burden

Offense is Deadly (Part 2) – Frank Work

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Now before I go any further, I have offended people. Sometimes knowingly and other times, without knowing. People have and still ignore me, walk by me without saying a word, avoid contact and so on. All the while I am wondering what I have done to cause such a reaction. Sometimes people want to be mad at you because of the offense and are wondering why you haven’t asked for forgiveness. How can I? I don’t even know that I have offended you, or what the offense is. There are a few scriptures that I don’t walk in as much as I should;

Matthew 5:23-25 (NKJV)
23 Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 25 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.

Matthew 18:15 (NKJV)
15 “Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother.

Mark 11:24-25 (NKJV)
24 Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.25 “And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses

Bottom line, I am offended because I want to be offended. I am offended because I hold on to offense. I am offended because I have taken on a heavy-laden burden, that I never should have in the first place. Jesus did not come to offend, but because of the message of the gospel, the “brood of vipers” were offended. The religious minded who held on to man’s traditions and laws, were offended. We who hold on to the things of this world, are offended. When we are saved, when we accept Jesus as our Savior, we are no longer of this world. I have to stopped allow myself to take on the offenses of this world, and take on the love of Christ.

Lastly, I would like to share a story; I was teaching a prophetic class at my church and it was the end of the class at which time I open up the class to a questions and comments period. One lady stood up and said, “Frank when I first came to this church, I didn’t like you very much.” I was a little shocked, but I knew in my spirit that she felt this way since our initial meeting. I asked her why she felt this way and she responded, “I didn’t like you because someone from my other church, who had some of the same mannerism as you did, offended me and without even knowing who you are personally, I automatically took offense to you because of the other man who offended me.” She took an offense and transferred that offense to me. This is the power that offense can have over us. Even though we don’t realize it, we can carry an offense from someone in our past, and transfer it to someone in our present who may remind us of that person. Don’t let this happen, it’s so easy to do and we do it sometimes without even realizing we are doing it.

I would like to thank Pastor Paul Black for preaching a sermon on this topic to give me a better understanding and clarity on what offense will and can do.

Offense is Deadly (Part 1) – Frank Work

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Offense in the Christian community is an interesting concept. I have seen us wield the words of this world to offend people like a sword in battle. I have seen the wounds, and I myself, have felt the wounds, as a result of an offense. It’s, I believe, one of the deadliest weapons in the enemies’ arsenal that the church readily seems to pick up at a moment’s notice, including myself.

I personally have been both. I have been the offended, but also the offender. Sometimes we offend people and we don’t even realize we have done something to hurt our brother and sister. Many times, when I am offended by someone, it’s because of a previous offense I had against that person, and the issues just continue to snowball on top of each other until finally I have built up so many offenses against someone, I can’t remember what the original offense was. WHAT A MAZE!

When this happens, and we have “stockpiled” our offenses, we become bitter and cold inside, because then it’s only a matter of time until we start catching and holding offense from anyone we come in contact with. Our spirit has become so weighed down with offense that the wounds we have given permission to be inflicted upon us, become infested with the maggots of condemnation and self-worth. When I am offended, I am like the man spoken of in Proverbs 18:19 “A brother offended is more unyielding than a strong city, and quarreling is like the bars of a castle.”

One thing I noticed I was not doing, was something I should have been doing as soon as I took the offense. What was that Frank? I am glad you asked. I will answer it with scripture, Jesus said in Matt 11:28“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Which simple means, if you have taken on an offense, it’s like a pack on your back, that you carry around with you all the time. Until I am willing to release that “heavy laden” burden and give it to Jesus, I will feel no rest and the weight of the heavy-laden offense will increase. In fact, not only will I be carrying around the original offense, I will be carrying around all other offenses.

Also, offense built up can cause your physical body to start to feel the effects of offense and unforgiveness through sickness and depression. That’s a whole other article though.

The next part to this article will give us an idea of how we can combat the spirit of offense with the power of scripture and the leading and guiding of the Holy Spirit. Stay tuned for part 2!