Covenant Theology: Obedience, Disobedience, and National Judgment

Christians Who Despise God

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: Covenant Theology

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2017-06-05

Synopsis: John Weaver argues that genuine Christians can and often do despise God through disobedience, neglect of His Word, and disregard for His commandments. Using David as a prime example, he shows that despising God's law is equivalent to despising God Himself. The sermon warns that such contempt leads to divine judgment and unanswered prayer, urging believers to honor God through obedience.

[John Weaver] chapter 10. I have taught So look in 2 Chronicles chapter 36, and one of my students in 4th grade, multitudes of years ago, was Hal Wiggins. He was a mischievous little boy, cute as he could be, who despised God. And Hal was always getting into something. Notice if you would, 2 Chronicles chapter 36 and verse 15. You need to make sure that you put this down in your mind, in your heart. And I sat down at my desk, and first thing Hal did was raise his hand. Verse 15, Now the Lord God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, that is the preachers, the prophets, rising up in times and sending because he had compassion for them. My little brother gummed it all the way to school. Do you know how you can tell when God has compassion upon people? I said, just hand it in anyhow, that'll be good, son. The answer is, he sends them, though maybe a little brother won't gum it up, that is for sure.

[John Weaver] But it is a joy to be here tonight. I appreciate the time I spent with your pastor and his family, and it was a joy to be with them and see God's creation. It is indeed a delight to see everything that God has done. the messengers of God, and despised his workers, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people, till there was no remedy.

[John Weaver] Therefore he brought upon them the king of the Chaldees, who slew their young men with a sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young men or old men or him that stood for age. He gave them all unto his hand.

[John Weaver] Now go back, if you would, to verse 16. We already saw in verse 15, God sent his messengers, watch, He sent messengers, plural, watch verse 16, but they mocked the messengers, plural, of God and despised His singular God's words. Tonight, I want you to open your the messengers were proclaiming God's word and what they were despising was the word coming through God's preachers. I want to preach. I can't preach them all. That is for sure.

[John Weaver] And when they some are old, some are new. But I want to deal with some things. I hope there will be a blessing to you brought upon. And I would indeed teach you through their young. So if you look in Proverbs, chapter 14, verse two, no compassion, a message I want to bring tonight is entitled to Christians who despise God. Proverbs 14, verse 2, the Scripture says, You know, it would probably be something of a shock If I told the average church, one of the problems that you have in your church is you despise God. You ask the average professing Christian, do you despise God?

[John Weaver] And you're going to get a resounding negative. In fact, you might get more than a negative. You may even get looked at in a very hard and incredulous manner, or you may even get hollered at or cussed out. In a Christian manner, of course. But most people will certainly profess to love Him, and certainly they would never ever admit to despising Him. However, there's a vast difference between what you and I would call a profession and an action. Each of us have used the old adage, I can't hear what you're saying for the way that you are acting.

[John Weaver] Our Lord made that exceedingly clear in the book of Matthew chapter 7 verse 16 when he said, you shall know them by their fruits. And then he asked, do men gather grapes of thorns or figs of thistles? And then he repeated the same truth in Matthew 7, verse 20, when he said, So let me just put it like this. In the strictest sense of the word, it really does not matter what your profession is.

[John Weaver] So I want you to listen to this application. It's how you live that counts. Is it possible for Christians to despise the one true God? Because your actions, who has revealed himself in the Lord Jesus Christ, and your conversation will always reveal what you really believe. Is it possible to despise the one truly whom you profess to love and serve? Because everything comes out of the heart.

[John Weaver] And the answer is absolutely yes. And the Bible says in Proverbs 4 and verse 23, keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life. Now if you look very closely at our text in Proverbs 14 and verse 2 he says it like this, he that walketh in his uprightness fears the Lord. He that walketh.

[John Weaver] Now stop and think about this, your walk is your life, it is your conduct, it is your action, it is how you live. So the Bible says he that is living and walking in his uprightness that is the individual that fears the Lord. And then he says, But he that is perverse in his ways despises them. So obviously then the man who walks in his uprightness, that is when he's walking in that which is right and righteous, when he's doing that which is ethical and moral according to God's law, that is a demonstration and reality of the fact that he actually fears God.

[John Weaver] obeys Him and He submits to Him. But now the latter part of that verse says this, But he that is perverse in his ways despiseth Him.

[John Weaver] Now a man's ways, once again, happens to be his conduct. It's his walk, it's how he lives. So God says then to the man that lives erroneously, a man that lives disobediently, the man who is crooked and forward and perverse, He is evidencing the fact that he does not fear God. He has no regard for God. He has no regard for the Word of God, and therefore, God says he despises him.

[John Weaver] Now, the interesting thing is when you look at verse 2, he says, And if he has committed something worthy of death, and there were two witnesses, you were actually put to death. That was it. There was no appeals court.

[John Weaver] to scorn, to treat as contemptible as Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses. Now watch the argument, verse 29, of how much sorer or worse punishment, suppose you shall he be thought worthy, who trodden under foot of the Son of God and encountered the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified as an unholy thing and done despise of God, holds God in contempt, and counts him as vile and worthless. Now, if I were to tell you tonight that some of you despise God, you'd probably get very upset with me and very shocked that I would even say such a thing. And yet, you and I understand that the world despises God. In fact, let me show you I want you to hold if you would go over chapter 4 if you died But look in your Bible in the Old Testament under Moses of Isaiah chapter 49 without mercy Isaiah 49 how much worse is it today to despise? Isaiah 49 verse 7 look what God says concerning his son the Lord Jesus Christ who is God in Isaiah 49 and verse 7 and Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel and His Holy One, to Him whom man despiseth, To him whom the nation abhorreth, and the word abhorreth is a strong

[John Weaver] word for AIDS, to a servant of rulers kings shall see and arise. Princes also shall worship. Because of the Lord that is faithful and the Holy One of Israel, he shall choose thee. But notice if you would how the Bible says that men despise the Lord Jesus Christ. And nations abhor him. They hate him. That is, they scorn Him as absolutely worthless and vile and contemptible. They have no use for Him.

[John Weaver] They have no regard for Him. Everyone in this room is familiar with Isaiah 53 and verse 3. When the Bible says concerning Jesus Christ, He is despised and rejected of men. A man of sorrow is unacquainted with grief. And we hid as it were our faces from Him. He was despised and we esteemed Him not.

[John Weaver] Now I want you to stop and think about this. The Bible says concerning Jesus Christ, He is despised and we esteemed Him not. You know what the word esteem means? He is despised and we did not even think it worth thinking about. We esteemed Him. In other words, it didn't bother us. It was not on our plate. We had other things to do. And that's basically the way it is today. Men despise Jesus Christ and we don't think anything about it. He is despised and we esteem him not. So it's obvious that the world does indeed despise Jesus Christ. The unbelievers despise Jesus Christ. Nations despise Jesus Christ. But is it possible for a real, genuine child of God to hold the Lord Jesus Christ and His Heavenly Father in such contempt and treat Him with scorn and derision and disdain? Is it possible for a real, genuine child of God to treat God as vile and contemptible and worthless?

[John Weaver] And the answer to those questions is unqualified, yes. And the fact is, most Christians do it regularly. Some even on a daily basis and some many times a day. Our Lord makes it very clear in the Bible that we're either going to love him or hate him. We're either going to serve him or deny him. In Matthew 6 and verse 24 he said it like this, no man can serve two masters for he will either hate the one and love the other or else he will what? Cling to the one and despise the other you cannot serve God and mammon. So our Lord says, you're either going to love me or you're going to hate me. You're either going to cling to me or you're going to despise me. It's just that simple.

[John Weaver] Now I'm talking about something tonight that most of you have probably never even considered in your mind. And you're going to sit there and you're going to say, well, Brother Weaver, you know, I know what you're saying, but I just don't think it's possible for a real genuine Christian to despise God. Well, perhaps it would help if I showed you an example in the Bible of a real, genuine Christian who despised God.

[John Weaver] In fact, before I show you that, I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Acts chapter 13. Acts chapter 13. And I want you to look at verse 22, because here we're going to read about David. David, of course, is known as a man after God's own heart. And the Bible says very distinctly and very clearly in Acts chapter 13 and verse 22, in reference to David, what God thought of David. The Bible says in verse 22 of Acts chapter 13, And when he, God, had removed him, that is Saul, he, God, raised up unto them David to be their king, to whom also he gave testimony and said, I found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfill all my will. Now notice if you would please, God specifically said that David was a man after his own heart.

[John Weaver] So let me just put it to you like this. If it is possible for David, who is known for his love and obedience to God, who is known as a man after God's own heart, if it's possible for David, who loved God, to despise Him, How much easier is it for you and I, who do not love him the way David did, to despise him as well? So you say, where did David despise God? Well, look in your Bibles, if you would, to 2 Samuel chapter 11, please. 2 Samuel chapter 11. 2 Samuel chapter 11. And notice, if you would, please, I'm sure that you know the story. David, in this particular passage, had committed adultery with Bathsheba.

[John Weaver] He had her husband Uriah the Hittite murdered with the sword of the children of Ammon. And then he tried to hide it. Notice if you would, if you would, in 2 Samuel 11, verses 26 and 27. The Bible says this, And when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband. And when the morning was passed, David sent and fetched her to his house, and she became his wife and bear him a son. But notice, if you would, but the thing that David had done displeased the Lord. So I want you to just kind of understand the word displeased. God was not at all pleased with what David had done. God was extremely displeased and upset. Now, you know the story how God sent Nathan to David, and he gives him this story in verse, chapter 12, beginning there, verse 1, and the Lord sent Nathan unto David, and he came unto him and said unto him, There were two men in one city, one rich and the other poor.

[John Weaver] and he goes down and he tells David about this rich man who took the poor man's little lamb that had been raised in his own bosom and was unto him as a daughter and how he spared to take of his own flock and how he killed this one little lamb and gave to this traveler who came along. Well, After David said the man that done this thing shall surely die and shall restore fourfold It was Nathan who said the art the man look in verse 7 watch carefully 2nd Samuel chapter 12 verse 7 and Nathan said unto David thou art the man Thus said the Lord God of Israel. I anointed the king over Israel and I delivered the out of the hand of Saul. I And I gave thee thy master's house and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah. And if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things. Now watch carefully. Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord to do evil in his sight?

[John Weaver] Thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with a sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon. Now therefore the sword shall never depart out from thine house, because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife. Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbor, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of the sun. For thou didst this thing secretly, But I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun. Now, I want you to note, if you would, please, what God said in verse nine, wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of God? What did David do? He despised God's commandments. I want you to think about this. The seventh commandment is thou shalt not commit adultery. The 8th commandment is thou shalt not steal. The 10th commandment is thou shalt not covet.

[John Weaver] Now we know that David coveted. We know that David stole. He stole Uriah's wife. We know that he committed adultery. He also committed murder. The 6th commandment is thou shalt not kill. I want you to note something. Do you realize before you can ever violate any commandment Especially verses commandments 5 through 10 before you can ever do that You have to violate the first commandment thou shalt have no other gods before me And I'm sure what David did David despised God's commandments He despised the law of God, by the way, that's the problem today in our land people despise God and they despise his law. I That's why they're not ashamed or afraid to sin openly and violently against God. Now, I want you to note something. Not only has God said in verse 9, wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord to do evil in his sight. In other words, it didn't bother David right then that he was doing that which was wicked and wrong. Note if you would, please. verse 10 he says now therefore the sword shall never depart out of thine house because thou hast despised me now wait a minute i thought david had despised god's commandment he did but now god is saying you've despised me because god and his law cannot be separated they are one And when you

[John Weaver] despise God's commandments, when you despise God's law, you're despising God. You're despising the God who gave that law. You're saying, I have no regard for the commandment. I have no regard for the God who gave that commandment. You're treating the commandment as vile and worthless and contemptible. You're holding it in scorn. And likewise, you're holding God in scorn and treating him as vile and contemptible and saying, in essence, if you knew anything at all, you would have even given this commandment. Wow. You're talking about lifting yourself up above God.

[John Weaver] Thou shalt have no other gods before me. You've just elevated yourself above God. You know what the Bible says in Psalm 138 in verse two? David said, I will worship toward thy holy temple and praise thy name for thy loving kindness and thy truth for thou hast magnified thy word above thy name. If God's word ever fails, then God is not God And so you cannot maintain one attitude toward the word of God and a different attitude toward God himself God and his law are one Let me show you I want you to turn in your bibles to the book of john chapter 12 and look at verse 48 John 12, verse 48. And look, if you would please, what our Lord Jesus Christ says.

[John Weaver] He puts all of these things together for us. So please understand, you can't say, well, I love the Bible, but I don't love Jesus Christ or I love Jesus Christ, but I just don't care about reading my Bible or studying my Bible. No, you can't say that. Well, you can say it, but it's not accurate because look, John 12, verse 48. Here's what our Lord said. He that rejected me, that is the living word, and receiveth not my words, that's the written words, hath one that judgeth him the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day." So notice if you would, just like God and His law are one, Jesus Christ and His word, or Jesus Christ and His law are one as well. So when a Christian then refuses to obey God, He is guilty of despising God's law. And then he's also equally guilty of despising the God who gave the law.

[John Weaver] Now, let me show you something that ought to really sink into your hearts. If I were to call you Esau, you would be very upset. And you should be. Esau was a profane man He was a fornicator. I want you to look at that passage. I want you to look in your Bibles to Hebrews chapter 12 And by the way also find in your Bibles 1st Corinthians chapter 6 1st Corinthians chapter 6 will go there after we go to Hebrews chapter 12 I want to show you something in Hebrews chapter 12 beginning there with verse 16. Then we'll go to 1 Corinthians 6. I want you to watch this. Hebrews 12, notice if you would please, let's begin with verse 15.

[John Weaver] God says, looking diligently, lest any man fail of the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you and thereby many be defiled. I have two messages. on the sin of bitterness. And the sin of bitterness always affects multitudes of people. He says, lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you. And then he says, thereby many be defiled. And then he says, lest there be any fornicator or profane person as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.

[John Weaver] For you know how that afterwards when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected. For he found no place of repentance, though he sought it, that is, the blessing, carefully with tears."

[John Weaver] Now, it's interesting that God called Esau a fornicator and a profane person. You know, I did a study several years back, and I went through the Bible and I dealt with fornication. It's interesting that when you find and when you study the word fornication in the Bible most of the time Most of the I would say 99 times out of 100 the word fornication deals with spiritual idolatry Not just the physical act when we think of a fornicator we think of the physical act God is calling Esau here a fornicator and And not necessarily because he committed an act of fornication, but because he committed spiritual fornication. Now, what in the world am I talking about spiritual fornication?

[John Weaver] Well, let me show you something. Go back in your Bibles. Hold Hebrews 12. We're coming back there. Go back in your Bibles. First Corinthians chapter six. First Corinthians chapter six. And let's begin reading their verse 13. First Corinthians six verse 13. God says, meats for the belly and the belly for meats, but God shall destroy both it and them.

[John Weaver] Now, the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord and the Lord for the body. So God made our bodies for himself. He did not make our bodies for fornication, watch. Verse 14, and God has both raised up the Lord and will also raise up us by his own power. Now he says this in verse 15, Know you not that your bodies are the members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them the members of a harlot? God forbid. Now, wait a minute.

[John Weaver] He's using a physical illustration to give you a spiritual truth. He said, Shall I then take the members of Christ? If you're saved, you're a member of the body of Christ. Shall I take the members of Christ and make them the members of Harlot? God forbid. What? Know you not that he which is joined to Harlot is one body? For two saith he shall be one flesh, but he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. Flea fornication, every sin that a man doeth is without the body, but he did commit a fornication, sin against his own body. And then he goes on to say, what know you not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which you have of God, you're not your own for your boat with a price, therefore glorify God in your body and your spirit, which are God's. Now, interestingly enough, he talks about the spiritual aspect of a physical act. So when a Christian then quote unquote commits physical fornication, if he's a real genuine Christian, since Christ is our head and we are his body, we're actually guilty of joining Jesus Christ to that harlot or joining Jesus Christ into that sin.

[John Weaver] In fact, in the Bible, God's complained of Israel. He said, thou has made me discern with thy sins. So what in the world is fornication? Listen to me. Fornication is an unlawful use of the body. When you go back to Hebrews chapter 12, God calls Esau a fornicator. Esau was the eldest son. And the Bible says that he despised his inheritance. He sold that inheritance for a morsel of bread or meat or pottage. What was the inheritance as the eldest son? He was to have a double portion of the inheritance. Why? Because as the eldest son, he was to take care of his aging parents.

[John Weaver] That would be his responsibility, his duty, his obligation. And I might add his privilege. He would also become head of the clan, he'd be the patriarch, so to speak, and it was also through this individual that the seed, the Messiah was to come. That was also part of that inheritance. And the Bible said he despised that inheritance. He despised his obligations, duties, responsibilities, and his privileges. And what he was going to do was use his body now for a mess of pottage. Do you realize we are fornicators against God anytime we use our bodies in an unlawful manner?

[John Weaver] And it doesn't have to do with sex necessarily. God also called him profane. You know what a profane person is? By the way, I have a message entitled Preaching Profanity. And I demonstrate from the Bible that most preachers actually preach profanity. Listen, profanity is more than taking God's name in vain. Profanity is far more than just using slang words. We get our English word profane from the Latin profanum.

[John Weaver] Phantom means temple, pro means before or in front of. So actually a profane person is someone who is outside of the temple or outside of the law of God is what it amounts to. Or outside of the recognizing God and obeying God and submitting to God. That's a profane individual. So God then is calling Esau not only a fornicator, but a profane person. So when we like Esau then refuse to obey God and fulfill our duties and obligations and responsibilities, we're fornicators and we're profane because we're treating God like you don't have any control over us. You don't have any say so in our lives.

[John Weaver] I can live my life the way I please. I can do what I want to do. It doesn't matter what you say. That's fornication. That's being profaned. Do you realize Israel was to be a peculiar people, and yet they constantly and consistently despised God and his law? I want to show you. I want you to turn in your Bibles, if you would, to the book of Leviticus, chapter 26. I want you to follow me. I want to show you a number of passages where God actually charges Israel with despising God. Notice, if you would, Leviticus chapter 26, beginning there with verse 13. Look what God tells him. Leviticus 26, verse 13. He says, I am the Lord your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt.

[John Weaver] that you should not be bondmen, and I have broken the bands of your yoke and made you to go upright. But if you will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments, and if you despise my statutes, and if your soul abhor my judgments, so that you will not do all my commandments, but that you break my covenant, I will do even this unto you." So God says, when you disobey me, You are despising my commandments. Has it ever dawned upon you that when you despise the word of God, you're despising God?

[John Weaver] Before I finish tonight, I'm going to show you another truth. Has it ever dawned upon you when you refuse to hear and heed and obey the word of God, you're despising God? I told you that one of the problems we have in our land today is Christians despise God. They take the attitude of those wicked people in Luke 19 when they say concerning Jesus Christ, we will not have this man to reign over us.

[John Weaver] I want you to look in your Bibles, if you would, Leviticus chapter 26 and verse 43. He says it again, Leviticus 26, verse 43. He says, The land also shall be left of them, and shall enjoy her sabbaths while she lieth desolate without them. And they shall accept of the punishment of their iniquity. Why? Because, even because they despised my judgments, and because their soul abhorred or hated my statutes.

[John Weaver] You're talking about people who hate God? People who despise God? Look in your Bibles to the book of Numbers chapter 11. Numbers chapter 11. Numbers 11. Notice if you would verse 20. Of course, this is where they were crying for meat. They got tired of all the manna. So God says, here's what I'm going to do. In fact, let's begin with verse 18. He said, And say thou unto the people, Sanctify yourselves against Amara, and you shall eat flesh. For have you wept in the ears of the Lord, saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? For as well with us in Egypt, Therefore the Lord will give you flesh and you shall eat you shall not eat one day nor two days nor five days neither ten days nor twenty days but even a whole month until it come out of your nostrils and It be loathsome unto you because that you have note despised the Lord Who is among you and have wept before him saying why came we forth out of Egypt?

[John Weaver] I Don't want to just take a lot of time on this, but please listen to me. When we murmur and complain and bellyache and gripe about the providence of God in our lives and we don't like it and we're chafing at the bit. That is a despising of God. That's exactly what these people did. Why did, why did we ever leave Egypt? We had it made in Egypt.

[John Weaver] We had fish and leeks and onions and garlic. Why did we leave Egypt? And most of us never stop and think about whining against God's providence. You know, I'm reading through the book of Job now again, and I am so astonished at the piety of Job. Can you imagine Job being one of the richest men in the East? And in one day, all of his camels are stolen, his asses are stolen, his sheep are stolen, his servants are killed, and then he lost 10 children, 10 in one day. And the scripture says, in all this, Job sinned not with his lips, nor charged God foolishly. Isn't that amazing? And any little thing that happens to us we don't like, we beliate and complain against God and accuse Him of not loving us.

[John Weaver] Look in your Bibles, Numbers chapter 14, verse 31. Numbers 14, verse 31. Of course, they despise Canaan land. They refuse to go in it. And God says, but your little ones, which you said should be a prey. Then will I bring in and they shall know the land which you have despised. Despising God's gifts. Is despising God as well. Look, if you would please. In verse. Oh, let's see. Verse of chapter 15, beginning of verse 29. Numbers 15, verse 29. Here it is again. Numbers 15, verse 29, God says you shall have one law for him that sent it through ignorance, both for him that is born among the children of Israel and for the stranger that sojourned among them. But the soul that doeth all presumptuously, whether he be born in land or stranger, the same reproacheth the Lord and that soul shall be cut off from among his people, because he hath despised the word of the Lord, and hath broken his commandment, that soul shall utterly be cut off, his iniquity shall

[John Weaver] be upon him. Did you see that? Because he had despised the word of the Lord. You can despise God's word. And when you do, you despise the God who gave the word. If you will look in your Bibles to the book of Isaiah chapter 5, Isaiah chapter 5. It's amazing how many times God says this over and over in the Bible. Look in Isaiah chapter 5, and let's begin reading with verse 20. Watch if you would. Isaiah chapter 5, verse 20. God says, what of them that call evil good and good evil?

[John Weaver] that put darkness for light and light for darkness, that put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Woe to them that are wise in their own eyes and prudent in their own sight. Woe to them that are mighty to drink wine and men of strength to mingle strong drink, which justify the wicked for reward and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him. Now watch. Therefore, as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust, because they have cast away the law of the Lord of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. Therefore, as the anger of the Lord kindled against his people, and he hath stretched forth his hand against them, and hath smitten them, and the hills did tremble, and their carcasses were torn in the midst of their streets, For all this as anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. Note verse 24 again. Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and flameth, consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust.

[John Weaver] Why? Because they have cast away the law of the Lord of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One.

[John Weaver] Now here's what a lot of people are going to say. Ah, Brother Weaver, all that's in the Old Testament. And you know what I always say, we have one Bible, not two. And we have one God, not two gods. And the God of the Old Testament is the God of the New Testament. Do you realize that God oftentimes teaches us by examples? In fact, I have a series of messages on how are you being taught. God's gonna teach us one way or the other.

[John Weaver] But I want you to look in your Bibles to Romans 15 and then to 1 Corinthians 6. Look in Romans 15. So you're gonna say, but that happened to Israel in the Old Testament. That has nothing to do with me. Really? Well, look in Romans 15 and verse 4. And then we're going to 1 Corinthians 10. Notice Romans 15 verse 4, the Bible says, for whatsoever things were written aforetime, that's the Old Testament, were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. Isn't that amazing? God said everything that was written aforetime was written for our learning. So God says you better learn from what happened in the Old Testament. Look in 1 Corinthians chapter 10, just to show you, beginning there with verse 1, 1 Corinthians 10 verse 1, The Apostle Paul writes,"'Moreover, brethren, I would not that you should be ignorant.'" I wouldn't want to be ignorant either, I can assure you, and I don't want God's people ignorant. So he says,"'Moreover, brethren, I would not that you should be ignorant, how that all of our fathers were under the cloud and all passed through the sea, and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea.'"

[John Weaver] and did all eat the same spiritual meat, and did all drink the same spiritual drink, for they drank of that spiritual rock that followed them. That rock was Christ."

[John Weaver] Now, we're talking about Israel in the Old Testament, are we not? We're talking about the exodus. We're talking about the wilderness wanderings. Watch verse 5. "'But with many of them God was not well pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness.'" I cannot help but smile every time I read this verse. "'But with many of them God was not well pleased.'" Many of them? You know how many of the original 603,550 men that came out of Egypt, you know how many of them got into Canaan land? Two. Joshua and Caleb. The rest of them died in the wilderness. But God says many of them, God was not well pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now watch verse six.

[John Weaver] Now these things were our examples. Isn't that amazing? Paul is making an application of what happened in the Old Testament to the Corinthian church. He said, but these things were our examples to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they lusted, neither being the idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play. Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand." You can read all these things in the Old Testament where God killed them. Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted and were destroyed of serpents. Neither murmur you, as some of them also murmured and were destroyed of the destroyer. Now all these things happened to them for in samples or examples, and they're written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the world are come. What's Paul saying? You better learn from people who despise God. You better hear what God is saying.

[John Weaver] Do you realize that there are warnings scattered throughout Scripture concerning despising God and His Word? Let me just show you a couple of them. Look in your Bibles to Proverbs chapter 1. deal with many of these, but there are a number of them. But look in Proverbs chapter one. Here are some very prominent ones. Proverbs chapter one. And notice, if you would, what the word of God says. Proverbs chapter one.

[John Weaver] And let's begin reading there. With verse 22. How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge. Turn you at my reproof. Behold, I will pour my spirit upon you. I will make known my words unto you."

[John Weaver] Now look what God says. Because I have called and you refused, I have stretched out my hand and no man regarded. You have said it not, all my counsel, that is, you despised it and would have none of my reproof. Here's what God says. I will also laugh at your calamity. I will mock when your fear cometh. When your fear cometh as desolation and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind, when distress and anguish cometh upon you, then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer.

[John Weaver] They shall seek me early, but they shall not find me. Why? For that they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord. They would none of my counsel and despised all of my reproof. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way and be filled with their own devices. Let me tell you something, folks. You despise God's Word, you despise God. You despise God's way and God's will. And God in absolute justice will let you have your will and your way.

[John Weaver] And it will be destruction. Look in your Bibles to Proverbs chapter 13 and verse 13. Proverbs 13 verse 13.

[John Weaver] Look what God says. Whoso despiseth the word shall be destroyed, but he that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded. Wow, that's almost Proverbs 14 verse two again. Whoso despiseth the word shall be destroyed, but he that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded. Look in Proverbs chapter 19 and verse six, Proverbs 19 and verse six. 16 it is, Proverbs 19, verse 16. God says, he that keepeth the commandment keepeth his own soul. But he that despiseth his ways, that is God's ways, shall die. You keep your command, God's commandments, you keep your own soul. You despise God's ways and you die. Now there's a general principle that God lays down in 1 Samuel 2, in verse 30. You know what God says? God says them that honor me. Well, our honor set the Lord and those that despise me shall be lightly esteemed. If you want God to hear your prayer, if you want God to honor the work of your hands, if you want God to honor your family, you need to learn to honor him.

[John Weaver] You need to learn to obey his word and submit to his law. Let me ask you a question.

[John Weaver] Now we should stop and think about this. Is it any wonder that oftentimes, most of the time, our prayers are unanswered? When you stop and think how we despise God and dishonor Him, who wants to bless a disobedient child? Who wants to honor a dishonorable child? One of my favorite stories concerns my two oldest grandchildren. They were two years old. They're now 28. Well, they were two years old. They each one of wanted a pair of cow boots. They couldn't even say cowboy boots. They they called them cow boots.

[John Weaver] And the truth of the matter is this I had 20 bucks to my name. That was it. And we needed to buy some groceries. And so Alice and I took those two grandbabies to the store. just to let them try on some cowboy boots. And we were going to come back later and buy them for them. So we put them on, and they walked around in those cowboy boots looking and smiling.

[John Weaver] So we got ready to go. We took the cowboy boots off. We put them back in the boxes. We put them back up. We kind of marked them because we were going to come back and get them. And I picked up the little boy, had him in my arms. She picked up a little girl, had her in her arms. And just as we started walking away, Casey, my oldest grandson, look with that look in his eyes and did this. Bye bye, cowboots. And I looked at Alice and said, Get him, we'll go hungry.

[John Weaver] Now let me tell you something, if that kid had jumped on the floor and pitched a fit and started slamming the floor up and down and hollering, I want him, I want him, I want him, I'll guarantee you he'd have never got him from me. No one wants to honor a dishonorable child. No one wants to bless a disobedient child. The same thing is true with our Heavenly Father.

[John Weaver] Do you know what He asked in Malachi chapter 1 and verse 6? And He was talking to the priest. He said this, A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If I then be a father, where is my honor? If I be a master, where is my fear? Saith the Lord of hosts unto you, O priest, who despise my name. Here's what God's saying. I'm not going to honor you if you despise me.

[John Weaver] He that despises me shall be lightly esteemed. I want you to turn in your Bibles to first Thessalonians chapter four. I want you to watch this. Because you see, I've already shown you from the scripture what David did and how David despised God. You say, well, I don't think we can do that in the New Testament. Of course you can. I want you to look at it. 1 Thessalonians 4, verse 1. I have a series of eight messages on this passage entitled, Sanctification and Sexual Purity, but I want you to look at it just generally. 1 Thessalonians 4, verse 1.

[John Weaver] Paul says, furthermore, then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus that as you have received of us how you ought to walk Remember he that walketh in his uprightness feareth the Lord how you ought to walk and to please God So you would abound more and more for you know, what commandments? We gave you by the Lord Jesus Now watch carefully for this is the will of God even your sanctification That you should abstain from fornication well that deals with the seventh commandment and that deals with the 8th commandment, that deals with the 10th commandment, and also the 1st commandment as well. So he says that you should abstain from fornication, that every one of you should know how to possess his vessel, that is his body, in sanctification and honor, not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles or the pagans who know not God, that no man go

Christians Who Despise God

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	65172039502
Subject	Covenant Theology
Course	Covenant Theology: Obedience, Disobedience, and National Judgment
Genre	Sermon
Date	2017-06-05
Dictation Name
Book	Book 044: Covenant Theology: Obedience, Disobedience, and National Judgment — Chapter 6
Source Timed Segments	69

Formatted Transcript

Introduction: The Problem of Despising God

Weaver introduces the shocking idea that many professing Christians actually despise God, despite their claims of love, and that actions reveal true beliefs.

Chapter 10. I have taught—so look in 2 Chronicles chapter 36. And one of my students in 4th grade, multitudes of years ago, was Hal Wiggins. He was a mischievous little boy, cute as he could be, who despised God. And Hal was always getting into something. Notice if you would, 2 Chronicles chapter 36 and verse 15. You need to make sure that you put this down in your mind, in your heart. And I sat down at my desk, and first thing Hal did was raise his hand. Verse 15,

Scripture Reading — 2 Chronicles 36:15-16

"Now the Lord God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, that is the preachers, the prophets, rising up in times and sending because he had compassion for them."

My little brother gummed it all the way to school. Do you know how you can tell when God has compassion upon people? I said, "Just hand it in anyhow, that'll be good, son." The answer is, He sends them, though maybe a little brother won't gum it up, that is for sure.

But it is a joy to be here tonight. I appreciate the time I spent with your pastor and his family, and it was a joy to be with them and see God's creation. It is indeed a delight to see everything that God has done. The messengers of God, and despised his workers, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people, till there was no remedy.

Therefore he brought upon them the king of the Chaldees, who slew their young men with a sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young men or old men or him that stood for age. He gave them all unto his hand. Now go back, if you would, to verse 16. We already saw in verse 15, God sent his messengers, watch, He sent messengers, plural, watch verse 16, "but they mocked the messengers, plural, of God and despised His"—singular—"God's words." Tonight, I want you to open your—the messengers were proclaiming God's word and what they were despising was the word coming through God's preachers. I want to preach. I can't preach them all. That is for sure.

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 14:2

And when they—some are old, some are new. But I want to deal with some things. I hope there will be a blessing to you brought upon. And I would indeed teach you through their young. So if you look in Proverbs, chapter 14, verse two, no compassion, a message I want to bring tonight is entitled "Christians Who Despise God." Proverbs 14, verse 2, the Scripture says, You know, it would probably be something of a shock if I told the average church, one of the problems that you have in your church is you despise God. You ask the average professing Christian, do you despise God? And you're going to get a resounding negative. In fact, you might get more than a negative. You may even get looked at in a very hard and incredulous manner, or you may even get hollered at or cussed out. In a Christian manner, of course. But most people will certainly profess to love Him, and certainly they would never ever admit to despising Him. However, there's a vast difference between what you and I would call a profession and an action. Each of us have used the old adage, "I can't hear what you're saying for the way that you are acting."

Our Lord made that exceedingly clear in the book of Matthew chapter 7 verse 16 when he said, "you shall know them by their fruits." And then he asked, "do men gather grapes of thorns or figs of thistles?" And then he repeated the same truth in Matthew 7, verse 20, when he said, So let me just put it like this. In the strictest sense of the word, it really does not matter what your profession is. So I want you to listen to this application. It's how you live that counts. Is it possible for Christians to despise the one true God? Because your actions, who has revealed himself in the Lord Jesus Christ, and your conversation will always reveal what you really believe. Is it possible to despise the one truly whom you profess to love and serve? Because everything comes out of the heart.

And the answer is absolutely yes. And the Bible says in Proverbs 4 and verse 23, "keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life." Now if you look very closely at our text in Proverbs 14 and verse 2 he says it like this,

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 14:2

"he that walketh in his uprightness fears the Lord. He that walketh."

Biblical Definition: Walk Reveals Fear or Despising

From Proverbs 14:2, Weaver explains that a righteous walk demonstrates fear of the Lord, while a perverse walk shows contempt for God.

Now stop and think about this, your walk is your life, it is your conduct, it is your action, it is how you live. So the Bible says he that is living and walking in his uprightness that is the individual that fears the Lord. And then he says, "But he that is perverse in his ways despises them." So obviously then the man who walks in his uprightness, that is when he's walking in that which is right and righteous, when he's doing that which is ethical and moral according to God's law, that is a demonstration and reality of the fact that he actually fears God. obeys Him and He submits to Him. But now the latter part of that verse says this, "But he that is perverse in his ways despiseth Him."

Now a man's ways, once again, happens to be his conduct. It's his walk, it's how he lives. So God says then to the man that lives erroneously, a man that lives disobediently, the man who is crooked and forward and perverse, He is evidencing the fact that he does not fear God. He has no regard for God. He has no regard for the Word of God, and therefore, God says he despises him.

Now, the interesting thing is when you look at verse 2, he says, And if he has committed something worthy of death, and there were two witnesses, you were actually put to death. That was it. There was no appeals court.

The World Despises Christ

Scriptures like Isaiah 49:7 and 53:3 show that the world and nations despise and reject Jesus Christ, holding Him in contempt.

to scorn, to treat as contemptible as Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses. Now watch the argument, verse 29, "of how much sorer or worse punishment, suppose you shall he be thought worthy, who trodden under foot of the Son of God and encountered the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified as an unholy thing and done despise of God," holds God in contempt, and counts him as vile and worthless. Now, if I were to tell you tonight that some of you despise God, you'd probably get very upset with me and very shocked that I would even say such a thing. And yet, you and I understand that the world despises God. In fact, let me show you I want you to hold if you would go over chapter 4 if you died But look in your Bible in the Old Testament under Moses of Isaiah chapter 49 without mercy Isaiah 49 how much worse is it today to despise? Isaiah 49 verse 7 look what God says concerning his son the Lord Jesus Christ who is God in Isaiah 49 and verse 7 and Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel and His Holy One, to Him whom man despiseth, To him whom the nation abhorreth, and the word abhorreth is a strong

word for AIDS, to a servant of rulers kings shall see and arise. Princes also shall worship. Because of the Lord that is faithful and the Holy One of Israel, he shall choose thee. But notice if you would how the Bible says that men despise the Lord Jesus Christ. And nations abhor him. They hate him. That is, they scorn Him as absolutely worthless and vile and contemptible. They have no use for Him.

They have no regard for Him. Everyone in this room is familiar with Isaiah 53 and verse 3. When the Bible says concerning Jesus Christ,

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 53:3

"He is despised and rejected of men. A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid as it were our faces from Him. He was despised and we esteemed Him not."

Now I want you to stop and think about this. The Bible says concerning Jesus Christ, "He is despised and we esteemed Him not." You know what the word esteem means? He is despised and we did not even think it worth thinking about. We esteemed Him. In other words, it didn't bother us. It was not on our plate. We had other things to do. And that's basically the way it is today. Men despise Jesus Christ and we don't think anything about it. He is despised and we esteem him not. So it's obvious that the world does indeed despise Jesus Christ. The unbelievers despise Jesus Christ. Nations despise Jesus Christ. But is it possible for a real, genuine child of God to hold the Lord Jesus Christ and His Heavenly Father in such contempt and treat Him with scorn and derision and disdain? Is it possible for a real, genuine child of God to treat God as vile and contemptible and worthless?

Christians Can Despise God

Weaver asserts that genuine believers can and do despise God regularly, citing Matthew 6:24 on serving two masters.

And the answer to those questions is unqualified, yes. And the fact is, most Christians do it regularly. Some even on a daily basis and some many times a day. Our Lord makes it very clear in the Bible that we're either going to love him or hate him. We're either going to serve him or deny him. In Matthew 6 and verse 24 he said it like this,

Scripture Reading — Matthew 6:24

"no man can serve two masters for he will either hate the one and love the other or else he will what? Cling to the one and despise the other you cannot serve God and mammon."

So our Lord says, you're either going to love me or you're going to hate me. You're either going to cling to me or you're going to despise me. It's just that simple.

Now I'm talking about something tonight that most of you have probably never even considered in your mind. And you're going to sit there and you're going to say, well, Brother Weaver, you know, I know what you're saying, but I just don't think it's possible for a real genuine Christian to despise God. Well, perhaps it would help if I showed you an example in the Bible of a real, genuine Christian who despised God.

David: A Man After God's Heart Who Despised God

Using 2 Samuel 11–12, Weaver shows that David, a man after God's own heart, despised God's commandment and thus despised God Himself.

In fact, before I show you that, I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Acts chapter 13. Acts chapter 13. And I want you to look at verse 22, because here we're going to read about David. David, of course, is known as a man after God's own heart. And the Bible says very distinctly and very clearly in Acts chapter 13 and verse 22, in reference to David, what God thought of David. The Bible says in verse 22 of Acts chapter 13,

Scripture Reading — Acts 13:22

"And when he, God, had removed him, that is Saul, he, God, raised up unto them David to be their king, to whom also he gave testimony and said, I found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfill all my will."

Now notice if you would please, God specifically said that David was a man after his own heart.

So let me just put it to you like this. If it is possible for David, who is known for his love and obedience to God, who is known as a man after God's own heart, if it's possible for David, who loved God, to despise Him, how much easier is it for you and I, who do not love him the way David did, to despise him as well? So you say, where did David despise God? Well, look in your Bibles, if you would, to 2 Samuel chapter 11, please. 2 Samuel chapter 11. 2 Samuel chapter 11. And notice, if you would, please, I'm sure that you know the story. David, in this particular passage, had committed adultery with Bathsheba.

He had her husband Uriah the Hittite murdered with the sword of the children of Ammon. And then he tried to hide it. Notice if you would, if you would, in 2 Samuel 11, verses 26 and 27. The Bible says this,

Scripture Reading — 2 Samuel 11:26-27

"And when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband. And when the mourning was passed, David sent and fetched her to his house, and she became his wife and bare him a son. But notice, if you would, but the thing that David had done displeased the Lord."

So I want you to just kind of understand the word displeased. God was not at all pleased with what David had done. God was extremely displeased and upset. Now, you know the story how God sent Nathan to David, and he gives him this story in verse, chapter 12, beginning there, verse 1, "and the Lord sent Nathan unto David, and he came unto him and said unto him, There were two men in one city, one rich and the other poor."

and he goes down and he tells David about this rich man who took the poor man's little lamb that had been raised in his own bosom and was unto him as a daughter and how he spared to take of his own flock and how he killed this one little lamb and gave to this traveler who came along. Well, after David said the man that done this thing shall surely die and shall restore fourfold, it was Nathan who said "thou art the man." Look in verse 7, watch carefully, 2 Samuel chapter 12 verse 7, "and Nathan said unto

Scripture Reading — 2 Samuel 12:7-10

David, thou art the man. Thus saith the Lord God of Israel. I anointed thee king over Israel and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul. And I gave thee thy master's house and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah. And if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things. Now watch carefully. Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord to do evil in his sight?"

"Thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with a sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon. Now therefore the sword shall never depart out from thine house, because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife. Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbor, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of the sun. For thou didst this thing secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun." Now, I want you to note, if you would, please, what God said in verse nine, "wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of God?" What did David do? He despised God's commandments. I want you to think about this. The seventh commandment is "thou shalt not commit adultery." The 8th commandment is "thou shalt not steal." The 10th commandment is "thou shalt not covet."

Now we know that David coveted. We know that David stole. He stole Uriah's wife. We know that he committed adultery. He also committed murder. The 6th commandment is "thou shalt not kill." I want you to note something. Do you realize before you can ever violate any commandment, especially verses commandments 5 through 10, before you can ever do that, you have to violate the first commandment "thou shalt have no other gods before me." And I'm sure what David did, David despised God's commandments. He despised the law of God, by the way, that's the problem today in our land people despise God and they despise his law. That's why they're not ashamed or afraid to sin openly and violently against God. Now, I want you to note something. Not only has God said in verse 9, "wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord to do evil in his sight." In other words, it didn't bother David right then that he was doing that which was wicked and wrong. Note if you would, please. verse 10 he says "now therefore the sword shall never depart out of thine house because thou hast despised me." Now wait a minute. I thought David had despised God's commandment. He did, but now God is saying "you've despised me" because God and his law cannot be separated. They are one. And when you

despise God's commandments, when you despise God's law, you're despising God. You're despising the God who gave that law. You're saying, "I have no regard for the commandment. I have no regard for the God who gave that commandment." You're treating the commandment as vile and worthless and contemptible. You're holding it in scorn. And likewise, you're holding God in scorn and treating him as vile and contemptible and saying, in essence, if you knew anything at all, you would have even given this commandment. Wow. You're talking about lifting yourself up above God.

"Thou shalt have no other gods before me." You've just elevated yourself above God. You know what the Bible says in Psalm 138 in verse two? David said,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 138:2

"I will worship toward thy holy temple and praise thy name for thy loving kindness and thy truth for thou hast magnified thy word above thy name."

If God's word ever fails, then God is not God. And so you cannot maintain one attitude toward the word of God and a different attitude toward God himself. God and his law are one. Let me show you. I want you to turn in your bibles to the book of John chapter 12 and look at verse 48. John 12, verse 48. And look, if you would please, what our Lord Jesus Christ says.

God and His Law Are One

Weaver argues from John 12:48 that rejecting God's words is rejecting God, so despising His law is despising Him.

"Thou shalt have no other gods before me." You've just elevated yourself above God. You know what the Bible says in Psalm 138 in verse two? David said,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 138:2

"I will worship toward thy holy temple and praise thy name for thy loving kindness and thy truth for thou hast magnified thy word above thy name."

He puts all of these things together for us. So please understand, you can't say, well, I love the Bible, but I don't love Jesus Christ or I love Jesus Christ, but I just don't care about reading my Bible or studying my Bible. No, you can't say that. Well, you can say it, but it's not accurate because look, John 12, verse 48. Here's what our Lord said.

Scripture Reading — John 12:48

"He that rejecteth me, that is the living word, and receiveth not my words, that's the written words, hath one that judgeth him the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day."

So notice if you would, just like God and His law are one, Jesus Christ and His word, or Jesus Christ and His law are one as well. So when a Christian then refuses to obey God, He is guilty of despising God's law. And then he's also equally guilty of despising the God who gave the law.

Now, let me show you something that ought to really sink into your hearts. If I were to call you Esau, you would be very upset. And you should be. Esau was a profane man. He was a fornicator. I want you to look at that passage. I want you to look in your Bibles to Hebrews chapter 12. And by the way also find in your Bibles 1st Corinthians chapter 6. 1st Corinthians chapter 6 will go there after we go to Hebrews chapter 12. I want to show you something in Hebrews chapter 12 beginning there with verse 16. Then we'll go to 1 Corinthians 6. I want you to watch this. Hebrews 12, notice if you would please, let's begin with verse 15.

God says, "looking diligently, lest any man fail of the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you and thereby many be defiled." I have two messages on the sin of bitterness. And the sin of bitterness always affects multitudes of people. He says, "lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you." And then he says, "thereby many be defiled." And then he says, "lest there be any fornicator or profane person as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright."

Esau as a Fornicator and Profane Person

Hebrews 12:16 calls Esau a fornicator and profane person for despising his birthright, illustrating spiritual unfaithfulness and disregard for God's authority.

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 12:15-17

Now, it's interesting that God called Esau a fornicator and a profane person. You know, I did a study several years back, and I went through the Bible and I dealt with fornication. It's interesting that when you find and when you study the word fornication in the Bible most of the time, most of the—I would say 99 times out of 100—the word fornication deals with spiritual idolatry, not just the physical act. When we think of a fornicator we think of the physical act. God is calling Esau here a fornicator, and not necessarily because he committed an act of fornication, but because he committed spiritual fornication. Now, what in the world am I talking about spiritual fornication? Well, let me show you something. Go back in your Bibles. Hold Hebrews 12. We're coming back there. Go back in your Bibles. First Corinthians chapter six. First Corinthians chapter six. And let's begin reading there verse 13. First Corinthians six verse 13. God says, "meats for the belly and the belly for meats, but God shall destroy both it and them."

"Now, the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord and the Lord for the body." So God made our bodies for himself. He did not make our bodies for fornication, watch. Verse 14, "and God has both raised up the Lord and will also raise up us by his own power." Now he says this in verse 15, "Know you not that your bodies are the members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them the members of a harlot? God forbid." Now, wait a minute. He's using a physical illustration to give you a spiritual truth. He said, "Shall I then take the members of Christ?" If you're saved, you're a member of the body of Christ. "Shall I take the members of Christ and make them the members of a harlot? God forbid. What? Know you not that he which is joined to a harlot is one body? For two saith he shall be one flesh, but he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. Flee fornication, every sin that a man doeth is without the body, but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body." And then he goes on to say, "what know you not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which you have of God, you're not your own for you are bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your body and your spirit, which are God's." Now, interestingly enough, he talks about the spiritual aspect of a physical act. So when a Christian then quote unquote commits physical fornication, if he's a real genuine Christian, since Christ is our head and we are his body, we're actually guilty of joining Jesus Christ to that harlot or joining Jesus Christ into that sin.

In fact, in the Bible, God's complained of Israel. He said, "thou hast made me to serve with thy sins." So what in the world is fornication? Listen to me. Fornication is an unlawful use of the body. When you go back to Hebrews chapter 12, God calls Esau a fornicator. Esau was the eldest son. And the Bible says that he despised his inheritance. He sold that inheritance for a morsel of bread or meat or pottage. What was the inheritance as the eldest son? He was to have a double portion of the inheritance. Why? Because as the eldest son, he was to take care of his aging parents.

That would be his responsibility, his duty, his obligation. And I might add his privilege. He would also become head of the clan, he'd be the patriarch, so to speak, and it was also through this individual that the seed, the Messiah was to come. That was also part of that inheritance. And the Bible said he despised that inheritance. He despised his obligations, duties, responsibilities, and his privileges. And what he was going to do was use his body now for a mess of pottage. Do you realize we are fornicators against God anytime we use our bodies in an unlawful manner?

And it doesn't have to do with sex necessarily. God also called him profane. You know what a profane person is? By the way, I have a message entitled "Preaching Profanity." And I demonstrate from the Bible that most preachers actually preach profanity. Listen, profanity is more than taking God's name in vain. Profanity is far more than just using slang words. We get our English word profane from the Latin profanum.

Phanum means temple, pro means before or in front of. So actually a profane person is someone who is outside of the temple or outside of the law of God is what it amounts to. Or outside of the recognizing God and obeying God and submitting to God. That's a profane individual. So God then is calling Esau not only a fornicator, but a profane person. So when we like Esau then refuse to obey God and fulfill our duties and obligations and responsibilities, we're fornicators and we're profane because we're treating God like you don't have any control over us. You don't have any say so in our lives.

I can live my life the way I please. I can do what I want to do. It doesn't matter what you say. That's fornication. That's being profane. Do you realize Israel was to be a peculiar people, and yet they constantly and consistently despised God and his law? I want to show you. I want you to turn in your Bibles, if you would, to the book of Leviticus, chapter 26. I want you to follow me. I want to show you a number of passages where God actually charges Israel with despising God. Notice, if you would, Leviticus chapter 26, beginning there with verse 13. Look what God tells him. Leviticus 26, verse 13. He says, "I am the Lord your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt."

Old Testament Examples of Despising God

Weaver cites multiple Old Testament passages (Leviticus 26, Numbers 11, 14, 15, Isaiah 5) where Israel despised God's statutes, gifts, and word, bringing judgment.

"that you should not be bondmen, and I have broken the bands of your yoke and made you to go upright. But if you will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments, and if you despise my statutes, and if your soul abhor my judgments, so that you will not do all my commandments, but that you break my covenant, I will do even this unto you." So God says, when you disobey me, you are despising my commandments. Has it ever dawned upon you that when you despise the word of God, you're despising God? Before I finish tonight, I'm going to show you another truth. Has it ever dawned upon you when you refuse to hear and heed and obey the word of God, you're despising God? I told you that one of the problems we have in our land today is Christians despise God. They take the attitude of those wicked people in Luke 19 when they say concerning Jesus Christ, "we will not have this man to reign over us."

I want you to look in your Bibles, if you would, Leviticus chapter 26 and verse 43. He says it again, Leviticus 26, verse 43. He says, "The land also shall be left of them, and shall enjoy her sabbaths while she lieth desolate without them. And they shall accept of the punishment of their iniquity. Why? Because, even because they despised my judgments, and because their soul abhorred or hated my statutes." You're talking about people who hate God? People who despise God? Look in your Bibles to the book of Numbers chapter 11. Numbers chapter 11. Numbers 11. Notice if you would verse 20. Of course, this is where they were crying for meat. They got tired of all the manna. So God says, here's what I'm going to do. In fact, let's begin with verse 18. He said,

Scripture Reading — Numbers 11:18-20

"And say thou unto the people, Sanctify yourselves against tomorrow, and you shall eat flesh. For have you wept in the ears of the Lord, saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? For it was well with us in Egypt. Therefore the Lord will give you flesh and you shall eat. You shall not eat one day nor two days nor five days neither ten days nor twenty days but even a whole month until it come out of your nostrils and it be loathsome unto you because that you have despised the Lord who is among you and have wept before him saying why came we forth out of Egypt?"

I don't want to just take a lot of time on this, but please listen to me. When we murmur and complain and bellyache and gripe about the providence of God in our lives and we don't like it and we're chafing at the bit, that is a despising of God. That's exactly what these people did. Why did we ever leave Egypt? We had it made in Egypt. We had fish and leeks and onions and garlic. Why did we leave Egypt? And most of us never stop and think about whining against God's providence. You know, I'm reading through the book of Job now again, and I am so astonished at the piety of Job. Can you imagine Job being one of the richest men in the East? And in one day, all of his camels are stolen, his asses are stolen, his sheep are stolen, his servants are killed, and then he lost 10 children, 10 in one day. And the scripture says, "in all this, Job sinned not with his lips, nor charged God foolishly." Isn't that amazing? And any little thing that happens to us we don't like, we bellyache and complain against God and accuse Him of not loving us.

Look in your Bibles, Numbers chapter 14, verse 31. Numbers 14, verse 31. Of course, they despise Canaan land. They refuse to go in it. And God says,

Scripture Reading — Numbers 14:31

"but your little ones, which you said should be a prey, them will I bring in and they shall know the land which you have despised."

Despising God's gifts is despising God as well. Look, if you would please. In verse—oh, let's see. Verse of chapter 15, beginning of verse 29. Numbers 15, verse 29. Here it is again. Numbers 15, verse 29, God says "you shall have one law for him that sinneth through ignorance, both for him that is born among the children of Israel and for the stranger that sojourneth among them. But the soul that doeth aught presumptuously, whether he be born in the land or a stranger, the same reproacheth the Lord and that soul shall be cut off from among his people, because he hath despised the word of the Lord, and hath broken his commandment, that soul shall utterly be cut off, his iniquity shall

be upon him." Did you see that? Because he had despised the word of the Lord. You can despise God's word. And when you do, you despise the God who gave the word. If you will look in your Bibles to the book of Isaiah chapter 5, Isaiah chapter 5. It's amazing how many times God says this over and over in the Bible. Look in Isaiah chapter 5, and let's begin reading with verse 20. Watch if you would. Isaiah chapter 5, verse 20. God says, "woe unto them that call evil good and good evil;

that put darkness for light and light for darkness, that put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Woe to them that are wise in their own eyes and prudent in their own sight. Woe to them that are mighty to drink wine and men of strength to mingle strong drink, which justify the wicked for reward and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him. Now watch. Therefore, as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust, because they have cast away the law of the Lord of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. Therefore, as the anger of the Lord kindled against his people, and he hath stretched forth his hand against them, and hath smitten them, and the hills did tremble, and their carcasses were torn in the midst of their streets, for all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still." Note verse 24 again. "Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust.

Why? Because they have cast away the law of the Lord of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One." Now here's what a lot of people are going to say. "Ah, Brother Weaver, all that's in the Old Testament." And you know what I always say, we have one Bible, not two. And we have one God, not two gods. And the God of the Old Testament is the God of the New Testament. Do you realize that God oftentimes teaches us by examples? In fact, I have a series of messages on how are you being taught. God's gonna teach us one way or the other.

New Testament Warnings and Applications

Using Romans 15:4 and 1 Corinthians 10, Weaver applies Old Testament examples to New Testament believers, warning that despising God's word leads to destruction.

But I want you to look in your Bibles to Romans 15 and then to 1 Corinthians 6. Look in Romans 15. So you're gonna say, "but that happened to Israel in the Old Testament. That has nothing to do with me." Really? Well, look in Romans 15 and verse 4. And then we're going to 1 Corinthians 10. Notice Romans 15 verse 4, the Bible says, "for whatsoever things were written aforetime, that's the Old Testament, were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope." Isn't that amazing? God said everything that was written aforetime was written for our learning. So God says you better learn from what happened in the Old Testament. Look in 1 Corinthians chapter 10, just to show you, beginning there with verse 1, 1 Corinthians 10 verse 1, The Apostle Paul writes, "Moreover, brethren, I would not that you should be ignorant." I wouldn't want to be ignorant either, I can assure you, and I don't want God's people ignorant. So he says, "Moreover, brethren, I would not that you should be ignorant, how that all of our fathers were under the cloud and all passed through the sea, and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea."

"and did all eat the same spiritual meat, and did all drink the same spiritual drink, for they drank of that spiritual rock that followed them. That rock was Christ." Now, we're talking about Israel in the Old Testament, are we not? We're talking about the exodus. We're talking about the wilderness wanderings. Watch verse 5. "But with many of them God was not well pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness." I cannot help but smile every time I read this verse. "But with many of them God was not well pleased." Many of them? You know how many of the original 603,550 men that came out of Egypt, you know how many of them got into Canaan land? Two. Joshua and Caleb. The rest of them died in the wilderness. But God says many of them, God was not well pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now watch verse six.

"Now these things were our examples." Isn't that amazing? Paul is making an application of what happened in the Old Testament to the Corinthian church. He said, "but these things were our examples to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they lusted, neither be ye idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play. Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand." You can read all these things in the Old Testament where God killed them. "Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted and were destroyed of serpents. Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured and were destroyed of the destroyer. Now all these things happened to them for ensamples or examples, and they're written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the world are come." What's Paul saying? You better learn from people who despise God. You better hear what God is saying.

Do you realize that there are warnings scattered throughout Scripture concerning despising God and His Word? Let me just show you a couple of them. Look in your Bibles to Proverbs chapter 1. deal with many of these, but there are a number of them. But look in Proverbs chapter one. Here are some very prominent ones. Proverbs chapter one. And notice, if you would, what the word of God says. Proverbs chapter one.

And let's begin reading there. With verse 22. "How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge. Turn you at my reproof. Behold, I will pour my spirit upon you. I will make known my words unto you."

Now look what God says. "Because I have called and you refused, I have stretched out my hand and no man regarded. You have set at nought all my counsel, that is, you despised it and would have none of my reproof. Here's what God says. I will also laugh at your calamity. I will mock when your fear cometh. When your fear cometh as desolation and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind, when distress and anguish cometh upon you, then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer."

"They shall seek me early, but they shall not find me. Why? For that they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord. They would none of my counsel and despised all of my reproof. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way and be filled with their own devices." Let me tell you something, folks. You despise God's Word, you despise God. You despise God's way and God's will. And God in absolute justice will let you have your will and your way.

Consequences and Call to Honor God

Weaver concludes with Proverbs 13:13, 19:16, and 1 Samuel 2:30, emphasizing that those who despise God will be lightly esteemed and face judgment, while honoring God brings blessing.

And it will be destruction. Look in your Bibles to Proverbs chapter 13 and verse 13. Proverbs 13 verse 13.

Look what God says. "Whoso despiseth the word shall be destroyed, but he that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded." Wow, that's almost Proverbs 14 verse two again. "Whoso despiseth the word shall be destroyed, but he that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded." Look in Proverbs chapter 19 and verse six, Proverbs 19 and verse six. 16 it is, Proverbs 19, verse 16. God says, "he that keepeth the commandment keepeth his own soul. But he that despiseth his ways, that is God's ways, shall die." You keep God's commandments, you keep your own soul. You despise God's ways and you die. Now there's a general principle that God lays down in 1 Samuel 2, in verse 30. You know what God says? God says "them that honor me I will honor, and those that despise me shall be lightly esteemed." If you want God to hear your prayer, if you want God to honor the work of your hands, if you want God to honor your family, you need to learn to honor him.

You need to learn to obey his word and submit to his law. Let me ask you a question. Now we should stop and think about this. Is it any wonder that oftentimes, most of the time, our prayers are unanswered? When you stop and think how we despise God and dishonor Him, who wants to bless a disobedient child? Who wants to honor a dishonorable child? One of my favorite stories concerns my two oldest grandchildren. They were two years old. They're now 28. Well, they were two years old. They each one wanted a pair of cowboy boots. They couldn't even say cowboy boots. They called them cow boots.

And the truth of the matter is this: I had 20 bucks to my name. That was it. And we needed to buy some groceries. And so Alice and I took those two grandbabies to the store, just to let them try on some cowboy boots. And we were going to come back later and buy them for them. So we put them on, and they walked around in those cowboy boots looking and smiling.

So we got ready to go. We took the cowboy boots off. We put them back in the boxes. We put them back up. We kind of marked them because we were going to come back and get them. And I picked up the little boy, had him in my arms. She picked up a little girl, had her in her arms. And just as we started walking away, Casey, my oldest grandson, looked with that look in his eyes and did this. "Bye bye, cowboots." And I looked at Alice and said, "Get them, we'll go hungry."

Now let me tell you something, if that kid had jumped on the floor and pitched a fit and started slamming the floor up and down and hollering, "I want them, I want them, I want them," I'll guarantee you he'd have never got them from me. No one wants to honor a dishonorable child. No one wants to bless a disobedient child. The same thing is true with our Heavenly Father. Do you know what He asked in Malachi chapter 1 and verse 6? And He was talking to the priest. He said this, "A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If I then be a father, where is my honor? If I be a master, where is my fear? Saith the Lord of hosts unto you, O priest, who despise my name." Here's what God's saying. I'm not going to honor you if you despise me.

"He that despises me shall be lightly esteemed." I want you to turn in your Bibles to first Thessalonians chapter four. I want you to watch this. Because you see, I've already shown you from the scripture what David did and how David despised God. You say, well, I don't think we can do that in the New Testament. Of course you can. I want you to look at it. 1 Thessalonians 4, verse 1. I have a series of eight messages on this passage entitled, "Sanctification and Sexual Purity," but I want you to look at it just generally. 1 Thessalonians 4, verse 1.

Paul says, "furthermore, then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus that as you have received of us how you ought to walk"—remember he that walketh in his uprightness feareth the Lord—"how you ought to walk and to please God, so you would abound more and more. For you know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus. Now watch carefully for this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that you should abstain from fornication." Well that deals with the seventh commandment and that deals with the 8th commandment, that deals with the 10th commandment, and also the 1st commandment as well. So he says "that you should abstain from fornication, that every one of you should know how to possess his vessel, that is his body, in sanctification and honor, not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles or the pagans who know not God, that no man go

Study Guide

Major Themes

Despising God through Disobedience

Summary: Disobedience to God's commandments is equated with despising God Himself, as seen in David's adultery and murder.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'when you despise God's commandments, when you despise God's law, you're despising God' (17:27.7-18:01.2).

Unity of God and His Word

Summary: God and His law are inseparable; rejecting God's Word is rejecting God, as Jesus taught in John 12:48.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'God and his law cannot be separated. They are one' (17:27.7-18:01.2).

Spiritual Fornication and Profanity

Summary: Using the body unlawfully or disregarding God's authority constitutes spiritual fornication and profanity, as exemplified by Esau.

Evidence: Weaver explains, 'Fornication is an unlawful use of the body... a profane person is someone who is outside of the temple or outside of the law of God' (25:37.8-28:06.7).

Old Testament Warnings for New Testament Believers

Summary: The Old Testament examples of Israel despising God serve as warnings for Christians today, as taught in Romans 15:4 and 1 Corinthians 10.

Evidence: Weaver cites Romans 15:4: 'whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning' (38:03.0-39:15.0).

Consequences of Despising God

Summary: Despising God leads to destruction, unanswered prayer, and being lightly esteemed, while honoring God brings blessing.

Evidence: Weaver quotes 1 Samuel 2:30: 'them that honor me I will honor, and those that despise me shall be lightly esteemed' (43:20.4-45:01.6).

Key Arguments

Actions reveal true beliefs

Summary: Profession of love for God is meaningless if one's walk is perverse; a righteous walk demonstrates fear of the Lord.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'It's how you live that counts... your actions and your conversation will always reveal what you really believe' (03:53.6-04:10.6).

David despised God despite being a man after God's heart

Summary: David's adultery, murder, and cover-up were acts of despising God's commandment and thus despising God, proving even the godly can fall into this sin.

Evidence: God says to David, 'Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord... because thou hast despised me' (14:42.7-15:52.1).

Despising God's gifts is despising God

Summary: When Israel despised the Promised Land and God's provision, they were despising God Himself.

Evidence: Numbers 14:31: 'they shall know the land which you have despised' (34:12.2-35:33.2).

Murmuring against God's providence is despising Him

Summary: Complaining about circumstances is equivalent to despising the Lord, as Israel did in the wilderness.

Evidence: Numbers 11:20: 'because that you have despised the Lord who is among you' (31:02.3-32:09.5).

Despising God's Word brings destruction

Summary: Proverbs 13:13 and 19:16 warn that those who despise God's word or ways will be destroyed or die.

Evidence: Weaver quotes Proverbs 13:13: 'Whoso despiseth the word shall be destroyed' (43:37.4-45:01.6).

Scripture References

2 Chronicles 36:15-16

Context: God sent messengers to His people, but they mocked and despised His words, leading to judgment.

Proverbs 14:2

Context: He who walks uprightly fears the Lord, but he who is perverse in his ways despises Him.

Matthew 7:16, 20

Context: You shall know them by their fruits; profession is validated by actions.

Proverbs 4:23

Context: Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.

Hebrews 10:28-29

Context: Those who despised Moses' law died without mercy; how much worse punishment for trampling the Son of God and despising the Spirit of grace.

Isaiah 49:7

Context: The Lord says to Him whom man despises and the nation abhors, kings shall see and arise.

Isaiah 53:3

Context: He is despised and rejected of men; we hid our faces from Him and esteemed Him not.

Matthew 6:24

Context: No man can serve two masters; he will hate one and love the other, or cling to one and despise the other.

Acts 13:22

Context: God testified that David was a man after His own heart, who would fulfill all His will.

2 Samuel 11:26-27

Context: David's adultery with Bathsheba and murder of Uriah displeased the Lord.

2 Samuel 12:7-10

Context: Nathan confronts David: 'Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord... because thou hast despised me.'

Psalm 138:2

Context: God has magnified His word above all His name.

John 12:48

Context: He who rejects Jesus and does not receive His words has a judge: the word He spoke will judge him in the last day.

Hebrews 12:15-17

Context: Lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who sold his birthright for one morsel of meat.

1 Corinthians 6:13-20

Context: The body is for the Lord; flee fornication; your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost.

Leviticus 26:13-15, 43

Context: If you despise My statutes and abhor My judgments, I will punish you; they despised My judgments and hated My statutes.

Numbers 11:18-20

Context: You shall eat meat until it comes out of your nostrils because you have despised the Lord who is among you.

Numbers 14:31

Context: Your little ones shall know the land which you have despised.

Numbers 15:29-31

Context: The soul that sins presumptuously reproaches the Lord and shall be cut off because he has despised the word of the Lord.

Isaiah 5:20-24

Context: Woe to those who call evil good; they have cast away the law of the Lord and despised the word of the Holy One.

Historical References

David and Bathsheba

Context: David's adultery with Bathsheba and murder of Uriah as an example of a godly man despising God's commandment.

Esau selling his birthright

Context: Esau despised his inheritance for a morsel of meat, illustrating spiritual fornication and profanity.

Israel in the wilderness

Context: Israel's murmuring for meat and despising the Promised Land as examples of despising God's provision and gifts.

Job's piety

Context: Job did not sin with his lips or charge God foolishly despite losing everything, contrasting with Israel's complaining.

Important Quotes

Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord to do evil in his sight?

Significance: God's direct accusation against David, showing that sin is despising God's commandment.

Because thou hast despised me.

Significance: God equates despising His commandment with despising Him personally.

God and his law cannot be separated. They are one.

Significance: Core theological point that rejecting God's Word is rejecting God.

Fornication is an unlawful use of the body.

Significance: Defines spiritual fornication beyond physical acts.

Whoso despiseth the word shall be destroyed, but he that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded.

Significance: Stern warning about the consequences of despising God's Word.

Them that honor me I will honor, and those that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.

Significance: Principle of divine reciprocity regarding honor and contempt.

Discussion Questions

In what ways might a genuine Christian unknowingly despise God through their daily actions?

Context: Weaver argues that Christians can despise God regularly through disobedience and neglect of His Word.

How does David's example challenge the notion that a person after God's own heart cannot fall into serious sin?

Context: David, a man after God's heart, despised God's commandment through adultery and murder.

What does it mean that God and His law are one, and how should that affect our view of Scripture?

Context: Weaver emphasizes the inseparability of God and His Word from John 12:48.

How can complaining about our circumstances be a form of despising God?

Context: Israel's murmuring for meat was called despising the Lord in Numbers 11.

What are some modern examples of 'spiritual fornication' or profanity in the church today?

Context: Weaver defines fornication as unlawful use of the body and profanity as living outside God's law.

Why does God sometimes not answer the prayers of those who despise Him?

Context: Weaver connects unanswered prayer to dishonoring God, citing 1 Samuel 2:30.

How can we practically honor God in our daily walk to avoid the sin of despising Him?

Context: The sermon concludes with a call to honor God through obedience, using the illustration of the cowboy boots.

Applications

Examine your walk for evidence of despising God

Summary: Evaluate whether your actions and attitudes reveal a contempt for God's commandments, as a perverse walk indicates despising Him.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'he that is perverse in his ways despises them' (05:16.4-05:41.3).

Repent of murmuring against God's providence

Summary: Stop complaining about circumstances, as murmuring is equated with despising the Lord, like Israel in the wilderness.

Evidence: Numbers 11:20: 'because that you have despised the Lord who is among you' (31:02.3-32:09.5).

Honor God through obedience to His Word

Summary: Commit to obeying God's commandments, recognizing that honoring Him brings His honor and blessing in return.

Evidence: 1 Samuel 2:30: 'them that honor me I will honor' (43:20.4-45:01.6).

Avoid spiritual fornication by using your body for God's purposes

Summary: Recognize that using your body unlawfully—whether in sexual sin or neglecting God-given duties—is spiritual fornication against God.

Evidence: Weaver explains, 'Fornication is an unlawful use of the body' (25:37.8-26:38.8).

Heed Old Testament warnings as examples for today

Summary: Learn from Israel's judgment for despising God, as these things were written for our admonition.

Evidence: 1 Corinthians 10:11: 'all these things happened to them for ensamples... written for our admonition' (40:10.2-41:12.0).

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T14:13:29Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T02:23:25Z

Clean Transcript

Christians Who Despise God

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

Chapter 10. I have taught—so look in 2 Chronicles chapter 36. And one of my students in 4th grade, multitudes of years ago, was Hal Wiggins. He was a mischievous little boy, cute as he could be, who despised God. And Hal was always getting into something. Notice if you would, 2 Chronicles chapter 36 and verse 15. You need to make sure that you put this down in your mind, in your heart. And I sat down at my desk, and first thing Hal did was raise his hand. Verse 15, "Now the Lord God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, that is the preachers, the prophets, rising up in times and sending because he had compassion for them." My little brother gummed it all the way to school. Do you know how you can tell when God has compassion upon people? I said, "Just hand it in anyhow, that'll be good, son." The answer is, He sends them, though maybe a little brother won't gum it up, that is for sure.
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But it is a joy to be here tonight. I appreciate the time I spent with your pastor and his family, and it was a joy to be with them and see God's creation. It is indeed a delight to see everything that God has done. The messengers of God, and despised his workers, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people, till there was no remedy.
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Therefore he brought upon them the king of the Chaldees, who slew their young men with a sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young men or old men or him that stood for age. He gave them all unto his hand.
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Now go back, if you would, to verse 16. We already saw in verse 15, God sent his messengers, watch, He sent messengers, plural, watch verse 16, "but they mocked the messengers, plural, of God and despised His"—singular—"God's words." Tonight, I want you to open your—the messengers were proclaiming God's word and what they were despising was the word coming through God's preachers. I want to preach. I can't preach them all. That is for sure.
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And when they—some are old, some are new. But I want to deal with some things. I hope there will be a blessing to you brought upon. And I would indeed teach you through their young. So if you look in Proverbs, chapter 14, verse two, no compassion, a message I want to bring tonight is entitled "Christians Who Despise God." Proverbs 14, verse 2, the Scripture says, You know, it would probably be something of a shock if I told the average church, one of the problems that you have in your church is you despise God. You ask the average professing Christian, do you despise God?
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And you're going to get a resounding negative. In fact, you might get more than a negative. You may even get looked at in a very hard and incredulous manner, or you may even get hollered at or cussed out. In a Christian manner, of course. But most people will certainly profess to love Him, and certainly they would never ever admit to despising Him. However, there's a vast difference between what you and I would call a profession and an action. Each of us have used the old adage, "I can't hear what you're saying for the way that you are acting."
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Our Lord made that exceedingly clear in the book of Matthew chapter 7 verse 16 when he said, "you shall know them by their fruits." And then he asked, "do men gather grapes of thorns or figs of thistles?" And then he repeated the same truth in Matthew 7, verse 20, when he said, So let me just put it like this. In the strictest sense of the word, it really does not matter what your profession is.
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So I want you to listen to this application. It's how you live that counts. Is it possible for Christians to despise the one true God? Because your actions, who has revealed himself in the Lord Jesus Christ, and your conversation will always reveal what you really believe. Is it possible to despise the one truly whom you profess to love and serve? Because everything comes out of the heart.
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And the answer is absolutely yes. And the Bible says in Proverbs 4 and verse 23, "keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life." Now if you look very closely at our text in Proverbs 14 and verse 2 he says it like this, "he that walketh in his uprightness fears the Lord. He that walketh."
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Now stop and think about this, your walk is your life, it is your conduct, it is your action, it is how you live. So the Bible says he that is living and walking in his uprightness that is the individual that fears the Lord. And then he says, "But he that is perverse in his ways despises them." So obviously then the man who walks in his uprightness, that is when he's walking in that which is right and righteous, when he's doing that which is ethical and moral according to God's law, that is a demonstration and reality of the fact that he actually fears God.
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obeys Him and He submits to Him. But now the latter part of that verse says this, "But he that is perverse in his ways despiseth Him."
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Now a man's ways, once again, happens to be his conduct. It's his walk, it's how he lives. So God says then to the man that lives erroneously, a man that lives disobediently, the man who is crooked and forward and perverse, He is evidencing the fact that he does not fear God. He has no regard for God. He has no regard for the Word of God, and therefore, God says he despises him.
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Now, the interesting thing is when you look at verse 2, he says, And if he has committed something worthy of death, and there were two witnesses, you were actually put to death. That was it. There was no appeals court.
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to scorn, to treat as contemptible as Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses. Now watch the argument, verse 29, "of how much sorer or worse punishment, suppose you shall he be thought worthy, who trodden under foot of the Son of God and encountered the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified as an unholy thing and done despise of God," holds God in contempt, and counts him as vile and worthless. Now, if I were to tell you tonight that some of you despise God, you'd probably get very upset with me and very shocked that I would even say such a thing. And yet, you and I understand that the world despises God. In fact, let me show you I want you to hold if you would go over chapter 4 if you died But look in your Bible in the Old Testament under Moses of Isaiah chapter 49 without mercy Isaiah 49 how much worse is it today to despise? Isaiah 49 verse 7 look what God says concerning his son the Lord Jesus Christ who is God in Isaiah 49 and verse 7 and Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel and His Holy One, to Him whom man despiseth, To him whom the nation abhorreth, and the word abhorreth is a strong
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word for AIDS, to a servant of rulers kings shall see and arise. Princes also shall worship. Because of the Lord that is faithful and the Holy One of Israel, he shall choose thee. But notice if you would how the Bible says that men despise the Lord Jesus Christ. And nations abhor him. They hate him. That is, they scorn Him as absolutely worthless and vile and contemptible. They have no use for Him.
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They have no regard for Him. Everyone in this room is familiar with Isaiah 53 and verse 3. When the Bible says concerning Jesus Christ, "He is despised and rejected of men. A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid as it were our faces from Him. He was despised and we esteemed Him not."
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Now I want you to stop and think about this. The Bible says concerning Jesus Christ, "He is despised and we esteemed Him not." You know what the word esteem means? He is despised and we did not even think it worth thinking about. We esteemed Him. In other words, it didn't bother us. It was not on our plate. We had other things to do. And that's basically the way it is today. Men despise Jesus Christ and we don't think anything about it. He is despised and we esteem him not. So it's obvious that the world does indeed despise Jesus Christ. The unbelievers despise Jesus Christ. Nations despise Jesus Christ. But is it possible for a real, genuine child of God to hold the Lord Jesus Christ and His Heavenly Father in such contempt and treat Him with scorn and derision and disdain? Is it possible for a real, genuine child of God to treat God as vile and contemptible and worthless?
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And the answer to those questions is unqualified, yes. And the fact is, most Christians do it regularly. Some even on a daily basis and some many times a day. Our Lord makes it very clear in the Bible that we're either going to love him or hate him. We're either going to serve him or deny him. In Matthew 6 and verse 24 he said it like this, "no man can serve two masters for he will either hate the one and love the other or else he will what? Cling to the one and despise the other you cannot serve God and mammon." So our Lord says, you're either going to love me or you're going to hate me. You're either going to cling to me or you're going to despise me. It's just that simple.
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Now I'm talking about something tonight that most of you have probably never even considered in your mind. And you're going to sit there and you're going to say, well, Brother Weaver, you know, I know what you're saying, but I just don't think it's possible for a real genuine Christian to despise God. Well, perhaps it would help if I showed you an example in the Bible of a real, genuine Christian who despised God.
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In fact, before I show you that, I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Acts chapter 13. Acts chapter 13. And I want you to look at verse 22, because here we're going to read about David. David, of course, is known as a man after God's own heart. And the Bible says very distinctly and very clearly in Acts chapter 13 and verse 22, in reference to David, what God thought of David. The Bible says in verse 22 of Acts chapter 13, "And when he, God, had removed him, that is Saul, he, God, raised up unto them David to be their king, to whom also he gave testimony and said, I found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfill all my will." Now notice if you would please, God specifically said that David was a man after his own heart.
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So let me just put it to you like this. If it is possible for David, who is known for his love and obedience to God, who is known as a man after God's own heart, if it's possible for David, who loved God, to despise Him, how much easier is it for you and I, who do not love him the way David did, to despise him as well? So you say, where did David despise God? Well, look in your Bibles, if you would, to 2 Samuel chapter 11, please. 2 Samuel chapter 11. 2 Samuel chapter 11. And notice, if you would, please, I'm sure that you know the story. David, in this particular passage, had committed adultery with Bathsheba.
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He had her husband Uriah the Hittite murdered with the sword of the children of Ammon. And then he tried to hide it. Notice if you would, if you would, in 2 Samuel 11, verses 26 and 27. The Bible says this, "And when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband. And when the mourning was passed, David sent and fetched her to his house, and she became his wife and bare him a son. But notice, if you would, but the thing that David had done displeased the Lord." So I want you to just kind of understand the word displeased. God was not at all pleased with what David had done. God was extremely displeased and upset. Now, you know the story how God sent Nathan to David, and he gives him this story in verse, chapter 12, beginning there, verse 1, "and the Lord sent Nathan unto David, and he came unto him and said unto him, There were two men in one city, one rich and the other poor."
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and he goes down and he tells David about this rich man who took the poor man's little lamb that had been raised in his own bosom and was unto him as a daughter and how he spared to take of his own flock and how he killed this one little lamb and gave to this traveler who came along. Well, after David said the man that done this thing shall surely die and shall restore fourfold, it was Nathan who said "thou art the man." Look in verse 7, watch carefully, 2 Samuel chapter 12 verse 7, "and Nathan said unto David, thou art the man. Thus saith the Lord God of Israel. I anointed thee king over Israel and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul. And I gave thee thy master's house and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah. And if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things. Now watch carefully. Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord to do evil in his sight?"
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"Thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with a sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon. Now therefore the sword shall never depart out from thine house, because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife. Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbor, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of the sun. For thou didst this thing secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun." Now, I want you to note, if you would, please, what God said in verse nine, "wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of God?" What did David do? He despised God's commandments. I want you to think about this. The seventh commandment is "thou shalt not commit adultery." The 8th commandment is "thou shalt not steal." The 10th commandment is "thou shalt not covet."
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Now we know that David coveted. We know that David stole. He stole Uriah's wife. We know that he committed adultery. He also committed murder. The 6th commandment is "thou shalt not kill." I want you to note something. Do you realize before you can ever violate any commandment, especially verses commandments 5 through 10, before you can ever do that, you have to violate the first commandment "thou shalt have no other gods before me." And I'm sure what David did, David despised God's commandments. He despised the law of God, by the way, that's the problem today in our land people despise God and they despise his law. That's why they're not ashamed or afraid to sin openly and violently against God. Now, I want you to note something. Not only has God said in verse 9, "wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord to do evil in his sight." In other words, it didn't bother David right then that he was doing that which was wicked and wrong. Note if you would, please. verse 10 he says "now therefore the sword shall never depart out of thine house because thou hast despised me." Now wait a minute. I thought David had despised God's commandment. He did, but now God is saying "you've despised me" because God and his law cannot be separated. They are one. And when you
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despise God's commandments, when you despise God's law, you're despising God. You're despising the God who gave that law. You're saying, "I have no regard for the commandment. I have no regard for the God who gave that commandment." You're treating the commandment as vile and worthless and contemptible. You're holding it in scorn. And likewise, you're holding God in scorn and treating him as vile and contemptible and saying, in essence, if you knew anything at all, you would have even given this commandment. Wow. You're talking about lifting yourself up above God.
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"Thou shalt have no other gods before me." You've just elevated yourself above God. You know what the Bible says in Psalm 138 in verse two? David said, "I will worship toward thy holy temple and praise thy name for thy loving kindness and thy truth for thou hast magnified thy word above thy name." If God's word ever fails, then God is not God. And so you cannot maintain one attitude toward the word of God and a different attitude toward God himself. God and his law are one. Let me show you. I want you to turn in your bibles to the book of John chapter 12 and look at verse 48. John 12, verse 48. And look, if you would please, what our Lord Jesus Christ says.
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He puts all of these things together for us. So please understand, you can't say, well, I love the Bible, but I don't love Jesus Christ or I love Jesus Christ, but I just don't care about reading my Bible or studying my Bible. No, you can't say that. Well, you can say it, but it's not accurate because look, John 12, verse 48. Here's what our Lord said. "He that rejecteth me, that is the living word, and receiveth not my words, that's the written words, hath one that judgeth him the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day." So notice if you would, just like God and His law are one, Jesus Christ and His word, or Jesus Christ and His law are one as well. So when a Christian then refuses to obey God, He is guilty of despising God's law. And then he's also equally guilty of despising the God who gave the law.
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Now, let me show you something that ought to really sink into your hearts. If I were to call you Esau, you would be very upset. And you should be. Esau was a profane man. He was a fornicator. I want you to look at that passage. I want you to look in your Bibles to Hebrews chapter 12. And by the way also find in your Bibles 1st Corinthians chapter 6. 1st Corinthians chapter 6 will go there after we go to Hebrews chapter 12. I want to show you something in Hebrews chapter 12 beginning there with verse 16. Then we'll go to 1 Corinthians 6. I want you to watch this. Hebrews 12, notice if you would please, let's begin with verse 15.
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God says, "looking diligently, lest any man fail of the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you and thereby many be defiled." I have two messages on the sin of bitterness. And the sin of bitterness always affects multitudes of people. He says, "lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you." And then he says, "thereby many be defiled." And then he says, "lest there be any fornicator or profane person as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright."
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"For you know how that afterwards when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected. For he found no place of repentance, though he sought it, that is, the blessing, carefully with tears."
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Now, it's interesting that God called Esau a fornicator and a profane person. You know, I did a study several years back, and I went through the Bible and I dealt with fornication. It's interesting that when you find and when you study the word fornication in the Bible most of the time, most of the—I would say 99 times out of 100—the word fornication deals with spiritual idolatry, not just the physical act. When we think of a fornicator we think of the physical act. God is calling Esau here a fornicator, and not necessarily because he committed an act of fornication, but because he committed spiritual fornication. Now, what in the world am I talking about spiritual fornication?
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Well, let me show you something. Go back in your Bibles. Hold Hebrews 12. We're coming back there. Go back in your Bibles. First Corinthians chapter six. First Corinthians chapter six. And let's begin reading there verse 13. First Corinthians six verse 13. God says, "meats for the belly and the belly for meats, but God shall destroy both it and them."
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"Now, the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord and the Lord for the body." So God made our bodies for himself. He did not make our bodies for fornication, watch. Verse 14, "and God has both raised up the Lord and will also raise up us by his own power." Now he says this in verse 15, "Know you not that your bodies are the members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them the members of a harlot? God forbid." Now, wait a minute.
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He's using a physical illustration to give you a spiritual truth. He said, "Shall I then take the members of Christ?" If you're saved, you're a member of the body of Christ. "Shall I take the members of Christ and make them the members of a harlot? God forbid. What? Know you not that he which is joined to a harlot is one body? For two saith he shall be one flesh, but he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. Flee fornication, every sin that a man doeth is without the body, but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body." And then he goes on to say, "what know you not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which you have of God, you're not your own for you are bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your body and your spirit, which are God's." Now, interestingly enough, he talks about the spiritual aspect of a physical act. So when a Christian then quote unquote commits physical fornication, if he's a real genuine Christian, since Christ is our head and we are his body, we're actually guilty of joining Jesus Christ to that harlot or joining Jesus Christ into that sin.
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In fact, in the Bible, God's complained of Israel. He said, "thou hast made me to serve with thy sins." So what in the world is fornication? Listen to me. Fornication is an unlawful use of the body. When you go back to Hebrews chapter 12, God calls Esau a fornicator. Esau was the eldest son. And the Bible says that he despised his inheritance. He sold that inheritance for a morsel of bread or meat or pottage. What was the inheritance as the eldest son? He was to have a double portion of the inheritance. Why? Because as the eldest son, he was to take care of his aging parents.
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That would be his responsibility, his duty, his obligation. And I might add his privilege. He would also become head of the clan, he'd be the patriarch, so to speak, and it was also through this individual that the seed, the Messiah was to come. That was also part of that inheritance. And the Bible said he despised that inheritance. He despised his obligations, duties, responsibilities, and his privileges. And what he was going to do was use his body now for a mess of pottage. Do you realize we are fornicators against God anytime we use our bodies in an unlawful manner?
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And it doesn't have to do with sex necessarily. God also called him profane. You know what a profane person is? By the way, I have a message entitled "Preaching Profanity." And I demonstrate from the Bible that most preachers actually preach profanity. Listen, profanity is more than taking God's name in vain. Profanity is far more than just using slang words. We get our English word profane from the Latin profanum.
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Phanum means temple, pro means before or in front of. So actually a profane person is someone who is outside of the temple or outside of the law of God is what it amounts to. Or outside of the recognizing God and obeying God and submitting to God. That's a profane individual. So God then is calling Esau not only a fornicator, but a profane person. So when we like Esau then refuse to obey God and fulfill our duties and obligations and responsibilities, we're fornicators and we're profane because we're treating God like you don't have any control over us. You don't have any say so in our lives.
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I can live my life the way I please. I can do what I want to do. It doesn't matter what you say. That's fornication. That's being profane. Do you realize Israel was to be a peculiar people, and yet they constantly and consistently despised God and his law? I want to show you. I want you to turn in your Bibles, if you would, to the book of Leviticus, chapter 26. I want you to follow me. I want to show you a number of passages where God actually charges Israel with despising God. Notice, if you would, Leviticus chapter 26, beginning there with verse 13. Look what God tells him. Leviticus 26, verse 13. He says, "I am the Lord your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt."
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"that you should not be bondmen, and I have broken the bands of your yoke and made you to go upright. But if you will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments, and if you despise my statutes, and if your soul abhor my judgments, so that you will not do all my commandments, but that you break my covenant, I will do even this unto you." So God says, when you disobey me, you are despising my commandments. Has it ever dawned upon you that when you despise the word of God, you're despising God?
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Before I finish tonight, I'm going to show you another truth. Has it ever dawned upon you when you refuse to hear and heed and obey the word of God, you're despising God? I told you that one of the problems we have in our land today is Christians despise God. They take the attitude of those wicked people in Luke 19 when they say concerning Jesus Christ, "we will not have this man to reign over us."
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I want you to look in your Bibles, if you would, Leviticus chapter 26 and verse 43. He says it again, Leviticus 26, verse 43. He says, "The land also shall be left of them, and shall enjoy her sabbaths while she lieth desolate without them. And they shall accept of the punishment of their iniquity. Why? Because, even because they despised my judgments, and because their soul abhorred or hated my statutes."
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You're talking about people who hate God? People who despise God? Look in your Bibles to the book of Numbers chapter 11. Numbers chapter 11. Numbers 11. Notice if you would verse 20. Of course, this is where they were crying for meat. They got tired of all the manna. So God says, here's what I'm going to do. In fact, let's begin with verse 18. He said, "And say thou unto the people, Sanctify yourselves against tomorrow, and you shall eat flesh. For have you wept in the ears of the Lord, saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? For it was well with us in Egypt. Therefore the Lord will give you flesh and you shall eat. You shall not eat one day nor two days nor five days neither ten days nor twenty days but even a whole month until it come out of your nostrils and it be loathsome unto you because that you have despised the Lord who is among you and have wept before him saying why came we forth out of Egypt?"
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I don't want to just take a lot of time on this, but please listen to me. When we murmur and complain and bellyache and gripe about the providence of God in our lives and we don't like it and we're chafing at the bit, that is a despising of God. That's exactly what these people did. Why did we ever leave Egypt? We had it made in Egypt.
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We had fish and leeks and onions and garlic. Why did we leave Egypt? And most of us never stop and think about whining against God's providence. You know, I'm reading through the book of Job now again, and I am so astonished at the piety of Job. Can you imagine Job being one of the richest men in the East? And in one day, all of his camels are stolen, his asses are stolen, his sheep are stolen, his servants are killed, and then he lost 10 children, 10 in one day. And the scripture says, "in all this, Job sinned not with his lips, nor charged God foolishly." Isn't that amazing? And any little thing that happens to us we don't like, we bellyache and complain against God and accuse Him of not loving us.
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Look in your Bibles, Numbers chapter 14, verse 31. Numbers 14, verse 31. Of course, they despise Canaan land. They refuse to go in it. And God says, "but your little ones, which you said should be a prey, them will I bring in and they shall know the land which you have despised." Despising God's gifts is despising God as well. Look, if you would please. In verse—oh, let's see. Verse of chapter 15, beginning of verse 29. Numbers 15, verse 29. Here it is again. Numbers 15, verse 29, God says "you shall have one law for him that sinneth through ignorance, both for him that is born among the children of Israel and for the stranger that sojourneth among them. But the soul that doeth aught presumptuously, whether he be born in the land or a stranger, the same reproacheth the Lord and that soul shall be cut off from among his people, because he hath despised the word of the Lord, and hath broken his commandment, that soul shall utterly be cut off, his iniquity shall
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be upon him." Did you see that? Because he had despised the word of the Lord. You can despise God's word. And when you do, you despise the God who gave the word. If you will look in your Bibles to the book of Isaiah chapter 5, Isaiah chapter 5. It's amazing how many times God says this over and over in the Bible. Look in Isaiah chapter 5, and let's begin reading with verse 20. Watch if you would. Isaiah chapter 5, verse 20. God says, "woe unto them that call evil good and good evil;
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that put darkness for light and light for darkness, that put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Woe to them that are wise in their own eyes and prudent in their own sight. Woe to them that are mighty to drink wine and men of strength to mingle strong drink, which justify the wicked for reward and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him. Now watch. Therefore, as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust, because they have cast away the law of the Lord of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. Therefore, as the anger of the Lord kindled against his people, and he hath stretched forth his hand against them, and hath smitten them, and the hills did tremble, and their carcasses were torn in the midst of their streets, for all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still." Note verse 24 again. "Therefore as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their blossom shall go up as dust.
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Why? Because they have cast away the law of the Lord of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One."
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Now here's what a lot of people are going to say. "Ah, Brother Weaver, all that's in the Old Testament." And you know what I always say, we have one Bible, not two. And we have one God, not two gods. And the God of the Old Testament is the God of the New Testament. Do you realize that God oftentimes teaches us by examples? In fact, I have a series of messages on how are you being taught. God's gonna teach us one way or the other.
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But I want you to look in your Bibles to Romans 15 and then to 1 Corinthians 6. Look in Romans 15. So you're gonna say, "but that happened to Israel in the Old Testament. That has nothing to do with me." Really? Well, look in Romans 15 and verse 4. And then we're going to 1 Corinthians 10. Notice Romans 15 verse 4, the Bible says, "for whatsoever things were written aforetime, that's the Old Testament, were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope." Isn't that amazing? God said everything that was written aforetime was written for our learning. So God says you better learn from what happened in the Old Testament. Look in 1 Corinthians chapter 10, just to show you, beginning there with verse 1, 1 Corinthians 10 verse 1, The Apostle Paul writes, "Moreover, brethren, I would not that you should be ignorant." I wouldn't want to be ignorant either, I can assure you, and I don't want God's people ignorant. So he says, "Moreover, brethren, I would not that you should be ignorant, how that all of our fathers were under the cloud and all passed through the sea, and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea."
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"and did all eat the same spiritual meat, and did all drink the same spiritual drink, for they drank of that spiritual rock that followed them. That rock was Christ."
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Now, we're talking about Israel in the Old Testament, are we not? We're talking about the exodus. We're talking about the wilderness wanderings. Watch verse 5. "But with many of them God was not well pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness." I cannot help but smile every time I read this verse. "But with many of them God was not well pleased." Many of them? You know how many of the original 603,550 men that came out of Egypt, you know how many of them got into Canaan land? Two. Joshua and Caleb. The rest of them died in the wilderness. But God says many of them, God was not well pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now watch verse six.
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"Now these things were our examples." Isn't that amazing? Paul is making an application of what happened in the Old Testament to the Corinthian church. He said, "but these things were our examples to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they lusted, neither be ye idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play. Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand." You can read all these things in the Old Testament where God killed them. "Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted and were destroyed of serpents. Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured and were destroyed of the destroyer. Now all these things happened to them for ensamples or examples, and they're written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the world are come." What's Paul saying? You better learn from people who despise God. You better hear what God is saying.
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Do you realize that there are warnings scattered throughout Scripture concerning despising God and His Word? Let me just show you a couple of them. Look in your Bibles to Proverbs chapter 1. deal with many of these, but there are a number of them. But look in Proverbs chapter one. Here are some very prominent ones. Proverbs chapter one. And notice, if you would, what the word of God says. Proverbs chapter one.
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And let's begin reading there. With verse 22. "How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge. Turn you at my reproof. Behold, I will pour my spirit upon you. I will make known my words unto you."
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Now look what God says. "Because I have called and you refused, I have stretched out my hand and no man regarded. You have set at nought all my counsel, that is, you despised it and would have none of my reproof. Here's what God says. I will also laugh at your calamity. I will mock when your fear cometh. When your fear cometh as desolation and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind, when distress and anguish cometh upon you, then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer."
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"They shall seek me early, but they shall not find me. Why? For that they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord. They would none of my counsel and despised all of my reproof. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way and be filled with their own devices." Let me tell you something, folks. You despise God's Word, you despise God. You despise God's way and God's will. And God in absolute justice will let you have your will and your way.
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And it will be destruction. Look in your Bibles to Proverbs chapter 13 and verse 13. Proverbs 13 verse 13.
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Look what God says. "Whoso despiseth the word shall be destroyed, but he that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded." Wow, that's almost Proverbs 14 verse two again. "Whoso despiseth the word shall be destroyed, but he that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded." Look in Proverbs chapter 19 and verse six, Proverbs 19 and verse six. 16 it is, Proverbs 19, verse 16. God says, "he that keepeth the commandment keepeth his own soul. But he that despiseth his ways, that is God's ways, shall die." You keep God's commandments, you keep your own soul. You despise God's ways and you die. Now there's a general principle that God lays down in 1 Samuel 2, in verse 30. You know what God says? God says "them that honor me I will honor, and those that despise me shall be lightly esteemed." If you want God to hear your prayer, if you want God to honor the work of your hands, if you want God to honor your family, you need to learn to honor him.
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You need to learn to obey his word and submit to his law. Let me ask you a question.
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Now we should stop and think about this. Is it any wonder that oftentimes, most of the time, our prayers are unanswered? When you stop and think how we despise God and dishonor Him, who wants to bless a disobedient child? Who wants to honor a dishonorable child? One of my favorite stories concerns my two oldest grandchildren. They were two years old. They're now 28. Well, they were two years old. They each one wanted a pair of cowboy boots. They couldn't even say cowboy boots. They called them cow boots.
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And the truth of the matter is this: I had 20 bucks to my name. That was it. And we needed to buy some groceries. And so Alice and I took those two grandbabies to the store, just to let them try on some cowboy boots. And we were going to come back later and buy them for them. So we put them on, and they walked around in those cowboy boots looking and smiling.
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So we got ready to go. We took the cowboy boots off. We put them back in the boxes. We put them back up. We kind of marked them because we were going to come back and get them. And I picked up the little boy, had him in my arms. She picked up a little girl, had her in her arms. And just as we started walking away, Casey, my oldest grandson, looked with that look in his eyes and did this. "Bye bye, cowboots." And I looked at Alice and said, "Get them, we'll go hungry."
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Now let me tell you something, if that kid had jumped on the floor and pitched a fit and started slamming the floor up and down and hollering, "I want them, I want them, I want them," I'll guarantee you he'd have never got them from me. No one wants to honor a dishonorable child. No one wants to bless a disobedient child. The same thing is true with our Heavenly Father.
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Do you know what He asked in Malachi chapter 1 and verse 6? And He was talking to the priest. He said this, "A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If I then be a father, where is my honor? If I be a master, where is my fear? Saith the Lord of hosts unto you, O priest, who despise my name." Here's what God's saying. I'm not going to honor you if you despise me.
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"He that despises me shall be lightly esteemed." I want you to turn in your Bibles to first Thessalonians chapter four. I want you to watch this. Because you see, I've already shown you from the scripture what David did and how David despised God. You say, well, I don't think we can do that in the New Testament. Of course you can. I want you to look at it. 1 Thessalonians 4, verse 1. I have a series of eight messages on this passage entitled, "Sanctification and Sexual Purity," but I want you to look at it just generally. 1 Thessalonians 4, verse 1.
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Paul says, "furthermore, then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus that as you have received of us how you ought to walk"—remember he that walketh in his uprightness feareth the Lord—"how you ought to walk and to please God, so you would abound more and more. For you know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus. Now watch carefully for this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that you should abstain from fornication." Well that deals with the seventh commandment and that deals with the 8th commandment, that deals with the 10th commandment, and also the 1st commandment as well. So he says "that you should abstain from fornication, that every one of you should know how to possess his vessel, that is his body, in sanctification and honor, not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles or the pagans who know not God, that no man go
#69 | 48:42 to 49:37 | cleaned

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T14:13:29Z

Christians Who Despise God

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

John Weaver argues that genuine Christians can and often do despise God through disobedience, neglect of His Word, and disregard for His commandments. Using David as a prime example, he shows that despising God's law is equivalent to despising God Himself. The sermon warns that such contempt leads to divine judgment and unanswered prayer, urging believers to honor God through obedience.

Introduction: The Problem of Despising God

Weaver introduces the shocking idea that many professing Christians actually despise God, despite their claims of love, and that actions reveal true beliefs.

Scripture Reading — 2 Chronicles 36:15-16

"Now the Lord God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, that is the preachers, the prophets, rising up in times and sending because he had compassion for them."

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 14:2

And when they—some are old, some are new. But I want to deal with some things. I hope there will be a blessing to you brought upon. And I would indeed teach you through their young. So if you look in Proverbs, chapter 14, verse two, no compassion, a message I want to bring tonight is entitled "Christians Who Despise God." Proverbs 14, verse 2, the Scripture says, You know, it would probably be something of a shock if I told the average church, one of the problems that you have in your church is you despise God. You ask the average professing Christian, do you despise God? And you're going to get a resounding negative. In fact, you might get more than a negative. You may even get looked at in a very hard and incredulous manner, or you may even get hollered at or cussed out. In a Christian manner, of course. But most people will certainly profess to love Him, and certainly they would never ever admit to despising Him. However, there's a vast difference between what you and I would call a profession and an action. Each of us have used the old adage, "I can't hear what you're saying for the way that you are acting."

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 14:2

"he that walketh in his uprightness fears the Lord. He that walketh."

Biblical Definition: Walk Reveals Fear or Despising

From Proverbs 14:2, Weaver explains that a righteous walk demonstrates fear of the Lord, while a perverse walk shows contempt for God.

The World Despises Christ

Scriptures like Isaiah 49:7 and 53:3 show that the world and nations despise and reject Jesus Christ, holding Him in contempt.

They have no regard for Him. Everyone in this room is familiar with Isaiah 53 and verse 3. When the Bible says concerning Jesus Christ,

Scripture Reading — Isaiah 53:3

"He is despised and rejected of men. A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid as it were our faces from Him. He was despised and we esteemed Him not."

Christians Can Despise God

Weaver asserts that genuine believers can and do despise God regularly, citing Matthew 6:24 on serving two masters.

Scripture Reading — Matthew 6:24

"no man can serve two masters for he will either hate the one and love the other or else he will what? Cling to the one and despise the other you cannot serve God and mammon."

So our Lord says, you're either going to love me or you're going to hate me. You're either going to cling to me or you're going to despise me. It's just that simple.

David: A Man After God's Heart Who Despised God

Using 2 Samuel 11–12, Weaver shows that David, a man after God's own heart, despised God's commandment and thus despised God Himself.

Scripture Reading — Acts 13:22

"And when he, God, had removed him, that is Saul, he, God, raised up unto them David to be their king, to whom also he gave testimony and said, I found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfill all my will."

Now notice if you would please, God specifically said that David was a man after his own heart.

Scripture Reading — 2 Samuel 11:26-27

"And when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for her husband. And when the mourning was passed, David sent and fetched her to his house, and she became his wife and bare him a son. But notice, if you would, but the thing that David had done displeased the Lord."

Scripture Reading — 2 Samuel 12:7-10

David, thou art the man. Thus saith the Lord God of Israel. I anointed thee king over Israel and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul. And I gave thee thy master's house and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah. And if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things. Now watch carefully. Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord to do evil in his sight?"

"Thou shalt have no other gods before me." You've just elevated yourself above God. You know what the Bible says in Psalm 138 in verse two? David said,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 138:2

"I will worship toward thy holy temple and praise thy name for thy loving kindness and thy truth for thou hast magnified thy word above thy name."

God and His Law Are One

Weaver argues from John 12:48 that rejecting God's words is rejecting God, so despising His law is despising Him.

"Thou shalt have no other gods before me." You've just elevated yourself above God. You know what the Bible says in Psalm 138 in verse two? David said,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 138:2

"I will worship toward thy holy temple and praise thy name for thy loving kindness and thy truth for thou hast magnified thy word above thy name."

Scripture Reading — John 12:48

"He that rejecteth me, that is the living word, and receiveth not my words, that's the written words, hath one that judgeth him the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day."

Esau as a Fornicator and Profane Person

Hebrews 12:16 calls Esau a fornicator and profane person for despising his birthright, illustrating spiritual unfaithfulness and disregard for God's authority.

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 12:15-17

Now, it's interesting that God called Esau a fornicator and a profane person. You know, I did a study several years back, and I went through the Bible and I dealt with fornication. It's interesting that when you find and when you study the word fornication in the Bible most of the time, most of the—I would say 99 times out of 100—the word fornication deals with spiritual idolatry, not just the physical act. When we think of a fornicator we think of the physical act. God is calling Esau here a fornicator, and not necessarily because he committed an act of fornication, but because he committed spiritual fornication. Now, what in the world am I talking about spiritual fornication? Well, let me show you something. Go back in your Bibles. Hold Hebrews 12. We're coming back there. Go back in your Bibles. First Corinthians chapter six. First Corinthians chapter six. And let's begin reading there verse 13. First Corinthians six verse 13. God says, "meats for the belly and the belly for meats, but God shall destroy both it and them."

Old Testament Examples of Despising God

Weaver cites multiple Old Testament passages (Leviticus 26, Numbers 11, 14, 15, Isaiah 5) where Israel despised God's statutes, gifts, and word, bringing judgment.

Scripture Reading — Numbers 11:18-20

"And say thou unto the people, Sanctify yourselves against tomorrow, and you shall eat flesh. For have you wept in the ears of the Lord, saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? For it was well with us in Egypt. Therefore the Lord will give you flesh and you shall eat. You shall not eat one day nor two days nor five days neither ten days nor twenty days but even a whole month until it come out of your nostrils and it be loathsome unto you because that you have despised the Lord who is among you and have wept before him saying why came we forth out of Egypt?"

Look in your Bibles, Numbers chapter 14, verse 31. Numbers 14, verse 31. Of course, they despise Canaan land. They refuse to go in it. And God says,

Scripture Reading — Numbers 14:31

"but your little ones, which you said should be a prey, them will I bring in and they shall know the land which you have despised."

New Testament Warnings and Applications

Using Romans 15:4 and 1 Corinthians 10, Weaver applies Old Testament examples to New Testament believers, warning that despising God's word leads to destruction.

Consequences and Call to Honor God

Weaver concludes with Proverbs 13:13, 19:16, and 1 Samuel 2:30, emphasizing that those who despise God will be lightly esteemed and face judgment, while honoring God brings blessing.

And it will be destruction. Look in your Bibles to Proverbs chapter 13 and verse 13. Proverbs 13 verse 13.

Christians Who Despise God

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	65172039502
Subject	Covenant Theology
Course	Covenant Theology: Obedience, Disobedience, and National Judgment
Genre	Sermon
Date	2017-06-05
Dictation Name
Book	Book 044: Covenant Theology: Obedience, Disobedience, and National Judgment — Chapter 6
Source Timed Segments	69

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction: The Problem of Despising God: Weaver introduces the shocking idea that many professing Christians actually despise God, despite their claims of love, and that actions reveal true beliefs.
Biblical Definition: Walk Reveals Fear or Despising: From Proverbs 14:2, Weaver explains that a righteous walk demonstrates fear of the Lord, while a perverse walk shows contempt for God.
The World Despises Christ: Scriptures like Isaiah 49:7 and 53:3 show that the world and nations despise and reject Jesus Christ, holding Him in contempt.
Christians Can Despise God: Weaver asserts that genuine believers can and do despise God regularly, citing Matthew 6:24 on serving two masters.
David: A Man After God's Heart Who Despised God: Using 2 Samuel 11–12, Weaver shows that David, a man after God's own heart, despised God's commandment and thus despised God Himself.
God and His Law Are One: Weaver argues from John 12:48 that rejecting God's words is rejecting God, so despising His law is despising Him.
Esau as a Fornicator and Profane Person: Hebrews 12:16 calls Esau a fornicator and profane person for despising his birthright, illustrating spiritual unfaithfulness and disregard for God's authority.
Old Testament Examples of Despising God: Weaver cites multiple Old Testament passages (Leviticus 26, Numbers 11, 14, 15, Isaiah 5) where Israel despised God's statutes, gifts, and word, bringing judgment.
New Testament Warnings and Applications: Using Romans 15:4 and 1 Corinthians 10, Weaver applies Old Testament examples to New Testament believers, warning that despising God's word leads to destruction.
Consequences and Call to Honor God: Weaver concludes with Proverbs 13:13, 19:16, and 1 Samuel 2:30, emphasizing that those who despise God will be lightly esteemed and face judgment, while honoring God brings blessing.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

Actions reveal true beliefs

Profession of love for God is meaningless if one's walk is perverse; a righteous walk demonstrates fear of the Lord.

Weaver says, 'It's how you live that counts... your actions and your conversation will always reveal what you really believe' (03:53.6-04:10.6).

David despised God despite being a man after God's heart

David's adultery, murder, and cover-up were acts of despising God's commandment and thus despising God, proving even the godly can fall into this sin.

God says to David, 'Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord... because thou hast despised me' (14:42.7-15:52.1).

Despising God's gifts is despising God

When Israel despised the Promised Land and God's provision, they were despising God Himself.

Numbers 14:31: 'they shall know the land which you have despised' (34:12.2-35:33.2).

Murmuring against God's providence is despising Him

Complaining about circumstances is equivalent to despising the Lord, as Israel did in the wilderness.

Numbers 11:20: 'because that you have despised the Lord who is among you' (31:02.3-32:09.5).

Despising God's Word brings destruction

Proverbs 13:13 and 19:16 warn that those who despise God's word or ways will be destroyed or die.

Weaver quotes Proverbs 13:13: 'Whoso despiseth the word shall be destroyed' (43:37.4-45:01.6).

Scripture References

2 Chronicles 36:15-16: God sent messengers to His people, but they mocked and despised His words, leading to judgment.
Proverbs 14:2: He who walks uprightly fears the Lord, but he who is perverse in his ways despises Him.
Matthew 7:16, 20: You shall know them by their fruits; profession is validated by actions.
Proverbs 4:23: Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.
Hebrews 10:28-29: Those who despised Moses' law died without mercy; how much worse punishment for trampling the Son of God and despising the Spirit of grace.
Isaiah 49:7: The Lord says to Him whom man despises and the nation abhors, kings shall see and arise.
Isaiah 53:3: He is despised and rejected of men; we hid our faces from Him and esteemed Him not.
Matthew 6:24: No man can serve two masters; he will hate one and love the other, or cling to one and despise the other.
Acts 13:22: God testified that David was a man after His own heart, who would fulfill all His will.
2 Samuel 11:26-27: David's adultery with Bathsheba and murder of Uriah displeased the Lord.
2 Samuel 12:7-10: Nathan confronts David: 'Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord... because thou hast despised me.'
Psalm 138:2: God has magnified His word above all His name.
John 12:48: He who rejects Jesus and does not receive His words has a judge: the word He spoke will judge him in the last day.
Hebrews 12:15-17: Lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who sold his birthright for one morsel of meat.
1 Corinthians 6:13-20: The body is for the Lord; flee fornication; your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost.
Leviticus 26:13-15, 43: If you despise My statutes and abhor My judgments, I will punish you; they despised My judgments and hated My statutes.
Numbers 11:18-20: You shall eat meat until it comes out of your nostrils because you have despised the Lord who is among you.
Numbers 14:31: Your little ones shall know the land which you have despised.
Numbers 15:29-31: The soul that sins presumptuously reproaches the Lord and shall be cut off because he has despised the word of the Lord.
Isaiah 5:20-24: Woe to those who call evil good; they have cast away the law of the Lord and despised the word of the Holy One.

Historical References

David and Bathsheba: David's adultery with Bathsheba and murder of Uriah as an example of a godly man despising God's commandment.
Esau selling his birthright: Esau despised his inheritance for a morsel of meat, illustrating spiritual fornication and profanity.
Israel in the wilderness: Israel's murmuring for meat and despising the Promised Land as examples of despising God's provision and gifts.
Job's piety: Job did not sin with his lips or charge God foolishly despite losing everything, contrasting with Israel's complaining.

Important Quotes

Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord to do evil in his sight?

God's direct accusation against David, showing that sin is despising God's commandment.

Because thou hast despised me.

God equates despising His commandment with despising Him personally.

God and his law cannot be separated. They are one.

Core theological point that rejecting God's Word is rejecting God.

Fornication is an unlawful use of the body.

Defines spiritual fornication beyond physical acts.

Whoso despiseth the word shall be destroyed, but he that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded.

Stern warning about the consequences of despising God's Word.

Them that honor me I will honor, and those that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.

Principle of divine reciprocity regarding honor and contempt.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

In what ways might a genuine Christian unknowingly despise God through their daily actions?

[Context]

Weaver argues that Christians can despise God regularly through disobedience and neglect of His Word.

[Question]

How does David's example challenge the notion that a person after God's own heart cannot fall into serious sin?

[Context]

David, a man after God's heart, despised God's commandment through adultery and murder.

[Question]

What does it mean that God and His law are one, and how should that affect our view of Scripture?

[Context]

Weaver emphasizes the inseparability of God and His Word from John 12:48.

[Question]

How can complaining about our circumstances be a form of despising God?

[Context]

Israel's murmuring for meat was called despising the Lord in Numbers 11.

[Question]

What are some modern examples of 'spiritual fornication' or profanity in the church today?

[Context]

Weaver defines fornication as unlawful use of the body and profanity as living outside God's law.

[Question]

Why does God sometimes not answer the prayers of those who despise Him?

[Context]

Weaver connects unanswered prayer to dishonoring God, citing 1 Samuel 2:30.

[Question]

How can we practically honor God in our daily walk to avoid the sin of despising Him?

[Context]

The sermon concludes with a call to honor God through obedience, using the illustration of the cowboy boots.

Applications

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T02:23:25Z