Yesterday we talked about discerning the evil and deceiving spirits that are all around us in the church. Jesus drove out spirits, His disciples also drove them out and the church should also be driving these same spirits out. I said yesterday, “The truth is that most would fall to their knees if they could see the evil spirits around them and in them. We are at war but the church is not fighting with the power God had given us. Instead we rejected His way for our way.” Peter talks about the empty way handed down to us. 1 Peter 1:18 “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors.” Instead of being redeemed from these empty ways the church has continued to follow in them. 2 Kings 22:13 “Great is the Lord’s anger that burns against us because those who have gone before us have not obeyed the words of this book; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written there concerning us.” Those who have gone before us have not acted in accordance with what scripture makes very clear as to what God’s way is.
In the Old Testament God gave David plans. 1 Chronicles 28:11 “Then David gave his son Solomon the plans for the portico of the temple, its buildings, its storerooms, its upper parts, its inner rooms and the place of atonement. 12 He gave him the plans of all that the Spirit had put in his mind…” In the New Testament the plans for the temple changed yet you would think by all the books written by the gurus on church growth, that God actually forgot the plans in the New Testament but He didn’t. These gurus give you the impression that like David, God gave them the plans on how to build His church. The problem is those well-laid man-made plans are powerless to stand against our enemies. These man-made plans are not God’s plans because His plans are already laid out in the New Testament for all of us to see and they do not need any help. God’s plans actually have power to defeat our enemies. There is no longer a structural temple that God dwells in, as we are now that temple and no we are not waiting for another temple to be built. Ephesians 2:19 “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” Paul tells us that God does not live in temples made with human hands; now He is the hands. Acts 17:22 “Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you. 24 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. 26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. 28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring. 29 “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. 30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.” The new temple is supposed to be one body. 1 Corinthians 12:12 “Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.” When that body follows God’s plan, the church is invincible.
We saw God’s plan unfold with Jesus in the gospels and then the plan continued with the disciples and was supposed to continue in the church but it did not. The power present at Pentecost was not a one-time event and definitely not something our hands can produce on our own. The power we saw with the disciples was a precursor for what was to follow but the church didn’t follow. The church’s failure to continue as God planned is not because God’s plan was not good enough, as God’s plan included all the power needed for it to continue the way it was designed. The problem was the church decided to follow their own plans and set God’s plan aside. Paul told us what happened. Galatians 1:6 “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.” The church went after other gospels and did not discern the spirits and was deceived. He also said, Acts 20:29 “I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. 30 Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. 31 So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.” Jesus also said Matthew 7:15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.” We also saw this warning in Ezekiel 22:24 “Son of man, say to the land, ‘You are a land that has not been cleansed or rained on in the day of wrath.’ 25 There is a conspiracy of her princes within her like a roaring lion tearing its prey; they devour people, take treasures and precious things and make many widows within her. 26 Her priests do violence to my law and profane my holy things; they do not distinguish between the holy and the common; they teach that there is no difference between the unclean and the clean; and they shut their eyes to the keeping of my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. 27 Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey; they shed blood and kill people to make unjust gain. 28 Her prophets whitewash these deeds for them by false visions and lying divinations. They say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says’—when the Lord has not spoken.” This is why we need to be able to distinguish the spirits. These human hands were a mix of spirits and man.
When the church stopped following God’s plan to go their own way, we lost the power that went with the plan. The plan only functions in obedience and does not function without the power of the Holy Spirit. The church was designed to be clothed with power form on High. What we saw in Luke 9:1 “When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, 2 and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.” Matthew 10:1 “Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness. 7 As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons.” Pentecost was a continuation of what Jesus already did. Pentecost was the plan. Yes most in the church say they have the Holy Spirit but there is no power, so they don’t and the church refuses to repent. Hosea 11:5 “Will they not return to Egypt and will not Assyria rule over them because they refuse to repent? 6 A sword will flash in their cities; it will devour their false prophets and put an end to their plans. 7 My people are determined to turn from me. Even though they call me God Most High, I will by no means exalt them.” The church followed their own plans and exalted what their hands could make and now the church is desolate and remains in captivity.
The church over the years and I mean many years has become very human in all that it does, as week after week the church celebrates what their hands have made. Humanness is a term that you do not want the church described with, even though made up with humans, the body is supposed to be filled with the Holy Spirit and everything changes. 1 Samuel 10:6 “The Spirit of the Lord will come powerfully upon you, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person.” That is how it was supposed to be but the church today looks nothing like the gospel of Jesus Christ because they did not obey and follow His commands. When I talk about the plans being different for the temple in the New Testament as compared to the Old, they are still very much the same when it comes to battling our enemies. What is the same as the Old Testament is that we are still supposed to destroy our enemies, remembering that our enemies are not flesh and blood. Ephesians 6:12 “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Number 33:50 “On the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho the Lord said to Moses, 51 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you cross the Jordan into Canaan, 52 drive out all the inhabitants of the land before you. Destroy all their carved images and their cast idols, and demolish all their high places. 53 Take possession of the land and settle in it, for I have given you the land to possess. 55 “‘But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land, those you allow to remain will become barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides. They will give you trouble in the land where you will live. 56 And then I will do to you what I plan to do to them.’” Deuteronomy also gave us the plan that is similar. Deuteronomy 12:4 “These are the decrees and laws you must be careful to follow in the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given you to possess—as long as you live in the land. 2 Destroy completely all the places on the high mountains, on the hills and under every spreading tree, where the nations you are dispossessing worship their gods. 3 Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and burn their Asherah poles in the fire; cut down the idols of their gods and wipe out their names from those places. 4 You must not worship the Lord your God in their way. 8 You are not to do as we do here today, everyone doing as they see fit.” If they did follow God’s plan they were given this promise. Deuteronomy 11:22 “If you carefully observe all these commands I am giving you to follow—to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him and to hold fast to him— 23 then the Lord will drive out all these nations before you, and you will dispossess nations larger and stronger than you. 24 Every place where you set your foot will be yours: Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the Euphrates River to the Mediterranean Sea. 25 No one will be able to stand against you. The Lord your God, as he promised you, will put the terror and fear of you on the whole land, wherever you go. 26 See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse— 27 the blessing if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today; 28 the curse if you disobey the commands of the Lord your God and turn from the way that I command you today by following other gods, which you have not known.”
Today’s church is following other gospels just like Israel followed other gods and did not obey. Instead of victory we see defeat and people come and go, yet remain unchanged. You may look at a church and think how impressive; they must be doing what God has called them to do but don’t be mesmerized by people or by the buildings. Matthew 22:16 “They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are.” Paul said, Galatians 1:10 “Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.” Mark 13:1 “As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!” 2 “Do you see all these great buildings?” replied Jesus. “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.” 3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew asked him privately, 4 “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?” 5 Jesus said to them: “Watch out that no one deceives you.”
Unfortunately the worship of what human hands have made has ruined the church. Many churches have become very successful from an earthly perspective when compared to other earthly enterprises. Most churches today are just businesses run by business men and some do it better than others, that is they are able to gather funds yet there is still an incredible waste as most churches main emphasis is on filling the sanctuary on Sunday, at least it was and the rest of the week it sits empty for the most part. There is always a push for money to keep the ship afloat. Truthfully, if most businesses ran the way a church does they would not make it but what the church has going for them is the tithe, the pressure to give to the Lord. It is amazing the money people will give to what they think is God’s work. Some churches out there have operating budgets in the millions and that money isn’t going to the Lord but salaries mostly and building upkeep. I saw a couple of mega churches whose budgets were anywhere from 50 - 90 million dollars a year and everybody wants to be them but there is no power to defeat our enemies. They are not looking for a spiritual definition of success and to be clothed with power, they are looking for a human definition of success. The deception is that they think God is blessing them. satan tried to tempt Jesus and failed but he has succeeded with others who have not listened. Luke 4:5 “The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7 If you worship me, it will all be yours.”
Humans are very successful with their hands can make. In the secular world humans have done some amazing things as you saw lately with the Perseverance Rover landing on Mars. The church has been also very successful as many in the church are constantly trying to build something with their own hands but if you are building something in your own strength, it is an idol. If you are building something that promotes other gospels, then it is not God blessing you. Isaiah 2:8 “Their land is full of idols; they bow down to the work of their hands, to what their fingers have made.” Micah 5:13 “I will destroy your idols and your sacred stones from among you; you will no longer bow down to the work of your hands.” We are supposed to tear those things down. Here you can see that handmade idols have no power. This is what happens when you worship what your hands have made. Deuteronomy 32:16 “They made him jealous with their foreign gods and angered him with their detestable idols. 17 They sacrificed to false gods, which are not God— gods they had not known, gods that recently appeared, gods your ancestors did not fear. 18 You deserted the Rock, who fathered you; you forgot the God who gave you birth. 19 The Lord saw this and rejected them because he was angered by his sons and daughters. 20 “I will hide my face from them,” he said, “and see what their end will be; for they are a perverse generation, children who are unfaithful. 21 They made me jealous by what is no god and angered me with their worthless idols.”
When Hezekiah was under attack from Sennacherib, he prayed, 2 Kings 19:17 “It is true, Lord, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste these nations and their lands. 18 They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands. 19 Now, Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone, Lord, are God.” 2 Chronicles 32:19 “They spoke about the God of Jerusalem as they did about the gods of the other peoples of the world—the work of human hands.” Psalm 115:3 “Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him. 4 But their idols are silver and gold, made by human hands. 5 They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see. 6 They have ears, but cannot hear, noses, but cannot smell. 7 They have hands, but cannot feel, feet, but cannot walk, nor can they utter a sound with their throats. 8 Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them. 9 All you Israelites, trust in the Lord— he is their help and shield.”
The church itself has become an idol and success is measured by building size and number of programs and people. People who attend these churches worship some of these gurus as if they were gods. Also the success of the leader is measured in degrees. It used to be that you would have a Masters of Divinity but then as you may have noticed Dr. is now in front of their names to identify them as one of knowledge. For many churches the process for ministry is schooling. It is important to remember that Acts 4:13 “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.” Being filled with the Holy Spirit gives you wisdom and knowledge. Daniel 1:17 “To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds.” Also the number of books written will help with their success. Instead of the church being the church, that is where each does their part, most go to church to listen to someone teach or preach. Tomorrow I will be talking about this week after week event called church. You will also see when it comes to boards and leadership, the successful and educated are sought out. If you have a lawyer, doctor, businessperson and someone earning minimum wage, the first three will probably be looked at first. Meanwhile that minimum wage person may be the one that should be the leader. I am not saying the first three couldn’t be the spiritual leaders but most look at things from a human perspective. Even Samuel did that. 1 Samuel 16:6 “When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord.” 7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” We saw in acts how they picked someone. Acts 6:3 “Choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them.” If most boards had men like this, you wouldn’t see the chaos behind the scenes and pastors who have become kings would not be seen in churches. That is what we have come to after all this time, worshipping what our hands have made.
Because of this God is (has) devising a plan against us. Jeremiah 19:3 “Hear the word of the Lord, you kings of Judah and people of Jerusalem. This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Listen! I am going to bring a disaster on this place that will make the ears of everyone who hears of it tingle.” Jeremiah 18:11 “Now therefore say to the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, ‘This is what the Lord says: Look! I am preparing a disaster for you and devising a plan against you. So turn from your evil ways, each one of you, and reform your ways and your actions.’ 12 But they will reply, ‘It’s no use. We will continue with our own plans; we will all follow the stubbornness of our evil hearts.’” Jeremiah 6:16 “This is what the Lord says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’ 17 I appointed watchmen over you and said, ‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’ But you said, ‘We will not listen.” The Jews did not listen to Jeremiah and went down to Egypt anyways. Jeremiah 44:25 “Go ahead then, do what you promised! Keep your vows! 26 But hear the word of the Lord, all you Jews living in Egypt: ‘I swear by my great name,’ says the Lord, ‘that no one from Judah living anywhere in Egypt will ever again invoke my name or swear, “As surely as the Sovereign Lord lives.” 27 For I am watching over them for harm, not for good; the Jews in Egypt will perish by sword and famine until they are all destroyed. 28 Those who escape the sword and return to the land of Judah from Egypt will be very few. Then the whole remnant of Judah who came to live in Egypt will know whose word will stand—mine or theirs.”
When you follow your plan and not God’s, God will turn against you, but this is how it could be. Jeremiah 24:4 “Then the word of the Lord came to me: 5 “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Like these good figs, I regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I sent away from this place to the land of the Babylonians. 6 My eyes will watch over them for their good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down; I will plant them and not uproot them. 7 I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart.” Deuteronomy 11:13 “So if you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today—to love the Lord your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul— 14 then I will send rain on your land in its season, both autumn and spring rains, so that you may gather in your grain, new wine and olive oil. 15 I will provide grass in the fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied.” Deuteronomy 28:1 “If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. 2 All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God.”
The opposite of working with our own hands is the blessing of God. Here is the amazing part. If we obey God and follow His plan, He will even bless the work of your hands. God can either bless you or curse you. Human hands cannot control this. Haggai 2:17 “I struck all the work of your hands with blight, mildew and hail, yet you did not return to me,’ declares the Lord.” You do not have control of the weather but God does. As you see regularly in the news, when the weather turns bad there is little we can do about it. If you follow God’s plan Deuteronomy 28:12 “The Lord will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands.” Deuteronomy 30:9 “Then the Lord your God will make you most prosperous in all the work of your hands and in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your land. The Lord will again delight in you and make you prosperous, just as he delighted in your ancestors.”
When it comes to miracles, signs and wonders, the healing of the sick and casting out demons, our hands cannot do that on their own. Power will either come from satan or God and you need to know the difference. 2 Corinthians 11:13 “For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. 15 It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.” Luke 9:1 “When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons 2 and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.” Our only hope is to return to God’s ways and follow His plan. Revelation 15:3 “Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the nations.” Hosea 14:1 “Return, Israel (church), to the Lord your God. Your sins have been your downfall! 2 Take words with you and return to the Lord. Say to him: “Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously, that we may offer the fruit of our lips. 3 Assyria cannot save us; we will not mount warhorses. We will never again say ‘Our gods’ to what our own hands have made, for in you the fatherless find compassion.” We were told that the captivity would end, our enemies would be defeated and God would hear us but we must turn from our wicked ways and follow God’s ways. 2 Chronicles 7:13 “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, 14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. 16 I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.” Jeremiah 29:10 “This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”
So we pray Daniel 9:17 “Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, Lord, look with favor on your desolate sanctuary. 18 Give ear, our God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. 19 Lord, listen! Lord, forgive! Lord, hear and act! For your sake, my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name.” Psalm 33:10 “The Lord foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples. 11 But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations. 20 We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. 21 In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. 22 May your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you.”
