Do You Mock God?

Bible Readings: Exodus 5:1-23; Acts 5:1-11

Introduction

There is no gainsaying that there is a serious saddening proliferation of the Christendom today, with such worrisome profligacies that make one continue to wonder whether the "abomination that causes desolation" (Daniel  12:11; Matthew 24:15) is already here. Hence, the end is here. But really, these are just the signs of the end-time (Matthew 24:1-end).

There are many people in the Christendom today who serve all but God. However, to them, they are seriously in the service of God. Unfortunately and unknowingly to them, they are mocking God because what they are doing is not acceptable to God whom they claim to be serving.

May God grant us understanding as we go in today's sermon. Amen.

Message
In Genesis chapter 4, both Cain and Abel sacrificed to God with what they have in their hands and from their handiworks. While God accepted Abel's sacrifice, He rejected that of Cain. Why?

Many preachers have erred in and with this verse by preaching to their own flesh by which they make people believe that God rejected Cain's sacrifice because he sacrificed bad farm produce. Many of them said this when they, out of their fleshly and canal desires, wanted their congregations to "give bountifully to God." Contrary to this erroneous preaching that is one of the heresies in the Christendom, brethren, God rejected Cain's sacrifice because he sacrificed with an unclean heart. The events that happened immediately after the sacrifice corroborates what the Spirit is saying here in that if Cain was going to kill Abel, it shouldn't and wouldn't be that the result of just one sacrifice that would make him do such a dastardly act. The truth is that Cain had harboured grudges in his heart against his brother over time. The rejection of his sacrifice only climaxed his hatred for Abel. Hence, the killing.

Many of us often fail to realize and or remember, albeit often, the sanctity of the God we claim to serve. We thus do things flippantly to the utter disgust of the Served. To us, the Scripture had made many loopholes available, such as: "Judge not, lest thou be judged" and "Touch not my anointed and do my prophet no arm." These are Scriptures we often quote out of contexts. I pray the Holy Spirit will give us rooms someday to examine those Scriptures. Amen.

The fact that Cain harboured grudge in his heart, and yet, brought his sacrifice before God was a mockery of Who God is. Likewise, in our second reading today in the book of Acts of Apostles 5:1-11, Ananiah and his  wife, Saphirra died because they mocked God by lying to the Holy Spirit.

The sins of these people are like the sin of Pharaoh of Egypt in our first Bible reading who said: "Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to . . . ? I know not the LORD, neither will I . . .  ." Each and every time we think and act contrary to God's nature, we ask the same question of that "who are you that I should honour you or obey your commandments?

Many of us in the church today don't know that we are mocking God in our songs and ways of singing when we sing songs that are contrary to the nature of God and in ways contrary to the nature of God. To us, whichever way, we are still serving God. Many dancers in the church today don't know that they dance to the devil not God. At time, we even invite unbelievers into the church to come and dance for us. Many worldly Pastors will even use David's dance before God in the Bible to "inspire" their congregations. The Bible did not describe how David danced unto God, but the fact that it was acceptable unto God means that he danced from his heart. That is, he did it wholeheartedly. Many instrumentalists too don't know that they are playing for Satan each time they went out if their ways to play tunes and beats of the world for people to dance in the worship of God. Most alarming is the fact the many preachers don't know that they are mocking God whenever they quite the Scriptures out of contexts, albeit to suit their own fleshly purposes, or when they go out of the Scriptures to bring examples from the world, of things that never happened into their preachings, thus lying. Or when they inspire their congregations into sinful actions of covetousness by showing off their ostentatious lifestyles forgetting that the Bible warned that things should be done with "decency and propriety."

Conclusion
Our God is a holy God, and he has variously instructed us to "be holy as I am holy." Leviticus 19:2

Now, the onus is on us to be holy. However, the major task before many of us is in determining what holiness is all about. Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, gave us a clue into what holiness is all about by telling us that the things that defile are things that come from the heart. In Psalm 24: 3 - 4, the Bible asks a very pertinent question that calls on our holiness when it says: "who shall ascend the mountain of God? Who shall come into his holy place. He who has a clean heart and pure heart."

Holiness therefore, is of the heart since "from the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh" (and if I may add, the other parts of the body act). Now, we can't stop evil thoughts from coming into our hearts, but we can stop them from becoming actions, and thereafter constitute sin, by quickly discharging and dispelling them as soon as they come in.

Brethren, as I round off, every act of unholiness, even in His service,  is a mockery of God. Whatever we think, say or act that is contrary to the nature of God constitutes a mockery of God. I pray the Lord shall grant us understanding in Jesus Christ mighty name. Amen.

Till we meet again, please, keep keeping on in Him.!

Maranatha!