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Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 2 Tim 2:15
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Wherein Have We Robbed God
Sunday, Nov 29, 2009: By Pastor Hubert Ullyse
Malachi 3:8 teaches us that we as human beings can rob God. What’s worse is that we can rob God of what is due to Him and be completely unaware of our actions. This is why Pastor Ulysse took the time to study with the congregation and make sure that we know how we can rob God.
Malachi 3:8
8. Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
At this point in history, the Children of Israel had become wishy-washy in their faith. They were what the Bible calls “lukewarm”. Throughout the course of Malachi, God tells the Children of Israel something through the Man of God, and they question: why, how, and when. They had gotten to the dangerous place where they lost their respect for God and who He was and were not even aware of His love toward them. (Malachi 1:2)
Malachi 1:2
2. I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? [Was] not Esau Jacob's brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob,
They had allowed their views of marriage to deteriorate, and they started in to trust in material things and idols, and stopped leaning on God.
To rob God is a selfish act. It’s astonishingly proud, senseless, shameful, and self-destructive. But it’s human nature. It’s an instinct we must fight if really know God for who He is. Sinning against or hurting the people around us is a danger to our spiritual man, but sinning against God is even more dangerous. (I Samuel 2:25)
I Samuel 2:25
25. If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him: but if a man sin against the LORD, who shall intreat for him? Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto the voice of their father, because the LORD would slay them.
Pastor Ulysse took some time to point out the difference between burglary and robbery. Sometimes we make the mistake of not completely understanding what the scriptures are talking about and missing the power of the Word of God.
Burglary is breaking into an empty home and taking possessions. Robbing is taking something directly from another person. The act of robbing endangers a life and has a much more severe legal punishment than burglary.
We Rob God in Praise and Worship
Worship is not ours. It’s God’s. That’s not to say that God is against us enjoying worship: singing along to the music, tapping our feet, clapping our hands, or shouting praise. But if we are doing it just for a release of the stresses of day-to-day life, or because we enjoy the singer or beat of a particular song, we miss out on what worship is. If we are moved during worship, it should be in our spirit by how good God and His blessings and mercy in our life. There’s nothing wrong with getting into worship, and getting lost while enjoying the presence of God’s spirit. The problem comes when we loose our focus on the fact that everything about our worship needs to be focused on God and His goodness. The passage in the beginning of Hebrews 3 points this out very clearly. (Hebrews 3:1-5)
Hebrews 3:1-5
1. Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;
2. Who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses [was faithful] in all his house.
3. For this [man] was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honour than the house.
4. For every house is builded by some [man]; but he that built all things [is] God.
5. And Moses verily [was] faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after;
Here we see that a house should not receive credit for being wonderful, but instead the builder of the house is the appropriate one to receive credit. In worship, what we hear and see cannot be lifted up (like: “oh, what a beautiful song Sally Jane sang today”) but God needs to be lifted up! It is easy to be impressed by a thing, but God engineered and designed everything; including our talents.
I Corinthians 4:6-8
6. And these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and [to] Apollos for your sakes; that ye might learn in us not to think [of men] above that which is written, that no one of you be puffed up for one against another.
7. For who maketh thee to differ [from another]? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive [it], why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received [it]?
8. Now ye are full, now ye are rich, ye have reigned as kings without us: and I would to God ye did reign, that we also might reign with you.
People in the city of Corinth were getting proud of themselves and puffed up. Paul reminded them that no one is better than any other person in verse seven. Everything we have is God’s. There is no glory that any person deserves. All the glory belongs to God, and if we know this and still allow pride to creep in, we have robbed God.
John 4:24
24. God [is] a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship [him] in spirit and in truth.
There are signs that will follow true worshipers. If we as followers of Christ notice that there is no proof in our daily lives of God’s power, maybe we need to ask if we are honestly taking the appropriate amount of time every single day to worship God. Expressing our love for God openly through words of praise and songs of worship is a way to make sure that we are doing what is right (worshiping God the way He deserves to be worshiped) and that we don’t rob God.
God loves our praise. When we worship Him, God will multiply our reasons to give Him praise. Don’t believe this spiritual principle? Pastor Ulysse invited every one of us to give it a shot. Actually, through scripture God invites us to test and “prove him”.
When we live our daily lives, we have to remember that God is the creator of all things. We should praise Him accordingly. He deserves it whether we always feel like it or understand it completely. No matter what is going on around us, we have to bring everything we have to God and worship Him openly. Otherwise we rob Him.
