“These people draw to me with their mouth and honor Me with their lips but their heart is far from Me.” (Matt.15:8)< ?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>

Wicked is defined as evil by nature and in practice, highly offensive or obnoxious. Wickedness is an ungodly sin. It is what provoked the hand of God to destroy man from the face of earth during the time of Noah. Gen.6:5 ÒThen the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.Ó Just as it was then, so it is today. Today, wickedness knows no bounds. It reigns outside the church, and it reigns inside the church.  Within a group of believers, if there is a request for who should be considered as wicked, so many would refuse. As a self proclaimed Christian or born again believer, have you ever considered or seen yourself as one who dwells in wickedness? Let us see how Jeremiah pinpointed who and what qualifies one as wicked (especially within the church).  Jeremiah complained why the way of the wicked prospers. In Jer.12:2, ÒHe brought before God by saying to God, ÔYou have planted them, yes they have taken root; they grow, yes they bear fruit. You are near in their mouth but far from their mind.Ó In his question, there is a clear indication that the wicked are those that speak the word of God but do not carry it in their mind. They are mouthful of the word of God, but mindful of self. This is extensively deceiving because they grow and prosper, and nothing is written over their forehead that identifies them as wicked.  This makes it more deceiving among believers of today who are having misconceptions of what prosperity is. Clearly, the wicked are those that could be highly conversant in speaking the word of God while the word of God is absent or far from the mind.

~ Hypocrites ~

Jesus referred to them as hypocrites when he was debating the scribes and the Pharisees. Matt.15:7-9, ÒHypocrites!  Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: ÔThese people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me, and in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.Ó Do you consider yourself as a hypocrite? A hypocrite is a pretender. A hypocrite is one whose walk and talk do not match. A hypocrite is also a person that acts it but does not practice it. If what you possess is not what you profess, you have failed in doing what you say, and you are a son of the wicked; in vain you worship Him. There is a need to serve God in deed and in truth. You cannot serve in deed and in truth, and be living in wickedness. Do you sincerely desire to deny hypocrisy and wickedness in your life? Determination will fail because it is not by might or by power. By His grace, all you have to do is to observe the word of God.

 ~ Observe ~

Det.28:15, Ò But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the LORD your God to observe carefully all of His commandment and His statutes which I commanded you today that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you.ÓThe message is this: to be able to obey, observing the word of God day and night is a must. Moses advised Joshua to meditate in it day and night, that Joshua may observe to do according to all that is written in it (Josh.1:8). Meditate; observe; then you will obey. Joseph had the word of God in his mouth and his mind. He was able to operate the word. The wife of Potiphar approached him in an attempt to lie with him. He knew it was not an act of the word of God. Reminded, he declared in Gen.39:9, ÒÉ How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?Ó Now you know your stand in observing the word of God. Where do you go from here? Ezek.3:19, ÒYet if  you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul. You have been warned! Your sin will find you out sooner or later.

It is impossible to be right with God and not be right with one another.