From: Calvary Army Bible Church (Warfare Tent) - www.facebook.com/calvaryarmy

Text: I Samuel 15:22-23, I Corinthians 10:1-14, Isaiah 52:11

Memory Verse:
I Corinthians 10:21
Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils.

INTRODUCTION
God has clearly marked the warning signs in the bible. He wants us to keep away from such area marked ‘danger’ if we want to enjoy His blessings, abundant peace and joy. When we are walking with God in His light, there should be no traces of darkness in our lives. God loves us so much that He offers us everything in heaven and earth even making us joint-heirs with Christ. However, some individuals still choose to voluntarily walk out from under the atonement i.e. the blood of Jesus through rebellion and idolatry.

REBELLION
To rebel is to refuse allegiance, loyal support or to resist the authority of someone or some authority over you. God is our authority. To rebel against Him is to turn our back on that which He offers; His protection, promises, blessings and love.

There are overwhelming blessings which come when we submit to God’s absolute control and there are curses which come when we resist or rebel against Him.

IDOLATRY
Idolatry is excessive attachment to someone or something; a form of admiration which borders on adoration. Idolatry is not just only worshipping a god or image other than God, it is lusting after our own desires and pleasures instead of doing what God wants us to do for Him.

Satan desires men to worship him and that is the primary reason for idolatry, occultism and satanism. Satan told Jesus to fall down and worship him and he will give Him the glories of this world. Those who seek gifts from the devil like hidden powers, secret knowledge, wealth and riches, security and protection, success, promotion and progress or children will not receive these things for free. Once you receive anything from the devil, you become his worshipper and automatically enter into an evil covenant with him.

God hates idolatry. God abhors any other god either one of gold, silver, bronze or wood, an idol in the sea or on the land, in the tree, in your bedroom, any armlet and waistband besides Him. Carving an angel (in heaven) or human being (on earth) or mermaid (in the sea) for the purpose of worship must not be made; they must not be served at oil with food, oil or gifts.

Question
- What is the primary reason for occultism and satanism?
- What are the things that can become idols in our lives if we are not careful?

SOME OF THE THINGS GOD ABHORS
1. Ancestral worship.
2. Use of incense or candles to worship – the incense does not attract Jesus rather it attracts demons and evil spirits.
3. Special prayer garments.
4. Using the Bible to seek out a thief – this is occultism.
5. Reading horoscope (reading your star).
6. Going to palm readers to know your future.
7. Making use of pentagon.
8. Worshiping Mary.
9. Natural signs of interpreting people’s future.
10. The use of stick to invoke demons and satan.
11. Attending festivals of any kind (idol, new yam festival, mermaid, masquerade etc) in the town, village or city. In such festivals, more children disappear and more girls are raped.
12. Observing Valentine’s day – It has been discovered on Valentine’s day that thousands if not millions of condoms are used.
13. Secret Society – Amorc, Ogboni, witchcraft, etc
14. Special baths in the river (some people are taken by prophets to be bathed by the river side).
15. Praying in the grave yard.
16. Evil demonic rings either visible or invisible.

Avoid putting something else in place of God.

Questions
- What other things does God hate?
- Why do some people love the things God hates?

Since you gave your life to Christ, have you surrendered all those satanic materials? If you don’t want to be a floating Christian, you need to break and destroy all those things you have engaged yourself in.

We must carry some power of God to stop some certain things. There are things we must bring to a stop in the realm of the spirit e.g. the power of sin in the secondary schools, universities, all the evil happening all over the nation, etc.

DEVELOPING A RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD
If you as a person don’t have any relationship with God, your life is empty of Christ. It means you have not encountered Him (Jesus) though you may be regular in the church, pay your tithes, take Holy Communion, etc. For people who only go to church and observe religious activities but do not have a relationship with Christ, when problems come, they consult fetish powers to solve their problems.

When you can no longer pray or see the Moses God has placed before you, you will begin to go back to your old vomit. Christians are warned to flee idolatry. When you begin to lust after evil things and rebel against God and His Word, you are heading for destruction. Never you put something else before God. How can you be calling upon the Lord and yet fail to do the things He commands you to do?

BEWARE OF LETHARGY
Beware of loss of a sense of the importance of spiritual things. There are many believers on the way of lethargy. Lethargy is a sense of lack of importance, a drowsy dullness to God, a lack of spiritual energy and sluggishness in spiritual activities.

When there is no excitement and zeal for the things of God such that you are not interested in weekly meetings but rather you prefer to sleep, rest, watch television, entertain visitors, attend town or village meetings, go to the market, to cook, stay back at home watching home videos, soap operas and football matches, it means you have been infected by spiritual lethargy.

Never you put family, business, wife, husband, children and even your employment first and then put God at the second position. It means you have an idol in your life. Let’s not neglect our church meetings as some people do. Let us cleave to, trust in and rely on God. (Hebrews 10:25 “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”).

Questioning God’s ways in your mind and worshiping your own opinions are all wrong. Don’t become an observer who stands aloof saying, “I don’t want to become involved, I want to be neutral.” There is no neutral ground; you are either pulling one way or the other. We should be like Paul and the other disciples who followed Jesus and were willing to lay down their lives for God.

PUNISHMENT FOR REBELLION AND IDOLATRY
Saul rebelled against the Word of God through Samuel. Immediately, he was rejected by God. The same Saul disguised himself and consulted the witch under the cover of darkness and ultimately lost his life. If you don’t want God to reject, abandon and disinherit you, you need to repent now before it is too late.

Satan is a deceiver, liar and destroyer. Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the LORD (Isaiah 52:11).