Put Away False God's Series

Put Away False God’s

God often allows the ungodly to amass great wealth--to their destruction. But if you are one with whom God is dealing and if you put the pursuit of riches (or anything else) before service to Christ, God may take away those riches (and other things) until you turn to Him. Some years ago Donald Grey Barnhouse was counseling a young woman on the sidewalk in front of Tenth Presbyterian Church following an evening service. She said she was a Christian and that she wanted to follow Christ. But she wanted to be famous too. She wanted to pursue a stage career in New York. "After I have made it in the theater, I’ll follow Christ completely," she said. Barnhouse took a key out of his pocket and scratched a mark on a postal box standing on the corner. "That is what God will let you do," he said. "God will let you scratch the surface of success. He will let you get close enough to the top to know what it is, but He will never let you have it, because He will never let one of His children have anything rather than Himself."

Years later he met the girl again, and she confessed that this had indeed been her life story. She had dabbled in the stage. Once her picture had been in a national magazine. But she had never quite made it. She told Barnhouse, "I can’t tell you how many times in my discouragement I have closed my eyes and seen you scratching on that postal box with your key. God let me scratch the edges, but He gave me nothing in place of Himself."

J.M. Boice, Christ’s Call To Discipleship, Moody, 1986, p. 154.

God will always give you HIS best, if that is truly what you seek…

We have so many things today that we place before God in our lives, just as the people had in the beginning of God’s word, today also we are required to put away our false god’s.

Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments: Gen 35:2

In this scripture, after God had spoken to Jacob, Jacob proclaimed God’s message to them. Let us do the same.

God’s people were to get rid of all their false gods (Genesis 35:2).

To think this man of God had allowed idols, the worship of false gods, within his own household! These idols probably included...

· the gods taken by Rachel (Genesis 31:19, 30, 32-35).

· the foreign gods taken in the looting of Shechem (Genesis 34:27-29).

· the gods of his servants.

Jacob no doubt taught his family about God and HIS promises, but failed to demand obedience in the worship of God.

He had not made the Lord the God of his entire household.

How many people today still hang on to the gods and idols of this earth? Remember, anything can become a god to us. Whatever consumes us—whatever we give ourselves to, whatever dominates us, whatever we look to for help, whatever we put before God Himself—that thing becomes a god or idol in our lives. It may be things such as...

·money ·wealth ·property ·business ·power

·clothes ·vehicles ·astrology ·fame ·family ·sex

·alcohol ·drugs ·sports ·appearance

God’s call is clear and forceful: put away all the gods and idols in your lives.

“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” (Exodus 20:4).

“Ye shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the LORD your God” (Leviticus 26:1).

“Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them” (Deut. 11:16).

“I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images” (Isaiah 42:8).

We are to cleanse and purify ourselves (Genesis 35:2).

They were to purge their hearts of all sin, put all sin out of their lives.

“Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil” (Isaiah 1:16).

“Wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved. How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee?” (Jeremiah 4:14).

“Wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (Acts 22:16).

“Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Cor. 7:1).