Burn The Ships Series

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.