majority of you would picture a statue of some sort, made of wood, brass, gold or silver.
In the western world these are not as prevalent as in eastern cultures, but they are still
here! Idols are the center point of homes in some cases; shrines build around these
figures. I want you to notice what the dictionary definition says about idols. "An image
of a deity as an object of worship: a false god: object of excessive devotion." Did you
catch what this said, a false god.
There is only one God. Deuteronomy 4:39 "Know therefore this day, and consider
it in thine heart, that the LORD He is God, in heaven above, and upon the earth
beneath: there is none else." "There is none else!" The Ten Commandments, found
in Exodus chapter 20 start out with the statement in verse two, "I am the LORD thy
God," It emphatically states 163 times in the Bible that the LORD is God! Immediately
following in verses three to five, Almighty God addresses the problem of idols. "Thou
shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven
image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth
beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself
to them, nor serve them:"
Right about now you might be saying to me, "But I don't have any idols in my house,
there are no shrines that I worship!" That's great! However I would dare say that
you still do have idols in your life. How do I know this, because I struggle with them!
God spoke to Ezekiel about certain elders of Israel that had come to him with questions.
God told Ezekiel that they had "Idols in their heart." (Ezekiel 14:3) An idol in general
is "anything that we rely on to fill a need in our lives other than God." (Pastor Don Symons)
Are we guilty of erecting idols in our hearts? Yes we are. How many times do we rely on
our talents, brains, jobs, relationships, ingenuity, personality or looks to help us achieve our
goals? When anything is deemed more important in our lives than the Lord our God,
it is an idol. When we trust in any thing other than God for help, it is an idol!
Are you hiding idols in your heart today? We see in 2 Kings chapter 18, that when
Hezekiah became King, one of the first things he did was "Remove the high places,
(places of idol worship) and brake the images, and cut down the groves," We
see in verse 7 the result of his actions, "The LORD was with him;" Erecting idols,
whether ones we can see, or those in our hearts, are deliberate actions on our part.
Ridding our lives of these idols that have taken the place of God has to be a conscious,
deliberate act on our part as well. Ezekiel 14:6 "Thus saith the Lord GOD: Repent,
and turn yourselves from your idols;"
Don't you think its time to give God the proper place in your life? If we want the
presence of God with us, then it is up to us to take the appropriate action. It states in
Deuteronomy 4:24, "For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God."
God will not share your worship with anything else. Repent, tear down the high places
that you've set up in your heart, and worship the One True God.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhnAblF-f6s
Majesty
Majesty, worship His majesty,
Unto Jesus be all glory, honor, and praise.
Majesty, kingdom authority,
Flow from His throne unto His own, His anthem raise.
So exalt, lift up on high, the name of Jesus.
Magnify, come glorify Christ Jesus, the King.
Majesty, worship His majesty;
Jesus who died, now glorified, King of all Kings.
Jack Hayford
No comments:
Post a Comment