NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER A WARNING & PRAYER

May, 2016

National Day of Prayer - May 5

"The High Places Remain"

"And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcases upon the carcases of your idols, and My soul shall abhor you." - Leviticus 26:30

"Only the people sacrificed in high places" - I Kings 3:2

"only he (Solomon) sacrificed and burnt incense in high places" - I Kings 3:3

"And he (Jeroboam) made a house of high places" - I Kings 12:31

"For they (Judah) also built them high places" - I Kings 14:23

"But the high places were not removed"- I Kings 15:14

The great sin of our nation and the church is found in these two words that are laced throughout scripture, almost 100 times, the high places.

The Warning

The warning was given under the days of Moses. The children of Israel had seen for over 400 years the false gods of Egypt  Now they entered into the wilderness and heard and seen of all the -ites of the land and their false worship of false gods  God sternly warns them in Leviticus 26 not to fall prey to the high places where false worship breeds and leads men's hearts away from God.  The warning is clear and runs deep to what God would do to them if they disobeyed and built the high places and worshipped false gods there. 
1.  I will cast your carcases on the altars that I shall destroy;
2  I will abhor you;

Death in the first part of this warning; alienation from God in the second part of this warning.

Can anyone survive such an extent of God moving against a nation? a family? His Own people? or our own hearts?  None can survive nor will continue. 

But when the children of Israel had entered into the promise land, they did not do what they were called to do.  They did not drive out all these nations of -ites, but allowed for the to dwell among them.  this warning from God to destroy them all was for their own protection.  For the Lord warned that if they remained among them, they would corrupt them and lead them to false worship.  All these tragically came to pass. 

We read in Judges that no sooner had they occupied the promised land, that they rebelled against the Lord and went and served false gods.  They built the high places that led them away from the Lord and taught the next generation to rebel against God.  And although God showed mercy time and time again, they continued in this pattern of rebellion and sin 

We pick up with our next passages of Scripture right after King David and the falling away of Solomon.  The wisest man on the earth, did not show much wisdom in restraining from the warning of God, not to turn away from Him to false gods.  And throughout the kings of Judah we read, 'the high places were not taken away'.  King Hezekiah took them away during his reign; but his wicked, evil son, Manasseh, immediately rebuilt them and made the people to sin worse than the nations before them. 

Now we see the comparison into our nation, into the church, into our families, yea, and in our own hearts, we allow for the high places to remain.  Rare is it today to find the high places completely taken away that leads us astray.  This is the reason so many Christians struggle to maintain their daily walk with the Lord.  The high places take our interest, our time, our money, our lives and all the while we are remove these things from the service of the Lord.

The High places - these are the activities and life choices that occupy our time, thoughts, routines, money, use of talents and where our hearts are focused.  ARe they at a high place that serves self, lusts, sin, or other worldly focus?  Or are they to Him and Him alone? 

Neglects of holy things of Bible, prayer, church, meditation, memorization and witnessing all because we are spending our energy and time on other things constitutes that we have high places that remain.  The remaining high places have robbed our Lord's kingdom or the money and ability to finish the task of every ear hearing the Gospel.  We have had the money, talent, people and opportunity to do it 5x over.  But the high places have robbed us of this Divine commission to reach the world  And so long as they remain pure worship of the Lord cannot and will not happen. 

The self life must die, in order to live the abundant life in Him.  Keswick conventions preached and advocated this a generation ago.  And largely this message of death to self is unheard or unrealized in the churches today.  Yield to the Scripture, 'unless a grain of wheat dies. . .'

In our nation, the love of self and selfishness reigns high as one of the high places.  Pursuit, love and wasting of money follows as another high place.  Pride, unyielding and unwilling to humble oneself in nation and in the church is an often frequented high place.  Entertainment and sports high place is so full in worship that they have to do it around the clock to accomadate the crowds that worship at this high place.  And all the while these high places are visited and time spent worshipping their false god, the true altar of the Lord God is abandoned, missed and provoking HIm to anger.  After He has done so much for our nation, for the church in North America, look at how we have repaid Him.  Does shame or remorse fill our hearts?  No, we run from one high place to the next.  Never giving time or place to the Lord's place unless tragedy or calamity hits.  Then we need God, then we want God. 

 


A Prayer

With the behavior warned against, but embraced by the children of Israel and us, there is a great need of confession.  A prayer of recognition and ownership, 'We have sinned against You, O Lord'. 

1.  Recognition of God

As we see the truths of God revealed throughout all these Scriptures we see God's great desire for His people to be delivered from sin.  How often He demonstrated His wisdom to instruct them rightly.  How often He sent His prophets and deliverers to bring them back into a right relationship with Him.  We see all His attributes demonstrated:  mercy, grace, loving-kindness, long-suffering, Divine love, wisdom, patience, etc.

IN each of these let us rejoice that He has not cast us away, but drawn us unto Himself. 

Let us acknowledge that His ways are right and to be adhered at all times in all ways.

2.  Confession of Sin

As we gaze upon all that God is and has done and will do, we see how far we have come short in our ways. 
-- Past - as the children of Israel, the kings, Judah, we see our nations continual progression toward sin in the high places;  open and often rebellion against the clear command to not worship at the high places;

--Present - to see in this day wherein our great fault lies;  self has not died; high places still remain in many fashions and was of our nation, church, families and our own hearts;

--Future - cannot we not understand that to allow our past and present sins to continue into tomorrow that the full 'wages of sin is death' will be experienced?  Can we continue and allow this?  will we?

3.  the Great Plea

Knowing wherein our sin lies and has continued, is there a broken humble heart that will cry out for God to send His mighy Presence that will compel our nation, the church, our families and our own selves to throw down and destroy all the high places that have caused this great evil and damage?

The great cry of those that know the reality and truths of learning from what Israel and Judah did not do, and where that led them and took them.  It will become our reality if we do not plead with the Lord to deliver us and overthrow the high places that rob us of time and energy to sere Him and Him alone 

May we see what that looks like in our churches as when Hezekiah and Josiah purged the land of all the high places and said, 'You shall worship the Lord God and HIm alone shall you worship'.

May we see wayward and lost family come to Christ.  The prodigals returned and renewed in serving Him and Him alone.  No more high places to deceive, damage and damn. 

May our own lives be pure and undefiled, holy and true to bow the knee only to Him and not kiss Baal. 



Started:  May 3, 2016

Continued: 5/4;

Finished: