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2. HOW TO OVERCOME BEING EASILY OFFENDED

3. Matthew 24:10 (Amplified Bible) And then many will be offended and repelled and will begin to distrust and desert [Him Whom they ought to trust and obey] and will stumble and fall away and betray one another and pursue one another with hatred

4. Offence - a violation or breach of a law, custom, rule, etc. / a lack of politeness; a failure to show regard for others; wounding the feelings or other

5. OFFENCE IS A SPIRITUAL SEED

6. What others said to us What others did not say to us What others did to us What people didn’t do for us

7. ROOT OF BITTERNESS (James 3:14-16) FRUIT OF RESENTMENT (Matt. 12:33-35, Hebrews 12:15)

8. What Offences Represent In Our Lives

9. Luke 17:1 He said to His disciples, ‘It is inevitable that stumbling blocks (offences) come, but woe to him through whom they come. It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea, than he would cause one of these little ones to stumble.”

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11. James 4:17 “Therefore, to the one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.”

12. The results of not handling offense

13. The devil uses offense to divide and conquer even the best of Christians. I have witnessed it tear a part churches Failing of great business ventures Destroyed marriages, and the best of relationships. Delays God’s plan in our lives

14. God’s counsel on how to respond to offenses

15. Luke 17:3-43Pay attention and always be on your guard [looking out for one another]. If your brother sins (misses the mark), solemnly tell him so and reprove him, and if he repents (feels sorry for having sinned), forgive him.

16. 4And even if he sins against you seven times in a day, and turns to you seven times and says, I repent [I am sorry], you must forgive him (give up resentment and consider the offense as recalled and annulled).

17. Matthew 18:15-16 15If your brother wrongs you, go and show him his fault, between you and him privately. If he listens to you, you have won back your brother.

18. 16But if he does not listen, take along with you one or two others, so that every word may be confirmed and upheld by the testimony of two or three witnesses.

19. John 16:1 These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended.

20. Plan for the next Offense before it comes

21. Plan for it! Your attitude should not be “will an offense come?’, but when will I have an opportunity to be offended.

22. Acts 24:1616Therefore I always exercise and discipline myself [mortifying my body, deadening my carnal affections, bodily appetites, and worldly desires, endeavoring in all respects] to have a clear (unshaken, blameless) conscience, void of offense toward God and toward men.

23. Cultivate the fruit of the Spirit Ephesians 5:9 For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;

24. Keep Your Cool James 3:18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.

25. Forgive – Jesus told Peter to forgive 70X7

26. Live your life, in the Word of God Psalms 119:165 "Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them"

27. GET RID OF BAD WEEDS