To become a fan is generally fine.
“Everyone is a fan of something or someone, but we must exercise caution and be mindful of the dangers of idolatry. Because a simple admiration or desire can turn into idolatry. Idolatry is often a good thing that becomes a "god thing". That will eventually create a barrier between us and God.
That is why the Apostle Paul says, Therefore, my dear friends, FLEE FROM IDOLATRY. 1 Corinthians 10:14 NIV
A story in the OT can help one to better understand idolatry.
- The story begins when the Israelites, after a 3-month journey from Egypt, established their camp in the desert.
- At the Lord's command, Moses gathered them at the base of Mount Sinai, where God verbally delivered the Ten Commandments.
- Overwhelmed by the sight of a trembling, smoke-covered mountain with thunder, lightning, and trumpet sounds, the people chose not to communicate directly with God.
- And so, Moses, Aaron, and 70 elders climb the mountain to receive more teachings from God.
- Moses even went higher up the mountain alone, where he received the Ten Commandments written on stone tablets.
[The Making of the Golden Calf]
Moses spent 40 days with God receiving instructions, which made the Israelites impatient. They turned to Aaron and said, "Create a god to lead us, as we're not sure where Moses is." Aaron then asked them to bring their gold rings.
Exodus 32:3-4 - So all the people took off the gold rings that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. And he took the gold from their hands and fashioned it with an engraving tool and made it into a molten calf;
(The gold is melted and recast to a calf. The calf was chosen because it was a common object of worship in Egypt which they came from) and they said, “This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.”
Instead of walking by faith and not by sight, they wavered when Moses’ return was delayed. They committed idolatry which is a very serious sin against God.
[The 10 Commandments]
This is so unexpected because, before this calf creation, the Lord had just delivered to them the 10 Commandments. The Lord said, “I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt.
“You shall have no other gods before me” and “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything, and you shall not bow down to or worship them;
These are the first 2 commandments concerning idolatry.
And sadly, the Israelites easily overlooked this and created their own god.
Images, statues, or any representation of something are all generally fine.
• A person is guilty of idolatry if he perceives the image and what it represents as god, or equal to, or above god.
• A person is guilty of idolatry if he believes that other than Jesus, someone else, or its representation…
- Is worthy of worshipping and bowing down to
- have the authority to forgive sin.
- is one of the ways to God and grants salvation.
Idolatry occurs when there is an attempt to either substitute God with false gods or prioritize a person, object, or desire over God.
[ISRAELITES DISPARATE MOTIVATIONS]
The total number of adult Israelite men in the narrative is recorded as 603,550. Include the women and children, there were about 2 million Israelites. Out of those 2 million…
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(1) There are those who have zero to less understanding of God.
That is why, their belief is that Moses was the one who saved them.
Exodus 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 gods 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.”
[MOSES AS THEIR IDOL]
Moses, their pastor and leader, is the hero, their LODI. When Moses didn’t return, they became “kanchong”, anxious, and nervous.
If you know God, and you know his promises, you will wait.
[OTHERS AS YOUR IDOL]
How about you, is your leader your hero? Your spouse, parents, a celebrity?
Husbands and wives, when you love your spouse more than God, you are guilty of idolatry.
It is not that one can't find inspiration in others. The truth is that when you prioritize anyone above God or even make someone equal to God, you have fallen into the trap of idolatry.
[Short Story - People would let you down]
Many years ago, while driving with colleagues, I mistakenly stepped on the gas instead of the brake pedal, leading to a near-accident as we swerved to avoid the car in front. Miraculously, we emerged unharmed, and my colleagues were like – “Wow! Great driving skills!” I kept driving while smiling and thinking to myself “I almost killed everyone! I have let you down, guys!”
God wants us to make him first because People would let you down, but God never will.
[YOURSELF AS YOUR IDOL]
For some, your hero is not another person. Because your hero is yourself. Because of your life achievements, a thousand social media followers, you think that others think well of you, you enjoy compliments, and you consider it a privilege for others to hang out with you, your idol is yourself.
The danger here is that you will put so much pressure and expectation in yourself. And when you fail, you would think that God has forsaken you.
[SOMETHING AS YOUR IDOL]
An Idol may not necessarily be a person, it can be…
- Material possessions, occupation, money, food, etc.
- Intangible concepts such as success, power, influence, control, and prosperity.
When the preacher says you will be successful, you will receive power and influence, God wants to prosper you, then you give the loudest “Amen!”
When the preacher encourages you to contribute or serve, you go - you easily say "No"
[PROBING QUESTIONS]
Let me help you confront your idol by answering these questions.
1. What occupies your heart and mind?
2. What ignites your deepest emotion?
3. What brings you the greatest joy and hope in life?
If you have an answer that is not Jesus, this is a good time to surrender whatever it is to God.
God has been offering the gift of a relationship, don't settle for anything less.
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There are some of the Israelites who didn’t have a relationship with God, thus they turned to idols.
(2) On the other hand, there are those who know God but have not surrendered their lives fully.
For them the calf does not represent another god, it is an attempt to shape, control, and limit the one true God; to make, in effect, a new, more manageable, and controlled version of God.
Exodus 32:5-6 (AMP) 5 Now when Aaron saw the molten calf, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made a proclamation, and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord!” 6 So they got up early the next day and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; then the people sat down to eat and drink, and got up to play [shamefully—without moral restraint].
The golden calf for them is God in a control state. Therefore, they can do whatever they want.
[REFLECTION]
They seem like individuals who are…
- Within the church, are gentle, but outside, they use profanity.
- They read the Bible with one eye, while their other eye watches pornography.
- They give tithes with one hand while the other one makes money in an ungodly way.
- They dance for God with one foot and walk with the wicked with the other foot.
They are those who live a double life, thinking that as long as they consider themselves Christians, as long they are serving in the Church, they can still pursue their idols.
1 Corinthians 10:21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons.
There shouldn’t be an overlap with your walk with God and the ways of the world, just separation.
If you are living a double life, remember that Idolatry is a process of slowly diverting your love and attention away from the one true God and toward false gods. Until God is not part of your life anymore.
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One group of Israelites have no idea about God. Another group is living a double life, the last group of people are…
(3) Those who are already walking in step with God
Like Aaron, the prophet, the high priest, Moses’ elder brother, assistant, and spokesperson. If Moses is the Pastor, Aaron is the assistant pastor.
Aaron also represents those who consistently desire to spend time with God, those faithful in their devotion, those who serve wholeheartedly, and mature and seasoned Christians.
But in a sudden turn of events, Aaron agreed to the demands of the people. He even encouraged them to give their most precious possessions to be used to make a golden idol. What is more upsetting -is, that it is Aaron who built the idol cast in the shape of a calf.
Exodus 32:4 And he took the gold from their hands and fashioned it with an engraving tool and made it into a molten calf; and they said, “This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.”
[DON’T DO WHAT AARON DID]
<Pause> My prayer is that none of us would do what Aaron did.
• Don’t give in to the pressure of society and the temptations of this world.
• If you have been running the race for a long time, or you just started, just keep running. Rest, but don’t quit!
• If ever there’s a thought of giving up, dismiss it immediately
[DON’T BE TOO COMPLACENT]
Learning from Aaron, we can’t be too complacent nor rely on ourselves, because “Even the holiest of men can be convinced to do things contrary to his faith.”
The devil is still out there; The devil who tempted Jesus of possessions, prestige, and power, is still on the run, targeting those who don’t know God, those who are living a double life, and those who are followers of Jesus, but are willing to compromise.
[MY STORY]
Another car story, but this time, I was sitting in the back seat of a car with two colleagues in front, when our vehicle skidded on a snow-covered road in Pittsburgh, resulting in a heart-stopping 360-degree spin that initially was fast and then slowed down. It was like a movie. We were just waiting for a speeding car to hit us while a piece of classical music played in the background.
And in the midst of the spinning, thoughts race through my mind. And there are these questions I asked myself – “Am I ready to die?”, like “Have I experienced what I need to”, “Did I at least achieve half of my life goals?” We got away from that terrifying incident.
[GOD WILL PUNISH OUR SINS]
This happened over 2 decades ago but when I was reading the ending part of our story (Exodus 32:33-34), I suddenly remembered this.
Exodus 32:33-34 goes The Lord replied to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book. Now go, lead the people to the place I spoke of, and my angel will go before you. However, when the time comes for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin.”
I may be able to escape death a few times, but facing God for the punishment of my sins is bound to happen.
And so, I realized that “Am I ready to die?”, is not the right question.
The right question is “Can I even consider myself alive with all the sins I have ready to be punished?”
It is not simply readiness; but Christlikeness that we all need.
Because all of us are dead spiritually, but with Jesus, we have the chance to live, not just in the now, but also eternally.
[SUMMARY]
To recap, the Israelites' ignorance, living a double life, and complacency led them to idol worship. In the end, the Lord punished them. Yes, the 2 million Israelites have crossed the Red Sea, but not all of them reached the promised land. Not even Aaron, not even Moses.
This my friends proves how idols can ruin our lives. How idols can stop us from living and experiencing God's promises. How idols can separate us from God.
Nevertheless, the solution is straightforward: surrender your life fully to the one true God. Break up with your idols.
This is the “Good News”. We do not have to follow the same path the Israelites took. We can avoid committing the same mistake by receiving Jesus as our only savior.
God sent Jesus for us so that we can know him more.
• … so that we can take down the idols we have created.
• … so that He doesn’t have to punish us.
• … so that we can be with God, and Him with us eternally.
[Call for Action]
Much like the Israelites, some of us here
- have been guilty of creating idols in our lives.
- have been guilty of trying to position God alongside other gods.
- have been guilty of putting idols above God.
But by the grace and mercy of God, today be willing to surrender your idols and false gods.
If you've accumulated idols, you have worshipped them, and you have grown dependent on them, it's time to break up with them.
• Confess and earnestly desire to worship Jesus alone.
• Put Jesus above everything in your life.
• Surrender your life to Jesus alone.
If you are responding to this call to confront and relinquish the idols in your life, begin pray.
[Prayer]
Dear Jesus
I confess that I am a sinner.
And I want to thank you for dying on the cross for my sins.
Right now, I invite you to come into my life.
Be my Lord, Be my Savior.
Help me to become the kind of person I was created to be.
I pray all this, in Jesus’ name.
Amen
