What the Kingdom of God Is Not- Idolatry... Overcoming the Spirit of False Worship (Daniel 3 & 6)./ Rashea@LLO2 Academy
Oh king of Babylon... I will not bow. I serve only God Elohim and only Him will I serve. Throw me in the dungeon, but I will pray to only God Elohim. Throw me in the fiery furnance of life, but I will only bow to God Elohim. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, BUT GOD DELIVERS US OUT FROM THEM ALL.
I WILL NOT BOW!
The Test of the Fiery Furnance
Satan has always despised the worship and prayers of the uncompromisingly righteous. He has always stirred up riots, campaigns and persecutions against the pure gospel of Jesus Christ being preached and taught. Why? Because the true proclamation of the gospel and pure worship by the righteous evokes the presence of God. God sends revival to the earth when we worship with pure hearts. Worship sets aright what has been upside down.
Satan hates pure worship to God, because it exposes the powerlessness of carnality within the church. Satan, raises up false prophets, pastors, teachers, and diluted worship to camouflage the weaknesses breeding in the walls of church leadership in the church (Ezekiel 34; 2Peter 2).
Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah were the original Hebrew names of the three Hebrew boys who were enslaved and brought to Babylon during the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar when he seized Jerusalem as a result of their rebellion and idolatry (The Book of Jeremiah & Daniel 1). They grew up and became men within the Babylonian empire, but they would not bow to the idol built in honor of King Nebuchadnezzar. God hates idolatry. God loves His people, but despises the heart of false worship in His presence.
Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah let it be known, "You can enslave us. We can learn your language and culture. You can even change our names, BUT OH KING NEBUCHADNEZZAR WE WILL NOT BOW TO ANY GRAVEN IMAGE THAT EXALTS ITSELF AGAINST THE WORSHIP AND KNOWLEDGE OF OUR GOD (Exodus 20:1-6; Daniel 3:16-18)."
The fruit of knowing God was deeply rooted in their hearts. No matter what level of embarrassment they had to undergo that undermined their devotion to God or their integrity, they proclaimed, "WE WILL NOT BOW." No matter what circumstances they found themselves in that tested their confession of their personal faith, their allegiance to God in the most fiery of situations was in tact.
To honor governments and leaders is a commandment (Romans 13). However, to serve them and to esteem them equally to or higher than God is biblically prohibited. It is against God's law to do such a thing (Exodus 20:1-4; Acts 4:1-22).
The Prophecy Tested
Those in authority were practicing idolatry as God's people in Jeremiah's time. Israel was on the brink of a national collapse that would last 70 years. The place? Babylon. God tried pleading with those in authority through Jeremiah to turn back to God, but their hearts hardened all the more.
The leaders and prophets in authority persecuted Jeremiah for his message, courage and obedienceto God. They beat him, threw him out of their presence several times, invited him in to inquire of the Lord for them only to turn around and throw him in the deepest parts of the dungeon when God's message was not what they wanted to hear.🙃👀 Those in authority persecuted Jeremiah horribly for months and even years, but the same one's who were merciless were shown no mercy by God nor King Nebuchadnezzar, in the long run.👀 Be very careful how you treat God's ordained voices and prophets. GOD is watching closely and will vindicate them fairly.
The Spirit of Babylon
Satan will be infuriated when you take a stand for the integrity of the Bible and for God, but stand anyway. You are not the first saint or Christian to be persecuted and accused through the politics of pious kings and governments who are self-centered and in blatant error. When you know the truth, as a Christian, you are obligated to withstand the spirit of Babylon and idolatry (Acts 7, 8:1-3, 12:1:17, 13:23-25, 14:1-7, 17-20, 16, 17:1-6).
Idolatry has been an antagonist of God for centuries. Idolatry despises the worship of God, revival and deliverance. Why? Because Satan has resisted God in worship before the existence of the Earth's beginning (Isaiah 14, Ezekiel 28, John 8:44-47, Revelation 12:7-12).
BUT I WILL NOT BOW!
The Test of the Dungeon
Daniel was a honorable man. He served under 3 different kings during his time in Babylon. However, Daniel's allegiance to and respect for those in authority never superseded his personal allegiance to God. Daniel was a man of integrity who prioritized God above all.
When pressure is put on you to bow to others, and laws are made in favor of idolatry, will you bow to God or to people? Daniel knew the merciless decree that would attempt to silence his prayer life. He knew the penalty for breaking such laws set in place, but Daniel chose to obey God openly anyways. He was willing to undergo all kinds of merciless penalties for expressing his faith in public and in the privacy of his own home.
How do you respond when people pry into your private life exposing the depths of your devotion to God and to those you love and care for? Do you timid? Or do you love God and others all the more?
Daniel became purposeful and intentional. He did not coward nor did he hide from those persecuting him. He took a stand, and prayed anyway.
The penalty? To the lions den. Even the lions had to respect Daniel's faith. A praying prophet is a prophet that has the power to change circumstances.
Laws made in favor to destroy your confidence and your faith in God should never cause your love for God to waver, even when the pressure is on for you to do bow. Like Jeremiah, Hananiah, Mishael, Azariah and Daniel, we must be willing to stand for our faith in the face of persecution. Speak up when you have to, but stay in peace.
When people question your credibility or devotion, maintain your integrity. Continue moving forward in your assignment. Idolatry always opposes God's work, because God is not always conventional in how He ordains people or utilizes them.
Jeremiah's calling and ordination was unconventional (Jeremiah 1). The Apostle Paul's calling and ordination was unconventional (Acts 8). Isaiah's calling and ordination was unconventional (Isaiah 6). Ruth's calling and ordination was unconventional (Ruth 2). Abraham's calling and ordination was unconventional (Genesis 12). Jacob's calling and ordination was unconventional (Genesis 32 & 35).
God's ways are above our own (Isaiah 55). This platform is independent and will remain that way, with God's help. God gave me this ministry 4 years ago. It was a vision in my heart that started 6 years ago at a local coffee shop.
Satan has been trying to shut down this vision and take the ownership of it away from me since its humble beginnings. I WILL NOT BOW! Throw me in a dungeon or into the fiery furnance of life, but I WILL NOT BOW to BAAL!
I will not waver between 2 opinions. My mind and heart is set on Jesus alone. I WILL NOT BOW, IN JESUS NAME.
I have been in ministry and Christian leadership for over 20+ years. Many people throughout my personal journey can testify of this TRUTH. I cannot nor will I abandon this assignment nor my calling just because some refuse to believe and continue to spread lies, deception, hatred and persecuted me for my faith and devotion to God.
Rashea@LLO2
