Video Transcript: Curious Restorative Purposes at the Trap of Offense

In the last lecture, we talked about the enemy’s, our adversary’s objective at the trap of offense.  And so let's explore what the Lord's doing at the trap of offense because there's treasure in conflict at the trap of offense.  The opportunity to transform your conflict stories from wildfire stories, to Peacefire stories will often be found at the trap of offense, in each conflict that you encounter.  Now, just as the adversary has objectives that the trap of offense so does the Lord.  And we're going to explore four objectives that the Lord pursues when one of his sons or daughters is snared in the trap of offense.  

The Lord's first objective is to deliver his people out of the trap and get them back where they belong at the Peacefire in his presence.  When we recognize that we are offended, the Lord instructs us back in Matthew 18, to cut off the offending source, to get out of the trap, and get back where we belong.  To remove ourselves from the trap.  But sometimes, we're blind to our situation, we feel so justified in our decision making process, so justified at being offended, that the Lord has to undertake what we call a rescue.  He's going to rescue a lost sheep, because we're not where we belong, no matter how justified we might feel.  

We're going to talk more about the Lord's rescue process and his path to restoration in a future lecture when we explore the section of God's power and how it changes our possibilities and responding to conflict.  But regardless of how it happens, the Lord's objective is to deliver his people from the trap of offense, and get them back where they belong at the Peacefire.  

The Lord's second objective at the trap of offense is transformation of his people.  Conflict often exposes things about us that the Lord wants to change: attitudes, actions, how we treat other people in conflict, how we respond to certain situations.  When the Lord exposes things that he wants to change in our lives, it's not because he wants to embarrass us or humiliate us or discourage us.  He exposes our sin, to give us an opportunity to bring what is exposed before him, and to ask him not to just forgive us, but also to change us, to grant us the grace to repent, and repentance means to turn around to go in a different direction.  

The Lord desires to change us.  In Ephesians 4:22-24 we read, “You were taught with regard to your former way of life to put off your old self, which has been corrupted by its deceitful desires, to be made new in the attitude of your mind, and to put on the new self, created to be like God, in true righteousness and holiness.  

And in 1 John 8:9, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.  But if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.  

If our focus is on the wildfire when our sin is exposed, we will typically try to hide it, justify it, blame others for it, or try to overcome it in our own strength.  When our focus is on the Peacefire when our sin is exposed, it is a sign of God's loving pursuit of his people an opportunity to receive the Lord's grace, to receive His mercy, to receive forgiveness, and that transforming peace, even though there may be difficult consequences to face, resulting from our sin. 

So the Lord's first purpose first objective at the trap of offense is to deliver his people.  His second objective at the trap of offense is to transform his people.  And the third objective at the trap of offense is to reconcile and restore broken relationships.  

When we take offense, there are typically at least two damaged relationships.  There's our relationship with the Lord, and then our relationship with the person or people who offended us.  Now the first relationship to address in such a situation is our relationship with the Lord, so that we can see clearly to go to reconcile and restore relationship with the person who offended us.  When we are offended, Jesus pursues us, because He loves us.  And he wants to set us free from the trap and get us back where we belong.  As we seek the Lord's forgiveness, it causes us to take our eyes off of our self-righteous position in the wildfire, and it turns our eyes on Jesus Christ.  This enables him to change our perspective and our priorities toward the one who offended us because we're not called to treat them according to how they treat us, but according to how we've been treated by the Lord.  

Here's how Jesus said we are to treat someone that has offended us.  In Matthew 7:3-5, “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 that speck out of your eye when all the time there was a plank in your own eye?  You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.” 

The log in our eye represents our justification for taking offense against the one who wronged us.  In the Heavenly Kingdom, the priority is not about who's right.  The priority in the heavenly kingdom is treating others the way God treats us through Jesus Christ.  It's not that the truth you is unimportant; it is very important.  But how we handle the truth, how we minister the truth, how we apply the truth in our conflicts in the heavenly kingdom is greatly different than the way we apply the truth in the earthly kingdom.  

Restoration of relationships is the priority in the heavenly kingdom.  God rescues us from the trap of offense because He loves us, not because we earn or deserve it, or because our argument was right.  He expects us to treat others in the same manner, as an ambassador of the heavenly kingdom, to treat others in the wildfire the way we've been treated at the Peacefire.  

It glorifies Jesus Christ when we love others the way that he loves us.  In 1 John 2:9-10 we read, “Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness.  Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble.”

In Romans 12 we read, “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.  Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.  

God's fourth objective at the trap of offense, after he's delivered his people, after he's transformed his people and after he's restored and reconciled relationships, his fourth objective is to destroy the works of the adversary.  1 John 3:8 says, “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.”  To destroy means to loosen or untie something that is bound to effectively demolish the bondage of Satan.  

When the enemy snares a Christian in the trap of offense, it is God's desire to not only deliver the Christian from the trap, but to destroy the enemy's work in the process; to set the captive free.  When we bring our disobedience, our contribution to the conflict, before the Lord, He delivers us, He forgives us, He sets us free and changes our priorities to fall in line with his purposes.  He then empowers us to avenge our disobedience and destroy the works of the devil through the love of Jesus Christ.  

In 2 Corinthians 10 we read, “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty and God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to avenge all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.  When we reconcile with God and then reconcile and restore relationships with those who we have offended, or who have offended us, we destroy the works of the devil and it's experience Jesus Christ's transforming peace.

Now this lecture concludes our discussion about how pursuing God's purposes in conflict will change our priorities.  When we align ourselves with his purposes at the Peacefire, and at the trap of offense, our priorities will be transformed as will our conflict stories.  

In the next lecture, we begin a discussion about God's power for extinguishing conflict wildfires and how his power changes our possibilities for restoring relationship and transforming justice.  

Let's review the notes from this lecture.

• God pursues four objectives of the trap of offense:  

• deliverance from the trap

• transformation of what has been exposed at the trap 

• the restoration of relationships that have been broken at the trap  

• and to destroy the works of the adversary.  

The treasure at the trap of offense.  The place to change the dynamics of conflict in your conflict stories.  

God bless you.  We'll see you next time.