When a preacher does not ascend the mountain or have a secret place to seek and speak to God like Moses, he can become like Aaron, who takes the people’s valuables and builds a god they like. Aaron took the people’s gold to build the god (golden calf) they desired. Aaron even built an altar before the idol. If you do not ascend the mountain (or secret place) to seek, speak and hear from God, you can become like Aaron, who will gave what the people want. Moses ascended the mountain to receive from God what God wanted to share with his people. Aaron did not climb the mountain, did not make an effort to seek God, and just gave people what they wanted. The biggest sin of a preacher is to give what people want without first enquiring God. This is the quickest way to hell.
Moses gave people what God wanted to share with them. Aaron had nothing to do with God and simply gave what the people wanted. He even followed God’s pattern of doing things like creating an altar in front of the idol to give people what they wanted. The difference between a true and false preacher is that the true preacher spends time with God on the mountain or in a secret place, waiting and waiting for God to give him the message to share with the people, whereas the false does not spend time with God, does not wait upon God, does not have a message from God, and gives what people want. Giving what people want is simple; getting a word from God to share with people is much more challenging.
Getting a word from God requires lot of time to be spend in God’s presence, keenly waiting upon God. How powerful impact will it have on the people if a preacher waits in God’s presence and receives a message to share with the people? Even though he only delivers 1-2 messages, they have a huge impact on people’s life. Moses would occasionally wait on the mountaintop for 40 days with God to receive a message to deliver to the people. Some preachers struggle for days to receive a message from God to share with the people. There is a process of waiting on God in which we must ask God to share His message for the sake of the people.
Aaron suggested and build the Golden calf in a few days because his message was independent of God. Preachers who do not spend time with God to seek a message from God can provide instant solutions or prophecies. All those preachers who do not spend time with God to seek a message from God can create an idol in your heart that will lead you to your destruction. Aaron’s golden calf met most of the Israelites wants or desires but it led to their destruction. Anything that does not originate from God will lead to man’s downfall. Even good preaching, prophecies, and blessings that does not originate from God can lead to people’s downfall. Aaron created a spiritual idol in everyone’s heart that gratified their lust. Be wary of preachers like Aaron. Before you believe their messages, look into their lives.