Staying True to God's Word
Proverbs 22:28
Proverbs 22:28 - Remove not the ancient landmark, which they fathers have set.
Proverbs 23:10,11 - Remove not the old landmark; and enter not into the field of the fatherless.
Psalms 145:4 - One generation shall declare thy glory to the next generation. They can only declare the acts of God, it is up to each individual generation to discover the ways of God. Psalms 103:7.
Joshua 24:31 - Israel served God all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that over-lived Joshua, and which had known the works of the LORD, that he had done for Israel.
Judges 1:3 - When God told Judah to go fight the Caanaanities, Judah took Simeon with him. This is adding to the commandments of God. From this point, Israel went farther and farther away from the plain commandments of God.
Examples of things that are rapidly changing.
1. Homosexuals are being discriminated against in the military. They should be discriminated against everywhere!
2. Divorce is being accepted as "normal".
a. Divorce can be accepted when a husband/wife leaves their mate, and the one left behind has no choice, or there is great physical abuse: which might be stopped by swift retaliation.
b. Divorce in the clergy. Article entitled "Bigamists among Baptist". Some people believe divorce ends the marriage, but the vows declare, "let not man separate that which God puts together."
3. Adultery is a way of life. Probably everybody here knows of someone who commits adultery, then continues on just like nothing ever happened. I have great respect for a person who commits adultery, then publicly asks his church for forgiveness. But this is not done anymore.
4. Out of wedlock children.
a. Or: Young people are going to have sex, and you just can't stop them. This is a lie from hell. I remember a young girl who got pregnant, had the child, then asked the church to forgive her. Later, this same young girl married a super nice guy, and they are still married.
b. Or: In days gone by, giving away children by unwed mothers because it is not acceptable by the public to keep the child. The public would constantly remind the mother of her past evil deed. Today, they kill the unborn child in an effort of covering up the same act.
c. Or: The state knows what is best for my children. Parents don't understand what is best for their own child. Public education of children by teachers who have been taught that it is illegal to teach morals in school, yet are taught it is okay to give all sorts of sexual instruction. A state certified kindergarten teacher who believe you were your own best friend, until a little boy said God was his best friend, and that he was going to go to hell if he didn't repent and trust Christ. One state certified teacher was refused permission to teach pre-school children because she wasn't certified in that field. She said that was strange because she had two pre-school children of her own! A fourth grader who threatened to kill the teacher with a nail.
Working on Sunday. Some jobs require you to work on Sundays, but the vast majority of jobs shouldn't work on Sunday. Today, a lot of people can't go to church because their employers make it so hard on them. If you are off on Sunday, many employees also give you a hard time because they want off on Sunday, and don't like it because you are off.
Some examples of how Israel didn’t realize they had left the Word of God.
Mal. 1:6 - Israel failed to realize they despised the name of God.
Mal. 1:7 - They offered polluted sacrifices to God, yet failed to recognize anything was wrong with what they were doing. God demanded they offer that same sacrifice to their governor.
Mal. 1:10 - Israelites would only work in the temple if they were paid for what they did. How many preachers would preach the gospel if they didn't get paid? Churches ought to pay their pastor, because they that preach the gospel should live of the gospel, but how many pastors would still pastor if they weren't paid?
Mal. 1:13 - Israel felt the worship of God was a weariness. That is why some church members only come to Sunday School. Some only come to Sunday morning worship. Some believe they have done their service to God when they show up at church one Sunday a month, or maybe just Christmas or Easter.
Mal. 2:17 - Israel has wearied the Lord by declaring those that do evil are beloved of the Lord, or where is the judgment of the Lord?
Mal. 3:8-12 - Israel was ignorant of their robbing God by refusing to give tithes and offerings. Many today are ignorant of the fact that God requires the giving of tithes and offerings. They consider they have given their best when they give their old worn out shoes to be auctioned off by the church!