Discerning Idols In Our Hearts

 

Exodus 20:3-5 AMP

3 You shall have no other gods before Me. 4 You shall not make for yourself any idol, or any likeness (form, manifestation) of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth [as an object to worship]. 5 You shall not worship them nor serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous (impassioned) God [demanding what is rightfully and uniquely mine], visiting (avenging) the iniquity (sin, guilt) of the fathers on the children [that is, calling the children to account for the sins of their fathers], to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,

 

  • An idol = ANY NOUN (person, place, thing, or thought) THAT YOU LOOK TO AS YOUR SOURCE TO MEET YOUR NEEDS (Approval, Success, Finance, Security, Identity, Relationship, etc.)

 

Key Points About Idols

  1. Idols are man-made representations of the Almighty God.
  2. Idols bring you a temporary sense comfort and security because there is no accountability to them.
  3. Idols are created by man because we can “control them.”

 

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#1) EXAMINE YOUR PRIORITIES (v. 3)

 

Exodus 20:3 AMP

You shall have no other gods before Me.

 

Mark 12:30 (ESV)

And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’

 

  • Devotion is a habit of the heart. It is something that happens when we decide to invest the energy of our souls into the life of another person.

 

Four Stages of Devotion

  1. Emotional
  2. Companionship
  3. Serving
  4. Solidarity

 

  • Full devotion (solidarity) to the Lord is to fear Him & turn away from evil.
  • God becomes your priority not only with your emotions, but with your actions.

 

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#2) IDENTIFY YOUR IDOLS (v. 4)

 

Exodus 20:4 AMP

You shall not make for yourself any idol, or any likeness (form, manifestation) of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth [as an object to worship].

 

  • Take a moment to reflect on the things you might have created in your own life that could divert your attention from God.
  • What’s Your Idol?
    • POWER
    • MONEY
    • HONOR
    • PLEASURE

 

A) POWER

 

Mark 10:42-45 (NLT)

So Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

 

Focus Point for Power:

  • If you follow this idol, you seek positions of power to feel important.
  • You have a desire to prove yourself.
  • You have control issues.

 

B) MONEY

 

Luke 16:3 (ESV)

And the manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg.

 

Luke 16:9 (ESV)

And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.

 

Focus Point for Money:

  • If this is your idol, you may be tempted to be less generous, or be over generous; be a bad steward; have constant financial problems.

 

  • When you have money problems, sooner or later you will have people problems.

 

C) HONOR

 

Proverbs 25:27 (ESV)

It is not good to eat much honey, nor is it glorious to seek one’s own glory.

 

Hebrews 5:5 (ESV)

So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”;

 

Focus Point for Honor:

  • When you seek honor you will do whatever it takes to get it. For Example:
    • Lying to cover your mistakes.
    • Blaming others.
    • Jealous of other people’s accomplishments.
    • Envy of other people’s position.
    • Don’t like to be corrected.
    • You get embarrassed easily.
    • You may say you don’t care what others think of you but you really do with your reactions.

 

D) PLEASURE

 

Proverbs 21:17 (ESV)

Whoever loves pleasure will be a poor man; he who loves wine and oil will not be rich.

 

Titus 3:3 (ESV)

For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.

 

  • Pleasures = hedone (hedonism)

 

Focus Point for Pleasure:

  • When you seek pleasure, you get easily distracted.
  • When you are under stress, you lean first towards this idol.
  • You become an emotional eater.
  • You avoid problems.
  • You avoid pain.
  • You become self-centered.
  • You put your desires & wishes before others.
  • You avoid responsibilities.
  • You make excuses for not getting things done.

 

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#3) (CONCLUSION) BREAK THE CYCLE (v. 5)

 

Exodus 20:5 AMP

You shall not worship them nor serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous (impassioned) God [demanding what is rightfully and uniquely mine], visiting (avenging) the iniquity (sin, guilt) of the fathers on the children [that is, calling the children to account for the sins of their fathers], to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,

 

  • This is a call to action: to break the cycle of idolatry in our lives and start one of genuine devotion and worship to God.

 

Philippians 3:7-8 (ESV)

But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ

 

  • These idols will ruin the koinonia that God wants us to have. We must remove these idols from our lives so we can grow in koinonia. Trust in the Lord. Submit to the Lord. Walk in obedience with the Lord. God will make a way in your life, if you remain in Him.

 

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