Idles on Idols - A Sermon on Idolatry
Posted: Friday, June 12, 2009
by Mark Parsec
Wordcasters
In Joshua 24:14-15 the Bible tells us, " Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."
It was the second set of stone tablets that bore those words in Exodus chapter 20 with which we should all be so familiar...
"You shall have no other gods before me. "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand {generations} of those who love me and keep my commandments." (Exodus 20:3-6)
Yet, even after this we read in the Scriptures of how the Israelites wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. Forty long years! And many of those who had set out from Egypt for the Promised Land never made it, they died. They never made it to the Promised Land. Even Moses died; he never entered the Promised Land.
You see, God was purging His people, for they had picked up some bad habits while they were slaves in Egypt. Many of them still worshiped false idols. And so an entire generation had to pass away and with them their false idols.
But, it was the children of Israel who had grown up seeing the miracles that God had wrought in the plagues upon Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea, the column of smoke by day, the pillar of fire by night, the manna in the wilderness... and all of these miracles... it was these who had no need for the idols of Egypt and it was these that entered into the Promised Land under the leadership of Joshua.
And Joshua brought the children of Israel into the Promised Land and conquered Canaan. And just before Joshua died at the age of 110 he called out to his people and said,
" Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." (Joshua 24:14-16)
Joshua may very well be speaking to us today. We know the Commandments of the Lord, we know that we are to have no other god before him, we know that we are not to have idols, and we NEED to know that if we do have idols it is our children who will suffer, when God visits the iniquity of the fathers upon the third and fourth generations. And God's word to us is... CHOOSE THIS DAY WHOM YOU WILL SERVE.
But, like the Israelites who followed Moses we too sometimes pick up bad habits like idols, as we journey through this world. We must remember that the Israelites didn't necessarily follow Moses because they wanted to give up their idols, but many followed because they didn't want to be slaves anymore. They wanted the best of both worlds; they got to be free and keep their idols too!
Many people today want the freedom that Christ brings. They want Him to be their Savior, but they don't want Him to be their Lord. They want Christ to save them from their sins, but they don't want to give up their sins, at least not all of their sins. And the most difficult sin to give up is the sin of idolatry, the worship of idols. Because this activity can be very subtle, cunning, baffling and powerful.
People get stuck on idols. Like a car that has slipped into neutral, the engine is running but they are going neither forward nor backward, and no matter how much they rev up the engine they just don't seem to be going anywhere in their Christian journey. They're like the Israelites that got stuck in the wilderness for 40 years. They idle on idols.
The word idol comes from the Hebrew el'eel, which means something that is good for nothing, or of no value. In the Greek it is i'do'lon, which implies an image which is worshiped.
They key word here is IMAGE, or the picture we hold in our mind, the thing upon which our thoughts are centered; the focus of our attention, efforts and affections. In Proverbs the psalmist put it this way, as a man thinketh in his heart... so is he.
What do YOU think about? What do you daydream about? Jesus said, " Wheresoever your treasure is, there your heart shall be also." (Matthew 6:21)
Where is your heart? What are your passions? Jesus said, " Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." (Matthew 12:34)
What do you talk about? What do people hear you talking about? Chances are, if you have an idol in your life, you have talked about it.
But, the bottom line on idols is that they are ANYTHING that comes between you and God. Anything that gets in the way of the relationship that God wants you to have with Him.
the primary problem with idols is that we often don't recognize them as such, we don't think of them as idols. It's easy for us to think of totem poles with the engraved images of lions, bears and eagles as representing idols, or statues of Buddha, Krishna or Confucius as idols. But, the truth of the matter is, that in the society in which we have become comfortable we cannot see the forest for the trees when it comes for idols.
In fact, even the very word idol doesn't carry the impact or meaning that it should in our society today. Take, for example, our frequent use of the word idol to refer to heroes, such as Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Babe Ruth, Pete Rose or Hank Aaron. And although countless numbers of people might admit that they have a hero... an idol... they would not for a minute accept the inference that they may have slipped into the sin of idolatry, the worship of a false idol.
The point I am trying to make here is that the dividing line between what IS or what is NOT an idol can become very blurry, fuzzy and ambiguous for some people. And that's because we can't always define idols by what we do, as much as we can by what we don't do. Jesus knew this and understood this, that's why our Savior said in Matthew 6:24: " No one can serve two masters."
And this seems simple enough. Many of us have worked somewhere at some time where more than one person tried to be the boss. Quite simply, only one person can be the REAL boss. That's why Jesus said, "No one can serve two masters." And, He even went on to tell us why we can't serve two masters. He said, " For either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other."
And all of that makes really good sense, if you think about it. But, the part that gets a little confusing and fuzzy for some people is what Jesus said next, " You cannot serve both God and Money."
You cannot serve both God and money?
Let me say it one more time... Jesus said, "You cannot serve both God and money."
Jesus knew better than anyone else how people have a tendency to turn money into an idol. And I believe each one of us can probably think of at least one person who seems to absolutely worship money.
BUT... if we were to ask people if they worshiped money, they would probably say, "No!" And that's because, as I said, when iut comes to idols we cannot see the forest for the trees. Some people have become so comfortable with money that it couldn't possibly be bad! And yet, in their hearts and in their minds they solution to all of lives problems boils down to the all mighty dollar. And so, to them, money HAS indeed become an idol, a false image of security. And you can often identify them by what they DO NOT do with their money.
One of the greatest deceptions being forced upon the American people today can be found with those four little words that we find on most of our currency... IN GOD WE TRUST. For, although we should know that trust in God is indeed the answer, many of us don't really trust Him. Many of those who are running our country and those who are spending the money take very little time if any at all to either thank God for their currency, acknowledge God as the source of their currency or Trust God to meet all of their needs without currency.
And that's the real clencher isn't it? WHAT AM I GOING TO DO WITHOUT MONEY?
And, if you think that I am exaggerating the problem that many people have with money then I would like you to consider this... The Bible is very clear in teaching us the importance of tithing. (Ohhh nooo, there's that "word"). Tithing is when we set aside 10% for the Lord. It's an offering of appreciation. But, it is more than that. It is a commandment. It is one of those commandments that many sadly, if not conveniently forget.
God doesn't ask us for our spare change, or for what is left over after we have gotten everything that we WANT. He instructs us to set aside the first 10% of all that we bring in, not just money, but our harvest, our production, our manufacturing... God wants the first 10%, the first fruits of our Labor, because He is God and we shall have no other god before Him. And money just happens to be a very effective method of measuring our dedication. Are we willing to part with our money? Or are we putting our money, or the things we want, before God?
Let me ask you... Have YOU been tithing 10%? And if you haven't been tithing 10% could it just be that you can't see the forest for the trees when it comes to idols?
Oh... I've heard every excuse in the book why people can't tithe...
One of my favorites are those who say, "We don't have to tithe because that was the Old Testament, Jesus paid the price." Yes, Jesus did pay the price... for our SINS, But, in the New Testament believers continued to tithe and even brought ALL that they owned to the church to build the Kingdom of God. So, we are without excuse.
Then there are those who say, "I give my 10% to the Boy Scouts, or Girl Scouts, the United Way, or some other non-profit organization." Well, that's fine and dandy, but in the Word of God the tithe was brought into the House of God.
There are also those who say, "I volunteer lots of MY time at the church and do all kinds of free work for the Lord." Well, praise God for a servant's heart. But, that does not exclude a person from the commandment of tithing.
But, probably the saddest thing that I have seen is Church Board Members who do not have enough trust of faith in God to honor him with their tithe, and this is a great sin.
I have often wondered what ever happened to some of the great churches of America. How and why did these churches with so many people shrink and shrivel until they have only a skeleton membership. Where are the younger people? Where are the missing generations? But... as I prepared this sermon the Lord made it very clear to me.
Remember what God said on Mount Sinai? I am the Lord thy God, you shall have no other gods before me. And the Lord promised to visit the iniquity of the fathers on the third and fourth generations of those who hate Him.
So, if we wish to build churches that are pleasing to the Lord, if we long to receive His many blessings as individuals and a church, if we want our children and our children's children to fill our churches with song and praise, then it would do us well to heed the words that the prophet Malachi spoke when he said...
Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you," says the LORD Almighty.
"But you ask, 'How are we to return?'
"Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me.
"But you ask, 'How do we rob you?'
"In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse-the whole nation of you-because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. (Malachi 3:7-10)
The author gives his permission for this sermon to be copied or used in any way that will bring glory to God.
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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)Thank you! I am busy preparing a sermon on idolatry - your comments were most helpful.Thank you, Joan. God bless you.
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