American Idols – 3 Burn the ships
Have you wondered why we tend to miss the obvious…
Here are some claims that were put on Pastors resumes.
• "In the five churches I have faithfully served over the past two years ..."
• "My hobbies are pit bulls and automatic weapons."
• "I am willing to sacrifice my family for the sake of the ministry. I am also willing to sacrifice yours."
• "I have learned to cope with financial crisis at every church I’ve served."
• "My personality has provided me ample opportunity to develop conflict-resolution skills."
1. Idolatry poisons the heart of the believer.
It divides the believer’s
Colossians 3:5 (Contemporary English Version)
“…Don’t be greedy, which is the same as worshiping idols. “
An idol is anything apart from God that we depend on to be happy, fulfilled, or secure.
Exodus 20:4-5 (New Living Translation)
4"Do not make idols of any kind, whether in the shape of birds or animals or fish. 5You must never worship or bow down to them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not share your affection with any other god! I do not leave unpunished the sins of those who hate me,…”
God see’s Idolatry and Greed as hating Him.
1 John 5:21 NLV – AMP
21Little children, keep yourselves from idols (false gods)--[from anything and everything that would occupy the place in your heart due to God, from any sort of substitute for Him that would take first place in your life].
2. Do we understand the worth of the Kingdom?
Matthew 13:44 (New Living Translation)
44"The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field--and to get the treasure, too!
VIP
We can become so consumed with holding onto things that we think fulfill us that we miss holding onto the one that can fulfill us.
• Why do we still hold onto the things of this world?
• Why don’t we put God first in every area of our life?
Ps 14:1
1The fool says in his heart, "There is no God."
Q – How may would agree with this scripture?
Notice it’s not saying mind. Heart…
The New Unger’s Bible Dictionary gives this definition: “In Scripture the ‘fool’ primarily is the person who casts off the fear of God and thinks and acts as if he could safely disregard the eternal principles of God’s righteousness.”
So how much more of a fool is a person that acknowledges mentally that there is a God but his life doesn’t reflect it.
• Seek first the Kingdom and his Righteous… Fool
• Treasure is there your heart is also… Fool
• To know to do right and not do it is sin…Fool
• Help the poor…Fool
John Bevere:
A fool can actually acknowledge God mentally, but denies His existence in his heart, which is reflected by how he lives. The fear of God is what keeps our heart within the reach of the Holy Spirit; if lost, there is no hope left for us.
3. We need to Burn the Ships
"In the spring of 1519 a Spanish fleet set sail
Cortez told his sailors this mission must not fail
On the eastern shore of Mexico they landed with great dreams
But the hardships of the new world made them restless and weak
Quietly they whispered, "Let’s sail back to the life we knew"
But the one who led them there was saying:
Burn the ships, we’re here to stay
There’s no way we could go back
Now that we’ve come this far by faith
Burn the ships, we’ve passed the point of no return
Our life is here
So let the ships burn…"
1 John 5:20NLV
20And we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us understanding so that we can know the true God. And now we are in God because we are in his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and he is eternal life.
Genealogy Theology
Too many times our theology comes from what we learned from our ancestors instead of the word of God.
Isaiah 6 A new aspect of God
Ezekiel 8
Ezekiel 8
Ezekiel Sees the Terrible Sins of Jerusalem
1Six years after King Jehoiachin and the rest of us had been led away as prisoners to Babylonia, the leaders of Judah were meeting with me in my house. On the fifth day of the sixth month, [a] the LORD God suddenly took control of me, 2and I saw something in the shape of a human. [b] This figure was like fire from the waist down, and it was bright as polished metal from the waist up. 3It reached out what seemed to be a hand and grabbed my hair. Then in my vision the LORD’s Spirit lifted me into the sky and carried me to Jerusalem. The Spirit took me to the north gate of the temple’s inner courtyard, where there was an idol that disgusted the LORD and made him furious. 4Then I saw the brightness of the glory of the God of Israel, just as I had seen it near the Chebar River.
5God said to me, "Ezekiel, son of man, look north." And when I did, I saw that disgusting idol by the altar near the gate.
6God then said, "Do you see the terrible sins of the people of Israel? Their sins are making my holy temple unfit as a place to worship me. Yet you will see even worse things than this."
7Next, I was taken to the entrance of the courtyard, where I saw a hole in the wall.
8God said, "Make this hole bigger." And when I did, I realized it was a doorway. 9"Go in," God said, "and see what horrible and evil things the people are doing."
10Inside, I saw that the walls were covered with pictures of reptiles and disgusting, unclean animals, [c] as well as with idols that the Israelites were worshiping. 11Seventy Israelite leaders were standing there, including Jaazaniah son of Shaphan. Each of these leaders was holding an incense burner, and the smell of incense filled the room. 12God said, "Ezekiel, do you see what horrible things Israel’s leaders are doing in secret? They have filled their rooms with idols. And they say I can’t see them, because they think I have already deserted Israel. 13But I will show you something even worse than this."
14He took me to the north gate of the temple, where I saw women mourning for the god Tammuz. [d] 15God asked me, "Can you believe what these women are doing? But now I want to show you something worse." 16I was then led into the temple’s inner courtyard, where I saw about twenty-five men standing near the entrance, between the porch and the altar. Their backs were to the LORD’s temple, and they were bowing down to the rising sun.
17God said, "Ezekiel, it’s bad enough that the people of Judah are doing these disgusting things. But they have also spread violence and injustice everywhere in Israel and have made me very angry. They have disgraced and insulted me in the worst possible way. [e] 18So in my fierce anger, I will punish them without mercy and refuse to help them when they cry out to me."
Ezekiel 8
False Gods In The House Of God
1On the fifth day of the sixth month in the sixth year, I was sitting in my house with the leaders of Judah sitting in front of me. And the hand of the Lord God came upon me there. 2Then I saw what looked like a man. From the center of His body and down to his feet, there was what looked like fire. And from the center of His body and up to his head, there was a bright light which looked like shining brass. 3He put out what looked like a hand and caught me by the hair on my head. Then the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and brought me to see Jerusalem in a special way. He brought me to the north gate of the open space within its walls, and there was the seat of the false god which causes jealousy. 4And I saw that the shining-greatness of the God of Israel was there, like what I had seen in the plain.
5He said to me, "Son of man, look toward the north." So I looked toward the north, and saw that to the north of the altar gate was this false god of jealousy in the doorway. 6And the Spirit said to me, "Son of man, do you see what the people of Israel are doing? Do you see the hated sins that they are doing here to drive Me far from My holy place? But you will see even worse sins."
7Then He brought me to the gate of the open space, and I looked and saw a hole in the wall. 8And He said to me, "Son of man, now dig through the wall." So I dug through the wall and saw a door. 9He said to me, "Go in and see the hated sins that they are doing here." 10So I went in and looked. And I saw that on the wall all around were pictures of every kind of thing which moves along the ground, and wild animals, and hated things, and all the false gods of the people of Israel. 11Standing in front of these pictures were seventy leaders of the people of Israel, with Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan standing among them. Each man held a dish in his hand from which the smell of special perfume rose up in a cloud. 12Then He said to me, "Son of man, do you see what the leaders of the people of Israel are doing without anyone seeing them? They are worshiping in a room full of false gods. For they say, ’The Lord does not see us. The Lord has left the land.’ " 13And He said to me, "You will see even worse sins which they are doing."
14Then He brought me to the north gate of the Lord’s house. And I saw women sitting there crying for the false god Tammuz.
15Then He said to me, "Do you see this, son of man? You will see even worse sins than this."
