"Deception Leading To Idolatry" by Wade Urban Phil. 3:7-8, “But what things were gain to me, I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ.” Paul counted personal success, acclaim, wealth, and position as “rubbish” to be discarded as “loss” of time and effort in exchange for the “excellence of the knowledge of Christ”. Maybe it’s just me, but wouldn’t our modern day church and certainly the “me-first society” in America consider Paul’s “loss” as “success” and a sign that they are living in the blessings of God? Maybe that’s your own thinking as well – that if we were really in God’s perfect will we’d be living in the lap of luxury with no trials or problems of any kind. If that’s what you think and have been taught by today’s preachers of the “feel-good gospel”, you’re under the influence of the spirit of deception. Now, before you turn me off, let me explain that success, wealth, position and acclaim are not evil or to be avoided in themselves. Our covenant promises include abundance and prosperity as well as freedom from sin-guiltiness and healing of our bodies. However, when we put our priorities on accumulating these things as goals in themselves, they can easily become idols in our lives. All these things are the benefits and fruit of our “seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matt.6:33). When we turn our attention to God and His kingdom; God turns His attention on us. When we make our priorities revolve around the affairs of the kingdom, the King focuses His attention on our affairs pouring out blessing and favor! The spirit of deception causes distraction, lack of proper focus and misapplied priories in our lives. This affects our motivation and where our loyalties really are placed, whether in God or in ourselves. Consider Matt. 7:21-23, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name? And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!” This really doesn’t require a lot of explanation to get the drift of what Jesus was saying! Could it be that He’s more interested in our motivation than He is in perfect results? I certainly believe that’s exactly what He’s saying. It’s not just a matter of what we do and how we do it, but also why we do it as well. Balaam was deceived by his own avarice and greed for money which became his idol. When approached by Balak’s men who agreed to pay him to curse Israel, he went before the Lord and got his answer – “NO!” But when Balak increased the price of the bribe, Balaam went again to the Lord hoping He’d changed His mind! Bad move, Balaam! Balaam was so deceived that he apparently didn’t think it strange when his donkey saw the Angel of the Lord, avoided the Angel’s sword of destruction and spoke to Balaam! Now, that’s what I’d call deception (Num.22: 1-40). When deception has reached its climax wrong motivation is birthed, leading to setting up idols in the heart. Ezek.14: 2-11 establishes the principle that if idols have been set up in our hearts, God will agree with our idols which will lead to our destruction – just like Balaam’s ultimate outcome (Num.31:8; 2 Pet.2:15; Jude 11; Rev.2:14). Idols are rarely images or objects of stone or wood – things made with hands. Most often, idols include love of money and desire for prominence. 1 Jn.2:15-17 describes other causes of idolatry: “Do not love the world or the things of the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.” Believers must have experience in the Word of God; information about the Word is not enough to avoid deception. Most have life experiences that do not match what the Word says. When that happens, it’s not the truthfulness of God’s Word at question, but our experiences that lack the spiritual elevation to match His Word. Fleshly experience guided by the carnal mind is always at odds with God (Rom.8:5-8). Here are some guidelines to assist in avoiding deception leading to idolatry: 1.Go with God’s revealed will – His Word, rather than your feelings. 2.Know that God seldom changes His mind on a matter – ask Balaam! 3.We must carefully examine any prophetic “word” that contradicts an earlier “word” – especially if motives are suspect (1 Kgs. 13:1-11; 14-24). 4.Once entered, deception is very difficult to get freed from. 5.We need the fear of the Lord to stay free of idolatry! 6.Don’t be deceived; we will always speak and eventually do whatever is in our heart – whether it’s God’s will or our own – which is idolatry (Matt.12:33-37)!
Posted on: Fri, 13 Sep 2013 18:59:09 +0000
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