Good morning church. I am so excited you have joined us this morning as we continue our series of Bible Teachings, America’s Idols. During the last few weeks we have been looking at America’s Idols. Two weeks ago we discovered the truth about the idol of money. Last week we learned about the idol of success. Today we continue our study of America’s Idols as we look at Fame.
Some people work hard, and as a result earn fame. Michael Phelps is an example of someone who worked hard for fame.
Phelps earned his unprecedented eighth Olympic gold medal of the 2008 Olympics as he swam the butterfly leg of the Americans’ world-record win to close out the swimming competition.
Others are only looking for fame.
In recent Psychology Today Magazine there is the story of "Reskew," is a prolific and talented graffiti artist. He’s wanted by police in Florida and is on probation in New York City.
The thrill of the illicit supercharges Reskew’s quest for artistic glory. "I’ve got a personality that’s addicted to drama. I like the martyrdom of ’they’re wrong and I’m right,’" he says of the nocturnal cat-and-mouse game he plays with the cops. After he’s climbed a billboard, snuck into a subway tunnel, or swung from the beams of an elevated train track, Reskew always sprays his tag in colored bubble letters (even when there’s no time to create an intricate design), so everyone will know he was there.
"In the graffiti community, putting yourself out there is the main thing," he says. "If I don’t do anything, I feel like a nobody. But if my name sticks in someone’s head and then he meets me, it’s like I’m a celebrity."
In his book of photo essays, One Hundred Young Americans, Michael Franzini delivers a rich survey of today’s culturally segmented, MySpace-inhabiting, text message-obsessed youth. It includes a shot of Reskew with his artwork.
"We made a point of getting every possible kind of kid—from a skinhead waiting for a racial holy war, to a guy who wakes up early every morning to go shrimping before school, to a kid who calls himself a vampire," Franzini says.
A trait nearly all these teenagers share, though, is a desire to be famous. "This generation is inundated with reality TV—with people just like them, except well known," Franzini says. "And they seem to have a high need for recognition and approval."
What they don’t know is that the FAME GAME IS dangerous.
Lets look at what the Bible tells us about fame.
First, the desire for FAME clouds your judgment.
Look with me at Genesis 11:4 Then they said to each other, “Let’s build a city and a tower for ourselves, whose top will reach high into the sky. We will become famous. Then we will not be scattered over all the earth.”
This passage is taken from the building of the tower of Babel. The people began to think they could build a tower that would reach all the way to heaven. All the way to God. Their desire for fame caused them to lose all common sense. Their drive to be a celebrity made them begin to build an impossible tower to heaven.
We know the desire for fame has not changed. They were not striving to build a tower to heaven, but in a desire to be famous, Representative Don Young and Senator Ted Stevens pushed for a proposed bridge in Alaskan known as the bridge to nowhere. It was to provide a bridge to a community of less than 100 people at a cost of 398 million tax dollars.
People looking for Fame still have their judgment clouded.
Second, the desire for FAME blinds you to sin.
Psalms 36:1-2 There is no fear of God before his eyes. 2 For in his own eyes he flatters himself too much to detect or hate his sin.
David tells us here that you can become so great in your own eyes that we no longer see our own sins. We begin to flatter ourselves and fail to see our faults.
Susan Boon, Ph.D., professor of psychology at the University of Calgary, and doctoral candidate Christine Lomore asked more than 200 Canadian undergraduates about their attachment to celebrities. The 79 students who expressed strong feelings toward an idol were then asked how seriously they took the relationship, and whether they had ever tried to emulate that person by dressing or behaving like them.
It was discovered a whopping 60 percent admitted that an idol had influenced their attitudes and personal values, including their work ethic and views on morality. And nearly half said that their idol inspired them to pursue activities including acting, sports, becoming a vegetarian or using marijuana.
The desire for FAME clouds your judgment and blinds you to sin.
But there is a God given FAME we should all desire.
Lets look at this Holy Fame together by using the Acrostic FAME.
F= Foster Faithfulness
Matthew 10:32 “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.
If we are to be famous with God we need to work faithfully.
A Persian legend tells us that a certain king needed a faithful servant and had to choose between two candidates for the office. He took both at fixed wages and told them to fill a basket with water from a nearby well, saying that he would come in the evening to inspect their work. After dumping one or two buckets of water into the basket, one of the men said, “What is the good of doing this useless work? As soon as we pour the water in, it runs out the sides.”
The other answered, “But we have our wages, haven’t we? The use is the master’s business, not ours.”
“I’m not going to do such fool’s work,” replied the complainer. Throwing down his bucket, he went away.
The other man continued until he had drained the well. Looking down into it, he saw something shining at the bottom that proved to be a diamond ring. “Now I see the use of pouring water into the basket!” he exclaimed. “If the bucket had brought up the ring before the well was dry, it would have been found in the basket. Our work was not useless.”
When God’s blessing does not fully coincide with your expectations, remember to wait until the well is dry. There may be something precious at the bottom.
To be famous with God you have to foster faithfulness.
But you also need to Aspire to holiness.
A= Aspire to Holiness
Romans 6:4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
God’s plan is for us to live a new life. God accepts us just the way we are, but He loves us to much to leave us where we are. He calls us to live a new and holy life.
Howard Hendricks wisely observed, “It is foolish to build a chicken coop on the foundation of a skyscraper.” The Christian who fails to live a holy life is failing to utilize the foundation for his life that Christ has given him.
But of us to aspire to holiness we need to be connected to God in prayer.
M= Mature in Prayer.
Matthew 21:21 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. 22 If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”
God is not looking for men great in their own eyes, but men and women who look only to God. If we are to be famous with God, we have to spend time with God. We need to people of prayer.
For the Christian, praying should be like breathing. Just as breathing is the response of physical life to the presence of air, so prayer should be the response of spiritual life to the presence of God.
And prayer is not just about getting what we want. Often we approach prayer like a little boy I heard about.
A little boy was saying his bedtime prayers with his mother: “Lord, bless Mommy and Daddy, and God, GIVE ME A NEW BICYCLE!!!”
Mom: “God’s not deaf, son.”
Boy: “I know, Mom, but Grandma’s in the next room, and she’s hard of hearing!”
To be famous with God we need to mature in prayer.
Finally to be famous with God we need to:
E= Envision Eternity
1 Corinthians 2:9 However, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him”
As Christians we need to be reminded that this world is not our home. We are headed to a place where there will be no pain.
I have sat at the bed side of people suffering in pain. You feel so helpless as they lay there groaning with every breath. The promise we have is that we are going to a place where there will be no pain.
As Christians we need to be reminded we are going to a place where there will be no sickness.
You and I have watched as cancer has destroyed lives, and shattered families. We have stood by powerless as it continued its rampage.
But friends we are going to a place where there will be no sickness.
And as Christians we need to be reminded we are going to a place where there is no sin.
We have all struggled with sin. We have within us a sinful nature.
Let me illustrate.
A famous preacher of many years ago had a clock in his church that was well known for its inability to keep the time accurately. Sometimes too fast, sometimes too slow, it resisted all attempts to solve the problem. Finally, after its dubious fame became widespread, the preacher put a sign over the clock, reading, “Don’t blame the hands—the trouble lies deeper.”
The same is true of us: the real trouble lies deeper than what shows on the surface. We battle with sin, but we are going to a place where there will be no more sin, no temptation, no falling, and no failing.
So if we want to be famous with God we need to foster faithfulness, aspire to holiness, mature in prayer, and envision eternity.
God wants us to be famous with Him.
This morning, I would like to invite you to look at your life. Are you seeking after fame? Who do you want to be famous with?
How sad to be world famous, yet not know God. To be counted among the celebrities, yet not be a celebrity to your family. To seek after status, but lack the status of being a Christ follower.
This morning as we close this service of worship, I would like to invite you to come and just talk to Jesus. Maybe, you would like to receive a blessing to carry you through the week. Maybe, you would like to receive a special prayer for healing. Or maybe you have realized this morning, you are not famous with God. You might be famous at work, or in your community, but you discovered you are not famous with God. Come as we join in our closing song.
