Are you Building a Golden Calf or the House of God?
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Thoughts on Stewardship - Lesson 23 from Deuteronomy
Are you Building a Golden Calf or the House of God?
Foundation Scriptures: Deuteronomy 9 verses 4 – 16
Do not say in your [mind and] heart, after the Lord your God has thrust
them out from before you, It is because of my righteousness that the
Lord has brought me in to possess this land--whereas it is because of
the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is dispossessing them
before you. 5 Not for your righteousness or for the uprightness of your
[minds and] hearts do you go to possess their land; but because of the
wickedness of these nations the Lord your God is driving them out
before you, and that He may fulfill the promise which the Lord swore to
your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 6 Know therefore that the Lord
your God does not give you this good land to possess because of your
righteousness, for you are a hard and stubborn people. 7[Earnestly]
remember and forget not how you provoked the Lord your God to wrath in
the wilderness; from the day you left the land of Egypt until you came
to this place, you have been rebellious against the Lord. 8 Even in
Horeb you provoked the Lord to wrath, and the Lord was so angry with
you that He would have destroyed you. 9 When I went up the mountain to
receive the tables of stone, the tables of the covenant which the Lord
made with you, I remained on the mountain forty days and forty nights;
I neither ate food nor drank water. 10 And the Lord delivered to me the
two tables of stone written with the finger of God; and on them were
all the words which the Lord spoke with you on the mountain out of the
midst of the fire in the day of the assembly. 11 And at the end of
forty days and forty nights the Lord gave me the two tables of stone,
the tables of the covenant. 12 And the Lord said to me, Arise, go down
from here quickly, for your people whom you brought out of Egypt have
corrupted themselves. They have quickly turned aside from the way which
I commanded them; they have made for themselves a molten image. 13
Furthermore the Lord said to me, I have seen this people, and behold,
they are stubborn and hard. 14 Let me alone, that I may destroy them
and blot out their name from under the heavens; and I will make of you
a nation mightier and greater than they. 15 So I turned and came down
from the mountain, and the mountain was burning with fire. And the two
tables of the covenant were in my two hands. 16 And I looked, and
behold, you had sinned against the Lord your God; you had made for
yourselves a molten calf. You had turned aside quickly from the way
which the Lord had commanded you. Deuteronomy 9:4-16 AMP
The Children of Israel were miraculously delivered from the land of
Egypt and from the slavery that they had been under for hundreds of
years. In this passage, God reminds them of where He brought them from
- how He delivered them in the past and His plan for blessing them in
the future, if they would obey and serve Him.
When the Israelites were delivered from their captivity, God brought
them forth with an abundance of silver and gold. They stripped the
Egyptians of their wealth. God did this to repay them for the stuff
that was taken from them, and also what they were owed, during their
years of slavery. It was God’s way of making the Egyptians make
restitution. Then He wanted to provide for them and give them all they
needed to start a new life in the Promised Land. He wanted to make sure
that they had sufficient to take care of themselves, as well as a
surplus, so that they could build the house of God.
Something happened while Moses was up on the mountain receiving the
Holy Commandments of God for the people. He was gone for 40 days. They
thought he was dead and because of the evil in their hearts, they
decided to build an idol to worship. Even though they were taken out of
Egypt, Egypt was not yet taken out of them, so a golden calf was made
from the offerings with which God had blessed them.
This was not God’s plan. God’s plan was for them to use their gold,
jewels, and precious stones to build HIS house! An idol could be money,
a house, a car, sport, music, another person, or your own good looks!
An idol is anything that we value above God, Himself. God’s plan is not
for us to waste money on idols. God’s plan is for us to be blessed and
to bless the house of God.
Pastors Adonica’s Thoughts:
People might not believe that they really have an idol in their life
that is above God, but the best way to know is by taking a look at your
money and how and where it is spent. When you get paid, what is the
first thing you do with your money? If you are a Christian, and you do
not set aside the tithe before you spend anything else, God is not
first in your life – you have a golden calf in there somewhere
consuming your blessing!
Pastor Rodney’s Thoughts:
The Christian church, today, is no different from the children of
Israel. The fact of the matter is that the Lord has blessed us, and
will continue to bless us, when we obey and serve Him. However, His
blessings are not to be spent on temporary idols of the flesh or mind,
but His blessings are for the building of His house and that which is
eternal. Understand this one thing - you will either give for a golden
calf or you will give for the building of the house of God - but you
WILL give. Don’t build idols, build God’s house, which will remain
forever.
Prayer and Confession:
Father, I pray that you help me to never take my eyes off Your house.
Help me not to look away from Your beauty and be turned to idols. I
promise you that I will focus on eternal things – for all the carnal
things shall pass away, but eternal things will never pass away.
Recent:
Defeating Strife
These six things the Lord hates, indeed, seven are an abomination to Him: 17 A proud look [the spirit that makes one overestimate himself and underestimate others], a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, 18 A heart that manufactures wicked thoughts and plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, 19 A false witness who breathes out lies [even under oath], and he who sows discord among his brethren. Proverbs 6:16-19 AMP
Faith Facts
Faith is persistent
Luke 11:9-10 AMP
So I say to you, Ask and keep on asking and it shall be given you; seek and keep on seeking and you shall find; knock and keep on knocking and the door shall be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks and keeps on asking receives; and he who seeks and keeps on seeking finds; and to him who knocks and keeps on knocking, the door shall be opened.
John 16:24 AMP
Up to this time you have not asked a [single] thing in My Name [as presenting all that I AM]; but now ask and keep on asking and you will receive, so that your joy (gladness, delight) may be full and complete.
Faith is single-minded
James 1:5-8 AMP
If any of you is deficient in wisdom, let him ask of the giving God [Who gives] to everyone liberally and ungrudgingly, without reproaching or faultfinding, and it will be given him. 6 Only it must be in faith that he asks with no wavering (no hesitating, no doubting). For the one who wavers (hesitates, doubts) is like the