PinkPebbles
Well-Known Member
This article has blessed me and I wanted to share....
Confronting the "Spirit of Offense"
by Rev. Bradford Crook
"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 of iniquity will abound, the love of many will wax cold." Matthew 24: 10-11
"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings." Jeremiah 17: 9-10
"And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but to men of the flesh, as to 'babes" in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, for you still are fleshly, for since there is jealousy and strife among you are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men? For when one says, "I am of Paul", and another, "I am of Apollo", are you not mere men." 1 Corinthians 3: 1-4 Church, it is time to get real! It is the last hour, and this is not a time to be bickering, and quarreling and dividing. There seems to be a more potent form of spiritual disease that has hit the Church…. SARS (Spiritual Apathy, Rebellion and Self-serving). As a result, many are being sidelined with some variation of this infection. If the devil can't stop us on one front, he will attack another. There is nothing new in the war of darkness, just a rehash of the same old tricks - and we keep falling for them.
All around are casualties of the war. Many are out of the battle because of wounds, while others have quit fighting because of apathy. Yet, it is quite clear that the end of all things is close at hand. The headlines daily speak right out of the Scriptures, and yet many are stumbling around focused on the wrong enemy. The devil has convinced multitudes that we are the enemy, and so we are turning on ourselves, instead of recognizing that satan is the source of the problem… not the church.
Jesus spoke of the fact that many would stumble because of offense. When we take on an offense, it causes a wound that can kill you, if not dealt with. You can take on an offense by many ways. You can pick up someone else's offense, and take it on yourself -my brother's offended, so I am. Your spiritual pride can kick in, and you will believe that, "you're hearing from God" but someone else isn't. And, so, how much better are you! Or, the big one… unmet expectations…. Meaning your expectation does not line up with the reality of the moment. "I've got a vision, and it's not being fulfilled to my expectation." These expectations usually spring from "misplaced" idealism, and not from practical reality.
Matthew 24: 10 tells us what happens when these offenses take root: Betrayal - Hatred - Cold Love.
Betrayal - Most people don't understand the reality of betrayal. Judas betrayed Jesus because of unrealized expectations. Judas had an agenda. He knew that Jesus was the Messiah… but because of his political ambitions, things where not going the way it pleased him. Jesus was not "taking His rightful position", so Judas put Jesus into the hands of the religious leaders, to "cause Him" to reveal His power and "take charge". Judas kissed Jesus on the cheek, as if to say… "I really love you, and I'm doing this for your sake." Of course, it backfired on Judas.
Continued below....
Confronting the "Spirit of Offense"
by Rev. Bradford Crook
"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 of iniquity will abound, the love of many will wax cold." Matthew 24: 10-11
"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings." Jeremiah 17: 9-10
"And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but to men of the flesh, as to 'babes" in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, for you still are fleshly, for since there is jealousy and strife among you are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men? For when one says, "I am of Paul", and another, "I am of Apollo", are you not mere men." 1 Corinthians 3: 1-4 Church, it is time to get real! It is the last hour, and this is not a time to be bickering, and quarreling and dividing. There seems to be a more potent form of spiritual disease that has hit the Church…. SARS (Spiritual Apathy, Rebellion and Self-serving). As a result, many are being sidelined with some variation of this infection. If the devil can't stop us on one front, he will attack another. There is nothing new in the war of darkness, just a rehash of the same old tricks - and we keep falling for them.
All around are casualties of the war. Many are out of the battle because of wounds, while others have quit fighting because of apathy. Yet, it is quite clear that the end of all things is close at hand. The headlines daily speak right out of the Scriptures, and yet many are stumbling around focused on the wrong enemy. The devil has convinced multitudes that we are the enemy, and so we are turning on ourselves, instead of recognizing that satan is the source of the problem… not the church.
Jesus spoke of the fact that many would stumble because of offense. When we take on an offense, it causes a wound that can kill you, if not dealt with. You can take on an offense by many ways. You can pick up someone else's offense, and take it on yourself -my brother's offended, so I am. Your spiritual pride can kick in, and you will believe that, "you're hearing from God" but someone else isn't. And, so, how much better are you! Or, the big one… unmet expectations…. Meaning your expectation does not line up with the reality of the moment. "I've got a vision, and it's not being fulfilled to my expectation." These expectations usually spring from "misplaced" idealism, and not from practical reality.
Matthew 24: 10 tells us what happens when these offenses take root: Betrayal - Hatred - Cold Love.
Betrayal - Most people don't understand the reality of betrayal. Judas betrayed Jesus because of unrealized expectations. Judas had an agenda. He knew that Jesus was the Messiah… but because of his political ambitions, things where not going the way it pleased him. Jesus was not "taking His rightful position", so Judas put Jesus into the hands of the religious leaders, to "cause Him" to reveal His power and "take charge". Judas kissed Jesus on the cheek, as if to say… "I really love you, and I'm doing this for your sake." Of course, it backfired on Judas.
Continued below....