Oil, Handkerchiefs and Charms
Drawn from the teaching of Professor Gary S. Maxey · 2 min read
When King Hezekiah decided to turn Judah back to God, one of his first acts was to remove the idols from the land. The true worship of God could not return, Professor Gary Maxey notes, until the false religion was torn down.
He believes Nigeria faces the same task. In his words, we must break down every human idol and every false teaching and get back to the Bible. He says it is that serious.
The things he names
In his book on why revival tarries, Professor Maxey lists what the church must confess and reject. He includes the idea that we gain power through blessed water, blessed oil or blessed handkerchiefs. He includes the false teaching on materialism and greed. He includes the hyper-grace belief that we may sin boldly because our future sins are already forgiven.
He is not discussing the world outside the church. He is speaking to believers about what they hold inside it.
An old pattern in a new form
The history he recounts gives the topic weight. Garrick Braide, a catechist in the Anglican Niger Delta Pastorate, taught his hearers five steps toward healing. They were to throw away their idols, stop wearing charms, stop using medicines, confess their sins and rely on the cleansing blood of Jesus. Professor Maxey reports that baptized Christians in that pastorate grew thirteen-fold between 1909 and 1918.
Notice what led the list. Idols and charms went first, and confession of sin followed. Professor Maxey records Braide's steps as history. The pattern he draws from them is that revival came with the clearing away of other powers.
The heart of the matter
A blessed object offers a form of power without a change of heart. It asks nothing from the person holding it. That is why it is attractive and why it is a hindrance. Revival asks everything.
A question to answer
What do you reach for first when trouble comes? If it is an object, a formula or a person with a reputation, you have a thing to bring before God.
You do not need to condemn everyone around you. Start with your own shelf, your own habit and your own first reflex. Then replace it with prayer, the Word and honest confession.
Drawn from the teaching of Professor Gary S. Maxey.
