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KEEP YOURSELVES FROM IDOLS (II)
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 23
1 Samuel 15:10-23

1 Samuel 15:23

 

“Stubbornness is as

iniquity and idolatry.”

 

KEEP YOURSELVES FROM IDOLS (II)
 
Idolatry is our failure to love God and obey His Word, to exalt God’s Name alone, and to learn to be content in Him.
 
(a) Failure to Love God and Obey His Word: It is idolatry when we love our own will more than God’s Word. King Saul thought that it was fine to obey God partly, but God said to him through Samuel, “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, … For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry” (1 Sam 15:22- 23). God has magnified His Word above all His Name (Ps 138:2), so if we disobey His Word, we disobey Him. If we question God’s Word, we question God Himself! Disobedience to God’s Word is idolatry!
 
(b) Failure to Exalt God’s Name Alone: God is not pleased when we glorify His Name while harbouring secret motives to have our own names praised by men (Matt 23). The proper attitude is, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30). If we are controlled by the Holy Spirit, we will glorify Jesus alone (John 16:14). The apostle John did not need to mention his own name in the Gospel and in his three epistles when the early Church already knew him. But when necessary for the authentication of his writing, he put his name in the book of Revelation. Sadly, many church leaders still desire their names to be promoted unnecessarily. Their names have become an idol to them!
 
(c) Failure to Learn to Be Content in the Lord: The Bible speaks about “covetousness, which is idolatry” (Col 3:5) and the “covetous man, who is an idolater” (Eph 5:5). An idolater wants more and more, he wants what others have, he is greedy for wrongful gain. When a person is so greedy for fame, power, position, money, or any precious thing in this world, his heart and mind are pre-occupied with these things and there will be no room for the Lord or His Word! Are we learning to be content in the Lord, our All in All? (Phil 4:11, 1 Tim 6:6)
 
THOUGHT: Am I guilty of being an idolater?

PRAYER: Father, please forgive my idolatry.

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