Oak Hill Church of Christ 11-5-23 Message: "God In A Box"

Oak Hill Church of Christ preaching minister, Randy Sterling, delivers a message on the importance of being reminded of God's true power and His due respect.

If asked, you will find that quite a lot of people will say that they "believe in God" as a matter of course. "The universe was probably created by somebody." They will rationalize. They may even say "I think God loves me, and he wants me to be happy." Perhaps, "He wants me to ask for the things I want so that he can give them to me."

If those same people are asked what they do to show such a powerful deity their worshipful respect and submission, the responses may be fewer. Perhaps one will offer: "I'm basically a good person."

Mankind has allowed itself to think of God as a sort of convenient wish-granter. This magical creature is stored away until he is needed again, then he is taken out of his very nice container, used, and placed back on the shelf or in the closet 'where he belongs' until needed once more.

Jesus challenges us to think of God differently. Jesus challenges us to show God respect and deference. After all, if God is powerful enough to create the universe and perceptive enough to be aware of your needs, that God is terribly powerful and deserves your worshipful respect.

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." Says Proverbs 1:7, but "fools despise wisdom and instruction."

For the best outcome, consider letting God out of the very nice and very lovely container He may have been placed in the room of your life, and let Him take His rightful place as your master and lord instead.