SUPERSTITIOUS WORSHIP                           

      PREACHED IN THE OPEN AIR AT THE GALLUP,    NM,INDIAN MARKET

                                   By: General Deborah Green                                   

PRAISE GOD. Today I am going to be reading out of the book of Ezekiel.

Now it is not a difficult thing to come unto Jesus, and it is not something that takes you a long time to do. It is simply a matter of believing in and receiving of the Son of God, the One who have Himself as the propitiation that is the substitute for the sinful state of humanity.

When Jesus came upon this earth as the Son of God, His Father allowed Him to be abused, to be evil spoken of, to have all manner of things done against Him, but nonetheless He prevailed in His mission. He prevailed because it was God alone that He sought to please, that He sought to obey and follow after. When we keep our vision ever upon Jesus we will find that we are strengthened even in the times of adversity, even in the times of poverty and sickness, even in the times when things are not going our way.

Because it is Jesus who is well able, it is Jesus who will uplift us and bring us forth. Now today in Ezekiel chapter eight, the name of this message is, "Superstitious Worship." We will find out what it is that God the Father had against superstitious worship that we do not participate in the same. But rather that we give our worship unto Jesus who is the Son of God, the one who is the Savior, the Redeemer.

Now beginning here in chapter eight in verse five, it says, "He [the Spirit] said to me, Son of man, now lift up your eyes toward the north. So I lifted up my eyes towards the north, and behold, the north of the altar gate, that idol image of jealousy in the entrance. Furthermore the Spirit said to me, Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great abominations that the house of Israel is committing here to drive me far from my sanctuary? But you shall again see greater abominations."

So God the Father was showing unto the prophet the way whereby men were practicing those things, forbidden by God and they were doing those rudiments of superstitious worship that caused them to be a grief unto God. Now it says going on here: "And He brought me to the door of the court, and when I looked, behold, there was a hole in the wall. Then He said to me, Son of man, dig now in the wall. And when I had dug in the wall, behold, there was a door. And He said to me, Go in and see the wicked abominations that they do here." So we see that God the Father was addressing the issue of the sin of the people, of the abomination of those things that were forbidden by God.

WE ARE LIVING IN A TIME WHEN PEOPLE HAVE FORGOTTEN THE STANDARD OF GOD, THE DICTATE OF GOD, THE LAW OF GOD AND THEY THINK THAT ANYTHING GOES, YOU CAN DO ANYTHING THAT YOU WANT TO AND GOD IS OBLIGATED TO ACCEPT YOU. BUT THAT IS NOT THE TRUTH, THE TRUTH OF IT IS THERE IS A STANDARD THAT GOD HAS INTENDED, THAT GOD HAS DICTATED, THAT HIS PEOPLE WOULD LIVE IN, THAT HIS PEOPLE WOULD WALK IN, HE HAS INTENDED THAT THEY WOULD BE IN THE WAY OF WORSHIPING HIM IN TRUTH, AND IN LIGHT. BECAUSE WHEN IT IS THE LORD JESUS THAT WE WILL REPENT BEFORE, THAT WE WILL TURN UNTO, WE WILL SEE THAT HE DOES UPLIFT US, DIRECT US, CORRECT US AND GUIDE US IN TRUTH.

But when we are giving way to superstitious worship, we are following after those things that will prove to be darkness and in the end futility. Because many of the things that people choose to worship through tradition and through pride are not at all to be found in the way of the Living God.

"So I went in and saw there creatures of every form of creeping thing and loathsome beasts and all the idols of the house of Israel painted round about on the wall." They had done, you might say, an idol mural, a mural of idolatry, of the things that they were worshiping and this was of course a grief unto God.

"There stood before these pictures seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel, and in the midst of them stood Jaazniah the son of Shaphin, the scribe, with every man with his censor in his hand, and the thick cloud of incense was going up in prayer [to these gods]. Then said he to me, Son of man, you have seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in his secret chambers of idol pictures. For they say, The Lord does not see us, the Lord has forsaken the land."

So we see that because of their condition before God, they had left off obeying God, they had left off paying oblation unto God, and respecting the law, standard of God. Instead they were giving themselves to idolatry, they were giving themselves to the worship of the creation, they were giving themselves to bowing unto those things that were superstitious worship, that were not according to Word of life, the Word of truth, the counsel, the instruction of God.

"He said also to me, Yet again you shall see greater abominations which they are committing," then it says, "He took me to the entrance of the north gate of the Lord's house, and behold, there sat women weeping for Tamuz [a Babylonian god who was supposed to die annually and subsequently be resurrected]. Then said the Spirit to me, Have you see this, oh son of man? Yet again you shall see greater abominations that they are committing. And He brought me to the inner court of the Lord's house, and behold, at the door of the temple of the Lord between the porch and the bronze altar were about twenty-five men with their backs to the temple of the Lord and their faces toward the east, and they were bowing themselves toward the east and worshiping the sun."

SO WE SEE THAT THE WORSHIP OF THE SUN IS CONSIDERED ABOMINATION BEFORE GOD AND IT IS SOMETHING THAT INCURS THE WRATH. BECAUSE GOD DOES NOT WANT US TO BE WORSHIPING THE RUDIMENTS OF THE CREATION, THAT HE HAS CREATED. HE WANTS US TO BE WORSHIPING HIM FOR HE ALONE IS THE CREATOR AND IT IS THROUGH HIM THAT WE ARE ABLE TO GAIN SALVATION AND MERCY THROUGH JESUS CHRIST THE LORD.

"Then the Spirit said to me, Have you seen this, oh son of man? Is it too slight a thing to the house of Judah to commit the abominations which they commit here that they must fill the land with violence and turn back afresh to provoke me to anger? Lo, they put the branch to their nose [actually before their mouths] in superstitious worship. Therefore I will deal in wrath, my eyes will not spare nor will I have pity, and though they cry in my ears with a loud voice, yet I will not hear them."

So what is it saying? It is saying because of their superstitious worship, because they were worshiping those things that were traditions and not truth, because they were worshiping those things that were of the heathen, that were practices that were not acceptable unto God, because they were worshiping the sun and the moon, and the stars, and they were worshiping Babylonian idols, because they were worshiping even branches it said, that they were guilty of superstitious worship in the eyes of God.

What did God promise them for doing such things? He said, "I will deal in wrath." Now if you don't know what wrath is, it is very fierce anger, it is rage, it is displeasure for what they were doing. He says, "My eye will not spare, nor will I have pity, though they cry in my ears with a loud voice yet will I not hear them."

So we see that God was turning away from them, because they had chosen a way that was vile in His sight, because they had chosen to yield themselves to superstitious worship, because they were separated from the truth, the life, the strength that is only to be found in God.

Now there are a lot of people in this wicked and perverse generation who think they may do as they please, when they please, how they please. They think that whatever they do they will remain on the good side of God. But the truth of it is that God has a side of His wrath, His fury, His indignation, His sore displeasure when men will violate Him through their worship, when they worship those things that are abomination before the Living God.

There is a way that men are acceptable unto God that is through repentance of their sins, that is by acceptance of Jesus Christ as the only begotten Son of God, as the one who is the Savior from the penalty of sin. Now if men choose to oppose the way of the Lord, if they choose to go on in their own headstrong way, if they choose to deviate from His way they are liable to receive His wrath.

The Bible tells us there is a way that seems right unto a man, but that way will destroy him. Now we were created each and every one of us by God the Father and we are meant to worship Him in the way that He provides. We are not meant to give ourselves unto superstition, unto idolatry, unto traditions that are the antithesis of the truth of God.

BUT WE ARE MEANT TO GIVE OURSELVES WHOLEHEARTEDLY UNTO THE SAVIOR, TO BOW BEFORE HIM, TO WORSHIP AND ADORE HIM FOR HE IS LORD. WE ARE MEANT TO REPENT OF THE WICKEDNESS OF OUR OWN EVIL WAYS, TO COME UNTO JESUS AS THE SAVIOR, AS THE REDEEMER OF OUR SOULS. WE ARE MEANT TO BE THANKFUL THAT WE CAN INDEED BE UPLIFTED, INSTRUCTED, AND GUIDED IN HIS LIGHT.

Now in order to come to Jesus it is a matter of a repentant frame of mind for the sins that you have committed. For yes indeed men and women are guilty and guilty, and guilty of sin in the eyes of God. That is they are guilty of those sins that God had forbidden, they are guilty of stealing and lying and cheating and violence on every hand. They are guilty of adultery, they are guilty of homosexuality and perversion in all of its forms. They are guilty of doing those things that are wickedness, that are violation of other human beings, yet thinking if no one knows, that they get by.

But the truth of it is that God sees every man, every woman in their sinful state and He holds them responsible, accountable for the same. If you do not repent of your sins, if you do not turn to Jesus and receive Him as Savior and Lord, there is no way that you will escape the destiny of Hell. Because through Jesus and Him only are we given the opportunity to be redeemed. It is through Jesus and Him only that we are given the newness of life that He alone is able to provide.

Today is the day to cry out to Jesus, today is the day to ask for His mercy, for His forgiveness of your sins. Do not go on carrying the burden of your sins, carrying the burden of your own darkness, and being devoured by the same. Now I am going to pray the prayer of salvation join with me if you will. Do not waste your days, your years, your times in superstitious worship that does nothing except bring you the wrath of God. But rather this day know what it is to receive the Savior, to receive the Redeemer, the One who will love you and give you His life.

PRAYER:

Dear Jesus, I come before you, confessing unto you that I have been guilty of sin, I REPENT of doing those things that are evil in your sight. I ask you to forgive me for the wickedness, the evil that I am guilty of; I ask you to come into my heart, to be my Savior and Lord. I ask you to bring me forth in the newness of life that can only be found in you. I thank you, dear God, I thank you, dear Jesus, the Savior of all mankind. Amen.