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BAAL AND MOLECH

The spirits of Abortion and Gluttony are not exclusive to our country or generation. Their influence is worldwide. And they’re nothing new; they’ve been around since the early days of the world.

From the time Israel was nothing more than a band of tribes fleeing Egypt, these spirits were already at work attacking God’s people. The spirit of gluttony was worshipped as the god “Baal,” and the spirit of abortion made headlines as the god “Molech.”

In Chapter 3 of Purifying the Prophetic, Pastor R. Loren Sandford talks about the Baal spirit throughout world history and even now in America. He writes of how the Canaanites worked the Promised Land prior to the Israelites with great success. Their culture, and thus their religion, formed out of their prosperity. The practice of their religion served the purpose of ensuring favor from their god, Baal. Pastor Loren explained the tension of serving a relational God and how this contrasted in the Israelites’ view with Baal—who “seemed to offer predictability and control.” It didn’t take long before their service to Baal had so intermingled with their belief in the true God that it became nearly impossible to sort out who was truly the Lord of Israel.

I believe the same syncretism with Baal that Israel entered into has also taken place in much of the Church. That’s why we see so many Christians who are more concerned with selfish prosperity and blessing than the cross and sacrifice. We must have both. Prosperity and blessing outside the context of the cross and sacrifice are actually destructive.

God told Abraham that he was blessed in order to be a blessing. How? Through sacrifice in love! God does indeed want to bless and prosper His people—but we’re doing the world a disservice by presenting a false gospel of blind optimism instead of the truth about the joy of suffering and the glory of self-sacrifice for the sake of our Lord and our brothers and sisters.

I was once stricken by Paul’s words in Philippians, chapter 1. In paraphrase: “Whether I die or live, it’s all good. To live is Christ, and to die is gain. It’s better by far for me to die and be with the Lord, but I’ll stay living for your sake.” Paul said it a lot more profoundly, but I was stirred by the sobriety with which he wrote those words. Paul had previously seen into the third heaven—he had tasted the glory that awaited him after death. He knew the unspeakable joy, peace, and blessing that were found in the Father’s presence. But instead of giving up his spirit and accepting physical death to go to that wonderful place, he chose the path of sacrificial love and gladly endured torture and imprisonment for the sake of his brothers and sisters.

In this sense, Paul was not only resisting the temptation of Baal (to be self-centered and “bless-me” focused), but he was also resisting the temptation of Molech (to abort something good for the sake of personal convenience).

Molech was the name of a large idol worshipped by the pagan nations, but it was no ordinary statue. As I understand it, the structure had two big metal arms that stretched forward and a furnace in its torso. As the fire in its body was stoked, the arms would glow red-hot. And in an effort to achieve some form of personal gain, a family would sacrifice one of their children by laying them on the cherry red arms of Molech. God sternly warned the Israelites not to offer their children to the arms of Molech. Children are a blessing! Yet in the same way, we too often sacrifice good, God-given blessings in exchange for temporary comfort and selfish prosperity.

Both Baal and Molech seek to destroy the true blessings of God. Baal tempts people to focus only on personal blessing rather than the greater blessings found in knowing Jesus Christ; and Molech tempts us to sacrifice the blessings we have for the sake of what seems convenient at the time. Neither of these represent the “abundant life” that Jesus came to give us.

This issue of self-centeredness has infiltrated our society. People lie, cheat, and steal to fight their way to the top of the ladder. We’ll do anything for a buck. We run up our credit cards on frivolous luxuries. And all the while our next-door neighbor is careening into a pit of depression and contemplating suicide. Where’s the justice? As Baal prompts us to chase after materialism and as Molech prods us to abort blessing for the sake of comfort, Jesus is calling us to follow His example. It is time to see that sacrifice for the sake of others is of vital importance if we are to bring transformation in this world.

FREEDOM FROM BAAL AND MOLECH

I once heard international evangelist Reinhard Bonnke question whether or not we are so occupied fighting off territorial spirits in the heavenly realms that we forget to guard our own heart’s door. I agree. Prayer and spiritual warfare are important parts of the believer’s life; but without the armor of God, we’re sitting ducks. The only way we will ever have victory over the darkness is if we live radically contrary lives. We must penetrate the darkness.

Roman 13:11b-14—…The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature. (NIV)

Victory over darkness comes as we clothe ourselves in light. We dismantle the grip of territorial spirits by undermining their authority. This happens when we live contrary to the influence of those spirits. If you want to be free from slavery to the spirits of Abortion and Gluttony, then you need to apply the sacrificial blood of Jesus to the infected areas of your life through prayer and live according to the resurrection life of the Holy Spirit.

A territorial spirit cannot usurp your free will. The old adage, “The devil made me do it,” is completely bogus. The devil can’t make you do anything! However, when we are living according to the patterns of this world, we often find ourselves paddling upstream in our Christian walk—struggling against forces that are encouraging us toward the opposite direction. The problem is not that we need to paddle harder. The problem is that we’re paddling in the wrong stream! We must not conform to the patterns of this world. Rather, we must be continually transformed into Christ’s likeness—living according to the culture of His Kingdom rather than the culture of the enemy.

Abandon the world culture. “But shouldn’t we ‘become all things to all men’?” you ask. Absolutely, but realize that you cannot “become” something unless you start as something else. Do not conform to the world culture. Rather, lead it. Blaze trails of kingdom culture while being salt, light, and yeast intermingled with the world as catalysts of the Christ-nature.

It’s really simple. First ask the Holy Spirit to show you what areas of your life still need to come to death at the cross of Christ. Then, expect Him to answer! As you discover areas of your life that are submitted to the spirits of Abortion and Gluttony, confess them, repent, and ask for the Holy Spirit to bring resurrection life into that area.

I am convinced that as we, the Church, corporately overcome the influence of these evil spirits in our personal lives, we will find them losing their grip in society around us. When we find freedom from Baal and Molech within the Church, we’ll be better equipped to bring freedom from Baal and Molech in our nations. That’s how you pierce the darkness! The Lord Jesus is calling us to be living torches who will carry the fire of His presence with boldness and purity. Just as the burning bush was a spectacle and a sign to Moses, we will become spectacles and signs to the world. He is calling us to pierce the darkness “like stars in the universe.” (See Philippians 2:15.)

To put it bluntly, this lifestyle will be an inconvenience to us. It isn’t comfortable to endure hardship—abortion is much easier. And it isn’t convenient to love a relational God when the cause-and-effect principles of the law are so much easier to manipulate. But I tell you the truth: the more you choose to sacrifice your own comfort, the more comfortable it will become to be uncomfortable! Sacrifice becomes a joy when it is born of love rather than obligation.

In the name of Jesus Christ, lead the way in repentance from the Spirit of Abortion and the Spirit of Gluttony. Lead the way, because personal change precedes corporate change. As you allow the fire of God to engulf your life with passion, purity, and love, you will begin to be a living “wake-up call” to the world around you. Just as the first rays of sun in the morning make it easier to wake up physically, so your light will break forth like the dawn and reveal the glory of God to a slumbering generation.

Isaiah 60:2-3—See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. (NIV)