their mission in life is to deliver those around them from an unfair leader. They win the hearts of the disgruntled, discontent, and ignorant, and before they know it they end up splitting or dividing the church or ministry. Just like Absalom.
to the correction of the Lord, for only His Word can discern the thoughts and intentions of our hearts. The Holy Spirit convicts as He speaks through one’s conscience. We must not ignore His conviction or quench Him. If anyone has done this, repent before God, and open your heart to His correction.
out of my life before its roots go deep and become hard to pull up. With God’s help I refuse to become critical and offended by someone in leadership over me who I feel has not been fair in his or her treatment of me. I refuse to sow strife, so that I may never reap it unto myself.
Maturity does not come easily. If it did, all would attain it. Few reach this level of life because of the resistance they face. There’s resistance because the course of our society is not godly but selfish. The world is dominated by the “prince of the power of the air” (Eph. 2:2). As a result, to enter into the maturity of Christ there will be hardships that come from standing against the flow of selfishness.
Maturity in Christ
Paul had returned to three cities where he birthed churches. His purpose was to strengthen the souls of the disciples. However, it is interesting to see how he strengthened them. He encouraged them by: . . . exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.”
when we are determined to go God’s way we will meet up with many tribulations. The trials will all show the answer to one main question: Are you going to look out for yourself as the world does, or are you going to live a self-denied life? Remember that when we lose our life for the sake of Jesus, we will find His life. Learn to fix your focus on the end result, not the struggle. Peter put it so well: Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings,
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God's way to mature us is through trials
Father, keep me from trying to do things in the strength of my own soul, which will only make me more susceptible to falling. I will admit my true condition, seek Your strength, and be open to Your correction.
Trusting my strength not God's leaves me susceptible to falling
Lord, I am committed to the fast that You have chosen, for through it You will loose my bonds of wickedness, undo my heavy burden, and free me from my oppression. Break every yoke by Your power (Isa. 58:6).
Fast that God has chosen for you
The word raca means “empty-headed,” or fool. It was a term of reproach used among the Jews in the time of Christ. If that anger reaches the point where
Jesus was showing them that not dealing with anger can lead to hatred. Hatred not dealt with would put them in danger of hell.
Often we judge ourselves by our intentions and everyone else by their actions. It is possible to intend one thing while communicating something totally different. Sometimes our true motives are cleverly hidden even from us. We want to believe they are pure. But as we filter them through the Word of God we see them differently.
We must be sensitive to the fact that he believes with his whole heart that he has been wronged. For whatever reason he feels this way, we must be willing to humble ourselves and apologize. Jesus is exhorting us to reconcile even if the offense is not our fault. It takes maturity to walk
On certain occasions I have approached people I have hurt or who were angry with me, and they have lashed out at me. I have been told I was selfish, inconsiderate, proud, rude, harsh, and more. My natural response has been to say, “No, I’m not. You just don’t understand me!” But when I defend myself, it only fuels their fire of offense. This is not pursuing peace. Standing up for ourselves and “our rights” will never bring true peace.
Instead I have learned to listen and keep my mouth shut until they have said what they need to say. If I don’t agree, I let them know I respect what they have said and will search my attitude and intentions. Then I tell them I am sorry I have hurt them. Other times they are accurate in their assessment of me. I admit, “You are right. I ask your forgiveness.”
Once again it simply means humbling ourselves to promote reconciliation. Perhaps this was why Jesus said in the next verses: Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny.
It is about promoting reconciliation
Jesus instructed us to go to one another. It is not for condemnation but for reconciliation. He does not want us to tell our brother how rotten he has been to us. We are to go to remove the breach preventing the restoration of our relationship.
Reconciling to sustain the relationship
Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. —2 CORINTHIANS 5:18–20, EMPHASIS ADDED
God has reconciled Himself to us
Has someone ever come to you and said, “I just want you to know that I forgive you for not being a better friend and for not doing this or that for me”? Then when they have blasted you, they give you a look that says, “You owe me an apology.” You are baffled and stand there in confusion and hurt. They did not come to reconcile your relationship but to intimidate and control you. We should not go to a brother who has offended us until we have decided to forgive him from our hearts—no matter how he responds to us. We need to get rid of any feelings of animosity toward him before approaching him.
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What happens if we have the right attitude and attempt to reconcile with someone who has sinned against us, but he or she won’t listen? But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that “by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.” And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector. —MATTHEW 18:16–17
If we do all we can finaally treat them like antax collector and heathen
We feel justified as we tell everyone our side of the story. It strengthens our cause and comforts us when others agree with how badly we have been treated. There is only selfishness in this type of behavior.
a friend counseled me not to walk away from a very frustrating situation. “John, I know you can find scriptural reasons for walking away. Before you do that, make sure you have fought this in prayer and done all you can to bring the peace of God into this situation.” Then he added, “You will regret it if you look back one day and ask yourself if you did all you could to save this relationship. It is better to know that you have no other recourse and that you did as much as possible without compromising truth.”
Do all you can to save the relationship so you wnt look back regretting , feeling justified instead of reconciled
He did not say, “Blessed are the peacekeepers.” A peacekeeper avoids confrontation at all costs to maintain peace, even at the risk of compromising truth. But the peace he maintains is not true peace. It is a touchy, superficial peace that will not last.
So many in our society today are deceived by a superficial love, a love that talks but does not act. The love that will keep us from stumbling lays down its life selflessly—even for the good of an enemy. When we walk in this kind of love, we cannot be seduced into taking the bait of Satan.
We have a love that dies not just talks
Holy Spirit, with Your help, I am determined to daily examine my heart to be sure there are no offenses in my life that I have failed to forgive.
