Put Away False God’s
God often allows the ungodly to amass great wealth--to their destruction. But if you are one with whom God is dealing and if you put the pursuit of riches (or anything else) before service to Christ, God may take away those riches (and other things) until you turn to Him. Some years ago Donald Grey Barnhouse was counseling a young woman on the sidewalk in front of Tenth Presbyterian Church following an evening service. She said she was a Christian and that she wanted to follow Christ. But she wanted to be famous too. She wanted to pursue a stage career in New York. "After I have made it in the theater, I’ll follow Christ completely," she said. Barnhouse took a key out of his pocket and scratched a mark on a postal box standing on the corner. "That is what God will let you do," he said. "God will let you scratch the surface of success. He will let you get close enough to the top to know what it is, but He will never let you have it, because He will never let one of His children have anything rather than Himself."
Years later he met the girl again, and she confessed that this had indeed been her life story. She had dabbled in the stage. Once her picture had been in a national magazine. But she had never quite made it. She told Barnhouse, "I can’t tell you how many times in my discouragement I have closed my eyes and seen you scratching on that postal box with your key. God let me scratch the edges, but He gave me nothing in place of Himself."
J.M. Boice, Christ’s Call To Discipleship, Moody, 1986, p. 154.
God will always give you HIS best, if that is truly what you seek…
We have so many things today that we place before God in our lives, just as the people had in the beginning of God’s word, today also we are required to put away our false god’s.
Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments: Gen 35:2
In this scripture, after God had spoken to Jacob, Jacob proclaimed God’s message to them. Let us do the same.
God’s people were to get rid of all their false gods (Genesis 35:2).
To think this man of God had allowed idols, the worship of false gods, within his own household! These idols probably included...
· the gods taken by Rachel (Genesis 31:19, 30, 32-35).
· the foreign gods taken in the looting of Shechem (Genesis 34:27-29).
· the gods of his servants.
Jacob no doubt taught his family about God and HIS promises, but failed to demand obedience in the worship of God.
He had not made the Lord the God of his entire household.
How many people today still hang on to the gods and idols of this earth? Remember, anything can become a god to us. Whatever consumes us—whatever we give ourselves to, whatever dominates us, whatever we look to for help, whatever we put before God Himself—that thing becomes a god or idol in our lives. It may be things such as...
·money ·wealth ·property ·business ·power
·clothes ·vehicles ·astrology ·fame ·family ·sex
·alcohol ·drugs ·sports ·appearance
God’s call is clear and forceful: put away all the gods and idols in your lives.
“Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth” (Exodus 20:4).
“Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the LORD your God” (Leviticus 26:1).
“Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them” (Deut. 11:16).
“I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images” (Isaiah 42:8).
We are to cleanse and purify ourselves (Genesis 35:2).
They were to purge their hearts of all sin, put all sin out of their lives.
“Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil” (Isaiah 1:16).
“Wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved. How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee?” (Jeremiah 4:14).
“Wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (Acts 22:16).
“Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Cor. 7:1).
“If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work” (2 Tim. 2:21).
“Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded” (James 4:8).
We are to change our clothing (Genesis 35:2).
This symbolizes putting off the old life of sin and putting on the new life of godliness.
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Cor. 5:17).
“That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness” (Ephes. 4:22-24).
“Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him” (Col. 3:9-10).
And let us arise, and go up to Bethel; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went. Genesis 35:3
We are to seek God in worship (Genesis 35:3).
We are to seek God’s face for forgiveness and deliverance.
Keep in mind Jacob’s household, were all aware of the threat from the surrounding nations. They were fewer in number than their neighbors, so they knew it would take supernatural help if they were going to be saved and delivered.
The hope of Jacob is our hope today for deliverance as we put all sin out of our lives and seek God for revival, seek HIM with all our hearts and lives.
“But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul” (Deut. 4:29).
“This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles” (Psalm 34:6).
“From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I” (Psalm 61:2).
“Seek the LORD, and his strength: seek his face evermore” (Psalm 105:4).
“Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near” (Isaiah 55:6).
“And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).
“For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened” (Luke 11:10).
We need to remember God’s great deliverance in the past.
God still gives us glorious revival, saves and delivers us.
1) God delivers us from all trouble and evil.
“He shall deliver thee in six troubles: yea, in seven [an unlimited number of times] there shall no evil touch thee” (Job 5:19).
“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness” (Isaiah 41:10).
“When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee” (Isaiah 43:2).
“And he said, The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer” (2 Samuel 22:2).
“For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling” (Psalm 116:8).
2) God delivers us from our enemies.
“He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me” (Psalm 18:17).
“Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD” (Jeremiah 1:8).
“Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence” (Psalm 91:3).
3) God delivers us from all fears, even from the fear of death.
“For thou hast delivered my soul from death: wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?” (Psalm 56:13).
“Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage” (Hebrews 2:14-15).
4) God delivers us from temptation and evil.
“There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (1 Cor. 10:13).
“And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever” (2 Tim. 4:18).
“The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished” (2 Peter 2:9).
5) God delivers us from pestilence and disease.
“Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence” (Psalm 91:3).
When we put away the false idols from before us, God opens up HIS blessings upon us.
This allows us to be fully prepared as we “Go ye therefore…unto all nations”…
