In the Midst of Canaan...
In the famous story about how Abraham's servant found Isaac's wife, there is a precious gem hidden in nuance of the story.
So here's the story...
Abraham was living in Canaan with his family,
This included his 40 year old son Isaac.
Isaac was the promised child from God,
Destined to be the father of a many nations.
It was time for Isaac to get married,
That boy needed a woman!
So Abraham called his most trusted chief servant,
And gave him instructions.
"I want you to swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will NOT get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living"
This is interesting...
Abraham was living in Canaan,
The future Promised Land to his descendants,
And yet while he was living IN it,
It was full of pagan idolatry,
It was full of influences to lead a person away from God.
Abraham refused to take part in it,
And went outside the Promised Land to look for a wife for his son.
How does this apply to our business today?
Do we identify Canaanite practices of this world and refuse them?
Or do we take part in it without knowing it?
Do we intentionally seed outside of our comfort zone for Godly influence?
Do we guard ourselves against the modern day Canaanite influences?
"Satan disguises himself as an angel of light."
Satan is tricky.
He doesn't come looking like an evil spirit with horns and a pitch fork,
He comes disguised as "wisdom", "success" and... "AFFIRMATIONS".
I was heavy into affirmations myself.
I had it pasted to my monitor, my laptop, on my vision board or dream board,
It was great!.... right?
"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge."
AFFIRMATIONS can be a good thing if applied in a Godly way,
But by in large it has been a gateway to planting seeds of apostasy, exalt self AGAINST God's word in unsuspecting children of God.
Let's look at 4 popular affirmations that seem good and empowering,
But at it's root is a Canaanite practice of idolatry in modern day.
Affirmation Busted #1) I AM powerful.
Really? Are you?
Who's power are we supposed to rely on, yours or God's?
This affirmation directly contradicts what God wants for us in our life.
The world says you need to be powerful but God says ,
"My power is made perfect in weakness."
The world says the powerful will rule and reign while God says,
"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth"
So who's word are you going to choose to APPLY in your life?
Affirmation Busted #2) I AM worthy.
We are all sinners who deserve to die.
"For ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"
We are not worthy.
Jesus as the ONLY worthy one.
"Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power"
"Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!"
Satan wants us to think that we are worthy of life, prosperity and power when in fact we are all undeserving sinners. Satan is a champion at distorting the truth, deceiving us and making us proud. This is affirmation nothing but SELF and stands against God's word. Buyer beware of Satan's trickery.
Affirmation Busted #3) I AM perfect, whole and complete.
This couldn't be further from the truth. We are lost, sinful and incomplete without Jesus. The TRUTH we are all doomed to die because of sin.
"one trespass led to condemnation for all men"
"For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive."
The world is trying to convince us that SELF is all we need. This affirmation strips out any need for Jesus and exalts SELF as perfect and complete. WRONG!... dead wrong.
We are nothing but dirt without Jesus... and YET Jesus loved us so much He gave us life to save us all. Praise the Lord!
Let's get off our high horse, shall we?
Affirmation Busted #4) I AM universe (I AM god).
This is the pinnacle of the deceit. Satan's ultimate form of SELF EXHALATION is wanting to be God. He tried to put himself as equal to the Almighty Creator once before.
Satan said,
"I will ascend into heaven, I will EXALT my throne above the stars of God"
Satan also lied to Eve deceiving her to become like God.
"God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will BE LIKE GOD"
This type of SELF EXHALTATION is born of the devil, but notice how nicely he packaged it in shiny wrapping paper with a pretty bow on top.
God gave us the mission to "demolish arguments and every arrogance that raises itself up against the knowledge of God."
Many "self-empowering" affirmations are rooted in HUMANISM, which believe in the power, strength, intellect and the ability of MAN and exalts itself against the knowledge God.
A lot of the affirmations stem from humanism so BEWARE!!!
These type of affirmation is not pleasing to God and separates us from Him. So if you're like me and have taken part of it, the simply repent, ask for forgiveness and the strength to change.
"Dear Heavenly Father,
Forgive me if I have exalted myself against Your word,
Forgive me if I have proclaimed myself as powerful or worthy,
Forgive me for being deceived by the enemy.
Help me be deceived no more,
Help me distinguish between lies and truth,
Help me know Your word better and use it like a double-edge sword.
May Your desires and laws be engraved in the tablet of my heart,
May I expunge all the Canaanite practices that have entered my life,
May I humble myself before You and make you Lord of my life.
Help me Holy Spirit,
Lead me,
Guide me,
Guard me.
In Jesus name, Amen."
Cheers to removing Canaanite practices from our midst! ^_^
