SIGNS OF A REBELLIOUS NATION – (PART 3 – INSINCERE WORSHIP)

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom; listen to the instruction of our God, you people of Gomorrah!”

“The multitude of your sacrifices—what are they to me?” says the Lord. “I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.”

“When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my courts?”

“Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—I cannot bear your worthless assemblies. Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals I hate with all my being. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them.”

Isaiah 1:10-14

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

A nation revolting against God.

God’s judgment coming that nation.

These are two of the four signs of a rebellious nation that we find in the opening chapter of Isaiah, specifically examining the nation of Israel but really we could be talking about any number of nations, past and present.

As we look at our scripture passage for today we find the third sign of a rebellious nation coming to light. For a nation that chooses to disrespect God and mutiny against Him will be a nation that practices insincere worship.

Indeed, there are many nations that say they bring their worship to God but their practices are not backed up by their behavior. They claim to follow God but then they live in ways that He finds detestable and repugnant. Instead of worship bringing righteousness, people in sin and wickedness continue to live in sin and wickedness, hoping worship will be enough to appease God’s anger for their insolence.

In the end, God wants us to give Him everything, all that we are and all that we have. He is to be the center of what we do, what we say, and what we think. No one is to be above Him. No one. And sin is to be abolished from our lives for He hates sin and when we live in it, there is no greater display of disobedience and insubordination toward the One who longs for us to be holy as He is holy (Leviticus 19:2).

Israel had fallen way short of the mark in regard to their compliance with God’s commands and decrees. Their sinfulness had tainted them so much that God was tired of them just going through the motions when it came to their worship. Look at His words again now:

“Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom; listen to the instruction of our God, you people of Gomorrah!”

“The multitude of your sacrifices—what are they to me?” says the Lord. “I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.”

“When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my courts?”

“Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—I cannot bear your worthless assemblies. Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals I hate with all my being. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them.” Isaiah 1:10-14

Remember Sodom and Gomorrah? We’ve seen the cities mentioned more than once now in the opening chapter of this book. This is because they were the poster child for how not to live under the authority of the Lord God Almighty. The people of these two cities committed atrocious sexually immoral acts and thought they could get away with it in the sight of God. Yes, the people of Sodom and Gomorrah brought the sacrifices required by the law but what good were those sacrifices if they weren’t accompanied by a turning away from the sins they sought atonement for?

Note that the Lord was sick and tired of insincere worship, of sacrifices and burnt offerings brought to Him in the wrong spirit. The people of Sodom and Gomorrah had no intention of changing their ways. They were just going through the motions. Worship was just something required by God, a duty they felt compelled to carry out.

God had a message for them: Don’t waste your time any more, a message expressed in the following statements:

“Stop bringing meaningless offerings!”

“I cannot bear your worthless assemblies.”

“Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals I hate with all My being. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them.”

Friends, this passage should make us all think about how we are doing when it comes to making our worship sincere. For God will not be mocked and disrespected. He deserves all honor, glory, and praise and our absolute obedience to all He has commanded. He is our Master and we are to comply with His every command and demand. His will is to be ours. Ditto for His way.

If we are heading to worship on Sundays and doing it with insincerity, in church out of a feeling of obligation instead of a willingness to surrender our all to the One who surrendered so much out of love for us, then we had better stand by for judgment will come our way, and not just any judgment, but one that will be damaging and destructive in nature, the kind of judgment experienced by Sodom and Gomorrah.

No nation should want to become a modern day poster child for what happens when they choose to rebel against God. They can assure that doesn’t happen if they will just turn to Him in spirit and truth, in faith and trust, in humility and submission through sincere and heartfelt worship.

Let’s all pray for our respective nations to be just that, nations that find themselves fully in the favor of God because they seek it in the way they conduct business and the way they conduct worship.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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