Theme. Breaking Down Competition and Counterfeit
Altars.
Judges
6:24-26
Pastor Paul Obadare
March 17, 2009
Topic: Identifying and breaking down Competing
Alters for Effective Pastoral Work.
Preamble
God created man as a
spiritual community. God made an image of
him-self in clay and called this image “Man.”
Man was a clay nothing; but, God’s breathed and made him a living soul.
Because God is Spirit,
man was created a spiritual being.
However, he needing to operate through the house called “Body.” So man was: First Spirit; Second soul—the breath
(and life of God); then Third housed him in a Body—the house he was designed to
operate in.
Our original formation
is Spirit, Soul and body instead of body Soul and Spirit. (Genesis 1:26 tells us God made the clay suit
put His spirit within and breathed the soul and life into the man. Also: I Thessalonians 5:23)
Body, Soul and Spirit
means we have been operating in a wrong identity. It means we are operating from outside in. Rather than operating from inside out—spirit,
soul and body.
This is the reason for
redemptive work of Jesus, to reconstruct and change our identity and wrong
ideology.
Spirit is to
communicate with God; Soul (to choose God by
free will and communicate with Him) and
communicate with our-selves; and body to communicate with the environment and
house the soul and spirit.
With the above Divine
view of creation, the following case work explains human distortion of this
view. It explains the misuse and abuse of Man’s choice.
Judges Chapter 6. The call, commission and challenges of Gideon
1.
Identifying
the symbolic meaning of the false altar.
a.
Right/ Wrong choices: These people were God’s chosen generation, a special
and peculiar people. They were His
treasure. They chose the wrong man and
they made a thing they called their god.
b.
Right
choice: Right sacrificial offerings. Two Bulls. Young bull for his own
sacrifice. Father’s bull feed for seven
days, fatten bull to sacrifice to God. (Lev 16:6-10)
God chose Gideon for his work, even
though the one He chose felt he was not qualified for the task—but He chose
him. God chooses his own people and
qualifies them for his word.
1.
What is
the typical example of this choice? (Moses-prophetical leader; Joshua-Military
leader, Eleazer the voice of God for direction)
a.
Take
Numbers 27:18-21 and the example of David as his perfect choice.
b.
In Numbers
27, we see appointment or a choice of God qualified
c.
Recognition
for public approval
i.
Commissioning
(charges—1 Tim 5:21,6:13-17, Col 4:17)
ii.
Empowerment
iii.
Partial
authorization and
iv.
Authentication
and control given to a priest for final direction.
2.
I called
it ordination without authorization. God
is always having the last say in whatever position he appoints.
a.
The
anointing of David was done three times:
i.
Private,
secret Family, anointing, 1 Sam 16:11-13,
ii.
Regional/familiar/public
anointing, 2 Sam 2:4, and
iii.
National /famous/
popular Anointing 2 Sam 5:3.
b.
God’s
choice of Israel and Gideon went through these stages. But the Israelites deferred from His choice.
c.
Wrong
Identify: wrong nature—God’s nature of holiness and righteousness was compromised
and rejected.
d.
Wrong
Devotion: Worshipped Baal, the male god
of fertility and his counterpart Ashtoreth the Sidonians’ goddess of fertility
which was worshipped at the grove beside the image of Baal. They broke the second commandment; “thou
shall not have any other God beside me or make any graven images to worship.” Lots of others too!
e.
Wrong
Priorities—Led to a polarization of conflicting ideologies and sinful practices
which resulted in defeating competitions.
a.
Competition
had existed since ancient times
b.
Man was sandwiched between the righteousness
of God and wrath of the devil.
c.
The devil
used man’s disobedience to compete with God’s righteousness and justice.
d.
This dirty
game has been the major instrument of the devil to derail lots of people from
the divine desire of God. Self promotion
against the divine will of God and holy living.
e.
This study
of Israel and Gideon revealed it was a competition between God and the devil’s
Baal. Though Jehovah brought the
Israelites out of Egypt to settle them in the promise land, Baal, the evil
twisted sexual sin of the enemy, defeated man by a man made wooden image they
captured in the land they were to claim as their inheritance.
f.
In this
case Baal and any other images were to be destroyed along with the sins of the altar
of worship. Baal was not even able to
fight for the people who worshipped the dead god. What a shame.
i.
Two conflicting
natures,
1.
principles,
2.
laws,
ii.
And the
enemy of our souls, the pagan gods,
1.
the aim is that one must gain or take control
over the other,
2.
The
object, recognition accompanied by pride
g.
Example of
notable competitions:
i.
Lot and
Abraham, Gen 13:5-9
ii.
Sarah and
Hagar, Esau and Jacob Gen 23:26
iii.
Pharaoh’s
magicians duplicating snakes,
iv.
Miriam and
Aaron with Moses’ leadership
v.
Saul and
David
vi.
Abner and
Joab, 2 Sam 2:14, 26-27
vii.
Absalom
and David
viii.
Four
hundreds Baal prophet and Elijah, 1 Kings 18:44-46
ix.
James and
John against other disciples
x.
James and John
against Samarian town, Luke 9:51-56
xi.
John’s
disciples and
xii.
Jesus’ John
3:26-31. The list could go on and on.
f.
Competition
begins with:
a.
Consultation
b.
Confrontation
c.
Conflict
d.
Condemnation.
g.
The goal
is to control. Competition could result
in indifference –non-charlatan attitude ultimate leads to rebellion—Numbers
11:24-30
h.
Wrong
Imitation. They want to replicate the
worship of the true God through the worship of the false God.
i.
Wrong
government.
a.
Humans
have all too often resorted to a wicked system of government. Usually the result is an abuse of freedom.
i.
The rulers
become selfish and prideful doing whatever benefits their finances and
interests—literally, they do whatever they like.
ii.
Laws are
taken into their hands and they continue in greed and abuse of the people they
are to rule.
iii.
More and
more the people want to be taken care of and become unable to make their own
decisions—enslaved to sexual and perversions of their choice.
iv.
Lastly,
unable to support the costs of their sins—the people fall into revolution and
great losses of lives and into rebellion—Numbers 11:24
j.
Altars of
wrong government
a.
These are
some of the identifying altars that need to be
demolished:
i.
No other God must exist apart from the true
God.
ii.
No other vision must exist in the land that
was their inheritance and to be subdued by them, making it the promise land.
iii.
They were
just foreigners and tenants in the land.
(Leviticus 25:23-24; Psalm 24:1; Psalm 85:1; 2 Chronicles 7:20; Joel
2:18; Psalm 30:12; 119:19; and 1 Peter 2:11.)
k.
These
mentioned altars must be definitely removed before we can engage in any
effective pastoral work.
l.
In the
same way—likewise-- we have been chosen as
the members of the household of God,
a.
Later we
were called out as leaders to serve
b.
Attend to
the need of God, saving the souls of man.
c.
We are His
church, He is the head of the church and we are His members.
d.
There
cannot be duplication or a wrong priority in His (His own) kingdom. As a body part we functions in different ways. Yet, within the same structure we agree for our
common purpose. This is the reason God gave members of His
church different gifts so we may grow and mature according to his expectations—in
our many-membered body.
e.
The result
is: we have the people, the appointed leaders, the divine gifts and tools
needed for growth and expansion of His Kingdom.
f.
The final
outcome of this is the inheritance of the Kingdom that is not of this
world. He created us to live with Him
forever in this Kingdom with Him.
m.
We are
therefore equipped:
a.
To wrestle
with the powers of this world
b.
Break down
the duplicate altars of the devil the prince of this material world, using the
heavenly manual—The Word of God.
c.
We are to
cast off the works of darkness through the power of the Spirit of God
d.
Let us put
on the armor of Light for living holy lives.
The sin of priest
brings guilt on the people Lev 4:1-2.