George Williams - Worship That Ruined a Nation

[Music] bum be i was sad and lonely with no one to call upon there was no one no one who i could turn to and no one who i could lean on then jesus came into my life and set my soul set my soul free now i can truly say that no one else could have done this thing for me [Music] god is real [Music] god [Music] [Applause] i was sad and lonely [Music] there was no one no one who i could turn [Music] he made a new creature out of me now i can truly say i know [Music] [Music] i may not know there are some places but i'm sure [Music] is [Music] [Music] know he's ready this is the day that the lord has made we will rejoice and be glad in it i want to take a moment to thank you for tuning in this morning to the church of christ at east side and our worship this morning of course we want to welcome everyone especially those who are visiting with us and you tune in each lord's day and you're not members of the church of christ at eastside we thank you for your presence we want you to know that you are indeed our honored guest and for all of the members we thank god for you every single day and this morning due to the inclement weather because of the condition of the roads we are not able to go to our facilities and give you a live broadcast from there but we're going to still try to put together a very qualitative worship service to give god our very best and so this morning our technical crew has put together this worship service that will still be to the glory of god and we pray to your edification so the lesson that you will hear will not be one on marriage as i have been doing in the month of february but it will be a message that i recorded to participate on a brotherhood program entitled uh timeless truth in truthless times that's the the program is called that and i was a participant and so the lesson will be given in that format so i trust and pray that it will be beneficial and edifying to you now this morning we want to encourage you please to worship the lord in spirit and in truth stay safe give god your very best this is still the lord's day this is still worship and he deserves our very best god bless you now we will begin our worship service have a blessed and wonderful day [Music] my drink be my living bread keep me sheltered keep me fed holy spirit holy spirit dwell in me holy spirit come for me let my heart be one with thee when i'm worried let me sweet contentment find may i run this wicked race filled by your amazing grace holy spirit holy spirit come for me holy spirit rescue me set my soul completely free [Music] lay my hand let me live in a brand new place see my blessed savior's face holy spirit holy spirit rescue me holy spirit dwell in me touch my eyes that i might see all your goodness grace and power stay beside me out be my drink be my living bread keep me sheltered keep me fed holy spirit holy spirit dwell in me holy spirit holy spirit comfort me holy spirit holy spirit rescue me holy spirit holy spirit dwelling would you pray with me please our heavenly father we come to at this time bowed heads and grateful hearts knowing and realizing that we serve a mighty god and we're grateful that you're all knowing all wise and because of that we can have the confidence and assurance of knowing that you hear and answer prayers well thank you lord we're grateful and thank you for the opportunity we've had today to to worship although it's virtual we are still able to come together and and praise your holy name the great god father that you are because of that lord we want to give thanks for the blessings that you give us each day lord those blessings that we sometimes and often just take for granted we're blessed to have our homes where we can be warm and comfortable although the weather outside is very cold well thank you lord we're thankful for the opportunities we have to have our jobs and to work and to to have an income to to sustain us and allow us to be able to meet our needs in life we're thankful for our families we're thankful for that for our husbands and wives and children lord for those who love us and whoever well-being and mind will thank the lord and may not take them for granted but we're grateful for the food that we eat the air that we breathe the things that around us that you have provided because of that lord we want to say that we should always be grateful and mindful of your blessings well we offer thanks to those who have who've been ill but we hear that they're feeling better now they're on the road to recover we know that that's the power of prayer we're grateful for your healing we pray with those families who who've been suffering from from cancer and from the illness that comes with that with the therapy and the chemo and all that we pray lord that you'll be with them as they strive to get better well thank you thank the lord for those who recover from covet who are sick and have had to really go in the hospital and yet they're able to come out and be home and reunite with their families we're thankful for that we're grateful for those who have operations and procedures who've come out favorable to them we thank you and knowing knowing that's but god the lord may we never lose faith and and realize that there are some who among us who are still struggling with things who may still be struggling with the cancer or or with virus or with other physical illnesses we'll continue to pray for them lord we'll continue to lift their names in prayer and know and realize that you are still in control if it's your will you'll give them a greater portion of health and strength we pray for the families we pray for the medical people we pray for those who are looking after them that they will have faith and do their very best to make sure that they get better and they recover we have faith in you almighty god well we continue to pray for those who are struggling with life those who've lost jobs who are struggling with income who are struggling to put food on the table who struggle to make end meeting and to pay bills we know that there are those among us who are doing that may they not lose faith and trust in you as a congregation may we do our very best to help those among us who who are in need of benevolence or need of things to help them get through life maybe be grateful for the opportunities that we have to do that we pray offer for those who who are about to to travel give them traveling grace as they are out and about we pray for those who are essential workers who have to go to work every day and miss this virus keep them safe lord keep their families safe you help us to know that you you put your protecting arms around them well we pray for this government we live in a country that's divided a country where there's so much division there's so much hate it is our prayer that as god you will bring them all bring us together help us to realize that for country to to grow and to thrive it needs to be centered around you and your word we pray for our leaders we pray for those in government the government officials national state local level that they'll somehow realize that it's your principles it's your guiding light to help them not only to be better people but to be better government officials so now we've asked it as we continued in this morning worship today that you'll give brother williams the recollection of the things that he studied the things he prepared and that your word will convict us and touch us to be right with you and to live a godly christian life we pray for those who hear this message today who are thinking about becoming a christian who are struggling with that decision it is our prayer that today will be a day of decision for them and they will be willing to obey your word and to ask what must i do to be saved if they'll call and we can counsel them to help them have them understand the way of the lord more perfectly and there are those who are christians who are out who are not walking a godly life that your word will convict us to be willing to repent and to get right and live right for you and we just strive to make heaven our home as we commune and as we give may all that we do and say be pleasing and acceptable to you for this is our prayer in jesus name [Music] amen [Music] the weather there is always where there's sunshine day and night no cold or rain will fall there before the sunshine's ever bright no need no heavy garments i'll just wrap my robe around when i receive my mention roll back [Music] [Music] your thrones [Music] but one day i'll be rewarded with a crown so bright and new i'll wear a smile so bright for there'll be no cause for a frown when i receive [Music] [Music] always [Music] lord please [Music] [Music] lord lord please reserve my nature [Music] [Music] me lord me show me [Music] show me me show me the way show me the way need you to show me won't you show me show me please [Music] i wanna follow you lord please and i need your power [Music] [Music] me peace lord show me the text is found in first kings chapter 12 verses 25 through 33. first kings chapter 12 verses 25 through 33 i'm going to read the text and i'll be reading it from the new king james translation and the bible says then jeroboam built shechem in the mountains of ephraim and dwelt there and he went out from there and built pinuel and jeroboam said in his heart now the kingdom may return to the house of david if these people go up to offer sacrifices to the lord or to the house of the lord in jerusalem then the heart of this people will turn back to their lord rehable and king of judah and they will kill me and go back to rehoboam king of judah therefore the king asked advice made two calves of gold and said to the people it is too much for you to go up to jerusalem here are your gods o israel which brought you up from the land of egypt and he set up one in bethel and the other he put in dan this is important now this thing became a sin for the people went to worship before the one as far as then he made shrines on the high places and made priests from every class of people who were not of the sons of levi jeroboam ordained a feast on the 15th day of the eighth month like the feast that was in judah and offered sacrifices on the altar so he did at bethel sacrificed into the calves that he had made and at bethel he installed the priests of the high places which he had made so he made offerings on the altar which he had made at bethel on the 15th day of the eighth month in the month which he had devised in his own heart and he ordained a feast for the children of israel and offered sacrifices on the altar and burned incense the subject that has been assigned to my hand tonight is entitled worship that ruined a nation worship that ruined a nation the story of jeroboam's apostasy is one of the saddest stories in the bible it's one of the saddest story stories in scripture i say that for several reasons it's sad because it shows man's lack of respect for god it's sad because it shows man's lack of respect for god's clear unambiguous revealed will it's sad because it shows us the religious illiteracy of the people of god and it's sad because it shows us the gullibility of people when it comes to religion it is an unfortunate reality but when it comes to religion people will believe almost anything and follow almost anyone especially if what what's being offered to them in the name of religion suits their tastes satisfies their desires and appeals to their appetites for what pleases them instead of what pleases god and as we shall see this apostate jeroboam this heretic jeroboam for nefarious reasons offered the people of god and illegitimate unauthorized substitute sin for worship in order to deceive the people and please the people to keep them away from the true worship of god that god had authorized to take place in the city of jerusalem and jeroboam offered the people what i call a knockoff religion what is a knockoff religion well you know what a knockoff is well a knockoff is a cheap imitation of the original in other words the product is made to look like the real deal but it's not the real deal the product is made to look like the original but it's not the original the product is made to feel like the original but it's not the original and sometimes it's even given a name close to the original but it's not the original it's no more than a cheap imitation designed to make you feel like you have the real deal instead of a cheap imitation but in reality all you have is a knockoff product that has no value beyond the cost of the material that it was used or that was used to make it and sometimes these knock-off products will even have names that sound like the original and if you don't read the name carefully it can fool you because your mind is so acclimated to the real thing that your mind automatically reads what you are accustomed to saying for example let me give you some examples at ditdos instead of adidas rolex instead of rolex mic occurs instead of michael kors you get the point so those names are so similar and they look so much alike that it's easy for you for your mind to be tricked and deceived by it when you read it you automatically think adidas you automatically think rolex you automatically think michael kors instead of it being something else you get the point no matter how close the name is to the original and no matter how close in appearance it may be to the original it is still just a cheap knockoff it's still not the real deal and it only serves to make the consumer feel good about himself or herself trying to impress someone who's not even concerned about being impressed so this apostate jeroboam offered unto the people an imposter apostate religion he offered them a knockoff but before we dive into the text i want us to get some historical background to help us to understand what's transpiring in the text so you can appreciate just how horrible this was that jeroboam did here in second king's first kings i'm sorry first kings chapter 12. now watch this now when solomon was in his old age solomon allowed his love for many exotic women for all of those various gentile women from those heathen nations that were around jerusalem and around the people of god he allowed his marriage to these women to turn his heart away from god in his old age listen if you will at first kings chapter 11 verses 1 through 13 first kings chapter 11 verses 1 through 13 but king solomon loved many foreign women as well as the daughter of pharaoh women of the moabites ammonites sidonians and hittites from the nations of whom the lord had said to the children of israel you shall not enter mary with them nor they with you surely they will turn away your hearts away after their gods solomon clung to these in love and he had 700 wives princesses and 300 concubines and his wives turned away his heart for it was so when solomon was old that his wives turned his heart after other gods and his heart was not loyal to the lord his god as was the heart of his father david for solomon went after esther the goddess of the sardonians and after malcolm the abomination of the ammonites solomon did evil in the sight of the lord and did not fully follow the lord as did his father david then solomon built a high place for kimash the abomination of moab on the hill that is east of jerusalem and for malik the abomination of the people of ammon and he did likewise for all his foreign wives who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods so the lord became angry with solomon because his heart had turned from the lord god of israel who had appeared to him twice and had commanded him concerning this thing that he should not go after other gods but he did not keep what the lord had commanded therefore the lord said to solomon because you have done this and have not kept my covenant and my statutes which i have commanded you i will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant nevertheless i will not do it in your days for the sake of your father david i will tear it out of the hand of your son however i will not tear away the whole kingdom i will give one tribe to your son for the sake of my servant david and for the sake of jerusalem which i have chosen now the bible tells us that god chose jerusalem that's going to be very important as we go through this lesson but notice what the bible says the bible tells us that solomon loved all of these strange women these foreign women these women who were not of the faith who did not believe in the one true god of israel who did not believe in yahweh god but believed in all of their idol gods solomon was told that if he got involved with these women they could turn his heart away from following after the lord but solomon like most men felt like surely i can play with fire and not get burned but solomon learned that he too could get burned by that fire as he said even in his own book can a man take fire in his bosom and not be bearing can a man walk up on coals and not have his feet burned solomon should have listened to his own wisdom and his own advice but instead of him doing that he loved all of these foreign women god told solomon that i'm going to take the kingdom away from you because of your sinful idolatry you have forsaken my word but notice that god said because of my faithful servant david and the davidic covenant that i made with him that he would always have a male descendant on the throne i will not take the whole kingdom away from you because of my servant david and i won't take it in your lifetime because of my servant david now i want you to understand something those of you who are listening to me i want you to hear me in particular men of god who are listening to me there is value there is value in having a god-fearing father let me just say a word to the fathers who may be listening to me on this broadcast at this time never underestimate your value in the home never underestimate the value of a man of god in the home never underestimate the value of a godly life brothers listen your godly life may be the reason that god will bless your children your godly life may be the reason that god will bless your grandchildren in spite of them fathers be faithful to the lord be faithful to the lord and the reason that you ought to be faithful to the lord is not only for you but for your children and your grandchildren after you you ought to be faithful to the lord because the lord is faithful so god told solomon that i'm taking the kingdom and giving it to one of your servants and that servant was jeroboam listen if you will at first kings chapter 11 verses 26 through 39 the bible says then solomon's servant jeroboam the son of nibit and iphramite from zarita whose mother's name was a widow also rebelled against the king and this is what caused him to rebel against the king solomon had built the milo and repaired the damages to the city of david his father the man jefferborn was a mighty man of valor and solomon see in that the young man was industrious made him the officer over all the labor force of the house of joseph now it happened at that time when jeroboam went out of jerusalem that the prophet hijai the shallow knight met him on the ray and he had clothed himself with a new garment and the two were alone in the field then a hijab took hold of the new garment that was on him and tore it into 12 pieces and he said to jeroboam take for yourself ten pieces for thus says the lord the god of israel behold i will tear the kingdom out of the hand of solomon and will give it give ten tribes to you but he shall have one tribe for the sake of my servant david and for the sake of jerusalem the city which i have chosen out of all of the tribes of israel because they have forsaken me and worshiped azerath the goddess of the sardonians kimash the god of the moabites and malcolm the god of the people of ammon and have not walked in my ways to do what is right in my eyes and keep my statutes and my judgments as did his father david however i will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand because i have made him ruler all the days of his of his life for the sake of my seventh david whom i chose because he kept my commandments and my statutes but i would take the kingdom out of his hand out of his son's hand and give it to you ten tribes and to his son i would give one tribe that my servant david may always have a lamp before me in jerusalem the city which i have chosen for myself to put my name there so i will take you and you shall reign over all your heart desires watch this now watch what god promises him this is important so i will take you jeroboam and you shall reign over all your heart desires jeroboam and you shall be keen over israel jeroboam this is what god said directly to jevoboin through the prophet hijai and so there was no question about what god was going to do look at verse 38 if you will then it shall be if you heed if you heed if you heed all that i command you walk in my ways and do what is right excuse me in my sight to keep my statutes and my commandments as my servant david did then i will be with you and build for you an enduring house as i built for david and will give israel to you what a promise god made god said in first kings chapter 11 verses 37 and 38 so i will take you jeroboam listen i'm going to take you jeroboam and you jehovah born shall reign over all your heart desires and huge ever born shall be keen over israel then it shall be if you jeroboam heed all that i command you jeroboam walk in my ways and do what is right in my sight to keep my statures and my commandments as my servant david did then i will be with you jeroboam and build for you jeroboam an enduring house that is a dynasty a kingdom and as i build for david and will give israel to you jeroboam in church this is sad because jeroboam had all of the promises of god that god was going to be with him and make him a great dynasty but jeroboam shows us that man even after hearing god's word will defy god's word and reject god's rule in his life it shows the rebellion of man against god clearly revealed will and word god said i am going to bless you but jeroboam did not hear it at all he decided that i'm going to still do it my way instead of god's way church ladies and gentlemen brothers and sisters and that is that's as clear as god can make it jeroboam just be faithful to me and i promise you that i will establish it honestly for you just as i did for my servant david but jeroboam like so many simply would not take god at his word he simply would not believe that god meant what he said when he said what he said but brothers and sisters when god makes a promise we can count on god's promise being real god's word can never return to him lord god's word will never pass away and whatever god says it will come to pass because the bible tells us in titus chapter 1 and verse number 2 that god cannot lie god cannot lie if god were to lie that would be contradictory to his holiness to his nature thus he would cease to be god and so the bible tells us that god told your boy that i'm going to establish you i'm going to build a dynasty for you all you need to do is just be faithful to me and the rest will be history but jeroboam still was too stubborn to believe god and because jeroboam didn't believe god he devised his own elaborate substitute worship for the 10 northern tribes that god had given to him and why did he do it he did it in order to keep the people away from the true worship in jerusalem at the temple of god said i put my name in that city this is the city that i've chosen and that was the city where worship of yahweh was to occur but jeroboam knowing this decided that what i need to do is to devise a religion that's going to be similar to the real deal but not be the real deal so that i can keep the people prevent the people from going up to jerusalem and worshiping god there because he feared that the people's heart might be turned back to jeroboam to reaborn instead of him but god had already given him his word all he had to do was just follow the word of god listen if you will the first kings chapter 11 verse 43 through 1st kings chapter 12 verse 16 and then verse 20. first kings chapter 11 and verse number 43 the bible says then solomon rested with his fathers and was buried in the city of david his father and rehoboam his son reigned in his place and real boy went to shechem for all israel had gone to shechem to make him king so what happened when jeroboam the son of nebuch heard it he was still in egypt for he had fled from the presence of king solomon that had been dwelling in egypt that they sent and called him then jeroboam and the whole assembly of israel came and spoke to rehoboam saying your father made your yoke heavy made out yoke heavy now therefore lighten the burdensome service of your father and his heavy yoke which he put on us and we will serve you so he said to them depart for three days then come back to me and the people departed then king rehoboam consulted the elders who stood before his father solomon while he was still alive or why he still lived and he said how do you advise me to answer these people and they spoke to him saying if you will be a servant to these people today and serve them and answer them and speak good words to them then they will be your servants forever but he rejected the advice which the elders had given him and consulted the young men who had grown up with him who stood before him and he said to them what advice do you give how should we answer this people who have spoken to me saying lighten the yoke which your father put on us then the young men who had grown up with him spoke to him saying thus you should speak to this people who have spoken to you saying your father made our yoke heavy but you make it but you make it lighter on us thus you shall say to them my little finger shall be thicker than my father's waist and now whereas my father put a heavy yoke on you i will add to your yoke my father chastise you with whips but i will chastise you with scourges so jeroboam but all of the people came to rehab the third day as the king had directed saying come back to me the third day then the king answered the people roughly and rejected the advice which the elders had given him and he spoke to them according to the advice of the young men saying my father made your yoke heavy but i will add to your yoke my father chastise you with whips but i will chastise you with scourges so the king did not listen to the people for the turn of events was from the lord that he might fulfill his word which the lord had spoken by haha the shallow knight to jeroboam the son of nibeth now what all israel saw that the king did not listen to them the people answered the king saying what share have we in david we have no inheritance in the son of jesse to our tents to your tents oh israel now see to your own old david so israel departed to their tents now drop down to verse number 20. now it came to pass when all israel heard that jeroboam had come back they sent for him and called him to the congregation and made him king over all israel there was none who followed the house of david but the tribe of judah only the divide of the kingdom now is officially done god has fulfilled his word he has taken ten of the tribes away from rehoboam and given them unto jeroboam and now we have two separate kingdoms reaborn rings over two of the tribes that's judah and benjamin and they are the southern kingdom known primarily as judah and jeroboam reign over the 10 tribes that became known as israel in the north now the sage is set for the text jeroboam has been set up by god to have a dynastic rule in israel the northern kingdom all he has to do is just follow the word of god but watch what the bible tells us first kings now to our texts first kings chapter 12 beginning at verse number 25 through 29 the bible says then jeroboam built shechem in the mountains of ephraim and dwelt there also he went out from there and built pinuel and jeroboam said it is hard now the kingdom now watch where this conversation takes place in his own heart in his own heart he has forgotten completely about what god says and he's dependent upon his own heart and his feelings and his emotions instead of what thus says the lord watch this now and jeroboam said in his own heart now the kingdom may return to the house of david if these people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the lord of jerusalem then the heart of this people would turn back to their lord rehoboam king of judah and they will kill me and go back to rehoboam king of judah therefore the king asked advice made two calves of gold and said to the people it is too much for you to go up to jerusalem here are your gods o israel which brought you up from the land of egypt and he set up one in bethel and the other he put in dan now let's look at this what jeroboam did was exactly the opposite of what god instructed him to do god instructed him to trust him and to be faithful to him and jeroboam failed to trust him and instead of being faithful he devised his own religion or his own worship which was a direct violation of the word of god and went directly against the very first commandment of the ten commandments look if you will at exodus chapter 20 verses one through six exodus chapter 20 verses 1 through 6. and the bible says and god spoke all these words saying i am the lord your god who brought you up out of the land of egypt out of the house abundant you shall have no other gods before me you shall not make for yourself a carved image any likeness or anything of anything that is in heaven above or that is in the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth you shall not bow down to them nor serve them for i the lord your god am a jealous god visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me but showing mercy to thousands to those who love me and keep my commandments god said don't make any images of me period of anything in this world anything in the heavens anything on the earth anything in the water anything underneath the water he says do not make any images of me whatsoever but that's exactly what jeroboam did and notice now he did the identical same thing that led god to take the kingdom away from solomon to take it specifically away from solomon's son rehab and give jeroboam 10 of the tribes but he's doing the same identical thing but he goes even further than that jebel born went further than solomon went and he went further than rehoboam went what did he do jeroboam institutionalized idolatry he made two golden calves he put one in dan which was at the extreme northern border and he put the other in bethel which was at the extreme southern border and then he told the people of israel that these are the gods that delivered you out of egypt and had god's people been knowledgeable enough of the word of god they would have known immediately that that was not the case number one god says don't have any images of me and number two they should have known and they just remembered the shema here oh israel the lord our god is one lord they would not have been duped but when men and women are ignorant of the word of god then men who have nefarious intents in mind can mislead them and lead them down a pathway of destruction so jeroboam said i'm gonna put one god in dan and i'm gonna put another god in bethel and i'm gonna tell you that it's best for you to go to dan and bethel than it is to go to jerusalem because it is too much it is too difficult the terrain is too difficult and dangerous for you to traverse to go to jerusalem you can have a convenient religion you can have a convenient god you can have what you want in the name of worship so that it suits you and satisfies you instead of god but i have a substitute for you jeroboam said i have an alternative to worshiping in jerusalem because the way it's too difficult to go up to jerusalem i know god said that jerusalem is the place to worship but i've given you something just as good as the true worship in jerusalem and it's convenient it's easy and it's cheap but god never never watch this now god never intimated at any time that political division permitted religious departure he set up a rival worship that was comfortable that was convenient and not too costly and close enough to the authorized faith close enough to the authorized religion in jerusalem to make the people have a conscience that was comfortable with this departure from the word of god but the problem was it was not authorized by god it was 100 jeroboam and it was sinful listen to the bible in first kings chapter 12 verses 30 through 33 now this thing became a sin notice the bible says now putting these idols in dan and bethel became a sin for the people went to worship before the one as far as then he made shrines on the high places and made priests from every class of people who were not of the sons of levi jeroboam ordained a feast on the 15th day of the eighth month like the feast that was in judah which was the feast of tabernacles which took place on the seventh month and the 15th day so he had something like it but it wasn't it and offered sacrifices on the altar so he did at bethel sacrifice into the calves that he had made and at bethel he installed the priests of the high places which he had made over and over and over and over the bible talks about what jeroboam did he made he devised he did it's all about jeroboam jeroboam has now fully institutionalized this apostate religion and it's it's it's it's it's departure from worshipping god he has now engaged the people and led the people into a religion that is going to lead ultimately to their destruction as a nation because of israel the northern kingdom because of its idolatry that did not depart from them as a nation all of its years of existence because of jeroboam's sin that he established on that day king after king after king kept worshiping these idol gods and because of that god allowed the assyrians to come in and take the northern kingdom away into captivity and it never came back again and that happened in 722 bc why all because of man-made religion man-made religion led to the destruction of a nation so it does matter how we worship god it does matter what we do in the name of religion because god is looking for individuals who will be true to his word and who will worship him according to his standards and not man's standards since god watch this now god does not authorize any and everything in the name of worship i know that there are people today who believe that they can just worship god however they choose to worship god just as long as it feels good to them as long as they think it's all right well i don't see anything wrong with it i feel like it's all right and it's all about that same jeroboam mentality he he he i i but you need to understand that you are not the object of worship god is the object of worship and not only is god the object of worship he is the audience we are not trying to please ourselves we are seeking to please god god wants to worship us and he wants true worship and so since god wants to worship us and god wants to worship it stands the reason that if there is true worship there is false worship if there are true worshipers then there are false worshipers you can't have one without the other and so since god wants to worship then god says i am seeking for them i'm going to show you that in just a moment god is seeking for our true worshipers and when you give god what god desires then god will accept it and god will be pleased with it but when you do whatever you want to do and offer to god whatever you choose to god will reject it look at genesis chapter four and let me give you an example of this genesis 4 2 through 7. then she bore again this time his brother abel now abel was a keeper of sheep but cain was a tiller of the ground and in the process of time it came to pass that cain watch this now brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the lord abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat and the lord respected abel at his offering but he did not respect cain at his offering and cain was very angry at his countenance phil so the lord said to cain why are you angry and why has your countenance fallen if you do well will you not be accepted and if you do not well sin lies at the door and his desire is for you but you should rule over it the king got upset because god did not receive his worship why because there are two things i can find in the bible that indicates why god didn't receive it number one the bible says that he offered unto god of the fruit of the ground it didn't say the first fruit whereas with abel the bible says he offered of the first of his flock in other words abel gave god his first and best but cain just offered god anything it wasn't his first and it wasn't his best god would just accept whatever i offer him but he discovered that god cannot be given cheap knock off worship and in the new testament when you read the book of hebrews chapter 11 the bible says by faith abel offered a more excellent sacrifice than did cain and in romans 10 17 the bible says so then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of god so there must have been some word from the lord for cain and abel to know to offer to god first of all and there must have been some word from the lord that abel knew what kind of offering to give to god that's why the bible could say that he did it by faith so cain had to discover that god cannot be given just anything whatever god has prescribed that's what god desires and that's what god will receive whatever god has not prescribed god does not desire and god will not receive it i don't care you may say well my heart is right my heart is in a good place god is not obligated to your heart but he is obligated to his word and whatever he tells you in his word that's what we must comply with god is looking for true worshipers listen if you will at john chapter 4 verses 19-24 and this is the samaritan woman at the well in interest in ling samaria became what was in essence and the samaritans which were once the people of israel the northern kingdom and these people now occupied that land now watch this the woman said to him sir i perceive that you are a prophet talking to jesus our fathers watch this our fathers the samaritans worshiped on this mountain which was mount gerism and you jews say that in jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship jesus said to her woman believe me the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain nor in jerusalem worship the father you worship now watch what jesus said you worship what you do not know we worship what we worship for salvation is of the jews in essence what jesus said your worship was wrong you were worshiping in the wrong place your fathers had it wrong we were worshiping god where god said he was to be worshiped in jerusalem jesus said the jews were worshipping in the right place but the day is coming that it's not going to be about location it's not about where you worship it's going to be about how you worship listen to what he says but the hour is coming and now is when the true worshipers will worship the father in spirit and truth but the father is seeking such to worship him now i got to say a word about this now for god is spirit and those who worship him must it is imperative not if you feel like it if god is going to receive your worship you must do it in the prescribed manner that god has stipulated must worship him in spirit and in truth now watch this now because this this is needful for the church as well oftentimes we talk about this and we want to direct it all at the world but there is something in it for the church as well notice what the bible says true worshipers must worship the lord in spirit and in truth a lot of times we want to focus only on the truth but we forget about the spirit he says spirit and truth and that's a smallness not a capitalist so he's talking about man's spirit your spirit and coordinating conjunction that connects two things of equal rank that are going in the same direction what comes before it and after are equally as important so if we're going to worship god and god receive it it must be done in spirit and in truth well what does that mean what is the spirit of man the spirit is that part of man that houses his intellect that houses his emotion and houses his will so god says if you're gonna worship me you need to bring to hold you to worship amen you can't just put a body in front of the television now because of covert 19 or you can't put a body just in the pew inside of a building and think that that constitutes worship because of the elements that are done in this place called the church house god says you got to bring your whole person your whole man into the place of worship that's your intellect god said i want to talk to you i want to reason with your heart i want you to bring your emotions because i want you to be thankful and and have some joy and even some remarks when you're wrong and i want you to bring your will so that you'll have the ability to change to make a decision when you hear my word and are confronted with my word god says if we're going to worship him in spirit and in truth we got to bring all of us together not just a part of us god says give me all of you and right now with covet 19 in the online live stream worship it's easy for us to get lackadaisical and just give god anything and have all kinds of distractions going on around us when we should be paying attention to the word of god and worshiping god in spirit and in truth we need to be careful that we don't behave like jeroboam did that we don't erect our own dan and bethel what do you mean when we're supposed to be worshiping god we're emailing we're texting we're doing everything but giving god our attention we have our own little dance and our own little breakfast our own little golden calves god says i want your devotion but then he says not only must you worship in spirit the will the emotions the intellect but you must also worship in truth what is the truth john 17 and 17 sanctify them by thy truth your word is truth so what we do in worship must be authorized by god's word just because something is fun just because something is good just because something is popular does not mean that god approves of what is being done in his name you can attach god's name to it all you want to but if god does not approve it in his word then god will reject it they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth and he says though that he's seeking after these worshipers if god is seeking that must mean that these true worshipers are not easy to find so god has to seek them out from among all of the worshipers he has to seek those who will adhere to his word so let us look just briefly now as i bring this to a conclusion i want to give you some examples of things that transpire and worship today that are not authorized by the word of god specifically the new testament because we are under the new covenant and not the old covenant what are some of those things that people love and people like and they feel good to the people and they see nothing wrong with it whatsoever what are some of these things praise dancing is an example of such praise dancing praise dancing cannot be found in the word of god from genesis to revelation and i know that someone is going to immediately run over to david in 2nd samuel chapter 6 and say well david danced before the lord when they were bringing the ark of the covenant into the city david did do that it was a procession it was like a ticker tape event where they were bringing the ark of the covenant into the city of jerusalem that was not in formal worship and to use that text to try to teach such is to twist and to pervert the word of god and to do that is to do it to your own destruction ii peter chapter 3 and verse number 16-17 there are those who rest who twist the scriptures but they're doing it to their own destruction you cannot find anywhere in the bible where anyone was worshiping god through dancing in worship that's carnal that's man-made it's designed to entertain it's designed to make you feel good but it has no biblical precedent anywhere from genesis to revelation it's man-made it's jeroboam type of religion it is dead and bethel is golden calves and god rejects it it's something that folks like it pleases them but it does not please god and god has given us his word that whatever is not of him he will reject it and consider it vain look at matthew chapter 15 and verse number nine matthew 15 and verse nine hold on just a little bit longer and we'll be through with this lesson and in vain in vain in vain they worship me in vain empty useless of no value jesus said in vain today worshiping teaching as doctrines he's quoting the bible quoting the old testament that these people draw near to me with their mouth but their hearts are far from me and jesus said in vain do they worship me teach it as doctrines the commandments of men whenever the commandments of men circumvent the word of god and the commandments of men replace the word of god or there is an addition to the word of god then worship is made known and void praise dancing is not in the bible and if that's what you're doing it's not according to god's word and you need to make a decision either you're going to continue to go the way of jeroboam either you're going to continue to go to dan and bethel or you're going to come to the house of the lord in jerusalem and do it god's way in the new testament that is the lord's church the body of christ the church of christ god's house god's family a second addition to worship that man has concocted is the use of mechanical instruments in worship now i know i'm messing with the sacred cow now i know i'm messing with the sacred cow because i like music preaching i like the sound of the guitar and that bass drum and all of those all of those instruments as they come together i love that sound i love instrumental music as well but it's not about what you love it's not about what i love it's not about what we like or don't like it's about what pleases god because worship goes up to god that's what we're doing offering god worship the new testament teaches that worship done in song was without the use of mechanical instruments look at ephesians chapter 5 and verse number 19. colossians 3 16 in first corinthians chapter 14 and verse number 15. the bible says speaking to one another first of all singing in the new testament involved articulating words that were intelligible words speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs singing and making melody in your heart to the lord now some people will say well they want to go into the greek text and they want to say that making melody into your heart making melody in your heart and psalms that those words authorize the use of mechanical instruments that's not true the best greek authorities do not agree that silo means to play an instrument there are those who would try to say it means to pluck to twitch the twain on an instrument but the new testament clearly points out that it's with the human vocal cords that we are to worship god in song if this were sin that we could have an instrument then in order to fulfill the commandment every person in the building would not would have to have an instrument and not just those on the stage because this is something that every child of god is to do and to offer up to god and so to try to go to the greek to teach it is to go in error to something that is a straw horse a straw horse that cannot sustain being looked at and examined under the microscope of truth listen if you will at colossians chapter 3 and verse number 16 let the word of christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom teaching it admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs singing with grace in your hearts to the lord nowhere in those two two passages can you find the use of mechanical instruments that was something that man introduced into apostate worship in the 600s but all scholars are in agreement in the first century that the church of christ did not use mechanical instruments and someone may say well that context is not dealing with worship well it's not restricted to worship it's not restricted to worship it goes beyond just worship you see i'm just trying to tell you what god is saying he's not saying that we can't have mechanical instruments in our home because that's not worship but i'm trying to let you know that yes god is to be praised in the worship service on the first day of the week when the saints come together we are to sing and not play there's no bible anywhere for playing an instrument in the worship of the lord first corinthians chapter 14 in verse number 15. what is the conclusion then i will pray with the spirit and i will pray with the understanding i will see with the spirit and i will sing with the understanding again god talks about singing and never singing and playing always singing some people automatically run to psalm 150 and try to justify it the very fact that you go to psalm 150 proves that you cannot find it in the new covenant the very fact that you have to leave the new testament to go to the old testament proves that you cannot find it in the worship of the church that jesus established on the day of pentecost in the city of jerusalem let me close now communion is another what men have done exactly what they wanted to do is versus following god's pattern i won't be long on this the bible teaches that communion the partaking of the lord's supper is a weekly act of worship that the church must engage in as we remember perpetually what the lord has done for us in order to bring redemption to humanity look if you will at acts chapter 20 and verse number seven and then we're going to go to first corinthians chapter 11 verses 17 through 26 the bible says now on the first day of the week when when when adverb of time when the disciples came together when did they come together on the first day of the week two why did they come together on the first day of the week to break bread to commemorate the lord's death burial and resurrection through the communion that jesus authorized and instituted on the night that he was betrayed in the upper room where he instituted it and said do this in remembrance of me the first century church on the first day of the week and every week has a first day upon the first day of every week that day that we call sunday came together and they remembered what the lord did through partaking of the emblems of the bread and the cup to remind them of what jesus did for them when he died on calvary was buried and rose again that's the pattern that we find in the new testament and church history confirms that reality look if you will at first corinthians chapter 11 verses 17 through 26 because some people will say well no no the bible says as often as you do it it doesn't say when you have to do it just as often as you do it well let's look at the text first corinthians chapter 11 verses 17 through 26. now in giving these instructions i do not praise you since you come together not for the better but for the worse for first of all when you come together as a church i hear that there are divisions among you and i in part or i and in part i believe for there must also be fractions factions among you that those who are approved may be recognized among you therefore when you come together in one place it is not to eat the lord's supper let me explain what he's saying it is supposed to be eating the lord's supper that's why you have come together that's the reason that you come together you are coming together to commemorate the lord by partaking of the lord's supper that's what you are supposed to be doing but you have perverted it therefore when you come together they came together there's no question about that when you come together in one place the church came together in one place when they came together in one place they were to partake of the communion it is not to eat the lord's supper you are not eating the lord's supper because you have another agenda what's going on what's going on keep going for in eating each one takes his own supper ahead of others and one is hungry and another is drunk instead of partaking of the lord's supper you have perverted it by bringing in your own supper and you've made the lord's supper no more than a potluck dinner and so they were supposed to be taking the lord's supper but they turned it into something that was a perversion but what i want you to see is when they came together that's why they came together and there is a specified time when they came together so when you read that scripture about as often as the scripture tells us how often that was for in eden one takes his own supper ahead of others and one is hungry and another is drunk what do you not have houses to eat and to drink in or do you despise the church of god and shame those who have nothing what shall i say to you shall i praise you in this i do not praise you for i received from the lord that which i also delivered to you that the lord jesus on the same night in which he was betrayed took bread and when he had given thanks he broke it and said take eat this is my body which is broken for you do this in remembrance of me in the same manner also he took the cup after supper saying this cup is the new covenant in my blood this do as often as you drink it in remembrance of me some people hang their hat on it as often as i've already shown you they came together they came together they came together to commune to eat the lord's supper but they perverted it so all i need to do is to establish when the church at covert came together so whenever that was that's how often they came together and that's how often they would take the lord's supper that they had perverted whereas often as you eat this bread and drink this cup you proclaimed the lord's death till he comes now go over quickly the first corinthians chapter 16 verses one and two and you'll see exactly how often they came together now concerning the collection for the saints as i directed the churches of galatia so do you also on the first day of what every week each one of you is to put aside and save as he may prosper so that no collections be made when i come how often did they come together every first day of the week how often did they take the lord's supper every first day of the week they perverted it but that's what they came to do how often were they were they delayed aside every first day of the week and what i find amazing is simply this why is it that in every church i've ever gone to there is never a sunday that the collection plate is not passed but then those same churches will read first corinthians 16 1 and 2 upon the first day of the week let every one of you live by in store as god has prospered him those same churches we'll read acts 20 and verse number seven and see that same terminology the first day of the week when the disciples came together to break bread and they interpret that to mean whatever you want to but then in first corinthians chapter 16 1-2 it means every sunday friends listen it means the same thing in both places every week has a first day and every week the church of the new testament partook of the lord's supper and every week it gave of its means every week they came together and they sang praises unto god without the use of mechanical instruments and there was no praise dancing i trust that i've helped you tonight in some small way if you believe that jesus christ came suffered blood and died for your sins that he was buried and rose again if you're willing to repent of your sins confess the name of jesus christ and be baptized in water for the remission of your sins you must believe that jesus came that he died for your sins and he was buried and that he rose again except you believed that i am he you would die in your sins and if you die in your sins where i am you cannot come be willing to repent luke 13 3 and 5 be willing to turn away from your sins and turn to the lord and then confess with your mouth romans 10 9 and 10 matthew 10 32 and 33 that you believe that jesus christ is the son of god acts 8 36-38 and then be baptized acts 2 38 acts 22 16 in water for the remission the removal the forgiveness of your sins and you shall be added to the lord's body acts 2 47 god bless you i hope that this message has at least inspired you to search the scriptures for yourself [Music] [Music] glory to his name singing lord pray to his name singing glory to his name [Music] [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] glory to his is [Music] [Music] i am so glad i have entered [Music] there jesus saves me and keeps me [Music] [Music] glory to his name [Music] glory to his name amen and again we say let the church say amen we want to once again thank brother williams for another wonderful message on this morning we pray that you were able to get what the lord wanted you to know and that you're able to apply that in your daily walk we have now come to the time of our service which is the communion and we pray that you have your communion packets and today's scripture will be coming from first corinthians the 11th chapter starting at the 23rd verse and it reads as follows for i received from the lord that which i also delivered to you that the lord jesus in the night in which he was betrayed took bread and when he had given thanks he broke it and said this is my body which is for you do this in remembrance of me let us pray for the bread our lord and our most high god we come with bowed heads and almost hearts thankful once again that you've allowed us to come together to remember the sacrifice that your son made on our behalf we ask your father that you please bless this bread which is a representation of his broken body we pray that we take this in a manner that is pleasing to thee and it's always in your son jesus name that we pray amen you may now take the bread continuing with verse 25 it reads in the same way he took the cup also after supper saying this cup is the new covenant in my blood do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me for as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup you proclaim the lord's death until he comes let us pray for the cup our lord and god we continue this prayer once again being thankful for your son jesus and the sacrifice that he made on our behalf we thank him for his passion for us and his love for us we pray to your father that you bless this cup which is a representation of his shed blood may we take it in a manner that's pleasing to thee it's always in your son jesus name we pray these prayers amen you may now take the cup that concludes the lord's supper and now we have come to the portion of our service which is the offering where we give back a portion of that which the lord has blessed us with now we have three ways in which you can give on this on this day the first way is you can go to our website eastsidecoc.com and you can look for the giving tab click on it and follow the prompts the second way is through our shelby app you log on to the shelby app and you click on the giving and you follow the prompts and the last way that you can give is you can mail in your offering to our po box which is on the screen we pray that if you do use the mail option that you please don't send cash the scripture reason that has been chosen for the offering on today is second corinthians the ninth chapter starting at verses six and it reads as follows now this i say he whose souls sparingly will also reap sparingly and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully each one must do just as he has purpose in his heart not grudgingly or under compulsion for god loves a cheerful giver and god is able to make all grace abound to you so that always having all sufficiency in everything you may have an abundance for every good deed at this time we're asking that you please give let us pray for the offering our lord our god we're once again thankful thankful that you've given us another opportunity to come together and to give back to give back a portion of that which you've blessed us with your father we pray to the father that these funds be used for the continuous of building of your kingdom here on earth we continually pray for knowledge and wisdom when it comes to the use of these funds by those who have charge over them we are once again thankful for the means you give us to give and it is always in your son jesus name that we pray amen this concludes the communion and the offering we have now come to the end of our service but before we end we want to remind you of a few things one we want to remind you to please remember to check in on today and again this is not to make you feel bad this is just so we can keep an account of how things are going and who's attending we also want you to know if you have any prayer requests you can go to the website eastside coc and there is a place for issuing your prayer request or you can call the church office and one of the elders will be contacting you once you submit your prayer requests and lastly we want you to please join us on the upcoming wednesday for bible class uh no matter your age whether you're an adult and you're attending the streaming session or there is a recording from your from the education ministry or there is a virtual meeting that is happening we are asking that you please join us for your wednesday bible class this really helps us continue to connect in these challenging times so again uh we want to say have a great week and please pray with me as we have our closing prayer our lord and our god we are once again thankful that you've allowed us to come out to worship you in spirit and in truth we pray to the father that what we did here was pleasing and acceptable in thy sight we pray to your father also that we were able to get the thing that she would want us to know so that we can continuously make it through our day-to-day lives we pray that you be with us as we go through this week we pray that you bless us to get through the week we are once again thankful for this opportunity to pray and to worship and it's always in your son jesus name that we pray amen have a wonderful day talk to you soon you

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Published: Sun Feb 14 2021