American Idol
Exodus 20:4-6
© 2007 Eric Bain
NOTE: This sermon is available in audio format at www.sanctuary-church.com
NOTE II: For this message I passed out tiny containers of Play-doh to everyone in the congregation. I had them make sculptures representing their "idols." At the end of the message, everyone destroyed their idols.
SERMON --
Any American Idol fans out there? I’m just curious… does any one here remember the name of the first American Idol?
• Kelly Clarkston
• 2nd – Ruben Studdard
• 3rd – Fantasia Barrino
• 4th – Carrie Underwood
• 5th – Taylor Hicks
• 6th – Jordan Sparks
A couple things to ponder…
1. A few weeks back I asked if anyone knew the 10 Commandments – no one responded. So, what does it say about us as Christians when we can’t list of the 10 Commandments, but we can list off the top American Idols?
2. What’s more… what about the fact that the Bible teaches…
You shall not make for yourself an idol!
That’s actually the 2nd Commandment… But the whole purpose behind this show is to make an “American” idol.
So, is it that we’re not only weak on our understanding of the Commands…
• But we’re also blatantly breaking them?
• Or, is it the case that the 2nd Commandment is really about something else?
o And I’m just really stretching to get you drawn in this morning – and get you to interact?
Well, Maybe a bit of both.
o But that being the case, what is the 2nd Commandment really all about? (Repeat Command)
You shall not make for yourself an idol!
Well, that’s what we’re going to be figuring out today out today! So, grab a Bible and turn to the Book of
Exodus, Chapter 20… verse 4
Last week I talked about how the 10 Commandments are far more than…
• A set of legalistic rules…
• intended for all people…
• that were set by a some tyrannical God.
Again, that’s not what they are!
• Rather, I mentioned, it would be much more in line for us to think of the 10 Commandments as…
o 10 Rules of Life…
o that lead to the Best Possible Life!
• I said that they weren’t intended for all people… but rather, they’re intended for those that have a relationship with the living God. Those that are already following him.
• Finally, I mentioned that the 10 Commandments can be compared to a 10 pt Tune up.
o Because the intent behind them is to keep us running well…
o To breathe in new life into a faith that may be dying.
o And to keep it going… over the long haul.
You see, I would venture to bet that all of us… can use what the 10 Commandments have to offer.
That being said, do you remember what the 1st Commandment was? (encourage them)
You shall have no other gods before me!
We talked about how that means that we need to love God with all our heart… mind… soul… and with all our strength. In other words, we need to come to a place where we love him completely… and then once we get there, we need to place him at the front of the line.
You shall have no other gods before me!
Key word… Before!
You see, this isn’t saying that we don’t love other things – such as our spouse… kids… friends… jobs… our hobbies, or even that we love them any less. But rather, this is saying that we love all those other things… through the lens of our relationship with the living God!
In other words, we let our relationship with God… influence everything else that we do. That’s #1!
You shall have no other gods before me!
Alright, let’s look at the 2nd Command… beginning with Exodus, Chapter 20… verse 4
EX 20:4 "You shall not make for yourself an idol… in the form of anything in heaven above… or on the earth beneath… or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship (serve) them!
BIG Question…
What is an idol?
And then stemming off of that…
Why would anyone with a relationship with the one true God...
make an idol and worship (serve) it?
For some insight into this, let’s just flip ahead to Exodus 32
• Exodus 32, tells the story of what happened while Moses was up on the mountian getting the 10 Commandments
• You may remember from last week, there was all kinds of thunder & lightning… and smoke up on the mountian. So it was scary! And Moses had to go up there alone.
• Nontheless, he was gone for a long time. In fact, more than a month… (40 days to be exact)
Exodus 32 says…
EX 32:1 When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, "Come… make us a god who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt… we don’t know what has happened to him."
In other words… This Moses guy sort of represented God’s lead, but now he’s gone! And he’s been gone for a long time.
So they ask Aaron to make them a god to go before them (you’re translations may say gods (plural) – I don’t know why? The context is clearly singular.) But remember...
• They’ve already experienced what it’s like to have the one true God go before them!
o Remember, he parted the Red Sea
• So, they know of his power…
• They’ve experienced him doing these life-transforming miracles…
• So, what’s going on here?
Well… the truth is, some of us know exactly what’s going on here! And the reason I say that, is because we’ve done exactly the same thing…
You see, just like the Hebrews, we’ve experience this amazing time of God setting us free. But now, in the present, it just seems like God is distant… maybe even silent. He’s just not doing anything!
• Oh, we’ve prayed to him…
• Maybe we’ve even cried out to him…
• But we feel like we’re just spinning you wheels…
• Or, just wasting our time?
So, after a while, what we do, is we begin to look for something else. It’s not that we don’t believe in God, it’s that we look for some other way for him to lead us.
You see, it’s not that the Hebrews are looking for a new God. What they’re really asking for… is some type of physical, tangible thing… that can represent God… that they can simply follow.
Cause sometimes it just seems like God leaves us in the dark!
Let’s read what happens next… Verse 2…
EX 32:2 Aaron answered them, "Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing, and bring them to me." 3 So all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. 4 He took what they handed him and made it into an idol… cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, "This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt."
Well, I want you to get a real clear picture of exactly what they’re doing here! (Make Play-Doh calf)
I got to say, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to recognize that this crude little statue that I’ve made isn’t God! And it clearly isn’t the god that brought the Hebrews out of Egypt. So, what the heck is going on here? I mean, this seems so stupid!
Well, here’s the thing…
• Back in their day and age, it was very common for people to make idols – little statues, or carvings, or monuments
o Sometimes small…
o Sometimes big…
• And the point is these idols became their gods. Now, the sociological way that this took place is rather complex, but the deal is…
o They would worship them (The Hebrew word for worship is literally… serve)
o Another thing they would do is follow them – literally!
o They believed that by following them & serving them… then these little gods would supply for them things like…
Security
Safety
Power
Fulfillment
Health
Now, this all sounds very strange to us… in fact, it sounds just plain stupid! But it wasn’t strange to them. In fact, you might say… everybody was doing it! Because they were! And we all know the power of peer pressure!
So again, put this in the context of what is taking place…
• The Hebrews have been just sitting around
• They’ve been waiting on God… but they’re basically in the dark… and they’re board.
• Ultimately, they’re waiting for God to lead them to the Promised Land
• But it seems like… God isn’t doing anything
So, what do they do?
• Well, they decide to take action… and what they do is…
• They adapt something from the culture… and use it to inform them about God’s will. (Repeat)
• It’s sort of like fast-tracking Gods will!
• Only really, they make an idol.
• Or, think of it this way - God’s taking too long to tell me what I want to know (You know, where to go… or what to do)… so I’m going to take something else and let it lead me… as if it’s God!
(Hold up Play-Doh Calf)
This is god!?....
Well, Christians do this all the time!
• We take something culturally influenced and let it lead to us… as if it’s God.
• We worship it… and we serve it… again, as if it were God.
Let me give you some examples… I’m actually going to give you 8. I know there’s more, but these 8 came to my mind really quickly!
1. The idol of Money! (This is the easiest one, right)
o In this example, God’s will is where the money is.
o ILL – Friend that felt called into full-time ministry… but then he was offered a job with a six-figure income.
Well, it was amazing how fast God’s will changed!
o It’s the idol of money.
We worship it!
We follow it… (take out dollar and hold up & follow)
We convince ourselves… it’s God.
We take something culturally influenced and let it lead to us… as if it’s God.
2. The Open Door idol!
o In this example, God’s will is where the door opens – and it opens easily
o The problem with that is… in the Bible, when I read… I read about cases where God’s will is found where the door is impossibly shut!
In fact, it’s so shut you’ll pull with all your might… but you’ll never open it.
And you’ll go get a hammer… and you’ll pound
And you’ll go get ax… and you’ll chop
And you’ll get a bulldozer… and you’ll push
And you’ll get a crane… and you’ll pull. But the door will never open!
And so finally you be so desperate and broken… that you’ll drop to your knees and pray… and then suddenly, when you look up… it’s as if the door was never there!
o Don’t worship the idol of the open door
All too often I hear Christians say, “Boy I really feel like God led me to do that (point one way)… but all the doors just seemed closed. And then I noticed an open door over here (point other direction)… Well, that really seems to be the way that God wants me to go.
o The idol of the open door.
3. The idol of Me!
o In other words, the idol literally becomes me! (Or in your case… you!)
o The idea is, if there’s something that needs to be done… I can do it!
I can get it done…
You see, I don’t need God.
o If there’s a problem… I can fix it.
o If there’s a challenge… I’m up to it!
o You see…
If I just think hard enough…
If I just work hard enough…
If I just plan better…
o Then, no matter what happens… I can pull myself up by the bootstraps.
In fact, better than that… I can probably take myself to the next level… even spiritually!
o But the problem is, God says this really isn’t about me… or what I can do on my own.
o Rather, It’s about what I can’t possibly do on my own.
But because he loves me, he’s willing to do it for me.
You see this relationship isn’t about independence… it’s about de-pendence.
o And so, in this example… the idol becomes ourselves!
Another example where we take something culturally influenced and let it speak to us… as if it’s God.
4. The idol of Happiness!
o In this example the idol is the pursuit of happiness.
o We buy into the belief that God wants us to be happy… which is true!
o But from a Biblical perspective we have to wait for ultimate happiness.
o Rather, the pursuit of God… in this life… brings suffering.
o So often I see people pursuing happiness… thinking they’re pursuing God.
o It’s the idol of happiness.
This next one is a bit sensitive. Because its…
5. The idol of the Pastor!
o In this example, God is believed to be in the pastor… or the minister… or the bishop… or even the Pope!
o Trust me on this one… this idol will let you down!
o The basic idea is this…
I don’t want to have to read the Bible…
I don’t want to have to think about the deeper things of God.
I don’t want to have to pray… or meditate… or fast…
I just want my pastor to tell me what to do…
o Oh trust me… this idol will tell you what to do… but it may not be God speaking!
I’ve got three left…
6. The idol of Big!
o Oh, this idol is often found in Churches!
o You see, we fool ourselves into believing that the bigger the church… the more God’s hand must be upon it.
o The bigger their budget… the more God must be at work!
o The greater number of programs… the more the church is honoring God.
o But the truth is… it’s often just the idol of Big.
7. The idol of Security
o Oh, this idol can take lots of different shapes and forms. It might be…
A savings account or a A 401k
A giant SUV with full-curtain air bags
Job
Or a neighborhood
o You see, the idea is… God would only want me to be where it is safe!
o So I follow around the idol of Security
And finally, my last example of how we take something culturally influenced, and let it speak to us… as if it’s God, I call the…
8. The idol of the Charismatic Show
o This example is unique to the others… because here we’re adapting something that is unique to the Christian culture… and yet we adapt it and let it speak to us as if it’s God.
o Ill – Jon & speaking in tongues.
John Woolner grew up in a Charismatic church
Everybody spoke in tongues – if you don’t… you’re not a Christian
Problem = He never felt God lead him to speak in tongues… but the pressure was so great he faked it!
As he grew up, he realized that there were probably a whole lot of other people in the room that were just faking it. In other words, the all knew it wasn’t God… but they followed!
o The idol of the Charismatic Show
Eight Examples…
1. The idol of Money
2. The Open Door idol
3. The idol of Me
4. The idol of Happiness
5. The idol of the Pastor
6. The idol of Big
7. The idol of Security
8. The idol of the Charismatic Show
Eight examples of how we take something culturally influenced, and let it speak to us… as if it’s God
It makes the idol of the Golden Calf look not so stupid doesn’t it?
My point is this… the messages of the 2nd Commandment is…
Don’t make and worship idols!
Put another way…
Don’t let our culture influence our relationship with God, in such a way…
that we no longer worshipping & following Him!
Cause, when we do that… what we’re really worshipping and serving are idols.
Now, if you’ve been here for the past several weeks, I’ve been saying that one of my goals with this series is not just to help you understand the 10 Commandments… but to help you bridge the OT to the NT. In other words, I want to show you places in the NT where these OT commands are…
• Lived out
• Or, maybe further explained
So, flip forward in your Bible’s to the book of John (The 4th Gospel)
John, Chapter 13… verse 33…
Here Jesus is on his way to the cross to die for the sins of humanity, and he’s trying to explain the situation to his closest friends – his disciples. And this is what he says…
JN 13:33 "My children, I’ll be with you only a little longer. You’ll look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going… you can’t come.
Well, imagine what that’d be like… you’ve been following Jesus for 3 years and then he says this:
I’m going somewhere and you can’t come!
I think Peter’s response is pretty normal… verse 36…
JN 13:36 "Lord, where are you going?"
Jesus replied, "Where I’m going, you can’t follow now… but you will follow later."
Admittedly… this is pretty cryptic!
Peter responds…
JN 13:37 "Lord, why can’t I follow you now?
But here’s what I want you to realize… Isn’t this situation somewhat similar to what was going on with the Hebrew’s & Moses at Mt. Sinai?
• God is in the process of doing something…
• But for now, his followers are going to have to sit in the dark and wait.
Well, we don’t like waiting.
Again, look at Peter’s response… verse 37…
JN 13:37 "Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I’ll lay down my life for you."
In other words, think of this… what Peter is saying is…
I can do this… my self!
Doesn’t matter what the situation is… I can take care of it.
I’ll even go so far as to lay my life down for you Jesus!
You see, it’s that idol of me that I was talking about. It’s the idol of self!
Jesus, why can’t I have what I want now?
Why does this process have to take so long?
Why shroud it in all this mystery?
I can take care of this!
Anybody here ever say these kinds of things? Maybe not out loud… Maybe you just think them? Yeah!
I know what’s going on here… why don’t I just take care of this?.
You see, ultimately, idolatry is about us trying to run the show. We make a little idol… and we convince ourselves it’s God… because we want to run the show. But it’s not our show to run.
When we make idols… whatever those idols may be… what we’re really trying to do is turn God into a puppet. We’re trying to take control… trying to take control of the living God… as if we know better than he does.
Think of how stupid that sounds!
Peter says…
I can do this my self!
I’ll lay my life down for you Jesus!
But Jesus’ response is…
No you won’t!
Peter… do you know how stupid you sound?
You don’t even know what you’re talking about!
Verse 38…
JN 13:38 Then Jesus answered, "Will you really lay down your life for me? I tell you the truth, Peter… before the rooster crows… you’ll disown me three times!
In other words…
• We think we’re so smart…
• We think we have it all together…
• We think we can run the show…
o Oh, based on our keen understanding
o Based on our knowledge
o Based on our wisdom
So, to help God along, what we do is we make these little idols. And we tell ourselves…
• (hold up) This is God!
• Follow him!
• That’s the way!
No… it’s not. That’s…
1. The idol of Money
2. The Open Door idol
3. The idol of Me
4. The idol of Happiness
5. The idol of the Pastor
6. The idol of Big
7. The idol of Security
8. The idol of the Charismatic Show
You see, that’s not God. That’s not the way! And just because everybody says it is… doesn’t make it true!
I realize this can be a bit disheartening. (pause) Maybe even frustrating… or troubling?
But Jesus continues and says this… (John, Chapter 14)
JN 14:1 "Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.
Skipping down to verse 4…
4 You know the way to the place where I am going."
To which, Thomas pipes in (and I love Thomas… cause he’s not afraid to point out the elephant in the room!)
JN 14:5 "Lord, we don’t know where you’re going… so how can we know the way?"
(pause)
What does Jesus say?
I am the way…
I am the way…
Not these other things… not these petty idols… but Jesus!
He goes on to say that he is going to send us the Holy Spirit. And that the Holy Spirit is going to indwell us and be our Counselor.
In other words, Jesus acknowledges that it’s hard to differentiate between these idols… and genuinely following God.
• But he hasn’t left us alone…
• We can hear his voice…
• If we’re just willing to wait and listen…
(pause)
I promised that if we apply these 10 Commandments to our lives it would lead to a better life.
This morning, some of us… maybe even all of us to some degree… have established idols in our lives and we’re going about the process of worshiping them… telling ourselves, all along, this is God.
The thing is, this ultimately puts the burdens of God on ourselves… and it feels so heavy!
Truth is some of us have even considered giving up the faith because it feels so heavy…
• A faith that, by definition, is supposed to be following Jesus…
• Well, maybe that thing that we’ve been following isn’t Jesus after all
Cause Jesus said…
MT 11:28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
If that’s not your experience in following Jesus… maybe it’s time we got honest about our idols… and got rid of them.
SMASH GOLDEN CALF
Prayer of confession and repentance
• Willing to wait
• Willing to do it God’s way
© 2007 Eric Bain
