The Pathway Of Idolatry Series

1. Downhill. That’s the path painted by our Pastor Paul.

• Man is not improving, going up toward God.

• But rather doing down hill… and going FAST!

• It’s NOT an evolution toward God is it? NO.

• It’s a DEVOLUTION downward away from God.

• And the one of the strongest evidences of this is IDOLATRY.

Exodus 20:3-4 (NKJV) 3 “You shall have no other gods before Me. 4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;

SO the problem today with man is not one of INFORMATION but of dedication in serving God, of obedience in humble surrender

• As we learned, the pagan world has the witness of God’s creation. They have an internal witness of their conscience.

• Man has been created with eternity in his heart.

John 3:19-21 (NKJV) 19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”

So the one that DOES THE TRUTH, loves the truth.

• That’s the difference between the believer and the unbeliever.

• When the Lord shines the light on our sins, we don’t run from that but embrace the changes God wants to make in our lives.

• Because we’re NEW CREATIONS IN CHRIST and have a NEW NATURE, we want the LIGHT to shine on us.

• Show us Lord. Reveal to us Jesus. Change, shape, mold us!

Psalm 139:23-24 (NKJV) 23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; 24 And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.

But for the unbeliever… they hate the light because it exposes their deeds as evil and they have no desire to change.

• So what do they do… they create their own god (little ‘g’)

• Let’s look at the path to idolatry.

#1 – (20) MAN IGNORES GOD’S REVELATION OF HIMSELF

• We’re so thankful God has chosen to reveal Himself to us.

• But many refuse to respond what Paul says are “CLEARLY SEEN”.

• When we look up into the heavens… It’s clear.

• When gaze upon the mountaintops… It’s clear.

Psalm 19:1-4 (NKJV) 1 The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. 2 Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge. 3 There is no speech nor language Where their voice is not heard. 4 Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their words to the end of the world. In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun,

• When we look at the intricacies of the human body. It’s clear.

The human eye possesses 130 million light-sensitive rods and cones that convert light into chemical impulses. These signals travel at a rate of a billion per second to the brain. Incredible as the eye is, consider that we have not one but two of them. This matched pair, coupled with an interpretive center in the brain, allows us to determine distances to the objects we see. Our eyes also have the ability to focus automatically by elongating or compressing themselves. They are also inset beneath a bony brow that, along with automatic shutters in the form of eyelids, provide protection for these intricate and delicate organs.

Psalm 139:14 (NKJV) 14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.

• Paul says God has revealed Himself to the point where they are without excuse…

#2 – (21) MAN DOES NOT GLORIFY HIM AS GOD.

• So it’s natural when you ignore and dismiss God’s revelation of Himself that man doesn’t glorify Him as God.

• Some even go so far as to say THERE IS NO GOD.

Psalm 14:1 (NKJV) 1 The fool has said in his heart,“There is no God.” They are corrupt, They have done abominable works, There is none who does good.

#3 – (21) MAN DOES NOT THANK GOD.

• Why thank God, who I don’t believe in, don’t care about, don’t glorify.

• No man in his spiral downward excludes God and thanks himself for the things he does.

• He gives awards for man’s achievements. He says nothing is impossible with man.

• And a thankless society is a selfish society where everyone looks out for #1 and of course, they all think they are #1!!!!