Are there moments in your walk with God that make you wonder: why have my prayers not been answered?
Why have I not been healed; why have I not been delivered? Why have I not actualized the vision I have had for the last several years?
There are Christians who become offended in God because of one reason or another.
I want to admonish us today: do not be offended in God.
Saul of Tarsus was travelling to Damascus. He was going there to persecute Christians because he was offended in God.
On the way he had a blinding encounter with Jesus.
In Acts 9:3-5, the Bible says:
And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:
And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
So, you see the futility of being offended in our maker. It is a futile thing to be offended in the one who can help you. Jesus speaking to us said: ‘it is a hard thing to kick against the pricks.’
We shall examine biblical characters that were offended in God. How did these biblical characters end up?
- Cain
Cain was offended in God. In Gen 4:1-6, the Bible says:
And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord.
And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord.
And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?
Cain was offended in God because God accepted the sacrifice of Abel and not that of Cain. His offence led him to murder his brother and he became the first murderer in human history. And God placed a curse on him!
- The children of Israel.
They were offended in God in the wilderness.
In Exodus 16:2-3, the Bible says:
‘And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness:
And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.’
When one is offended in God, one begins to murmur. The children of Israel murmured because they were offended in God. They complained: ‘Why would God bring us into this wilderness to die?’ Would it not have been better for us to stay back in Egypt and enjoy the good food there?
In Numbers 14:1-4, the Bible says:
‘And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night.
And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness!
And wherefore hath the Lord brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt?
And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt.’
But God was displeased with them.
He wanted to destroy them, but Moses intervened. At the end the entire generation of those who complained did not make it to the promised land. They all perished in the wilderness. Please repeat after me: ‘I will not be offended in God.’
- Mariam, the sister of Moses and Aaron, were offended in Moses.
We see this account in Numbers 12:1-2.
‘And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman.
And they said, Hath the Lord indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? And the Lord heard it.’
They not only spoke against Moses for marrying an Ethiopian woman, but they also spoke against Moses’s prophetic office.
When you murmur against a Man of God whom God has appointed to an office, it is a way of being offended in God. You are not murmuring against that man but against God who has appointed the man.
And so, God was angry with Mariam and afflicted her with leprosy.
But Moses again intervened on her behalf, and God healed her. But before her healing came, the Lord said to Moses in Numbers 12:14:
‘And the Lord said unto Moses, If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be ashamed seven days? let her be shut out from the camp seven days, and after that let her be received in again.’
God decided to ‘spit’ in her face. And we see the result. In the end, the mercy of God prevailed.
May we not be offended in God to provoke him to ‘spit’ in our faces in the name of Jesus.
- In Number 16, we see the children of Korah murmuring against Moses.
In Numbers 16:3, the Bible says:
‘And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the Lord?’
They were offended against God and the prophetic ministry of Moses.
They said to Moses: ‘wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the Lord?’
But the Bible describes Moses as one of the meekest men on earth. How could Moses have lifted himself ‘above the congregation’ of the Lord?
The Bible gives an account of how they ended up. In Numbers 16:31-33, the Bible says:
‘And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, that the ground clave asunder that was under them:
And the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses, and all the men that appertained unto Korah, and all their goods.
They, and all that appertained to them, went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them: and they perished from among the congregation.’
They were all swallowed up by the earth,
- John the Baptist was also offended in Christ.
In Matthew 11:1-6, it is written:
And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities.
Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples,
And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?
Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see:
The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.
And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.’
That implies that John the Baptist was offended in Christ. He ended up not only in prison but was beheaded.
Jesus said that there is a blessing reserved for them who refuse to be offended in God. Repeat after me: ‘I will not be offended in God’. The blessings of God reserved for them who are not offended in Christ shall be my portion.
- The people of Nazareth were offended in Christ:
In Matthew 13, Jesus arrives at his hometown.
The Bible says in verses 53-58:
‘And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed thence.
And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?
Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?
And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?
And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house.
And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.’
They seem to be saying: we know his background. His family is very obscure and they don’t have any reputation.
The success of the ministry and the glory of the Son of God Jesus seemed to make them even more resentful towards Him.
What was the outcome of their resentment?
The Bible says: ‘he could there do no mighty works.’
Have you found yourself in a situation that makes you to be offended in God?
I want to admonish you today. Please repent and ask God for forgiveness. He will pardon. Do not allow the enemy to fill your heart with resentment towards God.
Bishop Oyedepo would say:
‘if you have a case with God and you take him to court…assuming you win the case in court, who is going to enforce the judgement or the decision of the court?’
It is not wise for anyone to be offended in his maker. He is the one that knows the end from the beginning, so why take offence? He also is the one who is our present help in trouble, why take offence?
There are so many things that our earthly parents can do for us, but there are also many things that our parents cannot do. Only God can do that. For example: can our parents give us oxygen? Can they offer us eternal life?
- Some of the disciples of Christ were offended in him.
In John 6:58-68, the Bible says:
‘This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.
These things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum.
Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?
When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you?
What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?
It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him.
And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.
From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.
They walked no more with him because they were offended in God.’
They took offence, saying: ‘This is a hard saying; who can hear it?’
How can this man say: he is the bread which came from heaven? And why should he say that he would give us his flesh to eat? Are we carnivals?
They were offended in God.
In John 6: 67-68, Jesus asked them:
‘Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?
Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.’
Peter answered him, saying: we will not go away; thou has the words of eternal life. Please say after me: I will not be offended in God.
We will not go away, because the words that Jesus speaks are words of eternal life! Hallelujah.
But in scriptures we find great examples of characters who refused to be offended in God.
One good example is Paul the Apostle.
Remember that because he was offended in God, that was the reason he decided to persecute the early church until he had that dramatic encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus. After his conversion, Paul the Apostle did not look back. He also refused to be offended in God no matter the circumstances.
In Acts 16:16-19, the Bible says:
‘And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying:
The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation.
And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.
And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers,’
Then in Acts 16:25-26, the Bible further says:
‘And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.
And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed.’
Paul and Silas had the opportunity to be offended in God. They could have blasphemed God, but they did not. They refused to be dampened by the circumstances of their arrest and imprisonment.
What was their offence? They preached the gospel of Christ. They cast out the spirit of divination operating in a young girl and set her free from the manipulation of the enemy.
They did not commit any offence, yet they were arrested and put in jail. The jail conditions were horrible. Even before they were put in jail, look at the things they suffered:
The Bible says: ‘They laid many stripes upon them. ’
In other words, they were severely beaten.
They were placed in the inner prison. That gives us the idea that they were in a maximum-security prison.
As if that was not enough, the Bible says: ‘They made their feet fast in the stocks.’
But Paul and Silas were undeterred. They were not offended in God. They did not say: ‘God, you know we came to preach the gospel. Why did you allow this to happen to us?’
Why? Because they knew that in their affliction, the glory and the power of God would be made manifest.
As they sang and praised the Lord, in Acts 16:26-27, the Bible says:
‘And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed.
And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.’
Paul, who, before his conversion, was offended in God, refused to denounce God or to be offended in him.
The wife of Job, in reaction to the affliction that almost overwhelmed her husband, said to her husband: Dost thou still retain thine integrity? Curse God, and die. (Job 2:9) She was offended in God.
But Job ignored her. He said: ‘Thou speakest as one of the foolish women’ speaketh. (Job 2:10)
In that same manner, Paul and Silas refused to be offended in God, inspite of the moment of affliction.
They saw the glory ahead.
Paul, writing by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, said:
‘For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.’ (2 Corinthians.4:17)
Instead of being offended in God, wisdom demands that we bring him sacrifice of praise all the time.
The Bible says that Paul and Silas prayed and then sang praises unto God… and then something. God delivered them from captivity.
I speak into the life of someone here today. You may be going through issues. Remember, that nothing is impossible with God; always remember that.
In another instance, Paul the Apostle prayed, but God refused to answer him.
In 2 Corinthians 12:7, the Bible says:
And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.
For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.
And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.
Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.’
Biblical scholars are still debating what this ‘messenger of Satan’ was.
We also do not know, but it could be some manner of affliction.
The Bible says that Paul the Apostle was the man who enjoyed an ‘abundance of revelation.’ He prayed, but God refused to answer him.
Paul did not sulk; he refused to be offended in God.
God told him, ‘My grace is sufficient for you.’
Are you going through any issues at all today? I have the word of the Lord for you: his grace is sufficient for you. It is in our weakness that the power of God is revealed.
That is why the Bible says: “Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit says the Lord”. (Zechariah 4:6)
Jesus, the very Son of God, also prayed. But God did not answer him. His Father ignored him.
The Bible says in Luke 22:41-44:
‘And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed,
Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.
And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him’.
And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.’
Jesus did not sulk. He was not offended in God.
The Bible says: “His Father sent his angels to strengthen him”.
Is anyone of us going through issues today? Refuse to be offended in God.
Angels were created not only to worship God but also to minister to them who shall be heirs of salvation.
Therefore, in the name of Jesus, receive angelic help today.
Lift up your hands and bless the name of the Lord.
Say after me: “I will not be offended in God“.
Hallelujah!
