Isaiah 44:6-20 Worshipping False Gods

Isaiah 44:6-20 WORSHIPPING FALSE GODS 6-1-13

Today I want to talk for a few minuets about "IDOLATRY"-- idolatry don't necessarily mean falling down before an image which common scents tells us is wrong, but today there are a lot of people worshipping any number of things other than the True and living God, to some it's money, to some it's their possessions and other things, that's the word, "things".

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~ Many religions even today worship some sort of image , we think of Buddha the imagine of a fat so called deity, many people in India believe a cow is holy, some of these dear people are hungry much of the time and yet rib-eye steaks are walking the streets.

~ The Catholics bow before an image of Mary, even pray to her, statues are all over the place in the Vatican in Rome, the Bible teaches that we're to pray to God alone. In the early church days they never directed their prayers to Mary, or to dead saints. This practice began in the Roman Church.

~ God loves all races of people but He is a jealous God and He will not share His glory with man made gods, or people either.

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>> Exodus 20:3-5 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 4Thou 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: 5Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God,--

>>Leviticus 26:1 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.

~ "idol" means a nothing, it means it's worthless.

~ "image" means a figure of ones imagination, be it on a wall, a stone or what ever.

~ No sin was more provoking to God than this, and yet His people Israel were addicted to it.

~ God is a Spirit and to worship him by an image in bowing down to it, changes His truth into a lie and His glory into shame.

>>John 4: 24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

~Not in useless repetion or images and idols.

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> Isaiah 44: 6-20; -- tells us what God thinks about false gods, listen as I read.

These verses about idolatry are the most powerful in the entire Bible.

~ In these verses Jehovah is speaking through His prophet Isaiah, revealing the utter foolishness of believing in, or the worship of so called gods.

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>6Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God.

~ Here the oneness of God is seen by stating that beside me there is no God.

Here in verse 6 the personal name "Jehovah" is used of both the King and His Redeemer, the one referring to God the Father and the other referring to God the Son.

* Jesus said in;

> Rev. 1:17 Fear not; I am the first and the last.

>Rev. 22:13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last

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~ An idol can never be the First, because an idol needs someone to make it, and an idol can never be the Last, because they can wear out and break.

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> 7And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for me, since I appointed the ancient people? and the things that are coming, and shall come, let them shew unto them.

~The proof of God's uniqueness is His ability to foretell the future and then bring it to pass. Anyone who claims to be able to do this must prove to God that he has already done it.

God's creation of Israel and His revelation of the future to Israel and through Israel is the great proof that HE truly is the One and only True God.

~Our beloved Bible came through His people Israel; all of the writers of the scriptures were Israelites, including Luke the writer of the gospel of Luke and also the book of Acts as well.

~~To say that Luke was not a Jew is a blasphemous denial of God's own words on the matter.

„« LISTEN--Romans 3:1-2

1What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision? 2Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them (JEWS) were committed the oracles of God.