Guest Speaker: Pastor Duane Sheriff - March 16, 2018

all right good morning Karis Bible College all right this is a great day hey we have once again with us pastor Dwayne sheriff is in the house ladies god we want to welcome those by livestream you're joining in maybe you'd have not not familiar with pastor Duane's ministry pastor join sheriff is the senior pastor Zek you know pastor a victory Life Church it's one Church in 12 locations they're taking over the world it's amazing and we just want to know that back there students there's there's a little little holders back there with mp3 download cards and so you can download all of Duane's messages he has over 1400 free messages and you can go to pastor Dewayne calm and download those messages if you're at home so give a warm CBC welcome to pastor Dwayne sheriff you your kind very kind thank you thank you awesome well I'm excited about being here and I have something very near and dear to my heart to share with you and I pray that you give me your heart go ahead and turn to Psalms 119 man I really appreciate them building me a runway that's pretty awesome so I'm liable to have a runaway here today so that'd be awesome Psalms 119 father I love you and these precious people and I thank you for their hearts I thank you for this season in their life of sanctification and being set apart just for the work of the kingdom lord I just pray that you give me understanding today and anoint my speech with clarity and accuracy and sanity in Jesus name Amen and amen sorry I shouldn't have said that praise the Lord I grew up in church and we just experienced a lot of insane stuff so anyway I just want to be sane I want to share on the subject of offense and guarding your heart from offense and how deadly this can be and how the enemy uses offense to bring you to a place of of unfruitful nough sand so this is this is powerful this is very very important and yet all the years I was in church and even three and a half decades of ministry I've not heard anyone minister on the subject of offense and yet it's something you have to deal with every day of your life and if you don't deal with it it can it can paralyze you in ministry and so Psalms 119 165 let's start there Psalms 119 165 great peace have they that love thy law great peace have they that love the Word of God great peace have they that love the principles of the kingdom of God great peace have they that love God's God's testimonies God God's ways great peace have they that love thy law and nothing shall offend them I remember years ago reading that wondering God where are these people evidently people don't love the Word of God because I didn't know anybody that walked free from offense everybody I knew walked around offended everyone in church culture that I had been a part of was constantly being offended we live in a culture that reeks with offense there are people that get up every day and they're motivated with offense that offense has morphed into unforgiveness and resentment and bitterness and hatred and they get up offended and they become vessels of offense even in the culture you can't watch the news and not experience habitual offense these people that are disguised as news reporters are filled with offense they're filled with hate they're filled with malice in their heart and it's everywhere in our culture and unfortunately in many of our churches it's not much better people go to church offended and those who aren't offended can't wait for me to offend them I guess and so we've got to look at this because this is an offensive weapon I assure you of the devil that is meant to lock you into unforgiveness to morph into resentment to morph into some some form of bitterness and Hebrews chapter 12 verse 15 says that there are many not some not a few but there are many among us as believers that have been defiled by a root of bitterness a root of bitterness so I promise you this is this is going to be important and this is going to be very useful throughout your life and your ministry if you'll if you'll really open your heart I could spend a lot of time and we don't have much time together so I want to manage my time but I could give you example after example in the Bible where Satan used offense to rob people of the blessings of God - to again war literally their personalities if you don't if you don't deal with offenses you don't know how to process offense and you don't know how to walk free of offense it will literally warp your personality right down King Saul in 1st Samuel 18 7 through 9 he got offended at David without even a cause without even a cause David head had gone to battle and he was coming back from this great victory in battle and he in the Army and the ladies were meeting David coming back from this great battle and and they began to sing and they began to dance and they they begin to shout Saul Saul has killed his thousands and David his ten thousands and at that moment Saul took offense against David and it destroyed literally his kingdom he lost his kingdom over it he lost his family over it he lost his life over it he was embittered and David didn't even do anything David was innocent that would be like me coming on the campus and everybody welcomed me on the campus and they're saying pastor Dewayne pastor Dewayne Andrew Wommack has slain his thousands now that that math won't work out for me very well let me let me back up do you know how many pastors take offense against another pastor because of their church growing when your church isn't growing literally take offense at other ministries offense that other ministry gifts in the body that appear to have maybe more favor than you have and so here's a man that took offense with no cause and yet it destroyed his life then David in 2nd Samuel 6 you'll find that he desired to recover the Ark of the Covenant and I'll just fly through this quickly because we have a lot to cover but you're familiar hopefully with the story or you will be in second Samuel 6 there that the Ark of the Covenant was at a been a dad's house and and David wanted to bring it into the City of David and so he went to get it and he didn't follow kingdom protocol God had said that that Ark will only be moved on the on the shoulder of the priests and he built a new cook a new cart and have been adapts to sons were were guiding the the cart and one of his boys when the cart rocked when it went over a threshold it began to rock and this boy huzza reached up to keep it from falling and the anger of the Lord was kindled against him and he was judged and and died listen and David took offense David got offended at God and upset at God and so he forfeited the presence of God and parked the arkyd obed-edom house and for three months he was offended at God and because of the manifested presence of God with that arc and obed-edom relating properly to it his entire household and life was just being blessed and David heard about it and it was getting there for three whole months and then he just decided you know why should I just sit here and stew and and chew on an offense I'm gonna go get the Ark and so he went back in the second time he did it right and he was bringing the Ark into the city and you'll recall he was dancing or the their art with all his might he took his kingly robe off he humbled himself and began to dance and listen Michael Saul's daughter took offense at David Ansen took offense at David worshiping God took offense at him humbling himself before the Lord and she judged him and the Bible says in 1st Samuel 6:23 that she remained childless unto her death she was fruitless because of an offense and not processing an offense let me tell you I can go on and on naming the leper you remember him naming the leper in the Book of Kings nobody remembers him okay let's know I don't have time to go look at it I'm just wanting to give you a principle here as fast as I can but naman was a leper he was a commander of a mighty army and he heard of a prophet in Israel and went to be healed and it's a long story in a process but he wound up at Elijah's house and Elisha didn't even come out to greet him Elisha sent a servant out there and the servant says the master told me to tell you to go dip in the river Jordan seven times and you'll be healed and he took offense he got offended I'm not gonna go dip in the muddy Jordan at Damascus we got cleaner places to bathe than this and he was leavin offended and his servant had a lightning-fast mind and helped him processes and said wait a minute if he to ask you to do something hard wouldn't you have done it let's just do it and then he obeyed and and got cleansed of his leprosy but he would have missed the blessing of God through what offense I'm telling you the devil uses offense to rob you and I of the blessings of God God has blessed me by grace through my simple faith but if I choose to take offense and I let that offense morph into a form of unforgiveness it can it can get in my heart and become resentment or a root of bitterness and the Bible says it will defile me and I don't want that in my life or your life men in John write this one down and then we'll move on john 6:53 that's where Jesus said it except you eat my flesh and drink my blood you have no life in you and in verse 60 his own disciple said this is a hard saying and then in verse 61 Jesus turned to his disciples and said does this offend you people took offense at Jesus all the time and it's it's difficult to explain that because if you don't understand things and you don't know how to listen you can get offended easily at the truth at the truth I'm telling you people get offended all the time at the truth they get offended at grace I look at some of that here later bottom line is Jesus looked right at his disciples and said does this offend you Matthew 11:6 says Jesus speaking blessed is he that snot offended in me we don't need to be offended in the Lord or at the Lord or the kingdom or truth or what God's trying to do in our lives now write this down I think we can do this without looking at it mark chapter four verses 13 through 20 how many of you have been taught at this place and stage in your in your ministries being here the so or so in the word just to give me an idea praise the Lord all right we're gonna fly through this when we can get to some other things bottom line Jesus said there's four kinds of ground there's ground by the wayside they're stony ground there's thorny ground and then there's good ground and the ground represents our hearts the seed is God's Word and the thing that changes our lives is the Word of God sown in our hearts until the Word of God gets in your heart and takes root you won't bear much fruit and so the devil is after the word he's after the seed he's not upset at you he doesn't care about you he doesn't even think about you he's after any word that's in your heart and Jesus gave us five ways the devil steals the word and I've watched this in my own church I've seen it here on our campus he is very skillful at these five things too steal the Word of God out of your heart and thereby no fruit no fruit so number one way the devil gets the seed is by the wayside where the word is sown that's that's the hard ground around a field and Mark didn't tell us how the devil gets the seed but Matthews account of the sower so in the scene tells us how he gets it he comes immediately and the way he gets it is when we don't understand it when you don't understand what God is saying you're not going to bear fruit you're not gonna see change supernaturally you have to understand by revelation what the word is saying in order for it to take root in your heart number two and this is the one I want to talk about he said in verse 16 and 17 that the seed that's sown on a kind of heart that has shallow ground rocky soul he says they receive it with gladness but when persecution and affliction arises for the words sake why are you being tribulation why does affliction come why are their tests and trials it's for the words sake it isn't even about you all the trials you're going through it's about the word in you and the devil trying to get it out of your heart because this is what's going to change you and thereby change our our dark world and so he says when persecution and affliction arises for the words sake they are offended and then the third fourth and fifth is the thorny ground the cares of this world if you're gonna sit there and worry and stress and and and be filled with fear it'll steal the word out of your heart and you won't see change and then then he says after the cares of this world he says the deceitfulness of riches if you don't understand how to handle material things and money and not let that distract you then then it'll steal the word and then the lust of other things so those are the five things that the devil uses to steal the Word of God out of our hearts well I want to just look at number two offense I did not know for years that every time not offense knocked on the door of my heart then it wasn't about the offense I thought getting offend it's just getting offended and this is my issue and I'm upset and I didn't like that and that hurts my feelings and I'm offended and I thought that was it I didn't know that offense is simply bait that the devil is baiting me to get me to take the offense so that he can steal the Word of God suddenly out of my heart through the offense this is why you see people said in church it used to bug me I need a hurry but there's so many stories I wish I could tell you but I'd I'd have people sitting under me for 10 years and they're not changing and I'm thinking what is wrong with me what kind of pastor huh if you can sit and listen to me for 10 years and her not be much change I found out these people live in offense I found out they're filled with unforgiveness and resentment and that the devil is stealing every seed that I'm sowing out of their heart through their offense so I had to teach the people how to not take offense how to process offense how to deal with offense am i okay coming down my ramp are y'all okay with me coming down my ramp I want to feel what I'm about to say I want to get close all right so I had to deal with it in my own heart because all of a sudden the light came on no wonder I was so unfruitful for so many years I was carrying offense and I thought it's just a part of life there's no such thing as great peace have they that love thy law and nothing shall offend them I didn't even think that was possible much less the power of offense to steal God's Word in our hearts so let me let me define define offense and I'm away from my notes here so I won't give you all of them but the the word the Greek word literally comes and the root word for all offense in the Bible and offended is the Greek word scandal on scale the lawn thinkest in the Strong's Concordance 46:25 scandal on well what is a scandal on it means to ensnare it means to trap it means to cause to stumble now here's the one that changed my life that wow I get it finally I didn't at first but it literally means a trap stick a trap stick what in the world is a trap stick and so I had to research trap stick and then wow this is this is pretty cool all of you probably haven't done this but as kids we used to try to catch birds and vermin and we would take a basket and put a stick under here's the basket pick the basket put a stick under it that's a trap stick and tie a string to it put bread crumbs underneath it when the birds would get under the basket you jump the trap stick and the basket ensnares the bird and that cool the coolest example of this is one that I really love and that that is a mousetrap I love a mousetrap I grew up very poor and and and we always had mice no matter where we moved in and some of the places we lived in we we had rats though those are like those are like mature mice and so and so you can hear the mice at night I remember laying in bed and and there was a string across this room I had and and I would seem ice crossing that that string at night and so man these $0.15 back then it was like a nickel you get this little bitty mousetrap and I think it's the coolest invention ever and billions of them have been sold and it's got this bar that is spring-loaded and to this day when I when I load the mousetrap oh I'm just so tense you're pulling the bar back and you get the bar back and you put you put your thumb on it you put this thumb then on it and you're shaking and listen you grab the skandalon you grab the trap stick and the trap stick goes over the spring-loaded bar and it hooks to a trigger and you put cheese on the trigger and the unsuspected vermin that comes and you're waiting and you're laying in bed and it's the most beautiful sound on the planet you you're laying there in and and you hear baby flutter flutter flutter flutter fluff up oh I love that sound is that cool you want me to do it again okay BAM flap flap flap flap you break its neck [Applause] that's for my animal friendly friends it's a beautiful sound see listen the skandalon is not the real issue the scandal on the trap stick is not what gets you the scandal on releases the trap that in snares the vermin you know in the spirit world let me just say it this way I smell cheese and I have never ministered that I didn't hear in the spirit world BAM flop flop flop flop flop flop flop flop flop flop do you know how many people have took the bait of offense and that was the scandal on that released the trap that the devil had that you didn't even understand or suspect and it has got you bound and now leading to a form of death or a minimum of unfruitful nasai I've been through some things that I'm telling you I could smell the cheese the minute that situation happened thank God I've learned to process this thank God I'm so grateful to Jesus in my own life that I realized what that person just did to me in that pain I feel that that anxiety I feel that's the scandal on that's the traps dick and I am not gonna take the bait and I'm telling you I can smell cheese in my own life many times and there's been some things that have happened to me that I didn't just smell cheese I smell - cheese factory that this is the devil tempting me and if I take this offense it could answer me and keep me from my purpose in this life and I think you'd be shocked at how many people you are in relationship with they can't get over the hump they can't figure out what's wrong they feel trapped and I guarantee you most of the time it goes back to offense that has turned into unforgiveness that has turned into some type of resentment deep in their heart they think they can just ignore it and it'll go away but I'm telling you it won't we've got to learn to deal with it we've got to learn to process it we've got to learn how not to take the bait because I don't care where you go there's an opportunity for offense go to Luke 17 and look at what Jesus said about offense and we may spend time in our next hour in this whole chapter because Luke chapter 17 is where Jesus taught us how to overcome offense how to deal with offense and and man it's been a blessing to me look at what he said Luke 17 verse 1 then said he unto his disciples discipline followers there's a difference between a convert and a disciple not all converts or disciples but all disciples are converts disciples are disciplined followers disciples are people that that are seeking the kingdom of God first and his righteousness disciples are people that want to process want to understand the ways of God want to understand the principles of the kingdom of God want to understand how to how to live this life victorious not for selfish gain even but live this life victorious where we can help as many people as humanly possible live in victory amen so he's speaking to his disciples and he said now I want to do the New King James Bible I really like the way it flows so the New King James Bible says it is impossible of all that no offenses should come but woe unto him through whom they do come Jesus said there's two things that are going to happen in this life and one of them is offenses are going to come it is impossible that they won't come you can you can't you can't go to work and not have an opportunity to be offended okay nobody nobody has a job praise the Lord alright let me try to help you with this you can't get married and be happily married without dealing with offense offenses will come you can't raise functional children without the possibility of being offended even at your kids you can't even come to a place like this that is like holy ground this is like sanctified Earth this is like a bubble and I promise you you can get offended at a fellow student you can get offended at a policy you can get offended at a speaker sitting in the middle of one of the most anointed places I believe on the planet and I've watched some of you I love you I'm not trying to offend you now but for some of you I don't have to try I just got to breathe and you're going to take offense about something it's not even realizing the devil is in snaring you trapping you you just walked right under a basket and ate the brunt the breadcrumbs of offense and offense was just the scandal on it was the trapped it's the basket that just fell over you that you don't even know what just happened to you that the devil had planned and had you known not to take the bait how to process offense you wouldn't been ensnared so he says they're gonna come they're gonna come secondly though he said listen woe to him through whom they come in other words you're going to you're gonna experience two things in this life man I'm making this simple for you you're either gonna have to deal with being offended by everybody everywhere most of the time it's gonna knock on the door of your heart everywhere you go secondly and second reality jesus said listen if you embrace that offense you'll become a vessel of offense now see here's what happens when you get offended let me I'm going everybody with me you're tracking with me I'm not going too fast here's what happens somebody says something that hurts my feelings somebody does something to me I didn't like it was wrong it wasn't right and I have this funny feeling inside I got to make a choice now am I going to take the offense or am I going to process it and this took me a long time I'm going to give it to you in 15 seconds if you'll open your heart it'll help you help others I can either nurse the offense I deserve better than this I've given my life to love these people and that's their attitude toward nurse it then you go home and you lay in bed and you rehearse it you go over it and over and and and and it never changes why do you keep rehearsing it hoping maybe it'll change or you'll feel something different it's like I played tennis years ago and I watched and was trying to go pro and and I watched Jimmy Connors and B arm Borg play in a championship match and it was one of the most awesome matches I've ever seen and I recorded it in two or three years later I watched it again and and and Jimmy made the same mistakes over again I thought he would have learned and would have done better we set there and like watching a movie and I know some of you don't watch movie so just hang on hang with me for a minute here but when you're watching a movie and the credits start coming up and when somebody hurts you and someone offends you you lay in bed and it's like the credits of the movie just going up over and over all night long I can't believe they said that it's just like I didn't mean no harm by this but somebody jumped on me one time and just said I just can't believe you did that and I didn't know what to say so I just said believe it [Laughter] we're done with that you can believe I did it I did it I'm sorry but you can't believe I did it and how many times do we just go day after I can't believe they did that I can't believe they said under the Word of God and don't know any better I just you rehearse it so you nurse it you rehearse it and here's where you get in trouble with Jesus so far you're the only one that's gonna be ensnared so far you're the only one that's gonna be fruitless so far you're the only one gonna be damaged for the rest of your life but when you go to number three the Lord's not happy with you you nurse it you rehearse it listen then you disperse it woe unto him through whom offenses come it's not enough for us to be miserable it's not enough for us to be angry it's not enough for us to disagree with what was said and I don't like it we got to poison other people with what just got in our heart and woe unto you says Jesus when you go to disbursing your offense I have literally met people that have said I want to apologize to you I haven't liked you for 10 years well thank you very much for making my day there's some things I wish people wouldn't say amen and I had never heard you I had never met you someone else told me about you and I have just figured out you're nothing like what they said you were they took up someone else's offense many of you are here today in your care offenses that aren't even your offenses they belong to your family your last name is Hatfield or McCoy get my point I'm in a hurry you don't even know what you're mad about but you know you're mad and you're supposed to be bad you don't even know why do you angry but you're supposed to be angry everybody else is the devil doesn't care if you even take up someone else's offense welcome to scandal on welcome to the trap stick welcome to I hope you guys are getting this hallelujah they're flopping around like chickens with their heads cut off hallelujah bottom line is a lot of people can't figure out what is wrong and I can't tell many times I've had to sit down with them and just talk with them and come to find out their carrying offense against an ex-spouse offense against a group of people amen offense against a political party well I'll just back up I know that I want to thank the school again from a runway but it's a lot safer right here sometimes jesus said let's read on verse 2 verse 2 it would be better for him for who the guy that's not only offended and hadn't processed it but he's a vessel of offense now churches are filled with these people they bring to church their offenses and dump their offense in the innocent and in their hearts he says whoa it would be better for him the guy that's the vessel of offense if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea that he should offend one of these little ones take heed to yourselves pay attention this is serious if your brother sins against you rebuke Eamon if he repents forgiving me if he sins against you seven times in a day seven times in a day returns to you and says I repent you shall forgive him and the Apostle said Lord increase our faith I think I taught that last time that's that's the funniest scripture in the Bible to me Jesus looked at his disciples and said heal the sick lay hands on the sick and they'll recover okay cleanse the lepers I mean this is radical cleanse the lepers you were supposed to get anywhere near a leper much less touch or cleanse and then he says raise the dead that's pretty heavy and they said okay then he says forgive you brother Oh Lord Lord we need more faith every time I say it arrest me people really do believe it's easier to heal the sick cleanse the lepers and raise the dead than to forgive people to forgive your spouse to forgive your kids forgive your boss forgive the preacher why does seem like money sing it let's put you 1,400 hours recorded and see if we like everything you say well it wasn't money said it's the way he said it I smell cheese I could go on all day long with excuses for taking the offense not processing it properly and now becoming a vessel of that offense go to Philippians chapter 1 quickly Philippians chapter 1 look at verse 9 and this I pray he's praying for Christians this I pray that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge see one of the signs of the end of the end we're already in the last days they started on the on the day of Pentecost and so one of the signs Matthew 24 Jesus talked about signs of the times of the end and he said one of the signs is that many will be offended and men's love will wax cold boy can you see that in our culture can you see that in our midst that that just common kindness is hard to find common Mercy just being nice to each other in and merciful and benevolent and long-suffering he said people's hearts are gonna wax so cold that they won't have any love any of the love of God in their heart Paul is praying the opposite here he's saying that I'm praying for you that your love will abound still more and more in knowledge and in all discernment that you may approve the things that are excellent that you may be sincere look at this and without offense till the day of G Christ think about that he says man I'm praying that you grow in love for each other and that you be without offence that you not be offended that you learn how to love God's Word and in loving God's law nothing you know even if you don't believe it wouldn't it be awesome if you could get to a point that you love God's Word so much and thereby now his people and and people at large that nothing can offend you what kind of friend do you think you would be how many friends you think you would have if you never got offended how much favor with people do you think God could give you if nothing could offend you Paul is praying that for us here's one of my favorites go to acts 24 everybody okay acts 24 look at just one verse verse 16 Paul is before governor Felix he's been done wrong he's he's been done in an unjust way he's been imprisoned falsely he's been beat when he was innocent man that's a that's a I could go on and if I could share with you all the things the Apostle Paul went through I'm not I'm not judging you at all but boy it it convicts me in my heart that the things that man went through and yet what he said here let me read what he said here is over the top for me he says in verse will start in verse 15 he's talking to Felix and he says I have hope in God which they themselves he's talked about the Jews that are falsely accusing him you ever been falsely accused it hurts you've been lied on it hurts you have been done wrong when you were totally innocent it hurts it's real he says they themselves also accept that there will be a resurrection of the Dead both of the just and the unjust this being so because there's a resurrection coming and every man will stand before God and every man will give an account for the deeds done in his flesh everybody he says this being so I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and man he says I exercise King James Bible says I exercise myself I trained myself I discipline myself to not get offended at God and to not get offended at people see I love you but you're gonna get out of this bubble one day and God's gonna launch you into the pit of hell call ministry and you're gonna find there's been people and yours good you're gonna find there's people who don't like you and you're gonna find that there's people who will oppose you and you're gonna find that there are people who will mistreat you and you better exercise yourself you better train yourself you better discipline your flesh while you're in this bubble to not take offense because once you get out there in the fight and Heaven and Hell is the issue we're talking about the souls of men here and when we go into ministry we are fighting the good fight of faith to see people miss a devil's hell and make a heaven prepared for them through the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ and I'm telling you that that fight can become vicious in in what we call spiritual warfare people get all spooky and weird when they get off into spiritual warfare I'm not trying to be mean there I'm just saying it just gets goofy spiritual warfare is between your two ears spiritual warfare is God told me to do this and God is with me and I know he's with me but everything's falling apart amen and you're tempted I smelled cheese to get offended at God and then if you don't exercise yourself you're tempted to get offended at the very people God sends you to love let me give you three quick forms of offense number one these are all real and the devil doesn't care which one you get in it's a scandal on everybody say scandal on it's a scandal on it's a trap stick number one is imaginary offense imaginary offense you just think it in your head it's not even legit did you did you see when he was when he was preaching and he started talking about adultery he looked right at me well first of all I don't know if you've noticed I've looked at everybody even you guys right let me just say this I know where that comes from and I'm sensitive to it but I made a commitment that I own Toby I'm gonna be led by the Holy Spirit in my messages I'm never gonna let trouble lead me in what I preach or sin in somebody's life lead me in what I preach I do know of preachers that you went to on Monday and said hey I I've slipped I've had an affair in the next Sunday you hear about adultery that is this is my opinion I don't know if God would lead somebody else that way but to me that's mean that's not right I would never do that and yet how many of you know that if I'm ministering on adultery the Holy Spirit's gonna speak to you if you're struggling or you have an issue man I literally was ministering on adultery one time and just as a side note and I looked at a guy and he got mad during the message and jumped up murmuring and and and spewing out I can't believe you did that to me nobody in the church knew the man was having an affair man if you're in sin just be cool I'm not gunning for you well he down my number I don't know your number but if the phone rings answer it well he didn't shake my hand he walked right by me and didn't shake my hand first of all you're thinking way too highly of me I promise you shaking my head is not gonna mean anything amen well he walked right by me at Walmart I could go on all day long with imaginary offense I passed her a church of over 2,000 people in a town of 16,000 and I'm telling you I can't go nowhere and and the children I feel sorry for them they've overcome it they had fun with it but they would make bets how many times will dad get stopped because I it could be 25 times in a Walmart man I'm just I'm just going in here I'm trying to find a lure for fishing and and it's not that I don't love people it's not that I don't care about you but I can't stop spending five ten minutes I've got my family we're going fishing okay I'm not making sense here I'm telling you people get stuff in their head and some of you have said here I love you but you've set here and you've let your imagination create an offense in your heart I know personally of people in our school that thought the speaker was speaking to them or calling them out or something and it's in their mind in second Corinthians chapter 10 verse four and five three four five the weapons of our warfare they're not carnal but they're mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God and bringing into captivity every thought the devil will put thoughts in your head that are imaginary but let me tell you that offense even though it's not real it's not true skandalon is happening and you're about to be ensnared over something that didn't even happen and I deal with this all the time with people I guarantee you if we really could get honest I guarantee you there'd be people raise their hand that says yeah I've thought somebody was mad at me I had I've had so many people get up and walk out on me I had a I had a guy get up and cussed me out as he's going out the door and the whole only thought I had was I wonder if these people have enough sense to discern who's hearing God here as he's cussing me cuss words and I just kept on preaching kept on going but that'll affect you and during one of our services a man jumped up at the back and ran out the door and something come into my head that I offended him he's upset and I had to war it was spiritual warfare right in the right the pulpit not to assume he's mad at me and I'm worn with it and I heard the Lord say you're misjudging him and I thought I'm not even gonna answer you Lord I'm gonna go check it out and so I I went and saw him a couple of days later and I said hey I noticed she jumped up and and ran out he was a doctor and he had a little beeper on his deal and somebody was at death's door and that man jumped up and ran out of my church to go save somebody's life and I'm sitting there warned in my brain my stupid head did he's mad at me he's up you see what my point is that's why Jesus said if your brother offends you sins against you go to him amen all right number two number two I got a hurt here bless my heart accidental offense I have accidentally offended people people have accidentally they didn't mean anything by it they weren't they weren't with malice in their heart it was an accident there's just a few things I've learned you just learn things you make mistakes you know like looking at a woman and saying you know when's the baby due I just helped you not take that bait I didn't mean nothing by it it was an accident I come home I come home one one day and I get in what the kids called Wayne's World I just I'm meditating I'm I'm thinking about Jesus I'm thinking about the ministry I'm thinking of and I just I literally almost can leave my body I'm just not hardly there and so I walked into the house I wasn't thinking I didn't mean anything by it and I said what is that smell anybody married in here guys do you know what I mean by the look you know after a while you're married you just recognize the look and I saw I came out of Duane's world and I saw the look and I'm just a I'm just a good husband I've learned how this thing works and how to be happily married and so I said I don't know what I did but I am so sorry and I promise I'll never do it again and after the look I said what's that smell and she said your dinner it was accident y'all aren't buying it either we make mistakes we're not just human we're supernatural human beings in Christ but we are human and we just we make mistakes it's I how many of you know you can forget a birthday it's an accident I had a young husband asked me in my church one time he'd just been married a couple of years he said how do you remember all these dates and birthdays and anniversaries I said the way you remember is just forget one time oh come on that's good I just just forget one time I promise you you'll never forget again an anniversary accidents ex is that I love you see you in 10 minutes [Applause] [Music] [Music] the church [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] alright let's find our seats everybody blessed hallelujah father thank you for the great teacher the Holy Spirit you promised he would come and we believe that he has and that he would lead and guide us into all truth I pray he not be quenched or grieved in our heart or in our midst in Jesus name Amen well I'm sharing on the subject of offense and learning to be free from offense Psalms 119 165 says great peace have they that love thy law and nothing shall offend them and we've looked at Paul praying for us in first or in Philippians chapter 1 that we would have a conscience free of offense and then he talked about him exercising himself in acts 24 verse 16 that he would he would exercise himself to have a conscience free of offense toward God people get offended at God and it ruins their lives and man and so we're looking at man first and different forms of offense that are a scandal on a trap stick that is simply say Satan setting you up and he does it so subtly and I love you everybody say I love brother Dwayne I mean that I was talking about me I mean it but thank you most people like the rat or the mouse are totally unsuspecting of the traps the devil is laying for them to ensnare them and they are taking offense not even realizing that's the bait and when you sit down and talk to them it breaks your heart you're offended over what you're upset about what you're letting that bother you my heart breaks for you your you're not gonna make it in ministry you're not going to make it in fulfilling your purpose if you let that trap stick that scandal on unsuspectingly entrap you like that and so we're looking at different forms of offense that Jesus said that it is impossible that offense won't come but woe to him through whom they come and so I have to guard my heart not to take offense but I sure better not nurse an offense rehearsing offense and then just person offense God has sent me here today I believe supernaturally to help you reverse all off it's reverse all offense so what are these different forms of offense through man imaginary it's just in your head you're setting there you saw me set down you saw me sign someone's book and in your head you went I can't believe it he thinks he's a movie star he's signing books he thinks everybody wants his autograph no not everybody you're just flat wrong about that but are you getting my point stuff coming into your head that you're not mature enough yet you're not a disciple to a point that you learn to cast that stuff day on don't let it take root in your head it is the trigger the skandalon it's the devil whispering in your head to trap you now and ensnare you and you don't even know what's wrong and why you're stuck and so imaginary then there's accidental and come on let's all be honest you just accidentally misspeak sometimes you accidentally misstep you didn't mean any harm there was no intent to hurt but it happens and and people and and people do it to me all the time and I can't let that stuff offend me they'll say something they didn't mean it like that and I just let it go or they'll do something they didn't really mean it it was accidental and then I'm just telling you the devil doesn't care if it's accidental offense or not it's still a scandal on and then the third one and this one is hard to deal with actual offense actual offense there are people that intend to offend you they're trying to offend you they are under demonic delusion they don't even know there are demons and they're being used and sent by the enemy to entice you to tempt you to ensnare you and they won't to offend you I had a young man come up to me and this is this is this happens all the time and and and his story I guarantee you that 25% of everybody that will hear me right now will know exactly what I'm talking about where people will get offended they'll try to disperse their offense into your heart and when you just refuse to take up the offense they get offended at you for not joining in them in their offense subconsciously they're saying I'm about to die the devil is about to kill me and I don't want to go by myself they want to drag you into very into the very pit of hell and you got to be wise as a serpent harmless as it does I'm not taking the bait I know that I don't even know the facts I know you're upset but I'm not gonna join in your offense how can I help you get over it I don't want to get over it come on years ago we had this couple that we thought were our friends and they wanted to have dinner with us and I was just as busy back then almost as I am now and it was just hard to work it out but they came to us and and pleaded for dinner because they had a word from God and it's a it's a word from God and you needed and and we want to sit down though and and share it and so it did work that enticed me and so soon I went to dinner with him and we were sitting there and this guy looks at me and he says thus saith the Lord see back then I was naive I thought everybody heard God I thought everybody liked me what was i stupid I thought everybody was on my side because I liked everybody I was I was nice to everybody so I thought everybody was just that way and so when he says thus saith the Lord I mean I'm listening so he says thus saith the Lord there are three wolves that are going to be coming into your life to devour you and they will be coming soon pre-law three wolves three was soon Jesus said he would return soon that was 2000 years ago so that's true jesus said I'll return soon so soon is a relative term so I'm trying to deal with this I couldn't hardly eat the rest of my meal so I get in the car and I'm looking at soon trying to drive and I'm just shook up about this and I'm going honey three wolves what do you what do you think who are these three was what is this what does this mean when do you think this is going to happen and Sue bless her heart she said well I don't know who the third one is but two of them were at the table [Applause] after I got the car out of the bar ditch and back up on the highway I condemned her so bad I feel bad I've learned I don't do that now but I went honey how could you think that about these people they're our friends she nodded her head and she said you know I married you because you're so naive I knew it what my money or my looks and how are you young single guys if you want to get a trophy wife you better have a vision and be pure of heart amen a woman will go for that when you don't have any money so anyway two weeks later soon two weeks later those two people with their pastor stood up in a pulpit and called me a false prophet and told their people to burn all my eight-track tapes that'll hit you later cassettes cassettes it was cassette tapes at the at the time now do you think that didn't hurt do you that do you think I didn't feel a dagger literally into my heart that I even rebuked my wife defending these people thank God now it took me it took me overnight and the next day to process to fight nursing it to fight those thoughts of these are my friends I deserve better than this how could they do this to me I can't then it it took me a while to okay quit rehearsing it quit going over it and over it and over it rehearsing it's not going to change it did I tell you my story about Jimmy Connors and beyond bored okay I won't go there going over it and over it won't change it and then if I had to got it out of my heart I would have been as guilty as them dispersing it I met those people in a meeting twenty years later and because I didn't have anything in my heart they just acted like nothing had ever happened and that was cool that's between them and God but I had nothing in my heart and it felt so good to hug him sincerely to tell him I love them is so good to see him and it not be fake but it come from her I couldn't have done that and I guarantee you the devil was setting me up that was a scandal on the word scandal on we get the English word scandal what's a scandal false accusations being lied on misrepresented in a scandalous way and it hurts so if you don't discipline your flesh right now and exercise yourself right now to even deal everybody say I love brother Dwayne if you don't deal with the petty truly insignificant offenses in this bubble my heart breaks for you I'm gonna say this as vague as I can because I want to I want to protect the guilty but in a Bible School let's just say a Bible school I had a lady after a service come up to me and she was so angry and so upset because she came to school paid tuition and signed up and I won't even name the class I want to be safe here I don't want to hurt anybody but I want to help everybody and I did try to help this woman she signed up for a specific class and the instructor came on a video and the instructor said I know I'm supposed to teach this subject but I really feel that of the Lord to go this direction I'm not saying what the instructor did was right I'm not here to judge I wasn't there I don't have enough info you can't make a good judgment without proper information I don't know all that but I knew that scandal on just took place I knew that lady you're trapped you need to let this go oh no I don't need to let this go you're friends with Andrew you need to go talk to him you're a part of the school and and you can fix this and and you need to do something something needs to be done that looks bad on on Andrew you y'all have broke your word you told me I was going to have this course and this was the course Todd and I said ma'am it is not my place to correct anybody in this setting yes I do know Andrew and we're friends but that that's not why we're friends that'll hit you later me telling him how to run his business and and so I said the issue here is your heart right now and and I'm gonna go ahead and give you some Liberty I'm gonna agree just to keep peace but that was wrong now what are you gonna do about it what are you gonna do about it don't be telling me what I need to go do what are you gonna do about it you're gonna have to if you're gonna have to let this go it will eat you up I'm not letting it go it's not right I spent 30 minutes trying to arrest this woman's thoughts and to get her out of the snare I lost 30 minutes then I'll never get back trying to save her how can you sit in a Bible school take that kind of offense and think that you're going to graduate from here and not have to deal with being wronged disappointed let down told one thing and seeing another thing this is God trying to prepare you lady for ministry let this go no I won't let it go can I pray for you to let it go you know that I believe in being slain in the spirit and falling down I wanted to knock her down in love it was like let me lay my hands on you I want the Holy Ghost to just slap you because the devil is about to she at least let me pray for and while I was praying for her I said Lord just give her the grace give her the spirit of grace give her the spirit of mercy teach her to let it go because a lot of other stuff is gonna happen in the future if she doesn't learn her lesson now how she gonna and she rebuked me while I was praying you know I understand stupid I get it but why would you pay money to be stupid we got a feeling somebody you paid money to come here and be discipled I'm gonna say it again you paid money to come here to be discipled disciplined taught how to let it go taught how to overcome it here in the safe place the sanctuary alright let me quickly go through this I got some things I've got to share I've dealt with offense toward man as best I can we could spend hours on this to help you but I've I've withheld no good thing from you secondly what about offense toward God my mother died a a early death because of offense the number one thing people get offended at God over and that you're gonna deal with when you get out of here and I don't care where God takes you I don't care what area of ministry he takes you into you're gonna meet people daily that are offended at God and so you you you need to know how to help them how to love them how to get them out of that office toward God because I mean if you know if you're offended at God you're toast I mean there's just no hope when you're offended at God and Paul even said I have to exercise myself and keep my conscience pure and not be offended at God or at men so the number one reason people get offended at God is a misunderstanding of the Old Covenant law they misunderstand the Old Covenant law they miss apply law of Moses or try to apply a law of Moses under the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ they don't understand there's two covenants they don't understand why God gave the law and they don't understand boys I'm gonna go fast I'll try to feel if I'd need to stop at least but Romans chapter 4 verse 15 makes a profound statement it said that the law worked god's wrath you ask most people what is it that works God's wrath they'll say sin well there was sin in the world before the law and we can see the mercy of God before the law we can see the kindness of God we can see the long-suffering of God with with Adam and Eve there were consequences to their sin but God didn't pour Wrath out on him he made him a promise Cain and Abel he would still fellowshipping with them and and loving them and there were consequences to Cain sin but there wasn't wrath from heaven before God flooded the earth there were only eight righteous people on the whole planet eight only eight left on the whole planet God was merciful to men's sins and God was long-suffering but there came a point where if we don't intervene here now and clean this mess up and start with these eight there's not going to be a virgin on the planet to get Jesus into the earth and so I can sit down with you for a half hour 45 minutes and show you how even the flood was God's mercy just to protect the righteous seed to get the seed of Abraham into the earth to redeemed the whole world Sodom and Gomorrah God didn't pour wrath out on that place till there was not one left and the one lot in his family that was left he took them out before he dealt with that because the sins they were committing not only destroy the body it'll destroy a culture and so on and on I can go but when the law came with the law came wrath with the law came curses Deuteronomy 28 verses 1 through 16 and so people don't understand that that's what Jesus went to the cross for and he's redeemed us now what's this Galatians 3:13 says Christ hath redeemed us from the you would think it would say from sin it says that what Christ died on the cross for and redeemed me from is the curse of the law God's not killing our kids God's not making a sick God's not making us poor God's not blowing our houses down with hurricanes and and Hema Cain's it is not God what I say Amen trying to help my politically correct brothers and so people get offended at God because my momma loved Jesus and she died of cancer so they're offended at God because they think God put the cancer on her because of her sins all right we could spend what I'm just telling you people are offended at God because of a misunderstanding of the Old Covenant Baal number two you're not gonna like this but I'm in a hurry number two people get offended at God because they're unprepared for Christian suffering they're unprepared for Christian suffering they don't understand we came out of most of us came out of a church culture that all suffering was Christian suffering and man when we found out there were some things that Jesus suffered for us as a substitute and we don't have to suffer it boy did we get excited I mean there was an almost an entire movement in the 70s and 80s that we discovered Jesus suffered God's wrath for our sins on the cross so while sin has consequences if I don't repent if I live in it and there's the law of sowing and reaping I don't have to suffer wrath from God for my sin or punishment from God from my sin sin is still deadly and sin will mess you up and it'll have consequences but I don't have to suffer God's wrath Jesus suffered that for me as a substitute I don't have to suffer sickness yes I have a body that's not redeemed it is subject to sickness and sin working in my members and and though I don't have to suffer sickness as if that's God's will for my life now Jesus bore my sicknesses on the cross and by His stripes I am healed so see I don't have to suffer sickness are you with me he even though he was rich he became poor that I threw his poverty now might be made rich I don't have to suffer poverty amen that was good news for me coming out of deep poverty that this isn't God's me so what happened was though the pendulums the pendulum swing swung swing low it's swung swing it moved from over here to over here and now listen you got misguided misinformed spirit-filled word and faith people that think there's no suffering in the Christian life and they get offended at God when things don't work out when there's pain when there's tribulation when there's a flick shuns when there's persecutions read the book of first Peter all chapters there he deals with Christian suffering and he talks about Jesus suffered as a substitute for us in some things and we don't have to suffer that but listen then it says Jesus suffered as an example that we are to now follow Jesus suffered from being persecuted knowing I'm fixing to die for the very people that hate me that is suffering afflicted tribulations he went through things just like you and I go through things Bible says he we don't have a high priest that can't be touched with the feeling of our infirmities for he was tempted as we've been tempted yet without without sin he suffered he suffered being reviled and not revealing back you think he won't suffer you won't feel something when some just jumps all over you spews hatred at you falsely accuses you you think it in a form of suffering to not render evil for evil do you think it's not a form look boy I'm preaching now I love you do you think they're in a form of suffering and having to bless your enemy you'll feel it when you have to do it yeah it sounds real good they're sorry any means it's talking about the student right next to you dude [Applause] amen where am I and and and where am I going and can I get there from here what what was not talking about offended at God I was testing you I really knew in other words God called me I heard an audible voice 16 witnesses affirmed it and I'm right in the middle of God's will and I can't pay my bills all of a sudden and people are upset at me I've had young couples so confused after marriage that they heard an audible voice an angel appeared gold dust fell down from the sky and God told Jo to marry Susie and God gaawd told Susie to marry Joe and they think just because they heard God they think just because they're in the will of God no doubt about it they're not gonna have any problems so they're laying it bed upset at God well I'm preaching really good let me let me let me share how to reverse offense you will be shocked when you get out that the Bible says in Romans chapter 9 verse 30 through about 33 that grace offends people it's a stumbling stone a rock of offense to the legalist when you start sharing you're all excited you're all pumped man you you got the word in you and you're you got the grace message I don't know if you know it or not but Jesus carried the grace message and they kind of killed him just thought I'd let you know that you come along you're all on fire you're excited about what you know and you can't wait to tell people and it's the grace message and at first it sounds so good and they're going Hosanna when you walk in the room Hosanna just give it about five days those same people will be hollering crucify him crucify him if you really believe that your works that makes you right with God grace is offensive if you really believe it's your hairdo and how you wear your hair and you stack it up on top of your head well that makes you special and what God just looks at you and says man I love that beehive that is so awesome I'm gonna pour out of my spirit upon you and I'm not being mean I'm not trying to hurt anybody's feelings but I tell you I grew up in a system where people thought their works is what made them holy their works the lack of makeup the clothes the way again they wear their hair it offends them when I come along and say that's just bundage [Applause] would never do that I'm just saying they're in bondage and it's offensive they get offended when somebody gets healed that they know has sin in their life and and they don't ever come to church they just came to this special meeting I've been coming here every time the doors are open I read my Bible every day yeah a little ooh y'all and God hadn't healed me and then here's this reprobate that you just prayed for laid your hands on them and they got healed that's offensive to the legalist I'm trying to prepare you it is real of people getting offended at grace and truth so how do we reverse verse this here's what I'm gonna do I only have a few minutes I'm gonna trust that you're serious that's what I love about coming here everybody is supposed to be serious you do know people come to church that aren't always serious they they were drugged or they come drugged that's the truth and and and so I'm gonna show you I'm just gonna do something I don't like doing because of time constraints I would like to show you the verses and then give you what what the Lord has taught me to help you reverse offense because even if you can't receive it right now there's a place in God and loving his word that you'll have such great peace nothing will offend you that mean offense won't come it means you won't take it all right Luke 17 I believe because he was so I don't know if you read those words in red that I read to you Jesus said woe unto Him woe and the Bible's not good okay whoa not good woe unto him through whom offenses come do we take serious when he he says in the next verse it would be better for you to have a millstone around your neck and be cast into a sea than to take your offense now and offend one of these babies one of these little ones well I got so much to say one of the reasons I've had to make a strong loving stand for sexual purity in my church I can't imagine I have felt it I have felt Jesus's heart and the heartbreak of taking a eight-year-old kid and tell him tell her that sexual perversion is okay and normal and should be even celebrated how how ungodly is it to confuse an eight-year-old in their gender assignment how evil is that but see we are so saturated with false love and and false truth that we are offending children little ones telling them heather has two moms telling them you know Andrews a little more blunt than I am and I love it I wish I could be him when I grow up I want to be that way but you know as a pastor you you you've got to reach out to people you're trying to reach people and it's a different setting and you know III understand him just saying you know if you're confused over your gender or assignment drop your pants I personally love that how hard could this be but I'm telling you you wouldn't believe how you would not believe what I deal with every week and I wish I had time to really prepare you better the beauty about god god is so good do you know he he will give you multiple witnesses to truth do you know that is one witness drop your pants that's a witness but Genesis chapter 9 verse 4 says that life is in the blood did you know blood doesn't lie blood can't lie oh you got to do is take a blood type and if you have a y-chromosome you are a boy if you don't have a y-chromosome you are a girl see I can't even get a strong witness here in the sanctuary [Music] some of you I love you but you have no idea what's out there anymore you've been so separated anyway I'm gonna do what I don't want to do I would like to show you each scripture so I'm gonna believe you're gonna read Luke 17 I'm gonna give you the verses and then I'm gonna give you what the Lord has taught me to reverse offense all right number one is verses 7 through 10 7 through 10 he's warned us about the deadliness of offense he's warned us about offending little ones baby Christians little children those are all little ones and in verses 7 through 10 he talks about servants and how that the servant that is paid to go into the field and plow it and the servants that are paid to cook the meal when my guests show up the servants do not expect to be invited to dinner they don't expect to come out of the field and be thanked or appreciated or invited to the dinner it's their job what is Jesus saying you want to reverse offense you want to get to a place where nothing can offend you take upon you the heart of a servant be a servant be nothing but a servant servants expect nothing from no one no time and nowhere I'm not talking about if you have a job and a boss has contracted with you to give you $100 a day and then he doesn't give you the hundred dollars a day you should expect the hundred dollars a day so I'm not talking out contracts I'm talking about in our everyday life do you know why you you can't offend me I don't have any expectations from you I'm here to serve you if you get mad at me that's what we knew and God I only come to help you and if you don't want the help I'm not gonna take it personally I'm a servant I didn't expect appreciation I didn't expect a standing ovation I didn't expect you to say good preaching little preacher right so you can't offend me by your response or lack thereof I'm here to serve you if you will get the heart of a servant you'll be free from offense it's what Jesus is teaching people that have taken offense at me 90% of everyone that's gotten offended at me and taking offense they expecting they expected something from me I couldn't do or wouldn't do do you realize if you come here and you have no expectations of recognition compensation or appreciation because you're a servant well they didn't invite me to dinner at the back so you had an expectation of recognition you had an expectation of appreciation you didn't come being a servant you came to be served a quick example when I came to the minced retreat I wasn't on the docket to speak and that's very difficult for me to make a meeting like that but it wouldn't have bothered me a bit if I'd have had to sit at the back it wouldn't have bothered me a bit if I wasn't invited to lunches now I was and I was blessed and I'll get into my second point here but I'm saying I had no expectation of recognition appreciation acknowledgement so you can't offend me when you don't appreciate me I didn't expect you to appreciate me I'm here to love you amen I'm trying to help you and Jesus he did help us he wrote it down in the bibl e verse 11 through 19 11 through 19 as the ten lepers it's the ten lepers you know the story read it again go show yourself to the priest and as they went they were healed listen and one of the ten came back and worship Jesus and gave thanks and Jesus went weren't there ten we're on the other nine you ever think about that jesus said weren't there ten where's the other nine jesus was teaching us how to avoid or how to reverse an offense is be thankful give thanks for everything be ye thankful in everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you 1st Thessalonians chapter 5 verse 18 it doesn't matter what happens to me I need to find a thankful heart I went to a church oh come on doing I went to a church they had heard me on cassette tape I got there it was as cold as the North Pole I couldn't figure out what was wrong I had never been and felt pushed back like that before I even speak but I could tell they're not receiving this is not good something's wrong I can't put my finger on it it's like taking a shower with your socks on I don't know what's wrong but something's wrong you feel it and so I cut my 15 minute message short and sure enough the minute I said Amen two men jumped up cornered me immediately and said we apologize we're sorry that we invited you I know we scheduled three nights but we just need to cancel the meeting no explanation yes see you don't know the war stories andrew has and what he's had to process to be here and so III was so shocked and you can feel it can I get a witness I smell some cheese and I'm trying to figure out what I've done did I say something what well brother when we listen to young cassette tape we didn't know what you looked like I said okay well I'm smelling cheese I can almost I can almost hear the bar coming over my head the spring-loaded bar I can kind of hear it and I'm going okay didn't know what I look like what what's the problem here well you have a beard I had a full beard beautiful beard and so I'm so shook that my brain is just running wild and I look back into the baptistry behind me and there's a picture of Jesus I'm talking Jesus I'm talking you schewe and he's got a beard and it's a straggly beard it's all it's all straggly I'm not putting the lord's beard down don't misunderstand it I'm just saying my beard was grown clean you think I didn't have to process you think I didn't and I'll be honest I went back and and and I'm embarrassed to say this I'm bigger now it wouldn't affect me but for a few minutes now something like that happened he might take a couple of minutes but it wouldn't but I mean I bawled I cried over that all night long and somehow another in my unrenewed man I was confused and and I had to I had to I can remember with god I just thank you that I got a response hallelujah I don't know if I could handle being ignored and I just thank you God that from this day on I'm gonna be ready for a revival or a riot to break out everywhere I go and I just thank you that you've anointed me and I thank you that you don't look on the outer appearance but you look on my heart I'm thankful I'm thankful once I started thanking God and finding God in the darkness because God taught me so much I said I have a sincere love for those people today can you imagine being that man stop that breaks my heart what kind of life do they have what kind of church is that would you like to go to that church or would you like to go to my church [Laughter] alright verses 20 through 27 this one's hard verses 20 through 27 the Pharisees asked him about the kingdom and he he brought up Noah and he brought up how that in in Noah's day they were eating okay they were drinking he got to eat and drink to live I mean I don't I don't know what's wrong here yeah you got it they were eating they were drinking they were given in marriage everything he named is a part of life and then he said I'm aware and unprepared the flood came instantly and took him away and he talked about so shall it be with the coming of the Lord I'm telling you we got some concepts about the coming of the Lord that we need to keep praying about because jesus said it is gonna be so fast it is gonna happen like lightning and just like that flash of lightning night lightning in less than a second lights everything the coming of the Son of Man will be like lightning and people will be eating and drinking and marrying and partying and going to work and they won't even know what happened to him it'll happen so fast so what is he saying about offense and how to reverse offense he's saying stay Kingdom focused seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you no matter what anybody does to you no matter what anybody says about you you are here on Kingdom assignment keep building your life keep building your homes keep building healthy churches keep your eyes on the kingdom of God offense is a distraction to get you off the kingdom thank you for your enthusiasm that's my no no it's my fault if we could read it dodge it a little bit and spend a half-hour number four number fours verse 28 through 33 33 33 28 through 33 this is when he brings up Lot's wife Lot's wife what in the world does that have to do with me being offended and now he's he's segue into the kingdom of God listen Lot's wife looked back how do you overcome offense quit looking back quit nursing and rehearse unless you disperse but rather now reverse the offense by looking forward don't be like Lot's wife and keep living and looking back and how many people I can't tell many people I've tried to help them and something that happened 20 years ago they're still chewing on it they're still chewing and stewing over something that happened 20 years ago instead of brewing a pot of offense and rather than offense why don't you brew a pot now of Thanksgiving and worship to God let's go on yeah but they really hurt me I know it I know it Lot's wife forget those things that are past reach forth and they're the things that are before pressed towards the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus quit looking back thinking back and talking back amen all right I love this one number five last one verses 34 through 37 Jesus tells this story and we forget the context the context is in the context of offense unforgiveness and he said there's two guys in a field one will be taken in one will be left there's two women in the kitchen cooking and one's gonna be taken and one's gonna be left there's two over here one's gonna be taking him one's gonna be left watch this what's he saying he's saying God is the judge and that God will judge do you know how to forgive people I wish I had time I was wanting to teach you the process of forgiveness because it's really simple but one of the reasons people can't forgive his unforgiveness is debt you owe me I can't forgive them pastor they'll think they're getting away with it no look look at me look at me nobody's getting away with the thing everybody's gonna stand before God and they're gonna give an account for every word spoken and every deed done in the flesh and the reason I can let stuff go it's because I'm not letting it go and they're getting away with something I'm letting go in forgiveness and giving them to God who is the righteous judge and God said vengeance is my New Testament most people don't read all of this God said vengeance is mine and I will repay people are going to reap whatever they sow or the reign of God and if they don't repent of their sin they're going to stand before God and give an account and so I can now commit my soul unto God and get healed of my hurt because they have the problem now not me it's between them and God boy this is good nobody's getting away with anything yeah but they see what is unforgiveness unforgiveness is they owe you they hurt you they owe me an apology I want them to hurt what that uncle did to me in molesting me I want him to pay I want him to suffer like I've suffered I want him to feel the pain that I have felt that's called unforgiveness if you look up forgiveness in the Bible and everywhere Jesus spoke of forgiveness he called it debt and all forgiveness is is releasing people of the debt I release my uncle of that debt and God will deal with my uncle I pray my uncle find forgiveness that would be hard for you in your emotions but if your uncle doesn't find repentance and forgiveness do you know he's going to stand before God and He will suffer for eternity amen you couldn't let it go there's so much confusion and I'm out of town out of town I'm I'm getting out of Dodge after this hallelujah I guarantee because I don't expect a standing ovation after today but I'm telling you one day one day you will write me and go I sure love you pastor Duane you saved me from being ensnared you saved me from being trapped you saved me from being locked into unproductive unfruitful ground and I just want to say thanks I believe one day if not today cuz usually when you're in the middle of a of an issue with God you may not feel it then but I'm telling you this this could save your marriage it could save your ministry you could save your family this has been powerful and I just pray you have been blessed amen I love you amen [Applause]

Channel: Charis Bible College

Views: 3,559

Rating: 4.9444447 out of 5

Keywords: Charis - Chapel with Pastor Duane Sheriff - 03/16/2018 (2 Hours)

Id: o8bbpVMKR5k

Length: 110min 53sec (6653 seconds)

Published: Fri Mar 16 2018