Today in our culture, anything is accepted in Christianity. We need to be careful that we don’t get led astray by our culture and try to worship the true and living God in a manner that displeases him. Let me remind you that when Aaron built the golden calf, he said he did it to worship Jehovah God; however, Jehovah God was not pleased with this form of worship. God was so displeased, He told Moses he was about to destroy the people of God. Moses and Aaron were both tremendous men of God. They had their weaknesses just like we have our weaknesses. That’s why it’s important that we learn these life lessons and apply them to our lives.
5. Time spent with God does not guarantee perpetual sanctification
Personal time with God is a daily need. Aaron knew after receiving the ten commandments of God, in Exodus 20, that God did not want to be worshipped through idols. Aaron knew what God expected and yet he fell to peer pressure. Not only did he build a golden calf, but when Moses confronted him about the golden calf, he lied and said that he just threw in the gold pieces, and out came this calf. The psalmist tells us in Psalm 5:3 that it is necessary that I go before God every morning. Jesus taught us to pray daily in Matthew 6:11, where He said to pray, Give us this day our daily bread. It is important that you spend time with God on a daily basis because time spent with God does not guarantee perpetual sanctification.
6. Time spent with God does not guarantee people’s approval
When I spend time with God, he may lead me to do things that are contrary to popular culture. First of all, the people were upset because Moses was gone. God had led Moses to go away for forty days and forty nights and the people were upset with his absence. Aaron, during this time, was misled by the people of God and contrary to the Word of God, built a golden calf for people to worship. The people of God got involved in false worship because Moses had been gone for so long. When Moses came back, he had to rebuke the people of God. I am sure that they disapproved of his message, three thousand of them were killed for their rebellion. Time spent with God does not guarantee God’s people will approve of your action.
7. Time spent with God is never convenient
Moses had two million people that were dependent on him and following him. The fact is there will always be needs around you. Life is busy. That is why it is absolutely essential that Christian leaders live by Bible priorities. That means time spent alone with God takes top priority and then time alone with your spouse, and time alone with your children. Often times people will not understand how important this time is. Pastors are criticized for not walking with God and yet when they take time to be alone with God, they are criticized for wasting time. You can tell if he is the top priority in your life if you are taking time to spend with Him.
8. Time Spent with the Living God Will Keep you from False Worship, False Prophets, and False gods
Moses spent time with Jehovah. If we do not want to be led astray, we must spend time with God. We have the writings of Jehovah given to us in the Word of God. If we want to keep ourselves from being led astray, it is absolutely important that we stay in the Word of God. Aaron was swayed by the people of God while Moses got specific instruction from God about how He wanted to be worshipped.