WEBVTT 00:00:00.920 --> 00:00:04.480 We should be willing to adjust for the sake of peace, 00:00:04.480 --> 00:00:07.920 but unwilling to compromise in the name of peace. 00:00:07.920 --> 00:00:13.720 We should be ready to adjust over issues of preference, 00:00:13.720 --> 00:00:18.880 but not to compromise over issues of principle. 00:00:19.120 --> 00:00:25.880 FIGHT FOR WHAT IS RIGHT BROTHER CHRIS 00:00:27.160 --> 00:00:32.120 Grace and peace to you all, children of God, in Jesus’ name. 00:00:32.120 --> 00:00:38.280 You are welcome to another edition of ‘Faith Is Natural’ here on God's Heart TV. 00:00:38.280 --> 00:00:42.720 And today I want to talk about a very practical issue. 00:00:42.720 --> 00:00:51.360 I want to give some words of advice on how to manage relationships as a Christian. 00:00:51.360 --> 00:00:54.360 Take note of that - as a Christian. 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 00:01:04.560 --> 00:01:14.200 for people to engage in battles they should avoid 00:01:14.200 --> 00:01:21.360 and avoid battles they should engage in. 00:01:21.360 --> 00:01:30.640 I mean, it’s sadly very common for people to overlook the issues they should confront 00:01:30.640 --> 00:01:36.080 whilst confronting issues that they should overlook. 00:01:36.080 --> 00:01:49.000 We run to unnecessary battles whilst we run from necessary battles. 00:01:49.000 --> 00:02:03.040 And this causes both delay and distraction in the journey toward our destiny. 00:02:03.040 --> 00:02:07.040 I would even put it like this: 00:02:07.040 --> 00:02:16.640 Immature handling of conflicts and confrontations in relationships 00:02:16.640 --> 00:02:26.440 makes it easy for the devil to derail us spiritually. 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? 00:02:34.800 --> 00:02:42.240 Because a troubled home often translates to a troubled heart. 00:02:42.240 --> 00:02:45.440 This is what I want to talk about today, people of God. 00:02:45.440 --> 00:02:50.600 As you're watching this message, just take a moment; look at your life. 00:02:50.600 --> 00:02:58.760 Examine the people you relate with on a regular basis, a daily basis - 00:02:58.760 --> 00:03:05.800 your husband, wife, siblings, family members, friends, colleagues. 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. 00:03:16.000 --> 00:03:21.960 That's normal. Because God designed us to be different, we are bound to have differences. 00:03:21.960 --> 00:03:28.880 But the question is - what leads to that confrontation? 00:03:28.880 --> 00:03:32.400 What causes that conflict? 00:03:32.400 --> 00:03:39.480 What provokes that provocation? 00:03:39.480 --> 00:03:43.320 And I want you to think about this. 00:03:43.320 --> 00:03:57.680 Are you fighting over issues of preference or issues of principle? 00:03:57.680 --> 00:04:08.280 Do you clash when your comfort is disturbed or when your conscience is disturbed? 00:04:08.280 --> 00:04:17.960 Is the root of your confrontation about material things or spiritual things? 00:04:17.960 --> 00:04:25.200 And in the handling of that conflict, 00:04:25.200 --> 00:04:36.000 do you manifest the fruit of the Spirit or the fruits of the flesh? 00:04:36.000 --> 00:04:42.000 The message I'm going to share with you today is titled: 00:04:42.000 --> 00:04:46.800 ‘Fight For What Is Right’. 00:04:46.800 --> 00:04:51.120 Take note - I did not say fight for your right. 00:04:51.120 --> 00:04:58.400 Fight for what is right in the light of God's Living Word. 00:04:58.400 --> 00:05:08.400 Now, as I said, it's common today for people to engage in unnecessary battles. 00:05:08.400 --> 00:05:15.560 We waste our time, energy, strength, attention, resources, 00:05:15.560 --> 00:05:25.440 fighting over issues that fade in the light of eternity. 00:05:25.440 --> 00:05:29.480 Many marriages today - this is the problem. 00:05:29.480 --> 00:05:37.560 We dramatise little issues - issues that are not worthy of our attention, time, strength. 00:05:37.560 --> 00:05:41.720 We dramatise these issues, and in the process of dealing with the drama, 00:05:41.720 --> 00:05:47.400 we minimise the big issues - issues that we are meant to be dealing with. 00:05:47.400 --> 00:05:51.720 This is a problem in many homes today. 00:05:51.720 --> 00:05:59.320 And people of God, fighting unnecessary battles does not solve the problem. 00:05:59.320 --> 00:06:01.280 It creates more problems. 00:06:01.280 --> 00:06:06.880 It does not settle the issue; it triggers more issues. 00:06:06.880 --> 00:06:17.160 Because in the process, you are wasting precious time and building up bitterness. 00:06:17.160 --> 00:06:20.160 Take note of this truth: 00:06:20.160 --> 00:06:27.720 The more your mind is influenced by the trappings of this world, 00:06:27.720 --> 00:06:36.480 the more your time is invested in the battles of this world - 00:06:36.480 --> 00:06:43.160 fighting a wrong battle. 00:06:43.160 --> 00:06:50.880 When we are too idle, we are especially vulnerable 00:06:50.880 --> 00:06:57.200 to the temptation of fighting a wrong battle. 00:06:57.200 --> 00:07:05.960 This is why we must be so careful of what we feed our hearts with. 00:07:05.960 --> 00:07:11.320 Because what you feed determines how you fight. 00:07:11.320 --> 00:07:14.040 Or let me put it like this: 00:07:14.040 --> 00:07:24.080 What you feed on determines what you fight on. 00:07:24.080 --> 00:07:27.000 Think about that, people of God. 00:07:27.000 --> 00:07:31.640 Now, I want to say something at this point. 00:07:31.640 --> 00:07:35.320 Many people reach out to us here at God’s Heart TV 00:07:35.320 --> 00:07:37.920 and one of the common prayer requests is that, 00:07:37.920 --> 00:07:44.480 ‘I want prayer to find a godly person to marry. I'm looking to get married.’ 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. 00:07:52.000 --> 00:07:57.720 There is nothing pretty about being petty. 00:07:57.720 --> 00:08:06.680 There is nothing attractive in immaturity. 00:08:06.680 --> 00:08:16.080 Building your character with the blocks of godly discipline is the best preparation for marriage. 00:08:16.080 --> 00:08:19.040 Because take note of this - 00:08:19.040 --> 00:08:34.400 the discipline required to keep you for marriage is also required to keep you in marriage. 00:08:34.400 --> 00:08:38.080 Now, going back to the main subject, 00:08:38.080 --> 00:08:47.080 when provocation leads to confrontation - check your heart. 00:08:47.080 --> 00:08:50.200 Check your heart. 00:08:50.200 --> 00:08:53.840 What is it really about? 00:08:53.840 --> 00:09:00.200 Is it about what you want or about what God wants? 00:09:00.200 --> 00:09:08.120 Is it about what you like or is it about what is right? 00:09:08.120 --> 00:09:17.080 Because as a Christian, you are called to be a peacemaker, not a troublemaker. 00:09:17.080 --> 00:09:22.360 In your family, you are called to be a peacemaker, not a troublemaker. 00:09:22.360 --> 00:09:28.520 In your workplace, you are called to be a peacemaker, not a troublemaker. 00:09:28.520 --> 00:09:34.720 In your marriage, you are called to be a peacemaker, not a troublemaker. 00:09:34.720 --> 00:09:47.520 Romans 12:18 says, ‘As far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.’ 00:09:47.520 --> 00:09:52.040 Our Lord Jesus Christ said in Matthew 5:9, 00:09:52.040 --> 00:10:01.800 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.” 00:10:01.800 --> 00:10:06.320 Look, I want you to think about this, people of God. 00:10:06.320 --> 00:10:15.400 Our unnecessary battles are often prolonged by pride 00:10:15.400 --> 00:10:24.960 expressed through our stubbornness to make adjustments. 00:10:24.960 --> 00:10:27.920 This is a principle that will help you. 00:10:27.920 --> 00:10:32.040 Married couples who are watching this message or those preparing for marriage, 00:10:32.040 --> 00:10:38.280 think about this - adjustment without compromise. 00:10:38.280 --> 00:10:41.840 We should be willing to adjust for the sake of peace, 00:10:41.840 --> 00:10:45.560 but unwilling to compromise in the name of peace. 00:10:45.560 --> 00:10:51.480 We should be ready to adjust over issues of preference, 00:10:51.480 --> 00:10:56.760 but not to compromise over issues of principle. 00:10:56.760 --> 00:11:02.760 Principles of the Living Word of God are not negotiable, 00:11:02.760 --> 00:11:07.880 just as the truth in the Living Word of God is not changeable. 00:11:07.880 --> 00:11:16.760 This is a message for everyone today - adjustment without compromise. 00:11:16.760 --> 00:11:23.760 Look, you are called to be a peacemaker, 00:11:23.760 --> 00:11:33.480 but not at the price of your principles, not at the cost of your conscience. 00:11:33.480 --> 00:11:42.600 You cannot be a peacemaker and at the same time, a people-pleaser - 00:11:42.600 --> 00:11:46.160 a yes-man or a yes-woman. No! 00:11:46.160 --> 00:11:51.120 It’s impossible to make peace on the platform of covering up wrong. 00:11:51.120 --> 00:11:56.320 This is what I mean by fighting a necessary battle, 00:11:56.320 --> 00:12:01.040 fighting the good fight, fighting for what is right. 00:12:01.040 --> 00:12:07.080 In a godly relationship, when you see wrong, 00:12:07.080 --> 00:12:16.960 you are called to confront it in love, not to cover it up. 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, 00:12:25.440 --> 00:12:29.680 not only in yourself, but in others. 00:12:29.680 --> 00:12:40.720 I cannot claim to love you and yet downplay or ignore sin in your life, 00:12:40.720 --> 00:12:43.640 under the guise of friendship. 00:12:43.640 --> 00:12:46.960 That is not friendship. That is not godly relationship. 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. 00:12:55.120 --> 00:12:59.360 That is not true friendship. No! 00:12:59.360 --> 00:13:07.200 You should look for friends who will confront your wrong, not conceal your wrong. 00:13:07.200 --> 00:13:13.160 Look for friends who will correct wrong, not cover up wrong. 00:13:13.160 --> 00:13:20.760 True friendship will never sacrifice truth in the name of friendship. 00:13:20.760 --> 00:13:27.080 A good friend is someone who is unafraid to speak the truth to you, 00:13:27.080 --> 00:13:35.840 not someone who sees you going astray but looks the other way. 00:13:35.840 --> 00:13:48.280 The Bible says in James 4:17 that for him who knows what is good 00:13:48.280 --> 00:13:56.960 and does not do it, to him that is sin. 00:13:56.960 --> 00:14:06.040 It is better to not know than to know and stay silent. 00:14:06.040 --> 00:14:13.120 It is better to not see than to see and keep quiet. 00:14:13.120 --> 00:14:23.160 Silence can never be an acceptable response to sin. 00:14:23.160 --> 00:14:37.960 Spiritual maturity recognises responsibility beyond the boundaries of yourself - 00:14:37.960 --> 00:14:50.200 to accept a degree of responsibility for the actions of those you relate with. 00:14:50.200 --> 00:14:55.720 That is a sign of spiritual maturity. 00:14:55.720 --> 00:15:02.360 Now, there are some people who avoid fighting necessary battles 00:15:02.360 --> 00:15:06.000 because they say, ‘But I don't want to offend this person.’ 00:15:06.000 --> 00:15:08.120 They are trying to avoid offence. 00:15:08.120 --> 00:15:10.480 So let me tell you a principle: 00:15:10.480 --> 00:15:18.680 Don’t fight from offence and don't fight to offend. 00:15:18.680 --> 00:15:24.840 Fight because of what is right. 00:15:24.840 --> 00:15:30.320 If what is right causes offence, it is between that person and God. 00:15:30.320 --> 00:15:37.840 If speaking truth causes trouble, I tell you, people of God, 00:15:37.840 --> 00:15:41.480 God will strengthen you through that trouble. 00:15:41.480 --> 00:15:46.760 If correcting wrong breaks a relationship, 00:15:46.760 --> 00:15:52.680 take it as God's way of cutting off that relationship. 00:15:52.680 --> 00:15:56.960 But if you weigh someone's reaction - 00:15:56.960 --> 00:16:00.480 ‘How will they respond? What will they say? They will got offended.’ 00:16:00.480 --> 00:16:08.040 If you weigh someone’s reaction, you will delay your action. 00:16:08.040 --> 00:16:11.640 And if you look for a more convenient day, 00:16:11.640 --> 00:16:19.200 you wait for a more convenient moment - that day may never come. 00:16:19.200 --> 00:16:25.680 Avoiding necessary battles is only postponing the evil day 00:16:25.680 --> 00:16:36.200 because you may dodge confrontation, but you cannot dodge consequence. 00:16:36.200 --> 00:16:41.480 And if you are hearing this message and saying to yourself, 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?’ 00:16:49.320 --> 00:16:55.520 Look, no one is perfect. 00:16:55.520 --> 00:16:58.920 But can I tell you a secret? 00:16:58.920 --> 00:17:07.280 When you confront and correct the wrong in others in a godly relationship, 00:17:07.280 --> 00:17:11.280 you are challenging yourself to change. 00:17:11.280 --> 00:17:20.640 Because the voice of authority requires the alignment of lips and life. 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. 00:17:28.040 --> 00:17:34.440 That's good. That is healthy spiritually because iron sharpens iron. 00:17:34.440 --> 00:17:36.240 We are one another's strength. 00:17:36.240 --> 00:17:44.080 So, people of God, fight for what is right and let there be light. 00:17:44.080 --> 00:17:50.480 Fight for what is right, and let your light shine before men 00:17:50.480 --> 00:17:56.400 that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in Heaven, 00:17:56.400 --> 00:18:03.040 as our Lord Jesus Christ said in Matthew 5:16. 00:18:03.040 --> 00:18:06.480 This is my word of exhortation to you today, people of God. 00:18:06.480 --> 00:18:14.000 And I pray that this message enters deep into your hearts 00:18:14.000 --> 00:18:25.800 and positively influences and impacts your day-to-day relationships, in Jesus’ name. 00:18:25.800 --> 00:18:28.920 Right now, let us pray together. 00:18:34.040 --> 00:18:49.640 I pray the eyes of your hearts are opened to see every ungodly, unhealthy relationship 00:18:49.640 --> 00:18:57.160 in your life - to break free from it, in Jesus’ name. 00:18:57.160 --> 00:19:01.320 Break free from that ungodly relationship. 00:19:01.320 --> 00:19:05.720 Break free from that unhealthy relationship. 00:19:05.720 --> 00:19:08.520 In the mighty name of Jesus Christ. 00:19:08.520 --> 00:19:18.520 That relationship based on manipulation and deceit - be disconnected! 00:19:18.520 --> 00:19:21.120 In Jesus’ mighty name. 00:19:21.120 --> 00:19:25.920 As you fight for what is right, let there be light! 00:19:25.920 --> 00:19:28.360 Let there be light in your home. 00:19:28.360 --> 00:19:30.880 Let there be light in your marriage. 00:19:30.880 --> 00:19:33.400 Let there be light in your family. 00:19:33.400 --> 00:19:37.840 Let there be light! 00:19:37.840 --> 00:19:42.040 Be strengthened to fight the good fight. 00:19:42.040 --> 00:19:45.920 Be empowered to fight the good fight. 00:19:45.920 --> 00:19:49.960 Be equipped to fight the good fight. 00:19:49.960 --> 00:19:59.320 Whatever is the cause of compromise - be cast out, in Jesus’ name! 00:19:59.320 --> 00:20:06.760 That satanic scheme to derail you from your divine destiny - 00:20:06.760 --> 00:20:14.640 be alert to overcome it! 00:20:14.640 --> 00:20:16.960 I speak to your marriage. 00:20:16.960 --> 00:20:19.720 Let there be peace! 00:20:19.720 --> 00:20:22.360 I speak to your home. 00:20:22.360 --> 00:20:25.320 Let there be unity! 00:20:25.320 --> 00:20:27.600 I speak to your family. 00:20:27.600 --> 00:20:31.960 Let there be understanding! 00:20:31.960 --> 00:20:38.320 In Jesus’ mighty name. 00:20:38.320 --> 00:20:49.480 Thank You, Jesus, for the uncompromising truth of Your Holy Word. 00:20:49.480 --> 00:20:55.520 Let hearing translate to action. 00:20:55.520 --> 00:21:00.120 In Jesus’ name. Amen.