Naylor Community Christian Church
Naylor, Georgia
I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Exodus 20:1-6
Exodus
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.
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.
-- in the heyday of game show
television, there was a show called “To Tell the Truth” – I’m not sure how many
of you remember this, but the premise of the show was that a real life person
with a famous story would appear on the show alongside two other people who
were imposters -- people pretending to be the real thing
-- the affidavit of the real person
would be read out – and then a group of panelists would ask the three people
questions to find out who was real and who were the fakes
-- for instance, in one of the more
famous episodes, the notorious Frank William Abegnale – who the movie, “Catch
Me If You Can,” was based on – appeared on the show in 1977
-- three men walked out from behind
stage and each of them said, “I am Frank William Abegnale” – one was dressed as
a doctor – one as an airline pilot – and the last as a prisoner -- the host, Joe
Gargiola, read Abegnale’s affidavit:
“I, Frank William Abegnale, am known as the world’s
greatest imposter – In the course of my nefarious career, I’ve pawned myself
off as a doctor, lawyer, college instructor, stock broker, and airline pilot – to
become an airline pilot, I merely bought a rubber ID card for $5, affixed an
airplane logo from a model plane hobby kit, and in no time at all, was copilot
for a major airline – as a bogus lawyer, I actually worked on a state attorney
general’s staff – for two years, I also cashed over $2,500,000 in bad checks in
26 countries – ultimately, I was sentenced to 72 years in prison – I served one
year in France – one year in Sweden – I then served four years in a federal
prison in this country –paroled, I now devote my life to prevention and
detection of crime”
-- the men took their place and
answered the questions from the panelists, who were trying to determine which
man was the real Abegnale and which ones were not – one of the rules was that
the real person could not lie, but the others did as they impersonated the real
person
-- in this episode, not a single one
of the four members of the panel were able to determine which one of the three
was the real Frank William Abegnale – and so, the imposters won the game
-- now, of course this show would
never work today – in this world where people share every aspect of their lives
online and nothing is truly private, there is no way someone could appear on
stage and the world not know who they were – it would be obvious who the real
person was – or maybe not
-- I’ve been thinking a lot about
idols lately – those false gods who pretend to be the real God – those false
images that a lot of people worship without even knowing – even when the real God
stands up and says, “I am God. Worship Me!” – some people still worship an
imitation
II. Idol Worship Today
-- look at the first commandment
that God gave the Israelites– Exodus 20:1-3
Exodus
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.
-- and God reiterates the importance
of that command with the Second Commandment – verse 4
Exodus
20:4 “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. 5a You shall not
bow down to them or worship them
-- what God is talking about here is
exactly what I was referring to – God says that there are a lot of false gods
out there in the world – even today – and we are not to worship them – to have
them before Him – to afford them higher value and worth than God – to worship them
in place of Him
-- a lot of times, when we think
about these two commandments, we join them together – we say that God commands
us not to worship idols – and that is true – but when we think of the term “idol,”
what we actually think of are the graven images that God refers to in the
Second Commandment when He says, “you shall not make for yourself an image”
-- that was the big controversy in
the news last week – unless you totally stayed off social media and didn’t look
at any news at all, you probably are aware that a 22-foot tall golden statue of
Trump was put up at his golf course in Florida – and a group of pastors led a
prayer service in front of the statue as they dedicated the statue
-- when this happened, there was an
immediate outcry from the religious community saying that these pastors had put
up a golden statue of Trump as a graven image and were worshiping the statue
–
A lot of religious people said that what happened in Florida was no different
from what happened when the Israelites had Aaron make a golden calf for them to
worship while Moses was up on Mount Sinai – they said that it was heresy and
the worship of a false god
--
now, the pastor who was in charge of the ceremony defended the group’s actions
and said that they weren’t worshiping Trump – that the statue of Trump was just
a “symbol of resilience, patriotism, and courage” and that it was created and “done
from love” – that the statue was meant to be a symbol of the “hand of God over
President Trump's life” and
a “thank-you” to God for preserving the president’s life in multiple
assassination attempts.
–
he went on to say, "Let me be very clear. We worship the Lord Jesus Christ
and Him alone” – he defended his actions by saying that their prayers before
the statue of Trump were not the worship of Trump
--
but still, the optics were not good – when you see a group of pastors and
Christians bowing their heads before a golden statue and praying, it sends the
wrong message – it looks like you’re worshiping a golden image, whether that’s
accurate or not -- as Skye Jethani said, “your allegiance is revealed by your
behavior and your rhetoric” – if you have to immediately defend what you did by
saying, “This is not a golden calf that we’re worshiping,” it should be an
indication that you’ve crossed a line – whether you meant to or not
–This
event really calls to mind what God warned against and commanded against in the
First and Second Commandments here in Exodus 20
-- we all understand the problem
with the worship of graven images – like the golden calf from Exodus that Aaron
made for the Israelites
-- I do want to point out something about
that, though – technically, the Israelites said they were not worshiping a
false god -- if you look at what Aaron says about the golden calf in Exodus 32:4
-- when he gets done making the calf and putting it up on an altar before the
people -- he points at it and tells them, “This is your God, Israel, who
brought you up out of Egypt” – they justified their actions by saying had made
an image of the true God in the form of a golden calf
-- Aaron was telling the people that
the calf was Yahweh – the Lord God Almighty – and he said the statue was just a
symbol – a representation of God – and that the people were still worshiping
God – just doing so with the calf before them as an image to focus their
worship
-- but even though they told
themselves they were worshiping the real God, they were still very much guilty
of idolatry because they had made a graven image and were worshiping it
-- [hold up Jesus figure] have
y’all seen these things? – these little rubber figures of Jesus that are popping
up everywhere? – on cruises, people have started a game where they hide little
rubber duck figures all over the ship, and people hunt for them during the
cruise – well, they’ve started hiding these figures of Jesus, too – and I found
one on the cruise and brought it back and gave it to Kim
-- and I know a guy in town that
buys these things in bulk, and he passes them out to people so they can carry
Jesus with them wherever they go -- and I know I gave one to Kim – but I sort
of have a problem with these – because you can take them to be a graven image –
which is a violation of God’s law
-- Jesus says that He is with us
always – that He will never leave us or forsake us – and that we have His very
presence in us in the person of the Holy Spirit – but when you give someone one
of these little figures and then tell them, “Now you can take Jesus with you
wherever you go,” – you’ve kind of made an idol that you’re worshiping – you’re
substituting the real thing for a graven image – in this case, a little rubber
figure
-- I’ve still got it here, obviously
– partially, because I didn’t really know what to do with it – it just seems
wrong to just throw it away – that would be like throwing away Jesus, you know?
– but if you think like that – if you think that throwing this piece of rubber
away is the same as throwing Jesus away – you might have crossed a line, just
like Aaron and the Israelites did with the golden calf – and I’m aware of that –
it concerns me
-- but what concerns me more than these
graven images are the idols that God commands us not to worship in the First
Commandment – God makes it pretty clear here in verse 3 – “You shall have no
other gods before Me”
-- and I want you to catch something
here – the gods that He is referring to in verse 3 – in the First Commandment –
are not the graven images He forbids in the Second Commandment – in verses 4 to
6
-- this is where I said we kind of
join these two commandments together – because we assume that to worship
another god before Him means that we have an idol in our life – and just like I
pointed out – when we think of idols, we think of things – graven images –
statues – pictures – little Jesus figures – things we can hold in our hands and
move around – things that we can see and touch -- that are created and
fashioned by people as symbols or representations of God or foreign gods, such
as Buddha
-- but that is not what God is
talking about in the First Commandment – that is the Second Commandment
-- so, what is the concern of the
First Commandment? – when God says to have no other god before Him, what is He
talking about?
-- here’s where we start to
understand my reference to the game show, “To Tell the Truth” – so, to remind
you of what I said, in that show, there were three people who came out before
the panel – one was the real person – the other two were imitations – they were
pretending to be the real person – and a lot of the times, they fooled the
panelist
-- we have a problem, as humans, in
making false gods by creating imitations of the Lord God Almighty in our heads
and in our hearts – not making a graven image of anything, like the Second
Commandment forbids – but we have a false god of our own making that we worship
in place of the real God – and this tendency – this natural bent that we all
have and that God warns us about here – worries me a lot – because I see this
in our world today – I see this in my own life – and it’s something we need to
be aware of and guard against
-- so, when we are talking about
idols, there are two types – first, there is the common understanding of an
idol – a graven image – a golden calf – a little Jesus figurine -- or a golden
statue of anything that you worship – even if you say you’re worshiping God and
this is just a symbol that helps you focus your worship – that’s an idol – and God
says don’t do this in the Second Commandment – so, graven images are the first
type of idol
-- the second type of idol is the
god that we create in our minds and our hearts in place of the real God – the invisible
god that we think about and pray to and worship instead of the God of the Bible
-- when we make a god like this –
the god we think of – the god we see in our minds – the god we envision with
the eyes of our hearts – this becomes the image of what we think god looks like
and sounds like and does – we have substituted a false god for Yahweh – and this
is a big problem
--
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
--
that’s why the first two commandments are so important – they 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 – look at verse 1
Exodus
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.
--
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 do that, we are literally creating God in our own image – and when we
worship this idol that we have created -- whether that is by making a graven
image, a physical statue, a picture we look at, or whether we 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 false god
--
why do we do that? -- short answer – we do it for two reasons -- self-imaging
and control
–
first, when we create an idol – whether physical or invisible – we are creating
a god that we can relate to on own terms – a god that meets our needs – a god
that understands us and sympathizes with our situations – we start worshiping a
god who is exactly what we thought he should be – how he should look and act and
think – we become the creator of a god that we desire because he likes the
things that we like – he loves the people and things we love – and he hates the
people and things we hate – our idols looks and thinks and behaves just like us
--
the second reason we create idols is for control – idols allow us to control our
god – idols allow us to shift our likes and desires – our wants and needs –
onto our god
–
because god looks like we want him to look and does what we want him to do – we
control him -– all we have to do is say the right words or make the right
sacrifices and god has no choice but to grant our petitions – in idolatry, God
serves us
--
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 these commandments 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."
--
that is why the Bible tells us that Jesus is the Word of God – God made flesh –
if you want to know what God looks like and what God says and what God does,
look at Jesus
--
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
III. Imaginary Gods
--
I’m not worried about you going home and making a golden calf in your backyard
today – I don’t think the big concerns in the church today is people making
graven images or physical idols that they bow down to and worship – although,
the events of this past week make me wonder
--
no, the real danger to us is in creating a lesser god in our minds that we put
before the real God – by following a false, substitute god that we have created
with our own imaginations
--
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 – of what the Bible says about this --
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
--
I read a book called “Imaginary Jesus,” by Matt Mikalotos – it’s a fiction
book, but it makes a great point – the main character likes Jesus a lot – in fact,
he couldn’t believe how much they had in common -- They shared the same likes,
dislikes, beliefs, and opinions – in the book, he sees Jesus as a real person
that he shares time with at restaurants and in life
--
but then he finds out that the guy he knows as Jesus . . . isn’t really Jesus –
just like the two imitators on the game show, “To Tell the Truth,” the Jesus
that the main character has been hanging out with is an Imaginary Jesus -- a
comfortable, convenient imitation that he has created in his own image – and he
realizes that the real Jesus is still out there somewhere . . . and he needs to
find him
--
throughout the book, the main character keeps running across Jesus’s everywhere
he goes – but after a few moments, he realizes they, too, are imaginary – so,
the whole book is about the main character getting rid of the imaginary Jesus’s
in his life so that he can find the real Jesus the Bible tells us about
--
this is what I’m talking about – this is what is going on in our country and in
our churches today – we’re following imaginary Jesus’s – false gods – idols – rather
than the true Jesus 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
--
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 may not 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
IV. Closing
-- let me close by sharing with you
something that has become a pet peeve of mine – not a single week goes by that
I don’t see someone on social media asking the question, “What is a good church
to go to?”
-- and that’s not a problem, in and
of itself – I think everyone needs to be in a good church – to be part of the
church -- the problem I have with it is that most people don’t stop there
-- they ask, “What’s a good church
to go to?” – but then they say, “I want a church that…” – and then they go on
to list the things that they want – it must have a young crowd – it must be an
older crowd -- it must have children’s programs – it has to be large, but not
too large – it has to have good worship music – it has to have a preacher that
preaches from the Word – it must be diverse – it must be non-denominational – must
have classes for young and older children – the list just goes on and on and on
-- I see posts like this every single week – and here’s
my issue – these folks aren’t looking for a church – they aren’t looking for Jesus
– they’re looking for an idol that meets their wants and their wishes and their
desires – they want a place and they want a god that thinks like them and talks
like them and looks like them and affirms everything that they are doing and
saying – and that gives them everything they want
-- that is idolatry – that is the
problem we have in America today
-- we’re not looking for God – we’re
looking for a god that checks all our boxes – and when we do that, we are creating
an idol in our life
-- we need to be on guard against
that – because creating an idol causes us to worship a lesser god in our minds –
and leads us to limit God in our lives and our prayers because we have made Him
out to be something that He is not
–
that was the primary concern God 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 in place of Yahweh – His biggest concern was
the Israelites not worshiping Him for who He truly was
-- God is the only 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
-- so, as we close this morning – I
promise I’m getting there -- I want you to take a moment and think about Jesus –
Jesus was killed because He didn’t fit the image that the Jewish leaders and
priests thought of the Messiah – Jesus didn’t look and sound and act like the Messiah
they wanted – the Messiah they envisioned in their heads
–
they didn’t want a Messiah who said that we should love everybody, even our
enemies – they didn’t want a Messieah that said we should put people above
tradition or church law, especially if that meant healing on the Sabbath -- they
didn’t want a Messiah that advocated peace and love to all, especially if that
meant the Romans
-- Jesus wasn’t the Messiah they
wanted because He didn’t fit their boxes – they were looking for an idol that
they had created and that they wanted, but God showed up instead
--
so, as we join in prayer, think for a moment about the God you worship in your
life – if your God looks and sounds and behaves just like you or like the
political party you follow or like the culture you prefer – then let that be a
caution light to you that you may have allowed yourself to follow an idol
rather than the God of the Bible
--
make sure you’re following God and that you’re only worshiping God and not an
idol that you have created – for that is a danger to all of us
--
let’s pray
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