How to Overcome Offence
Grace and peace to you all in Jesus’ mighty name.
Welcome, everyone, to another edition of ‘Faith Is Natural’ here on God's Heart TV.
Now, today, I want to share with you all a message with an important lesson
about how to overcome offence in our relationships.
Because I have seen on so many occasions
just how easily relationships can be damaged because of words.
Many relationships today end prematurely because of words.
You see marriages fall into divorce.
You see families become fractured.
You see friendships hit the point of separation because of words.
In the same vein, I have seen how many times little issues that could have been
resolved quickly become worsened and lengthened because of words.
Insensitive words, careless words, bitter words, provoking words, poisonous words.
But people of God, I put it to you today
that it is not the poison of words but the pollution of hearts
that really builds offence and breaks relationships,
sometimes even beyond repair.
The pollution of hearts.
You see, words can be spoken in a moment of indiscretion, insensitivity,
provocation, pain or anger.
But those words can be harboured in the heart for days, weeks, months, even years -
long after the emotions of that moment have faded,
long after the circumstances that surrounded that exchange have changed.
Now, let me be very clear with you, people of God.
I’m not in any way excusing or condoning the use of poisonous words.
No! Not at all.
In fact, our Lord Jesus Christ said in Matthew 12:36-37,
‘We will give an account for every idle word that is spoken.’
As Christians, we must offer that prayer that David offered in Psalm 141:3,
‘Oh Lord, set a watch over my lips; set a guard over the door of my mouth’,
so that we avoid tongue trouble.
So I'm not in any way excusing the use of poisonous words. No!
But in today's message, I want to focus on our reaction
when we are on the receiving end.
You see, the issue is not the hearing of such words.
The issue is the harbouring of such words in our hearts.
It is the harbouring of poison that truly brings the contamination.
Now, I want to be practical.
Let's give a practical example of this.
Just imagine you eat, drink or take something into your system
and it's something strange and your body recognises it as something toxic,
something poisonous. What is your first reaction?
You spit it out.
You get rid of it as quickly as possible.
God has designed our body in a way that we reject
and eject that thing which we recognise as dangerous.
In the same way, people of God,
harbouring poisonous words in your heart is dangerous.
Because what you hold onto can easily take hold of you.
Think about that.
Let me say it again.
What your heart holds onto may soon take hold of you.
So, the question is this.
Why then is it so common today for us to harbour something that is so hazardous?
It's a question.
And this ushers me to the main point I want to emphasise
in today’s message, people of God.
I believe one of the major contributing factors to this offence in our hearts
is because we register the words of man in our hearts
as if they were the Words of God.
What do I mean?
We assign the same degree of value, importance, significance to human words,
as if they were the Word of God.
Now, Jesus Christ says in Luke 6:45 that our heart is the treasury.
Many today have sadly reduced or cheapened this treasury
to the position of a dustbin
where we permit all kinds of rubbish, all kinds of garbage
to fester wounds and to foster lies in our hearts.
Many of us today are so quick, too quick to cheaply give our hearts away
to words that spring from an untrustworthy source.
A common example, people of God.
Maybe you've had an argument with someone.
And in the course of that argument, negative words have been used.
And that night when you go to bed, you begin to turn those negative words
over and over again in your heart.
You begin to rewind in your mind the moments when such words were spoken.
In fact, many of us even continue imaginary dialogue with our offender.
What is happening?
We relegate the value of the heart
because we elevate the words of man.
What happens because of this, people of God?
Offence easily takes root and words become wounds.
And if care is not taken, damaged hearts lead to damaged homes,
damaged relationships, damaged opportunities.
Because we have treated the words of man as if they were the Words of God.
People of God, to overcome offence,
you must recognise that your heart is too precious
to harbour words that do not define your destiny.
You must recognise that your heart is simply too precious
to harbour words that do not define your destiny.
People of God, let me tell you this vital, important and life-changing truth!
The only words worthy of your hearts are the Words of the Living God!
The only words that are trustworthy enough, dependable enough,
reliable enough, consistent enough, pure enough
to turn over and over again in our hearts
is the Living Word of God, the Word of the Holy Spirit.
Therefore, people of God, we must stop the registration of illegitimate declarations!
What do I mean?
Even in this natural world, we recognise that registration is for something official.
It is for something that has been proven genuine.
So, we must register when it's time to vote.
We must register to attend university.
We must register when we get married.
The government bodies may receive many applications but they filter them
and register once they are confirmed, once they are proven.
I hope you see where I'm going, people of God.
Our mind can process many things without our heart absorbing them,
without our heart registering them.
Registration is for things that are proven true.
Registration is not for falsehood.
Registration is not for fantasy. No!
Stop registering in your heart
unofficial declarations over your life.
Don't give your heart to such words, people of God.
The only declarations that are worthy of your attention
are those sanctioned by Scripture, in tune with Scripture, in line with Scripture -
things that are pure, just, noble, excellent, upright, admirable, praiseworthy -
as Philippians 4:8 says.
That's the only thing worthy.
Worthless words are not worthy of your heart.
They do not define your worth. No!
The only One who is worthy...
Worthy is the Lamb who sits on the throne!
The only One who is worthy is the only One who has the power to define your worth,
people of God.
In a world where there are so many conflicting views and voices,
the only opinion that really matters, that really counts is God’s opinion.
So, if someone has spoken negative words over your life,
people of God, don't take them to heart.
Don't give place to the devil, as Ephesians 4:27 says.
Examine them in the pure light of God's Word.
You can come to the conclusion that -
I refuse to be defiled by that which does not define me.
I refuse to idolise words that are idle.
I refuse to be misled by the devil’s misinformation!
Yes, they may hurt me but they do not hold me.
They may wrong me but they do not own me. No!
I may feel bad but my feelings are not the captain of my heart.
My emotions are not the rudder of my soul.
I am not a slave to my senses.
Yes, I may react in the flesh but I am not ruled by the flesh.
Thank You, Jesus!
People of God, when the Word of God is in our hearts,
when we take hold of that Word, it becomes our stronghold,
our anchor in the storms,
our shelter from the deceptions of darkness and the fluctuations of our feelings.
So let me put it to you today.
Ask yourself this question.
Are there any negative words that have been spoken over your life
that you are harbouring in your heart at this moment?
Take note of something.
For a ship to harbour, there must be an anchor.
What you harbour reflects where you anchor.
So let this message today encourage you!
Let this message encourage you to anchor your life, your hope, your heart
on the unchanging authority of the living Word of God,
not the powerless and changing words of man.
May God bless His Word in the midst of our hearts, in Jesus’ name.
Right now, let us pray together.
A Time of Prayer
Every lie of the devil registered in your heart -
I say, be cancelled!
Be cancelled, in the mighty name of Jesus Christ!
Every negative pronouncement over your life - be nullified!
Be nullified, in the name of Jesus Christ!
Whatever poison has polluted your heart - I declare purification right now!
Be purified!
Be cleansed by the precious Blood of Jesus Christ!
Be purified from that poison of bitterness!
Be purified from that poison of resentment!
Be purified from that poison of offence, in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.
Remember, harbouring offence is actually a reflection of insecurity
about our identity in Christ.
When words become wounds, it is an indicator of just how far we have fallen
from the understanding of God's paramount position.
Right now, whatever is attacking that assurance of who you are in Christ -
I say, be removed!
Be removed, in the mighty name of Jesus Christ!
Refuse right now to be a dumping ground for the devil's lies.
Refuse to be a dumping ground for the devil's propaganda.
By faith in the name of Jesus Christ, walk in the light!
Talk in the light.
Move in the light.
Walk in freedom. Walk in truth.
Walk in the light of the living Word of God and overcome the senses,
in Jesus’ mighty name.
Amen.
Thank You, Jesus.