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26 Oct:
Are We Idol Worshipers???
We don’t often think of ourselves as worshipping idols because we think of idols in terms of statues and shrines yet we find this in the Old Testament: Ezek 14:3 God tells the leaders of Israel that they “have taken their idols into their hearts”. And in Jer 2:13 God says, “My people have committed two evils: (a) they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and (b) hewed cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.” As a result, Jer 7:19 states they (c) “go after other gods to [their] own harm” and “to their own shame”. And in contradiction to this problem, we find what is pleasing to God: Jer 31:33 “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put My law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” The issue, always at hand in our lives is – who are we going to serve. Christ says we can't serve TWO masters. So, who are WE going to serve during the course of our lives???
Consider the first sin: “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate” (Gen. 3:6). Eve thought the fruit could give her what God would not or could not – so she desired the fruit. That desire controlled her heart and determined her behavior. And instead of going to the Lord regarding what she wanted she chose an alternate path to get what she wanted. And that alternate path was a sinful path. This was true of the first sin, and it’s true of all subsequent sin. James 1:14,15 “Each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death”
Sin begins with desire. We’re sinners because we give in to our sinful desires. That’s why we can’t change ourselves simply by changing our behavior. We need God to change us by renewing our hearts and giving us new desires. Remember what God said in Jermiah – how he wants to write His laws on our hearts? When our hearts change then our minds will change with it:
1 Peter 1:13-15 “Preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct.”
Col 3:1,2 “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”
How does our “mind preparation” happen? And why are we preparing our minds? How can we know we qualify as “obedient children”? How can we make sure our conduct is considered “holy”? How do we become children who are raised with Christ?
You may have noticed that my word bolding in the scriptures are focused on two points: we are to know and obey what God wants from us. That we know what types of actions properly represent what God wants. He expects us to talk the talk and to also walk the walk. Paul writes in 1 Cor 11:1 that we are to be imitators of him just as he imitates Christ. If that is what is happening in our lives, as best we can, then we are fulfilling what Peter writes in his letter: 1 Peter 2:9,11 “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light …. Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly pleasures which wage war against the soul.”
Notice that Peter refers to his audience as aliens and strangers. He is making reference to the fact that we should not consider ourselves as children of THIS world. Jesus said this of His apostles and His followers to include us: John 17:15,16 “I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even a I am not of the world.”
Our focus and motivation is to be determined by God and His teachings.
Col 3:1,2 “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” When we live our lives focused solely on the concerns of this world, we are guilty of idolatry. OUR god is whatever we are looking to in to accomplish our goals and trusting it to gain for us what we most desire.
Go back to the first sin. Eve desired to be wise – to be like God and know good and evil. Who put that idea forward and into Eve’s mind? It was Satan. And how did she seek that wisdom? It was by breaking God’s commands and eating the fruit of the tree that was off limits.
Idolatry may not involve explicit denials of God’s existence or character. It may well come in the form of an over-attachment to something that is, in itself, perfectly good. . . . An idol can be a physical object, a property, a person, an activity, a role, an institution, a hope, an image, an idea, a pleasure, a hero—anything that can substitute for God. It can be anything which gives happiness or meaning to our lives and is the first and foremost thing in which we desire.
It is the thing(s) of which we say, “I need this to make me happy,” or “If I don’t have this my life is worthless and meaningless.” Paul describes “covetousness” or greed as “idolatry” (Col. 3:5). Your idol is whatever you’re greedy for. It may be money, approval, sex, or power. David Powlison says, “If ‘idolatry’ is the characteristic and summary Old Testament word for our drift from God, then ‘desires’ is the characteristic and summary New Testament word for the same drift. Both are shorthand for the problem of human beings.”5 In other words, “sinful desires of the flesh” is another way of talking about the idols of the heart.
“For where your treasure is,” says Jesus, “there your heart will be also” (Matt. 6:21). Whatever you treasure most is the thing that has your heart and controls your life. “Whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved” (2 Peter 2:19). “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money” (Matt. 6:24). We serve whatever our hearts desire most. If that desire is for God and His glory, then God is our master. But if our desire is, first and foremost, for example, money, then money is our master, and that’s idolatry.
We excuse ourselves by thinking that we want to be good but are the victims of other factors (circumstances, history, biology, ill health, and so on). But the Bible’s radical view of sin tells us that we are responsible. We always do what we want to do.
But hope is given to us in Romans 7. Paul describes someone who says, “For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing” (Rom. 7:19).
At first sight this might seem to contradict what we’ve been saying. Here is someone who doesn’t do what he wants to do. But the reason he doesn’t follow his good desires is that his sinful desires are stronger and therefore controlling (Rom. 1:24–26; 7:23–25). Rom 8:9-11 “However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. 10 If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”
The answer is, says Paul, the Holy Spirit and the new desires He gives: those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. That is why it is so important that we know the will of God and loving Him with all of our heart, mind and strength so that we find the strength through the Holy Spirit to continually grow, develop and become who God wants us to be – we become God’s child, wanting to please Him and finding that abundant life which Christ promised us. We are looking to Him first and foremost regarding all that we desire!!!
19 Oct: WORSHIP PREPARATION:
Have you ever heard someone say how they participated in something, like going to the gym, and then complain about how they just don’t get much out of it? With worship, like with anything else, we generally get out of it what we put into it. Granted, there may be some components of a worship service which, from week to week, may vary how well we walk out uplifted and glad we came. And some of those things we have no control over. So on our side of the equation, we simply need to do our best to ensure that we are not only in worship physically but also spiritually. God, Himself, actually addresses this: Isaiah 29:13 “Then the Lord said, This people draw near with their mouth and honor Me with their lip service but their hearts are far from Me, and their fear of Me consists of tradition learned by rote.” And 700 years later, Christ reiterated Isaiah’s words: “In vain do they worship Me” (Mt 15:9) Sadly, it’s easy to go through the motions of worship without engaging our hearts.
So how can we minimize distraction and disruptions to help us stay engaged throughout our time or worship? One way is to prepare in advance.
1. Prepare in advance: plan ahead Saturday night and leave early Sunday morning.
Sundays may be a day of rest for believers, but I’m convinced it’s the day Satan works hardest. If he can’t stir up discord in the home, he’ll at least help us forget where we left our keys before we leave for church. I have said more than once that one of the most devilish inventions of man is the snooze button. And if you add children to the mix - then chaos & frustrations abound which causes our minds to be focused anywhere but on the Lord. Satan may not be able to keep your body out of church, but he’ll do his best to put your heart and mind somewhere else.
So logistically, do what you can to minimize issues: lay out your clothes the night before; write your offering check in advance, and eat breakfast so your belly doesn’t speak louder than the speaker.
2. Remember that God is the object of our worship. As we leave the service, what is our mind-set? Did ‘I’ enjoy the sermon? Was the music to ‘my’ liking; did I see people that I enjoyed speaking with? When we make worship about ‘our’ experience then we make worship about being entertained rather than praising the Lord.
3. Be a participant, not a spectator. I have shared with you about the book entitled, “I am not a FAN of Jesus.” The point of the book is that we should be a ‘FOLLOWER” of Jesus not a fan. A fan sits in the grandstand and cheers; a follower of Jesus goes down to the field and participates in the game. In some churches worship is designed for the audience to watch the various clergy to do the spiritual work. Have we incorporated that same thinking so that we watch the praise team and/or preacher while we are disengaged from participating ourselves? Are we physically in our chairs but mentally far away???
Are we closely following the thoughts expressed in the songs being led? Do we easily lose the pattern of thought being sung or preached while we go off on tangents? When I was in the audience during the sermon I never looked the passage up in my Bible that was being preached because I would get distracted by other verses on that page.
We aren’t called to be spectators; we’re called to be participants. When we gather together in worship – we need to be fully engaged—heart, soul, mind, and strength—in praising the living God.
So, what does a ‘participant’ in worship do?
- Fight distraction: Whether the potential distraction is your rumbling belly, the totally out-of-style dress the woman in front of you is wearing, or the man singing off-key behind you, worship God as you offer Him your attention.
- Sing heartily: God created your voice, and He’s pleased when your heart overflows through it—even if it doesn’t sound great. One day, we’ll all be able to hear one another with the same sanctified ears God receives our praises with today. In the meantime, remember what pleases God is to hear our hearts and voices raised in sincerity and love.
- Engage with the sermon: Don’t be passive as the Word is preached. Pay attention; read along with the scripture reading and take notes. Write down questions and/or unexpected thoughts or ideas that come to you.
- Take the sermon with you: Your work isn’t done when you exit the church doors. It has been asked: “Do we think when the sermon is done, the thinking is over? No, that is when the thinking begins regarding how this message applies to my life!
In our situation, we can go online to our website and find the sermon there under the Minister’s Blog and study/reflect on what has been said. We can go home and take our notes into our quiet time and reflect on what we have heard.
4. Be a relentless encourager. Heb. 10:25 is frequently used as a reminder of the necessity of corporate worship, and that verse is correct, but we often neglect verse 24: “Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works.” One of the important reasons we gather is to encourage. How can this be done? a) share with a brother a point in the lesson, or even on one of the songs, about how relevant and insightful and/or helpful it was. b) Share with a brother or sister how much you enjoy seeing them and ask about situations going on in their lives or in their family’s lives. Ask if there is something you can pray about for them or do for them! c) Look for those who are missing and during the week let them know that they were missed and see if there is something they may need.
5. Actively seek out visitors. Most of us know how intimidating it can be to visit a new church, and the warmth of the people can make or break the visit. We’ve had many guests over the years, and the most common remark they make is how warmly they were welcomed. Make sure you are a part of that encouragement.
Don’t let insecurities prevent you from doing what God intends, and giving to visitors what they need. Go, introduce yourself (even if you’ve met them before and forgotten their name). Ask someone who’s alone to sit with you. Introduce a visitor to someone else. Ask the visitor to fill out a card and take it home with you and then in some fashion reach out to them during the week.
Remember what Jesus told the woman at the well: John 4:23 “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.” Jesus didn’t come only to give us eternal life; He came to give us His Spirit to stir us from within so we can offer worship that pleases His Father.
We started our lesson with these words of warning: Isaiah 29:13 “Then the Lord said, This people draw near with their mouth and honor Me with their lip service but their hearts are far from Me, and their fear of Me consists of tradition learned by rote.”
Let us make sure that we never hear those fateful and condemning words in Mtt 7: “Depart from Me, for I never knew you.” Let us draw near at every opportunity and worship the Lord with all of our being!!!