Frankie Mazzapica - Satan's Little Black Book of Lies - Part 2
All right, we started a series last week, and this is going to be part two. Last week was part one, called Satan’s Little Black Book of Lies. If you enjoyed the message, we’re going to have part three next week. If you didn’t enjoy the message, part three will be better than part two. What we talked about last week was how Satan owns the regret of the past. All the regret that you have — everything you said, everything you’ve done-he owns that train of thought. He lives there. Whenever you’re experiencing regret and thinking about it, your mind has become his playground. He also lives in the future of worry.
When you’re worried or concerned, do you think a relationship is going to fall apart? Do you think money will dry up? Do you think you’re going to be evicted? Do you think you’re going to die? You think of all these things; Satan lives in the worry of the future. So he lives in regret, and he lives in worry. The scary thing about that is that you cannot experience the presence of God in the future because you’re not there yet. You cannot experience the presence of God in the past; you can’t go back. And so Satan owns the worry of the future, and he owns the past. But God owns the present moment. Right here, right now is where you experience his presence. When you stop and say, «God, right here, right now, I love you.»
What I like to do is imagine his face just above me, and I talk to him. Sometimes I don’t talk to him; I just imagine standing before him, and that is when you experience his peace. So I talked about that last week. Today, I’m going to talk about a singular topic: offense. The lie of the devil is that your offense is justified. You have a right to be offended because what that person did or said is so out of bounds, so hurtful, that now you have a right to hold that against them. I want to say this: the enemy uses offense to poison your heart. The Bible says that this will be a sign that Jesus is coming back. Jesus left the earth, and the Bible says that one day he is going to say, «All my people, come up to me.» It’s the rapture, where Christians who believe in him leave the earth.
The Bible says it’s in a twinkling of an eye. We don’t know when that’s going to happen, but a sign that he is going to do that is when many people end up being offended. Let’s read that verse. This is in Matthew chapter 24, verse 10. Let’s read it real loud; it’s really short. «And then many"-okay, all right, that was like five people. All right, let’s have everybody read real loud. And then, let’s read in verse 12, two verses later: «Sin will be when someone is offended; love freezes up.»
There are two reasons why Satan wants us to experience the poison of offense. The first one is this: he uses it to separate people who are supposed to love each other. This is offense. When you are offended, you are injected with rejection. The enemy uses that to cause you to feel rejected. Over the course of your life, there will be many people that Satan just sends your way to offend you, and you feel rejected. I’ve had this many times in my life, and because of that, I have this overwhelming battle within me of feeling unlovable. Now, what does that mean? When I look at you guys, I don’t know all of your names, but I feel a tremendous amount of love throughout the week when I’m talking to people. I feel love going toward them; I enjoy being around them.
I was talking to somebody before the service, saying, «I just love it when you’re around! When I hear your laugh, you make me feel good.» But the idea that somebody would love me back? That’s a joke. I just don’t believe it. I know I love you guys, but the idea that you love me back is comical. It’s ridiculous; it’s so far from the truth. When someone writes me a card, I just think, " I don’t believe a word I’m reading right now.» People have written me really kind letters that I can’t even get through because it’s just ridiculous: there’s no way this is true. I’ve had this mindset for years. I just don’t believe it. Now, how did this happen? Well, it’s been years and years and years of key people just saying mean things.
Now, before any of you feel compassion towards me, I have to admit that Satan has used me to inflict rejection on other people. And so, I would not be surprised how many could line up before me throughout my life and say, «It was you who hurt me.» And when this happens, the enemy laughs because he’s using offense for us to inflict rejection on each other. Offense, in the second category, has two reasons why Satan uses it: because it separates us from God. You cannot hate someone, discard someone, and be close to the Lord at the same time. You can’t.
Let me show you what the Bible says. Okay, let me go get my notes, and I’ll read it to you. There we go. Don’t spill the espresso; God won’t be happy. It reads like this in Isaiah 59: 2, if you found it. But there we go. But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden, oh my goodness, there’s some scripture we just wish weren’t there. You know what I mean? Your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear. Golly, when you hide your face from someone, He hides His face towards you. And that is not cool at all. Aren’t you glad you came to Celebration Church? Goodness sakes, we have to think long and hard before we think that our offense is justified.
Now, how do we drop this? I feel like the Lord has put me in situations just so I can relate to people, which I think is interesting. I feel like He could have come up with a better plan. But people who have offended you typically do not believe they have offended you. Are you with me? Say yes. In fact, they think you’re ridiculous because you were hurt by what they said. Are you with me? Say yes. Yes. If that’s ever happened to you, say yes. So you say, «Hey, you hurt me,» and they think, «Yeah, well, sorry you’re so sensitive.» Are you with me? Say yes.
And so what do you do with that? Well, is it worth it to retain the bitterness, turn your face from them, and then have a problem between you and God? Is that worth it- to come before God and say, «How am I supposed to?» Because it helps to drop bitterness and offense when the other person says, «I’m really sorry I hurt you.» That really helps. But to come before God and say, «I need this offense to not get into my heart. I need you to help me.» Sometimes forgiveness happens in a moment; other times, forgiveness is a process. But the process must begin. This is very important. There are divine connections where God arranges one person to meet another person, and He wants them to live in each other’s lives. Divine connections. There are also divine disconnections. I do not want this person and this person living in the same circle. I love you both equally, but you can’t be with each other anymore.
Now, to not carry an offense for that person is to say, «I know you hurt me. It’s not good for me to be in your life, but I can’t live my life offended, mad, angry, or bitter. I can’t. There’s just too much there.» Are you with me? Say yes. Whenever we begin this bitterness, we are living our lives the way Satan wants us to live; we are becoming that character, and he laughs about it. When people hear that I’m Italian or Brazilian, a lot of times-not all the time-they go, «Oh, he must be some, you know, romantic. He’s Italian.»
Well, my wife is in the front row, and she’s trying everything she can to not laugh. Italian does not mean romantic; Italian means borderline nuts. Borderline. You’re not all the way nuts, but you’re kind of nuts. But if I try to be… I went and got a Romeo and Juliet book. Ally, stand up and wave at everybody before I start. Just so-so that, in fact, why don’t you come on up here just so that you can be mad? Yeah, there you go. Come on up here real close to me because I just really feel like I’ve got some things in me that I’ve really wanted to share. Oh, you teach the torches how to shine more brightly. You glow like a jewel sparkling in the dark night. Woo! Your beauty is richer than anything this world deserves. You’re too precious for the earth, too dear for me to use. Give her a round of applause.
Now let me just tell you what Ally was thinking. You are absolutely ridiculous! This is insane! You’ve never talked like this in your life. You had to read it because you couldn’t even memorize it. This isn’t you; this is not you. Come on, I wish it was me. I wish I was, but it’s funny when somebody acts like they’re not born to be. It’s funny! And so when Satan fills your mouth with words of bitterness, he laughs because you weren’t born for that. Here’s the reality: let me tell you about you, who you really are. Your heart is full of kindness; it’s full of kindness. You feel joy when you’re kind — that’s really who you are. And when you’re mean and angry, and you’re cutting somebody, you don’t enjoy the moment because it’s not you. You’re being used as a puppet for the enemy to inflict rejection, and your spirit doesn’t like it because it’s not who you were born to be.
Let me see if I can illustrate this with a character in the Bible. There’s a book in the Bible about a guy named Hosea. Now, if you read it very carefully, and if you read multiple versions, and you read the theologians and study, you get right down to it; you will see the scenes that I’m about to describe to you. But what I’m going to do, if you’ll allow me, is to use a little creativity. If you’ll give me the liberty to fill in the blanks a little bit, and if you go home and read it, you’ll see how the blanks get filled.
Hosea was in the middle of the town square. Now, the town square is in the middle of the city where you buy food, and you trade, and it’s loud and there’s animals, and people like to hang out in the town square. Hosea was there and he saw a prostitute named Gomer. He sees her, and when he looks at her, he can see that she’s almost beautiful, but then she’s not, because she’s had so many long nights with so many men who didn’t love her. She’s just an object. She could be pretty, but she’s worn out and tired. She’s wearing clothes that expose herself so that when men come by, she can say, «Hey, hey, hey!» She could be pretty, but all that makes him want to turn his back and walk off. But before he did, he felt the Spirit of the Lord rise up within him. It’s not out here; you felt it before. It’s just right down in here. I want you to marry that girl! And all of a sudden, he looked at her, and something happened. He genuinely fell in love. He looked at her and he fell in love. He started talking to her, he courted her, and he thought about her. Finally, he proposed to her, and she said yes. Then they got married and they had a baby.
But the one thing that troubled Hosea was that every time they went into the town area, he would watch his wife. She still gazed and still tried to make eye contact with men. He tried to ignore it, but she still did that. It was like there was a part of her that was still longing for that lifestyle. One night, he was taking care of the baby, putting the baby to sleep, and he came out, and she wasn’t there. He waited for her until about midnight, and she didn’t come home. A friend of his came over and knocked on the door and said, «I saw your wife, and I’m so sorry to say this, but she’s in his house, and they were holding hands, and they were giggling.» Hosea, can you just come take care of the baby? Let me go get her.
He goes and knocks on the door and he says, «Is my wife in here?» A guy just leans against the door and goes, «Oh yeah, she’s in here, and she’s great.» He looks past, and in those days, those houses were not very big. He looks past and can see his wife sitting on the couch, embarrassed, and he says, «Hey honey, it’s time to go home! Come on!» He takes her by the hand. He loves her so much; his heart is crushed, but his love for her is just so high and overwhelming. A few weeks go by and she says to him, «Hey, I need to tell you something. I’m pregnant.» And he says back to her, «Who’s the father?» She says, «I don’t know. I don’t know.»
You can read about this in the scriptures. I don’t know. The first baby was his, but the second one, and he looks at her and he says, «That baby is mine, and I’m going to raise that baby believing it’s mine. Don’t worry about anything; everything’s going to be okay.» She ends up having the baby a few months later. He wakes up in the morning, and she’s gone. That afternoon she’s gone. She doesn’t come home. The next night, the same friend came over and just said, «Ma’am, I’m so sorry. She’s down at the motel.»
If you read the story of Jesus, Mary and Joseph brought Mary when she wanted to have the baby; there was no room in the inn. There were motels in those days. He goes over to the door and knocks, saying, " Hey, is my wife in here?» They’re like, «We don’t know what you’re talking about.» He goes down to the next door, «Is my wife in here?» Down to the next door. Then a guy opens the door and smiles; he knows who he is. He says, «Is my wife here?» The guy goes, «Oh yeah, she’s here.» He goes, «Hey hun, it’s time to go home.» The guy goes, «No, she’s not. I’ve been feeding her for the last few days. I have bought her clothes; I have been taking care of her. I want my money back! She owes me money,» and he names a couple of other things that she’s done for him. He wants his money.
So the Bible says that he paid for everything she did. She comes out; he takes his cloak off, covers her with it, and brings her home. A few weeks later, she says, «Hey, I need to tell you something. I’m pregnant.» He says, «Hey, who’s the father?» She says, «I don’t know.» The last scene is she leaves again, but she’s gone for a couple of weeks. He asks around; nobody knows where she’s at, but there’s an auction coming up where sellers sell off their girls because they’re tired of them, and other buyers buy. There is an auction for her, and Hosea shows up wondering if she’s there. There’s bidding going on, and he waits for the last bid and says, «I’ll pay more than anyone here.» He pays, and he brings her home.
The Bible says that this was the pattern of the marriage, and he continued to love her. The Lord spoke to his heart and said, «I’ve allowed this; I’ve encouraged this; I’ve called you to this because I want people forever and ever to look at this entire story and realize that this is their story with me.» Every single time you and I look at a different life, longing for it, allowing our hearts to get full of offense and anger because we believe it’s justified, the Lord never once allowed His love to drift. Never once. He just said, «Just come on back.» Like Goomemer, all of us just kind of drop our heads. We’re so full of shame; we’re so full of embarrassment. We don’t think the Lord just says, «Come on home.» And when I say this, He says, «Come on home.» You have heard Him say that because He keeps crossing your mind. You didn’t have to be here this morning. There was something in you that drew you to Himself.
In John 6:33, the Bible says, «No one comes to God unless drawn by the Son.» He looks at you and says, «Hey, it’s time to come home. It’s time to come home.» For those of us that haven’t drifted, He says, «Hey, don’t let that offense get in you. Just come close to me.» I’m talking about this because you have a call of God on your life to affect at least one person. Regardless of what season you’re in or how old you are, there is always at least one person looking at you. Then you cannot be effective. You can’t; you’ll clam up. You’ll become self-centered. You’ll be overwhelmed with the past. You’ll be overwhelmed with the future. You’ll be overwhelmed with the offense. You can’t until you say, «I’m dropping it.» And then you get to experience peace. It’s like problems will always be here, but in this moment right now, any time you want, you can just experience peace, but you can’t experience it when you have offense.
You know what the Bible says. This is in Matthew 18. I think it’s verse 34. Maybe it’s 21. No, I think it’s 34, where the Bible says this: if you do not forgive, He releases the tormentors. What are tormentors? Tormentors are demons. He says, I can’t hold the demons back because you are hanging on to offense. What are tormentors? Tormentors are things that torment your mind, and you cannot stop entertaining thoughts about that person. You’re being tormented. And the Bible says if you don’t forgive, if you don’t drop it, the tormentors are coming to get you. And when you are tormented, you can’t experience any peace because the tormentors have got you.
And what’s the lie that we’re talking about? That the offense is justified to come before God and say, I’m going to need help here. I’m going to need help because I don’t want to withhold forgiveness when I’m constantly asking you for forgiveness. Why is this so important? Because, more than anything in the world, the most important thing is for God to be able to point out a person, just to say something kind. For just a split second, that person can feel good. Just a split second, the Lord was able to use you to make that person feel good.
And here’s the thing that everybody must know about everybody: everybody is going through something that you know nothing about. That’s right. That’s right. And for the Lord to be able to just all of a sudden give you a thought to text, to call, to look at, to smile, to hug, to surprise them with a little gift. I have somebody in my family that calls them little happies, which means they cost less than $10, but they’re just a little happy. That’s how God wants to use you. And I do not want the enemy to cause your heart to harden up so that you can’t fulfill what God’s calling you to do.
Let’s all stand to our feet, please. I’d like for all the prayer partners to come down from one side of the stage to the other. All the prayer partners to come down. There are times in your life where you just need someone to pray for you. Like, just pray for me. Sometimes I’ll get a text message out of the blue, and somebody says, «Hey, just want you to know you crossed my mind, and I’m praying for you.» And I’m like, «Ah, thank you, Jesus.» Sometimes you just need someone to pray for you. And that’s why we have prayer partners up here, because you just want to come down and just say, «Look, just pray for me, man. Just pray for me.»
If you want to get specific, then they can pray for that specific thing. But just pray for me. If you’re in this room and you are well aware that you don’t know the moment you’re going to have your last breath, you’re well aware of that. The Bible says to be absent from the body — whenever you pass away, you have your last heartbeat-immediately, you’re looking at Christ. To be absent from the body is to be present with Christ. If you were to see Him in the next five minutes, are you ready to see Him? Because if you’re not, you need to say to the Lord, «I’m sorry for my sins.» Whether I stumble a zillion times, I’m still going to be a worshiper. I’m still going to praise you. I’m still going to look to you. I’m still going to love you. And at that moment, you become His son. You become His daughter. And so I want you, in particular, to come out of your seat and take the hand of someone down here. Let them pray with you.
So anyone here who needs someone to pray for you about anything, now is your moment. And if you look down here and you see all the prayer partners praying with somebody, just come out of your seat, stand at the bottom of the aisle. We’ve got the best ushers you’ll ever meet in your life. They’ll point you to the first available prayer partner. There’s no official dismissal. You can leave whenever you get ready. But let’s sing this song at least one time through before anyone goes. May the Lord bless you. May He keep you. May His face shine down upon you and be gracious to you. May His countenance be lifted upon you and bring you peace, in Jesus' name. Amen.