“Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment.” Ecclesiastes 11:9

Psalm 9:17 The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.

One of the great sins of man is ignoring God. This is a damning sin, and many do not realize the cost until it is too late. Ignoring God began with Adam and Eve and has continued to the present day.

The reason people ignore God is because of “I want.” Eve wanted to be like God knowing good and evil. Adam wanted to do as his wife asked, so Original Sin entered the world. Down through human history “I want” has been one of the great sins of all people.

Again, when we look in the Bible from the beginning man ignoring God is a common thing. After Adam and Eve sinned, we are told they had two sons. Cain was the first of their children and he was a farmer. When he brought his offering to God it was the fruit and vegetables he had grown. Abel the second son, brought God a sacrifice from his flock and this God accepted.

Because God rejected Cain’s sacrifice and accepted Abel’s sacrifice, Cain became very angry and rose-up and slew his brother. What was Cain’s problem? He had ignored God. God required a bloody sacrifice, but Cain thought his fruit sacrifice was good enough.

The message from this we need to see is there is only one way to approach God and he will not accept any other way. (By the way - It is JESUS only)

DISHONESTY IN THE WORLD
Do you remember several years ago some parents were paying large sums of money to get their children into a preferred college? Their children did not qualify, but the large sums of money to the right person enabled them to get what they wanted. Later this was found out, and many of these parents were in trouble with the authorities. Some had to pay large fines, and some had to spend time in prison. But remember, they did what they wanted and ignored the rules of properly enrolling their children in school. In the end there were consequences to pay. Sin always comes with consequences.

There is a way which seemeth right unto men, but the end thereof are the ways of death. Proverbs14:12

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? Jeremiah 17:9-10

In sports as well, it is common to hear of someone who cheats in-order-to have an advantage over another. At one time in baseball the authorities admonished some of the pitchers for using a substance on the ball to give it an extra spin to fool the batters. And, recently it was found that some players used drugs to enhance their ability so they could hit more home runs than someone else. This has been found in the past as well, so on and on we go hearing of stories such as these.

Unfortunately, situations like parents bribing their children’s school, or athletes doing something illegal to try and be superior to someone else is too common in the wicked and perverse generation in which we live.

They have corrupted themselves, their spot is not the spot of his children: they are a perverse and crooked generation. Deuteronomy 32:5

Dishonesty is not just for sports figures, the elite, the billionaires, the “Woke” or the unsaved. All of these, as anyone can be, have probably been dishonest.

Dishonesty abounds in our world my friends, and lying (dishonesty), is on God’s list of the top 7 things he hates. See Proverbs 6:16-19

Sometimes the biggest offender of them all is the church. In Christianity we have many churches that do not play by the rules. The church has been given the authority to preach the gospel, and scripture tells us to preach the word in second Timothy.

Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. 2Timothy 4:2

But not all ministers preach the gospel as it should be, & not all churches insist they do so.

We have cult churches today, and churches who preach a watered-down message to keep from offending anyone or driving them away. We have churches where the message is filled with jokes or funnies to keep the crowd laughing. We have churches built on entertainment just to get a crowd because they want a lot of people.

These types of “so-called” churches preach what is called today a “Social Gospel.” This has little if anything to do with the Gospel of Jesus Christ! Everyone who is truly born again needs to be searching for a good Bible believing, preaching church.

Let’s face it folks, too many people just do not want to play by the rules, so they ignore them. This type of mindset leads people to false churches with false doctrines where they can be around others like themselves who ignore God!

Sometimes people get by with their cheating and ignoring the rules for a time. However, if they participate long enough, they are subject to get caught. AND, by the way, God has a record of every one of them. Solomon the wisdom writer wrote in Ecclesiastes -

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. Ecclesiastes, 12:13-14

Think of what Solomon says here. Every secret thing, whether it be good, or evil is going to be exposed on judgment day. Think of all the profanity, the vulgar filthy words, the swearing, the cheap talk spewing out of the mouths of the ungodly. Their own words will condemn them and all their actions. People could avoid all these things, but they choose to ignore God instead. And God allows man to ignore him. He has given man the right to choose, but he has also given man his word so man is without excuse on how to live.

For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Romans 1:20

THE COST OF IGNORING GOD
Psalms 50:22 - Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.

Now the Psalmist gives this warning to those who ignore God. His word is serious and frightening. If you forget God, he may tear you to pieces and he has many ways to do this. Jonah got swallowed by a big fish. How’s that for ignoring God. Samson got his eyes gouged out and made a slave because he ignored his Nazarite vow to God. King Saul of Israel ignored God in offering a sacrifice he was not qualified to offer, and his kingdom was taken from him. (1 Samuel 13:14) Herod gave a great speech but gave God no praise, so God allowed worms to eat him alive. Judas Iscariot ignored the Messiah and went out and hung himself. Yes, the scriptures tell us of those who ignore God and the consequences of doing so.

At the final judgment all who stand before the Lord Jesus at the great white throne judgment are all those who lived and ignored God during their life on earth. All of these will be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone according to Revelation.

And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. Revelation 20:15

I am afraid people need to take this much more seriously than anyone seems to be doing. People who are not saved need to repent of their sin and call upon a holy God for forgiveness! The most wonderful thing about this my friend, is that he will forgive you if you just ask!

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Romans 10:13

THE WISDOM OF TRUSTING JESUS
There will not be one person in heaven who will be disappointed when they get there. There will not be one suggestion on how to improve heaven from anyone. Heaven is going to be a paradise and all who go there DID NOT IGNORE GOD.

The Holy Scriptures have been given to us so that we might know about God and understand what sin has done to the human family. But it appears many people have no interest in what God has to say. We come into this world, and everything is geared to, or set up mainly for this life. We are pushed to get an education, get a job, get married, buy this, or buy that. The emphasis to read the Bible, go to church and learn what life is all about as a child of God is often ignored.

The reason for this is it’s a strategy of Satan to keep as many as possible in the dark concerning their spiritual need.

In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. 2 Corinthians 4:4

Yes, Satan’s strategy is to keep people in the dark, But Jesus made it very clear why he came -

The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. John 10:10

Everyone loves life and wants to live, but few are seeking true life in Jesus who gives life eternal to all those who trust in him. It would seem, that the witness and changed lives of believers would impress unbelievers, but it doesn’t seem to do so. Most people ignore the Bible, ignore going to a Bible church, and they ignore the spiritual need they have as they search for fulfillment in the world. But the pleasures of this life will never satisfy the spiritual thirst and need of a hungry soul.

How I wish I could tell you how much you are loved by God. How he longs for every person to be with him forever and allow him to show them all his glory. Think of God loving you so much he sent his own son to die, to pay for your sin, sin that was only against him, and him alone. What a loving God he is. Won’t you call upon Him today and be saved!

For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:26

Heavenly Father what an awesome God you are. To love sinners as you do. You know that only the blood of Jesus will make us acceptable, and you have freely given him for us. We bless your holy name. Amen “Loving the Savior” Preacher