Stony Ground 1 Series

I. MANY ARE OFFENDED BECAUSE OF AFFLICTION

Let’s look again at Mark 4:17, “And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: Afterward, when affliction or persecution arises for the Word’s sake, immediately they are offended.”

Turn over to Luke 8:13, “But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away.”

➢ So, we find that Mark calls it “affliction and persecution” and Luke calls it “the time of temptation or testing.”

➢ The Greek word for affliction is “thilipsis:” Meaning, “pressure of circumstances, anguish, or tribulation which can be financial, physical, mental or emotional in nature.”

Sickness and disease are certainly afflictions. Remember, Satan’s intent and desire is to get you so offended that you sin, get tripped up or fall.

➢ Listen very carefully: God is not using affliction to get you to become offended; He has no interest in doing that.

Satan will create drama. He will produce situations that bring pressure against you. He will bring times of testing. We find the answer to how to handle Satan’s times of testing in the Bible.

James 1:2-6, “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.”

When the Word comes to you, Satan will come and bring a test. God doesn’t bring tests to you. Some of you say, “Well I don’t agree with that.” Doesn’t matter what you agree or disagree with. The Bible says that God doesn’t bring tests to you. Drop down further in this same chapter and we see this.

James 1:13-14, “Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.”

Some of us need to start getting mad at the right guy. You are offended because of what God supposedly did to you or allowed something to take place in your life. If there is one thing that we can learn from this parable it is that everything happens for a reason, and most of the time that reason has nothing to do with God. It has to do with our ground. We need to remember that God is never our problem! God is always our solution!

➢ God did not cause that stressful situation.

➢ He did not put you in that painful situation that you might be in.

➢ He did not cause that suffering to happen to you.

➢ He is not trying to teach you something.