OPEN HEAVENS DEVOTIONAL - THURSDAY - 14/11/2013 - AFRAID OF FACES? BY PASTOR E.A. ADEBOYE

AFRAID OF FACES?

MEMORY VERSE

Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD.

Jeremiah 1:8

READ

Exodus 32:1-5

Exodus 32:1 And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.

Exodus 32:2 And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me.

Exodus 32:3 And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron.

Exodus 32:4 And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

Exodus 32:5 And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the Lord.

MESSAGE

Another Bible character who started well but missed it along the line was Aaron. He had a great start. In Exodus 4:13-16, he was chosen to be a divine spokesman. He happily served along with Moses his younger brother, following him virtually everywhere he went. According to Exodus 7:8-10, he was the agent through which most of the miracles where performed. God used the rod of Aaron, which means he was a miracle worker. He was also an enabler, one of the two who lifted up the hands of Moses. By virtue of his association with Moses, he was virtually accorded the same honour, regard and fear that was given to Moses by both friends and foes.

However, in Exodus 32:1-5, this same Aaron had become an idolater. When Moses went to the mountain and the children of Israel were getting tired of waiting for his return, they came to ask Aaron to manufacture an alternative god for them which would lead them, and he never said a word of protest. He agreed to their evil request immediately. An African proverb says: the one who is asked to do an evil act and he agrees has always wanted to be wicked himself.

But why did Aaron not resist, even faintly? It is either he was half baked or he was truly afraid of the people as he claimed. Proverbs 29:25 says,

The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.

Have you lost your voice because you are afraid of your congregation? Are you afraid that if you speak the whole truth, some key members may leave thereby reducing tithes and other benefits? If you are afraid of men, you will definitely find yourself in a trap. The fear of man can seriously harm you and your ministry. King Saul feared the people and he went ahead to offer a sacrifice he was not qualified for. That was how he lost his kingdom! When God called young Jeremiah, He told him not to look at faces because He will be with him. When will you stop looking at the faces of people? If men are the ones to tell you what to preach and what not to preach, you are already in their trap!

KEY POINT

It is either you are controlled by men or by God but not both. Who truly is your God?