Introduction:
We are all connected to the rest of the world like no other time in history. Social media connects us to an ever-changing eye for justice or the lack thereof. On a planet filled with people looking for justice, it seems that the opportunity and temptation to be an “avenger” can be overwhelming, but there is hope…
Romans 3:21-24 MSG
21-24 But in our time something new has been added. What Moses and the prophets witnessed to all those years has happened. The God-setting-things-right that we read about has become Jesus-setting-things-right for us. And not only for us, but for everyone who believes in Him. For there is no difference between us and them in this. Since we’ve compiled this long and sorry record as sinners (both us and them) and proved that we are utterly incapable of living the glorious lives God wills for us, God did it for us. Out of sheer generosity He put us in right standing with Himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the mess we’re in and restored us to where He always wanted us to be. And He did it by means of Jesus Christ.
I. Jesus saw this day coming when He stated…
Luke 17:1-4 NKJV
1 Then He said to the disciples, “It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come! 2 It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. 3 Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. 4 And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.”
A. As New Testament men and women of God, we must remember that forgiveness and walking in
An avenger is a person who takes in life, but because of fear, cannot release it…
B. Ironically, it seems that the majority of our perceived
Psalm 55: 1-22 TPT
1 God, listen to my prayer! Don’t hide your heart from me when I cry out to you! 2–3 Come close to me and give me Your answer. Here I am, moaning and restless. I’m preoccupied with the threats of my enemies and crushed by the pressure of their opposition. They surround me with trouble and terror. In their fury they rise up against me in an angry uproar. 4 My heart is trembling inside my chest as the terror of death seizes me .5 Fear and dread overwhelm me. I shudder before the horror I face. 6 I say to myself, “If only I could fly away from all of this! If only I could run away to the place of rest and peace. 7 I would run far away where no one could find me, escaping to a wilderness retreat.” 8 I will hurry off to hide in the higher place, into my shelter, safe from this raging storm and tempest. 9 God, confuse them until they quarrel with themselves. Destroy them with their own violent strife and slander. They have divided the city with their discord. 10 Though they patrol the walls night and day against invaders, the real danger is within the city— the misery and strife in the hearts of its people. 11 Murder is in their midst. Wherever you turn, you find trouble and ruin. 12 It wasn’t an enemy who taunted me. If it was my enemy, filled with pride and hatred, then I could have endured it. I would have just run away. 13 But it was you, my intimate friend—one like a brother to me. It was you, my adviser, the companion I walked with and worked with! 14 We once had sweet fellowship with each other. We worshiped in unity as one, celebrating together with God’s people. 15 Now desolation and darkness has come upon you. May you and all those like you descend into the pit of destruction! Since evil has been your home, may evil now bury you alive! 16 But as for me, I will call upon the Lord to save me, and I know He will! 17 Every evening I will explain my need to Him. Every morning I will move my soul toward Him. Every waking hour I will worship only Him, and He will hear and respond to my cry. 18 Though many wish to fight and the tide of battle turns against me, by your power I will be safe and secure; peace will be my portion. 19 God Himself will hear me! God-Enthroned through everlasting ages, the God of unchanging faithfulness— He will put them in their place, all those who refuse to love and revere Him! 20 I was betrayed by my friend, though I lived in peace with him. While he was stretching out his hand of friendship, he was secretly breaking every promise he had ever made to me! 21 His words were smooth and charming. Yet his heart was disloyal and full of hatred— his words soft as silk while all the time scheming my demise. 22 So here’s what I’ve learned through it all: Leave all your cares and anxieties at the feet of the Lord, and measureless grace will strengthen you.
C. This truth remains: Only those you really
II. Even the church is not immune to the perils of an avenger.
II Timothy 3:1-5 TPT
But you need to be aware that in the final days the culture of society will become extremely fierce. 2 People will be self-centered lovers of themselves and obsessed with money. They will boast of great things as they strut around in their arrogant pride and mock all that is right. They will ignore their own families. They will be ungrateful and ungodly. 3 They will become addicted to hateful and malicious slander. Slaves to their desires, they will be ferocious, belligerent haters of what is good and right. 4 With brutal treachery, they will act without restraint, bigoted and wrapped in clouds of their conceit. They will find their delight in the pleasures of this world more than the pleasures of the loving God. 5 They may pretend to have a respect for God, but in reality they want nothing to do with God’s power. Stay away from people like these!
A. Jesus made it very clear that it is
B. Yet most believers are
C. This response leaves us vulnerable to a
1. The Greek word for offend is “skandalon” and refers to the part of the
2. The word “skandalon” signifies laying a trap in someone’s way.
3. Offense is the number one tool of the enemy to bring people into
III. What would Captain America do?
Isaiah 55:8-11 MSG
8-11 “I don’t think the way you think. The way you work isn’t the way I work.” God’s Decree. “For as the sky soars high above earth, so the way I work surpasses the way you work, and the way I think is beyond the way you think. Just as rain and snow descend from the skies and don’t go back until they’ve watered the earth, doing their work of making things grow and blossom, producing seed for farmers and food for the hungry, So will the words that come out of My mouth not come back empty-handed. They’ll do the work I sent them to do, they’ll complete the assignment I gave them.
A. God will always be bigger than your
Psalm 8:1-5 TPT
Yahweh, our Sovereign God, Your glory streams from the heavens above, filling the earth with the majesty of Your name! People everywhere see Your splendor. 2 You have built a stronghold by the songs of children. Strength rises up with the chorus of infants. This kind of praise has power to shut Satan’s mouth. Childlike worship will silence the madness of those who oppose You. 3 Look at the splendor of Your skies, Your creative genius glowing in the heavens. When I gaze at Your moon and Your stars, mounted like jewels in their settings, I know You are the fascinating artist Who fashioned it all! But I have to ask this question: 4 Why would You bother with puny, mortal man or care about human beings? 5 Yet what honor You have given to men, created only a little lower than Elohim, crowned with glory and magnificence.