Topic: Taking God For Granted [Sunday March 4th, 2018]
Text: Leviticus 10:1-11 (KJV)
Key Verse: “And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not” (Leviticus 10:1).
MESSAGE:
God requires that all His commandments and laws given to us be obeyed to the letter. It is not for man to choose which ones to obey and which ones to discard. All the commandments carry equal weight. Disobedience will attract punishment as already prescribed by the Almighty.
The incident in the passage was quite unfortunate and avoidable. Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, did a despicable thing before the Lord by offering a strange fire. The Lord had just reviewed exactly how they were to carry out their functions in conducting acceptable worship. They presumed they could bring coals of fire to the altar from another source; hence, they embarked upon their unguarded, compromising act. Yet on the contrary, it was expected that the fire on the altar should never be allowed to go out. Thus, they made the sacrifice unholy in addition to making the offering at an unauthorised time.
Whatever might have been responsible for their impious act, the truth remains that the priests took the Almighty for granted, acted irresponsibly and defiantly by rebelling against God’s law and venturing into the reserved responsibility of the high priest only.
There are vital lessons for all Christian leaders and workers in God’s vineyard to learn from this. We must persevere in acts of holiness and emphasise throughout our teachings what is right and acceptable conduct before the Lord. We must avoid the use of strong drink at the Holy Communion/Lord’s Supper service and maintain the highest possible level of decency and reverence for vital tools and equipment used in God’s house. Above all, we must render to God, services that are manifestly acceptable. A plethora of service offered God on everyone’s terms, is as abominable as it is not rewardable.
Thought For The Day: Obedience to God is vital to acceptable service.
Bible Reading in a Year: Numbers 21-22
DCLM Daily Manna was written by Pastor William Folorunso Kumuyi; is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Life Bible Church situated at KM 42 on the busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Nigeria.
