“What He Said”
By
Bishop Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr.
PRELUDE: - Growing up in the era I did and most of you did I am sure will remember we got whopping’s. My father being a preacher my brother’s and I always said my father would always preach a sermon when we got one. It didn’t kill us, but it made us what we are today, it made us well adjusted, respectful, disciplined, and all 3 of us are preaching the Word of God today. However, there is a whopping that comes that I do not like to get but it is for my good just as the ones my father would give me when I was coming up the problem is these seem to hurt more. I had to go to my wife on this week and say ok God just whopped me with your words through this message because I had to be the first partaker and God said I am going to start with you first then let you preach it, so He did.
OPENNING: - Acts 2:38 says, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost”. Mark 1:15 says, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel”.
Repentance is to change your mind, your actions, and your direction to turn from sin, embrace Jesus and a new way of life, to align yourself with God’s will and His Word, to live your life under His sovereign rule and reign.
The Kingdom of God literally is the rule and reign of God in your life presently and on earth in the future where we shall live in perfect peace with Him here where we shall inherit the earth. Those whose names are not written in the book of life are cast into the Lake of Fire for all eternity.
This has to do with personal sin and salvation, but we must also understand that God is also concerned with and judges the sin of nations as well. How a nation stands, walks, lives, honors, or dishonors Him is judged. This is portrayed through the Bible with Jacob and Esau better known as Israel and Edom. Therefore, as a nation America needs to be aware and take heed to “What he said” and look in the Mirror especially at the book of Obadiah and take heed.
Understand God does not ignore oppression, pride, arrogance, self-sufficiency, rebellion, defiance, wickedness, discord, haughty eyes, hands that shed innocent blood, rather that’s by weapons of destruction or starvation or with the lack of medical supplies, hearts that devises wicked schemes, feet that run swiftly to evil, or false witness – Proverbs 6:16-19. These things undermine relationships, promote injustice, disrupt peace, and ultimately set the stage for the time of the Day of the Lord when Righteous Anger meets Divine Judgment!
The book of Obadiah is a mirror reflecting on the consequences of pride, betrayal, and indifference especially on how nations and people treat others during times of trouble. It is a warning that causes us to examine ourselves and make a change based on “What He Said” in the message to Edom because of arrogance, pride, and the mistreatment of others. It emphasizes the importance of love, compassion, understanding, and relationships. Challenging our hearts, minds, pockets, loyalties, trust, voices, and votes to stand tall and united with those who are vulnerable or struggling not only with historical events brought on by asinine childish arrogant racist human tendencies but the ultimate need for God’s grace and justice.
PRAYER
SCRIPTURE: - Obadiah 1:1-21
THE MAN: - Obadiah there is no mention of his lineage, no background about him, there is nothing mentioned about him after the book that bears his name. Obadiah the shortest book in the Old Testament his name means servant or worshiper of the Lord (Yahweh). He doesn’t come on the scene with the grandeur of a parade or with great fan fair nor preaching a message of prosperity and good cheer but he has a condemning warning of judgment because the people failed to so love and support their fellow kinsmen’s.
THE MESSAGE: - It is a message that prophecies against Edom for the atrocities it has done against Israel highlighting the themes of pride, arrogance, hostility, not only what they did but what they did not do. It is a prophetic word not only to Edom concerning Israel but to every nation, empire, government, and person through history because it deals with the dichotomy of distinct nations and their ways of life. Edom represented a way of life that is based upon Pride, Rebellion, and Self- Sufficiency while Israel represents a life based upon Struggle, Faith, and Dependency on God.
BACKGROUND: - 1:3 says, “The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground”? Understand, Edom felt untouchable, they had become comfortable and trusted in their own self reliance based upon their location, their political status, and their wealth. In their mind they were too high to be conquered, too strong to be defeated, and too rich to be ruined, but God was about to let them know that it was just an illusion and they were not beyond the reach of judgment and the justice of God.
Although Edom and Israel represent two different ways of life, what they have in common should have transcended the differences and brought them together to stand and fight against the enemy and that is relationship. Because despite the differences, despite the disagreements, despite the irreconcilable consequences there was relationship, which is the connection and interaction between individuals or individuals and God. Understand that the Bible says “What you have done unto the least of these you have done also unto me” Matthew 25:40. As a matter of fact the most important commandment Jesus gave is found in Matthew 22:37- 40 “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets”.
The Edomites were descendants of Esau, Jacob’s twin brother, making them closely related to the Israelites. Edom during the invasion of Israel by Babylon stood by and watched they did nothing to help them, instead they laughed at their calamity and actually handed them over to the captors Vs #11 says, “In the day that thou stoodest on the other side, in the day that the strangers carried away captive his forces, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, even thou wast as one of them” you didn’t bother to do anything to help them you just stood by and watched as they became captured. You were in your comfort zone, you didn’t bother to leave your padded pews, air-conditioned buildings, posh cathedral’s to even help.
There were 7 crimes they committed against their brethren Israel. WATCH THIS: - Vs #12 “But thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother in the day that he became a stranger; to be captured and deported and put into slavery – you just stood their while ICE agents came in and snatched them up, took them off the streets, out of the classrooms, out of the office buildings, out of the churches, off the baseball fields in the mask, hidden behind sunglasses, hoodies, modern day sheets, and racist garb – you stood there like an eagle who has set thy nest high in the stars Vs #4 with your phone in your hand taking a video but you wouldn’t fight for them and try to stop them, but you just stood by and watched silently as they were taken away and became a stranger.
neither shouldest thou have rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their destruction; you were happy and rejoiced when the national guard moved in on the city and ICE agents stormed the schools and busted out car windows snatching women out of their cars, or grabbed their tents and threw them into garbage trucks because of the color of their skin, you stood by and nothing, said go home, get out of here, go back to where you come from. Your indignation, your jealousy, your spitefulness, your hatred showed forth, yet you say you have nothing but love for me, you say you have the love of God deep down in your heart, but you can’t love your brother.
neither shouldest thou have spoken proudly in the day of distress” - you took pride in and gloated over their misfortune.
Thou shouldest not have entered into the gate of my people in the day of their calamity; yea, thou shouldest not have looked on their affliction in the day of their calamity, nor have laid hands on their substance in the day of their calamity; they stole and looted their possessions for themselves and even participated in the destruction of the Temple instead of realizing their relationship and recognizing their shared kinship. We got people trying to line their own pockets by the misfortune of and the atrocities of the people suffering at the hands of this untoward administration.
Neither shouldest thou have stood in the crossway, to cut off those of his that did escape; neither shouldest thou have delivered up those of his that did remain in the day of distress”. There were people that escaped capture only to be stopped by the Edomites and turned over to the Babylonians (ICE Agents) because they thought they were doing the right thing, but they failed to understand that there was a relationship that transcended differences, that transcended politics, that transcended any narcissistic arrogance, any prideful authoritarian decision, any mentally decrepit, senile, stupid assault, any political policy. There was a relationship a commandment that demanded that all the laws, all the prophets, all the policies, all the constitutions, all the districts, all the Republicans, all the Democrats, all the Independent’s hang on and that is “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets”.
It was because of these things that Obadiah, the servant of the Lord, the servant of Yahweh was sent to Edom to prophesy of the Day of the Lord a time when God will intervene decisively in human history with divine judgment against the wicked and deliverance for the righteous.
Vs #15 says, “For the day of the Lord is near upon all the heathen: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head”. Because what you did your kin and what you failed to do for your kin Israel it will be done unto you.
APPLICATION: - This is not just a story of a prideful fall from a story in history but a stark warning to every government, every leader, every person who feels they are untouchable and can be self-sufficient without God.
Vs 4 says, “Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the Lord”. WATCH THIS: - This represents America today because we are the Eagle of today that has set its nest among the stars. America the eagle has an arrogant persona about itself, it operates and exhibits arrogance in its interactions with other cultures and its policies, it has its belief that is or has exceptionalism above and is superior to other nations and has a sense of entitlement and a dismissive attitude. Our leaders acts as though they are untouchable making literally asinine decisions without any care or thought about people the effect it will have on the lived and welfare of the people, how people will survive, eat, live, receive medical treatment, and other life-saving needs. Neither do they care. Just look at the stupidity the president is doing right now by arresting homeless people talking about you cleaning up the streets but are not offering a solution to the problemin the first place.
We now have the National Guards deployed in Washington D.C. not to fight against foreign invaders but because of pride and arrogance of self-sufficiency and narcissism rises, the Lord saith thence will I bring thee down. While the lining of the pockets of certain people increases exponentially by the BILLIONS.
We see more and more people being like the Edomites blocking the way like vs#14 “Neither shouldest thou have stood in the crossway, to cut off those of his that did escape; neither shouldest thou have delivered up those of his that did remain in the day of distress” and becoming ICE Agents to receive a 60k signing bonus to be able to capture, detain, and deport people. Understand, betrayal is not always about the action but the TRUST that is lost, when you lose the trust of the people, of the relationship.
Understand every empire that thought it was powerful fell, the Roman Empire, the Persian Empire fell, The British Empire fell, the Ottoman Empire fell, and Edom fell every empire that built itself on arrogance, pride, self-sufficiency, oppression, rebellion fell America will fall as well Daniel 2:44 says, “And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever”.
Then on Thursday evening Governor Newsom of California came on and “What he said” confirmed what God had already placed in my spirit, what he said solidified what Obadiah was saying, what he said was it is time for us to come together as a nation to stand united and “Fight Fire with Fire” we must stop just standing by watching and letting things happen, letting our freedoms be taken away, letting our rights be taken away, letting our dignity be taken away what he said was we can’t just let our democracy be destroyed we have to stand up against the narcissistic arrogance evil that is raising its ugly head especially against the people of color, black, brown, yellow, and red, trying to erase our history, take away our rights, change our destiny, usurp our human rights, strip people of civil dignity, rob them of educational equality, limit medical access, detaining, deporting, and literally destroying Democracy and just human dignity.
No longer can we stand by like an eagle high in the nest untouchable but must become actively involved fighting and protecting our brothers and sisters to the best of our abilities. We are going to have to make our voice heard and stop standing around in the crossroads watching as they are carried off as strangers. We are going to fight fire with fire and go into the hedges and highways and protest, fight against the powers that are making asinine decisions usurping our God given freedoms and rights.
It is time we do like the song by Michael Jackson and look in the mirror and make a change, we need to look in the mirror of the book of Obadiah and make a change stop pretending we don’t see their needs. If there is going to truly be a change it is going to start with me.
I told you in the beginning of this message God whopped me my wife said the other week we need to go and get involved in some of the protest at first I said no I will just go and vote that will be good enough until God whopped me and I looked in the mirror of Obadiah and as I began to see how the people just stood by and did NOTHING then I came to the 15th verse which says “For the day of the Lord is near upon all the heathen: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head”.
This is the Day of the Lord when He brings Judgment and His Judgment is Recompense. Recompense biblically refers to the act of receiving a reward or punishment based on one's actions. It embodies the principle of Divine Justice, where God ensures that individuals receive what they deserve for their deeds. There is going to come a time that we must stand before God for His perfect judgment to give an account of what we did and / or didn’t do and how we lived our lives.
I don’t know about you but when I stand before God, I want to hear Him say “Well Done” not “Well You Just Stood by and did NOTHING – Therefore Be it Unto You As Well”
We must come together like Malcolm X said “By Any Means Necessary” – Not by violence but by a show of solidarity in Relationship based on Love, Forgiveness, and Community showing Strength in Unity, Power in Love, Victory in our Voices, Hope in our Hearts, Faith in God, Dependency on Democracy and Fight Fire with Fire. We can’t just sit by and lift up hands in the church although prayer changes things, but we have to get out there leave the comfort zone of the nest of the church, we have to be seen in the streets, we have to stand together in organized protest, we have to understand our rights and stand up for people protecting our kin folk because it is about relationship and we can’t stand by any longer and just watch as our Democracy is destroyed, our lives our turned upside down, our history is erased, our past is rewritten, and time is repeated again, we must get out and vote, make sure every person that is able to vote is able to vote, and fight against the powers that are trying to destroy our Democracy and Fight Fire with Fire.
CLOSING: - The Bible emphasizes the importance of relationships based on love, forgiveness, and community providing guidance on how to cultivate meaningful connections with others and with God.
Love is the cornerstone of all relationships and in John 13:34-35, Jesus says, “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another”, indicating that love should define not only Christian but all relationships. This love is not merely an emotion or a sensual type but a commitment to act in the best interest of others, as highlighted in 1 Peter 4:8, which states, “And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins”. This is love that is not predicated on skin color, nationality, race, genealogy, political party or any other non-sense that is being done especially now.
Relationship causes us to examine our own connections with God and others and challenges us to consider how we express love, support, and commitment in our daily lives as we strive to live out scripture, we can cultivate relationships that honor God and reflect His grace. We embrace the depth of our relationship with other as we can deepen our spiritual lives by fostering a community that embodies the love and compassion of Christ.
Question:- Are you doing everything possible to embrace relationships or are you just standing by watching everything happen and life just pass by?
Bishop Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr.
