The Religious Vs The Righteous

  

 "If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal".- 1 Corinthians 13: 1

 Men of JEANS are admired, men of POWER are feared, men of WEALTH are envied but men of CHARACTER are trustworthy. Judas ate with Jesus at the last supper, he was part of the evangelical crew, his feet was washed by Jesus, he was the Lord's chief treasure but his uncontrollable love for money eventually led him to betray Jesus. This proves RELIGIOUS ACTIVITIES does not equal RIGHTEOUSNESS. The thing that really builds character in us is the faith we have in the character of God.

In Exodus 32:1-35, Moses left the Israelite for sometime to meet with God at the mountain but while he was away, the people became anxious and made themselves another god simply because Moses was taking too long to come from the mountain. And though Moses asked the Lord to have mercy on the people but God punished them for that act. God is after our heart, he needs our obedience not religious rites.

I attended a burial ceremony and immediately a man standing close to me saw one of the Church ushers in the Church, he was shocked and began to shout; 'how can this wicked man be a church usher'. The Usher was so embarrassed he moved fast to the next roll. So many people in the Body of Christ think their religious activities can cover up their offenses. The Lord knows and sees every hidden wickedness. We are suppose to be the express image of God, not only in our local Church but also in our work place and every where we go to.

Another typical instance can be found in 2 Samuel 6, when the Ark of God was brought to Jerusalem. But before it was returned, the Philistines had the Ark, they placed the Ark in Dagon's temple in Ashdod but removed it when the Lord destroyed the idol of Dagon (1 Sam. 5). And the people where smitten with a disease, they removed the Ark from Ashdod to several other cities but in each city the people fell ill, so the Ark was returned to the Israelite.

David and all Israelite celebrated its return but the bible records that during the celebration ceremony, they placed the Ark on a rock-in oxen and when Uzzah reached out and took hold of the Ark because the oxen stumbled the Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah and he fell down dead.

David was afraid of what had happened and he said, “How can the Ark of the Lord ever come to me?” He did not take the Ark of the Lord with him to the City of David. Instead, he took it to the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. The Ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite for three months, and the Lord blessed him and his entire household (2 Samuel 6).

Let analyze reasons Uzzah died, Uzzah was the son of Abinadab, chosen by David, to guide the new cart but God does not choose base on personal sentiments. The fact your  brother is a pastor does not make you automatically an assistant pastor, the affairs of God is base on divine selection. God had given Israel a pattern for transporting the Ark of the Covenant - the sons of Kohath, the son of Aaron, were given the responsibility of transporting the Ark. The high priest was assigned to cover the Ark with a veil and the sons of Kohath were to carry the Ark on their shoulders (Num. 4:1-15). But this did not happen.

Isn't interesting that though David and the Israelite played musical instruments and danced with all their mind but it did not stop Uzzah from falling dead. Many times we see Church folks sing praises and dance to songs coming from the choir but immediately the Church service is over, just at the church car park, you see the same persons swearing and cursing the church security personnels' for asking them to park their cars properly. This means while they were dancing they were just having a Church experience, Jesus is far from their hearts. This is similar to what happened back in the day when the Ark was brought back to Jerusalem. They did not follow the standards laid by God so Uzzah died. We must understand that religious rites do not cover up for disobedience to God.

Likewise the Philistines suffered for placing the Ark in the Dagon temple, when the Israelite placed the Ark of God on their new cart they too ignored the divinely appointed order and substituted their own arrangements. It was until Uzziah fell dead that David had to ask God what was right. One of the problems we have in the Body of Christ is we do things our way and forget to seek God first. David acted without divine orders and it resulted to consequences.

Three months later, when David brought the Ark from the house of Obed-edom, he had learned the lesson of following the Lord's pattern. He order, "None ought to carry the ark of God but the Levites: for them hath the Lord chosen to carry the ark of God, and to minister unto him for ever" (1 Chron. 15:2).

The new cart or rock-in oxen is like a parrot who listens to the message of a Pastor and preaches the same message. We all know Parrots can repeat what they hear but a Parrot cannot display the true character of God. We have many people in the Body of Christ who clap their hands all day but their fruits are soar. They clean the Church but only for people to see them and praise them, right inside their homes they are a terror. A taxi man once told him, his wife is a dedicated church member and a member of the christian mothers but for one year she has not allowed him sleep with her.

The true identity of Christian life is love. In the new covenant, the Ark of God is in the tablet of our hearts. He lives in us. 1 Corinthians 13, clearly states that no religious action can take the place of love. Jesus used Himself as an typical example at the cross, when he did not curse those who persecuted Him. And maybe blind Bartimaeus who got healed by Him was among those who persecuted him but He prayed they all be forgiven. We are not entertainers we are the express image of Christ. To know Jesus is to live for Jesus. Invite the Holy Spirit and let God live the holiness in you. Many people are in Church but are not growing because they do the works of righteousness without the God of righteousness. We are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Thank you Holy Spirit.

Shalom!