Sermon Tone Analysis

“Their idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field,

and they cannot speak;

they have to be carried,

for they cannot walk.

Do not be afraid of them,

for they cannot do evil,

neither is it in them to do good.”

[1]

Churches in the western world are pathetic caricatures of the once radiant Bride of Christ.

Denominations struggle to be relevant to the world.

Sermons are crafted to appeal to the masses—truth is toned down and spiritual pabulum is spooned out so that no one is offended.

Whereas the Faith once shaped public opinion, the modern pulpit frantically tries to see where the parade is heading.

Throughout the last century, Christianity has been perceived as drag on important social “progress.”

Biblical views are routinely dismissed as dated, irrelevant and powerless to shape public discourse.

Instead, public life is now dominated by idolatry—man-made ideologies that have moved society further and further from God and His standards.

At the time Jeremiah prophesied, Judah also appeared to be on the wrong side of social change.

A once powerful nation, she was now vulnerable to the military and cultural superiority of the Babylonian empire.

Because of this, it was tempting for Judah to believe that God had failed her, to believe that the pagan gods of the nations really wielded the power in the world.

Into this seemingly hopeless situation, Jeremiah spoke a word of great comfort—it was the idols of the nations that were pathetic and powerless [VERSE FIVE].

Though the idols appeared strong and triumphant, in reality they were nothing but carved and decorated logs cut from the forest, secured to keep them from tottering in a stiff breeze [VERSES THREE AND FOUR].

VERSE FIVE of the text mocks the idols for their impotence.

How could anything be called a “god” that could neither speak nor even move without being carried?

“Do not be afraid them,” God concludes, for they are like comical scarecrows, unable to do anything at all, whether good or bad.

In this day, idolatry is just as rampant.

It is not often in the West that one will find people bowing to carved statues as did these nations.

Nevertheless, modern society nurtures or invents its own idolatries—man-made “religions” or “isms,” whether pluralism, socialism, Communism, egotism, postmodernism, relativism, nihilism, Buddhism, naturalism or materialism.

Even among the churches, idolatry raises its head as a gospel of pop-psychology and social wellbeing or in the reliance on management and marketing techniques over the truth of Scripture.

These ideologies dominate public and ecclesiastical discourse today and by all accounts appear to be in the cultural ascendancy.

Appearances, however, are often deceiving.

The God of the Bible seems to take particular glory in allowing His rivals to reach full strength before He humiliates or destroys them.

In the end, all these ideologies will prove impotent against the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The true Faith appears to be a feckless minority, soon to be vanquished from the world.

The Lord Jesus, however, promises that He will build His church, and no power in hell can prevail against Him.

Christians should be emboldened by this truth to resist idolatry both in the church and in the world.

The idolatries of the surrounding world may seem invincible, but the churches must proclaim that in the end, they are powerless before the speaking and living God of the Bible.

[2]

MODERN IDOLS — I’m s political junky, I confess.

I do pay attention to political events, for no other reason than knowledge that the spiritual inclinations of those who guide the affairs of state determine the strength of a nation.

Mighty armies that do not keep a nation safe, though national defence must not be ignored.

I am confident that the Psalmist was correct when he cautioned:

“The war horse is a false hope for salvation,

and by its great might it cannot rescue.”

[PSALM 33:17]

Again, we ignore divine wisdom when we dismiss the Word of God that instructs:

“His delight is not in the strength of the horse,

nor his pleasure in the legs of a man,

but the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him,

in those who hope in his steadfast love.”

[PSALM 147:10, 11]

I am unalterably convinced of the veracity of the benediction pronounced in PSALM 33:12, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD.”

Because of my interest in matters political, I watched with interest the conventions of the two major American political parties, which conventions concluded only recently.

One of the conventions greeted those attending with a video announcing that all citizens belonged to the government.

Subtly, virtually unnoticed by the populace, the producers of that film introduced the fiction that people are owned by government, rather than acknowledging that the people hold government responsible.

In effect, the film elevates government to the position of an idol.

The messages presented during the remainder of the week stressed the fiction that government exists to create dependency, rather than facilitating independence.

The political powers strove mightily to introduce the concept that people could have free things from government; however, people must realise that they may have either free things, or they may have freedom, they cannot have both.

Either government is a servant of the people, or government will become an idol.

Though few of our contemporaries, whether in the United States or in Canada, actually bow before idols, many are idolaters nevertheless.

I am aware that some citizens who maintain idol shrines in their homes; some religions have idols in their houses of worship.

I had a neighbour—a very good neighbour, I might add—who maintained a shrine in his home.

The family bowed before that shrine, built to honour an image of their god.

However, they were the exception, and not the rule in Canada.

I know that some places of worship have statuary, some of which have been exalted in the minds of worshippers to the position of demigods if not actually gods.

Such people are to be pitied rather than ridiculed; an idol is a vain thing that can do nothing either good or evil.

Modern idolatry is more subtle that the idolatry described in the Bible, but just as real.

Idols of the heart are idols still.

Speaking broadly, modern idolatry often takes the form of power, pleasure or possessions.

These are aspects of life that drive us to supplant the True and Living God, to sacrifice relationship to acquire what promises so much, and delivers so little.

The acquisition of power leaves the individual thirsting for more power.

The pursuit of pleasure is a fool’s errand, for that which we imagine will give us joy can never be achieved.

As we accumulate possessions, we discover that what we have accumulated is never enough.

Let’s focus more specifically on idols of the heart.

Power has become an idol for many people.

Even among the professed people of God are found a surprising number of individuals with an unholy lust for power.

Though there are pastors who clearly are more concerned with acquiring and holding power over the congregation than with serving the heritage of God, by no means do they have a monopoly on the pursuit of power.

Frankly, I have witnessed far more non-clergy grasping power.

Some refer to themselves as elders or as deacons.

They’ve jockeyed themselves into a position where they can call the shots in the church.

Tragically, the lust for power is certain to lead to destruction the one possessed by that lust.

Perhaps the surest antidote to this unholy affection of lusting for power is looking to Jesus.

Contemplating Him and His character will turn the individual from pursuit of power to seeking to serve.

Remember that the Master declared, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.

But it shall not be so among you.

But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.

For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” [MARK 10:42-45].

If one truly wishes to be great in the sight of God, let that one serve the people of God.

There is no question but that pleasure is an idol for many of our contemporaries.

Our contemporary world affords opportunity to pursue our personal pleasures in a manner that could not even be imagined in an earlier day.

Even two generations ago, the concept of extended holidays for personal pursuits was not experienced except by the very wealthy.

Today, we say we have worked hard when we have put in a thirty-six hour week, and we are exhausted so that we simply must have recreational time each weekend.

Of course, relaxing in bed or escaping to the great outdoors, precludes worship of the Lord.

Perhaps we fling a hurried prayer heavenward before we eat the charred burger or crisp hotdog, but we are so busy pursuing our own pleasure that we haven’t time to permit our minds to reflect on the goodness of God.

The Master told a parable about a sower.

You may recall how He spoke of the seed falling in various places [see LUKE 8:4-15].

Some fell along the path where it was trampled underfoot and devoured by the birds.

Some fell among the rocks where it withered away because it had no moisture.

Other seed feel among the thorns, only to be choked out.

Listen again to his explanation of the seed among the thorns.

“As for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature” [LUKE 8:14].

I suggest that there are more than a few of the professed people of God worshipping at the shrine of pleasure.

Possessions define the god of many in our day.

Of course, materialism defines our world.