America is awash with idols. American idols are popular and populating America. False gods have become big business. That business is larger than those idol manufacturers during the Apostle Paul’s day. When the Apostle Paul started preaching the gospel and attacking idol worship, this is what they said about how he affected their business of idol making: “Gentlemen, you know that our wealth comes from this business.” Acts 19:25, NLT. Or we make our money this way; guys, stop messing with our business by attacking our idols. In other words, it’s only business, we need to make a living, we are idol makers; that’s what we do. Stop it. Why aren’t idol makers saying that to the Church? Is it possible the Church has been compromised by its own idols? If so, what kinds of idols have invaded the Church? That’s what I’d like to talk about in this blog post.
Yes, I’m concerned about the state of the Church more than I’m concerned about the state of America. Candidly, America is in trouble. Despite the progress made by President Trump in pushing back the trend in America towards an increasing anti-Christ culture, Satan has made significant inroads into American culture. What do I mean? Have you visited Walmart lately? Have you looked in their book section? Have you seen what young people are reading? Nearly all are drenched in witchcraft. Witchcraft and idolatry work hand in hand. As the prophet Samuel said to King Saul, “Because it is like the sin of witchcraft, to rebel: and like the crime of idolatry, to refuse to obey.” 1 Samuel 15:23, Douay-Rheims Bible.
Notice, God considers idolatry a crime. What was His first commandment among the Ten Commandments? “You must not have any other god but me.” Exodus 20:3, NLT. Then, He describes how idolatry creeps into our lives: “You must not make for yourself an idol…” Exodus 20:4, NLT. Then, He goes further, “You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods.” Exodus 20:5, NLT. God is, was, and always will be a jealous God. God is still a jealous God today, a fact many of us have forgotten. In fact, the Apostle Paul speaks about this truth in Acts 17:30, NLT, “God overlooked people’s ignorance about these things [idolatry] in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him.”
Idolatry is still a crime today. Yet, much of the Church fails to recognize how serious that reality is. We have overlooked that which makes God upset. It did make God upset in the Old Testament. It still makes God upset in the New Testament. Further, the failure to recognize His Son, Jesus, is still considered the worst transgression, sin, or iniquity that any man, woman, or child can have in their life. Why? Because He’s so clearly provided His Son to the world for the world to be set free from the power of sin, especially the sin of idolatry. That’s why, more than once, various writers of the New Testament state, “Therefore, my beloved, run [keep far, far away] from [any sort of] idolatry [and that includes loving anything more than God, or participating in anything that leads to sin and enslaves the soul].” 1 Corinthians 10:14, Amplified Bible.
Run from idolatry in whatever form it may take. Don’t worship idols. “Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, ‘The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.’” 1 Corinthians 10:7, ESV. The imagery the Apostle Paul uses couldn’t be more clear, for when the people were playing around, they were engaging in all forms of sexual sin, including, but not limited to fornication, adultery, homosexuality, and beastiality, all of which we have today. Rampant sexual sin is always the fruit of idolatry. Perversion is one of the fruits of idolatry. In fact, we have so much of that kind of trash that many hardly think anything of it. Terrible!
We think, as believers, that because we don’t have idols in our homes, like Pagans do, that we don’t have any idols in our lives. And yet, scripture affirms this truth: idols can be in our minds and hearts, even if they’re not in our midst. The prophet Ezekiel shows us that truth: That idols can be in our hearts and minds.
“Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great abominations that the house of Israel are committing here, to drive me far from my sanctuary?” Ezekiel 8:6, ESV. Then God says to His prophet, “‘Now, son of man, dig into the wall.’ So I dug into the wall and found a hidden doorway.” Ezekiel 8:8, NLT. Ezekiel discovered a hidden doorway hiding a multitude of evils. Then, God tells Ezekiel, “‘Go in and see the wicked abominations they are committing here.’ Ezekiel 8:9, Berean Standard Bible. “So I went in and saw; and behold every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed upon the wall round about.” Ezekiel 8:10. “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in his rooms of imagery?” Ezekiel 8:12, New Heart English Bible.
Idols in our imagination is what we face. Yes, idols in our minds is what we must confront and tear down in our day. Is it any wonder that we cannot escape the constant thrust of images being placed before us? Yes, we’ve lost our times with God to the visual pleasures of this age…which are numerous. Yes, we have idols in our minds, even as we worship God. Where? In our own minds and hearts. As a result, we face a very real battle taking place in our day in the hidden chambers of our own hearts and minds. What battle is that? The battle against idols of the mind. That’s the mark of the beast: it’s the image of the beast in the minds and hearts of people who openly choose to worship the beast, who is the pinnacle of mankind’s idolatry. Revelation 13:15.
No wonder the Apostle Paul wrote this to the Corinthian Church, which was located in the one of the centers of ancient idolatry, “The weapons of our warfare are not the weapons of the flesh. Instead, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.” 2 Corinthians 10:4, Majority Standard Bible. What strongholds? “We demolish arguments and every presumption set up against the knowledge of God; and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5, Berean Standard Bible. In other words, God has given us weapons we can use, which are not according to our own fleshly ability but rooted in the Spirit of God, to tear down idols of the mind. Those idols are comprised of arguments, presumptions, false knowledge set against Biblical knowledge, and rebellious thoughts rooted in Satan’s kingdom.
The sevenfold weapons given to us to tear down idols in the hearts and minds of people are found in Ephesians 6:14-18, which are, 1) truth, 2) righteousness, 3) the gospel of peace, 4) faith, 5) salvation, 6) the prophetic word, and 7) prayer of every kind. The Church is called to use those powerful weapons to destroy idols in people’s minds. Yes, we must fight against what is taking place in our world today. We must fight against the systematic erosion of those godly belief structures raised up by our forebearers, who believed in and worshipped God.
America, return to the God of your fathers, the God who raised you up as a nation and people. Turn to Him with your whole heart while there is still time. Return! I say, return to Me, and I will return to you. Choose Me in the midst of the idols of your age and I shall deliver you from the idols of your own mind, that your own minds have made, the false gods in your midst who have arisen in this age as a deception of darkness, to lead you astray from Me. Turn, America! Turn! For your time is short to repent before the flood of evil carries you away. Now is the time to repent, says the Lord. Right now! At this moment in history and place in time, says your God. Now repent (change your mind), says your God.
Let us pray!
Posts
Comments
Post a Comment