Sermon Tone Analysis
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Our theme for 2022 is “Begin Again”
Last two Sundays and today I am preaching on “Hot Topics”
I have been doing this for the last three years - giving you the opportunity to tell me what you would like to hear me preach on.
It can be a question, an issue or a passage of scripture that you have not understood.
This is the last one for this year, but if you have one, write it down.
there is always next year.
I thought it was interesting that these three messages, even though unrelated questions have overlapped a bit.
First we talked about where was God during the holocaust?
He was there, in a dark time in world history, working through people who dared to be different.
Last week we talked about the flag and what is means for the people of God to be thankful for what God has done and is doing in our nation.
We referenced the holocaust as being a time when the church did not stand up against an evil government and became complicit in mass murder.
We want to be proud of who we are as Americans, but not get over into a pride that idolizes our flag or our nation.
Before that we talked about Abraham and what it means to be the people of God who are set apart to carry our God’s mission on earth.
Today’s question is about idolatry and a difficult passage of scripture.
This passage is from the sermon that Stephen gave right before he was stoned to death.
He is quoting Amos 5:25-27
Are Stephen and Amos saying that Israel didn’t really offer sacrifices to God in the wilderness, but actually worshipped idols instead?
That is exactly what they are saying!
To one degree or another, Israel failed to follow God wholeheartedly, and truthfully, so do we!
Examining this text should cause us to assess and to bring our hearts into alignment with God.
What’s the big deal about idolatry?
When I was in my MDiv.
program, a class on OT Prophets took a field trip to the Metropolitan museum in NYC.
We were to study subjects related to scripture and to the Ancient Near East and present our findings in groups.
My son Martin went with me on the trip.
He was about fifteen at the time.
“ I never understood why in the Old Testament, God was so upset about the people bowing down to idols.
Now I see that idols were more than just statues of wood or stone and worship was more than just bowing down to them.
…You should really tell people about this.
I don’t think they know.”
What Martin had not realized until that day was that idol worship offered an alternate view of life and reality.
Idol worship invoked the senses and was pleasurable.
It involved all of the temptations that we struggle against today.
Sex, drugs, music and entertainment were all used to entice worshippers into an experience that they would want to repeat over and over again.
Idolatry isn’t just about God being jealous… it’s about keeping people from going down a path of obsession, addiction and self-destruction.
What consumes your thoughts?
The first thing that you notice about ancient cultures when you go to the museum is that idols were everywhere.
The images of gods and goddesses are painted all over the walls and statues adorn the gardens.
I guess someone might conclude that “these people really love art!”
“Yes, that’s one way of putting it.
Or you could say that they are obsessed with their idols.
Like those posters you used to put in your room when you were a teenager.
These little statues are of the goddess Asherah.
They are in plentiful supply among biblical artifacts.
Those who do archaeological digs find these quite often, showing just how common they were in biblical times.
What do you notice about them?
Yes, her physical features are exaggerated.
She was a fertility goddess and whenever you look at her you think about …fertility!
Idolatry is a problem because it dominates our thinking.
Whatever you think about is what you become.
God would not allow his people to make images of Him?
Why?
Because they would get it wrong?
We don’t know anything about what God looks like until Jesus came - and he was so ordinary!
How do we know what to think about God?
We have his Word.
Idolatry is anything that distracts us from a mind and a heart that is set on knowing God.
If I am spending time with my wife, but I’m distracted, is she going to be OK with that?
What if she finds out I’m thinking about someone else?
If I tell her that I’m contemplating some problem at work.
Even if I’m just staring at my phone?
If my attention is not on her, and if I’m not thinking about her, I’m not loving her.
How does God feel when we say we love Him, but don’t pay any attention to Him?
What stimulates you?
One of the things that Martin realized about idolatry that most people don’t know is that it’s not just a mind thing …its all about the senses!
Idolatry involves the senses - if you ever visit a temple you will know what I mean.
The sights, sounds and smells are meant to draw you in.
Idolatry uses your senses to entice you.
What do people become addicted to?
Drugs, smoking, sex, pornography, gambling, TV, music, food, shopping.
All of these things are addicting because they produce a feeling.
People become addicted to a substance or behavior because they want the feeling that they get.
In that sense, all addictions are chemical addiction, just that sometimes the chemicals are in our own brain.
Idolatry is more than a momentary distraction, there is a whole lifestyle that goes with it.
Egyptians really know how to party!
This picture is from the Egypt exhibit showing a festive occasion.
This is not just art!
This is an advertisement for a lifestyle.
It’s about cultivating a lifestyle that craves pleasure.
Make no mistake, idols are all about about gratification.
You might think, as some of us once did, that God doesn’t want us to have any fun.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
God doesn’t want to see us satisfying our senses with things that can never fulfill us.
Addiction is a terrible master.
What’s worse is that all the while, you think you are the one in control, until you find that you are not.
Where does your power come from?
The other ting about idols that most people don’t know is that the idol is attached to a deity.
The first step is to make you want what the idol has to offer.
The second step is to make you need the idol.
Just as addictions are really a trap, so is idol worship.
When I travelled through Asia with my seminary group we visited many temples in Asia.
Sure, there are people who come to the temple to celebrate a festival or to receive a blessing.
But often people come because something bad has happened to them and they want to appease the god to take the curse away.
Or perhaps they are just afraid that something bad may happen if they don’t visit the temple.
These aren’t just objects of worship they have the power to affect peoples lives and to bring them into bondage.
The Bible says in some places that idols are simply inanimate objects.
And other places they are clearly associated with demonic entities.
The idols have no power unless we give it to them.
By worshipping an idol we are giving it power by invoking the demon behind the idol.
We are consciously or unconsciously opening up to the influence of a spiritual being.
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