INTRODUCTION — THE ALTAR IN THE MIND
If there is one truth humanity proves in every century, in every culture, in every language, it is this:
We never stop worshiping.
You can strip away temples, rituals, church buildings, religious vocabulary—
you can call yourself modern, enlightened, scientific, secular—
but not a single human being has ever lived without a god.
Because the human heart is not a courtroom searching for evidence.
It is a temple searching for a throne.
We don’t become unbelievers.
We simply become re-believers
—trading the God who made us
for the idols we make.
And those idols no longer sit on stone pedestals.
They sit in imaginations.
They sit in desires.
They sit in phone screens.
They sit in political platforms.
They sit in the places where we look for meaning, identity, comfort, and control.
The world says we’ve moved beyond idolatry.
But Scripture says idolatry has simply moved into us.
The mind becomes the sanctuary.
The heart becomes the altar.
And something—someone—will sit there.
Not every idol has a name.
But today, Scripture gives us six that perfectly describe the spiritual climate of our age.
And we begin not with the idol of money or politics—
We begin with desire.
Because idolatry always starts in the heart
long before it ends in the hands.
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I. ASHERAH — THE IDOL THAT SEDUCES
We start with Asherah, the ancient goddess of sexuality, pleasure, and erotic freedom.
Her worshippers said,
“Follow your desire.
Trust your feelings.
Do what brings you pleasure.”
Does that sound ancient?
Or does it sound like today’s billboards, movies, music, advertisements—
and yes, the scripts we quietly follow in our own minds?
Asherah hasn’t disappeared.
She has multiplied.
She streams into homes.
She shines from screens.
She dances in pop culture.
She whispers through algorithms.
Not as a statue—
but as a worldview.
Her modern names?
“It’s my body.”
“It’s just entertainment.”
“I can handle it.”
“It’s natural.”
“You do you.”
“No one can judge my truth.”
But the truth is this:
What the heart worships, the life obeys.
Asherah trains us to believe that desire is destiny,
that pleasure is freedom,
that boundaries are oppression,
and that holiness is outdated.
But Scripture whispers a counter-message: “Be holy, for I am holy.”
Because desire without devotion becomes a prison,
and freedom without truth becomes slavery.
Asherah seduces.
She tells us the body is god.
She tells us lust is identity.
She tells us that whatever feels good must be good.
And countless lives testify that she lies.
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II. MAMMON — THE IDOL THAT CONSUMES
If Asherah seduces the desires,
Mammon consumes the soul.
Jesus didn’t say Mammon was dangerous.
He said Mammon was a master.
“You cannot serve both God and Mammon.”
Mammon is not money.
Money is a tool.
Mammon is the spirit behind money—
the whisper that says:
“You are what you own.”
“You are what you earn.”
“You are what you can buy.”
“You need more.”
“You are falling behind.”
“You must protect yourself.”
“You must secure your future.”
Mammon is the storyteller of capitalism,
the liturgist of consumer culture,
and the high priest of anxiety.
You don’t have to love money to worship Mammon.
You just have to worry about it all the time.
You just have to think it will save you.
You just have to measure life by possessions instead of peace.
Mammon replaces contentment with comparison.
It turns blessings into burdens.
It makes us chase numbers instead of God.
It fills homes with things and hearts with emptiness.
Mammon demands more— just a little more— always more.
But the soul was never designed to be filled by something that rusts, breaks, depreciates, or burns.
Mammon consumes.
And the more you feed him,
the hungrier he gets.
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III. MOLECH — THE IDOL THAT DEMANDS SACRIFICE
If Asherah seduces
and Mammon consumes,
then Molech reveals the terrible cost of both.
In ancient times, Molech was the god who demanded the ultimate sacrifice: children.
No Israelite parent woke up one day wanting to surrender their child to the flames.
But they believed a lie: “If I sacrifice the innocent, I will gain something for myself.”
And that is the soul of Molech.
Today’s world recoils at the idea of child sacrifice—and yet the spirit of Molech is everywhere.
Every generation that sacrifices its children
for adult pleasure,
adult convenience,
adult ambition,
adult comfort—
is bowing to Molech,
even if no one calls him by that name.
We sacrifice children in different ways now:
Neglect in the home
Abuse behind closed doors
Abortion normalized as empowerment
Exploitation disguised as culture
Screen-based pacification instead of presence
Families split apart because ego demanded more space
Schools expected to raise children because parents will not
Molech does not need a furnace anymore.
He only needs a distracted, self-absorbed society to do his work for him.
He is the idol of convenience, and the god of cost.
In Scripture, any time a nation followed Asherah and Mammon,
Molech always arrived next.
Because desire always leads to cost.
Greed always leads to sacrifice.
Sin always demands innocent blood.
Molech stands as a sobering reminder:
What we refuse to sacrifice for God,
we will eventually sacrifice to an idol.
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IV. CAESAR — THE IDOL THAT DIVIDES
If the first three idols speak to desire, greed, and cost,
the next idol moves us into the realm of allegiance.
Meet Caesar—
the idol of political power, cultural identity, and national salvation.
In Rome, Caesar wasn’t just a ruler.
He was treated as lord and god.
His image was everywhere.
His authority was unquestioned.
His empire promised peace, prosperity, and order.
And all he demanded in return was one simple act:
Worship.
A pinch of incense.
A pledge of allegiance.
A confession of loyalty.
But the early Christians refused.
Not because they were rebels.
Not because they were anti-Rome.
Not because they wanted to overthrow society.
No. They refused because their confession was already taken:
“Jesus is Lord.”
Not Caesar.
Not empire.
Not ideology.
Not political identity.
Not tribe.
Not nation.
And that single sentence cost many of them their lives.
We think idolatry is about statues.
But Scripture sees deeper:
idolatry is whatever replaces Christ as Lord.
Today’s world doesn’t build temples to political leaders.
But it builds something far more dangerous:
A belief that political power can save us.
Caesar whispers modern slogans:
“If your party wins, everything will be fine.”
“If your leader loses, everything will fall apart.”
“Your side is righteous; the other side is evil.”
“The kingdom of God needs political influence to survive.”
“Compromise your character—because the stakes are high.”
This idol takes sincere, Bible-believing Christians
and divides them into ideological tribes
that look nothing like the kingdom of Jesus.
Caesar doesn’t ask for your worship outright.
He simply wants your fear,
your hope,
your identity,
your anxiety,
your loyalty,
your obsession.
He wants you to believe salvation comes from the right policies,
the right platforms,
the right judges,
the right politicians.
But hear this truth clearly and calmly:
Jesus did not die and rise again so we could replace one earthly king with another.
The cross is not red or blue.
The kingdom is not conservative or progressive.
The gospel is not an ideology.
And the church is not a political tribe.
Whenever the people of God tie their hope to the shifting sands of political power, Caesar is receiving his worship.
And he smiles.
Because nothing fractures the church faster than people who have forgotten
that Christ—not Caesar—sits on the throne.
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V. BAAL — THE IDOL THAT ELEVATES AMBITION
If Caesar claims our loyalty,
Baal claims our ambition.
Baal was the ancient god of storms, fertility, harvest, and success.
He promised rain, crops, prosperity, status, and victory.
His worship was always transactional:
“Give me your devotion, and I will give you success.”
Today, Baal doesn’t stand in a field with thunder in his hands.
He stands in:
corporate boardrooms
athletic stadiums
online platforms
academic institutions
churches
pulpits
Yes, even pulpits.
Because Baal’s domain is not just the world.
It is anywhere people measure worth by performance,
platform,
talent,
achievements,
numbers,
likes,
followers,
results.
Baal’s modern liturgy looks like this:
“Work harder, or you’ll fall behind.”
“Achieve more, or you won’t matter.”
“Grow bigger, or you’re failing.”
“Do whatever it takes—people are watching.”
“Your value is determined by your success.”
Baal turns life into a race
where the finish line keeps moving.
Where rest feels like guilt.
Where Sabbath feels like laziness.
Where identity is tied to performance.
The tragedy of Baal is that he thrives not only in the world—
but in the church.
When pastors feel pressure to perform,
Baal is lurking.
When congregations measure success by numbers instead of disciples,
Baal is present.
When people serve to be seen,
Baal applauds.
Baal isn’t a storm god anymore.
He is the idol of achievement, platform, and reputation.
And he is exhausting.
Because unlike Jesus,
Baal never says, “Come unto Me, and I will give you rest.”
He says, “Come to Me, and I will give you… more work.”
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VI. SELF — THE IDOL THAT ENTHRONES ME
We now come to the deepest idol of all.
The crown.
The root.
The final throne.
Self.
If Asherah seduces the desires,
Mammon consumes the soul,
Molech demands the sacrifice,
Caesar divides the loyalties,
and Baal inflates the ambition—
Self is the temple where all the idols live.
The oldest lie Satan ever told was not, “There is no God.”
It was this: “You will be like God.”
Self-worship is the original idolatry.
Every other idol merely serves it.
The post-modern world has baptized this idol
with sacred language:
“Follow your heart.”
“Live your truth.”
“Be your own guide.”
“You owe nothing to anyone.”
“Self-care above all else.”
“No one can tell you what’s right for you.”
We live in an age where the Self has become the Savior.
And emotions have become commandments.
The idol of Self tells us:
“If I feel it, it must be true.”
“If I desire it, it must be right.”
“If it challenges me, it must be toxic.”
“If it corrects me, it must be judgment.”
“If it restricts me, it must be oppression.”
This idol doesn’t need temples.
It only needs mirrors.
And it is the most dangerous idol of all
because it is the one we defend the most fiercely.
We willingly renounce idols made of stone, money, or politics—
but the idol that wears our face?
That one is harder.
Self is the idol that demands
absolute autonomy,
absolute control,
absolute freedom.
But Scripture says something far more liberating:
“You are not your own;
you were bought with a price.”
In other words:
Freedom is not found in enthroning the Self.
Freedom is found in surrendering the Self
to the One who made you.
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VII. HOW IDOLS TAKE ROOT IN THE MIND
Idols do not begin as statues or philosophies.
They begin as suggestions.
A whisper.
A longing.
A fear.
A wound.
A desire.
A promise.
Every idol starts as a sentence spoken in the dark:
“You need this to be happy.”
“You deserve this.”
“You should be farther in life by now.”
“You’re not enough without this.”
“If you don’t protect yourself, no one else will.”
“You shouldn’t have to change.”
“Follow your feelings—they won’t lie to you.”
Idols enter not through the hands,
but through the thought life.
And soon the mind becomes a stage
where false gods audition for the role of savior.
You don’t have to build an altar to an idol.
You just have to let a lie go unchallenged.
Because whatever lie you believe the longest
will eventually become the truth you live by.
This is why Scripture warns:
“Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
Not your habits.
Not your schedule.
Not your behavior.
Your mind.
Because the battle for worship
begins with the battle for imagination.
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VIII. RECOGNIZING WHEN AN IDOL IS WINNING
How do you know when a modern idol has taken the throne of your mind?
You don’t look at your decorations.
You look at your direction.
Because idols shape behavior long before they are acknowledged.
Here are the signs:
>> 1. What you fear losing reveals what you truly worship.
Fear is a spiritual diagnostic.
If losing something would destroy your identity—
that thing has become your god.
>> 2. What you sacrifice for reveals your devotion.
Time.
Energy.
Money.
Relationships.
Integrity.
Wherever the sacrifices flow
is where the worship is directed.
>> 3. What triggers your anger reveals what you are protecting.
Idols always defend themselves.
And they often do it with emotion.
>> 4. What you cannot stop thinking about reveals what has your heart.
Idols live in the imagination
before they ever reach the actions.
>> 5. What controls your mood reveals what owns your joy.
If something has the power to ruin your peace,
it has become a master.
>> 6. What offends you when challenged reveals what you have enthroned.
People do not rage when their preferences are questioned—
they rage when their gods are threatened.
These signs are not meant to condemn us.
They are meant to wake us.
Because every idol that comforts us at first
will eventually consume us.
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IX. TEARING DOWN THE ALTARS WITHIN
When God called Gideon,
the first assignment wasn’t fighting Midian.
It wasn’t gathering an army.
It wasn’t confronting the enemy.
Before God could use him, God commanded him:
“Tear down your father’s altar to Baal.
Then build an altar to the Lord your God on top of it.” (Judges 6:25)
Before the battle around him could be won,
the battle within him had to be settled.
Before God deals with your circumstances,
He deals with your worship.
Before He changes your situation,
He changes your allegiance.
You cannot fight God’s battles
with Baal’s altar still standing in your yard.
So how do we tear down modern altars?
>> 1. Expose the Idol
Idols live in darkness.
They die in the light.
Name it.
Confess it.
Call it what it is.
>> 2. Renounce Its Authority
Say out loud—yes, with your voice:
“Jesus is Lord over this part of my life.”
Not the idol.
Not my feelings.
Not my fear.
Not my past.
Jesus is Lord.
>> 3. Replace the Idol with Worship
You don’t remove idols by trying harder.
You remove them by loving God more.
Worship pushes out idolatry
like light pushes out darkness.
>> 4. Build New Habits Around New Worship
We must do what Gideon did:
Destroy the old altar
and build the new one right on top of it.
Don’t leave empty space.
Fill the space with:
Scripture
Prayer
Sabbath rest
Service
Generosity
Christian community
Holiness is not the absence of sin.
Holiness is the presence of God.
>> 5. Protect the Gate of Your Mind
Idols enter through thought life,
so guard it with intentionality.
Take every thought captive.
Test every spirit.
Examine every motive.
Challenge every lie.
The enemy cannot claim what you refuse to think.
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X. THE TRUE IMAGE — CHRIST ABOVE EVERY IDOL
Idols are false images.
They promise what only Christ can give.
But Scripture says:
“Christ is the image of the invisible God.” (Colossians 1:15)
If idols enslave,
He liberates.
If idols demand sacrifice,
He becomes the sacrifice.
If idols take our life,
He gives His.
If idols demand perfection,
He offers grace.
If idols deform the worshiper,
He transforms the worshiper.
Where idols bring anxiety,
Jesus brings peace.
Where idols cause division,
Jesus brings belonging.
Where idols demand endless performance,
Jesus says, “My grace is sufficient.”
Where idols accuse,
Jesus forgives.
Where idols enslave through desire and fear,
Jesus delivers through truth and love.
Every idol is a counterfeit savior.
Christ is the real one.
XI. THE FINAL IDOL — AND THE FINAL SURRENDER
We end where all idolatry begins:
the Self.
Every idol serves this one.
Every sin feeds this one.
Every temptation strengthens this one.
The Self is the idol that dethrones God
and enthrones “me.”
But here is the gospel’s final word:
Jesus does not want to help the Self.
He wants to crucify the Self—
so that the new creation can rise.
He does not negotiate with idols.
He overthrows them.
He does not remodel the heart.
He resurrects it.
He does not share the throne.
He claims it.
And when Christ takes His rightful place, the idols fall.
All of them.
Every single one.
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CONCLUSION — THE CALL TO TEAR DOWN THE ALTARS
The Spirit asks us today what He asked Israel:
“How long will you waver between two opinions?” (1 Kings 18:21)
If Jesus is Lord,
follow Him.
If Baal is lord,
follow him.
But choose.
Choose which altar will stand.
Choose which voice will lead.
Choose which throne will rule.
Choose which master will define you.
And let every idol --- Asherah, Mammon, Molech, Caesar, Baal, and Self ---
fall before the feet of the One
who died for you,
rose for you,
intercedes for you,
and returns for you.
For He alone is worthy.
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CLOSING APPEAL
Lord Jesus,
tear down the altars we have built in secret.
Expose the idols we have justified.
Break the chains that bind us.
Silence the lies that tempt us.
Lift us from the tyranny of Self
into the freedom of Your grace.
Take Your throne in our minds,
in our desires,
in our loyalties,
in our ambitions,
and in our identity.
Be Lord of all—
for only in You
can we live free.
Amen.
