Does It Matter What I Think? Series

 THE ANSWER SERIES

Lesson 1

DOES IT REALLY MATTER WHAT I THINK?

I Jn 5:21Little children, keep yourselves from idols.

ASSUMPTIONS

I heard about a traveler who, between flights at an airport,

bought a small package of cookies.

She then sat down in the busy snack shop to glance over

the newspaper. As she read her paper, she became

aware of a rustling noise. Peeking above the newsprint

she was shocked to see a well-dressed gentleman sitting

across from her, helping himself to her cookies.

Half-angry and half-embarrassed, she reached over and

gently slid the package closer to her as she took one out

and began to munch on it.

A minute or so passed before she heard more rustling. The

man had gotten another cookie! By now there was only one

left in the package. Though flabbergasted, she didn’t want

to make a scene so she said nothing.

Finally, as if to add insult to injury, the man broke the

remaining cookie into two pieces, pushed one piece across

the table toward her with a frown, gulped down his half, and

left without even saying thank you. She sat their

dumbfounded.

Some time later when her flight was announced, the woman

opened her handbag to get her ticket. To her shock, there

in her purse was her package of unopened cookies. And

somewhere in that same airport was another traveler still

trying to figure out how that strange woman could have

been so forward and insensitive.

Assumptions make for funny stories ...but in much of life

assumptions can cost you your soul.

If we make the assumption that all people think like we do

we not only deceive ourselves, set ourselves up to be led

astray but we also short circuit our ability to clearly and

effectively communicate the gospel.

If we assume all people think alike we will be vulnerable to

the lies that so invade our every day lives...

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If terrorists were to secretly infiltrate our places of

business, our church and even our homes and we

discovered it we would be terrified and outraged....but there

is something much more dangerous than terrorists

infecting our homes, churches and lives...it is a secular

world view.

It is a way of thinking about life that is opposed to

scripture....but does it really matter what I think?

YES!!!!

One of Gods biggest beefs with his people throughout

scripture was that of idiolatry.

Exod. 20:1-6 1And 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 idol in the form of anything in heaven

above or on the earth beneath or in the waters

below. 5You shall not bow down to them or

worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a

jealous God...

The whole bible is peppered with stories of God

reminding, rebuking and even punishing Israel for their

continual flirting with other Gods or better know as idols.

Now we know that an idol is nothing ....only a piece of wood

or stone.

Why is it than that Israel would turn from their loving God

and give their allegiance to a piece of stone?

Does that make sense to you?

Did they walk down the road one day and see this really

neat looking piece of granite and say...oh my rock ....just

what I always longed for a stone to be my God...

Oh I love you rock....you are so beautiful...I shall forsake all

others and you and I will be with each other for ever....from

now on I will be know as a rockett.

No ....the Israelis were not attracted to the piece of wood or

stone...but rather to the thinking that was behind it.

It was a world view they ran after. It was a world view that

was idolatry.

**************

For example:... many Jews divorced God and ran after the

heathen God, Moloch.

Now Moloch was just a Metal statue..however behind

Moloch was a world view that the Israelis loved and God

hated.

This religion believed that pleasure was the ultimate good

and therefore not only was all the desires of man permitted

to be fulfilled...but, encouraged as a form of

worship...subsequently...all over the country side were

temples where the most beautiful young girls in the country

were brought and there they served in the temple as

prostitutes....

When a man wanted to worship his God Moloch he would

pay a few dollars to the temple and then go have sex with

as many of these young girls as he choose.

No wonder Israel forsook god and ran after Moloch.

There was another attraction....behind the graven image

was a world view..but behind the world view was a demon