Abominations

Intro: growing up there were three things that I didn’t like to eat. One was mustard, now I can tolerate it, the next was ham, I am sure there are some pigs happy about that, and the last is lemon pie. Over the years we learn each others likes and dislikes. So Lauri doesn’t fix me ham or lemon pie, unless she is real mad at me. As we get to know God through His Word and by His Spirit, we not only know what He likes, but those things He hates. The things He hates are called Abominations. We are given in the Word those things that God hates—tonight we will look at a few.

1. Duet. 7:25-26 as God brought Israel into the promise land He warned them against bringing the idols of the nations conquered into their homes. An idol being anything that represents God that isn’t really God.

a. God is a jealous God—He doesn’t want anything in our lives that takes the place of true worship and relationship with Him.

b. God doesn’t want us chasing the things of this world—God has set us apart to chase after Him—God chasers—we must always look at our pursuits to see if they have the motive of honoring or knowing God.

c. If we bring idols into our lives—we endure God’s wrath instead of His blessings.

2. Duet. 18:9-13 God hates everything to do with the devil, witchcraft, going after the dark side, looking toward the stars, trying to pursue power from any source outside of Him.

a. the other day I saw a sign that said, come let me tell you your future, I am not a psychic, I am a Christian.

b. Satanism in Elmore County—over the news the last few months there have been many police reports on the news that they believed the crimes were linked to Satanism and witchcraft.

3. Dishonesty—Duet. 25:13-16 God wants balanced scales. He hates people that take advantage of others by dishonesty.

4. List of seven abominations in Proverbs 6:16-19

a. a proud look—haughtiness- thinking oneself better than others is something God hates.

b. Dishonesty—four students went joy riding and skipped class one day, the next day they all gave the excuse that the car they were in had a flat tire. The professor said, fine, but told them they would have to take a make up test. He put them in the four corners of the room and handed them their test. It only had one question. Which tire on the car, was flat.

c. Violence

d. Evil imagination

e. False witness—someone who gives a wrong account of another person—

f. Sower of discord—people who stir things up—people who enjoy confusion more than they do peace.

5. Proverbs 28:9—those who reject God’s laws—

a. the atheist

b. the agnostic

c. the disobedient—to walk in disobedience to God’s word is to be a rejecter of God’s word.

6. Luke 16:15—self righteousness—God hates the self righteous

what is self righteousness?

a. putting on a religious show or front before others is self righteousness.

b. Relying on any work or any virtue in our lives instead of God’s power and grace is self righteousness.

c. Being one thing at church or around other Christians, and someone different around people in the world, is a hypocrisy or a form of self righteousness

d. Those who serve God for what they can get out of it are those who have a self righteousness. Jesus says, people see one motive, but God sees the other.

Close: we must all check our lives to make sure that we don’t have an abomination in the house. We not only need to do the things that God loves, but we must avoid the things God hates.