Beware Casual Idolatry is Deadly | Psalm 119:13-120

Introduction

Thankful to have visited several countries. There is something to be learned from each experience. India most certainly changed my perspective about idolary.

Saw big and small idols

Saw idols made out of many things.

Saw that the idol was simply an outward display of an internal desire or craving.

Realized that India is not any more idolatrous than America.

Distraction by entertainment is idolatry

1 Corinthians 10:7 “7 Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.”

How was this idolatry? Paul us referencing Exodus 32:6 “6 And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.”

Background:

Moses is meeting with God on the mountain. The meeting ran longer than the people expected, and they got bored and disinterested.

So what do people do. Exodus 32:1 “1 And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.”

Sidenote: Parents when of the best things we can do for our children is teach them how to be bored. Entertainment is not an inalienable right or need.

What is idolatry?

Col 3:5-6 “5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: 6 For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:”

What is an idol? Well, it is the thing. It is the thing loved or the person loved more than God,

Cause: Idolatry starts in the heart: craving, wanting, enjoying, being satisfied by anything that you treasure more than God.

Result of idolatry: The wrath of God

We all came out of idolatry: 1 Thess 1:9-10 “9 For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; 10 And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.”

If we find God to be so boring or so negligible that we must put other things in his place that really satisfy us more than he does, then we not only offend him, but we also destroy ourselves.

Let’s look at how to fight against a casual idolatry in this world

Psalm 119:113–120 (KJV)

113 SAMECH. I hate vain thoughts: but thy law do I love.

114 Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word.

115 Depart from me, ye evildoers: for I will keep the commandments of my God.

116 Uphold me according unto thy word, that I may live: and let me not be ashamed of my hope.

117 Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe: and I will have respect unto thy statutes continually.

118 Thou hast trodden down all them that err from thy statutes: for their deceit is falsehood.

119 Thou puttest away all the wicked of the earth like dross: therefore I love thy testimonies.

120 My flesh trembleth for fear of thee; and I am afraid of thy judgments.

Do not be ambivalent about God’s Word or your sin

PSALM 119:113 “113 SAMECH. I hate vain thoughts: but thy law do I love.”

Hate and love are words that are reserved for things that you know are real.

Step further, the more personal or able to effect your life the stronger you would love or hate something.

God is very real. So love Him very much.

Idolatry is very real. Hate it very much.

Idolatry is a sin that we all contend with. You may not think of that because most of us have never set up a statue of another god and bowed down before us

Vain thoughts

Sidenote: One of the most formational years of Bible reading came from reading the Bible Knowledge Commentary with my reading.

Speaks of a double mindedness.

Knowing the usage of a word in a sentence helps. In a story better.

Examples

Elijah confronts the false prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. 1 Kings 18:21 “21 And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.”

Joshua’s final address to the people of God. Joshua 24:14 “14 Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD.” --- This is the passage right before Joshua 24:15 “but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

This is not just an OT issue

The problem is the same. James 1:8 “8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.”

The answer is still the same. James 4:8 “8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.”

Whole hearted devotion

The battlefield of this sin is the battlefield of the heart; it's the battlefield of our desires.

Asked a friend this week how they were doing. They said genuinely I can say I am doing good. I thought they said “generally.” That wasn’t very reassuring.

You will need a place to run

Psalm 119:114 “114 Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word.”

Idolatry always works by a lie

Where’s the best place to hide from a lie? In the truth.

Many times we look for the wrong place to hide.

Adam and Eve hid in the garden ignoring the reality of the matter

David hid from a war on a balcony of comfort

Peter hid behind his words and denied his allegiance to Christ

Meeting a God given desire without God always leads to idolatry.

Friends will either fight with us or against us in our fight against idolatry

Psalm 119:115 “115 Depart from me, ye evildoers: for I will keep the commandments of my God.”

This may be the question I ask any young man coming to date my daughter. Will you help or encourage her to find her happiness in God? Then no matter what he says, Ill say come back in two years.

In the NT it is said like this 1 Cor 15:33 “33 Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.”

“Oh they are harmless” Friendships are either helpful or harmful but cannot be harmless. Harmless means without the potential for harm.

As a teenager I was perplexed over this how to not be friends with sinners and tell people about Jesus. Some years and experience and many conversations about Jesus showed me that light has no fellowship with darkness.

Take a good look at the devastation idolatry brings

Psalm 119:118-119 “118 Thou hast trodden down all them that err from thy statutes: for their deceit is falsehood. 119 Thou puttest away all the wicked of the earth like dross: therefore I love thy testimonies.”

Don’t be fearful as fear as a motivator. I’ve made many good decision based on fear. Watching brother jump over others with a 4 wheeler

God has ordered this world so that misery follows sin and blessing is that which is enjoyed by those who obey His Word.

Remind ourselves of that because our desires can overpower our sight of that truth.

Every time someone takes a step of sinning, they have deliberately closed their eyes to that connection. Mentally one of the hardest things I have ever done is tell my body to jump off a bungee bridge because their was a promise of fun.

Why isn’t this sufficient?

Desire for sin is stronger than fear of consequences.

We believe we will be the exemption to the rule and it will be different for us.

Ultimate protection of the heart from idolatry is found in a proper fear of the Lord

Psalm 119:120 “120 My flesh trembleth for fear of thee; and I am afraid of thy judgments.”

Fear and love go there together Deut 10:12 “12 And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,”

It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God Heb 10:31 “31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

Eye witness testimony during the sermon Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God preached in the mid 1700s by Jonathan Edwards. said the sermon was interrupted several times by loud shrieks and wails of people in the congregation for whom the prospects of eternal damnation suddenly seemed all too real.

So much of teaching the Bible is simply reminding people this is true” - David Dipboye

Be fully dependent upon God

Psalm 119:116-117 “116 Uphold me according unto thy word, that I may live: and let me not be ashamed of my hope. 117 Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe: and I will have respect unto thy statutes continually.”

In the fight against idolatry, we must ultimately depend upon God Himself, upon God's own promise, and God's own Word.

The church in America faces her biggest challenge not when new errors start to win but when old truths no longer wow. - Justin Pratt

When you see God as your Father and you love Him and you understand that God is the Lord and you reverence Him and you hold Him in awe, only then is the heart ready to take on both the assaults of the world and the flesh and the devil to tempt us to double-mindedness.

Seeing the Father’s heart towards us as loving will feed the flame of our love for Him.

Opening story where we saw the distraction of entertainment.

In 1 Cor 10:8-10. we see three more warnings; sexual sins, impatience, and complaining.

It ends with this charge. 1 Cor 10:14 “14 Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.”

Conclusion

This is what I leave you with tonight: 1 Cor 10:14 “14 Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.”

Christians who love the LORD and his word cannot be comfortable in a world of double-minded and deceitful people who have no intention of following God’s ways.

Idols don’t do a good job hiding.

You came tonight to worship the Lord. You came tonight to hear from God’s Word.

The things, concerns, or opportunities that have ben fighting for you attention tonight has demonstrated to you their jealousy of the Lord

In a world with less and less private or personal altars I believe this one becomes even more important to our Christian lives.

I would encourage you to put your idols to death by looking at the love of the Lord for you until you hate those things you currently are so enamored with.