DATE: Sunday, May25th, 2008
SPEAKER: Pastor Kevin Snyder
TITLE: Who Calls the Plays?
SERIES: Developing a God Shaped Family in a Simpson Filled World
TEXT: Exodus 20:1-6
Introduction
In the Simpson movie Homer acquires a pet – “Super Pig”
Marge is concerned with where is he going to put the droppings. Homer feeling very proud is one step ahead of her. He has a huge tank to store them.
Well, the time comes for Homer to go and dump the tank. He ties it to the top of his car and is on his way.
On the way he gets a phone call from a friend.
His friend tells him he has discovered a deal on burgers.
Torn by his desires….he chooses his stomach over principles and decides detour and illegally dump the waste in the lake….which quickly contaminates the lake and makes it toxic. .
This is often the life of the Simpson’s. Perhaps meaning well, but something comes in the way. Something which at that time seems so much more important. In this occasion it is food.
It is these “other things” that makes the faith of this family so nominal. It reduces it to attending church and saying prayers, but little more.
Does something in that story resonate with us more than we care to admit?
I mean have you had times when
- You’ve had good intentions,
- You’ve desired to see your life and your family’s life shaped after God’s heart,
- You may even have plans but something always comes in the way. Something that seems more important. And it can be good things – family events, work, sports, ….Good things that become elevated into a wrong spot in our lives.
That is, and always has been, one of the biggest challenges to the Cn life….to having our hearts, and our families shaped after God’s heart.
The Bible speaks about it a lot. It was perhaps the most recurrent temptation of God’s people. It was what got them into the messes like Homer.
It was so important God addressed it in the first 2 commandments:
Exodus 20: 1 - 6
20 And God spoke all these words:
2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
3 “You shall have no other gods before me.
4 “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. 5 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, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
The issue is idolatry.
And it was a constant battle in Scripture:
Just a few chapters after receiving this we see the Israelite people make
- a golden calf to worship.
- In Joshua’s (Moses successor) days it was the gods of the Canaanites and surrounding people that kept inching their way into the life of Israel.
- There was Baal worship and the asherah poles.
- In Kings we see it repeatedly chronicled that different kings would allow and set up idols and temples to other gods.
- The prophets were constantly telling the people to forsake their idols and worship God.
- In the NT, in Matthew 6:24 – 26, Jesus talks about serving 2 masters and labels one as Money. He says, “You cannot serve both God and Money. For you will either hate the one and love the other, or will be devoted to one and despise the other.”
- In the New Testiment letters we also hear
Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry.
And so idolatry has been a persistent and critical issue for God’s people over all time.
Now you might be saying:
“Now, come on Pastor….we in North America and especially in the church don’t struggle with idolatry. We don’t set up images and bow down and worship them.”
Well, before we get too hasty let's define what is an idol
1. What is an idol?
a. Dictionary:
- a representation or symbol of an object of worship broadly : a false god
- an object of extreme devotion
- Often we think of wooden carvings, or statues, or images
b. David Seamonds:
“An idol is anything or anyone that usurps the place of God in our hearts.”
c. Martin Luther
“Whatever then the heart clings to, whatever the heart relies upon, that is properly thy god.”
d. Sociologists
An idol is anything that:
- defines a person’s self-worth
- is the controlling centre of a person’s life
- is the last in a series of priorities to be abandoned
2. Why is Idolatry such a temptation?
Graphic: someone struggling to steal something or???
God made us to serve somebody. We are incurably religious and will worship some kind of a god or something beyond ourselves. It is not a question of God or no god – the question is which god will we worship – the true God who came to us in JC or a substitute god? But we will worship something. This something helps us make choices in life. It serves us with a set of values and priorities. It becomes the shaping factor in our lives.
3. What do we make as Idols?
A. Created Things That We Raise To The Status Of Deity
Deut 4:15-21
15 “But be very careful! You did not see the Lord’s form on the day he spoke to you from the heart of the fire at Mount Sinai. 16 So do not corrupt yourselves by making an idol in any form—whether of a man or a woman, 17 an animal on the ground, a bird in the sky, 18 a small animal that scurries along the ground, or a fish in the deepest sea. 19 And when you look up into the sky and see the sun, moon, and stars—all the forces of heaven—don’t be seduced into worshiping them. The Lord your God gave them to all the peoples of the earth.
….23 Be careful not to forget the covenant of the Lord your God that he made with you; do not make for yourselves an idol in the form of anything the Lord your God has forbidden. 24 For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.
Note: Reverse order of creation. Starts with elevating man – last thing God created & moves backwards. Subtle way of showing how idol worship is the opposite, the reverse of what God intended.
We see that same pattern in Romans 1
Romans 1: 25
5 They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen.
B. Things That Entice Us
Colossians 3:5
5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry
In Phil 3:19 – the apostle Paul refers to a group of people. He says “…their god is their stomach.”
Homer Simpson made his stomach his god. And in Colossians Paul is saying when we give into sexual immorality, greed etc. it is because we have raised it to be an idol…a god to us
And so our idols can be the things that entice us.
C. Things we fear
In ancient times the people saw negative events as punishments of an angry god. And so often an idol was created and a ritual whereby they might appease the angry god. One of the amazing things about the OT law in its time was God gave guidance in advance to people. If you do such and such….you will be blessed. If you do this …you will experience problems.
D. Things In Which We Trust
Psalm 33:16-17
The best-equipped army cannot save a king,
nor is great strength enough to save a warrior.
Don’t count on your warhorse to give you victory—
for all its strength, it cannot save you.
- Nations trust armaments and armies. Things in which we trust can be idols
4. Why is idolatry so Bad?
What is it’s impact?
A. It can connect us to a more dangerous spiritual reality
Over the past few weeks we have heard in the news the story of Ms Martens, a Cdn who was imprisoned in a Mexico jail for 2 years. She was accused of money laundering because her boss was in the drug trade and apparently when he sensed the heat he closed up shop, gave her, his cook, a sizable severance package and left the country. The Mexican government saw this as dirty money and a way of covering the money. Ms Martens claims are: she had no idea what her boss was into. Nor did she accept this money as the proceeds of drug money but rather as an employee severance package.
Her defence is basically that she had no idea what she was connected to. Behind the “front” set up was an illegal operation.
We can be like Ms Martens. We can be naïve and unaware of the danger our idol worship may be connected to.
1 Cor. 10:18 - 22
18 Consider the people of Israel: Do not those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar? 19 Do I mean then that a sacrifice offered to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons. 22 Are we trying to arouse the Lord’s jealousy? Are we stronger than he?
We need to be careful – this business of idolatry is not child’s play.
Although idols are the products of human hands, they can become fronts for a deeper more sinister spiritual reality. It can create an inroad and create a greater spiritual captivity than we realize.
B. We become like the thing you worship
Psalm 115: 4 – 8
But their idols are silver and gold,
made by the hands of men.
5 They have mouths, but cannot speak,
eyes, but they cannot see;
6 they have ears, but cannot hear,
noses, but they cannot smell;
7 they have hands, but cannot feel,
feet, but they cannot walk;
nor can they utter a sound with their throats.
8 Those who make them will be like them,
and so will all who trust in them.
We lose life. We miss the point of our existence. Our lives lose purpose and meaning. And we become like that which we worship.
C. Our Lives Become Conflicted
Matthew 6:24 - 26
24 “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.
Our galaxy circulates around 1 sun. If another came close it would disturb our orbits, complicate our weather patterns and tides…probably destroy us.
We are the same way. We are made to basically have one thing at the center of our lives. We can’t have 2 centers of gravity without a lot of internal conflict.
Graphic
God ------------------------------ Money
Rich young Ruler
Jesus went to central idol in his life and asked who you going to serve. Unwilling to give it up. By our definition that means it was an idol.
Result: He went away sad.
In OT this conflict is portrayed in terms of adultery. It is like having another lover. Prophets described Israel in their times of idolatry as an adulterous lover. They loved others gods. And God is seen as that faithful, loving spouse who cannot tolerate sharing their heart with another.
Ezekiel 16: story of child found and raised then married and made a queen. But instead of being faithful engages with others .
Ezekiel16:32 – “You adulterous wife! You prefer strangers to your own husband!”
Idolatry makes our lives conflicted
D. Leads to Nominalism
If there is an idol in your life, your Cn faith will become nominal. Jesus will get the leftover times, and energies, and resources. It will come after your idol. Instead of loving God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength you will love him half-heartedly. Your faith will become casual and secondary.
AW Tozer
“Most present day Christians live sub-Christian lives. As a result Christianity has been watered down until the solution is so weak that if it were a poison it would not hurt anyone and if it were a medicine it would not cure anyone!”
E. It Affects More Than Just You
Homer’s attempt to get 2 burgers for the price of one affects more than just him. It affects his family. His neighbours want to kill him. His city – dome put over to stop spread of contamination. It affects many people.
His idolatry impacted many, many people.
More is at stake than just your heart, but the next generation, the church, and the nation are all at risk.
Application:
Let’s make this personal.
Friends, if we truly desire for God to shape our hearts, shape our family we have to deal with any idolatry.
We must ask a central question:
Who or what is going to shape your life?
Over the years I have watched an interesting thing.
I have seen people who have come to realize they need Christ in their lives. They sense the need. They see their powerlessness. And they invite Christ into their lives. And they grow like dandelions in their knowledge and faith for a period of time. And then it seems they hit “the wall”. They plateau. Their growth stops. And they come to a critical crossroads in their life. It’s the Lordship issue. Before they were a Cn their was something that defined their self-worth. Something that shaped their values. Set the direction of their lives.
And now as Christ begins to get into their mind and heart and closets he comes across that old god.
And he holds it up and says:
What are you going to do with this?
- For rich young man that god was money? Are you going to put it or me on the throne?
- Who or what will make the final decision? Who or what will be the last thing you hold on to?
And we begin to sweat. Because up to now Canadian life was fun, but suddenly we come to this critical juncture.
It comes down to a choice.
Who is going to be on the throne?
Christ ?
Or
-------------------------
What are some common idols put in that blank?
Boyfriend/Girlfriend (Love)
As a young person you will come to this crossroads. You will meet that nice guy or girl and really like them. But they may not be following Christ. And their values are different than yours.
- They like to drink.
- They don’t think sex outside of marriage is wrong.
- They see the goal of their life as getting lots of toys.
- They just want to have a good time.
- They don’t care to go to church.
You will face a crossroads like the people in Luke 9 who tried to bargain with Jesus.
- “Let me first go and bury my father”
- “Let me first go and say good-bye to my family”
And Jesus said “I have to be first.”
And we all know many who have chosen the love of a guy or a girl over following Jesus. A good thing has been elevated to be an idol and soon they drop out of youth, & church and bid a “fond farewell to Christ.”
If that boyfriend or girlfriend is the last thing you will give up then they have become an idol.
And I am going to say it even though many of you won’t listen. You need to trust that putting God first is the best thing in life.
An idol can’t deliver on your expectations. You are settling for less.
Another common idol I see put in the blanks today is:
Success /Advancement
Is our idol getting to the top? And we will put that over family, integrity, spiritual life?
It becomes the controlling factor in our lives.
Our ethics in the workplace don’t reflect Jesus principles. We do what we need to do to please our idol, to get to the top. There becomes this big disconnect between our faith and our workplace. We become conflicted because we operate by an idol at work.
Money
- Is your idol money?
- What comes first – making money or Christ?
- How much of your spiritual life are you willing to sacrifice for money?
- As a young person will you take a job that takes you out of church and youth if you don’t have to? Does the money mean that much to you?
- As an adult will you sacrifice your integrity for a price?
- i.e.
- Kia commercial – indecent proposal - $1 million to spend night?
- What’s our price to sacrifice our principles?
lost watch at camp – came to believe stolen….I quipped to staff there: “What kind of person lose their salvation for a $20 watch?”
There is another test:
What if Jesus asked you to give all your possessions away like he did rich young ruler? (Gulp – hard cuz we have much….hard for rich to enter because what we own often owns us. But I would think many would do like Balzers – sell everything and go if sensed Christ’s call to do that.
But
What about if Jesus asked you to give 10%?
That is what OT mandated. NT says proportionate ….grace wouldn’t do less. Has money become such an idol that we can’t even give back to God cheerfully what he considers his? (Mal 3)
- If you struggle giving a tithe let me suggest a good thing (money) has become elevated too high in your life….it’s an idol. And if you can’t give cheerfully. If it pains you to offer up what God commands let me suggest the Lordship battle isn’t over.
And now that I have made some of you mad let me go right over the top and make you the rest of you mad.
Could we put kids and sports in that blank?
Kids & Sports
One of my observations has been how kids sports activities have become almost elevated to the idol level in families.
For example, if you look at that defn of an idol again:
What defines our self-worth as a family?
What is the controlling centre of our family’s life?What is the last in a series of priorities to be abandoned?
I’m afraid there are many Canadian families who would if honest would have to say kids sports, not God.
- Who are we if we don’t have our kids in every activity and sport?
- What sets the priorities in our family? If a choice has to be made between church and spiritual involvement and sports which wins? Is it more important that our child succeed in sports or nurture their spiritual life?
- What is our goal for our family?
- And if it came down to it what would be the last thing to be given up?
I share this example with you because it is a rarity when perhaps it ought to be a norm.
Girl in our church - – gymnastics – became very good….12 years old and coaches saw a good future for her. And I was excited for her and happy for her accomplishments. But one day (remember she was 11 or 12) she made an appointment to come and see me. Her parents were with her. She came to me and told me how she was wrestling with a decision. She knew to go further in her gymnastics meant she was would have to be gone every weekend, practising several times a week, She would miss church, not be able to attend youth, and fall out of the loop. And she was wrestling with what was going to get her time, and allegiance. For her she felt the choice was:Her faith or her sport?
Rare thing was she chose her church and youth group.
Now don’t get me wrong. I am not against Cn kids in sports.
And I’m not here to make your decision for you.
We need Canadian athletes in sports who have learned and been guided like the Luke Hunters and Cindy Klassens as to how to not sacrifice their spiritual life on the altar of sports. I’m not suggesting that all need to make a decision like this gal. In fact, in some ways that would be a tragedy to see us abandon that arena, and to see talented athletes not pursue their best. But, if in that pursuit, your child is going to be in a lot of sports that takes you away from church and youth and Cn relationships, then, you need to be asking what you can do to invest in your child’s spiritual life.
What are we going to do to make sure a good thing doesn’t get elevated too high and become an idol?
What can we do to make sure our child loves God and sport and God doesn’t become secondary.
Those are tough wrestling questions. And we need to wrestle with them not just let our child’s and family’s spiritual life get sacrificed on the altar of sport.
I am concerned because I don’t think families are wrestling enough with the topic. Go out for dinner and dialogue on that with some other families.
- What can we do to keep Christ at the center?
- Would you ever say “no’ to involvement in a sport/activity for your child if you knew it would harm their spiritual life?
- How do we keep faith central in a sporting world where it has come peripheral?
Good things in the wrong place can become idols
Conclusion
Jesus defined what it is to be a Christ-follower.
Jesus said “If anyone would be my disciple he must deny himself, pick up his cross (death), and follow me.”
How do you respond?
“I’ll follow you Jesus – period!”
Or
“I’ ll follow you Jesus as long as you don’t ask me to give up ________”
- boyfriend/girlfriend
- money
- advancement/ job
- I’ll follow you Lord as long as I can do what I want when I want and how I want to do it.
- security and comfort
I’ll follow you Lord as long as I don’t have to move
- I’ll follow you as long as I don’t have to change my schedule or involvements….if you can fit into 11 am
- I’ll follow you as long as you are the means to make me successful.
Bow head.
Be honest. Is there anything you would put in that blank. Pray about that. Pray God would enable you to give that up to him. Wean it from your life
God can only begin to do deep change and shape your heart when you are willing to give up your idols.
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