L’OBEISSANCE A DIEU VAUT MIEUX QUE LE SACRIFICE

CHRIST THE ROCK CONGREGATION

DIMANCHE 15 NOVEMBRE 2020

Sermon by Pastor Marc E Simeon

L’OBEISSANCE A DIEU VAUT MIEUX QUE LE SACRIFICE

OBEDIENCE IS BETTER THAN SACRIFICE

Jeremiah 6:16-20 NIV

¹⁶ This is what the Lord says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’

¹⁷ I appointed watchmen over you and said, ‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’ But you said, ‘We will not listen.’
¹⁸ Therefore hear, you nations; you who are witnesses, observe what will happen to them.
¹⁹ Hear, you earth: I am bringing disaster on this people, the fruit of their schemes, because they have not listened to my words and have rejected my law.
²⁰ What do I care about incense from Sheba or sweet calamus from a distant land? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable; your sacrifices do not please me.

<><><> 

¹⁶ Men sa Seyè a di ankò: -Rete non sou kous nou! Gade byen! Mande kote ansyen chemen yo te pase. Mande kote bon wout la ye. Pran l’. Lè sa a n’a viv ak kè poze. Men yo di: Non, nou p’ap fè sa!

¹⁷ Apre sa, Seyè a chwazi faksyonnè pou veye pou yo, pou di yo: Atansyon, tande jan y’ap kònen twonpèt la pou avèti nou. Men, yo di: Non, nou p’ap tande.

¹⁸ ¶ Se poutèt sa, Seyè a di ankò: -Nou menm, moun lòt nasyon yo, koute! Nou menm ki sanble la a, vin tande sa ki pral rive pèp mwen an.

¹⁹ Ou menm latè, koute. Mwen pral fè malè tonbe sou pèp sa a. Se yo ki chache l’ ak vye lide yo gen nan tèt yo. Yo pa vle koute sa m’ap di yo, yo pa okipe lalwa mwen ba yo a.

²⁰ Ki mele m’ ak lansan y’ al chache nan peyi Saba, ak plant santi bon ki soti nan peyi byen lwen! Zannimo n’ap ofri pou boule pou mwen yo pa fè m’ plezi menm. Bèt n’ap touye pou mwen yo pa di m’ anyen.

<><><> 

• We are living in a time where people are obsessed with pretences and appearances.
• We go out of our way to make false impressions on others.
• Companies spend as much money in developing the outlook of their product as they do on the products themselves.
• If it is water they are selling, they make sure that the container conveys purity and freshness, yet the very spring where that water is coming from may be hazardous.
• I often feel cheated when I buy things online. The display of the product that prompted me to order it is often deceiving.
• Sometimes I receive the product and think that they may be some sort of a mistake by the size of the box.
• People now love to post their images in the social Medias; my wife always has to verify for me that this is so and so, although I know the person.
• Some would post pictures that are 20 to 30 years old.
• Some have done so much editing to the pictures that they completely look like someone else.
• Some have put on so much fakes, it can be incredible. Fake eyelash, fake nails, fake hair, and many more fakes, and yet, they would post that image and say: “this is me.” 
• Some people love to do family pictures and project themselves as the most adorable families, yet they may be living as cats and rats in the house.
• We also bring the same deceptions in the church.
• We decorate our churches to convey an image of joy, peace and holiness, yet the same church can be Satan’s workshop.
• We take our schemes to one more knock to project a certain height of our relationship to God.
• From the appearances we can deceive people to think that we have the strongest intimacy with God, yet in reality, it can be the exact opposite.
• The Children of Israel were very good in this type of deception when it came to serving God.
• They always wanted spectacles to show how dear God was to them, yet inwardly, they had no respect for God.

L’OBEISSANCE A DIEU VAUT MIEUX QUE LE SACRIFICE / OBEDIENCE IS BETTER THAN SACRIFICE

• One of the hardest things in dealing with God is that He can see you from the inside out.
• God can see your guilt, your pretences, your sincerity, your loyalty and your good or bad motives.
• When I was little, I gave my dad a lie and he told me that the lie was really bad; he advised me ironically to come up with a more constructive lie.
• Dealing with God is like dealing with a police officer who had already run your license in the computer and knows about all your unpaid parking tickets and your reckless driving record.
• When he approaches you to ask you some simple questions, you know that he already knows you from the inside out.
• In Jeremiah chapter 6: 16-20, we find God bursting to anger with the Children of Israel for they deceitful ways of serving Him.
• Instead of doing what God asks of them, they were rather busy jacking up the appearances in their service to God.
• They flat out decided to disobey to God’s word, yet they felt mandated to embellish their worship ceremonies to God.
• At some point, one can be entertaining his own self in what he calls service to God.
• Example: I can be very boring at times. If I am given the choice of big birthday celebration and the money the celebration was going to cost, 8 out 10, I would pick the money.
• My wife who loves birthday celebrations doesn’t allow me to have that option. She gets so much gratification and joy in organizing that party than I can ever get, although it is my birthday.
• Some years past, I was given a weekend getaway as birthday gift; it turns out to be the best gift someone could give to my wife.
• She enjoyed it twice more than I did. It is all good because I can tend to be boring and she deserves more sparks from me in that sense.
• Same it is when she is preparing a meal for me. If she allows me to take my own food, I would only take a few things and eat them while standing up.
• Her idea of a meal is a tray filled with vegetable, fruits, nuts, rice, water, juice, desert and rice and beans in one plate and sauce in another plate.
• Because it takes time to put all these things together, sometime I try to hide my impatience.
• She receives a great thrill in how the food was presented. All she does is positive and I am not complaining.
•  We sometimes spend a lot of time and energy in improving the appearances in our worship while neglecting the word of God.
• The children of Israel were spending a lot of money in they worship experience.
• They were worshiping God with the finest ingredients imported from abroad, yet God despised they worships.

Jer 6:16 Ainsi parle l’Éternel: Placez-vous sur les chemins, regardez, Et demandez quels sont les anciens sentiers, Quelle est la bonne voie; marchez-y, Mais ils répondent: Nous n’y marcherons pas.

• The Children of Israel were no less religious when God was addressing these warning to them.
• They had long forsaken the right path.
• They were doing their own things.
• Many people are busy doing their own things thinking that they are serving God.
• The old path is the never changing Word of God.
• When people go back to the Bible, they will always find the right path.
• Some people go as far back as the start of their denominations in aim to make it right with God.
• Each denomination is full of rights and wrongs; one needs to go back to the Holy Scriptures with an open heart and mind to find God’s way.
• Many denominations spend all their energy defending their errors. Go to the old path and don’t take any commentary books with you.
• Get bare with Holy Spirit and ask Him to show you the path to God.

Et vous trouverez le repos de vos âmes!

• We step up our services to God in aim of finding favor with Him.
• Many of the extreme things that we do are to achieve a higher level of peace and serenity with respect to God.
• Obedience to the Word of God is the only remedy for the peace of mind.
• Simply trust and obey God, and peace and joy will follow.

Mais ils répondent: Nous n’y marcherons pas.

• This is where it gets tricky, when we refuse to alter our behavior and expect better results.
• What God wants of them is the very thing they refuse to do.
• What God cares the less about is what they want to excel in.

Jer 6:17 J’ai mis près de vous des sentinelles: Soyez attentifs au son de la trompette!

• God always put people in the paths of His Children to gird them to the right direction.
• There is a preacher out there who is preaching the true Gospel.
• There are a lot of Christians who are concerned about the state of being of the saints of our days.
• There is this boring guy who is teaching the word of God correctly

Mais ils répondent: Nous n’y serons pas attentifs.

• This response of the Children of Israel echoes the same response we get in our time in trying to steer people back to the true gospel.
• People willingly chose to disobey God in order to validate their own illusion of God.
• Nowadays, we see people who are willingly and defiantly stepping on the Bible to accommodate their own fantasy of God.
• People worship idols and you tell them that this is an abomination to God, yet they could not care less.
• While everyone is trying to put a big fight with COVID, yet you find people who could not care less about the guidelines.
• Even if the preacher pinpoints where they are been mislead by their denominations or sects, while they may acknowledge it, yet they decide to ignore all the warnings.
• We live in a similar time in history as was Jeremiah.

Jer 6:18 ¶ C’est pourquoi écoutez, nations! Sachez ce qui leur arrivera, assemblée des peuples!

• God too has a boiling point where He says enough is enough.
• Many are prompts to see God’s hands of judgment, but how many care to know the prolonged abuse of the longsuffering of God.
• When warning is greeted by neglect, be sure to know that judgment is around the corner.
• A warning from God is like the yellow light in traffic, be sure to know that the red light is soon approaching.

Jer 6:19 Écoute, terre! Voici, je fais venir sur ce peuple le malheur, Fruit de ses pensées; Car ils n’ont point été attentifs à mes paroles, Ils ont méprisé ma loi.

• Le malheur qui était sur le point de fondre sur la tète des Enfants d’Israël était le fruit de leurs illusions.
• Parce qu’ils ont fait table rase aux avertissements de Dieu.
• Parce qu’ils voulaient avoir le libre arbitre à propos de leur manière de servir Dieu.
• Parce qu’ils refusaient de retracer leurs pas vers l’ancienne voie.
• Parce qu’ils réfutaient catégoriquement d’écouter aux conseils de Dieu.
• Parce qu’ils ont méprisé la loi de Dieu.
• Ils ont semé le vent, et maintenant ils vont récolter la tempête.
• Rien n’est plus effrayant que lorsque les bonnes dispositions de Dieu envers quelqu’un se tournent en malheur.
• Après avoir gaspillé tes frais d’écolage dans la débauche, ne t’illusionne que ton père a encore de bonne dispositions pour ton futur.
• Le même père peut même cautionner ton malheur. Il y a des pères qui ne se sentiront gratifiés qu’à voir souffrir ses enfants prodigues, qui ont épuisé toutes les ressources de la famille.

Jer 6:20 Qu’ai-je besoin de l’encens qui vient de Séba, Du roseau aromatique d’un pays lointain? Vos holocaustes ne me plaisent point, Et vos sacrifices ne me sont point agréables.

• L’ironie c’était que les enfants D’Israël voulaient plaire à Dieu dans leur propre façon.
• C’était à eux de décider ce qui était important pour Dieu.
• Le rituel était plus important que la personne à qui ils adressaient leurs prières.
• Pour notre adoration, nous allons nous en servir du meilleur encens importé de Séba.
• Ici l’adoration reflète la magnificence de l’adorateur et non l’objet de l’adoration.
• Assurément, la supériorité de l’encens doit impressionner Dieu se disaient-ils.
• Avoir la plus grande chorale.
• Bâtir le plus superbe sanctuaire.
• S’en servir des hommes les plus instruits pour le service de Dieu.
• Avoir les instruments de musique les plus sophistiqués
• Ajouter plus de professionnalisme et de technologie dans les services.
• Alors qu’on se dévore les uns les autres dans cette même église.
• Alors que l’on devient passif et tolérant au péché.
• Réorienter l’église pour devenir un champion dans la justice sociale et le bienêtre de l’humanité tout en négligeant les Saintes Ecritures.
• Compéter avec les autres religions pour élever le christianisme au plus haut degré social, tout en introduisant des pratiques et des croyances anti-scripturaires dans l’église.
• Elever le Christianisme à l’échelle nationale et mondiale tout en se ralliant autour des leaders politiques plus qu’à Dieu.
• L’encens importé de Séba et le roseau aromatique venant des pays lointain reflétaient la gloire des Juifs plus que l’honneur de Dieu qui était soi-disant l’objet de leur adoration.
• Tout comme des parents qui achètent des habits de grand prix pour leur enfant tout en négligeant les soins essentiels de l’enfant.

Vos holocaustes ne me plaisent point, Et vos sacrifices ne me sont point agréables.

• Quel cauchemar, à savoir que Dieu ne prend pas plaisir dans nos adorations.
• L’obéissance vaut mieux que le sacrifice.
• Quand Dieu rejette une offrande, quelle est donc la valeur cette offrande ?
• Quand Dieu rejette nos meilleurs efforts, quel est donc le message qu’il tente à nous communiquer ?
• L’offrande et le sacrifice sont toujours secondaires pour Dieu.
• Dieu désire la soumission à sa parole au dessus de toutes autres choses.
• Dieu désire un amour ardent de notre part plus que n’importe quel service que nous pourrions le rendre.
• Dieu désire notre sanctification au dessus de la perfection dans nos cultes d’adoration.
• Dieu désire voir dégagé l’amour fraternel entre les saints au dessus des extravagances que nous sommes prompts à faire sous prétexte de le glorifier.

CONCLUSION

Jer 6:16 Ainsi parle l’Éternel: Placez-vous sur les chemins, regardez, Et demandez quels sont les anciens sentiers, Quelle est la bonne voie; marchez-y, Et vous trouverez le repos de vos âmes! Mais ils répondent: Nous n’y marcherons pas.

 17 J’ai mis près de vous des sentinelles: Soyez attentifs au son de la trompette! Mais ils répondent: Nous n’y serons pas attentifs.

 18 ¶ C’est pourquoi écoutez, nations! Sachez ce qui leur arrivera, assemblée des peuples!

 19 Écoute, terre! Voici, je fais venir sur ce peuple le malheur, Fruit de ses pensées; Car ils n’ont point été attentifs à mes paroles, Ils ont méprisé ma loi.

 20 Qu’ai-je besoin de l’encens qui vient de Séba, Du roseau aromatique d’un pays lointain? Vos holocaustes ne me plaisent point, Et vos sacrifices ne me sont point agréables.

• Let us all examine the manner in which we serve God today.
• Are you on time going to church?
• Do you honor God with your revenues?
• Do you spend ample time in personal devotion and prayer?
• Do you forgive your enemies?
• Are you living a sanctified life?
• How is your worship to God?
• Is God first in everything that concerns you?
• Are you a fake Christian?
• Are you just keeping the appearances hoping that no one would discover you?
• Are you projecting your Christianity outwardly in order to be admired by others regardless how God feels about your show?
• Would God give a passing grade to your services to Him, or would He put a stamp of rejection on them?
• Before you go the next knock in improving your service to God, be sure to check on the basics.
• Avoid wasting your time, seek only the approval of God in all that you do for God, and it will be well with you.
• May God add his blessings to His Word!

AMEN!