SCRIPTURE READING:
Judges 3:
3 These are the nations the Lord left to test all those Israelites who had not experienced any of the wars in Canaan 2 (he did this only to teach warfare to the descendants of the Israelites who had not had previous battle experience):3 the five rulers of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites living in the Lebanon mountains from Mount Baal Hermon to Lebo Hamath. 4 They were left to test the Israelites to see whether they would obey the Lord’s commands, which he had given their ancestors through Moses.
5 The Israelites lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites,Hivites and Jebusites. 6 They took their daughters in marriage and gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods. 7 The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord; they forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs. 8 The anger of the Lord burned against Israel so that he sold them into the hands of Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram Naharaim,[a] to whom the Israelites were subject for eight years.
INTRODUCTION:
Today we are going to get to know God better.
According to a new Harris Poll, Americans' belief in God is still strong but slowly declining.
It means that many people still believe in God here in the U.S. but the number is much lower than the previous years.
Here are the partial survey results.
A strong majority (74%) of U.S. adults say they believe in God, but that's down from the 82 percent who expressed such a belief in earlier years.
Belief in miracles, heaven and other religious teachings also declined in the latest poll, as follows:
--72 percent believe in miracles, down from 79 percent in 2005;
--68 percent believe in heaven, down from 75 percent;
--68 percent believe that Jesus is God or the Son of God, down from 72 percent;
--65 percent believes in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, down from 70 percent;
--64 percent believe in the survival of the soul after death, down from 69 percent;
--58 percent believe in the devil and hell, down from 62 percent;
--57 percent believe in the Virgin birth, down from 60 percent.
A very disheartening statistics.
I also went to the website of the religion survey of the NY Times.com and read the article of David Leonhardt explaining the same thing.
He writes: "The rise of those who do not believe in God is one of the most striking social trends in the United States.
At the same time, Americans who identify as Christians or who believe in God are declining.
More and more people are identifying themselves as "atheists", or "agnostics."
This group made up 15.8% of the United states population in 2014, up from 10.3% only seven years earlier.
And this is likely to continue because young people today are much more likely to be secular than older adults."
However, in the midst of all of these results, the article said that people of all culture "continue stubbornly to believe in a higher power. It's a singular belief for such modern times."
Quoted from Faith Matters by Michael Guillen at www.usnews.com
In spite of the declining belief in God, people still believe in a "higher power."
But the problem with that is they could not be able to explain what that "higher power" is all about.
And with the latest Star Wars movie, people have the impression that God is merely a Force such as the expression: "May the Force be with you!"
Indeed, people are being taught about God from the movies.
And if the movies are wrong, then, people's beliefs are also wrong.
But the truth is, God is more than a Force.
According to the Bible, God is powerful who has created the Universe and all the things that we see.
When He speaks, all things came into being.
Our God is holy who desires sinful man to live a holy life in harmony with Himself.
According to the Article 1 of our Statement of faith on the Triune God:
1. We believe in one eternally existent, infinite God, Sovereign Creator and Sustainer of the universe; that He only is God, holy in nature, attributes, and purpose. The God who is holy love and light is Triune in essential being, revealed as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit."
Here we read the words: Sovereign (Supreme Ruler), Creator (the Architect or designer of the Universe) and Sustainer that describes who God is.
It says further that He is Holy in nature (or in character), in attributes and in purposes (or in disposition).
And He is revealed as the trinity composing of the Father (the Creator), Son (The Redeemer) and Holy Spirit (The Comforter).
There is only ONE God but in essence working together in Unity for the redemption of mankind.
If only we could be able to understand this truth better and how it applies in our everyday lives.
The sad truth however is that many people don't really know and understand who God is.
There is lack of Biblical teachings of how He acts, and what He desires of man.
Our society needs to know about who God is - the God who is Personal.
Because when a person knows the God of the Bible, there will be no misunderstanding of what He desires of man.
Consider for a moment the incident that happened last week with Manny Pacquiao and the criticisms he received from the media because of his remarks about the same sex marriage as "worst than animals."
Indeed, it should not have been said.
But he apologized already.
He said, "I only gave out my opinion that same sex marriage is against the law of God."
However, it generated tremendous postings in the internet particularly in facebook on the pros and cons of LGBT.
I was reading several of those comments both of those who were greatly hurt and angry and those who were defending Manny.
The people who reacted negatively revealed their lack of faith and knowledge concerning God and what He desires.
One person who was so angry at the moment even said to the extent as "I will see you in hell!"
He does not know the God of the Bible.
But the people who accepted the statement of Manny understood the God of the Bible.
How about you?
What do you know about God?
What's the first thing that comes to mind when you hear that question?
Whatever your answer to this question will reveal your knowledge about God.
And your knowledge about God is a combination of the factors that you have experienced as you were growing up and the influences of people close to you (some of them are Christians and many are not).
But the more we study about God, we more we really understand how He moves in our lives.
And so, the challenge is for us and our society to get to know God better to avoid any misunderstanding.
That is why in this message, we will go back to the book of Judges and here in chapter three, we find God trying to prompt Israel into action.
The Promised land to be occupied is still extensive and needs to be liberated from the previous occupants.
The Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perrizites, the Hivites and the Jebusites are gaining grounds particularly within the hearts of Israel.
They were taking their daughters in marriage and giving their own daughters and sons to serve their idols.
God told them to destroy their enemies otherwise they would be contaminated by the emergence sin.
But they did not listen and they did not understand the seriousness of their situation.
They kept on with their overwhelming support of these heathen nations that prompted God's anger.
Hence, God allowed other nations to invade them and put them into slavery to teach them a very painful lesson.
Israel felt the pressure of pain and bondage and the last recourse was to cry out to God for help.
Because of His great mercy, the Lord answered.
They have to learn about who God is through the hard way.
And in this chapter, we find three judges whom God raised to deliver Israel from the bondages of their enemies.
First, we find Othniel, the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother who saved them.
The land had peace for forty years, until Othniel died.
The next judge that followed was Ehud.
He delivered Israel from Eglon, King of Moab and struck down about ten thousand Moabites, all vigorous and strong.
The land had peace for eighty years.
Then, came Shamgar, son of Anath, who struck down six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad.
He too served Israel as judge.
In all these things, God was revealing Himself to all Israel.
He was supposed to be their leader as separate from other nations.
He was giving them His Laws and commands so that they would God alone.
He wanted them to live a holy life free from the contamination of the wicked world around them.
Yet, Israel was so stubborn that they overlooked this great truth.
They continued to intermarry with the heathen nations and worshiped other gods.
And so, there was this cycle of sin, slavery and bondage, repentance and deliverance that lasted for many years.
If only they have understood the real character of God from the very beginning, their history would have been different.
That is why it is for us to learn spiritual lessons that Israel were not able to comprehend.
Because the situation at that time is very much the same as now.
We live in a very difficult situation, my brothers and sisters when the very foundation of this nation is being destroyed by the immorality of godlessness of this world.
As Christians, we have the voice to sound an alarm and pray for spiritual revival for our nation.
I hope and pray that you will listen carefully as we will learn three important things in this chapter regarding God's action and how should we respond.
-The Lord's testing.
-The Lord's teaching
-The Lord's anger
THREE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT GOD
1. THE LORD WILL ALWAYS TEST US FOR OBEDIENCE.
Judges 1: These are the nations the Lord left to test all those Israelites who had not experienced any of the wars in Canaan."
The first thing we can learn from this chapter is that the Lord wanted to test the Israelites as they dwell in the Land.
The Lord was even more particular to test or to prove those who had not experienced any of the wars in Canaan.
Many of them have gone to war in claiming the Promised land, but there are still more who have not joined them.
God wanted to see whether they would obey the Lord's commands which were given to their ancestors through Moses.
God wanted to make them a holy nation and a light to the entire world.
In order to test them, God allowed the five rulers of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians and the Hivites to settle and live near them.
It was a test whether they will remain steadfast in God or they be corrupted by their evil neighbors.
It was a test of faithfulness, of obedience and allegiance.
But it did not take long.
Sad to say, they failed the test and they intermarried with the heathen nations.
Not only that, they worshiped and served other gods.
You see, in the same manner, God is always testing us every single day to determine whether we are obeying God's Word or not.
He will test us with our faithfulness.
He will test us with our obedience.
He will test us with our allegiance.
He will test you on whatever He gives you, whether money, resources, talents, time or intelligence.
Sometimes, we failed the test, other times, we passed the test.
All of these is dependent on how well we know God deeper.
This testing should be considered as important part of our Christian lives.
In fact, if you will read the Book of Psalms, there was a time when David sought God's testing, asking Him to examine his heart and mind to see whether they were true to God.
The word "Test" means to "prove by trial, to analyze."
Therefore, when God tests His children, His purpose is to prove that our faith is real and genuine.
Of course, God knows all things, but this proof is for our benefit so that we know fully well that we are truly His children.
And when we know that we are truly His children, no trial on earth will overcome our faith in Him.
According to the Institute in Basic Life Principles website, there are eight types of tests that every Christian will like face:
You might be going through in one or more of these types of tests right now.
* Fiery trials: intense encounters or struggles; bursts of anger, grief, or lust
* Infirmities: physical limitations and illnesses
* Reproaches: ridicule and rejection on account of faith or holiness
* Persecutions: harassment and oppression due to religious convictions
* Necessities: wear and care of daily responsibilities
* Distresses: disappointments and deep hurts
* Tribulations: unusual pressures and challenges
* Temptations: opportunities to yield to our sinful nature
Again, let us remember that tests are for our own good so that we can trust Him more.
In the Bible, there are many instances when God tested His children, but none can equal with that familiar test of Job.
God allowed Satan to attack him left and right.
In one day, Job lost all his material possessions through various calamities.
His sons and daughters were killed when a great tornado destroyed the house in which they were partying.
Then, Job suffered painful boils over his entire body.
Even Job's wife lost faith in God and told him to curse God and die.
But in the midst of all these things, Job kept his faith and his dedication to God remained intact.
He refused to sin with his lips even at the extreme pressures from his wife and his three friends who came to comfort him.
Consequently, he passed the test and God restored all his fortunes and gave him children who were more beautiful than all those in the face of the earth.
He understood how God worked in his life and in the lives of other people.
He became more closer to God in the process.
Testing therefore is an important part of our lives so that we could get to know God better and more intimate.
How about you? How do you respond when testings of various kinds come to your life?
You can either face it with courage or you can try to run away from it.
Still, many of us, our responses when we are being tested is "WHY?"
"Why did God allow these things to happen to me?, Why me, Lord? Why not him?"
Some even go to the point of becoming bitter and resentful because of it.
When you become bitter, you have the tendency to hurt others in return.
And you you do that, you cannot be able to understand how God works in your life.
You see, we respond differently to various trials and tests that may come upon our lives.
Because we don't really know the purposes on why these things have happened to us.
But as we mature in our faith and gain wisdom, we start to understand how God works.
We gain patience and our character develops.
And all of these is dependent upon our personal knowledge of who God is in our lives and how strong our faith is.
I suggest that these responses to God's testings will help us understand God better:
1. We must GIVE THANKS rather than complain.
1 Thess 5:18 (NIV) " 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
Giving thanks should be done in ALL circumstances, not just in good times.
When we always give thanks, this great attitude will help us understand and appreciate His will for us even if things are not that clear for the moment.
When we thank God, we do not murmur and dispute but we shine as lights in this dark world.
Also, thanking God does not mean that we thank God for evil.
Of course not.
But it only means that we are thanking God for the benefits He intends for us to have when He allows things to happen His way.
Let us always give thanks in all circumstances even in the midst of being tested.
2. We must REJOICE rather than be sad.
Phil. 4:4 (NIV) " 4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
Thanking God is an act of the will, but rejoicing is a response of the spirit.
Therefore, it is possible to be sad and joyful at the same time.
We cannot escape the pain of a difficult situation, but we can learn to rejoice in God Himself and with the things we are experiencing.
And so, while being tested, we had to learn to rejoice which will help us to get to know God better.
3. We must BELIEVE rather than ignore God's Word.
John 15:7 (NIV) " 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
You can effectively battle all forms of bitterness by accepting God's Word.
When Jesus was tested in the wilderness, He responded to each temptation by quoting Scriptures.
For instance. when Satan urged Christ to turn stones into bread, Jesus quoted from Deutonormy 8:3. "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.' (Matthew 4:4).
In the same manner, in the midst of test and temptations, we must believe and act on God's Word so that we can overcome these tests.
4. We must CRY OUT to God rather than hide.
Psalms 50:15 (NIV) " and call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.”
The verse says that when we cry out to Him in the day of trouble, His promise is to deliver us.
He becomes our source of strength, our source of provision and our source of protection.
There was a story of a pastor who was working late preparing his sermon one Saturday evening, and decided to call his wife before he left for home.
It was about 10:00 PM, but his wife didn't answer the phone.
The pastor let the phone ringing many times.
He thought it was odd that she didn't answer, but decided to wrap up a few things and try again in a few minutes.
When he tried again she answered right away.
He asked her why she hadn't answered before, and she said that it hadn't rung at their house.
They brushed it off as a fluke and went on their merry ways.
The following Monday, the pastor received a call at the church office, which was the phone that he'd used that Saturday night.
The man that he spoke with wanted to know why he'd called on Saturday night.
The pastor couldn't figure out what the man was talking about.
Then the man said, "It rang and rang, but I didn't answer."
The pastor remembered the mishap and apologized for disturbing him, explaining that he'd intended to call his wife.
The man said, "That's, OK. Let me tell you my story. You see, I was planning to commit suicide on Saturday night, but before I did, I prayed, 'God if you're there, and you don't want me to do this, give me a sign now.'
At that point my phone started to ring.
I looked at the caller ID, and it said, 'Almighty God'. I was afraid to answer!"
The reason why it showed on the man's caller ID that the call came from "Almighty God" is because the church that the pastor attends is called Almighty God Tabernacle!!
Coincidence? No. It was part of the test to reveal Himself to people.
2. THE LORD WILL ALWAYS TEACH US NEW TRUTHS.
Judges 1: 2 (he did this only to teach warfare to the descendants of the Israelites who had not had previous battle experience)
First, the Lord "tested" them in order to examine, to analyze or to evaluate their potentials.
The second thing that we can learn from this chapter is that the Lord wanted to teach the descendants of Israel a valuable lesson on warfare.
The word "teach" means to educate, to instill knowledge, to advise or to give instructions.
The Lord wanted to teach them or to give them further instructions because they failed the test.
The text says that the Lord wanted to teach them "warfare" or strategies of armed conflict.
He takes particular notice of those Israelites who had not have previous battle experience.
These are the people who were not exposed in fighting the enemy.
They did not volunteer as soldiers in the forefront of the conflict.
In fact, they tried as much to avoid conflicts by just being in the sidelines watching while their fellow Israelites were engaged in fierce combat.
You see, there is a vast difference between a person being involved in actual hand to hand battle compared a person who is just watching in the sidelines.
Those who are involved in actual combat experience had to undergo rigorous training.
They had to face tremendous fatigues and physical exhaustion while in battle.
They might be killed in battle or be captured by the enemy.
They might run out of supplies of food and ammunition.
But they do not give up.
They do not run away from battle.
They keep on fighting and lay their lives on the line for a purpose.
They face their enemy with renewed vigor and courage in obedience to the orders of their commanding officers.
These are the things that God wanted to teach them.
And these are very valuable lessons indeed.
In the same manner, there is a vast difference between a Christian who is serving the Lord in the ministry compared to a Christian who is not involved in the ministry and just watching in the sidelines.
A person who has been faithful serving the Lord had to go through a lot of trials and difficulties along the way.
They had to go through being misinterpreted, being rejected, being criticized and blamed.
They made a lot of mistakes along the way, but in spite of that, they never give up.
They never abandon their calling because they know that God placed them there for a purpose.
And so, even if they face tremendous fatigue and exhaustion, they never give up.
They renew their calling with much vigor and enthusiasm as they serve God faithfully.
And so, those who are involved in the ministry are closer to God in the process and learn tremendous spiritual lessons along the way.
These are the things that they have learned from God in the process.
A person however who has not been exposed in any ministry work will have difficulty learning how to endure when difficulties come their way.
When a small problem comes his way, he tends to back off and leave the ministry.
They only want a ministry that is comfortable and full of ease, not the one with hardship and trials.
Hence, they lack commitment and faithfulness in all areas of Christian living.
No wonder, the Lord wanted to teach those who had not been exposed in battle the lessons on spiritual warfare.
Because it is in spiritual warfare that we can begin to use all the available weapons that God has given to us.
If you are involved in warfare, you would use your HELMET OF SALVATION to protect your mind from the attacks of the enemy such as doubts, fears, and unbelief.
If you are involved in warfare, you would use the SHIELD OF FAITH to protect your body from the flaming arrows of the enemy such as confusion, apprehension and suspicion.
If you are involved in warfare, you would use the BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS to protect your heart from evil thoughts, such as adultery, sexual immorality, false testimony and slander.
If you are involved in warfare, you would use the SWORD OF THE SPIRIT to attack the enemy through the power of God's Word that will teach, correct, and transform.
If you are involved in warfare, you would use the BELT OF TRUTH to protect yourself from any falsehood, inaccuracy and misinterpretation from the enemy.
If you are involved in warfare, you would use the SHOES OF PREACHING THE GOOD NEWS to go wherever the Lord will bring you and share God's Word with confidence, courage and determination.
We are in spiritual warfare and God has properly supplied us withe all the resources we need.
No wonder, He wants to teach us to be involved rather than to stay in the sidelines.
How about you?
Have you ever tried to be in the ministry service before?
And you might probably still remember the struggles and difficulties that you go through as you serve the Lord.
Many times, you though of withdrawing ultimately from your calling.
I did. Many times, in all of my more than 30 years of being a pastor, there is never a day that I wanted to quit.
But God always reminded me that this is warfare.
And I had to keep on communicating to my Commander in chief for fresh order while in battle.
The more I get to know God, the more I decided to keep on going serving Him.
Here are several Scriptures on God's promises while we are in warfare.
What will the Lord teach us?
a. HE WILL TEACH US THE WAY WHICH WE SHALL GO - Psalms 32:8 (NIV) " I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you."
That means He will never abandon us while fighting the enemy.
His eyes are always focused upon us.
This will us great assurance of His presence.
b. HE WILL TEACH US HIS KNOWLEDGE - Psalms 94:10 (NIV) " Does he who disciplines nations not punish? Does he who teaches mankind lack knowledge?"
The more we are exposed in battle, the more we needed knowledge and wisdom on every decision making such as, shall we attack or re-group?
We must learn wisdom fro God every day of our lives as we get to know Him better.
c. HE WILL TEACH US HOW TO WALK IN HIS PATHS. - Isaiah 2:3 (NIV) "Many peoples will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.” The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem."
It means to keep on walking in His paths and never wander away from the original plan hat God has set for us.
There was a story of a Christian woman by the name of Ruth.
She went to her mailbox one day and saw only one letter.
She picked it up and looked at it before opening. Then, she looked at the envelope again.
There was no stamp, no postmark, only her name and address.
She read he letter:
"Dear Ruth: I am going to be in your neighborhood Saturday afternoon and I'd like to stop by for a visit. Love always, Jesus."
Her hands were shaking as she placed the letter on the table.
"Why would the Lord want to visit me? I'm nobody special. I don't have anything to offer."
With that thought, Ruth remembered her empty kitchen cabinets.
"Oh, my goodness, I really don't have anything to offer. I'll have to run down to the store and buy something for dinner."
She reached for her purse and counted out its contents.
Five dollars and fifty cents.
"Well, I can get some bread and cold cuts, at least."
She threw her coat and hurried out the door.
A loaf of French bread, a half-pound of sliced turkey, and a carton of milk... leaving Ruth with grand total of twelve cents to last her until Monday.
Nonetheless, she felt good as she headed home, her meager offerings tucked under her arm.
"Hey, lady, can I help you help us?"
Ruth had been so absorbed in her dinner plans, she hadn't noticed two figures huddled in the alleyway.
A man and a woman, both of them dressed in little more than rags.
"Look lady, I ain't got a job, ya know, and my wife and I have been living out here on the street, and, well, now it's getting cold and we're getting kinda hungry and, well, if you could help us. Lady, we'd really appreciate it."
Ruth looked at the both.
They were dirty, they smelled bad and frankly, she was certain that they could get some kind of work if they really wanted to.
"Sir, I'd like to help you, but I'm a poor woman myself. All I have is a few cold cuts and some bread, and I'm having an important guest for dinner tonight and I was planning on serving that to Him."
"Yeah, well, okay lady, I understand. Thanks anyway."
The man put his arm around the woman's shoulders, turned and headed back into the alley.
As she watched them leave, Ruth felt a familiar twinge in her heart.
"Sir, wait!" The couple stopped and turned as she ran down the alley after them.
"Look, why don't you take this food. I'll figure out something else to serve my guest."
She handed the man her grocery bag.
"Thank you lady. Thank you very much!"
"Yes, thank you!" It as the man's wife, and Ruth could see now that she was shivering.
"You know, I've got another coat at home. Here, why don't you take this one."
Ruth unbuttoned her jacket and slipped it over the woman's shoulders.
Then, smiling, she turned and walked back to the street without her coat and with nothing to serve her guest.
"Thank you lady! Thank you very much!"
Ruth was chilled by the time she reached her front door, and worried.
The Lord was coming to visit and she didn't have anything to offer Him.
She fumbled through her purse for the door key.
But as she did, she noticed another envelope in her mailbox.
"That's odd. The mailman doesn't usually come twice a day."
She took the envelope out of the box and opened it.
Dear Ruth: "It was good to see you again. Thank you for the lovely meal. And thank you, too, for the beautiful coat." Love always, Jesus."
The air was still cold, but even without her coat, Ruth no longer noticed because her heart had been kept warm by God's love.
The Lord has many miraculous ways of teaching new truths to his children.
3. THE LORD WILL ALWAYS GET ANGRY AT SIN.
Judges 1 7 The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord; they forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs. 8 The anger of the Lord burned against Israel so that he sold them into the hands of Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram Naharaim,[a] to whom the Israelites were subject for eight years
First we learned that God is always testing us for obedience.
Next, we learned that God is always teaching us for new truths.
Thirdly, we must understand that God is always angry at sin.
In these verses, we find Israel who did evil in the eyes of the Lord.
They forgot the Lord their God and served other gods of the surrounding nations.
The response? The anger of the Lord burned against Israel, His chosen people.
He allowed foreign nations to dominate them - the King of Aram.
They were subjected in bondage for eight difficult years.
Other words for sin includes - lawlessness, error, evil, fault, guilt, lust, immorality, offense, transgression, violation, wrongdoing, etc.
All of these are sin before the eyes of God and He is always angry, whether towards the nonbelievers or His own people that commit sin.
Sin is sin in the eyes of God.
It will always provoke His wrath.
Last week, we learned that it is all right to get angry, but we must be able to control it and we must not sin because of it.
Because righteous anger is an expression of love.
God is full of Love. And so, He gets angry because He cannot tolerate sin.
God gets angry when there is a violation of His character.
God gets angry when His own people love sin more than holiness.
God is angry when we try to hide sin.
You see, understanding this truth about God will give us the right perspective on our relationship to Him.
And so, because we know that God hates sin, we must minimize and ultimately reject or renounce any sin that gets entangled in our lives.
The right thing to do is to humble ourselves and confess this sin before God.
Because we know that God is angry with sin, we must live holy lives that pleases him.
Simply put: We must hate what He hates and we must love what He loves.
This truth will allow us to always be in tuned with God's mind.
And so, it's time to examine ourselves.
Have we dealt strongly with the sins in our hearts?
Remember: God is always angry at sin.
But He loves us so much and willing to forgive us if we humbly come to Him.
What are the things that makes God angry?
Here are the Scriptures that will answer that question.
a. GOD IS ANGRY WHEN WE SUPPRESS THE TRUTH. - Romans 1:18 (NIV) " The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness,"
The word "suppress" means to restrain or to hold in check.
It means that when we conceal or crush the truth instead of building it up, we make God angry.
And one way that people suppress the truth is by their wickedness and allowing others to do the same.
b. GOD IS ANGRY WHEN HE IS NOT HONORED AS GOD. - Romans 1:21 (NIV) " For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened."
Honoring God means respecting Him and celebrating His presence in our lives.
And so, instead of honoring God, the people are immersed in blame, disbelief and distrust.
This will make God angry.
c. GOD IS ANGRY WHEN HIS GLORY IS GIVEN AWAY. - Romans 1:22-23 (NIV) " 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles."
God's glory symbolize His grandeur and His greatness.
And so, God is angry when that glory is transferred to man made idols instead of worshiping God.
d. GOD IS ANGRY AT THE INIQUITY OF THIS EARTH'S INHABITANTS. - Isaiah 26:21 (NIV) " See, the Lord is coming out of his dwelling to punish the people of the earth for their sins. The earth will disclose the blood shed on it; the earth will conceal its slain no longer."
Everyday, the earth's inhabitants are piling up.
Someday, the full extent of God's wrath will be poured upon the entire earth as a judgment to sin.
In closing, brothers and sisters, we are serving a living God who will always TEST US, who will always TEACH US and who will always GET ANGRY with sin.
However, He will always love us and have compassion upon us as His servants.
END...
