Cling to Christ!

A Divided Heart Leads To Spiritual Robbery

God desires and requires our whole-hearted devotion—no idols and no other loves. Having a divided heart will affect you in distinct ways, robbing you of God’s best. Let’s talk about it!

Idols Rob Your Health

“The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. [Idols] have mouths, but they speak not; eyes have they, but they see not; They have ears, but they hear not, nor is there any breath in their mouths. Those who make [idols] are like them; so is everyone who trusts in and relies on them.” Psalm 135:15-18 (AMPC) 

Idols are blind, deaf, dumb, and lame, and “Those who make idols are like them; so is everyone who trusts in and relies on them.” It should not be surprising then to us that those who focus on and worship blind, deaf, dumb, and impotent idols receive their same condition—eye diseases, hearing problems, speech problems, and afflictions causing immobility. The truth is that if you want to walk in divine health, strength and vitality for all your days, you must get rid of idols!

Idols Rob Your Gifts 

“Now there are distinctive varieties and distributions of endowments (gifts, extraordinary powers distinguishing certain Christians, due to the power of divine grace operating in their souls by the Holy Spirit) and they vary, but the [Holy] Spirit remains the same. 

All these [gifts, achievements, abilities] are inspired and brought to pass by one and the same [Holy] Spirit, Who apportions to each person individually [exactly] as He chooses. 

But earnestly desire and zealously cultivate the greatest and best gifts and graces (the higher gifts and the choicest graces). And yet I will show you a still more excellent way [one that is better by far and the highest of them all–love].” 1 Corinthians 12:4, 11, 31 (AMPC)

 There are some very important keys to take to heart from Paul’s teaching here.

• First of all, Spiritual gifts are the product of the Holy Spirit…not your spirit. The gifts are perfect and powerful because they are an expression of God Himself—heaven invades the earth through the operation of the gifts.

• Secondly, the gifts are due to the divine grace operating in your soul. This is important because since the gifts don’t come from you but rather through you, through your soul, the condition of your soul is very important.

• And lastly, we have the ability to “upgrade” in our giftings. Wow. Have you thought of that? Paul encourages us in verse 31 to “earnestly desire and zealously cultivate…the best gifts…the higher gifts”.

Spiritual Gifts then are affected by the condition of your soul. How your gifts manifest will be influenced by how healed, pure, and free you are. This means the more healed you are in your soul, the more you will demonstrate “the extraordinary power” of the Spirit (1 Cor. 12:4). God won’t entrust high level gifts to someone whose soul is out of control—still mouthing off, still craving attention, still greedy for things, etc.

As you get more healing in your soul through the dunamis at work in you by grace, the extraordinary power and high level gifting will be able to be displayed through you more and more. Can you keep your junk and your idols? Sure, but at what cost? Choosing healing means choosing God’s best and highest for you. If you want to operate in the gifts at high levels of grace and power, you must get rid of idols!

Idols Rob Your Spiritual Senses 

“Son of man, you dwell in the midst of the house of the rebellious, who have eyes to see and see not, who have ears to hear and hear not, for they are a rebellious house. [Mark 8:18.]” Ezekiel 12:2 (AMPC) 

“…Jesus said to them, Why are you reasoning and saying it is because you have no bread? Do you not yet discern or understand? Are your hearts in [a settled state of] hardness? Having eyes, do you not see [with them], and having ears, do you not hear and perceive and understand the sense of what is said? And do you not remember?” Mark 8:17-18 (AMPC) 

We all want to see, hear and move in the spirit; this is what we are created for! However, in the same way that idolatry opens the door for physical blindness and deafness, idolatry will also bring spiritual blindness and deafness, making you dull and insensitive to Holy Spirit.

Jesus wants us to be sharp in the Spirit! We need to be deeply connected to the Holy Spirit so that we are quick to heed His voice and be Spirit-guided as we minister to others and so that we are discerning of the enemy’s wiles and people’s deceptions. If you want to walk in the Spirit, be led by the Spirit, and flow with the Spirit in ministry, you must get rid of your idols! 

Cling to Christ!
Holding onto idols will cause your walk with the Lord to be impeded and difficult, rife with stumbling, confusion, and error because your spiritual senses are clouded. God has so much He wants to put in your hands, my friend, so let go of the worthless things in order to gain Him, the priceless One!

Thank you for taking time to join this discussion of idolatry and how it robs your spiritual growth and vitality. Be sure and go to our website to see all the blogs in this series; I know you’ll be blessed!

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