SERMON: AFTER THE STORM

 

Naylor Community Christian Church

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to Exodus 14:21-31

 

Exodus 14:21-31

New International Version

21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, 22 and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.

 

23 The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea. 24 During the last watch of the night the Lord looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. 25 He jammed[a] the wheels of their chariots so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, “Let’s get away from the Israelites! The Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.”

 

26 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.” 27 Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward[b] it, and the Lord swept them into the sea. 28 The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.

 

29 But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. 30 That day the Lord saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. 31 And when the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.

 

            -- well, this past week was one for the record books – as we are all painfully aware, southcentral Georgia experienced its first Category 2 hurricane on record – sustained winds over 70 miles per hour, with gusts recorded as high as 100

-- to say the least, it was devastating – and it’s just now that we are all starting to catch our breath and thank God for sparing us from the worst of the storm and moving into clean-up and restoration

-- most of us now have our power back – and I think it’s safe to say that we’re all thankful for air conditioning and refrigerators and freezers

-- now it’s just clearing trees and limbs and getting life back to normal, right?

 

            -- even though Hurricane Idalia was a record-setting storm, we’re not unfamiliar with hurricanes and tropical systems here – we have our fair share of tornados and severe storms throughout the year – and we need to always be cognizant of this reality – we need to know the storms are coming and to be ready and prepared for them when they hit

            -- and that is true for all the storms of life, including spiritual storms and spiritual trials and tribulations

 

            -- looking back at my messages over the years, I know that I use the analogy of storms quite a lot to call attention to the ever-present trials and tribulations that life constantly throws at us because it’s the same language the Bible uses to describe these events

            -- and, so, we've talked about facing these storms and how we get through them by leaning on God's strength and relying on our faith in Him in these troubled times -- and while I may have beaten a dead horse even more from time-to-time, I hope my warnings about the storms and how to get through them haven’t been in vain

-- I hope God’s words have gone through me and helped you when the storms have hit – not only the physical storms, like Idalia, but also the storms of life and the spiritual storms that we occasionally walk through

            -- but sitting in the aftermath of Idalia and just taking a moment to think about what could have been and thanking God for bringing safely through, it occurred to me that in all our discussions about spiritual storms and the storms of life, we have neglected to consider what comes next

-- what do we do after the storm has passed? -- what do we do when we're standing in the aftermath of a disaster and a new day is dawning and the sun is shining and the birds are singing and we realize, "We made it" -- what then?

 

II.  In the Aftermath

            -- this morning, I wanted us to think for a moment about this great miracle that God has done – and for all the miracles and deliverances we have experienced as God has led us through our personal storms to the other side, bringing healing and comfort and peace

-- and now that we are on the other side – now that we have witnessed the mighty hand of God calming the storm and delivering us from our trials and troubles, how should we respond? – where should we go? – and who should we become?

            -- we can find some direction from the experiences of the Israelites as God led them out of their storm of slavery in Egypt, through the Red Sea, and into the Promised Land

 

            -- just to remind you of what God had done for the Israelites up to this point -- the Israelites had gone into Egypt during a severe famine in the land of Canaan -- they prospered there and multiplied in number, and this worried the Egyptian leaders -- they feared the Israelites were becoming too powerful -- so they placed them in bondage and made them their slaves

            -- for 400 years the Israelites lived as the slaves of the Egyptians -- serving them and building their temples -- but God heard their cries and sent Moses to lead the people out of Egypt

            -- God sent plagues against the people of Egypt -- you remember the stories -- the waters turned to blood -- there was infestations with flies and frogs -- hail that rained from the sky, killing the animals in the field -- there was darkness -- there was disease -- there was pestilence -- finally, God struck down the first-born of all the people and animals of Egypt -- and then Pharaoh relented and told the Israelites to leave

            -- but after they left, he changed his mind and chased after them with his army, pinning them against the Red Sea with no way out -- it was going to be a slaughter – the storm clouds had gathered against the Israelites

-- but, as we just read in Exodus 14, God parted the waters of the Red Sea -- He made a way where no way existed before -- and He led the Israelites out of Egypt and destroyed the army of the Egyptians at the same time

            -- the nation of Israel had faced a storm of biblical proportions and emerged on the other side of the Red Sea victorious -- so what did they do when they made it through the storm? – and how does their example guide us in our response after our own storms are over?

 

            -- let’s turn to Exodus 15, starting in verse 1

 

15 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord:

 

“I will sing to the Lord,

    for he is highly exalted.

Both horse and driver

    he has hurled into the sea.

 

2 “The Lord is my strength and my defense[a];

    he has become my salvation.

He is my God, and I will praise him,

    my father’s God, and I will exalt him.

3 The Lord is a warrior;

    the Lord is his name.

4 Pharaoh’s chariots and his army

    he has hurled into the sea.

The best of Pharaoh’s officers

    are drowned in the Red Sea.[b]

5 The deep waters have covered them;

    they sank to the depths like a stone.

6 Your right hand, Lord,

    was majestic in power.

Your right hand, Lord,

    shattered the enemy.

 

7 “In the greatness of your majesty

    you threw down those who opposed you.

You unleashed your burning anger;

    it consumed them like stubble.

8 By the blast of your nostrils

    the waters piled up.

The surging waters stood up like a wall;

    the deep waters congealed in the heart of the sea.

9 The enemy boasted,

    ‘I will pursue, I will overtake them.

I will divide the spoils;

    I will gorge myself on them.

I will draw my sword

    and my hand will destroy them.’

10 But you blew with your breath,

    and the sea covered them.

They sank like lead

    in the mighty waters.

11 Who among the gods

    is like you, Lord?

Who is like you—

    majestic in holiness,

awesome in glory,

    working wonders?

 

12 “You stretch out your right hand,

    and the earth swallows your enemies.

 

            -- this passage reminds me of the commercials we often see right after the Superbowl – the ones where the reporters ask the players on the winning team, "You just won the Superbowl -- What are you going to do now?" and they say, "We're going to Disney!" – and they’re just so happy and excited over their victory

 

            -- we see the same kind of emotion and response right here – “Moses and the nation of Israel, God just led you through the Red Sea and defeated your enemies -- what are going to do now?” -- and Moses and the nation replied, "We're going to the Promised Land – and so we’re going to sing!"

            -- and that's what they did -- they sang -- they danced -- they praised the Lord

 

            -- it's like the lyrics to that old song, "I sing because I'm happy -- I sing because I'm free -- His eye is on the sparrow -- and I know He watches me" – when’s the last time you just spontaneously sang and cried out to the Lord in praise because of His goodness and grace like this?

 

            -- the Israelites sing because they are happy – think about what a momentous miracle has just occurred – how this Red Sea event changed their lives forever – not just physically, but spiritually

-- they knew God in the past, but only in an impersonal way -- they knew Him as "God up there somewhere" – they knew Him as the God of their fathers, but in reality, they just knew about Him – they didn’t really know Him

-- there’s a lot of people like that in our world today, especially here in America – they claim God as their own, but they don’t really know Him – they just know about Him – they’re just familiar with Him because of the faith of their fathers – because of the foundation of this country

-- they grow up claiming to be Christians, simply because they live in America – but their hearts are distant – they’re like the people described in Matthew 7:21-23 as having done things for God, like prophesying in His name and driving out demons and doing miracles, but who don’t know God and are not known by God – as Jesus says in verse 21, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven…”

-- up to this point, the Israelites only knew about God – but now, having come through the storm – having seen His hand and His deliverance in such a mighty way – they now know Him themselves – they now know Him personally – they now know Him as their God and their Savior

-- that’s the thing about storms – as difficult as they may be at the time, they can lead us into a closer relationship with God if we look for Him and seek Him as we talked about last week

 

-- and so, in response to their deliverance from the storm of slavery and persecution in Egypt, the Israelites rejoice and sing because they know they are free -- they have seen God do a mighty work beyond anything they could even imagine

-- they had faced the impossible and seen God make it possible -- they had faced death itself and been given life -- they had been redeemed because of Him -- and so they could not help but cry out in praise and worship to the God they now knew

            -- as the example of the Israelites demonstrate to us here, redemption moves us to praise God – it is the natural response of a heart saved by the Savior – the Israelites looked back at their deliverance and they recognized it came from God and God alone -- and they praised Him with all their heart – giving Him the honor and glory – lauding Him for His great work on their behalf

            -- when we make it through the storm, the first thing we should do is praise God -- for we didn't make it in our own strength -- we didn't make it based on our own good works -- we made it because God chose to do a mighty work in our lives

            -- as Judson Cornwall wrote, "Worship helps us find who we are and why God has placed us here on the earth -- When we bow in God's presence with worship, only then are we made complete"¹

-- we can only say we have made it out of the storm to the other side when our hearts are changed and our lives are transformed and we respond in praise and worship to God

 

            -- verse 13-18

 

13 In your unfailing love you will lead

    the people you have redeemed.

In your strength you will guide them

    to your holy dwelling.

14 The nations will hear and tremble;

    anguish will grip the people of Philistia.

15 The chiefs of Edom will be terrified,

    the leaders of Moab will be seized with trembling,

the people[c] of Canaan will melt away;

16     terror and dread will fall on them.

By the power of your arm

    they will be as still as a stone—

until your people pass by, Lord,

    until the people you bought[d] pass by.

17 You will bring them in and plant them

    on the mountain of your inheritance—

the place, Lord, you made for your dwelling,

    the sanctuary, Lord, your hands established.

 

18 “The Lord reigns

    for ever and ever.”

 

            -- take a moment and think about where we are this morning – about what we just went through and where we are headed

-- right now, we’re all reeling from the aftermath of the storm – but give it a couple of weeks – and this storm will just fade into memory – something we mention from time-to-time, but never really dwell on again

-- things will get back to normal, and it will be just like we never experienced the storm in the first place -- just like it never happened

-- we experienced that with Covid – Covid was a world-wide pandemic on the scale of the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic – there has not been a similar disease outbreak in the last 100 years – it affected our lives in so many ways – it seemed like things would never be normal again

-- but here we are giving no thought to Covid at all – it’s like a mist that we walked through – it’s like a shadow of a dream – and life just went back to normal

-- Hurricane Idalia will be the same

 

            -- there is a principle called homeostasis -- it means people like things to stay the same -- their goal is to always keep the same-old, the same-old -- they want things to be normal – to be familiar – even if their familiar is not great

            -- just like in a TV show -- on almost every TV show you watch, the characters live in the same-old, same-old -- the status quo -- no matter what storms or trials the characters may face in this week's episode, by the time the credits roll at the end of the show, everything is back to the way it was in the beginning -- and by next week's episode, it's like no one even remembers what happened

            -- unless it’s a show where the plot develops over the course of a season, last week’s events are never mentioned again – it’s like they never happened

 

            -- that's what we've learned to expect out of life -- when we go through a storm, the best we hope for is a return to normality -- to the same-old, same-old -- we are longing for the status quo to be restored -- how many times have you said to yourself, "Now that I'm through this, things can get back to normal"

 -- but is that the right answer? – is that where we want to be – is that who we want to be – after experiencing God’s hand in the midst of our storms? – after experiencing God’s hand in our lives?

           

            -- I saw a motivational poster one time that proclaimed, "Do ordinary things better than anyone else" -- and when I read it, I thought to myself, "That is the stupidest advice I have ever heard"

-- be ordinary -- strive for mediocrity -- don't push yourself beyond your limits -- don't try to do something bigger than yourself -- don't try to grow or do more -- no, just be ordinary -- just be normal

            -- but, folks, as Christians, we are not supposed to be normal -- Peter wrote that we are peculiar people -- we are aliens and strangers in this land -- and that means that we are not supposed to be normal or ordinary or any of that -- our goal is not to be like the rest of this world -- our goal is to be like Christ and to live in the Kingdom of God

            -- that means we live beyond normal -- we live beyond the natural and in the supernatural -- we live beyond the ordinary to the extraordinary -- and that means that when we pass through the storm, we don't go back to the way our lives were before -- no, we grow and go with Christ to new horizons and promised lands

 

            -- look what's happened in these verses -- the Israelites have gone from praising God for what He has done and have started praising Him for what He is going to do -- they're not looking at getting back to the same-old, same-old -- they're not wanting to get back to their former, normal way of life -- no, they're looking ahead – they are future-oriented because their God – our God -- is future-oriented

            -- it's not about just getting through the storm -- it's about moving on with God to the promised land -- God's purpose in His mighty acts through Moses was not intended to just free the Israelites from Egypt's grasp -- no, His mighty acts were to free them for the future and to transform them and change them into people who knew Him and who could live in relationship with Him

 

            -- too often in the church we focus on salvation as the means to the end -- in other words, once you are baptized and join the church of Christ, you are done -- your ticket is punched -- heaven awaits

            -- but Jesus did not just die on the cross and rise from the dead on the third day to just free you from your sins -- no, He did all of this to free us for the future -- to lead us into abundant life with Him -- to be more and to do more than we were capable of before

            -- Jesus came to show us a new way through Him – a way that was made possible through the cross and that transforms us through His Holy Spirit within

 

            -- anytime God brings us through a storm – whether it’s a natural disaster or a spiritual storm or just the trials and tribulations of life, God wants us to do more than just make it through to the other side – He doesn’t reveal Himself and do miraculous acts in our lives just for us to go back to who we were and where we were before the storm

-- God works miracles and brings us through the storm so that we might grow in grace and move forward with greater faith and trust in Him than before – He doesn’t want us to go back to Egypt, but to press on towards the promise – to press on to what He has in store for us – and to strive to be who He is calling us to be through His sanctifying grace

-- look at what God was doing in and through the Israelite people here – God didn’t call Moses to just lead the people out of Egypt through the Red Sea so they could stay there forever – no, He had bigger plans for them -- the promised land awaited – a new life awaited

            -- thus, our focus after the storm should be on trusting in God's mighty power because of the miracle He has just done and focusing on what He is going to do in us and through us now that we’re on the other side of the storm

 

            -- Bob Deffinbaugh wrote, "Israel came to know God in a greater way as a result of the trials and testings that they experienced in Egypt and in the wilderness -- We, too, come to know God more intimately and more fully in the midst of the trials which He leads us through -- And when we “pass through” these trials, we look to the future fulfillment of God’s promises as even more certain, having experienced His faithfulness in the tough times of our lives."²

            -- in other words, going through the storms make us aware that nothing can hold us back when we go with God -- our desire should not be for the same-old, same-old – our desire should not be to go back to normal – our desire should be for God and for the Promised Land that lies ahead

 

            -- the one thing we can clearly see in these verses is that the Israelites didn't just emerge from the sea free from Egyptian bondage -- they were transformed – they went from being fearful slaves in captivity to the Egyptians to being fearless followers of God

            -- the Bible tells us that perfect love casts out fear -- and when you have walked with God through a frightening storm and emerged on the other side, from that point on fear has lost its power

            -- no matter what the Israelites were going to face from this moment on as they moved forward towards the Promised Land -- whether that was the chiefs of Edom or the leaders of Moab or the people of Canaan -- whether that was the trials they were going to face in the wilderness or persecution at the hands of their enemies -- they would be able to face those storms without fear because they now knew and trusted in a God who would deliver them

            -- from this moment on, the Israelites were going to be able to speak into the storm, “Go away – we don’t fear you – our God parted the Red Sea – what can you do against a God like this? – why should we fear you when our God is greater than you?” 

 

-- we need to get to that place in our lives, too -- where we walk fearless in the face of the wind and rain – where we can face the storms of life without fear because we know and trust in God for our future – and we know and trust in His promise that our future with Him is greater than we could ever imagine

            -- when Jesus and His disciples were being buffeted by a great storm on the sea that threatened to capsize their little boat, we read that Jesus stood and rebuked the storm

-- He didn’t just calm it – He rebuked it – He cried out to the storm and said, “No!  That’s enough!  Stop!” -- we need to do the same

            -- we need to call to mind the victories that God has given us and rebuke the next storm in His power -- "Storm, go away -- look what God just brought me through -- you are nothing, compared to that and nothing compared to Him"

            -- looking around this room, just think for a moment what God has brought you through and laugh at the fears the storm threatens you with – there is nothing to fear, because God has this and He has you – and no matter what your future holds, you can face it without fear because you stand on what God has done in the past and you have faith that He is going to bring you through the next storm to the other side, too

 

            -- I want to leave you with this quote from Sir Ernest Shackleton, who led an expedition to Antarctica in the early 1900s -- after going through a plethora of devastating disasters and troubles, to the point where he almost lost all of the men with him, he stood up and proclaimed, "After today, nothing will be hard, ever again."

            -- that quote sums up this entire passage -- as the Israelites stood on the shores of the Red Sea and rejoiced and praised God for the victory that was and the victory that was to come, their hearts cried out, "After today, nothing will be hard, ever again"

            -- let that be your heart-cry as well, as we look back at the storm that was Idalia and as we face the future storms in our lives

            -- let us pray

 

1 Judson Cornwall. Leadership, Vol. 16, no. 2.

2 Bob Deffinbaugh, https://bible.org/seriespage/8-song-sea-exodus-15

SERMON: FINDING GOD

 

naylor community christian church

 

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to Exodus 3:1-6

 

Exodus 3:1-6

New International Version

Moses and the Burning Bush

 

3:1 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. 3 So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”

 

4 When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”

 

And Moses said, “Here I am.”

 

5 “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” 6 Then he said, “I am the God of your father,[a] the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.

 

            -- as you know, last week we took a family trip up to Ellijay to spend a week-long vacation in the mountains – we’ve had this planned for a long time, and it was our only vacation for the year – and now, with Kim’s diagnosis, the timing was right for us to just get away and spend some quiet time away from the hustle and bustle of our everyday lives and from the journey that lies ahead

-- we’ve been up to north Georgia before, but when Kim asked me if there was anything I wanted to do when we got up there, I immediately said, “Yes!” – I wanted to go to the Bigfoot Museum in Blue Ridge – I had seen the sign on the interstate and I had seen people on the internet talking about it – and I wanted to go – it was the only thing I had on my agenda for our trip

-- I’m sure none of you knew this, but I love Bigfoot – I've always been fascinated by Bigfoot -- back when I was a kid in the 70s, there was a rash of Bigfoot sightings in the Pacific Northwest, and while there never was any real evidence, it was just something that caught my imagination, especially because I spent a great deal of time as a kid outdoors in areas where a bigfoot might live -- and even now, as a wildlife biologist, the thought of being the person who finds proof of the existence of a new species -- especially a large animal like Sasquatch -- that would be the pinnacle of a scientific career

            -- and, truth be told, any time I'm out in the woods -- whether it's hunting or working -- I always just keep an eye open for the unusual -- for anything that would point to the existence of a creature like Bigfoot -- something rumored to exist but never actually seen or documented by science

 

            -- the museum was kind of small, but it was fascinating – it had all kinds of displays and evidence gathered from teams all around the world who had gone on expeditions to find the elusive Bigfoot – whether he was known in that area as Sasquatch or as the Yeti

            -- regardless of what you think about Bigfoot, you have to admire these men and women who went to these remote areas hunting for something that they have heard of – something that they longed to see with their own eyes – to experience first-hand

            -- just think of the dedication and the time and the expense these teams went to to go to these areas and find what they have been hoping to see for their whole lives

            -- their heart’s desire was to find and see Bigfoot – but, inevitably, they all left without any conclusive proof that Bigfoot existed – the exhibits didn’t say anything about how the people felt at the end of their expeditions, but I wonder if the researchers were disheartened and sad because they never could find what they were looking for

 

            -- I think we can all agree that it can be frustrating to spend your entire life searching for something that you know is out there but that you just never quite can find

-- have you ever felt that way? -- maybe not about bigfoot, but about God? -- have you ever been in that place in your life when you really needed God -- you really wanted to see Him -- to hear Him -- to experience Him -- but He never seemed to show? -- you never could find Him? – and you left your search without any evidence that God was really there?

            -- that's exactly what was going on with Moses in the early part of his life -- so, I want to spend some time this morning looking at Moses' search for God in a message that I've entitled, "Finding God"

 

II.  Moses

            -- now before we move on and look at Exodus 3 in a little more detail, let me remind you of the story of Moses -- as you remember, at this time, the nation of Israel was living in the land of Goshen in Egypt -- they had moved there during a famine while Joseph was leading the nation of Egypt for Pharaoh and had enjoyed a prosperous life -- but now, as the Book of Exodus opens, Joseph and his Pharaoh have long since died and the Israelites have been pressed into slavery by the current Pharaoh

            -- their lives are difficult at best, and to make conditions worse, the Pharaoh commanded that all male Hebrews be killed at birth -- Moses, of course, was hidden in a basket and set adrift in the Nile River to save him, where he was rescued by Pharaoh's daughter and raised as part of the royal family

            -- but despite being raised in the lap of luxury, Moses was still missing something in his life -- so he went out to the Hebrews looking for two things -- he went looking for himself and he went looking for God

            -- it seemed like a good idea -- it seemed like the way to find God would be to immerse yourself in those who know God, but Moses quickly learned that just being part of the religious crowd doesn't make you part of God's kingdom -- as we all know, finding God is a personal quest that every person has to take -- and Moses also learned that just being Hebrew by birth doesn't make you part of the Hebrew nation -- he couldn't relate to their slavery and their experiences, and he ended up being rejected by his own people 

            -- in the end, Moses killed an Egyptian slave-master and was forced to flee to the Midian Desert, which is where his real story of Finding God begins

 

III.  Finding God

            -- look back at Exodus 3:1 with me

 

3:1 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.

 

            -- by this time, a lot of years have passed since Moses fled Egypt -- he has married and raised a family -- and is working for his father-in-law by tending to his flocks

            -- now, it's important to note that Moses' father-in-law was a priest of God -- what this means is that during these past 40 years, Moses has been around the people of God -- he was part of a family that believed in God and worshiped God and sought God with their lives – but he's evidently not found God on his own

            -- over the time that I have been here, I have shared with you the principles that Henry Blackaby taught in his Experiencing God Bible Study about the means by which people hear and experience the presence of God – as Blackaby taught and as we have experienced in our own lives, there are four ways that God has chosen as the normal means by which He speaks to His people -- does anybody remember what they are?

-- the Word -- the Scriptures – this is God’s primary way of speaking to us today

-- the next is prayer – and remember that the key to hearing God through prayer is to leave space for God to talk and to open your ears that you might hear His voice

-- third is the church -- being around God's people and hearing Him through them and through our shared experiences as being part of the family of God

-- and, finally, circumstances – events and situations and trials and triumphs in our lives that proclaim to us God’s presence or through which we see His hand working and know that He is with us

-- now, keep in mind that these are the normal ways that God speaks to us, but God is God, and He can choose to reach out to us in other ways -- but these four are the usual ways that God has chosen for us to hear His voice and to find Him

 

            -- and I’ve shared these more than once with you – but, even knowing this truth, what happens more often in our daily lives? -- even though we are like Moses and live in a society where the Bible is more common than ever before in history and we have churches on every corner and the knowledge of God is rampant throughout this land, what happens? -- we have a tendency to neglect God and to not listen as He speaks to us through these means of communication

            -- we know what to do, but we choose to not do it – sound familiar? – let me give you an example of what I’m talking about

 

            -- one thing that Kim really enjoyed about our trip was how well the air conditioner in the cabin worked – our house here is old and drafty and leaks like a sieve – it’s hard for us to maintain a constant temperature or to get the temperature where we want it – and if Kim had her way, that would be constantly chilly

-- so, when we got in the cabin and she found the AC worked well, she cranked that thing down and almost froze me to death -- I got cold in the middle of the night while I was sleeping – the thing was, I knew what to do about it

-- I knew where the blankets were stored in the room we were staying – I could have gotten up and gotten a blanket and put it on me, but I didn’t -- that would have required effort, and I just didn't want to rouse myself enough to do that -- I chose to suffer in cold rather than do what it would take to warm myself up

            -- it’s the same with hearing from God -- we know how God speaks -- we know where God speaks -- but a lot of time we just don't make the effort to put ourselves in a place where we can find Him and hear Him

 

            -- God can't speak to you from the Word if you never open your Bible -- He won't speak to you in prayer if you never do more than throw up a wish list first thing in the morning -- He can't speak to you through His people if you don't associate with them more than just on Sunday mornings

-- that’s how a lot of us live – and that’s exactly how Moses had been living up to this point in his life -- Moses had all the opportunities to find God through His word or through prayer or through His people, but he chose not to listen – and so God remained elusive and something that Moses could never quite grasp or experience

            -- so, if the Word and prayer and the church are out, what does that leave? -- that leaves circumstances -- God's megaphone to our heart -- and here in this passage, we see God calling out to Moses in a way that he would be forced to hear and respond as God called Moses to come to Him

 

            -- In her book, "John Paul the Great," author Peggy Noonan answered the question, "How do you find God?"

-- the first thing you do, she said, is get yourself in trouble -- in order for us to find God, we first have to be in a place where we are looking for God -- we have to be in a place where our only frame of reference is up – sometimes you have to hit the bottom before you can begin to climb

            -- God allows His people, even Christians who have accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior, to go through periods of trouble so we are forced to seek His face -- just as God led Moses out into the Midian Desert, He leads us into deserts in our spiritual lives -- into periods of dryness when we just can't seem to hear from God or find Him

            -- God lets us go into these arid periods in our lives because He's trying to get our attention and trying to get us to start seeking Him and His presence even more

            -- the key to finding God in the desert is to keep on pressing on with the spiritual disciplines of reading scripture, praying, and going to church -- but you will find that it is in these times that God really speaks through your circumstances to capture your heart

            -- that is what we see with Moses here -- Moses had ignored the opportunities to find God that had been given to him through his marriage into a priest's family -- and so God called out to him in a way that was sure to get his attention

 

            -- verse 2

 

2 There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. 3 So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”

 

 

            -- burning bushes aren't that uncommon in our area, especially in the late fall and winter – it’s a common practice down here for folks to burn their property to kill off weeds and to get rid of leaf litter and to get the land ready for the spring green-up – if any of us were out and about in the winter around here and saw a bush that was burning, it wouldn’t surprise us

            -- and you get the impression here from Moses' response that burning bushes really weren't that unusual in his day, either -- but what caught his attention was the fact that the bush was on fire, yet it wasn't burning up -- God did the extraordinary to get Moses’ attention so that Moses might respond to His call

 

            -- God does that to us, too -- our natural tendency in life is towards complacency -- we get comfortable in life -- even our spiritual lives -- and we can become stagnant -- but God doesn't want us to stop growing, so He goes to extraordinary efforts to get us to seek Him

            -- sometimes he lets hardships and troubles come into our lives -- sometimes he blesses us beyond belief -- and sometimes He hides from us -- He draws away, leading us into the desert, so we will seek Him and search again for His presence

            -- He plays hide and seek with us to get us moving -- seemingly ever out of our reach, but always close enough to touch -- just far enough away that we have a desire to find Him, but close enough that we can be led by His presence

            -- God had led Moses into the desert and put him into a godly family so that he might hear God's voice and hear His call and lead His people out of Egypt -- but Moses refused to listen -- so, God appeared to him in a sign that was sure to catch his attention -- a bush on fire that refused to burn up

 

            -- the lesson here for us is that when we find ourselves in the desert place in our spiritual walk -- when we're just going through the motions and not really growing or listening to God's voice or seeking Him with all our heart -- God will move and do the extraordinary to get us to seek Him again

            -- when you see burning bushes popping up around you, know that this is God's call for you to come close

            -- before we move on, let me just point out one thing right here in verse 2 -- when you see the phrase, "the angel of the Lord," in the Old Testament, know that this is what we call a theophany -- it is a preincarnate appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ -- in other words, when you see the phrase, "the angel of the Lord," know that this is referring to God Himself -- Moses saw God in the burning bush

 

            -- let's move on -- verse 4

 

4 When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”

 

And Moses said, “Here I am.”

 

5 “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” 6 Then he said, “I am the God of your father,[a] the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.

 

            -- when Moses responded to God's call from the burning bush, he found himself in the presence of the living God -- for the first time in his life, Moses found himself face-to-face with Yahweh, the Great I Am -- for the first time in his life, Moses heard God and responded to His call and found what he had been seeking his whole life, from the moment he went out to the Hebrew slaves in Egypt through all his wanderings in the desert

            -- when you seek God, you will find Him – this is a promise and a truth that you can stand on -- the Bible tells us that as we draw near to God, He draws near to us -- Psalm 22:3 says that God inhabits the praises of His people -- and 1 Chronicles 28:9 says, "if you seek Him, you will be found by Him"

            -- God wants us and He wants us to continually seek Him -- to chase after Him in our daily lives -- knowing that we need Him to survive – knowing that we need Him more than anything else this world might offer

 

            -- do you remember playing hide-and-seek as a kid or playing it with your children or grandchildren? – if you think about, this simple game teaches us a profound spiritual lesson

            -- it teaches us two things:  first, it teaches us that there is Someone who is always looking for us – Someone who cares enough about us to search for us and call for us when we are hiding from His presence – that even when we are trying to hide, Someone loves us enough to come find us

-- remember the story of Adam and Eve after they ate the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? – remember what they did?

            -- the Bible says they hid from God – but God sought them – He searched for them – He called out for them, “Where are you?” – He does the same for us every single moment of every single day – He seeks us because He desires us

            -- the second thing this little game teaches is that we have to seek for what is true and good and desirable in our lives – this fallen world is not just going to drop good things into our laps, and that’s especially true when it comes to lasting relationships – we have to seek out and search for the desire of our heart – for our loved ones, even for God

            -- sometimes God hides, so that we can experience the delight that comes when we finally discover Him – the joy that comes when we pull back the curtain and God steps out and says, “Here I am!”

            -- the goal of the game, whether you are the seeker or the hider, is to find and be found – to know that Someone loves you and wants you enough to search for you or to be found by you

            -- and when we are together again – when the game of hide-and-seek is over – our souls are filled with joy because we are in His presence again

            -- the thing to remember, though, is that when God hides from us, it is usually because He is calling you to do something more for Him or to become more like Jesus in your spirit – just like He is doing with Moses here in this passage

 

            -- so, how can you be sure that it is really God that you have found?

-- we live in a world of counterfeits -- of glittering gods and illuminating idols, just as we talked about last week

-- it is easy for us to be misled and to think we have found God when in fact we are following a false idol or a desire of our own heart -- so, how do you know that it is really God that you have found?

 

            -- just like we discussed last week, it should be a warning light to your spirit if what you are hearing and what you have found is exactly what it is that you wanted in the first place -- a lot of times, we create deserts of our own making because we want to meet our own desires -- we justify our own wants by telling ourselves, "God wants me to have this"

            -- for example, let's say you have been unhappy at work and you really want a new job -- things continue to get bad and you start to believe that God is telling you through your circumstances to leave your job

-- what is really going on is that you want to leave, so you create circumstances that you ascribe to God to justify what you wanted to do from the beginning -- this could be a case where you are listening to your own heart rather than God's heart

 

            -- generally, when God leads us into the desert, He leads us into an area that is out of our comfort zone -- a place that makes us question who we are and what we are -- when God calls us in this way, His call usually isn't to give us our heart’s desires, but to lead us down a new path that will challenge our faith and grow us in our faith

            -- when Kim and I started looking at moving back to Valdosta, we were both involved in an organization called Bible Study Fellowship -- as it became obvious that God was truly wanting us to move to Valdosta, the desire of our heart was to start a Bible Study Fellowship group here -- we felt that this was what God was calling us to do -- every sign -- every circumstance -- pointed to that

            -- but that was not what God was doing -- He was calling us to do more -- we could have gone ahead and tried to start a Bible Study Fellowship, but it never would have been a success, because that wasn't what God wanted -- it was what we wanted and we were trying to make the circumstances fit our desires

            -- you have to be careful and make sure it is God you are hearing and not your own internal voice or the lure of this world's siren call

            -- when God spoke to Moses, it was a voice unlike any Moses had ever heard – and when God spoke, He called Moses to greater faith and to a greater mission than Moses could envision on his own

-- God told Moses that He was calling him to go back to Egypt to set God’s people free -- it was a task that Moses could not do -- it was a call that he could not fulfill -- and that's always a good indication that it is a real call from God

 

            -- skip down to verse 11 and let's close there

 

11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”

 

12 And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you[b] will worship God on this mountain.”

 

            -- when you have found God, being in His presence will always make you question who you are and what you can do -- God's call will always be greater than what you desire and greater than what you can accomplish

            -- if you think God is calling you to do something and it is something that you can easily do with your own talents and abilities and it requires no great effort on your part, then it probably isn't from God

            -- a call from God will always force you to ask the questions, "Who Am I?" and "Who are You?" -- it forces us into a crisis of belief where we are forced to step out in faith, knowing that we are not capable, but believing that God will do it through us -- knowing that without God we will fail

            -- that is where Moses found himself at the burning bush

-- when he found God, God called him to do something that was impossible -- the only way Moses would be able to lead the people out of Israel would be if God led the way

 

            -- as Moses learned, God puts a desire in our heart to find Him so that He can grow us and empower us to do more for Him than we could ever do on our own -- God led Moses from the palace of Pharaoh through the deserts of Midian until he was finally in a place where he could hear God's voice and find God with a seeking and open heart

            -- we need to remember that seeking God is a continual process -- our need to find Him doesn't end at the cross – the cross is just the beginning of our life of faith with God

            -- in our Christian lives, there will be times when God will lead us through the desert just like He did Moses so that we will be compelled to find Him -- and when He lets us find Him -- when He finally reveals Himself to us -- it is for the purpose of leading us into new depths of experiences with Him or into greater levels of ministry in His name

 

IV.  Closing

            -- let me close by sharing with you a note I read from Anne Benefield -- she has a friend who has been out of regular work for a couple of years -- her friend has found enough temporary work to stay afloat, but it has sometimes been a week-to-week challenge to pay the bills.

            -- as they were talking about this desert place that her friend found herself in, her friend said, "I am walking through my worst fear -- I can't explain it, but somehow each time I think I'm at the end of my finances, something comes through -- I think that God is teaching me to trust in Him

            -- "It isn't easy, but I'm walking through what I feared more than anything—-losing my career and livelihood -- Somehow, through it all, I'm finding God.”

            [Anne Benefield, Sermon Central Website]

 

            -- all those teams who seek after Bigfoot may never be able to find their elusive prey – they may be chasing a myth

-- but one thing is for certain – our God is real – and He wants us to pursue Him and to pursue a relationship with Him – and if we chase after God with all our heart and all our mind and all our strength, we will find Him, because just like a little kid playing hide-and-seek, God wants to be found

            -- He wants us to pursue Him -- to chase after Him -- so that we can grow and mature and become more like His Son and do great things for Him in this place

            -- He calls us to lives of faithfulness and trust and love -- but if we do not heed His call, He will do whatever it takes to bring us to the place where we are compelled to follow -- whether that means putting burning bushes in our path or leading us into deserts of trouble or periods of spiritual dryness

 

            -- so, as I close, let me encourage you to do this one thing -- take a look at your heart and see where you are with God -- can you honestly say that you are chasing hard after Him, or has your spiritual life become one of complacency -- a routine that you follow without any real fruit to show for it?

            -- ask God to show Himself to you -- to lead you into greater depths of intimacy and ministry -- and chase Him hard, knowing that you will find Him if you do so

            -- let us pray

SERMON: TO CONTROL A GOD

 

Naylor Community Christian Church

 

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to Exodus 20:1-6

 

Exodus 20:1-6

New International Version

 

The Ten Commandments

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[a] me.

 

4 “You shall not make for yourself an image 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 parents 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.

 

            -- every Friday, our office goes out together for lunch – we have a bubble around Moody – a series of restaurants that we can go to and have lunch and get back within a set time – so, we rotate among these restaurants and try to hit a different place every week

            -- well, last week, it was time for Chinese – so, we all loaded up together and went down to the local Chinese restaurant to order food for lunch – while we were there waiting for our food, I was looking around the room, and I noticed a shelf that had been built along the top of the wall – there was a golden statue of Buddha sitting on the shelf, adorned with necklaces and other items – they had two electric candles burning on the shelf, one on each side of the Buddha – they had an incense burner – and there was a bowl of fresh apples set out before him

            -- I had noticed this before, of course, but I really hadn’t paid much attention to it – it’s a common sight in Chinese restaurants – you’ll see something very similar in all of them

            -- but since our discussion last week about being made in the image and likeness of God, it really caught my eye and I started pondering again about what it means to be made in the image and likeness of God – and then I started thinking about the Ten Commandments and God’s prohibition that we were to have no other gods before Him and that we were not to make for ourselves idols or images in the form of anything in heaven above or the earth beneath or the waters below

            -- later that day, I was surprised when my favorite podcast came on and the hosts were discussing the very same thing – Voddie Baucham, who is a well-known preacher and author, had shared in an interview last week that he refuses to watch Dallas Jenkin’s show, “The Chosen,” because he views it as a violation of the second commandment -- "You shall not make for yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below."

            -- the hosts on the podcast were discussing whether Baucham was right in his concerns about The Chosen or not

            -- so, I wanted to take a few moments this morning to continue our discussion about images and likenesses and what the Bible says about the whole thing

 

II.  The Image and Likeness of God

-- last week, we talked about the Creation story from Genesis 1 and how the Bible says that mankind was created in the image and likeness of God – as you probably remember, I pointed out that even though we tend to consider image and likeness as meaning the same thing, that in the original Hebrew, there were two different words used in Genesis 1:26, and how they do not mean the same thing

-- so, we discussed how all humans are made in the image of God, but not all humans are made in the likeness of God – that being made in the image of God means that we are created differently from all God’s other creation -- it means that we have been created with memory, intellect, will, moral understanding, and a spirit – all humans are created with those attributes because all humans are made in the image of God – and, because we are made in the image of God, that confers value and worth to the entirety of humanity – all human life is sacred because all humans are made in the image of God

 

-- being made in the likeness of God is a little different, though – to be made in the likeness of God means that we live into the image of God by entering into a relationship with Him – it means that we know Him and He knows us

-- and because of our knowledge of God and our understanding of God, we are changed and become like Him – being sanctified and set apart so that we become more and more like Jesus in our thoughts, actions, behaviors, and beliefs

-- so, being made in the likeness of God is a call to take the image of God that is within us and do something with it -- to live it out and reflect God in all we are and all we do -- to live in a covenantal relationship with Him by receiving Jesus as our Lord and Savior and allowing the Holy Spirit to sanctify us and make us like Him

-- that is what the Bible means about being made in the image and likeness of God

           

            -- God is serious about His image and about our role as His image-bearers who live in His likeness – that is why He clarifies what He means by His image and how we are to worship Him in the Ten Commandments

            -- let’s look at this passage again and see what we can learn about who God is – what the image of God is – and His concern with the worship of other images instead of Him

            -- and, in the process, see if Voddie Baucham is correct in his boycotting of The Chosen because of these commandments

 

III.  The Second and Third Commandments

            -- let’s get right into it – look back at verse 1-3

 

20:1 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.

 

            -- so, here we see the First Commandment – God begins by reminding the Israelites who He is and what He has done for them – just as God did with Moses at the burning bush, God speaks directly to the Israelites and proclaims His deity and authority over the people of Israel

            -- He begins by proclaiming His name to the people – I am the Lord your God – I am Yahweh – your God and your Creator – I am the God who brought you out of Egypt – I am the God who rescued you from slavery – I am the God who is leading you to the promised land

            -- He identifies Himself to the nation so that there is no misunderstanding – so that everyone knows who God is – that’s one reason why Jesus had us pray in the Lord’s Prayer, “Our Father, who art in heaven” – we need to know who God is – we need to identify who God is – that’s the main point in God proclaiming Himself before the Israelites here in verses 1 and 2

 

            -- keep in mind who God is addressing here – where they have been – for 430 years, the Israelites had lived in captivity in Egypt – they had dwelled as strangers in a foreign land – and they had been influenced by the culture in which they found themselves

            -- as they went about their daily lives – as they interacted with the Egyptians and the other cultures in that land – they were exposed to the pantheon of Egyptian gods – they would have known and recognized the gods of Egypt – they would have know about the Egyptian worship practices – of their household gods – of their worship of the major gods in the temples – of the statues and images of the Egyptian gods throughout the land

            -- and, so, when Moses stood before God at the burning bush, the first question he had for Him was, “Who are you? – what is your name? -- if the Israelites ask who you are, what do I tell them? – which one of all those gods are you?”

– and God responded the same way that He does here – “I am THE God – the only God -- I am the God of your fathers – the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob…My name is ‘I am who I am’” – which is translated as Yahweh, the sacred and personal name of God

            -- so God speaks to the nation of Israel here in this passage and He proclaims His name and deity to them once again, just as He did with Moses at the burning bush – and tells them that He is the only God and that they are not to give their worship to another – verse 3 [read Exodus 20:3]

            -- in this first commandment, God is distinguishing Himself from all the gods of Egypt – from all the gods of all the lands – He and He alone is God – He and He alone is the Lord God Almighty – He and He alone is Yahweh – the great I Am

-- I am the Lord your God – you shall have no other gods before Me

-- the first commandment tells us who we are to worship – the Lord God Almighty is the only God we are to worship because He is the one and only God

 

-- which brings us to the next commandment – verse 4-6

 

4 “You shall not make for yourself an image 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 parents 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 first commandment told us Who we are to worship – the second commandment tells us How we are to worship Him

-- and, on the surface, it seems pretty simple – don’t make idols or images -- don’t bow down to them or worship them – easy-peasy, right? – none of us are in danger of violating this command

-- how many of you have a graven image in your house that you bow down to and worship? – any of you got a big statue of Jesus in the backyard that you’re kneeling down to every night before you go to bed? – none of us, right?

-- so, we’ve got the first and second commandments down pat, right? – I am the Lord your God – you shall have no other gods before Me – and don’t make any idols or images and don’t bow down to them or worship them

-- so, when it comes to the Big Ten, we can skip right over numbers 1 and 2 – we got those covered and don’t need to worry about them anymore, right?

 

-- let’s talk for a minute about what we mean by idols – what is an idol?

-- quite simply, an idol is an image or a symbol of a deity that is used in the worship of that deity -- they can be man-made, like the idols and the images that the Israelites were familiar with from their time in Egypt – like that Buddha statue that I saw in the Chinese restaurant or the various statues and images we see in Hindu temples – or, idols can be natural objects, like the sun and the moon and the stars -- or even an animal – any image or symbol of a deity used in worship is an idol

-- the problem with this is that, regardless of whether we’re talking about a man-made image or a natural image, the concept of that idol comes solely from the mind of the idolator -- it is that person's image or representation of their god – so, the person who makes the idol is the creator of their god

 

– in other words, when that person thinks of their god -- what they think of – what they see in their mind – what they envision with the eyes of their heart – is the physical image or their imagination of what their god looks like – their god is reduced down to the form of their idol or image of their god

 

-- don’t get confused by what I’m saying here -- the people who use idols in their worship know that the idol or image they are looking at or holding is not really their god -- it is only a representation of their god that they use to help focus their worship

-- for instance, the people in that Chinese restaurant don’t actually believe that that statue of Buddha on the shelf is really Buddha – it is just a symbol of Buddha – a representation of the real Buddha – that they can focus on and envision as they pray to their god

-- none of these people think their idols are real – they just represent a real god – but their god becomes the idol because that is how they see him

 

-- so, what’s the problem with that? – why did God prohibit the Israelites and us from making idols? – we can’t see God – God is Spirit – the Bible tells us that – and so we are worshiping this God that we can’t see or touch or feel, in any real sense

– so, think about it -- wouldn’t it be nice if we had an image of God that we could see and touch and feel? – something that we could hold that just represented Him? – we would know it wasn’t really God, but it would give us something to hold onto and to focus on as we prayed and worshiped the real God – what would be the problem with that? – why did God tell us no, don’t do that?

 

-- The basic reason for this prohibition is that idols distort our concept of God -- when we make an idol of God, we are substituting the real God for something less – we are replacing God with something that we have created ourselves

-- the first two commandments tell us how we are to relate to our maker – God begins this passage by reminding us of who He is – of proclaiming His name and His presence before us

-- then, He tells us that we are to worship Him only -- to not put any other god before Him -- we are told to worship Him as He truly is -- the transcendental, all mighty God, omniscient, omnipresent, and all powerful -- NOT an image or representation of who we think He is or how we conceive Him to be

-- when we worship an I, an idol or picture of God – whether that is by making a graven image, a physical statue, a picture we look at, or simply hold an incorrect vision of Him in our minds, we have ceased to worship the true God of the Bible – we are worshiping a god that we have created – and that is the danger of idolatry

           

-- think for a moment about all these other religions that revolved around the worship of idols – what led them to create and worship idols?

-- short answer:  two things: self-imaging and control

– first, by creating an idol of their god, they were able to create a god that they could relate to on their own terms – it was a god that met their needs – it was someone that understood them and sympathized with their situations – it was exactly who they thought they needed – they weren’t worshiping a real god – they were worshiping a god that they made up who was exactly what they thought he should look like and act like and be like – they become the creator of the god they desire

-- and, second, control – the idol allowed them to control their god – it allowed them to shift their likes and desires – their wants and needs – onto their god

– because he looked like they wanted him to look and did what they wanted him to do – in effect, they created a god that they could control – a god that would give them what they needed, when they needed it – all they had to do was say the right words or make the right sacrifice and their god had no choice but to grant their petitions – they are the ones in control because their created god has no choice but to serve them

-- that’s why people want idols – that’s why we have this tendency in our hearts to create idols in our own lives – it’s because it’s easy – and it really puts us in charge

            -- but that is not the way of God – that is not the way of the Lord God Almighty

 

-- God knew that our tendency as humans, when confronted with things that we can't understand or that are too big for us to grasp, is to boil it down to its simplest element -- to make a representation of it, so that we could understand it

-- that’s why we try to pigeon-hole God – to put God in a box – and say, “This is what our God looks like – this is what He does – everything about God is right here in this box and He never does anything outside of the confines of this man-made box”

-- when we do that with God, we are limiting Him -- it results in us not giving Him the full glory due Him -- it causes us to see Him as less than He really is

-- that is the reason God gave us this commandment to us to follow – we are not to create idols or images of God because to do so is to make a lesser version of Him – we are to only worship the Lord God Almighty as He is revealed to us in His word – not as we think He should be

-- I think John Wesley summed it up best when he wrote, "Our religious worship must be governed by the power of faith, not by the power of imagination." 

           

-- as J. Ligon Duncan pointed out, [in these first two commandments] “God is saying, "When you think about Me, you have to think about Me in accordance with the word. Images distort Me, representations distort Me. Your imaginations distort Me. So, if you want to know Me, you have to know Me by My word."

-- we are not called to worship a lesser god of our own making – we are called to worship and serve the God of the Bible – the Lord our God – the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – Yahweh – our Creator God – the one and only God

 

-- so, the danger for us in these first two commandments is not really in making graven images or physical idols that we bow down to – the danger is in creating a lesser god in our minds that we put before the real God – and that is exactly what we have done

-- we have raised up entire generations in the church and encouraged idolatry by teaching them that they can think about God however they want to think about Him

-- a few years ago, I was speaking to a friend of mine who has been led astray by some false teachings in regards to salvation and universalism – as I was reminding him of what the church has always taught in regards to salvation and eternal punishment for rejecting Christ, he responded by saying, “My God is a God of love – My God would never send someone to Hell forever”

-- I’ve had other people tell me something similar – “I believe in a God who loves everyone – I don’t believe in a God of wrath or judgment”

 

-- have you ever heard anybody say anything similar? – are you hearing what they’re saying? – are you realizing what they’ve done?

-- they have created in their mind an idol – a false god – someone who looks just like them and who acts just like them and who agrees with them on every issue of the day

-- I see that a lot right now – in our churches – in politics – in our culture – it’s everywhere – people are worshiping man-made gods and not the God of the Bible

 

-- think for a moment about the rhetoric that is coming from both sides of the political aisle in America right now – all of us know that we are as divided as a country can get – we have the right on one side and the left on the other and both of them think the other is evil and the enemy

-- but here’s the kicker – both sides have created their own image of God – both sides have made God into an idol – and, so, each side believes their God approves of only them – that their God is pleased with what they are doing and with their chosen leaders – and that He disapproves of everything the other side is doing -- and this is true whether we’re talking about the right or the left

-- what they have done is created a god in their own image – someone who looks just like them and acts just like them and is pleased with them – and neither side is worshiping or giving allegiance to the real God of the Bible that we see here in Exodus 20:1-2

-- and that’s exactly what God was warning us against and commanded us not to do in these first two commandments

 

            -- think about it like this -- our vehicles today have warning lights on them to let us know when something is wrong – if you’re driving along and the oil light starts flashing red, it lets you know something’s wrong with the oil

            -- here’s the warning light for idolatry – when someone says – when we say – “My God thinks like this” or “I believe in a God who…” – that’s a warning sign that you may be forming an idol of God in your mind

            -- rather than knowing God and seeing what His word says about something, you’ve instead created a God that thinks exactly like you on this given subject

            -- when we are worshiping the true God of the Bible, then it’s not “I believe in a God who” – it becomes, “God tells us in His word” or “As the Bible says here, God is like this or has commanded this”

-- so, even though we don’t have graven images in our homes and in this church, we are still in danger of creating idols in our minds and our hearts

– that is why it is so important for us to know God’s word and to know Him through His word so that we aren’t making Him in our own image but we are letting Him make us in His image and His likeness

           

            -- there are other idols we need to guard against in our lives, too – as we said, anything that we elevate above God – anything that we worship in place of God – is an idol in our lives

            -- our families can be idols, if we place a greater importance on them than on God Himself – our jobs can be idols – our sports teams can be idols – our favorite politicians can be idols – anything can be an idol if we hold it up higher and make it more important in our lives than God

            -- but the greater danger is in creating and worshiping a lesser god in our minds – in limiting God in our lives and in our prayers because we have made Him out to be something that He is not – and that is the primary concern He had with the Israelites, even though they did frequently go into straight-up idol worship by adopting pagan gods and worshiping them from time to time

            -- God is the one who is to be exalted – the Lord God Almighty is the only God, and there are none before Him – and so we are not to create idols of Him or anything else – to not let anything else replace Him in our lives – but to worship and serve only Him

            -- that is the reason for the first and the second commandments

 

            -- I know I’m going long, but one more thing here to close the loop on this message – what about Voddie Baucham and his boycotting of The Chosen because it is a violation of the second commandment?

            -- what about Islam’s harsh stance against images or pictures of anything in creation? – if you go to an Islamic mosque, they won’t have any pictures or engravings of people or of nature – there are no landscape mosaics in an Islamic mosque because of this command

            -- so, how do we answer Voddie Bauchman and the Muslims? – are we wrong to watch movies that portray Jesus? – are we wrong to have pictures of Jesus in our church, like this one right here? – are we wrong to have pictures or statues of nature or animals?

            -- the short answer is no – it’s okay to have those pictures or images or representations of Jesus or God, provided we don’t worship them or bow down to them

            -- the prohibition in the first and second commandments concerns the worship of God – it is not a total ban on images or pictures of God or anything He created

            -- and we know this from the Bible – God Himself told the Israelites to make images of cherubim and to put them on the cover of the Ark of the Covenant – He told them to carve images of pomegranates as part of the decorations in the temple

            -- so, it’s okay to watch The Chosen and to see an actor portraying Jesus in that drama – provided you don’t make that actor your god – provided you don’t bow down and worship the actor

            -- if Voddie Baucham has that problem in his life, then that may be a sin for him – but I have no qualms about watching The Chosen and do not believe that dramas like that or pictures like this are a violation of these commandments

 

IV.  Closing

            -- let’s bring this to a close

-- when Kim and I were members of a church in Morven, our community was in the middle of a severe drought – being a rural community with a lot of farmers, this was serious business – people’s livelihoods were at stake – if rain didn’t come, a lot of people were going to be harmed

            -- so, one Sunday morning – right before the sermon -- we gathered together at the altar as a church family – as the people of God in that community – to pray for rain – to cry out to our God for Him to end the drought and to send the rain that we so desperately needed

            -- the pastor lifted up her prayers – we all bowed our heads and joined together in prayer – and then we sat back down for the rest of the service

            -- and then we noticed that one little boy was crying and was very upset – we didn’t know why until after the service ended -- he was crying because he had not brought his umbrella to church and he didn't want to get his new shoes wet when he left after the service

            -- we all knew that we were going to hold a special prayer service that day to pray for God to send rain, but not a single person in that church brought an umbrella with them that Sunday

-- why should we?  -- It hadn’t rained in weeks and weeks and there was no indication that it would rain that day either – so, none of us – including the pastor – prepared for rain – none of us prepared for God to answer our prayer

            -- if we truly believed in the God of the Bible – the same God who led the Israelites through the Red Sea on dry land – the same God who calmed the storm – the same God who brought water out of a rock and manna from the sky – the same God who died and rose from the dead on the third day – if we truly believed in Him and worshiped Him, then why didn’t we all bring umbrellas to church that day?

            -- what does that say about our belief in God? – what does that say about who we were praying to on that Sunday?

            -- only one person in our midst that Sunday prayed to the true God and believed in Him that day – and his tears convicted us of our idolatry

 

            -- as we leave here this morning, I want to encourage you to remember who you are and who God is – the Lord tells us here in this passage that He is Yahweh – the Great I Am – the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – the Lord our God

            -- and we are to have no gods before Him – we are to make no images or idols – whether graven or in our mind – we are not to bow down to them or worship them – but we are to worship and serve only Him – for He made us in His image and His likeness to be His image-bearers to this world – to represent Him to others in place of any idol so that they might come to know Him as their Lord and Savior, too

            -- so, know who God is – study His word – talk with Him – get to know Him – so that you can worship Him with all your heart, mind, soul, and spirit and not an idol of our own making

            -- let us pray