Judgment Begins At The House of God

 

Habakkuk 2:19
Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Awake!’ or to silent stone, ‘Arise!’ Can it give guidance? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, yet there is no breath in it at all.”

Jeremiah 2:26, 27

26. As the thief is ashamed when he is caught, so the house of Israel is disgraced. They, their kings, their officials, their priests, and their prophets
27. Saying to a tree, ‘You are my father,’ And to a stone, ‘You gave birth to me.’ For they have turned their back to Me, and not their face. But in the time of their trouble They will say, ‘Arise and save us.’

Psalm 115:4-8
4. Their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men.
5. They have mouths, but cannot speak; they have eyes, but cannot see;
6. they have ears, but cannot hear; they have noses, but cannot smell;
7. they have hands, but cannot feel; they have feet, but cannot walk; they cannot even clear their throats.
8. Those who make them become like them, as do all who trust in them. 1 Peter 4:17

For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?

    Habakkuk and Jeremiah put out the call to Israel and her leadership that they must return to God, seeking Him with their faces. A call to repentance and salvation in God has gone forth since 30 A.D. when Christ gave the call at the beginning of His ministry. Matthew 4:17

From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, "Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

    Too many churches claiming to be God's houses have set up idols and pray to those idols, but not to God. Neither wood, nor stone, nor plaster, nor marble, nor gold, nor any manmade object has the power to answer prayer. Putting a St. Joseph statuette in your garden is blasphemy; as are the many Mary statuettes which adorn homes and churches. These idols will not bless you in any way, shape or form. But they will draw God's curses and condemnation on you.

    But these are not the only idols in the church. Putting anything first ahead of God in our hearts and our buildings is also idolatry. God demands, and expects, to be first in a person's heart, in our lives, in our thoughts. Our hopes and our dreams should be God-centered, God-oriented.

    A football game is not more important than spending time with God. A vacation from work and stress is not more important than spending time with God. Deliberately spending time with God and God's people is more important than any business transactions or family vacations. While it is good to get away from it all, the 'all' should not include getting away from God.

    Neither opinions nor political discourse belong at the pulpit. Only The full gospel of The Word of God is to be spoken here. An opinion is self-revelation, while politics is world governance. Neither should take the place of or be recommended instead of The Word which God gives the revelation of. Both of those are idolatrous in nature when given as coming from God.

    In Psalm 115:2 the nations around Israel said, "Where is your God?" Our God is in His heaven. It is there His Presence reigns over all the earth which He created. He alone is to be worshiped, though at this present time, we cannot see Him, we do believe His Word to be True and Faithful. We trust Him and we love Him. For He has chosen us as His own and He loves us with an everlasting love.

    Unlike the idols which mankind has made, which are visible but powerless. They have no abilities and cannot love the maker of them. There is no hope of resurrection after death for they themselves are not alive. They are filth and degradation in the hearts and minds of the people who make them and worship them.

    When God takes up residence in the heart of the believer, He begins to clean house. For now, our hearts are His dwellingplace, and our hearts are filthy. Having lived in sin darkness for so long, the sin and darkness must be removed from our hearts and our minds. God cleans these houses with blood and water: the blood of His Only Begotten Son and the water of His Holy Spirit.

    Having received our salvation by the blood of The Lamb of God, He now cleans us with the water of regeneration.

    Titus 3:4-6

4. But when The Kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared,

5. He saved us, not by the righteous deeds we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.

6. This is the Spirit He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior.

    But tragedy and destruction will be in the lives of those who, after receiving their salvation and newness of life, turn their backs to God and not their faces. A seeker's heart is always facing God's direction. But a backslider's heart, the heart of one who has turned their back to God and gone back to their sins, will be dealt with harshly unless they repent and turn back to God.

    The Lord Jesus Christ is returning soon to gather His church. Now is the time to prepare for His return. Today is the day we turn back to God, seeking His forgiveness and desiring to be filled anew with His blessed Holy Spirit.

    The call has gone out. Repent and turn to The Lord your God before it's too late.