Offense
There is a massive danger in thinking wrongly about life with God. The danger is "offense." Offense is really one of the only ways the enemy can separate me from God, because offense is really a trick the enemy uses to get me to separate myself from God. Nothing can snatch me from God's hand, but satan CAN lie to me and get me to move myself.
Love...what God has built everything upon...requires free will. Love requires that I always maintain the right and ability to move away from God. Without this right, love simply cannot exist. God refuses to violate love.
Jesus warned His disciples that the way He does things is prone to cause offense. That is because God has a longer view of life than I do.
Matthew 11:6 And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.”
Isaiah 55:8-9 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord . “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.
This is easily understood by any parent. I have a longer view of life than my kids do. This longer view is why I don't let them play every video game they might think they can handle...it is why we don't eat a bunch of candy at 3 pm, and why ice cream is a treat and not a staple. It is why I constantly make my kids stop and pray out loud about things that seem trivial.
I do things now that my kids might think are dumb, mean, or meaningless, fully knowing that, if they remain un-offended with me, someday they will appreciate that I did them.
I remember being a kid and going through a very hard time as a family. My mom decided that the kids and her would start doing a prayer journal at night. To a 12 year old boy, that was about the lamest hour I could imagine, but I humored mom. The trouble drew mom and the kids together in a way only trouble can. Although for years I struggled with how hard those years had been, God's plan was brilliant and my mom's response was equally remarkable. Rather than shrink back in fear and depression, she did the one thing she knew would help: turn her kids attention to God rather than wallow in the trouble her own life was buried in.
The impact seeing those answered prayers week after week had on me was irreversible. It is one of the wisest things anyone has ever exposed me to, and only when I was in my early 30s with my own kids did I see how brilliant that seemingly silly thing was. It was preparation for what God had later for me.
This is what being a good parent is all about. Standing firm in wisdom for the good of your family, even when no one gets it or appreciates it. Exposing your beloved family to some minor tribulation to avoid a much larger issue you see coming down the road is the love of the Father. Preparing those you love by turning their attention in a time of trouble to God is wisdom.
Jesus warned that the generations that came after Him...those that knew and followed Him...would see tribulation. He said there is only one response to the trouble that agrees with Him: to "be of good cheer":
John 16:33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
He didn't say "if you have tribulation"...Jesus said "you will have tribulation." The truth is, tribulation is good for believers. This is why:
Romans 5:3-5 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
Every disciple of Jesus in the Bible wrote of the same concept. Speaking from the pages of the Bible to our generation, John said this:
Revelation 1:9 I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.
John said, basically "if you are reading this book, you are my brother and companion in three things: tribulation, Jesus' kingdom, and Jesus' patience. These three are inseparable. You can't have one without the other. If you want the kingdom, then you want the tribulation that comes with a kingdom being "pulled back out of the mud" from sin and death. The tribulation is evidence something is actually happening. If there was no tribulation, there would be no tangible evidence of the progression of true renewal of all things.
If your heart is not prepared for the reality of what is about to break out on the earth, you run a very high risk of being offended with what Jesus is about to allow. This is especially dangerous for American Christians. We have come to believe that we are somehow entitled to "the good life" (which isn't really all that good). Hanging onto this idea when heaven is moving in another direction is VERY unwise. Now is the time for an all out abandonment of the American dream of abundant prosperity now, absent of God's physical presence and a wholehearted agreement with God's dream of taking over the physical kingdoms of the earth by using the Great Tribulation to force all those who would to choose Him before it is too late. Christians are supposed to be preparing to overcome the world WITH Jesus!
Overcoming is an "active" activity. Not accepting the trouble as from God, but seeing it as allowed by God so that I can beat it. The role of the Bride in the last 7 years is to overcome by the Blood of the Lamb and the Word of her testimony. You don't get a testimony without some trouble!:
Revelation 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.
A good history of victory over little troubles...actively resisting the enemy and watching him flee...fills my lamp with the oil of a history of encountering God in the troublesome places so I can bring down the next giant. The great tribulation and the man that brings it is the final giant. If God hadn't allowed David to fight and win against lions and bears, he may have never taken on Goliath:
I Samuel 17:37 Moreover David said, “The Lord , who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you!”
There is great trouble coming. I believe very soon we will see the time Daniel was told about, the wise will prepare and deliver many from the trouble God allows:
Daniel 12:1-3 “At that time Michael shall stand up, The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; And there shall be a time of trouble, Such as never was since there was a nation, Even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, Every one who is found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life, Some to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise shall shine Like the brightness of the firmament, And those who turn many to righteousness Like the stars forever and ever.
Before the Great Tribulation that the whole world will feel, believers will experience the initial pangs of "tribulation" and persecution. This is to allow them time to prepare in wisdom. This is already being released in other parts of the world, but it is sure to come to all nations...including here. It will come suddenly:
Matthew 24:9-12 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.
Tribulation will lead to offense, which will lead to betrayal as many unprepared Christians abandon fundamental beliefs and compromise to save their own skin and that of their families. This will result in many believers "love growing cold." Jesus warned his disciples privately that endurance would be required to make it. This is because without endurance, you will quit Jesus. He will never quit you, but if you don't agree with Him to watch, pray, and "be ready" you may very well quit Him out of offense.
Offense and betrayal ARE coming. If Jesus was willing to let His beloved Peter and John and James...His own brother Jude...suffer the trouble of the Acts Church, what would lead us to believe we would get a different deal? The truth is, it wouldn't be a better deal to miss out on sharing in the victory those before us have had a share in. Jesus told His disciples that FAITH to prepare in advance...was the deciding factor in resisting offense. FAITH is the fruit of the Spirit grown in accepting the truth of the Word, responding to it with faithful preparation, like you believe it, and getting ready to meet the trouble in victory, not searching for verses that make you feel comfortable to do nothing!
We start preparation today studying the Word, AND by seeing the troubles we have today as opportunities to win victories that prepare us for THAT day!
Hebrews 11:7 By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.
Now is the time to throw off the fables, get in the word, and get ready. Does what you teach prepare people for trouble, or cause them to "wait and see"?
Love...what God has built everything upon...requires free will. Love requires that I always maintain the right and ability to move away from God. Without this right, love simply cannot exist. God refuses to violate love.
Jesus warned His disciples that the way He does things is prone to cause offense. That is because God has a longer view of life than I do.
Matthew 11:6 And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.”
Isaiah 55:8-9 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord . “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.
This is easily understood by any parent. I have a longer view of life than my kids do. This longer view is why I don't let them play every video game they might think they can handle...it is why we don't eat a bunch of candy at 3 pm, and why ice cream is a treat and not a staple. It is why I constantly make my kids stop and pray out loud about things that seem trivial.
I do things now that my kids might think are dumb, mean, or meaningless, fully knowing that, if they remain un-offended with me, someday they will appreciate that I did them.
I remember being a kid and going through a very hard time as a family. My mom decided that the kids and her would start doing a prayer journal at night. To a 12 year old boy, that was about the lamest hour I could imagine, but I humored mom. The trouble drew mom and the kids together in a way only trouble can. Although for years I struggled with how hard those years had been, God's plan was brilliant and my mom's response was equally remarkable. Rather than shrink back in fear and depression, she did the one thing she knew would help: turn her kids attention to God rather than wallow in the trouble her own life was buried in.
The impact seeing those answered prayers week after week had on me was irreversible. It is one of the wisest things anyone has ever exposed me to, and only when I was in my early 30s with my own kids did I see how brilliant that seemingly silly thing was. It was preparation for what God had later for me.
This is what being a good parent is all about. Standing firm in wisdom for the good of your family, even when no one gets it or appreciates it. Exposing your beloved family to some minor tribulation to avoid a much larger issue you see coming down the road is the love of the Father. Preparing those you love by turning their attention in a time of trouble to God is wisdom.
Jesus warned that the generations that came after Him...those that knew and followed Him...would see tribulation. He said there is only one response to the trouble that agrees with Him: to "be of good cheer":
John 16:33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
He didn't say "if you have tribulation"...Jesus said "you will have tribulation." The truth is, tribulation is good for believers. This is why:
Romans 5:3-5 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
Every disciple of Jesus in the Bible wrote of the same concept. Speaking from the pages of the Bible to our generation, John said this:
Revelation 1:9 I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.
John said, basically "if you are reading this book, you are my brother and companion in three things: tribulation, Jesus' kingdom, and Jesus' patience. These three are inseparable. You can't have one without the other. If you want the kingdom, then you want the tribulation that comes with a kingdom being "pulled back out of the mud" from sin and death. The tribulation is evidence something is actually happening. If there was no tribulation, there would be no tangible evidence of the progression of true renewal of all things.
If your heart is not prepared for the reality of what is about to break out on the earth, you run a very high risk of being offended with what Jesus is about to allow. This is especially dangerous for American Christians. We have come to believe that we are somehow entitled to "the good life" (which isn't really all that good). Hanging onto this idea when heaven is moving in another direction is VERY unwise. Now is the time for an all out abandonment of the American dream of abundant prosperity now, absent of God's physical presence and a wholehearted agreement with God's dream of taking over the physical kingdoms of the earth by using the Great Tribulation to force all those who would to choose Him before it is too late. Christians are supposed to be preparing to overcome the world WITH Jesus!
Overcoming is an "active" activity. Not accepting the trouble as from God, but seeing it as allowed by God so that I can beat it. The role of the Bride in the last 7 years is to overcome by the Blood of the Lamb and the Word of her testimony. You don't get a testimony without some trouble!:
Revelation 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.
A good history of victory over little troubles...actively resisting the enemy and watching him flee...fills my lamp with the oil of a history of encountering God in the troublesome places so I can bring down the next giant. The great tribulation and the man that brings it is the final giant. If God hadn't allowed David to fight and win against lions and bears, he may have never taken on Goliath:
I Samuel 17:37 Moreover David said, “The Lord , who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you!”
There is great trouble coming. I believe very soon we will see the time Daniel was told about, the wise will prepare and deliver many from the trouble God allows:
Daniel 12:1-3 “At that time Michael shall stand up, The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; And there shall be a time of trouble, Such as never was since there was a nation, Even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, Every one who is found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life, Some to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise shall shine Like the brightness of the firmament, And those who turn many to righteousness Like the stars forever and ever.
Before the Great Tribulation that the whole world will feel, believers will experience the initial pangs of "tribulation" and persecution. This is to allow them time to prepare in wisdom. This is already being released in other parts of the world, but it is sure to come to all nations...including here. It will come suddenly:
Matthew 24:9-12 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.
Tribulation will lead to offense, which will lead to betrayal as many unprepared Christians abandon fundamental beliefs and compromise to save their own skin and that of their families. This will result in many believers "love growing cold." Jesus warned his disciples privately that endurance would be required to make it. This is because without endurance, you will quit Jesus. He will never quit you, but if you don't agree with Him to watch, pray, and "be ready" you may very well quit Him out of offense.
Offense and betrayal ARE coming. If Jesus was willing to let His beloved Peter and John and James...His own brother Jude...suffer the trouble of the Acts Church, what would lead us to believe we would get a different deal? The truth is, it wouldn't be a better deal to miss out on sharing in the victory those before us have had a share in. Jesus told His disciples that FAITH to prepare in advance...was the deciding factor in resisting offense. FAITH is the fruit of the Spirit grown in accepting the truth of the Word, responding to it with faithful preparation, like you believe it, and getting ready to meet the trouble in victory, not searching for verses that make you feel comfortable to do nothing!
We start preparation today studying the Word, AND by seeing the troubles we have today as opportunities to win victories that prepare us for THAT day!
Hebrews 11:7 By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.
Now is the time to throw off the fables, get in the word, and get ready. Does what you teach prepare people for trouble, or cause them to "wait and see"?
Comments
Post a Comment
I appreciate your comments.