IS THERE A TOBIAH IN YOUR HEART?

 

    Do you have a Tobiah taking up residence in your heart?  Well, you'd better get him out!!  Just what is a Tobiah and how would he get in someone's heart and more importantly, how can you get him out?  Well, we learn about Tobiah in the book of Nehemiah, in the Old Testament. Nehemiah was rebuilding the city of Jerusalem and Tobiah was a bad guy bent on destroying the work of God.  As long as Nehemiah was around, Tobiah was powerless, once Nehemiah left, Tobiah made his move and literally moved into the holy Temple. 

           Tobiah personifies sin. Sin allowed to manifest in our lives will have repercussions beyond ourselves.  Like throwing a pebble in a pond, the ripples move out and affect everything on the surface, long after the pebble has settled to the bottom of the pond.  Who sinned in the case of Tobiah moving into the Temple?  The priest in charge of the Temple sinned by allowing Tobiah to take up residence.  Likewise, as Christ's followers, our bodies are Temples of God.  When we harbor sin, even secret sin, as the high priest harbored Tobiah, the repercussions to those around us can be devastating.

The Priest over the Temple emptied the store room, which was set aside for a holy purpose, and in so doing, unemployed all the guys whose job it was to maintain the store room and distribute it's contents.  With no purpose, these guys left and went back to farming their own lands.  With no place to store contributions, the people stopped giving to the work of the Temple, sending the priests out to find work elsewhere.  In essence, Tobiah, single handedly, stopped the function of the Temple and destroyed the ministry of untold men, simply by his presence!

The enemy comes to steal and destroy

     Sin takes resources.  Time, money, and energy are all resources we have in limited supply.  Minimally, at least one of these is expended on our private, and not so private, sin.  If we waste one or all of these resources on sin, we are failing to use it for the purposes God intended.  Obviously, God does not want us to use our time, energy or money to disobey Him so there must be a proper way to expend time, energy and money.   In wasting our resources on sin, we rob God and we rob others around us who would have otherwise benefitted by our obedience.  

John 10:10 - "The enemy comes to kill steal and destroy, but I come that you may have life and have it more abundantly."

Your pet sin may seem small and inconsequential, but...

      Converting a storage room into living quarters may have seemed like a minor thing to the priest in charge of the Temple but the affect it had was disruptive and destructive, negatively impacting the lives of many, effectually halting the work of God.  Your little pet sin may seem small and inconsequential, but how many lives are being negatively impacted because your time, energy or money is being squandered on sin when it should be utilized as God designed.  

God loves you too much to leave you in your sin

       Jesus said, "I come that you may have life and have it more abundantly."  This means God has so much more for you than the temporary pleasure of sin.  God loves you, even in your sin, but He loves you too much to leave you in your sin.  If you are harboring a Tobiah in your heart, he is destroying your ability to serve God according to your design.  Humble yourself before God, ask for the power to expel Tobiah and experience the life God designed for you. Mark 8:36 - For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul?"

Be restored to your true purpose

        When Tobiah was expelled from the Temple, the room was restored to it's original purpose and the ministry picked back up.  God wants to cleanse you of the impurity of sin, expelling it from your life and restoring you to your true purpose.  Are you willing to let Him?  Expel your Tobiah and watch God work!

Now, go live as Christ... and give the devil hell!