The Ahaz of Influence
It has been a long time since I’ve written in this space. I think I’ve become sensitive to sharing what is just a word for me, versus what I believe is a word for the body. Seeing as though “tough words” aren’t well received these days, I have in many cases decided to keep my thoughts and my precious pearls to myself.
However, I’ve sat on this word for about a month, and I really do think it’s worth sharing as a warning - not only to leaders within the body, but to each individual follower of Christ.
Last month, when we were all shocked by the Christian headlines of Mike Bickle, I found myself grieved for the church. I have seen all sorts of manipulation, twisting of doctrine, and abuse of authority in the name of ministry. Throughout it all, I have been able to pray through it and almost disassociate. Maybe that’s not the healthiest approach, but it is how I cope with harder pills to swallow. But this time - THIS TIME - it was the straw that broke the believer’s back. I went to bed crying out to God, asking why this keeps happening. Why do we keep seeing big leaders fall? It cannot just be celebrity. It cannot just be pride. There has to be more.
The Lord said, “Ahaz, not David,” as I was drifting off to sleep. Ahaz? It felt like a slip up. Surely I heard Ahab. But, with a quick search, I found that I really and truly heard Ahaz (I confess, I typically skim Kings. But because of this, I’m reading way more thoroughly.)
What I learned through this Word is that Ahaz would shift the gods he worshipped based on the success of the tribe that worshipped them. He moved and twisted the temple from the way God had specified. He was willing to adapt to whatever god or temple layout he thought would bring him worldly success.
On the contrary, David worshipped the Lord in his successes and his failures - in his highs and his lows. When he was grieved by his own sins, he cried out to God. “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.” (Psalm 51:1–3, 10–11.) This was not said during a time where David was winning at life - this was right after his adultery. Instead of shifting the temple to fit his needs, David asked the Lord to shift the temple within himself.
In the same way, we have seen many leaders within the church behave as Ahaz. Many have twisted the Word of God to fit their needs, to gain traction, to create a following. This is the origin of any fall. When we bow down to any idol, we stop hearing, “Thus says the Lord,” and we start hearing, “Did God really say…”
Let us be like David. Let us seek the Lord with our entire heart, speak Biblical truth, and when we miss the mark we cry, “Create in me a clean heart, O God!”