I am excited about what the Lord has put in my heart to share with you. It’s actually a message that I wrote a book on almost 30 years ago, and I feel that today it is more of a prophetic word for right now than it was then. I truly believe this is what the Holy Spirit wants me to speak to you. I don’t want this to just be a message; I want to see your life change forever. I’m going to start with a question the disciples asked Jesus in Matthew chapter 24. They were at the temple and asked Him, “What are going to be some of the things that will happen right before You come back?” I believe we are so close to the Second Coming of Jesus. One of the signs Jesus points out, which I want to focus on tonight, is found in Matthew 24:10-13:1. Offense: Jesus said, “Then many will be offended.” The Greek word for “many” literally means the majority.
2. Betrayal: The offended will “betray one another.”
3. Hatred: This betrayal, if not dealt with, will ultimately lead to “hate one another.” This shows a dangerous progression: Offense > Betrayal > Hatred The Walls of Offense: Strongholds Proverbs 18:19 says, “A brother offended is harder to win than a strong city.” In Solomon’s day, strong cities had walls for protection. An offended person does the exact same thing; they begin to build walls. These are not physical walls, but walls developed in the soul, which the New Testament calls strongholds.2 Corinthians 10:3-5 describes these strongholds: “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly or carnal, but they are mighty in God to the pulling down of strongholds, casting down every imagination [or reasoning] and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.”Strongholds are thought processes or reasonings we develop deep within our soul that are contrary to the Word of God.God’s nature is to love and always seeks to give.Someone who is hurt shifts their focus from “give, give, give” to “protect, protect, protect,” developing deep reasoning and protection mechanisms in their thoughts. The Consequences of OffenseBetrayal: A lot of Christians don’t understand betrayal. Betrayal is simply this: when I seek my benefit or my protection at the expense of one I have a relationship with. If I am offended and my focus is protection, I will protect myself even at the expense of a relationship. A betrayal is an ultimate abandonment of a relationship. Hatred as Lovelessness: Hatred is not always harsh feelings or anger. Absalom hated Amnon, so he neither spoke good nor evil to him. The Greek word for hate literally means loveless—it is a vacuum void of any emotion or love. Jesus is warning that in the last days, the majority will become loveless. The Breeding Ground for Deception: Matthew 24:11 continues, “Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.” The “many” deceived are the many that are offended. Jesus is showing us that an offended heart is the breeding ground of deception. The problem with deception is that the person who is deceived believes with all their heart that they are right, but in reality, they are wrong. Jesus calls these false prophets “wolves in sheep’s clothing.” In 40 years of ministry, I’ve found there are often more wolves in the seats than in the pulpits. Wolves travel in packs to isolate the sheep from the herd. Proverbs 18:1 says, “A brother who isolates himself seeks his own desire; he rages against all wise judgment.” Isolation often occurs first in the soul, even while a person is physically present in the church. 
The Death of Agape LoveJesus goes on to say in Matthew 24:12, “And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.” Lawlessness: The Greek word is anomia, meaning you are a law unto yourself—not fully submitted to the authority of God’s Word. When you enter into an offense and develop thoughts contrary to Scripture, you have entered into lawless thinking. Agape Love: Jesus is not talking about society; He is talking about the church. He uses the Greek word Agape—the love of God shed abroad in a believer’s heart when they are born again—the love the world cannot receive. When lawlessness abounds, this Agape love will grow cold. Confirmation: He confirms He’s speaking to believers in Matthew 24:13: “But he who endures to the end shall be saved.” Overcoming Offenses The person who can hurt you the deepest is the person who is closest to you. David said it best: he expected the enemy to reproach him, but not his brother or companion. We set ourselves up for offense by our expectations: Expectation on the world: Zero. If the world does anything, it’s a blessing.
Expectation on Christians, pastors, and spouse: High. If they only meet a fraction of that expectation, we feel offended by the remainder. Do You Have the Right to be Offended? Christians can be placed into two categories: Those who have been genuinely mistreated.
Those who think they have been mistreated. I want to deal with the first category: those who have been genuinely mistreated. Do you have the right to be offended? Yes, you have the right to do anything. But if you want to walk in the presence and blessing of God, you do not have the right to be offended. When someone says, “You just don’t know what they did to me,” my response is: “You don’t know what you did to Jesus.” An offended believer is someone who has forgotten what they have been forgiven of. When Adam sinned, God would have been perfectly just to let all of humanity burn in hell, as that was our just reward. We’ve categorized sins: treating adultery or murder as major sins, but seeing strife, unforgiveness, and gossip as mere “weaknesses.” Proverbs 6:16-19 lists six things the Lord hates and a seventh that is an abomination. Adultery is not on the list, but “one who sows discord among brothers” (gossip) is the seventh abomination. I encourage you: • Treat gossips the way you treat adultery, and you’ll probably get free.• Treat unforgiveness the way you treat murder, and you’ll probably be free. I can show you three times more scriptures in the Gospels where Jesus says a person who refuses to forgive will not inherit the kingdom of God than I can on murder. The Lord’s Prayer: We pray, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who have trespassed against us.” God will forgive you exactly the way you forgive others. We have the ability to forgive because God has placed His love in our heart. My Personal Journey of Deliverance I never found it hard to forgive until I was saved and a man I highly respected—closer to me than my own father—did devastating things to me over the course of a year. Because I saw being offended as a sign of weakness, I was too proud to admit I was offended. Month after month, the fire of God and the love of God in my heart grew colder. Ministry became a cynical occupation. I was numb and jaded. One day, my wife, Lisa, saw me with the same cold, stone look I’d had for months while she wept in worship. She asked what was wrong, and I proudly replied, “Nothing, I’m meditating.”Finally, after months, I walked out on my back patio and looked up, asking, “Lord, am I offended?” I heard the voice of God louder than ever before: “YES.” God wanted me free, but I couldn’t get free until I admitted my offense. I dropped my hands and said, “God, I don’t know what to do. I have fasted, I’ve prayed, I’ve confessed, I’ve forgiven by faith, I don’t know what else to do.” Exercising Forgiveness Shortly after, I was at a funeral when the wells broke open. I wept for the first time in years, crying out, “I forgive you, I forgive you.” I left thinking I was healed. Two weeks later, I saw the man and was immediately tormented: “How can he be so blessed? He did this to me!” I was still tormented because there was a principle I didn’t understand. Acts 24:16 states, “And herein do I exercise myself, to always have a conscience void of offense toward God and toward men.”My experience taught me that some offenses hit us and roll off, but others wound us. Wounds don’t heal overnight, and if not properly treated, they never heal. I recalled a physical therapist who, after I injured my knee, told me I was injured because I was out of shape and didn’t exercise. In the same way, Christians who are not praying, not reading the Word, and not exercising their spiritual muscles are easily injured by offense. I want to be like my pastor, who is unoffendable because he is so solid in the Word of God. The Lord spoke to me and said, “Son, you need to exercise.” I asked how, and He directed me to Matthew 5. In verse 44, Jesus said, “But I say to you, pray for anyone who mistreats you.” The only person Jesus explicitly points out to pray for is the person who mistreats or abuses you. I started this exercise, but my prayers were weak, like “lifting a penny on a lead curl machine.” The Key: Praying for Their Blessing Finally, during another fast, the Holy Spirit told me to read Psalm 35. Verses 11 and 13 spoke to me: “Evil people pay me back evil for good… But when they were sick, I dressed in mourning; I deprived myself of food; I prayed with my head bowed low, as if he were my friend or my brother.” The Holy Spirit told me: “You pray for that man what you want Me to do in your life or your family.”I got up and started praying everything I wanted from God for myself, for him: I pray he knows You the best a man can know You.
I pray he pleases You the best a man can please You.
I pray You bless his family.
I pray You protect his family.
I pray You send finances to his ministry from unexpected quarters. It was painful at first—like physical therapy—but I knew I was exercising myself to be free from offense. After two weeks, the prayer became more passionate. After five weeks, I was in a deserted place, and I screamed his name and said, “I love you!” When I did, it was like junk came out of me. I was healed. Reconciliation and Freedom A couple of weeks later, my prophetic wife sat me down and said, “Honey, you need to go to him.” I jumped up and said, “No, I don’t! I’m healed!” But the Lord confirmed, “Yes.” When Jesus said, “If your brother sins against you, go to him,” most people use it to vomit their hurt, saying, “You did this and this, but I forgive you.” This misses the point. Jesus said “go to him” for reconciliation. Forgiveness and reconciliation are different: Forgiveness is unilateral. Jesus forgave us from the cross before we ever apologized. Forgiveness happens in your heart, releasing the person from the debt they owe you. Reconciliation is bilateral. We were reconciled back to God when we repented and said, “I’m sorry, you were right, I was wrong.” The Lord led me to buy this man a substantial gift and make an appointment. I brought the gift to him, and he was astonished. I took the opportunity and said, “I want to ask for your forgiveness. I’ve been really critical of you, I’ve been really judgmental of you, and I’m so wrong.” My apology opened him up. After an hour, we came together and have been reconciled ever since. I realized I now loved him with the same intensity as when I first met him, though I still saw his faults. This had to be the love of God, which covers the multitude of sins. My life, ministry, and everything changed from that day forward. Offense: The Bait of Satan Luke 17:1 states, “It is impossible that offenses will not come.” If you breathe air, you will have the opportunity to be offended. What you do with the offense will determine your future: you will either become stronger, or you will become bitter, but you will never be the same. The Greek word Jesus uses for offenses (standalone) was originally the ancient word for the bait stick of a trap used to catch small animals and birds. An offense is the bait of Satan to pull the believer into his captivity.2 Timothy 2:26 confirms that those in opposition (or offense) are “taken captive by him [Satan] to do his will.” I heard a man I respect had a vision of the armies of hell riding on the backs of offended Christians. They believed they were doing God’s will, but in reality, they were taken captive by Satan to do his will, even though they were believers. Do you have the right to be offended? You have the right to do anything, but if you want to walk with God, you do not have the right to be offended. A Final Call to Forgive I was once told the story of a man who was a Christian his whole life but never felt the presence of God because he held unforgiveness against his mother for giving him away at six months old. After reading a book about offense, he called his mother, and they forgave each other. She had hated herself for 36 years, and he realized the wall between him and God was gone. The wall that kept you from the presence of God can come down tonight. Two wrongs do not make a right. What was done to you was wrong, but your sin of offense is not justified because you were done wrong. You are willing to take responsibility and repent of the sin of offense.I want you to bow your heads and close your eyes now. This is a safe place, an outward sign of what you are doing inside. Prayer of Repentance and Forgiveness Dear Jesus, dear Heavenly Father, please forgive me. I’ve sinned against You. I was hurt, I was done wrong, and I realize tonight two wrongs don’t make a right. So, I repent of my sin of unforgiveness. I ask You to cleanse me with the blood of Jesus. Now, Father, from my heart, I choose to forgive. (Whisper their names: your mom, your dad, an ex-spouse, a pastor…) I forgive you in the presence of God. Father, lay not the sin to their charge. The way Jesus forgave me from the cross, I now forgive them. They owe me nothing. Thank You, Father, in Jesus’ name. Amen. I pray for sustained freedom over sin, and I thank God for the miracles and deliverance that are happening tonight. Prayer for Revelation Heavenly Father, we thank you first and foremost for the privilege of being Your children. You’ve called us sons and daughters of God in Christ Jesus. I’m asking You, Lord God, that You would literally invade our sanctuaries. Do what You love to do the most, and that is reveal Jesus in a way we have never known Him before. As You do this, may we go from glory to glory, from strength to strength, and from faith to faith. For I decree this very day, Your kingdom has come, and Your will shall be done on this Earth as it is in heaven. For this we give You all the glory, honor, praise, and thanksgiving, and it’s in Jesus’ mighty, wonderful, majestic, holy, awesome, magnificent name we pray. Everybody that agrees, shout amen! Come on, give Him praise in advance for what He’s going to do! Amen. Source The Bait of Satan – Unforgiveness November 18, 2025 by John Bevere 3https://z3news.com/w/the-bait-of-satan-unforgiveness/ |
John 4:6: “Jesus, tired as He was from the journey, sat down by the well.”
This is what makes the incarnation so profound. God didn’t just observe human suffering – He experienced it.
Hebrews 4:15: “We do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are.”