Obadiah 1-4 Thus
says the Lord God concerning Edom (We have heard a report from
the Lord, and a messenger has been sent among the nations, saying,
“Arise, and let us rise up against her for battle”): “Behold, I will make you
small among the nations; you shall be greatly despised. The pride of your
heart has deceived you, you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, whose
habitation is high; you who say in your heart, ‘Who will bring me down to
the ground?’ Though you ascend as high as the eagle, and though
you set your nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down,” says
the Lord.
This last Sunday, Pastor
Obie gave a message from our Minor Prophets sermon series in the Book of
Obadiah. Today’s youth use the acronym “FOMO”, which means “Fear of missing
out”. This is a serious concern of the “Me, Myself and I” Generation that is
conditioned to get whatever they want, whenever they want, but has it’s roots
in “good old-fashioned” pride. Obadiah was an old Testament Prophet of God. His
name literally means “Servant of God” or "worshiper of Yahweh”. The nation
of Edom was actually blood relatives of the nation of Israel. Edom being the
descendants of Esau and Israel being the descendants of Esau’s brother Jacob.
The feud goes back to their patriarch’s sibling rivalry over the family
birth-right. But, came to a head when Edom decided to join the Babylonian
attach against the nation of Israel, so the Lord God Almighty intervened for
His people.
Obadiah 17-18 But on
Mount Zion there shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness;
The house of Jacob shall possess their possessions. The house of Jacob shall be
a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame; But the house of Esau shall
be stubble; They shall kindle them and devour them, and no survivor
shall remain of the house of Esau,” for the Lord has
spoken.
Pastor Obie exclaimed that
the lesson for all of us today is to make better decisions by thinking about
the Long-term benefits, not the short-term gains. Every time we make a
decision, we are making a trade. Delayed gratification is giving up something
now for something bigger later. The root of “instant gratification” is pride,
whether in corporate business, possessions, activities, food, entertainment,
travel, pleasures or relationships. The 1828 Webster’s dictionary defines the
word “pride” as: Inordinate self-esteem;
an unreasonable conceit of one's own superiority in talents, beauty, wealth,
accomplishments, rank or elevation in office, which manifests itself in lofty
airs, distance, reserve, and often in contempt of others. The remedy is to
use the acronym RAD method, meaning “repeat, add or adjust, or delete; each
requiring careful examination and godly thought. Live a “RAD” life.
Let's Continue Pastor Obie's message on "pride" in the next Post.
In Christ, Brian
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