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The people of God or the sheep of His pasture are the ones whom He expects to serve, praise, and offer Him thanksgiving.
DID YOU KNOW that God is constantly looking down from heaven on the world? Unfortunately, what He saw has given Him sheer disappointment. The Bible explains, thus:
“The Lord looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who are wise, who want to please God. But no, all have strayed away; all are rotten with sin. Not one is good, not one!” (Ps. 14:2-3 The Living Bible)
The Lord looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there is any who wants to please Him. However, He says “all have strayed away; all are rotten with sin.” The Book of God recounts:
“What happened was this: People knew God perfectly well, but when they didn’t treat him like God, refusing to worship him, they trivialized themselves into silliness and confusion so that there was neither sense nor direction left in their lives. They pretended to know it all, but were illiterate regarding life.” (Rom. 1:21-22 The Message)
Man has abandoned his inherent duty to God. While there is a proliferation of religions nowadays and many people are claiming that they acknowledge God and have faith in Him, they have, in fact, turned away from Him:
“Because when they knew and recognized Him as God, they did not honor and glorify Him as God, or give Him thanks. But instead they became futile and godless in their thinking [with vain imaginings, foolish reasoning, and stupid speculations] and their senseless minds were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools [professing to be smart, they made simpletons of themselves].” (Rom 1:21-22 Amplified Bible)
Although the people of this world say that they recognize God, yet “they did not honor and glorify Him as God, or give Him thanks.” They have counted it as futile to glorify God so their senseless minds were darkened. As a result, God has abandoned the people of the world to their heart’s evil desires and the world is filled with wickedness and moral corruption (Rom. 1:24 Common English Bible).
Man has abandoned his inherent duty to God. While there is a proliferation of religions nowadays and many people are claiming that they acknowledge God and have faith in Him, they have, in fact, turned away from Him:
“Because when they knew and recognized Him as God, they did not honor and glorify Him as God, or give Him thanks. But instead they became futile and godless in their thinking [with vain imaginings, foolish reasoning, and stupid speculations] and their senseless minds were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools [professing to be smart, they made simpletons of themselves].” (Rom 1:21-22 Amplified Bible)
Although the people of this world say that they recognize God, yet “they did not honor and glorify Him as God, or give Him thanks.” They have counted it as futile to glorify God so their senseless minds were darkened. As a result, God has abandoned the people of the world to their heart’s evil desires and the world is filled with wickedness and moral corruption (Rom. 1:24 Common English Bible).
God does not take lightly this affront against Him. We should not then be surprised about the condition of the world today―the world has become filled with all kinds of wickedness and violence―for this is a revelation of His wrath towards men (Rom. 1:18, 28-31 New King James Version). God will take vengeance on those who refuse to know Him and He will punish them with everlasting destruction on the day Christ comes:
“In flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed.” (II Thess. 1:8-10 NKJV)
Hence, those who do not glorify God nor give thanks to Him will surely be destroyed and punished on the Day of Judgment.
This is the reason we, members of the Church Of Christ, do not neglect to give glory to God and offer Him thanksgiving. While the people of this world have neglected to praise Him, we, on the other hand, recognize that we are the ones whom He expects and requires to fulfill these:
“Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before His presence with singing. Know that the LORD, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.” (Ps. 100:2-4 NKJV)
The people of God or the sheep of His pasture are the ones whom He expects to serve, praise, and offer Him thanksgiving. They can be identified among others because they were commanded to “enter into His gates.” Christ Himself declared that He is the way and the door to God and those who entered Him are inside the fold or flock (John 14:6; 10:9). Apostle Paul, meanwhile, clarified that the flock is the Church Of Christ, thus, one can enter in Christ by becoming a member of His body—the Church Of Christ (Acts 20:28 Lamsa Translation; I Cor. 12:27; Col. 1:18).
Small wonder, in the Christian era in these last days, we, members of the Church Of Christ, devote ourselves to glorifying and thanking the Almighty God, for we are the ones who received the right and privilege to serve and worship Him, not the various religions of the world.
It is for the same reason why we, Church Of Christ members, are intensively doing our mission in winning people to become members of the Church—so that they, too, will have the privilege to thank and glorify the Almighty.
Living in this world is such a big challenge for us. Each goes through various problems and difficulties in life. We are not immune from violence, poverty, calamities, sicknesses, and other difficulties plaguing this world. However, if we dedicate ourselves to glorifying and worshiping God despite all the hindrances and dangers, just like the early servants of God, we will also experience His deliverance:
“I’ll complete what I promised god I’d do, and I’ll do it in company with his people, In the place of worship, in GOD’S house, in Jerusalem, GOD’S city. Hallelujah!
“He listened so intently as I laid out my case before him. Death stared me in the face, hell was hard on my heels. Up against it, I didn’t know which way to turn; then I called out to GOD for help: ‘Please, GOD!’ I cried out. ‘Save my life!’ GOD is gracious―it is he who makes things right, our most compassionate God. GOD takes the side of the helpless; when I was at the end of my rope, he saved me. I said to myself, ‘Relax and rest. GOD has showered you with blessings’.” (Ps. 116:18-19, 2-7 MSG)
Hence, we should be fully dedicated to glorifying and giving thanks to God. We should never abandon these duties of ours. We must not allow ourselves to neglect them even if the challenges and trials that we encounter are increasingly severe. Let us completely devote and set our entire being to fulfilling this sacred obligation, praising Him at all times:
“I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips.” (Ps. 34:1 New International Version)
This article was originally published in the Pasugo: God’s Message magazine, December 2016 issue.
