Tag Archives: Counterfeit

Daniel & His Faith Community

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(Note: This is the 6th in a series of posts on Daniel’s life)

Become Part Of A Spiritual Family

I have personally witnessed great spiritual transformation in the lives of believers when they changed one thing– when they began living in the community of faith! When they got involved with other believers; when they joined a Small Group; and, they began to share their lives & do life together, that’s when their spiritual life took off! Look at how Daniel responded when King Nebuchadnezzar, of Babylon, demanded that his wise men & counselors reveal the meaning of his dream; and, what he dreamed. Daniel responded, to the crisis, by taking it to his faith community! “Then Daniel went to his house and told his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah about the matter” (Daniel 2:17). Don’t try and wing the Christian life on your own!

Created For Community

God didn’t create to be isolated from others! He created us in His image… He of the triune community! He created us for community with Himself; and, for community with each other! “Without guidance, people fall, but with many counselors there is deliverance” (Prov. 11:14) Daniel did more than just hang out with his friends; he prayed with them! He urged “…them to ask the God of heaven for mercy concerning this mystery, so Daniel and his friends would not be killed with the rest of Babylon’s wise men” (Daniel 2:18).  Earlier, in the passage (v.10), the King’s counselors and advisors had told him that he was demanding something, from them, that “…no man on earth could do.” And, they were right! But, Daniel knew that a man fully connected to God, through prayer, could move God to do what “…no man on earth could do” & God responded!

God’s Supernatural Work Among Us

He answered their prayers & did the impossible. He gave Daniel the dream & the interpretation:  “The mystery was then revealed to Daniel in a vision at night” (2:19).  And, Daniel responded with praise (2:19-23). Praising God is the only appropriate response when we’ve experienced His supernatural work among us! He praised God’s name; or, His character & reputation! He praised God for His wisdom & power; and, for His Sovereignty over the times, the seasons & the nations! He praised God for the gift of wisdom & understanding that He shares with men! He praised God for revealing “hidden things” like dreams; and, for the grace He had personally extended him! Daniel is an excellent tutor or mentor to anyone and everyone whose heart desires to act wisely in any given situation. He didn’t rely on his own wisdom! He didn’t try and fix things himself! He dropped to his knees, and asked God for help & wisdom to do the right thing! And, he waited for God to answer!

How God Uses “Impossible” Situations

Daniel’s story shows us that God uses the “impossible” situations, in life, to expose counterfeits. The Babylonian religion was the idolatrous worship of demons! God is beginning to kick out the props holding up the King’s “faith” in his counterfeit idols. God also uses the “impossible” situations, in life, to introduce Himself— “Here I am, King! I’m the one you’re really looking for!” Daniel answered the King: “No wise man, medium, diviner-priest, or astrologer is able to make known to the King the mystery… but, there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries” (2:27) God also uses the “impossible” situations, in life, to sanctify & grow His disciples! With every obedient step, that Daniel took, he was growing more confident in God! Life is rarely just about YOU! It’s often intertwined with the lives of others!

Don’t Expose My Idols!

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This Is A Hard Saying

Jesus earned quite the reputation for crazy, difficult, and hard sayings during His 3 1/2-year ministry on this planet. He said things like “…unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you”; and, “…it’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God”; and, “…let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God”; and, perhaps the craziest, “…if anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.” At one point, the Apostle John says the crowd, that followed Jesus, could take it no longer and said: “…this is a hard saying; who can understand it?” At that Jesus turned to them & asked them, “Does this offend you?…there are some of you who do not believe.” (John 6:60ff)

Flushing Out The Unbelievers

In that statement, we gain some insight into the reason for Jesus’ hard sayings— He intended to flush out the unbelievers, in the crowd, so they might acknowledge their unbelieving hearts & come to genuine faith; so that, they might trust Christ for salvation. Unfortunately, I’ve read more than one commentary try and explain away what Jesus said…. trying to soften the blow of His message by making it more palatable and politically correct! But, when you try and “sanitize” His message it loses the impact of the Gospel. Jesus fully intended to be offensive to His self-righteous audience; and, to shake up the religious leaders that taught a works-based, performance-driven salvation—  “If your righteousness does not exceed that of the Pharisees,” He said, “you’ll never see heaven.” To the rich man, He said: “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.” In all His “hard sayings,” Jesus was putting a spotlight on the false gods and idols in people’s lives. These were the things that people valued more than Creator God; and, Jesus exposed their idolatry!  The salvation God offers through Jesus is “free”, but it will cost you everything! God will not share the throne of your life with anyone or anything! When you accept the terms of His salvation, you give up all “rights” to your life.  “You are not your own, for you were bought with a price” 1 Cor. 6:19-20

But Aren’t Idols Bad Things?

That’s what we think; so, we try to re-interpret what Jesus said because He just couldn’t be calling all those good things we love— like family, career, our standing in the public eye— as idols, could He? We want to believe that idols are bad things; but, that’s rarely the case! Tim Keller, in his excellent book Counterfeit Gods, says, “…the greater the ‘good’, the more likely we are to expect that it can satisfy our deepest needs and hopes. Anything can serve as a counterfeit god, especially the very best things in life.”  Jesus came to set things in order— God’s in charge; He is King; He is Lord; and, He alone is to be worshipped! He has all authority over my life; and, He is to be valued as the ONLY treasure, above all His creation! Even good things become bad things when they take the place of the best! God is the BEST! He never created anything we love & enjoy to take His place in our lives! We need to see them as gifts; because they make very poor “gods.”

Gripped By God’s Greatness

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The Problem With Our Sovereignty

When Adam & Eve chose to listen to the wisdom of a talking snake shortly after taking their 1st  breath— air, compliments of their Creator God, by the way— the result was more than just a severed relationship with God. It was more than getting kicked out of paradise. What the serpent offered them, in exchange for their soul, was individual self-authority; or sovereignty;— or, “godlikeness”— without the Power of God! The Power of God, necessary to carry out individual sovereignty, was NOT the serpent’s to give!

Satan’s Counterfeit

So, they chose to accept Satan’s counterfeit offer “to be LIKE god.” But without the “Power of God,” all they could make was a decision to disobey.  So, that sinful decision to “be like god” was hard-wired into every individual through Adam & Eve’s original sin.  We’re all born into the world “acting” like we believe we’re “God”; and, growing up with this false sense of “individual sovereignty” without the “Power Of God” to back it up! The result is what some people call a “god complex”— it’s in our DNA. We’re self-deluded from birth! We’re arrogant! We think we’re infallible! We seek to control our environment from the moment we’re aware of it!

Silly Things People Say

It doesn’t help that we have parents; or, other people in our lives, who say silly things to us like: “You can do anything you put your mind to!” Really? So, I started putting my mind to it— I was going to be 6’ tall and play basketball in the NBA! I was going to be valedictorian in my class! I was going to become independently wealthy! Guess what! I’ve never been any of those things! The text in Genesis also says that when Eve looked at the fruit, that, “…it was desirable to make one wise…” she also bought into the lie of self-sufficiency— that we can follow our own wisdom; that we don’t need God. We just need to “listen to our heart.”

Our Heart Is Deceitful

But, God says our heart is “…deceitful and desperately wicked. No one can know it…” (Jeremiah 17:9) It’s not until God lets us “crash & burn” a few times that we begin to realize we’ve been duped; and, with the Holy Spirit’s help, the Gospel begins to make sense to us! Hey! We’re NOT in control! We’re out of control! We’re broken; and, we need a Savior because we can’t save ourselves! Jesus became that Savior through His work on the cross! And, He saves us from ourselves— from our “god complex”! Then the Holy Spirit moves in & begins to “reprogram” us; so, we start to look more like Jesus! Let us be gripped, Church, by the greatness of our God!

Above and Beyond

In Ephesians 3:20, the Apostle Paul encouraged the Church of Ephesus with these words: “Now to Him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us.” God can do more than we could ever ask or think because His Spirit indwells us! It’s not about US! It’s about the BIG GOD who indwells us! That’s where the power is! If our ministry is not about Him & His glory our efforts are futile! “Self-Reliance” and “self-sufficiency” are such subtle sins! They constantly slip into our lives and sabotage our ministry efforts! Let us humble ourselves before Him— let us agree with John the Baptizer when He said of Jesus: “He must increase; and, I must decrease!”  Dear God… bring revival to your church! Change our hearts! Make us so dependent on you that we bathe every decision in submissive prayer, seeking God’s wisdom over our own!

Don’t Be Deceived!

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-How To Approach Your Faith!

To beware of something is to be wary; to be cautious; to be careful! It means you can’t assume anything! You take all the necessary precautions. And, that’s how Scripture tells us to approach our faith! Beware that you’re not deceived! Be aware of the genuineness of your faith. Be sure it’s not counterfeit.  “Test yourselves,” the Apostle Paul told the Corinthians,  “to see if you are in the faith. Examine yourselves. Or do you yourselves not recognize that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless you fail the test” 2 Cor. 13:5. Put your faith to the test, Paul says! Examine it! Compare it with Scripture! Does it match up? Is it authentic?

-The Holy Spirit’s Work In You!

The Apostle Paul also wrote the Church of Rome and told them, that, “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God” Romans 8:16. God’s Holy Spirit indwells every believer! I know when He’s there! You know it too! And, He Himself will convince you that you belong to God because you’ve denounced your own worthiness & you’re clinging to the righteousness of Christ to save you! Numbers 16 unpacks the story of Korah; how he incited rebellion against Moses because of his desire to hold a more prominent position of leadership in the Jewish nation. This raises a red flag in regard to the genuineness of his faith.

-Desiring To Lead!

A desire to lead is, in itself, not evil! It’s not necessarily evil to be a leader! In fact, one of the qualifications, of an Elder in the church, is that they hold a “desire” to actually be a leader. It’s really the rest of the Biblical qualifications that either confirm or deny that the person is fit to be a leader in the church.  What is the motive behind that desire to obtain a position of leadership? That was Korah’s issue!

-Rebellion Against Leadership!

The Scripture gives us a peek into his motives in the first 3 verses of Numbers 16:  “Now Korah son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took 250 prominent Israelite men who were leaders of the community and representatives in the assembly, and they rebelled against Moses. They came together against Moses and Aaron and told them, ‘You have gone too far! Everyone in the entire community is holy, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the Lord’s assembly?’” Korah sought a higher level of leadership by rebelling against the legitimate leader; who was God’s choice to lead— Moses! His desire, for Moses’ position of leadership, was illegitimate! It was motivated by a lust for power & a desire to be recognized! His evil motive was exposed by his methods!

-Undermining Legitimate Leadership!

And, then it says he set off to undermine Moses by gathering 250 prominent men, who were also leaders in the camp. Rebels always seek to gather a crowd when they oppose leadership because that gives the appearance that they’re right & the legitimate leader is wrong! No doubt he did so by whispering, spreading rumors & back-biting the current leadership. But, the one true God is more than capable of righting the wrong; and, He will right all wrongs Romans 12:19 tells us! Moses doesn’t defend himself! He puts the situation in God’s court (vs.6,7); and, God judges Korah severely! The earth opens up and swallows up Korah and all 250 rebels with him! That’s intense! The application? It tells us to submit to God’s sovereign plan & to submit to those leaders He has placed in our lives!