STOP DISHONOURING GOD! – Wednesday September 6th 2017
Memorise: Sing forth the honour of his name: make his praise glorious. Psalm 66:2
2:27 And there came a man of God unto Eli, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Did I plainly appear unto the house of thy father, when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh's house?
2:28 And
did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to
offer upon mine altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? and
did I give unto the house of thy father all the offerings made by fire
of the children of Israel?
2:29 Wherefore
kick ye at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded in
my habitation; and honourest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat
with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people?
2:30 Wherefore the Lord God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the Lord saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.
MESSAGE:
“Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.”
Malachi 3:8
In
the above passage of Scripture, God complained about His children, who
had suddenly turned into robbers. How can a worker in the Church of God
or a minister of God be a thief? How can you claim to be a born-again
Christian and keep on stealing? Those who rob God are no ordinary
thieves. Boy, such people are really brave! Their victim is not a fellow
human being but God Himself. You can be certain that such people are
the worst kind of thieves in the universe! Can you imagine that
idolaters fear their idols so much that they do everything possible not
to break their rules? If anything is dedicated to an idol, who would
dare steal it? Yet, these people throw all caution to the wind and steal
what is dedicated to the Most High, and they expect Him to do nothing
about it, because He is a God of mercy. This is bravery gone awry! Are
you one of such “holy thieves”? Are you defaulting in your tithes and
offerings?
In
the same vain, there are some foolish and ignorant people, particularly
in the universities, who insult God and Jesus Christ occasionally. I
know this because I used to be one of them before I got saved. The
opposite of honour is disrespect. If you are not honouring God, it means
you are insulting Him. Everyone who robs God of first fruits dishonours
God, and if you dishonour God, you can compel Him to change His
promises and plan for your life (Proverb 3:9). This was what happened to the house of Eli. Hear what the Lord told Eli in 1st Samuel 2:30:
“…
I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk
before me for ever: but now the LORD saith, Be it far from me; for them
that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly
esteemed.”
May
the Lord not change His great plan for your life. Do you honour Him? if
you refuse to honour God, He will refuse to honour you. If you ignore
Him, you will be of no consequences to Him. At the end of the day, you
will undo yourself by your refusal to comply with divine instructions.
Refusal to honour God can turn the desirable into something detestable.
It can push the good things of life that were at a person’s fingertips
miles away from him or her. Dishonouring God can separate you
temporarily or even permanently from your blessings. Have you been
paying your first fruits yearly? How often do you honour God?
Key Point
The instruction to honour the Lord is not a suggestion but a command.
Open
Heavens Daily Devotional Lessons was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye,
the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the
largest evangelical Church in the world and also the President of
Christ the Redeemer's Ministries.
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