Meet The New Boss - Same As The Old Boss

Good morning, church! Let’s look at a powerful and relevant topic… Let’s take a look at how the gods that people worship today are very similar to those that were worshipped in the times of the Old and New Testaments.

In other words “Meet the New Boss… Same as the Old Boss”

Now some of ya'll may say Hey this catchy sermon title sounds familiar maybe you watch CSI Miami… or just happened to be at that age where classic rock is your thing… It’s the ending lyrics of a song titled “Won’t get fooled again” by the band WHO… another part of the lyrics go “Ill pick up my guitar and play, just like yesterday, Then ill get on my knees and pray , We don’t get fooled again” As we get into this sermon, that’s my prayer that we don’t get fooled again… because idolatry and gods of ancient times are all up in our modern-day life, and we are going to look at some Scripture today to help us navigate away from these things and I pray “we don’t get fooled again.

Let’s look at The Old Boss…

The Golden Calf … When Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments, the Israelites grew impatient and created a golden calf to worship. This incident shows just how quickly people can turn to false gods when they feel abandoned or uncertain.

"So all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, 'These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!'" (Exodus 32:3-4,).

Next we have Baal… - 1 Kings 18:21-24

The prophet Elijah was confronted by the prophets of Baal to show the power of the true God. This event highlights the prevalent worship of Baal, a fertility god, among the Israelites.

"And Elijah came near to all the people and said, 'How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.' And the people did not answer him a word." (1 Kings 18:21).

Money... We find in Matthew where Jesus taught about the dangers of serving two masters, highlighting money as a common idol.

"No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money." (Matthew 6:24).

Paul wrote to the Colossians about putting to death earthly desires

In Colossians 3:5 he wrote "Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry."

Let’s Meet the New Boss… or Bosses

Materialism and Consumerism: This is very Similar to the Golden Calf:

The Israelites worshipped the golden calf; Folks today worship Money… MONEY and stuff. The idolatry of mammon can distract us from our faith & our families, and will cause us to neglect our dependence on God… and focus our dependence on the material things… (expound on this)

Next up Modern Baal Worship: Worshiping Celebrities

The obsession with celebrities and fame is just like Baal worship. People elevate celebrities to a god-like status, They begin to seek validation and identity through their association with the rich and famous. We live in a world where Hollywood Celebrities, sports stars, and social Media Influencers are followed more quickly and more abundantly than Jesus…

Idolatry in the Heart: Technology & Entertainment

We are addicted to technology and entertainment, and it consumes our time and our attention, and worst of all, it draws us away from God.

The New Boss Is the Old Boss…and he fools us time and time again and it's like we forget that there are consequences to following these idols and false gods.

They cause Spiritual Degradation: Idolatry leads us to spiritual blindness and to spiritual degradation.

Scripture says "All who fashion idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit. Their witnesses neither see nor know, that they may be put to shame." (Isaiah 44:9).

They also cause Separation from God:

We must Return to True Worship and recognize and guard against idolatry of all kinds in our lives

1st John 5:21 says "Little children, keep yourselves from idols."

We need to be Worshiping God in Spirit and Truth:

John 4: 23-24 says "But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth."