1 00:00:00,920 --> 00:00:04,480 We should be willing to adjust for the sake of peace, 2 00:00:04,480 --> 00:00:07,920 but unwilling to compromise in the name of peace. 3 00:00:07,920 --> 00:00:13,720 We should be ready to adjust over issues of preference, 4 00:00:13,720 --> 00:00:18,880 but not to compromise over issues of principle. 5 00:00:19,120 --> 00:00:25,880 FIGHT FOR WHAT IS RIGHT BROTHER CHRIS 6 00:00:27,160 --> 00:00:32,120 Grace and peace to you all, children of God, in Jesus’ name. 7 00:00:32,120 --> 00:00:38,280 You are welcome to another edition of ‘Faith Is Natural’ here on God's Heart TV. 8 00:00:38,280 --> 00:00:42,720 And today I want to talk about a very practical issue. 9 00:00:42,720 --> 00:00:51,360 I want to give some words of advice on how to manage relationships as a Christian. 10 00:00:51,360 --> 00:00:54,360 Take note of that - as a Christian. 11 00:00:54,360 --> 00:01:04,560 Because I have observed that it is common today when it comes to this issue of relationships 12 00:01:04,560 --> 00:01:14,200 for people to engage in battles they should avoid 13 00:01:14,200 --> 00:01:21,360 and avoid battles they should engage in. 14 00:01:21,360 --> 00:01:30,640 I mean, it’s sadly very common for people to overlook the issues they should confront 15 00:01:30,640 --> 00:01:36,080 whilst confronting issues that they should overlook. 16 00:01:36,080 --> 00:01:49,000 We run to unnecessary battles whilst we run from necessary battles. 17 00:01:49,000 --> 00:02:03,040 And this causes both delay and distraction in the journey toward our destiny. 18 00:02:03,040 --> 00:02:07,040 I would even put it like this: 19 00:02:07,040 --> 00:02:16,640 Immature handling of conflicts and confrontations in relationships 20 00:02:16,640 --> 00:02:26,440 makes it easy for the devil to derail us spiritually. 21 00:02:26,440 --> 00:02:34,800 Why do you think it is so common for the devil today to target families, homes, marriages? 22 00:02:34,800 --> 00:02:42,240 Because a troubled home often translates to a troubled heart. 23 00:02:42,240 --> 00:02:45,440 This is what I want to talk about today, people of God. 24 00:02:45,440 --> 00:02:50,600 As you're watching this message, just take a moment; look at your life. 25 00:02:50,600 --> 00:02:58,760 Examine the people you relate with on a regular basis, a daily basis - 26 00:02:58,760 --> 00:03:05,800 your husband, wife, siblings, family members, friends, colleagues. 27 00:03:05,800 --> 00:03:16,000 Now, there is no relationship in this world where there will not be a degree of confrontation. 28 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:21,960 That's normal. Because God designed us to be different, we are bound to have differences. 29 00:03:21,960 --> 00:03:28,880 But the question is - what leads to that confrontation? 30 00:03:28,880 --> 00:03:32,400 What causes that conflict? 31 00:03:32,400 --> 00:03:39,480 What provokes that provocation? 32 00:03:39,480 --> 00:03:43,320 And I want you to think about this. 33 00:03:43,320 --> 00:03:57,680 Are you fighting over issues of preference or issues of principle? 34 00:03:57,680 --> 00:04:08,280 Do you clash when your comfort is disturbed or when your conscience is disturbed? 35 00:04:08,280 --> 00:04:17,960 Is the root of your confrontation about material things or spiritual things? 36 00:04:17,960 --> 00:04:25,200 And in the handling of that conflict, 37 00:04:25,200 --> 00:04:36,000 do you manifest the fruit of the Spirit or the fruits of the flesh? 38 00:04:36,000 --> 00:04:42,000 The message I'm going to share with you today is titled: 39 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:46,800 ‘Fight For What Is Right’. 40 00:04:46,800 --> 00:04:51,120 Take note - I did not say fight for your right. 41 00:04:51,120 --> 00:04:58,400 Fight for what is right in the light of God's Living Word. 42 00:04:58,400 --> 00:05:08,400 Now, as I said, it's common today for people to engage in unnecessary battles. 43 00:05:08,400 --> 00:05:15,560 We waste our time, energy, strength, attention, resources, 44 00:05:15,560 --> 00:05:25,440 fighting over issues that fade in the light of eternity. 45 00:05:25,440 --> 00:05:29,480 Many marriages today - this is the problem. 46 00:05:29,480 --> 00:05:37,560 We dramatise little issues - issues that are not worthy of our attention, time, strength. 47 00:05:37,560 --> 00:05:41,720 We dramatise these issues, and in the process of dealing with the drama, 48 00:05:41,720 --> 00:05:47,400 we minimise the big issues - issues that we are meant to be dealing with. 49 00:05:47,400 --> 00:05:51,720 This is a problem in many homes today. 50 00:05:51,720 --> 00:05:59,320 And people of God, fighting unnecessary battles does not solve the problem. 51 00:05:59,320 --> 00:06:01,280 It creates more problems. 52 00:06:01,280 --> 00:06:06,880 It does not settle the issue; it triggers more issues. 53 00:06:06,880 --> 00:06:17,160 Because in the process, you are wasting precious time and building up bitterness. 54 00:06:17,160 --> 00:06:20,160 Take note of this truth: 55 00:06:20,160 --> 00:06:27,720 The more your mind is influenced by the trappings of this world, 56 00:06:27,720 --> 00:06:36,480 the more your time is invested in the battles of this world - 57 00:06:36,480 --> 00:06:43,160 fighting a wrong battle. 58 00:06:43,160 --> 00:06:50,880 When we are too idle, we are especially vulnerable 59 00:06:50,880 --> 00:06:57,200 to the temptation of fighting a wrong battle. 60 00:06:57,200 --> 00:07:05,960 This is why we must be so careful of what we feed our hearts with. 61 00:07:05,960 --> 00:07:11,320 Because what you feed determines how you fight. 62 00:07:11,320 --> 00:07:14,040 Or let me put it like this: 63 00:07:14,040 --> 00:07:24,080 What you feed on determines what you fight on. 64 00:07:24,080 --> 00:07:27,000 Think about that, people of God. 65 00:07:27,000 --> 00:07:31,640 Now, I want to say something at this point. 66 00:07:31,640 --> 00:07:35,320 Many people reach out to us here at God’s Heart TV 67 00:07:35,320 --> 00:07:37,920 and one of the common prayer requests is that, 68 00:07:37,920 --> 00:07:44,480 ‘I want prayer to find a godly person to marry. I'm looking to get married.’ 69 00:07:44,480 --> 00:07:52,000 And I have a word of advice for those who are waiting on the Lord for marriage. 70 00:07:52,000 --> 00:07:57,720 There is nothing pretty about being petty. 71 00:07:57,720 --> 00:08:06,680 There is nothing attractive in immaturity. 72 00:08:06,680 --> 00:08:16,080 Building your character with the blocks of godly discipline is the best preparation for marriage. 73 00:08:16,080 --> 00:08:19,040 Because take note of this - 74 00:08:19,040 --> 00:08:34,400 the discipline required to keep you for marriage is also required to keep you in marriage. 75 00:08:34,400 --> 00:08:38,080 Now, going back to the main subject, 76 00:08:38,080 --> 00:08:47,080 when provocation leads to confrontation - check your heart. 77 00:08:47,080 --> 00:08:50,200 Check your heart. 78 00:08:50,200 --> 00:08:53,840 What is it really about? 79 00:08:53,840 --> 00:09:00,200 Is it about what you want or about what God wants? 80 00:09:00,200 --> 00:09:08,120 Is it about what you like or is it about what is right? 81 00:09:08,120 --> 00:09:17,080 Because as a Christian, you are called to be a peacemaker, not a troublemaker. 82 00:09:17,080 --> 00:09:22,360 In your family, you are called to be a peacemaker, not a troublemaker. 83 00:09:22,360 --> 00:09:28,520 In your workplace, you are called to be a peacemaker, not a troublemaker. 84 00:09:28,520 --> 00:09:34,720 In your marriage, you are called to be a peacemaker, not a troublemaker. 85 00:09:34,720 --> 00:09:47,520 Romans 12:18 says, ‘As far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.’ 86 00:09:47,520 --> 00:09:52,040 Our Lord Jesus Christ said in Matthew 5:9, 87 00:09:52,040 --> 00:10:01,800 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.” 88 00:10:01,800 --> 00:10:06,320 Look, I want you to think about this, people of God. 89 00:10:06,320 --> 00:10:15,400 Our unnecessary battles are often prolonged by pride 90 00:10:15,400 --> 00:10:24,960 expressed through our stubbornness to make adjustments. 91 00:10:24,960 --> 00:10:27,920 This is a principle that will help you. 92 00:10:27,920 --> 00:10:32,040 Married couples who are watching this message or those preparing for marriage, 93 00:10:32,040 --> 00:10:38,280 think about this - adjustment without compromise. 94 00:10:38,280 --> 00:10:41,840 We should be willing to adjust for the sake of peace, 95 00:10:41,840 --> 00:10:45,560 but unwilling to compromise in the name of peace. 96 00:10:45,560 --> 00:10:51,480 We should be ready to adjust over issues of preference, 97 00:10:51,480 --> 00:10:56,760 but not to compromise over issues of principle. 98 00:10:56,760 --> 00:11:02,760 Principles of the Living Word of God are not negotiable, 99 00:11:02,760 --> 00:11:07,880 just as the truth in the Living Word of God is not changeable. 100 00:11:07,880 --> 00:11:16,760 This is a message for everyone today - adjustment without compromise. 101 00:11:16,760 --> 00:11:23,760 Look, you are called to be a peacemaker, 102 00:11:23,760 --> 00:11:33,480 but not at the price of your principles, not at the cost of your conscience. 103 00:11:33,480 --> 00:11:42,600 You cannot be a peacemaker and at the same time, a people-pleaser - 104 00:11:42,600 --> 00:11:46,160 a yes-man or a yes-woman. No! 105 00:11:46,160 --> 00:11:51,120 It’s impossible to make peace on the platform of covering up wrong. 106 00:11:51,120 --> 00:11:56,320 This is what I mean by fighting a necessary battle, 107 00:11:56,320 --> 00:12:01,040 fighting the good fight, fighting for what is right. 108 00:12:01,040 --> 00:12:07,080 In a godly relationship, when you see wrong, 109 00:12:07,080 --> 00:12:16,960 you are called to confront it in love, not to cover it up. 110 00:12:16,960 --> 00:12:25,440 The degree of your love for God is reflected in the degree of your hatred of sin, 111 00:12:25,440 --> 00:12:29,680 not only in yourself, but in others. 112 00:12:29,680 --> 00:12:40,720 I cannot claim to love you and yet downplay or ignore sin in your life, 113 00:12:40,720 --> 00:12:43,640 under the guise of friendship. 114 00:12:43,640 --> 00:12:46,960 That is not friendship. That is not godly relationship. 115 00:12:46,960 --> 00:12:55,120 In the world, there is this twisted, warped view of friendship that is more about blind loyalty. 116 00:12:55,120 --> 00:12:59,360 That is not true friendship. No! 117 00:12:59,360 --> 00:13:07,200 You should look for friends who will confront your wrong, not conceal your wrong. 118 00:13:07,200 --> 00:13:13,160 Look for friends who will correct wrong, not cover up wrong. 119 00:13:13,160 --> 00:13:20,760 True friendship will never sacrifice truth in the name of friendship. 120 00:13:20,760 --> 00:13:27,080 A good friend is someone who is unafraid to speak the truth to you, 121 00:13:27,080 --> 00:13:35,840 not someone who sees you going astray but looks the other way. 122 00:13:35,840 --> 00:13:48,280 The Bible says in James 4:17 that for him who knows what is good 123 00:13:48,280 --> 00:13:56,960 and does not do it, to him that is sin. 124 00:13:56,960 --> 00:14:06,040 It is better to not know than to know and stay silent. 125 00:14:06,040 --> 00:14:13,120 It is better to not see than to see and keep quiet. 126 00:14:13,120 --> 00:14:23,160 Silence can never be an acceptable response to sin. 127 00:14:23,160 --> 00:14:37,960 Spiritual maturity recognises responsibility beyond the boundaries of yourself - 128 00:14:37,960 --> 00:14:50,200 to accept a degree of responsibility for the actions of those you relate with. 129 00:14:50,200 --> 00:14:55,720 That is a sign of spiritual maturity. 130 00:14:55,720 --> 00:15:02,360 Now, there are some people who avoid fighting necessary battles 131 00:15:02,360 --> 00:15:06,000 because they say, ‘But I don't want to offend this person.’ 132 00:15:06,000 --> 00:15:08,120 They are trying to avoid offence. 133 00:15:08,120 --> 00:15:10,480 So let me tell you a principle: 134 00:15:10,480 --> 00:15:18,680 Don’t fight from offence and don't fight to offend. 135 00:15:18,680 --> 00:15:24,840 Fight because of what is right. 136 00:15:24,840 --> 00:15:30,320 If what is right causes offence, it is between that person and God. 137 00:15:30,320 --> 00:15:37,840 If speaking truth causes trouble, I tell you, people of God, 138 00:15:37,840 --> 00:15:41,480 God will strengthen you through that trouble. 139 00:15:41,480 --> 00:15:46,760 If correcting wrong breaks a relationship, 140 00:15:46,760 --> 00:15:52,680 take it as God's way of cutting off that relationship. 141 00:15:52,680 --> 00:15:56,960 But if you weigh someone's reaction - 142 00:15:56,960 --> 00:16:00,480 ‘How will they respond? What will they say? They will got offended.’ 143 00:16:00,480 --> 00:16:08,040 If you weigh someone’s reaction, you will delay your action. 144 00:16:08,040 --> 00:16:11,640 And if you look for a more convenient day, 145 00:16:11,640 --> 00:16:19,200 you wait for a more convenient moment - that day may never come. 146 00:16:19,200 --> 00:16:25,680 Avoiding necessary battles is only postponing the evil day 147 00:16:25,680 --> 00:16:36,200 because you may dodge confrontation, but you cannot dodge consequence. 148 00:16:36,200 --> 00:16:41,480 And if you are hearing this message and saying to yourself, 149 00:16:41,480 --> 00:16:49,320 ‘But how can I confront wrong in others when there's still a lot of wrong in me?’ 150 00:16:49,320 --> 00:16:55,520 Look, no one is perfect. 151 00:16:55,520 --> 00:16:58,920 But can I tell you a secret? 152 00:16:58,920 --> 00:17:07,280 When you confront and correct the wrong in others in a godly relationship, 153 00:17:07,280 --> 00:17:11,280 you are challenging yourself to change. 154 00:17:11,280 --> 00:17:20,640 Because the voice of authority requires the alignment of lips and life. 155 00:17:20,640 --> 00:17:28,040 And don't be surprised that if you confront wrong in others, others will confront wrong in you. 156 00:17:28,040 --> 00:17:34,440 That's good. That is healthy spiritually because iron sharpens iron. 157 00:17:34,440 --> 00:17:36,240 We are one another's strength. 158 00:17:36,240 --> 00:17:44,080 So, people of God, fight for what is right and let there be light. 159 00:17:44,080 --> 00:17:50,480 Fight for what is right, and let your light shine before men 160 00:17:50,480 --> 00:17:56,400 that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in Heaven, 161 00:17:56,400 --> 00:18:03,040 as our Lord Jesus Christ said in Matthew 5:16. 162 00:18:03,040 --> 00:18:06,480 This is my word of exhortation to you today, people of God. 163 00:18:06,480 --> 00:18:14,000 And I pray that this message enters deep into your hearts 164 00:18:14,000 --> 00:18:25,800 and positively influences and impacts your day-to-day relationships, in Jesus’ name. 165 00:18:25,800 --> 00:18:28,920 Right now, let us pray together. 166 00:18:34,040 --> 00:18:49,640 I pray the eyes of your hearts are opened to see every ungodly, unhealthy relationship 167 00:18:49,640 --> 00:18:57,160 in your life - to break free from it, in Jesus’ name. 168 00:18:57,160 --> 00:19:01,320 Break free from that ungodly relationship. 169 00:19:01,320 --> 00:19:05,720 Break free from that unhealthy relationship. 170 00:19:05,720 --> 00:19:08,520 In the mighty name of Jesus Christ. 171 00:19:08,520 --> 00:19:18,520 That relationship based on manipulation and deceit - be disconnected! 172 00:19:18,520 --> 00:19:21,120 In Jesus’ mighty name. 173 00:19:21,120 --> 00:19:25,920 As you fight for what is right, let there be light! 174 00:19:25,920 --> 00:19:28,360 Let there be light in your home. 175 00:19:28,360 --> 00:19:30,880 Let there be light in your marriage. 176 00:19:30,880 --> 00:19:33,400 Let there be light in your family. 177 00:19:33,400 --> 00:19:37,840 Let there be light! 178 00:19:37,840 --> 00:19:42,040 Be strengthened to fight the good fight. 179 00:19:42,040 --> 00:19:45,920 Be empowered to fight the good fight. 180 00:19:45,920 --> 00:19:49,960 Be equipped to fight the good fight. 181 00:19:49,960 --> 00:19:59,320 Whatever is the cause of compromise - be cast out, in Jesus’ name! 182 00:19:59,320 --> 00:20:06,760 That satanic scheme to derail you from your divine destiny - 183 00:20:06,760 --> 00:20:14,640 be alert to overcome it! 184 00:20:14,640 --> 00:20:16,960 I speak to your marriage. 185 00:20:16,960 --> 00:20:19,720 Let there be peace! 186 00:20:19,720 --> 00:20:22,360 I speak to your home. 187 00:20:22,360 --> 00:20:25,320 Let there be unity! 188 00:20:25,320 --> 00:20:27,600 I speak to your family. 189 00:20:27,600 --> 00:20:31,960 Let there be understanding! 190 00:20:31,960 --> 00:20:38,320 In Jesus’ mighty name. 191 00:20:38,320 --> 00:20:49,480 Thank You, Jesus, for the uncompromising truth of Your Holy Word. 192 00:20:49,480 --> 00:20:55,520 Let hearing translate to action. 193 00:20:55,520 --> 00:21:00,120 In Jesus’ name. Amen.