INTRODUCTION:
Illustration-
There’s an old saying – “The best defense is a good offense.” It’s been used in sports, in business, and in war. It’s also known as the strategic offensive principle of war. The theory is that being proactive with a strong offensive action will make your opponent so preoccupied defending themselves from your attack that they won’t be able to mount a counterattack. It’s kind of attack first before your enemy knows what hit them. Maybe that’s what Russia’s doing with Ukraine.
But you know, it seems like this whole world is at war with one another. Everyone is divided and fighting for their side. And everyone is so easily offended. Isn’t that true? Think about what offends us today.
Here I go looking up words again. I’m sure you probably get tired of that, but I love finding out the meanings of words. It’s like my thing, I guess. I feel like I get closer to the truth when I learn the real meaning of something. So anyway, I looked up the definition of the word offend. According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary to Offend is 1. To transgress the moral or divine law (to sin) 2. To violate a law or rule (to do wrong) 3. To cause difficulty, discomfort, or injury (to intentionally hurt) or 4. To cause dislike, frustration, or anger (to provoke)
I think it’s interesting that we’ve all but gotten rid of or forgotten about the first two meanings. It’s almost like to sin or do wrong doesn’t offend anyone. That’s just normal and accepted. The third one we dismiss if it’s us doing the hurting, because obviously we were provoked to doing so (like number four). We were offended by something said or done that made us angry or frustrated, and so we felt the right to offend by hurting them back, and in the process, we offend by doing wrong and/or sinning. Everyone is being offended and offending others. And so we treat it more like this – “The best offense is a good defense.”
In other words - We get offended and that makes us very … defensive.
I have to admit, it’s true about me. I let words bother me, and then anger me as I let them fester in my mind. Then every time I see a certain person or even just think about them, I get defensive. I get riled up. And that emotion that started with something (honestly) small, builds and builds into a war within me.
A war that started when I got offended by something. Can you relate?
Today in God’s Word- But we need to ask the question: Are we at war with one another? Is that the way we spread the gospel through attack and force? Is that how we share God’s Love? Is that what Jesus would be doing if He were us?
Have you ever thought about that? When you get offended by something or by someone, do you ever ask yourself the question, “Would Jesus have reacted that way?” Would He have let something offensive cause Him to sin in His anger? Of course not. And yet… we do it all the time and then blame the other person.
Well, let’s just see what Jesus has to say about this.
Transition- This month we have been studying on the topic of what it means to know what’s truly on God’s heart in a sermon series that I’ve titled – “Heartbeat of Heaven.” Let’s turn in our Bibles now to … Luke chapter six.
BODY:
Main Scripture- In Luke 6:27-36 NLT Jesus said…
27 “But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. 28 Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek also. If someone demands your coat, offer your shirt also. 30 Give to anyone who asks; and when things are taken away from you, don’t try to get them back. 31 Do to others as you would like them to do to you.
32 “If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them! 33 And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get credit? Even sinners do that much! 34 And if you lend money only to those who can repay you, why should you get credit? Even sinners will lend to other sinners for a full return.
35 “Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked. 36 You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate.
The NASB says- 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Context of Scripture-
You know what He didn’t say? He didn’t say: If someone offends you by saying something you disagree with, write a BIG, LONG, 3 Paragraph POST on FaceBook letting everyone know how you feel about them and their false beliefs.
Guilty. I’ve done that one. I’ve gone on a rant. Have you?
He didn’t say: If someone says something to you that seems hurtful or insensitive, tell ten of your friends about it and get a whole army against that person as you gather people for your side. I’ve done that one too. Sorry to say.
Or if someone does something that seems inconsiderate to you, you give them the cold shoulder and refuse to speak to them until they say sorry. And every day they don’t, you get a little angrier with them. Jesus didn’t say to do that, did He?
No, He said to love them, pray for them, do good to them even when they do evil, mean things to you. And bless them. Don’t wish bad things for them. Bless the ones who curse you.
Romans 12:14 NLT echos what Jesus is saying. 14 Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them.
Can you imagine doing that? Someone cusses you out, just is flat-out hateful to you, and instead of reacting in anger, you bless them with a smile and kind word. I’m just being honest. I find that very difficult to do.
I find it very difficult to back down from a fight, to show mercy, grace, and kindness when someone is being very rude or disrespectful. There’s something inside of me that… that just wants to show them… the error of their ways… to force them to see their wrongdoing. And you know how that ends up going? Instead of me opening their eyes, I allow their wrongdoing to make me into this person I don’t want to be… that I don’t like one bit. Am I totally alone in this? Just let me know. I’ll quit preaching right now if this is just for me. But I have a feeling that it isn’t. That someone else here struggles with the same things as I do. The problem is we care more about being right than we do being righteous. Do you understand the difference? Being right means, “I have the final answer! I am the winner! You lose, Charlie!” Being righteous means, “I will say and do whatever God says is right. He has the final answer. He wins. I submit. I surrender.”
The Bible actually has a lot to say about this.
James 1:19-20 NLT says…
19 Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. 20 Human anger[a] does not produce the righteousness[b] God desires.
Notice he doesn’t say, “Don’t get angry. Anger is a sin that will send you straight to Hell.” No. He says be slow to get angry. Slow to speak.
Not quick-tempered, but quick to listen.
Everyone gets angry. Anger is an emotion; it’s a natural emotion. But it’s what you do with that anger that really matters. It’s what that anger produces.
Like if your anger was a seed and whenever you feel it rising up within you, you plant it in the fertile soil of your heart, and then you water it, and you tend to it, and you fertilize it. You do whatever you can to let that seed of anger grow. Then what does it produce? Not righteousness. Not the kind of fruit that God desires in our life. Not good fruit. Bitter fruit. Poisonous things that corrupt the whole person – your thoughts, your actions, your reactions. Don’t plant that seed of anger. Plant a seed of God’s goodness, God’s Word. Don’t let that anger grow.
Ephesians 4:26-27 says [And I love the way the NASB translates it]…
26 Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and do not give the devil an opportunity. {Or a “foot-hold” a foot-in-the-door}
You see that’s exactly what unforgiveness does, what allowing that anger to grow does. When we don’t let it go, when we think about it while laying down on our bed at night, when we wake up the next morning and we’re still angered by it, it still bothers us, that’s letting the devil right on in. At that point, he has his foot-in-the-door.
Instead, this is what we should do:
Colossians 3:12-13 NLT says…
12 Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.
REMEMBER, THE LORD FORGAVE YOU, SO YOU MUST FORGIVE OTHERS.
It’s so easy to forget what all you’ve been forgiven of whenever you’re the one being wronged.
Here’s another metaphor the Bible gives us: Instead of clothing yourself in defensive padding and chip on your shoulder, cloth yourself with tenderhearted mercy and kindness. Instead of putting on a don’t-mess-with-me attitude, put on humility and gentleness. Instead of dressing yourself up in an impatient, world-revolves-around-me suit, slip into your best patient outfit.
Since we are to be the holy people that God loves, get dressed up in His love!
The last I’ll share with you this morning is this. The secret to conquering evil. DOING GOOD.
Something else Jesus didn’t say. He didn’t say: Do to others because they do to you. He didn’t say: Do to others before they do to you. He said, “Do unto others, as you’d have done unto you.” Right? Put yourself in their shoes.
We have a terrible desire within us for revenge. We want payback.
We want the wrong-doers to pay, to lose, to suffer.
And I think our movies and TV shows today really push that. We like it when the good guy wins. And usually that “good guy” in order to win must do some really bad things, when we really think about it.
But the Bible says in Romans 12:17-21 NLT
17 Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. 18 Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.
19 Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say,
“I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” [Deuteronomy 32:35] says the Lord.
20 Instead, “If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads.” [Proverbs 25:21-22]
21 Don’t let evil conquer you but conquer evil by doing good.
CONCLUSION:
Summary- Don’t let evil conquer you. You see I think that’s exactly what happens to many of us when we lose our temper... when we react in anger... when we hold a grudge... when we … let things offend us.
You know sin offends God. But He still loves His children. He still so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. He still offers mercy and forgiveness.
There are many, many offensive things that we could focus on in this world, but none of that would change things for the better. We cannot conquer evil with evil. We conquer evil, we overcome evil with good. That’s how we win the war.
Please stand
