Where is Azariah Today?

WHERE IS AZARIAH TODAY?

If the devil himself had a fail safe economic plan that would bring much financial prosperity to all Americans, he would be elected in a landslide. And only a small segment of Christians would refuse to vote for him. But here is a reminder: regardless who gets elected president this year, the devil will take the oath of office. And what is most disturbing is the misuse of the church for political purposes.
In II Chronicles 26 we read the story of King Uzziah. Many will recognize his name because Isaiah references him in Isaiah chapter 6.
In his early years Uzziah had sought the Lord and did what was right in God’s sight. God had shown him favor and he won many battles against the enemies of Israel. It was a time of divine blessing for Israel. But later he became infatuated with his own prowess. He would dwell upon his victories and he began to be lifted up in his own heart. After all he had accomplished much and the Scriptures tell us his name was known through the world.
And in the midst of this self righteous meditation, King Uzziah got an idea. He would thank God in a way that had not been done before. Although he was not a priest, he would go into the Temple and light some incense unto God. He was sure God would be impressed because Uzziah was a great king. So Uzziah entered the Temple and took hold of the censor that was used to light the incense. It would be a wonderful time of worship.
But just before Uzziah could light the incense the high priest Azariah came running into the Temple with eighty other priests. They confronted the king and told him he was not to do this since only the priests were allowed to minister in the Temple. But when King Uzziah heard this he became very angry. He was the king of Israel, and the entire country prospered under his reign. How dare they rebuke him, and after all he was just wanting to give honor to God.
While the king was angry the priests watched as sores began to appear on King Uzziah’s forehead. White sores that everyone recognized as leprosy. Uzziah had become a leper at the hands of God Almighty. Even though Uzziah desired to use his position to light some incense toward God, God had decreed that only the sons of Aaron were divinely consecrated to minister in the Lord’s temple. The same hands that blessed Uzziah now brought leprosy upon him.
Azariah and the other priests cast the king out of the Temple and he was a leper for the rest of his reign. King Uzziah was not allowed to be buried with the rest of the kings since he was a leper. A reign that began with so much promise had ended in spiritual tragedy. But the Lord’s priests had done right in His sight. They had not allowed the secular to be invited into the sacred. Even though God had blessed King Uzziah, that still did not mean the priests should allow him into the Temple and to minister as a priest. The Temple must be kept separate and sacred.
Fast forward to these perilous times. Our eyes have been diverted to see all kinds of sin and debauchery in the culture. Men have become inventors of evil things. Sin is so rampant the everyone has been inoculated to it. Almost nothing shocks us anymore. The preachers lash out at the wickedness which controls this culture. It is true that no words can fully describe the decaying situation here and around the world.
But while we have been faithful to lash out on everyone else’s sin, we have been blind to our own deep compromise. Instead of repelling the Uzziah’s of our time, and instead of forbidding them to have access and influence over the body of Christ, we have held the door open for them to walk right in. They did not need any divine consecration, all they needed was a moral membership card. And as they came in God’s temple (the collection of God’s people today) they brought with them the ways of the heathen. I remember sitting in a place for worship and being handed candidate cards which gave a checklist concerning where each candidate stood on the issues. As if people’s hearts and minds were not already distracted this would surely rob them of any sacrificial worship.
And these modern Uzziahs were not only allowed access to the gatherings, they were invited to speak. Even unbelievers like Benjamin Netanyahu or Glenn Beck or others could address the body of Christ. Even in my neck of the woods the party is in full swing. Here is a report about a pre-rally for the Republican National Convention being held in Tampa.

UNITY RALLY IN TAMPA HELD IN CHURCH

It is being held in a large Charismatic church in our area and some of the speakers will be Michelle Bachman and Herman Cain. The title for the rally is “Unity Rally 2012”. You see, this in not unity around Christ. This is unity around politics and the present hatred for President Obama. And when those are the issues then the kingdom of light gladly joins hands with the kingdom of darkness. It is most astonishing. We have long since forgotten the lesson of King Uzziah and now have a more sophisticated view of everything. We have become adept at straddling the fence between the sacred and the profane. There is no such thing as compromise anymore.

Oh how the mighty have fallen. The carnal circus has consumed the church and like a man driving a car, we are lost but still maintain we know the way. Idolatry reigns within the church, and the so called ”orthodox” community lambastes the idols of Bell and Osteen while they worship their own. How blind can we be? It isn’t enough to be consumed with politics but now we must lend the meetings places and the ears of the sheep/goats to those in secular high places? Instead of traveling TO the high places, we invite the high places to visit us. I call that idolatry with technological advances! The western church is falling apart at the seams.
I have lifted the blanket of compromise ever so slightly so we can see what is happening. Now allow me to remove the blanket completely and expose fully the reason for such compromise, idolatry, and even apostasy. Drum roll, please. At the root of all this evil is money. Oh yes, money is the driving forced behind it all. If Mitt Romney did not have great wealth he would be just another cult member. If President Obama did not promise poor people prosperity he could not get elected. All of the promises and all of the political regalia is consumed with prosperity. They could kill 100 million unborn babies as long as everyone had a well paying job. Many believers voted for pro-death Obama because he promised to bring prosperity.
You think these moral issues about gays and abortion and others are the focal point of everyone’s political convictions? Please, spare me. Money rules and money reigns and prosperity is what people seek. If the economy had turned around and people in America were experiencing a great economic boom, President Obama would not even have to campaign. Like a salad before the main course, so are moral issues. But here comes a man who not only denies the deity of Jesus Christ, but substantially supports spreading that heresy. And on moral issues he has made all kinds of contradictory statements as well. But because he is wealthy, and because the economy is bad, millions of so called evangelicals will energetically support him.
Now I ask you, what is your definition of apostasy? Are we allowed to support people who deny God’s Son just because God views politics as immune from Biblical authority? Do God’s commandments in the New Testament dissolve as you enter the political realm? What kind of Christianity are we selling? The answer is that we have no Christianity at all. What we have is Americanism with a sprinkle of Christian verbiage that when push comes to shove means absolutely nothing. In many respects the Christian faith is no longer widely practiced in America. What is practiced is a bastardized religion whittled down to accommodate the dictates of the culture.
The western church has become the whore of the secular kingdom. Instead of being salt and light and beacons of redemption, we have become pawns in a fallen game of treasure hunt. Instead of being humble but unyielding servants of the Lord Jesus we are now card carrying participants of a game of spiritual death. And when we support and even embrace lost people to lead God’s people, the church, we do an eternal disservice to lost sinners who become very confused.
One of the good things that athletics has accomplished is the integration of the races. Black people were fans of some white athletes and white people were fans of many black players. The church by and large was little help in race relations. But politics has had the opposite affect on the culture. Roman Catholicism is now considered an evangelical partner. The mainline liberal denominations have become partners. Mormonism is now accepted as just “different”. And even unbelievers are welcomed into Christian gatherings as long as they are “conservative”. Are we so entrenched in Mt. Rushmore that we are blind to Mt. Zion?
Can we not see what has happened? The evil one has leveraged nationalism and politics to his advantage. And through morality and patriotism, and the giant of prosperity, the clarity and purity of God’s everlasting gospel has been obscured and besmirched. This election year is a textbook in spiritual deception. If you cannot see it for what it is this year, perhaps your blindness has no remedy.
But this I will ask you. Is Jesus worth asking yourself some penetrating question without preconceived boundaries? Is your devotion to Christ something so precious to you that you must guard it against the diabolical compromises of this present world? Is there anything in your heart that seeks your own benefit in politics? Is there any pride in your heart about an earthly country? And if the putrid practice of politics is not so disgusting and unchristlike so as to be avoided by His followers, then just what is?
I urge you, I beseech you, I beg you, seek His face. I and many like me can guarantee you that when your eyes are opened, and when your spirit is set free from all this, you will experience a release that will not only set you free, but will provide many deeper rooms of knowing Him. And isn’t that what we all should seek?