Why Being Offended at God Never Leads to Victory - Free Indeed - Ep. 56

Summary

Barry Bennett argues that blaming or becoming offended at God during hardship does not lead to victory. He says Christians should instead understand the source of evil, recognize what they have been given in Christ, and respond in faith.

Main Ideas

• The storm and the disciples’ response: In Mark’s account of Jesus calming the storm, the disciples ask whether Jesus cares that they are about to die. Bennett interprets this as misplaced blame and fear: Jesus rebukes the storm, then challenges the disciples about their lack of faith. Bennett says believers should respond to problems with faith rather than assume God does not care.

• Hardship is not necessarily God’s will: Bennett points to Cain killing Abel and Paul and Silas being imprisoned as examples of evil and suffering that God did not simply prevent. He interprets Psalm 115:16—“the earth he has given to the children of men”—to mean that God entrusted earthly authority to humanity. In his view, people should not automatically blame God when things go wrong.

• Faith and praise as responses: Paul and Silas pray and sing in prison before an earthquake opens the doors and releases the prisoners. Bennett presents their praise as an expression of faith and contrasts it with resentment or despair. He says faith, rather than offense toward God, is the response that can bring God’s power to bear.

• Jesus’ mission and the source of evil: Bennett cites John 10:10 and 1 John 3:8 to distinguish the devil’s work—stealing, killing, and destroying—from Jesus’ purpose of bringing abundant life and destroying the devil’s works. He encourages believers to resist what they understand to be evil rather than attribute it to God.

• The problem of spiritual dullness: Drawing on Romans 10:17 and Matthew 13:15, Bennett says people may fail to hear or trust God’s word because their hearts have become dull. He argues that this, rather than God’s indifference, can explain why people do not act on the faith and authority he believes God has provided.

• What Bennett says believers have in Christ: He lists the name and authority of Jesus, the Holy Spirit and spiritual gifts, freedom from guilt and condemnation through Jesus’ blood, the New Covenant and its promises, faith, love, joy, peace, prayer, and the “keys of the kingdom.” He says these equip Christians to face challenges and resist evil.

Practical Approach Encouraged

• Don’t assume that suffering proves God has abandoned or harmed you.
• Identify evil as something to resist rather than something to accept passively.
• Listen to and act on God’s word, which Bennett describes as the source of faith.
• Use prayer, praise, the name of Jesus, and the spiritual authority and gifts he believes are available to believers.
• Ask God for wisdom, knowledge, and revelation about how to respond.
• Be proactive in bringing what Bennett calls God’s influence into your life and community.
• If you have been offended at God, repent and redirect that opposition toward resisting the devil.

Bennett closes with a prayer of repentance for being offended at God and asks that viewers be stirred to resist the devil. He also promotes the Free Indeed program, GTN, and the booklet You’ve Already Got It, which he says is by “Andrew.”

Speakers and Sources Featured

• Barry Bennett — the program’s host and sole speaker.
• Biblical texts cited by Bennett: Mark 4:35–41; the account of Cain and Abel in Genesis; Acts 16:25–26; Psalm 115:16; John 10:10; 1 John 3:8; Romans 10:17; and Matthew 13:15.
• Additional resource mentioned: You’ve Already Got It, described in the subtitles as a booklet by “Andrew.”