Beware of This Modern Day Idol That Is Sending Many Believers to Eternal Destruction
Exodus 20:3 says,
‘Thou shall have no other gods before me’
This commandment forbids making any kind of idol and prohibits every kind of idolatry. An idol is anything that takes over God’s front seat position in our lives. It is anything that relegates God to the backseat in our hearts and lives.
Idolatry is not limited to image worship or graven images made with human hands or the likeness of anything in heaven, on earth or in the waters underneath the earth. Idolatry includes anything on which the heart of men is passionately set, extravagant admirations of the heart.
Idols and idolatry now includes the many modern day hobbies and interests that many devote their time and energies to, which include sports, foods, sex, friendships, internet, social media, computer, mobile phones etc., seeking for a sense of fulfillment through them.
Matthew 22:37-38 says:
‘Thou shall love the Lord, thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with thy entire mind. This is the first and great commandment’’
These verses tell us that our love for God must come from our hearts with all its inward affections; our souls with all its consciousness and our minds with all its thoughts. That means our hearts; souls and minds must be consecrated to God only.
The heart of a man cannot operate in a vacuum. Something or someone must occupy or fill it. There are two forces that seek to gain the control of the heart of a man – God and the Devil – and the one that gains control determines it direction and its eternal destination. Hence, the heart of a man is a battle field.
The heart of a man must be devoted to an affection. Affections are those things that occupy our times, things that motivate our actions and activities and fire our aspirations.
Affections are things waiting to be captured, want to cling to something or someone. Where our affections are, there will our hearts be devoted.
Affections are determines by what a man treasures, i.e. what our hearts will be devoted to will be determined by those things we attach value to. Our hearts always clings to what it treasures. Matthew 6:12 says ‘where your treasure is, there will your heart be also’’
For our heart to love God supremely, we have to treasure Him above everything else. We have to attach value to everything that God stands for. We have to make God, His business and interest our greatest treasure.
When we divert our attention from God, His business and interest, then our love for Him will grow cold. A cold church or cold Christian is a lukewarm Christian whose heart has misplaced its affections; which treasures has been replaced and is no longer devoted to Christ.
One of the signs preceding the 2nd Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ is the Social Sign. Under the Social Signs, the higher percentage of the human populace on earth are more inclined and devoted to social activities than the spiritual. The spiritual has been relegated to the backseat in the lives of many Christian believers.
This is one of the grand strategies of the Devil in this end times to lure the hearts of men away from their devotion to God,to derail the faith of many believers and send them to eternal destruction.
Many Christian believers now devote much more time and energies to social media activities –Facebook, Whatsapp, Instagram and many other social forum activities chatting away their lives, salvation and destinies – than they devote to the spiritual activities that define their walk with God; that have eternal values and will determine their eternal destination to Heaven or Hell.
The spiritual activities being neglected by many Christians include study and meditation in the Word of God, prayers, evangelism, quiet time, family altar, holiness and righteousness.
It is not uncommon seeing Christians come to church with android phones browsing the net during church services especially when the sermon is being delivered.
Matthew 6:24 says,
‘’ No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will hold to one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and Mammon.’’
One cannot be a servant of sin and Satan and a servant of righteousness and Christ at the same time. If one yields himself as an instrument of unrighteousness unto sin, he is a servant of sin and Satan and is not a Christian (Romans 6:13). If men prefer sin and Satan to God, then they are of the Devil and will be sent to eternal Hell with him (Matthew 25:41) (1 John 3:8).
When a Christian believer begins to follow and serve Christ with a half-hearted devotion and neglects the spiritual endeavors that define the quality of his personal relationship with Christ, then he is looking back and is not fit for the Kingdom of God (Luke 9:62).
Matthew 15:8 says:
‘This people draw near unto me with their mouth, and honour me with their lips but their hearts are far away from me.’’
A Christian believer whose heart is far away from Christ is a person whose heart is attached to the world, its values, systems and attitudes. He has one leg in Christ and has the other leg in the world. He is a friend of the world and has become an enemy of God (James 4:4) (1 John 2:15-17).
Remember Lot’s wife (Luke 17:32) who was already delivered from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah but looked back and became a pillar of salt. She was destroyed because she looked back. By looking back she lost her salvation and she looked back because her heart was attached to the world and its pleasures.
Are you a Christian believer that is looking back into the world? Learn from the tragedy that befell Lot’s wife. That tells us that salvation is not an un-forfeitable possession. One can have it and lose it afterwards through carelessness.
A believer whose heart is far away from Christ is a cold and lukewarm Christian whose fire is being quenched or has been totally extinguished (Leviticus 6:12-13). He is a spiritually dry Christian. Spiritual dryness results from two things – the Sin of Commission and the Sins of Omission.
Sin of Commission is presumptuous sinning that causes sudden darkness while the sin of omission gradually dims and obscures the light through factors such as the neglect of study and meditation in the Word of God and neglect of fervent prayers.
A lukewarm Christian that is neither hot nor cold is an abomination in the eyes of God and God says He will spue them out of His mouth (Revelations 3:15-16).
Salvation is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ that is based on consecration and self-denial (Mark 8:34-36). There are many worldly pleasures that Christians must avoid to qualify to end well and qualify for eternity with Christ.
The Bible says that in the Last Days, men will be lovers of pleasures more than being lovers of God (2 Timothy 3:4). The Bible in 1Timothy 5:6 warns that a person who is devoted to pleasures is dead while alive i.e. he is spiritually dead as far as God and His Word go.
A Christian whose heart and energies are more devoted to the internet and social media activities at the expense of the spiritual activities that define his personal walk with Christ is a worldly Christian and an enemy of God heading to eternal destruction unless he repents and follows God with a whole hearted devotion (Matthew 22:37).
A Christian whose heart has departed from his first love (Revelations 2:4) and is now running after ephemeral, mundane and vain things that fulfill the lusts of the flesh is a person who has lost focus of the things that are eternal (Colossians 3:2-3), putting his eternal soul in jeopardy.
Revelations 2:5 warns that we repent by remembering and recalling how we fell and to return to the first works else our candlesticks will be removed from its place. If your candlestick is removed, that means eternity in Hellfire.
This is calling for us to make a sober reflection of our Christian lives and how we are standing in the Lord. Are we standing or have fallen? 2 Corinthians 13:5 is asking us to examine ourselves whether we are still in the faith. Revelations 3:1-2 refers to Christians who think they are alive in Christ but in the records of God, they are dead.
He who has ears to hear, let him hear!
Prayers:
1. God, have mercy on me for I am a sinner
2. Revival fire of God, possess my life in Jesus name
3. Holy Ghost, incubate my life afresh with your fire in Jesus name
4. Hunger and thirst for the Word of God, possess me now, in Jesus name
5. Blood of Jesus, cleanse my heart in Jesus name
6. Lord Jesus, give me a new heart and a new spirit.
7. Powers quenching the fire of God in my heart, be consumed by fire in Jesus name
Ayodele John Adegbulugbe
www.xtianrace.blogspot.com
www.maritalsuccessresource.simplesite.com
Exodus 20:3 says,
‘Thou shall have no other gods before me’
This commandment forbids making any kind of idol and prohibits every kind of idolatry. An idol is anything that takes over God’s front seat position in our lives. It is anything that relegates God to the backseat in our hearts and lives.
Idolatry is not limited to image worship or graven images made with human hands or the likeness of anything in heaven, on earth or in the waters underneath the earth. Idolatry includes anything on which the heart of men is passionately set, extravagant admirations of the heart.
Idols and idolatry now includes the many modern day hobbies and interests that many devote their time and energies to, which include sports, foods, sex, friendships, internet, social media, computer, mobile phones etc., seeking for a sense of fulfillment through them.
Matthew 22:37-38 says:
‘Thou shall love the Lord, thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with thy entire mind. This is the first and great commandment’’
These verses tell us that our love for God must come from our hearts with all its inward affections; our souls with all its consciousness and our minds with all its thoughts. That means our hearts; souls and minds must be consecrated to God only.
The heart of a man cannot operate in a vacuum. Something or someone must occupy or fill it. There are two forces that seek to gain the control of the heart of a man – God and the Devil – and the one that gains control determines it direction and its eternal destination. Hence, the heart of a man is a battle field.
The heart of a man must be devoted to an affection. Affections are those things that occupy our times, things that motivate our actions and activities and fire our aspirations.
Affections are things waiting to be captured, want to cling to something or someone. Where our affections are, there will our hearts be devoted.
Affections are determines by what a man treasures, i.e. what our hearts will be devoted to will be determined by those things we attach value to. Our hearts always clings to what it treasures. Matthew 6:12 says ‘where your treasure is, there will your heart be also’’
For our heart to love God supremely, we have to treasure Him above everything else. We have to attach value to everything that God stands for. We have to make God, His business and interest our greatest treasure.
When we divert our attention from God, His business and interest, then our love for Him will grow cold. A cold church or cold Christian is a lukewarm Christian whose heart has misplaced its affections; which treasures has been replaced and is no longer devoted to Christ.
One of the signs preceding the 2nd Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ is the Social Sign. Under the Social Signs, the higher percentage of the human populace on earth are more inclined and devoted to social activities than the spiritual. The spiritual has been relegated to the backseat in the lives of many Christian believers.
This is one of the grand strategies of the Devil in this end times to lure the hearts of men away from their devotion to God,to derail the faith of many believers and send them to eternal destruction.
Many Christian believers now devote much more time and energies to social media activities –Facebook, Whatsapp, Instagram and many other social forum activities chatting away their lives, salvation and destinies – than they devote to the spiritual activities that define their walk with God; that have eternal values and will determine their eternal destination to Heaven or Hell.
The spiritual activities being neglected by many Christians include study and meditation in the Word of God, prayers, evangelism, quiet time, family altar, holiness and righteousness.
It is not uncommon seeing Christians come to church with android phones browsing the net during church services especially when the sermon is being delivered.
Matthew 6:24 says,
‘’ No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will hold to one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and Mammon.’’
One cannot be a servant of sin and Satan and a servant of righteousness and Christ at the same time. If one yields himself as an instrument of unrighteousness unto sin, he is a servant of sin and Satan and is not a Christian (Romans 6:13). If men prefer sin and Satan to God, then they are of the Devil and will be sent to eternal Hell with him (Matthew 25:41) (1 John 3:8).
When a Christian believer begins to follow and serve Christ with a half-hearted devotion and neglects the spiritual endeavors that define the quality of his personal relationship with Christ, then he is looking back and is not fit for the Kingdom of God (Luke 9:62).
Matthew 15:8 says:
‘This people draw near unto me with their mouth, and honour me with their lips but their hearts are far away from me.’’
A Christian believer whose heart is far away from Christ is a person whose heart is attached to the world, its values, systems and attitudes. He has one leg in Christ and has the other leg in the world. He is a friend of the world and has become an enemy of God (James 4:4) (1 John 2:15-17).
Remember Lot’s wife (Luke 17:32) who was already delivered from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah but looked back and became a pillar of salt. She was destroyed because she looked back. By looking back she lost her salvation and she looked back because her heart was attached to the world and its pleasures.
Are you a Christian believer that is looking back into the world? Learn from the tragedy that befell Lot’s wife. That tells us that salvation is not an un-forfeitable possession. One can have it and lose it afterwards through carelessness.
A believer whose heart is far away from Christ is a cold and lukewarm Christian whose fire is being quenched or has been totally extinguished (Leviticus 6:12-13). He is a spiritually dry Christian. Spiritual dryness results from two things – the Sin of Commission and the Sins of Omission.
Sin of Commission is presumptuous sinning that causes sudden darkness while the sin of omission gradually dims and obscures the light through factors such as the neglect of study and meditation in the Word of God and neglect of fervent prayers.
A lukewarm Christian that is neither hot nor cold is an abomination in the eyes of God and God says He will spue them out of His mouth (Revelations 3:15-16).
Salvation is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ that is based on consecration and self-denial (Mark 8:34-36). There are many worldly pleasures that Christians must avoid to qualify to end well and qualify for eternity with Christ.
The Bible says that in the Last Days, men will be lovers of pleasures more than being lovers of God (2 Timothy 3:4). The Bible in 1Timothy 5:6 warns that a person who is devoted to pleasures is dead while alive i.e. he is spiritually dead as far as God and His Word go.
A Christian whose heart and energies are more devoted to the internet and social media activities at the expense of the spiritual activities that define his personal walk with Christ is a worldly Christian and an enemy of God heading to eternal destruction unless he repents and follows God with a whole hearted devotion (Matthew 22:37).
A Christian whose heart has departed from his first love (Revelations 2:4) and is now running after ephemeral, mundane and vain things that fulfill the lusts of the flesh is a person who has lost focus of the things that are eternal (Colossians 3:2-3), putting his eternal soul in jeopardy.
Revelations 2:5 warns that we repent by remembering and recalling how we fell and to return to the first works else our candlesticks will be removed from its place. If your candlestick is removed, that means eternity in Hellfire.
This is calling for us to make a sober reflection of our Christian lives and how we are standing in the Lord. Are we standing or have fallen? 2 Corinthians 13:5 is asking us to examine ourselves whether we are still in the faith. Revelations 3:1-2 refers to Christians who think they are alive in Christ but in the records of God, they are dead.
He who has ears to hear, let him hear!
Prayers:
1. God, have mercy on me for I am a sinner
2. Revival fire of God, possess my life in Jesus name
3. Holy Ghost, incubate my life afresh with your fire in Jesus name
4. Hunger and thirst for the Word of God, possess me now, in Jesus name
5. Blood of Jesus, cleanse my heart in Jesus name
6. Lord Jesus, give me a new heart and a new spirit.
7. Powers quenching the fire of God in my heart, be consumed by fire in Jesus name
Ayodele John Adegbulugbe
www.xtianrace.blogspot.com
www.maritalsuccessresource.simplesite.com
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