CHRIST THE ROCK CONGREGATION
SUNDAY DECEMBER 5TH 2021
Sermon by Pastor Marc E Simeon
SI JE SUIS PÈRE 0Ù EST L’HONNEUR QUI M’EST DÛ ?
IF THEN I AM FATHER, WHERE IS MY HONOR?
LECTURE: MALACHIE 1:6-8
Mal 1:6 ¶ Un fils honore son père, et un serviteur son maître. Si je suis père, où est l’honneur qui m’est dû? Si je suis maître, où est la crainte qu’on a de moi? Dit l’Éternel des armées à vous, sacrificateurs, Qui méprisez mon nom, Et qui dites: En quoi avons-nous méprisé ton nom?
7 Vous offrez sur mon autel des aliments impurs, Et vous dites: En quoi t’avons-nous profané? C’est en disant: La table de l’Éternel est méprisable!
8 Quand vous offrez en sacrifice une bête aveugle, n’est-ce pas mal? Quand vous en offrez une boiteuse ou infirme, n’est-ce pas mal? Offre-la donc à ton gouverneur! Te recevra-t-il bien, te fera-t-il bon accueil? Dit l’Éternel des armées.
Mal 1:6 ¶ “A son honors his father, And a servant his master. If then I am the Father, Where is My honor? And if I am a Master, Where is My reverence? Says the LORD of hosts To you priests who despise My name. Yet you say, ‘In what way have we despised Your name?’
7 “You offer defiled food on My altar. But say, ‘In what way have we defiled You?’ By saying, ‘The table of the LORD is contemptible.’
8 And when you offer the blind as a sacrifice, Is it not evil? And when you offer the lame and sick, Is it not evil? Offer it then to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you favorably?” Says the LORD of hosts.
INTRODUCTION
• One of the greatest disadvantages of living in a foreign country is the lost of good customs and traditions from one’s homeland.
• One of the setbacks that come with living in the developing countries is the phasing out of family values and family structures.
• The State sets the tone for the norms of society instead of individual families.
• Juvenile delinquency is closely related by how some countries mingle in the dictates of family structure and parental roles.
• The honor that a man usually enjoyed in the past is now challenged in all four corners of the world.
• A man can now be forced to fulfill all his family obligations without receiving any respect or honor, or honey. (LOL).
• While the deadbeat dads are dealt with accordingly in some countries, the proper honor that is due to a father is in no pale comparison to what it used to be.
• The book of Malachi opens with God posturing as the Father of the nation.
• Unlike other nations, Israel owed God for their very existence.
• God chose a man and promised to make a nation out of him.
• God flexed His muscles and snatched the Children of Israel out of Egypt.
• God led them in the Land promised to Abraham by His infinite power.
• God established them as a sovereign nation to be feared by all nations.
- In the Book of Malachi, God paused to examine the attitude of the Children of Israel toward Him.
• God was perplexed in His finding to see how low the level of fear, love, and reverence they exhibited toward Him.
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THE HONOR THAT GOD EXPECTS FROM HIS CHILDREN
Mal 1:6 ¶ “A son honors his father, And a servant his master. If then I am the Father, Where is My honor? And if I am a Master, Where is My reverence? Says the LORD of hosts To you priests who despise My name. Yet you say, ‘In what way have we despised Your name?’ (NKJV)
6 ¶ Un fils honore son père, et un serviteur son maître. Si je suis père, où est l’honneur qui m’est dû? Si je suis maître, où est la crainte qu’on a de moi? Dit l’Éternel des armées à vous, sacrificateurs, Qui méprisez mon nom, Et qui dites: En quoi avons-nous méprisé ton nom? (LSV)
SI JE SUIS PERE / IF I AM FATHER
• Back in the days, Haitian fathers were distinguished by certain marks of honor.
• Where they sat around the table was distinguished.
• How their food is arranged was distinguished.
• The size of their food was distinguished.
• The best piece of the meat was reserved for the father.
• Some did not know the way to the kitchen.
• Some have never washed their dishes.
• His laundry was all taken care of, folded and ironed.
• His judgments were final around the house.
• He took great pride in the good behavior of his children.
• The entire household revolved around his leadership.
• He took great pride in providing for his household.
• He was a hard worker; He woke up deep in the night to start his days.
• The survival of the family depended solely on him financially in some instances.
• He is walking to church with the entire family in line.
• I am describing an ideal situation here.
• The honor that he received from his family structure propelled him to action.
SI JE SUIS MAITRE! IF I AM MASTER!
• Freedom is one the greatest blessings that a human being can process.
• The context of being under a master renders the subject to be viewed as a mere property at the disposal of another.
• From the fall in the Garden of Eden, mankind has lost his freedom.
• When God reintroduced Himself to humanity, He did so as a rescuer.
• God had to purchase us back to Him from the dominion of sin.
• Everyone who is in covenant with God both in the Old Testament or in the New Testament is by default a slave of God.
• Although God treats us like His children rather than His slaves, we are nonetheless the slaves of God.
• A master had added rights over his subjects than he had over his own children.
• The subordination and the fear that we owe to God must not be influenced by feeling but by duty.
• We all owe blind obedience to God because:
o 1st, He is our Creator
o 2nd, He is our Sustainer
o 3rd, He is our Redeemer
o 4th, He is our Judge
• While God forgoes certain rights in order to foster a family-like relationship with us, He still is our Master.
• As Mater over our lives, do we honestly exhibit the proper fear toward Him?
LACK OF FEAR AND REVERENCE IN OUR OFFERINGS
Mal 1 : 6b
A vous, sacrificateurs, Qui méprisez mon nom, Et qui dites: En quoi avons-nous méprisé ton nom?
To you priests who despise My name. Yet you say, ‘In what way have we despised Your name?’
• The first reproach went to the priests.
• The priests were responsible to set the tone on how God was to be revered throughout the nation.
• The personal reverence of the priests was supposed to be the model for the rest of the nation to follow.
• Nowadays, we have a lot of priests who despise God without knowing.
• We have a lot of people who do not know that they are priests to start with.
• A pastor is a priest; the person who leads the service is a priest; the person who drives the van is a priest.
• The person who does Sunday school is a priest.
• The person who plays the music is a priest.
• We are all priests and priestesses; all Christians can offer their sacrifices to God without the mediation of another.
• Is there honor in the way you offer your services to God?
• Is there reverence in the way we serve God?
LES INSULTES DANS NOS SACRIFICES
7 Vous offrez sur mon autel des aliments impurs, Et vous dites: En quoi t’avons-nous profane? C’est en disant: La table de l’Eternel est méprisable!
8 Quand vous offrez en sacrifice une bête aveugle, n’est-ce pas mal? Quand vous en offrez une boiteuse ou infirme, n’est-ce pas mal?
7 “You offer defiled food on My altar. But say, ‘In what way have we defiled You?’ By saying, ‘The table of the LORD is contemptible.(disgraceful, disreputable, shameful)’
8 And when you offer the blind as a sacrifice, Is it not evil? And when you offer the lame and sick, Is it not evil?
• As a black person living in America, we all know what poor service is.
• There was a time a black person could not even get certain services even if he could afford it.
• Times have changed and all services are supposedly offered to all customers;
• Yet, I am a witness that there is more work to be done on the subject.
• The right service must include courtesy and dignity. These two elements cannot be enforced.
• I’ve been in places where if I order a rotisserie chicken the server would put the most bonny and burned and ugliest piece of meat on my plate.
• When I go to a restaurant, I care where they seat me.
• I care how friendly the server is and how often he or she checks my table.
• I care how promptly they bring my food to me with respect to how they serve the rest of their customers.
• I care about the presentation of my food, especially if that restaurant is at a certain standard.
• The whole experience makes dining an enjoyable event.
PICTURE GOD AS A PICKY CUSTOMER
• For God, presentation is everything.
• God is explicit on the quality of the offerings that are acceptable to Him.
• God is insulted if you serve Him damaged animals.
• God is insulted if you offer to Him skinny animals.
• God is insulted if you offer to Him sick animals.
• God is insulted if you offer to him old animals of little value.
• While offering can be viewed as an act of honor, some offerings can also convey disrespect.
• People go out of their ways and spend a lot of money to create environments conducive for good business.
• A restaurant with clean toilets and playground creates a family friendly environment.
• If you can couple that with good and affordable meals, success can be expected.
GOD A JEALOUS CUSTOMER
Mal 1 : 8b Offre-la donc à ton gouverneur! Te recevra-t-il bien, te fera-t-il bon accueil? Dit l’Eternel des armées.
Offer it then to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you favorably?” Says the LORD of hosts.
- It grieves God more to see that you truly understand the principle of proper sacrifice in the way you honor others.
• The way you try to please your boss.
• The way you take good care of what matters to you.
- The way you respect your time for school, work, doctor’s appointment, travels etc.
• The way you try to maintain a good credit.
• The way you take care of your yard, your house.
• The way you keep your car clean.
• Satan always tries to give heaviness when it comes time to do things for God.
• You need to be conscious and attentive in order to improve in your service to God.
• God is always comparing how you serve Him versus how you serve others.
• If God sees that He is not getting the V.I.P. treatment from you, He will react.
CONCLUSION
• I will conclude with a list of questions for each one of us to ponder upon.
• IS GOD PLEASED WITH YOUR SERVICES TO HIM?
• DO YOU MAKE GOD FEEL LIKE A PROUD FATHER?
• AS YOUR MASTER, IS GOD PROPERLY REVERED?
• ARE YOU OFFERING TO GOD THE BEST OF YOUR TIME?
• ARE YOU OFFERING TO GOD THE BEST OF YOUR TALENTS?
• ARE YOU OFFERING TO GOD THE PROPER AMOUNT OF YOUR WEALTH?
• DO YOU KEEP THE BEST OF YOU FOR YOURSELF OR ARE PUTTING YOURSELF ON THE ALTAR FOR GOD’S SERVICE?
Un fils honore son père, et un serviteur son maître. Si je suis père, où est l’honneur qui m’est dû? Si je suis maître, où est la crainte qu’on a de moi? Dit l’Éternel des armées.
“A son honors his father, And a servant his master. If then I am the Father, Where is My honor? And if I am a Master, Where is My reverence? Says the LORD of hosts
AMEN!
Pasteur Marc Simeon 