The Consequences Of Idols In The Church - Part II

In Part I yesterday, Pastor Mike Gonzalez discussed the presence and consequences of idols in the church. In Part II today, he gives practical solutions for the Christian to combat these idols.

In Jeremiah chapter 16, Judah asked, “What sin have we committed against the Lord our God? The Lord said to Jeremiah, tell them, “It is because your fathers forsook me. . .and followed other gods (idols) and served and worshiped them” (Jer. 16:10-11). The sin of the church is that it has exchanged the One true God for idols (Jer. 2:13). If the church cannot rightfully discern what is righteous and what is not, then it cannot affect the world around it as the salt and light it has been called to be.

What are we to do?
· Ask God to help us identify the idols (gods) in our hearts and renounce them.
· Repent and give ourselves fully to the Lord.
· Surrender to the Lord and let Him fill us with His Spirit.
· Dedicate ourselves to knowing God through prayer, studying His Word and obeying it.
· Make disciples of Jesus Christ (which also includes government officials, Acts 9:15).
· Live holy and separate ourselves from what contaminates body and spirit, purifying ourselves, out of the fear of God (2 Cor. 7:1).
· Pray for our leaders. 

Scripture says clearly that we are to pray for our leaders giving thanks (1 Tim. 2:1), showing respect and honoring them (Rom. 13:7, 1 Pet. 2:17) and ultimately to be subject to them (Romans 13: 1, 5).

As the Church we are to pray for our leaders, and we are also to take the gospel to every facet of society because we have been made to be light and salt (Matt. 5). As the Church we understand that changing legislation and seeing righteousness rule in our society will not be accomplished primarily through politics or by any other means but by preaching the gospel to a lost world. 

As William McDonald has said, "Politics has proved singularly ineffective in solving the problems of society. Political remedies are nothing but a band-aid on a festering sore: they do not get at the source of the infection. We know that sin is the basic trouble in our sick society. Anything that fails to deal with sin cannot be taken seriously as a cure." 

We pray for our leaders and will pray for President Obama.

In the three passages of Scripture that address how we should respond and deal with our leaders, I see three emphases.

1. PRAYER: "I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone--for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth" (1 Tim. 2:1-4).

The reason for praying, intercession and giving thanks, for leaders was so the saints could live peaceful, quiet lives (without persecution) in their pursuit of godliness and holiness. The goal was so that the saints could effectively win the lost, which would please God "who wants all men to be saved."

Hence, this prayer is not intended to wish the president well and success in his presidency (since we should stand opposed to policies and ideologies that oppose God’s Word), but to pray that in his leading the nation it might be done in a righteous manner which would allow the saints the opportunity to preach the gospel and further a Kingdom agenda. If "righteousness exalts a nation," then that should be the target of our prayer. 

This is my prayer for President Obama and what I have instructed our church is to pray for President Obama:

a. That his eyes will open to be able to see the gospel and believe so that he might be saved. 2 Cor. 4:4
b. That God would direct his heart to do what is righteous (whether he would want to or not) for the Word of God says in Proverbs 21:1, "The king's heart is like streams of water. Both are under the LORD's control. He turns them in any direction he chooses."
c. That President Obama would protect those he has sworn to serve. Romans 13:4

2. HONOR & RESPECT: As Christians we are to honor (to value) those who watch out for our good and protection. (Romans 13 & 1 Peter 2:17). We value them not because of their policies or their ideology but because it is commanded of us to "Honor all men. . .Honor the King" (1 Pet. 2:17).

3. SUBMISSION: As Christians we should be obedient to the laws of the land and be the best citizens. We should uphold the law (as long as it does not violate God's Word) and be in submission to those in authority. We should always show respect and yet always speak the truth, even if that goes against what the president stands for.

As Christians we should always seek to pray according to the will of God, because that is the prayer that will be answered and the prayer that pleases God (1 John 5:14-15).

I believe the Lord is sickened by the level of compromise He continues to see within the church. 

Today it is all about tolerance and fitting in and a "let's just all get along attitude" which is mixing the leaven of the world with the church. I am trusting God to keep us from deception and to always love the truth. (2 Thess. 2:11-12).

Keep your heads up and do the work of the Kingdom, for our redemption draws near!

Pastor Mike

 

 

 

Mike Gonzalez is the senior pastor at Columbia World Outreach Church in South Carolina. He is a graduate of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.

The Consequences Of Idols In The Church - Part I

The Lord said: People of Judah, your sins cannot be erased. They are written on your hearts like words chiseled in stone or carved on the corners of your altars. One generation after another has set up pagan altars and worshiped the goddess Asherah everywhere in your country—on hills and mountains, and under large trees. So I’ll take everything you own, including your altars and give it all to your enemies. You will lose the land that I gave you, and I will make you slaves in a foreign country, because you have made my anger blaze up like a fire that won’t stop burning." (Jeremiah 17:1-4, Contemporary English Version, emphasis mine).

As I read these words today from the Prophet Jeremiah written to the people of Judah thousands of years ago, I could not help but see confirmed in these words what has happened and is happening in the church today, which has a direct effect on our nation. We somehow live and go on with our lives as if the sins committed in our own lives and in the lives of others in our nation really do not affect us and have no consequence.

Notice the words of Jeremiah to Judah in verse 1, “People of Judah, your sins cannot be erased. . . they are written on your hearts.” The sins that have been committed have an “engraving” effect upon our hearts and carry with them serious generational consequences. Jeremiah continues by saying, “One generation after another has set up pagan altars and worshipped the goddess Asherah. . .” 

The results of the Presidential election across our nation confirmed what many in the body of Christ have been sensing, talking about and preaching for many years: that a people who turn away from God and fail to teach their children (the next generation) to fear the Lord, is a people who will reap a godless generation who will in turn not only follow in the footsteps of their parents but will reproduce an even greater godlessness among their children.

In the book of Judges we see this clearly in the generation that came after Joshua.

“After that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation grew up, who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel. Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord and served the Baals. They forsook the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshiped various gods of the peoples around them. They provoked the Lord to anger because they forsook him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths. In his anger against Israel the Lord handed them over to raiders who plundered them. He sold them to their enemies all around, whom they were no longer able to resist. Whenever Israel went out to fight, the hand of the Lord was against them to defeat them, just as he had sworn to them. They were in great distress” (Judges 2:10-15).

The result of turning away from God in one generation resulted in a generation “who knew neither the Lord nor what He had done for Israel.” Today we have a generation within “the church” that does not know God and His ways. This is made clear in how they reason and make choices. These choices are not made from a true biblical perspective rooted in biblical principles but rather with a worldly perspective rooted in the ways of the world – love of self and the worship of idols.

The results of the Presidential election can be directly traced to the fact that the godliness in our nation has shrunk. Ron Luce from Teen Mania Ministries said years ago (based on studies he conducted) that our nation was in danger of going from 35% born again believers within the baby boomer generation to 4% born again believers in Generation X to the present. Our present course will lead us the way of the Netherlands and Europe and other godless countries that have become bankrupt wastelands spiritually and in every other way.

Why is godliness shrinking in our nation? Because the church has turned away from God to idols and instead of passing on a Godly heritage to the next generation we are reaping what our sins have produced – a godless generation who does not know the Lord. Think about it: We elect our leaders in America, which means our leaders reflect who we are!

The reason I believe the church is most accountable is because the church is the only people group who have the Light of Christ and the message of the Gospel (1 Peter 4:17).

My thoughts are bombarded with questions today like:

· How can people who call themselves “Christians” ignore what is obviously clear in Scripture? 

· How can we justify voting and choosing a president who, though claiming he is a Christian, believes the complete opposite of what the scriptures clearly say concerning the sanctity of God-given life? (There are 3,000 abortions each day in the US, and we give money to other countries to support their abortions.)

· How are Christians able to align themselves with and vote for a political party and a president that embrace and endorse same sex marriage? (3 more states approved same sex marriage in this election - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/06/gay-marriage-results_n_2074188.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular - and the first Lesbian Senator in our history was voted in - http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/11/07/democrat-tammy-baldwin-wins-wisconsin-senate-seat-becoming-first-openly-gay-us/?test=latestnews .)

· How can a Christian stand with a party who voted to remove “God” from its platform and stand opposed to Israel? (Gen. 12:3 states, “I will bless those who bless you [Israel] and whoever curses you [Israel] I will curse?) 

· How do people who call themselves Christians stand with and elect people who will continue to bind our nation with enormous debt that will cripple generations to come? (“..the borrower is slave to the lender” – Prov. 22:7). 

There are idols present in our camp.

In Jeremiah chapter 16, Judah asked, “What sin have we committed against the Lord our God? The Lord said to Jeremiah, tell them, “It is because your fathers forsook me. . .and followed other gods (idols) and served and worshiped them” (Jer. 16:10-11). The sin of the church is that it has exchanged the One true God for idols (Jer. 2:13). If the church cannot rightfully discern what is righteous and what is not, then it cannot affect the world around it as the salt and light it has been called to be.

What are we to do?

                                      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Join us tomorrow for Part II as Pastor Mike discusses strategies for the Christian to combat idols in the church and in our hearts. 

Mike Gonzalez is the senior pastor at Columbia World Outreach Church in South Carolina. He is a graduate of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.