MORE ON NOT BEING OFFENDED
Tuesday – May 19, 2020, Iyar 25, 5780
Greetings dear and precious friends and partners of this Ministry and The Three Minute Word blog. If you are reading this on Facebook please take a moment to “love” and “share” this teaching. The featured picture today is of two Bactrim camels. Bactrim camels have two humps and Arabian camels have one hump. God is so good and wonderful. He is nothing but good, He is not the source of Coronavirus or any other thing that is part of the curse (Deuteronomy 28:14-68). Deuteronomy 28 and many other references tell us exactly how to walk in the blessing and how not to walk in the curse (and vice versa). Why do we choose the curse time and time again? The curse came by way of sin and enters each of our lives when we step aside from the Word of God.
Deuteronomy 28:14-15 (KJV)
14 And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.
15 But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:
The Blessing is activated and maintained in our lives by our proactively listening too, looking at, and doing the Word of God. In like fashion, the curse is activated and maintained in our lives by our proactively listening too, looking at, and doing words that are not of God. Being proactive means the taking of action to control a situation rather than just responding to it after it has happened according to Smart Lookup. The pestilence of the Coronavirus, every pestilence (curse) before and every one to follow (and there will be many of increasing intensity unless the Church repents) are and will impact the Church just like the world due to the Church turning aside to other gods, other words. The primary wickedness in the Church is unbelief. This unbelief comes by many avenues but in the end, we choose to believe other words, and follow another Jesus. For example, when we say “God is in control” we have turned aside to other words, to another Jesus. Jesus never said “God was in control” and neither is that said elsewhere in Scripture (mouth of God). Now, let’s turn our attention to our primary Bible text in the Book of John and read it aloud. Yes, out loud.
John 16:1-4 (KJV)
1 These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended.
2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.
3 And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me.
4 But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them. And these things I said not unto you at the beginning, because I was with you.
Picking up from yesterday I will be focusing more on the idea of offense. Jesus said that the Truth, the things He was speaking to them, would or could be a solid defense against being offended. Remember, He is the same one that told us offense would come, it is not a maybe situation. If you have not had occasion to be offended lately you are a most unusual person. Let’s see what Jesus had to say at another time about offense. We will be looking at it in the King James Version, the New Living Translation, and the Complete Jewish Bible.
Matthew 18:7 (KJV)
7 Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!
As you know, people can be quite indignant when they feel offended. It is the seed for a root of bitterness and unforgiveness. Offense must be avoided at all costs. The New Living Translation equates being offended with being tempted.
Matthew 18:7 (NLT)
7 “What sorrow awaits the world, because it tempts people to sin. Temptations are inevitable, but what sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting.
Offense is the devil’s invitation to anger, judging, unforgiveness, temptations of every kind. When we accept the devils invitation to be offended the floodgates for the curse in our lives are opened wide. The Complete Jewish Bible translates the Greek word as a snare. So, we see the words offense, temptation, and snare.
Matthew 18:7 (CJB)
7 Woe to the world because of snares! For there must be snares, but woe to the person who sets the snare!
A temptation of course, as well as an offense is a potential snare. Will we bite on the devils hook, take the bait? Let’s take a look at the definition in the Greek of the word translated to English as offense. It is the word “skandalizō” which means to entrap, trip up (figurative stumble [transitive] or entice to sin according to Strong’s Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary. If the devil can get us to turn aside to other words, other gods we are entrapped, tripped up, and have yielded or more accurately chosen sin. Let’s make up our minds to cling to the Word of God and not turn aside, The Word of God is our life, we are to live by every Word from the mouth of God.
Until our next publication, as a Bible Teacher and Prophetic Voice I speak this blessing over each and every one of you, receive it, believe it, and speak over yourself and your family by faith in Jesus name! Quit asking God to bless you, you are already blessed, you have the Blessing, give Him something to do by the words of your mouth. Once you know the will of God, decree the thing (Job 22:28, Isaiah 45:11, Mark 11:23). (The Blessing is the Holy Spirit) We have left God way to long with nothing to do in our lives.
Numbers 6:24-26 (AMP)
24 The Lord bless you and watch, guard, and keep you;
25 The Lord make His face to shine upon and enlighten you and be gracious (kind, merciful, and giving favor) to you;
26 The Lord lift up His [approving] countenance upon you and give you peace (tranquility of heart and life continually).
By: Dr. David Wood, Author, Bible Teacher, and Prophetic Voice
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