Jeremiah 10:5 2/28/2023*

“Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field, their idols cannot speak; they must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them; they can do no harm, nor can they do any good.”

God has no problem speaking bluntly.  In this verse He points out the lunacy of worshipping something that you created.  Cutting down a tree, shaping it, dressing it up and then bowing down and worshiping it is stupidity, and it angers God.

Deuteronomy 7:26 not only says don’t have idols…it says we should “utterly detest” them. Idols are so offensive to God that they are forbidden by the very first commandment.  God views idolatry like we would view our spouses being unfaithful.

But our culture is too advanced to worship idols…right? We could never be duped into serving false powerless gods, right?... I don’t know… look at what you value. Does anything eclipse your devotion to Christ?  Does anything come close?

We should “detest” things that tempt us away from the true God. When I resist false gods is it because I despise them or out of a sense of duty?  Do I “loathe” the gold in their idols and the lust in their lifestyles, or do I begrudgingly abstain?

When I was young, I was enamored by the red glowing rings on our stove.  My mom told me not to touch them or I’d get burned ….so out of obedience, I didn’t…until I did. After that, they were no longer a temptation…I detested them. I saw them for what they were… dangerous.

If God calls something an abomination, I should never tolerate it.  Yet I sometime chase after, depend on, and in some ways worship worthless things… and God says that is hazardous to my relationship with Him. 

Idols aren’t exclusively golden sculptures… they come in the form of money, reputation, comfort,  power… anything that competes with my allegiance to God. Preoccupation with these things is dangerous. I must, acknowledge that God is my King and be solely devoted to Him out of gratitude for my redemption.

Examine your heart this morning… Carefully analyze the list of things you hold as valuable and eliminate anything that detracts from your devotion to Jesus.

“You don't have to go to heathen lands today to find false gods. America is full of them. Whatever you love more than God is your idol.”
- Dwight L. Moody

 

Daniel 4:18 2/21/2023*

^“This is the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, have seen. Now you, Belteshazzar, tell me its interpretation, since none of the wise men of my kingdom is able to make known to me the interpretation; but you are able, because a spirit of the holy gods is in you.”

Nebuchadnezzar tells Daniel (whom he calls Belteshazzar) that he wants Daniel’s God to perform for him. King Neb will honor any god who will do what he wants…In this case he wants to understand a dream, and that is exactly what is about to happen.

Many people approach God like Nebuchadnezzar.  They seek Him when it is convenient. They avoid obligation to Him by saying things like, “I’m not religious, I’m spiritual”… or “there are many paths”…. Their meaning is “I have manageable deities, but they all serve me – I do not serve them”.

Nebuchadnezzar displays this type of “spirituality” by saying that  “a spirit of the holy gods” (plural), is in Daniel. But God is going to correct Nebuchadnezzar’s theology in a way that he will never forget. Since Neb listens to dreams, God sends him a doozy, informing him that he will live like an animal for 7 years - until he understands that God does not share His glory with others. … And that message is universal.  

God will not be one of your idols.  When repentance doesn’t change your actions, God allows sin to change your outcome. You can worship and follow the one true God, or not…but you can’t keep God on retainer, just in case a time arises when He might be useful to you.

Worship has always been found in human history … We were made in His image and our awareness of Him is undeniable. Yet like Nebuchadnezzar, some of us insist on trying to take His place.

Love involves free will… so God leaves the choice up to you.  But if you choose self-worship…you will only get as far as your own power can take you…and like Nebuchadnezzar, you will discover, that that is a barron, confusing place and not at all where you intended to go…

Even if you’re a king like Nebuchadnezzar, you will eventually have to acknowledge that there is only one God – and it isn’t you.

“You will never glory in God till first of all God has killed your glorying in yourself.”― Charles Spurgeon

Deuteronomy 10:12-13 2/14/2023*

“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul,  and to keep the Lord’s commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good?” 

Do we do that? …Does God still expect us to? 

The New Covenant acknowledges our inability to keep the law but does not remove the requirement of holiness. Perfection is still demanded, to commune with God, and faith in Christ is the only way to fulfill that requirement.

Deuteronomy clarifies that loving God with all your heart and soul incentivizes you to begin “Serving Him, walking with Him, striving to keep His commandments”… Since you can’t perfectly keep His law, grace should cause you to chase holiness out of gratitude.

Unfortunately, instead of allowing God’s grace to change us we tend to emphasize God’s mercy to the exclusion of His Holiness. Since grace is free, we see obedience as sacrifice, thinking of ourselves as social martyrs, giving up the “fun” of sin for salvation. 

That is foolishness because sin is lethal. Countless men’s lives have been utterly ruined because they pursued what the world calls “fun”. It is essential to understand sin’s deadliness to be changed by God’s grace .

Christ’s brutal death at Calvary is the most expensive display of love in all of history. Yet we nonchalantly shrug at the price.  We claim to embrace the Cross – yet it does not affect our conduct. That is incompatible with the assertion that we love and walk humbly with God. 

You are saved by faith alone – but your faith should never be alone…. The best way to be sure that tomorrow is secured by your faith - is to see that your life today is transformed by it. 

It will change you when you understand that salvation has not been discounted. Jesus paid your debt in full …because He loves you, and you couldn’t pay the price yourself.  Let thankfulness for God’s unmerited love make you strive to be more like Jesus every day.

“It is no accident that the 10 commandments were smashed and then re-written exactly as they had been before….no matter how often we break His commands – they do not change.”   - Anonymous 

2 Kings 8:13 2/7/2023*

“Then Hazael said, “Surely not! For what is your servant, who is nothing more than a dog, that he would do this monstrous thing?” And Elisha answered, “The LORD has shown me that you will be king over Aram.”

“Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” 

Elisha weeps as he prophesizes that Hazael will commit barbaric atrocities.

But Hazael is offended at the suggestion. Insisting he is above such monstrous deeds, and that he doesn’t have the power to act even if he chose to… But soon Hazael will murder the king of Syria to gain that power and will go on to prove he is capable of astonishing brutalities. 

It is an extremely dangerous situation for me to believe I am too good to be tempted by a particular sin.  That egotism is an invitation to the enemy to “sift me like wheat”.

The belief that I am untouchable puts me in the vulnerable place that Proverbs speaks of when it says, “pride goes before destruction”.

Billy Graham was once asked how he had avoided scandal in his ministry.  The reporter probably expected a theological truth or bible reference…but Dr. Graham responded, “I run scared young man, I run scared.”… That in fact, is an astute theological response, acknowledging the treachery of sin and an indication of the humility that protected Billy Graham’s ministry.  

What about you?  Are you so confident that you are above sexual temptation that you make no effort to avoid it? Are you convinced no situation could arise that would tempt you to steal? Are you sure your desire for power and popularity won’t entice you to lie or gossip? The enemy is crouching at the door, whether you see him or not.

Dancing close to the fire because you believe you are impervious to the flames is foolish. Many men have been destroyed by sin they did not avoid because they were sure they were immune to it…

Recognize the power of sin and your own vulnerabilities and run scared young man. Guard your heart and build defenses against all sin in your life.  Remember that Hazael was sure there was no evil in him until he had the power to let it out. 

“Temptation likes best those who think they have a natural immunity, for it may laugh all the harder when they succumb.”— Catherynne Valente