Knowing the Living Jesus Christ versus the practice of religion.
My hope in presenting the last several posts is to point out that “Spiritual Warfare” is not about yelling into the atmosphere and binding Satan in Jesus’ name. Satan has no power other than that which we give him. Remember Satan is all about deception, he will try to imitate God and then try to distort the truth into a lie. In other words, Satan offers us a counterfeit of the genuine promises found in Jesus Christ. A partial lie is the same as a total lie; Remember, a drop of poison into a cup of pure water poisons the whole cup! Show More
Recall 2 Corinthians 10:3, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds (those things we hold strongly to in our minds), 5 casting down arguments (Satan’s lies) and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God (when you focus on self instead of Christ), bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ (transformation)”.
There is a lot of superstition in Christianity.
What I mean is that there are many practices and rituals that have no real power over the enemy. God does not respond to rituals and the traditions of men but responds to genuine prayer and a mind that is being transformed into the likeness of Jesus Christ. Faith, prayer, and righteousness are what moves God.
The Apostle Paul had seen all of the foolishness of rituals and traditions of men before he turned to Jesus. He had grown up as a devout Hebrew and Pharisee. He was exposed to the surrounding heathen practices of the Gentiles of the time. However, when he met Jesus his life was turned around and He saw the true power, authority,
The key is relationship not religion.
Religion has to do with how we worship God. Being born-again means you are a son or daughter of God (Galatians 3:26 -4:7)! There is a big difference between relationship and religion.
As I’ve said before Jesus is looking for a relationship which means two-way communication. First, you must be born-again, then you talk to Jesus in a personal way. His Holy Spirit dwells in you so that you can hear His voice, to discern the truth, empowering you to follow Him and to resist the enemy- the Devil.
Relationship vs. Religion in 1 Kings 18:1-40
A good example of this difference between relationship and religion is found in 1 Kings 18:1-40. This is the account of Elijah the man of God and the Baal Priests of Ahab and Jezebel.
The nation of Israel had fallen far from the true worship of one God. Because of the evil King Ahab and his wife Jezebel, Israel had fallen into the worship of other gods. That is why the Prophet Elijah said in 1 Kings 18:21, “And Elijah came to all the people, and said, “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people answered him not a word”.
What Elijah was saying is that you can’t serve two masters or two Gods. You need to make a decision. If you are going to follow Jesus, you must abandon all the other practices of religion. In Elijah’s time, the people of Israel were giving sacrifices and offerings to Jehovah God, and also to Baal and Asherah. Baal and Asherah were heathen gods that demanded defiled worship as well as
Elijah’s challenge to false gods.
I am sure you remember the story of Elijah’s challenge to the prophets of Baal. He challenged them to a duel or competition to see whose god would respond with fire. Elijah and the prophets of Baal each were given a bull to sacrifice and wood to place the bull on. However, neither Elijah nor the prophets of Baal were to light the fire. Each would call on their God for the fire.
The Baal worshipers set up their animal sacrifice first. 1 Kings 18:26-29 says, “So they took the bull which was given them, and they prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even till noon, saying, “O Baal, hear us!” But there was no voice; no one answered. Then they leaped about the altar which they had made”.
27 “And so it was, at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, “Cry aloud, for he is a god; either he is meditating, or he is busy, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened.”
28 “So they cried aloud, and cut themselves, as was their custom, with knives and lances, until the blood gushed out on them. 29 And when midday was past, they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice. But there was no voice; no one answered, no one paid attention”.
Now it is Elijah’s turn.
The first thing he did was to restore the altar of the one true God, Jehovah, or Yahweh as He was known to the Israelites. Then he set up the wood and placed the cut-up pieces of the sacrificial bull on top of the wood. Then he does something amazing, he floods the wood with water, the sacrifice with water, and the trench around the altar with water.
Then beginning in 1 Kings 18:36 “And it came to pass, at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, “Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word. 37 Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that You are the Lord God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again.”
38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. 39 Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, “The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God!”
Pay special attention to the language of Elijah’s prayer. He doesn’t bring attention to himself but gives all attention, glory and praise to God. He speaks of someone who knows his God and therefore does great exploits (Daniel 11:32b “but the people who know their God shall be strong and carry out great exploits”.
Elijah can ask great things because he knows, on a personal level, how great his God is.
If you want to see great things and do great exploits for God build your relationship with Him. He wants to be known and He wants to know you. Not in a ritualistic or traditional way, but in a personal way! Then you will go from knowing about your God to knowing Him and hearing His voice.
