Idolatry Repackaged

If one bear holy flesh in the skirt of his garment, and with his skirt do touch bread, or pottage, or wine, or oil, or any meat, shall it be holy? And the priests answered and said, No. Then said Haggai, If one that is unclean by a dead body touch any of these, shall it be unclean? And the priests answered and said, It shall be unclean. Then answered Haggai, and said, So is this people, and so is this nation before me, saith the LORD; and so is every work of their hands; and that which they offer there is unclean. (Haggai 2: 12 – 14)

I want us to continue on our last post. I want us to look at idolatry and how we can join it without being aware.

I want us to look at things we do that make us fellow workers with the evil one even when we think we are serving God. And we will use the verses as the reference point.

Like I asked last time, have you ever come across poor homosexuals, or hopeless (in the worldly sense) atheists? Have you seen poor people proudly worshipping the devil?

Have you ever heard people praying for the devil to feed them when they were hungry or protect them when they felt unsafe?

The natural cry for a person in need is to God who is in charge of the universe. It is clear that only God has a complete package to solve all our problems.

That is the reason even false religions and cults will hide the identity of the gods they worship as the creator to their masses. They will reveal their identities when the members grow in rank and worship. And that is why you hear Muslims saying they worship the God we worship as that is how they are presented their religion. It is that ignorance that blinds them to the fact that it is impractical that they will hate and kill Christians if they worship the same god with them

But as one grows in the faith, they are presented with the truth that they serve another god, a god who is ‘allergic’ to the Christian faith and worship since it exposes their hypocrisy and evil worship.

On the same vein it is the same with many things we identify with Christianity. Like marriage, capitalism, church government and many other cultures we ignorantly identify with our faith when reality shows us that they are as removed from the scriptures as some of those things we detest.

I know I have stirred the hornet’s nest with that statement. But I will just challenge you to examine that ‘christian’ culture you are defensive about in the light of the scriptures, not just a verse here and another there.

But let us get back to our topic.

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified. (Isaiah 61: 1 – 3)

Like we have seen, nobody will cry to the devil to sort him out in their down times. No one will pray to the devil for healing.

That is the reason Christ was anointed to preach glad tidings to the poor. They are the ones who need those tidings. The rich are comfortable in their tidings to need anything better. Their lives are complete, at least in their eyes. Remember Jesus telling the wealthy man in hell that the rich are so full of their lives that they will not be influenced by someone coming from the dead? In their complacency, even the miracle of resurrection is no big deal!

How do we transition from beggars to the complacent? That is the message I feel God has for us today.

Let me start with a question. What would you do if you got more money than you needed? What would you do if you got three good job offers at the same time? What would you do if you received an all-expense paid holiday to a resort of your dreams? What would you do if you were invited in two or three different churches of different financial capabilities and generosity quotients to minister at the same time? What would you do if several producers approach you offering to record your spiritual songs?

Would you go for a season of prayer and fasting to get God’s take on those developments/ breakthroughs? Would you raise a prayer team to bring God into the decisions you will need to make? Would you seek the counsel of people you respect for being able to clearly hear from God?

Is that what we do?

That is where the lordship equation changes. This is where we realize (and will want to show) what we are made of. That is the point at which we will want to demonstrate our wisdom. This is when we want to show that we are in control. And this is where Eve found herself in Eden.

We have no problem seeking God’s face when facing challenges. But we have a problem doing the same when He abounds to us. What we don’t realize is that taking the independence route is taking the route to another lordship, the lordship of the prince of the world.

And he comes in very subtly, first using very reasonable suggestions. You do not need to pray. Surely God also blessed you with reason and sense. God won’t mind you have fun. Why should you pray for food when it is on the table?

Slowly by slowly you will learn to avoid seeking God’s face or direction.

And I need to state that the reason the devil succeeds here is the fear we have of submitting to God’s Lordship, because we know what that lordship might imply.

I know He can order me to give all that money away, and I really feel I must go for that holiday now that I can afford it. Or He could order me to take the lowliest paying job when I have planned for that prestigious one. He could even tell me to go to minister to that miserly church when I have budgeted for the honorarium I will receive from the rich church.

Have you ever realized that God will very rarely order someone to leave employment because of the pressure and opposition, even persecution? He issues the order when things literally couldn’t be better. That is when my submission to His lordship can be seen. And that is where most people fall.

David didn’t sin when he was battling all those enemies. He fell into sin when he was relaxing in his palace after sending his army to fight his battles.

Noah didn’t get drunk when he was building the ark. He did it after harvesting and probably thought to have some fun.

The long and short of what I am saying is that we have no issues asking and receiving from God. But we really have a problem allowing Him to manage what He has given us. And this because we are not very sure we will like what He will order us to do with those gifts. We think we are better equipped to manage them, especially because we are scared of what He may order us to do.

I will close here for now as I intend to develop this later. But I want to leave you with these questions.

Have you ever raised a prayer team after receiving your salary? Have you fasted and prayed after receiving that loan? Have you humbled yourself in prayer after signing that contract? Have you ever even though of doing so?