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Wednesday, March
5, 2008
Idle Worship
Luke 16:13-15 No servant can serve two
masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he
will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and
mammon. (14) And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these
things: and they derided him. (15) And he said unto them, Ye are they which
justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which
is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God. (KJV)
Is there anything more highly esteemed
and sought after by mankind than the riches of this life; which many are
led to believe that by someday acquiring enough of them they will find
peace in their life? As we see again in verse 14, the Lord addressed and
warned those that were covetous, which is just another form of idolatry.
This get rich mentality has crept into the teachings of many, so in order
to justify their lifestyles they become people pleasers with prosperity
messages limited to the realm of the
flesh that promise so much and deliver so little. No wonder our Lord was
derided and chastised for teaching against these false doctrines trying to
point the people to the realm of the Spirit by forsaking the things of the
flesh.
Matthew 19:16-24 And, behold, one came
and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have
eternal life? (17) And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is
none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the
commandments. (18) He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no
murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt
not bear false witness, (19) Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou
shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. (20) The young man saith unto him, All
these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? (21) Jesus said
unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to
the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
(22) But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for
he had great possessions. (23) Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I
say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of
heaven. (24) And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go
through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom
of God. (KJV)
Why are so many people preaching and
teaching a doctrine today that can be detrimental to ones spiritual well
being? No man can serve two masters; in order to grow and mature in the
Lord one has to forsake the things which are highly esteemed here on earth
to partake of the heavenly gift. The Lord instructed the rich man to go and
sell out to this way of thinking; and rather than continue seeking the
treasures of this earth become a follower of Christ and begin partaking of
His spiritual treasure. If you notice to the Lord didn’t try to get Him to
donate all his riches to the Jesus Christ worldwide evangelical
association, but rather distribute it to the poor. How few true teachers do
we have left today who are more interested in the spiritual welfare of the
congregation and not for their own personal welfare, who are willing to lay
down their lives and desires for the sake of others. The eye of the needle
has been described as a smaller opening in the large gates which go into
the city. In those times the cites had walls surrounding them with a large
gate in front that had a smaller opening just big enough for quick access
into it. In order for the camel to enter in it would have to crouch down on
all fours having had all the cargo it was carrying removed before it could
get through. The same holds true with the believers; we humble ourselves
before the Lord, and before entering into His realm we leave all the old
baggage and what we thought were priorities behind us and walk in a newness
of life. Anytime we try to hang onto the old and enter into the new, any
excess baggage and cargo will get in the way and block ones entrance and
not allow them to continue forward, which is what the rich man in the above
parable was experiencing. Is there something you are hanging onto today
that is keeping you stuck in the realm of the flesh and not allowing you to
move forward on the path of life? That thing that has been eating at you,
something you have been trying to justify before men may just be what is
now an abomination in the sight of God and needs to be discarded and left
behind so you are not the one that ends up left behind and on the outside
looking in.
1 John 2:15-17 Love not the world,
neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the
love of the Father is not in him. (16) For all that is in the world, the
lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not
of the Father, but is of the world. (17) And the world passeth away, and
the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. (KJV)
All these things that are so highly
esteemed among mankind and highly sought after look good and sound good to
our carnal senses, but make no sense to the spiritual ones. If your love
and affection is more toward the world and the things of it, which are in
the process of dying and passing away, then you too will end up passing
away with them. It’s only those that are willing to forsake these things,
take up their cross and crucify the flesh and its carnal desires, who will
be allowed access into the realm of God and who will continue in the truth
grounded and settled and not moved away by cheap imitations of the devil.
No man can serve two masters; double minded, unstable and unable to move
forward in their walk, like the old time prisoners which had the ball and
chains attached to them to keep them bound.
1 Timothy 6:5-8 Perverse disputings of
men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is
godliness: from such withdraw thyself. (6) But godliness with contentment
is great gain. (7) For we brought nothing into this world, and it is
certain we can carry nothing out. (8) And having food and raiment let us be
therewith content. (KJV)
While the world and its worldly preachers
will tell you the importance of giving so that you can acquire more, the
simple truth is in being content; content with the fact that you are a part
of the kingdom of God and an inheritor of His eternal life having forsaken
the desires of this temporal one. While so many that have been called to
teach and preach the things of God end up to be nothing more than cheap
hucksters peddling the word of God and giving special treatment to the
highest bidders, simple contentment is where one will find true peace and
the joy of the Lord. You came into this world with nothing and you have the
opportunity to leave it with everything. The question is, ‘what is highly
esteemed in your life today and is there anything you are coveting after
that is causing you to err and miss the mark?’ Anything other than
contentment is idol worship and will keep one idling instead of moving forward
and maturing in the Lord.
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