And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean. - Ezekiel 44: 23 (KJV)
This message has been burning in my spirit for some time now. It is always difficult to speak against some of the sacred cows of the church. The things we have turned into idols that far too many cling to. We do not want to hear that the way we are playing church is simply not Biblical. We do not want to hear that our way of playing church is actually an affront to a holy God. We think we know better. We think that if we throw in a couple of "in the name of Jesus'" and "hallelujahs" that we make clean what is most certainly unclean. Or we marginalize it. We think that the holy is not that serious. That those who would complain make too big a deal out of it. Before we get into the matter I want us to go back to a man name Uzzah. He was a man who was assigned by King David to assist in carrying the ark of the covenant back to Jerusalem.
And David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the Lord, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals. And when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and God struck him down there because of his error, and he died there beside the ark of God. And David was angry because the Lord had broken out against Uzzah. And that place is called Perez-uzzah to this day. - 2Samuel 6: 5-8 (ESV)
If David wanted to be angry he should have been angry with himself. When you read in the Torah God gave specific instructions for how the ark was to be transported and who was allowed to touch it. Uzzah was not a member of the Levite tribe so therefore he was not supposed to touch it. It also was not supposed to be so casually transported by way of a cart but suspended by poles and carried by the Levitical group known as the Kohathites . Now I am sure some of us read this and still wonder what was the big deal? That is because the modern church teaches an apathy towards the reverence we should hold for the holiness of Almighty God. The modern church has mixed the clean with the unclean as a matter of routine. What is worse, we treat the profane as holy and the holy as profane. Please realize that God did not care about their false worship. The verses above indicate that they were all singing and dancing and having a good ole time in the Lord right when Uzzah was struck dead. We can dress ourselves up all we like and claim to worship God but none of it matters to God if we are disobedient. As Jesus Himself once lamented - why do you bother calling me Lord if you refuse to do what I say? Also note here that the intentions of Uzzah were simply not relevant to God. I am sure that Uzzah had the best of intentions. After all, the oxen had just stumbled! He could have been afraid of the ark falling to the ground or maybe he simply reached out as a reflex action. It does not matter! He never should have been in the position of disobedience to begin with. Trying to do the right thing in the middle of doing the wrong thing is does not sway God. Far too often we walk around thinking that as long as our heart was in the right place, God will understand if we reach out to steady the ark. Ask Uzzah how that worked for him.
We better wake up soon as the church and stop allowing what is holy to be profaned in the name of God. We are like Uzzah walking in defiance to God but thinking everything is going to be OK because we are just following the leader. It does not work like that. I came across this advertisement today on YouTube from someone calling himself a "Master Prophet."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRSLocszMsw 
That is right for only $50 you too can have the apostolic mantle that the Bible says was only for those who set the foundation of the church. What are you saying preacher? I am saying and take this very seriously - there are no more offices of apostle or prophet and the Bible will support this assertion. I see as you must every day the wannabe prophets and apostles touting their fantastic titles as a means to draw people. You should stay far away. You should not be found as Uzzah, walking alongside enjoying the music. Now you may look at this video and rightly think that this scam is obvious but realize how many thousands of thousands of people do not. How many completely buy into this nonsense. How many in your church? How many in leadership at your church? How did your local apostle get his title? How much did he pay for it? How much will you end up paying for it? We will come back to the office of Apostle but let us start with the office of Prophet first.
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