Faith Faith Arvada

Fresh Start – How Offense Makes Us Fools
                                                                                              
 
 
What is offense?
 
Offense = An annoyance or resentment brought about by a perceived insult to or disregard for oneself or one's standards or principles. 
 
Hebrew: peša = Transgression or sin
 
“You know you are a true servant when it doesn’t upset you to be treated like one.”
 - Unknown
 
How Offense Makes Us Fools
 
1.     Offense makes me angry.
 
                  Ecclesiastes 7:9 (ESV)
“Be not quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger lodges (makes its home there) in the bosom of fools.”
 
 
 
2.      Offense distracts me from the relationship.
 
Proverbs 17:9 (ESV)
“Whoever covers an offense seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates close friends”
 
3.      Offense hardens my heart.
 
Proverbs 18:19 (ESV)
“A brother offended is more unyielding than a strong city, and quarreling is like the bars of a castle.”
 
4.     Offense distorts my view of reality.
 
Proverbs 18:17 (ESV)
“The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him.”
 
 
 
Proverbs 19:11 (ESV)
“Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.”
 
 
Four Strategies to Overlook an Offense
 
1.      Give up your Rights.
 
Philippians 2:5-8 (ESV)
“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
 
 
2.      Choose to Love.
 
Proverbs 10:12 (ESV)
“Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.” 
(Hatred = loving myself more than others) 
 
Colossians 3:12-15 (ESV)
“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.”
 
 
 
 
 
 
3.      Choose to Forgive.
 
Matthew 6:14-15 (ESV)
“For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
 
Ephesians 4:29-32 (ESV)
“Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”
 
 
4.     Ask a Question.
 
Proverbs 18:17 (ESV)
“The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him.”
 
Matthew 7:3-4 (ESV)
“Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, Let me take the speck out of your eye, when there is the log in your own eye?”
 
 

Dealing with the 500-Pound Gorilla in the Room - Conflict
 
 
Romans 12:17-18 (NIV)
“Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”
 
The effects of unresolved conflict in our relationships.  
 
1.     It can minimize our joy.
 
2.     It can hinder our communication with God. 
 
1 Peter 3:7 (ESV)
“…husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.”
 
3.     It can hinder your sensitivity and worship to God. 
 
Matthew 5:23-24 (NIV)“…if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.”
Dealing with relational conflict. 
 
1.     Do something to help bring reconciliation. 
 
Matthew 12:34 (ESV)“…For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.”
Genesis 3:10 (NIV)“…I heard you in the garden; and I was afraid because I was naked, and so I hid.” 
2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV)
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”
 
2.     Be honest about what you have done wrong.
 
Matthew 7:3-5 (NIV)“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”
 
1 Peter 5:5 (ESV)“…Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’”
 
3.     Listen and consider what they are saying.
 
James 1:19 (NIV)“…Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,”
Philippians 2:4 (NLT)
“Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.”
 
4.     Be intentional with the words you use.  
Proverbs 12:18 (NIV)
“The words of the reckless pierce like swords,
but the tongue of the wise brings healing.”
 
5.     Pursue reconciliation, not agreement.
 
Matthew 5:9 (NIV)“Blessed are the peacemakers…”

Fresh Start – Freedom from Bitterness
 
 
Ephesians 4:31-32 (NIV)
Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
 
I.               Causes of Bitterness
 
1.     Actions done or not done to you. 
 
Job 19:19 (NIV)
“All my intimate friends detest me;
       those I love have turned against me.”
 
2.     Attitudes projected towards you.
Job 19:5 (NIV)
“you would exalt yourselves above me
                               and use my humiliation against me,”
 
3.     Words spoken to you. 
 
Job 12:5 (NLT)
"People who are at ease mock those in trouble.
       They give a push to people who are stumbling." 
Proverbs 15:4 (NLT)
“Gentle words are a tree of life;
                               a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.”
 
Job 5:2 (NIV)
“Resentment kills a fool…”
 
 
 
 
 
 
Hebrews 12:15 (NIV)
“See to it that …..no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.”
 
“Many are unable to function properly in their calling because of the wounds and hurts that offenses have caused in their lives. They are handicapped and hindered from fulfilling their full potential.”
- John Bevere
 
II.             Find Freedom from Bitterness
1.     Be open and honest about your pain. 
Job 7:11 (NIV)
“Therefore I will not keep silent;
                               I will speak out in the anguish of my spirit,
                               I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.”
 
2.     Make the decision to forgive. 
Job 42:10 (NIV)
“After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before.”
 
3.     Stop looking back and look into your future. 
Philippians 3:13 (NIV)
“Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.”
 
Job 42:12 (NIV)
“The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part...”

Good Friday 2024
                                                                                              
 
Isaiah 53:4-6 (NKJV)
Surely He has borne our griefs
And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted.
But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
 
Galatians 3:13 (ESV)
“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree’”
 
Isaiah 43:25 (NIV)
"I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.
 
1 Peter 2:24 (NIV)
“’He himself bore our sins’ in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live to righteousness;”
 
Matthew 27:51 (NIV)
“At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.”
 
Hebrews 4:16 (NKJV)
“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
 
Hebrews 10:19-22 (ESV)
“Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water."
Hebrews 10:1-10 (NLT)
“The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship. If they could have provided perfect cleansing, the sacrifices would have stopped, for the worshipers would have been purified once for all time, and their feelings of guilt would have disappeared. But instead, those sacrifices actually reminded them of their sins year after year. For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. That is why, when Christ came into the world, he said to God, 
 
‘You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings. But you have given me a body to offer. 
You were not pleased with burnt offerings or other offerings for sin. 
Then I said, ‘Look, I have come to do your will, O God— as is written about me in the   Scriptures.’ 
 
First, Christ said, ‘You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings or burnt offerings or other offerings for sin, nor were you pleased with them’ (though they are required by the law of Moses). Then he said, ‘Look, I have come to do your will.’ He cancels the first covenant in order to put the second into effect. For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time.”

Easter Sunday 2024
                                                                                              
Cross of Rebellion 
Luke 23:34 (NIV)
“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
Luke 23:39 (NIV)
“One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: ‘Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!’”
 
Cross of Repentance
Luke 23:40-41 (NIV)
“the other criminal rebuked him. ‘Don’t you fear God,’ he said, ‘since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.’”
Luke 23:42 (NIV)“Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
 
Cross of Redemption  
John 3:16 (NIV)
“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
1 Peter 2:24 (NIV)
“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; ‘by his wounds you have been healed.’”
2 Corinthians 5:21 (NIV)“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
1 John 4:10 (NIV)
“This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”
Matthew 28:5-7 (NIV)
“Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead…”

It’s Time to Dream Again
 
Romans 8:11 (NLT)
“The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you.”
 
Revelation 1:18 (NKJV)
 “I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.”
 
John 10:10 (ESV)
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”
Proverbs 29:18 (ESV)
“Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint”
 
What does God’s dream look like for you?
 
Ephesians 3:20 (ESV)
“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us”
 
How to live out God’s dream for my life. 
 
1.     Surrender your whole life to God. 
 
Romans 12:1-2 (ESV)
“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
 
2.     Get alone with God.
 
Isaiah 55:3 (ESV)
“Incline your ear, and come to me; 
       hear, that your soul may live;”
 
3.     Get around Godly Dreamers.
 
Proverbs 27:17 (NIV)
“As iron sharpens iron,
                    so one person sharpens another.”
 
Proverbs 22:24-25 (NLT)
“Don’t befriend angry people
       or associate with hot-tempered people, 
or you will learn to be like them
       and endanger your soul.”
 
4.     Take steps towards God’s dream for your life. 
 
Psalms 37:23 (NLT)
“The LORD directs the steps of the godly.”