IGNORANT SERIES: AMERICAN IDOLS
ISAIAH 44:6-11
INTRODUCTION
According to the American Heritage Dictionary, the word “ignorant” means unaware or uniformed. I would like us, for the next few weeks, to look at some spiritual facts that you may be unaware of or have forgotten. Most of the time we forget important spiritual truths when it comes to God and our relationship with Him. I am not sure why we forget such important matters, but I know it to be true. That is why God had Israel erect monuments and write down accounts and tell stories about all the events that took place in their relationship with Him. They forgot easily! We forget easily! This word “ignorant” occurs 13 times in the Bible and is connected with some important spiritual facts we should all know. That is why today we look at a warning in Scripture against idols.
One of the more popular TV shows on right now is the show “American Idol.” Millions of Americans tune in to hear these want-to-be stars sing and dance their way to fame. Each week America votes for those singers they like and then singers are eliminated who have the least number of votes. The good thing about the show is that there is follow though and you can hear the winners on radio stations across the country. These singers are held up as the ideal singers and are looked to as role models.
But what does that word “idol” mean? Is it some word that can be flippantly used on a TV show or is a word that carries with it much more spiritual meaning? I would say that idol is a word that is loaded with meaning from a spiritual standpoint. In Scripture, idols are forbidden by the first commandment. The first commandment states that we are to have no gods before God (Exodus 20:3 and Deuteronomy 5:7). In addition, the construction of any images (Exodus 20:23) or even the mention of the names of other gods (Exodus 23:13) was forbidden. The concern was that the people of YHWH would be binding themselves to another god and that worldview other than God’s plan and view for them (Joshua 23:7). Israel’s calling was to the worship of the one true God. God’s election separated the people from ungodliness and to Himself as His special possession. The covenant provided legal parameters for this unique relationship, and the limitation of exclusive worship was a significant part of the covenant. God had chosen Israel and they were to worship and serve Him only (Bakers Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology, crosswalk.com).
READ ISAIAH 44:6-11
I. A WORTHY GOD IN ISAIAH 44:6-11
Isaiah 44:6-11 reminds us and teaches us that our God is the only God. He wants us to realize that idols are empty and so are the lives of people who chase after them. Verses 6, 7, and 8 proclaim absolutely that our God is worthy to be worshipped and should be the only object of our worship.
o He is worthy of our worship because He is the King and the Redeemer. Who else can make that claim? Who else can claim that they died for you and saved your soul?
o He is worthy of our worship because He is the Creator of all things and has always been. Who else is like Him? No one. He is the one who created the world that was, that is, and that will be. He knows the future because He is God.
o He is worthy of our worship because He is the Rock. Who else is faithful at all times? Who else gives you unlimited strength and faith in times of deepest despair? Our God is a faithful strength to those who believe and call on His name.
Why would you want anything else but Him? Yet, people do. We chase after everything under the sun in an effort to make ourselves happy, all the while ignoring God. Idols are everywhere in America. Idols are everywhere in the state of Pennsylvania. Idols are everywhere in this town. Are their idols in your life?
II. MODERN DAY IDOLS
What are some modern day idols? Are there idols in your house or in your life? I suppose I would change the definition of idols a little bit to fit today’s world. Chances are you do not have a carved image of Baal on your mantle or an Asherah pole in your back yard, but do you have things in your life you hold dearer than God? Is there someone you listen to and obey rather than God? Is there something or someone coloring your worldview away from God’s design and plan? These are our idols. These are the things that draw us and drive us away from God.
To help us remember these idols in our day, I’d like to use the word IDOL as a way to remember. Each letter stands for a different area of idol worship in our world and maybe in your life.
I- INDIVIDUALISM = “I DO WHAT I WANT”
The first idol we’ll talk about is the idol of individualism. Especially in the United States, we are a people who do what we want who we want how we want when we want it. It is all up to the individual. Right and wrong no longer has a standard, but right and wrong are up to the individual to decide in their particular situation. We hold up our own ideas and thoughts and judgments higher than God’s. We listen to our own plans and views and not to God and His Word.
How does this affect our society and our lives?
o Homosexuality is a lifestyle and a way of living and should be accepted and is neither right nor wrong. We do this and accept it because it is seen as an individual thing.
o Sex before marriage and living together is seen as the norm because its what we want to do and we don’t listen to God’s design or His Word. We yoke ourselves together with anyone we want whether they are a Christian or not because its what we want.
o Divorce happens in marriage more times than it doesn’t because we do what we want and we don’t honor our commitments to others or to God. We don’t feel loved or in love and we get out of the relationship.
o Physical crimes such as rape, murder, and assault are always on the rise because we are the most important and who cares about anyone else.
D- DEEDS = “I’M A GOOD PERSON”
The second idol we’ll talk about is the idol of deeds. Somehow, this idea that good deeds get you into Heaven persists. According to George Barna (www.barna.org), there is a tendency to believe that all good people, whether or not they consider Jesus Christ to be their savior, will live in heaven after they die on earth. In 2002, the public is decided on the matter: 55% agree, 38% disagree. This represents little change since 1993, when 56% agreed with this notion and 1996 when 54% agree, 38% disagree. More than half of all adults (55%) believe that if a person is generally good, or does enough good things for others during their life, they will earn a place in Heaven (2002).
How is that possible? God’s Word states that entrance into Heaven is dependent upon the acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. But, we feel like good deeds should carry weight. We feel that God is wrong in His judgment. How does this affect our society? It affects it in one huge way: God is not needed. Jesus is not needed. People live their lives without God and seek to strike mention of Him in all places. Let’s say for the sake of argument, hypothetically, that because God is not needed you don’t need the 10 Commandments monument in courthouses, oh let’s say in the state of Alabama, hypothetically.
O- OPULENCE = “MONEY MAKES THE WORLD GO ‘ROUND”
The third idol is less thought oriented than the others. Opulence is another word for wealth, luxury, and richness: money. Many times our lives are run by money and its desires rather than God’s desires.
o Do we consult God on what jobs we should have or do we go for the ones with the highest pay and stature?
o Do we tithe or is going out to eat more important?
o Do we spend all our extra money or do we give it to missionaries to invest in eternity?
How does money affect our society? Our attitudes and actions with money are certainly an idol in our
day. People will do anything for money. I was listening to NPR this week and heard about another scandal the Enron investigators found as they probe misuse of investors funds in the marketplace. This had to do with mutual funds and cheating with them. Many times the bills and making money and advancement in jobs take up all our time and there is not time left for God and His desires.
L- LEISURE = “ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?”
The fourth and final idol we’ll talk about this morning (there are more) is the idol of leisure. TV, movies, music, vacations, new furniture, new clothes, and the thousands of other items that give us pleasure and make us happy often become an idol. Materialism is alive and well in America. Many times American beliefs about God, life, death, sex, family, and marriage come from movies and TV and not from the Bible. Many Americans are buying something that gives them pleasure whether or not God has anything to say about it.
How does this affect our society? TV, movies, and music are an influential part of each person’s life. It many times dictates beliefs and helps people accept the world’s ideas rather than those ideas put forth in God’s Word. The group most affected is the children.
CONCLUSION…. False Values, Today in the Word, June 14, 1989
Though we do not face a pantheon of false gods like the Israelites did, we face pressures from a pantheon of false values—materialism, love of leisure, sensuality, worship of self, security, and many others. The first and second commandment deals with idols and our treatment of God. This may be something that most of us can’t relate to—unless we include life goals that revolve around something other than God Himself. What is the object of our affections, our efforts, and our attention?
Where does the majority of our time go?
On what do we spend the greatest amount of our resources?
