Redemption Ministries Weekly Bible Study May 25th, 2021
Redemption Ministries
CHURCH OF THE FIRSTBORN
WEEKLY BIBLE STUDY
May 25, 2021
Read Previous Redemption Ministries Weekly Bible Study May 18th, 2021
TOPIC: CHOOSING FROM THE POOL OF DELICATE OPTIONS IN LIFE (2)
THE TEMPTATION TO CHOOSE THE PATTERN OF WORSHIP RATHER THAN GOD’S PRESENCE.Â
Bible Texts: Exodus 32:1-8; 33:11-15; 1 Samuel 15:9-23; Acts 17:20-25.
Memory Verse: “And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.” 1 Sam. 15:22.
Service in God’s vineyard, sacrifice unto God and obedience to His commands are indispensable tools of worship. However, we must be careful and indeed warned that the systematic shift and strange preference of sacrifice as being superior and preferred to God’s presence has never been sanctioned by Him. Today, we shall look at an instance of gross misplacement of spiritual priority and then ponder on the today’s church.
Redemption Ministries Weekly Bible Study May 25th, 2021
GOD’S OPEN CONFRONTATION OF JUDAH Jeremiah 7:21-34; 8:15-22
“Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt unto this day I have even sent unto you all my servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them: Yet they hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their ear, but hardened their neck: they did worse than their fathers.” Jere 7:25-26
This was a gross displacement of the scale of preference, priority and complete reversal of God’s order of worship. They threw spiritual caution to the wind and hence lacked truth and sincerity that is most needful for pure worship. They were engrossed with the artifacts and architectural design of the temple rather than the ways of God.
We observe :-
I) Senseless craving for sacrifices and ceremonies, rather than putting on the right attitude for God’s preference. Their ill conceived mindset to convince God to accept or acknowledge their ways can never be considered or imagined. Jere 7:21-26.
II) outright refusal to obey God’s voice placed an embargo on them to be called God’s People.
III) At Sinai, they saw no image, saw no form, but only heard a voice and yet God’s presence was made manifest but now, as a highly active society, they have multiplied the forms of worship at the expense of divine presence. Jere. 7:26.
Does this not represent a perfect picture of today’s church?
HAS TODAY’S CHURCH LEARNED? Matt 18:1-5; 20:20-24; Rom 12:1-2; 15:4; Phil 3:9-11.
The today’s church is in a theatre mode. The unholy quest for power that has driven many to adopt diabolical means to acquire the authority with which they can see and read out people’s phone numbers, travel into your home in the spirit realm to know what you cooked, display their latest gimmicks etc. are all patterns blazing the trail today. there is no more any reverence for His presence as political agitation is in the increase with even threats to human life over leadership position.
The average unit leader is as canal in thought, action and deeds as a new comer. Purity and sanctification that once drew and preserved God’s presence in the church is only spoken of and best described in the past. We now reverence, worship and honour the classic auditorium with state of the art facilities more than the worship of the God it was intended to achieve. Our praises revolve around the earthly achievement. They mad hunt for goods rather than the God of the goods has left the church STRANDED and BEREAVED of His PRESENCE and like the People of Judah we have joined in playing the possum only to wake up to the sad realization that the harvest is past and the summer is ended and yet we are not saved.
Do we still hear of messages (that drew people to the altar in tears for more of Him) like “The Sanctified Christian life?”, “Purity and holiness without which no man shall see the Lord?”, ” Adultery forbidden?” etc. The pattern today has clearly shifted to what only appeals and appease the flesh thus impoverishing the soul of God’s presence. It is common to hear of messages such as “The 7 standard Success keys to material possession and acquisition”, “How to get married within one week.” Trouble the troubler and scatter the scatterer? “How to receive breakthrough.
Our Daily Bread 22 May 2021 Devotional Topic – Water Where We Need It
