I shared on "Coming Out of Idolatry!" on Sunday morning, and what keeps us from advancing and going from faith to faith, strength to strength, and glory to glory. The people of Israel "passed over" but could not keep going. When Moses went to Mount Sinai to receive the ordinances that would produce freedom in their worship, the people made a Golden Calf to worship. Here are seven key issues that cause you to move out of worship and into idolatry:

• No Respect and TRUST of Authority: Moses gave them the command to wait but when he did not return, their trust level (which had really never developed since leaving Egypt) waned and shifted.
• Getting out of TIMING: The inability to wait in Faith! Moses communicated that he would be back within 40 days. They miscalculated the timing. They were one day off! ONE DAY OFF! They refused to wait the one day. Saul repeated the pattern in 1 Samuel 14 and lost his kingship over this issue.
• Leaning on your own understanding: The moment you don't wait, you do something that diverts you from God's best. Eventually, you are swatting at gnats instead of soaring with eagles.
• Exercise our authority in a realm where we have none: Isaiah 6:1 says, "In the year King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord!" Uzziah, a good king, out of pride, took on a priestly role and made sacrifices. God made him leprous and he died. Isaiah saw this happen. This propelled him into a new understanding of who God really was and the power of His holiness.
• The Fear of Abandonment: When you feel abandoned, you act irrational. You shrink back and create a false authority structure around you to protect you. This same thing happened to the ten spies that went into the Promised Land without Moses. The disciples of Jesus hid out for fear after his death (John 20). All religion can have a legalistic, fear base. True worship has an "awe" dimension.
• Hope deferred makes the heart sick and diverts our worship: The enemy begins to say, "God is not good and not coming through for you!" All of our organs are affected when we divert from true worship of Yahweh through His Son.
• YOUR GIVING: Is diverted from your best being given to the Lord first. This causes you to begin building an altar that is not out of God's best pattern in heaven!!!!!!

          by Chuck D. Pierce