Offense or Blessing?

Throughout history, God has always shown up on the scene in a way that offended most of the religious establishment. He shows up as manna when the people are expecting bread, He shows up as a baby when the people are expecting a king, He shows up as Benny Hinn when the people expect Billy Graham. When God reveals Himself it will often offend your head before it will bless your heart. He does this to see if you will listen to His voice despite the offense. God's word is the divine revelation of His Son, and although He will never contradict it, He has absolutely no problem contradicting your understanding of it. It is of the utmost importance not to become distracted by the way He reveals Himself, if you do you will miss out on the blessing.
To illustrate this, let's take a look at Jesus. When He returned to His home town, the people took offense to Him. It says in Mark 6:5 that "He could do no miracles there except that He laid His hands upon a few sick people and healed them." Because the people did not receive the prophet as a prophet, they did not receive the prophet's reward. (Matthew 10:41)
Now let's look at Elisha and the Shunammite woman in Second Kings 4:8-17. Verse 9 states that the woman perceived that Elisha was a holy man of God. In verse 17, she receives the prophet's blessing.
While in jail, the apostle Paul had only one thing on his mind. . . the advancement of the gospel. In Philippians 1:12-18, he admits that some preach the gospel out of envy and rivalry. Verse 17 says it was done out of selfish ambition, just wanting to stir up trouble. But look at his response in verse 18, "the important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached." If you cannot discipline yourself to hear God speaking through a vessel that you find distasteful, you may never hear Him speak at all.