Beware of Idols

Tell Them What You are Going to Tell Them

Introduction

Well here we are down the home stretch of yet another presidential election season. I know one of the things that we are all looking forward to is an end to the political ads.

We have heard time and time again that this is the most consequential election in our nation's history , that is until the next election which will be the most consequential election in our nation's history, until the next election. I know this because four years ago was the most consequential election in our nation's history.

In this most consequential of elections , some of you firmly hold to the individual A particular candidate whether it be Kamala Harris or Donald Trump . Some of you feel as if you are voting for the lesser of two evils , and some of you will choose not to vote at all.

I am not going to tell you who to vote for or who not to vote for. What I am going to tell you is make sure that you do not elevate your politics , or any political candidate to the level of your faith . Regardless of what you may think of Harris, or Trump the bottom line is that they are both sinful human beings, Just like I am a sinful human being , just like you are sinful human beings . For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Harris and Trump our sinful human beings, And no human being, regardless of how powerful , how likable or how smart is equal to God, So do not elevate them to the level God because that is idolatry . Do not elevate your politics to the level of your faith, because that is idolatry. This is not anything that I haven't said before , but a few times in the past when i have made that statement I've had people tell me pastor Ruff that's kind of harsh . And I want to apologize to each and everyone of you if it sounds harsh but I also want to say that if it sounds harsh that doesn't make it any less true. To elevate your politics, to elevate your political candidate to the level of your faith is idolatry . Today We're going to begin a series where we talk about How we as Christians should behave in this political climate. The first sermon in this series is Beware of idolatry. The central message of this sermon is

Central Message: Placing anything at the same level as God , or above God is idolatry .

Main Point: Put God first

Tell Them

In our text today God makes it clear that he detest idolatry. Let's look at what he had to say .

Exodus 20:1–6 NIV

And God spoke all these words: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before me. “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

We have no shortage of examples of idolatry in the Bible

Examples of idolatry

The Golden Calf

Israel ask for a king

Solomon's love of women and his dependence on politics

1 Kings 11: 1-13

To love anything as much as you love God, is idolatry. Dependence on anyone or anything more than God is Idolatry.

The command

1 Kings 11:1–2 (NIV)

1 King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh’s daughter—Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. 2 They were from nations about which the Lord had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods.” Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love.

The Sin

1 Kings 11:3–8 (NIV)

3 He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray. 4 As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been. 5 He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molek the detestable god of the Ammonites. 6 So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the Lord; he did not follow the Lord completely, as David his father had done.

7 On a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the detestable god of Moab, and for Molek the detestable god of the Ammonites. 8 He did the same for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and offered sacrifices to their gods.

The Price

1 Kings 11:9–12 NIV

9 The Lord became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. 10 Although he had forbidden Solomon to follow other gods, Solomon did not keep the Lord’s command. 11 So the Lord said to Solomon, “Since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees, which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinates. 12 Nevertheless, for the sake of David your father, I will not do it during your lifetime. I will tear it out of the hand of your son.

The Sin

1 Kings 14:21–24 NIV

21 Rehoboam son of Solomon was king in Judah. He was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel in which to put his Name. His mother’s name was Naamah; she was an Ammonite. 22 Judah did evil in the eyes of the Lord. By the sins they committed they stirred up his jealous anger more than those who were before them had done. 23 They also set up for themselves high places, sacred stones and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every spreading tree. 24 There were even male shrine prostitutes in the land; the people engaged in all the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites.

The Price

1 Kings 14:25–31 NIV

25 In the fifth year of King Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem. 26 He carried off the treasures of the temple of the Lord and the treasures of the royal palace. He took everything, including all the gold shields Solomon had made. 27 So King Rehoboam made bronze shields to replace them and assigned these to the commanders of the guard on duty at the entrance to the royal palace. 28 Whenever the king went to the Lord’s temple, the guards bore the shields, and afterward they returned them to the guardroom. 29 As for the other events of Rehoboam’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? 30 There was continual warfare between Rehoboam and Jeroboam. 31 And Rehoboam rested with his ancestors and was buried with them in the City of David. His mother’s name was Naamah; she was an Ammonite. And Abijah his son succeeded him as king.

Sadly some people have elevated their politics to the same level as God. For some people either consciously or unconsciously their politics has become their religion.

As Christians we do not place our hope in any political party , we do not place our hope in any individual. Our hope is in a risen and a living savior . Our hope is in a savior who took off his royal robes in heaven wrapped himself in the skin of a human being and came and walked among us . Our hope is in a savior who had a crown of thorns placed on his head, allowed for himself to be humiliated, allowed for himself to be beaten and battered, allowed for himself to be placed on the cross so that you and i could have an opportunity for salvation . Our hope is not in the red of a elephant known as the republican party . Our hope is not in the blue of a donkey known as the Democrat party . Our hope is not in the libertarian party, or the green party, or the social democratic party, or the communist party, our hope is not in any political party our hope is in Jesus.

When I was young there was this old preacher who had move to Detroit from the Deep South , in fact he had never really lost his accent . When he preached and he said something that he really wanted you to pay attention to he'd say “you hear me what I say.” Our hope is not in any person. Our hope is not in any political party our hope, our only hope is in Jesus. You hear me what I say. We cannot elect our hope, we cannot vote our hope out of office, we cannot legislate our hope, We cannot go to the Supreme Court and ask for them to uphold our hope. all we can do is yield to he who is our hope . Our hope is Jesus and nothing else only Jesus. Ya hear me what I say.

Question(s)

With so much at stake in this election isn't it important that Christians elevate their politics and make their political allegiances known ?

Isn't it of the utmost importance that we try to convince our brothers and sisters who are voting for the other party to understand their ungodly actions?

Answer(s)

See my article in the connection for November

Application.

Vote for whoever your conscience tells you you should vote for , if your conscience says that you shouldn't vote then so be it don't vote . But before you make any decision pray . Ask for God's guidance . Ask for the leading of the holy spirit in this decision . And remember that regardless of who you vote for , and regardless of who wins. God is in control , God is sovereign, and it is God who will one day judge the living and the dead . God will one day judge those of great power like presidents, and those that have no power . Remember that one day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord . One day Kamala Harris, Donald Trump , Barack Obama, George Bush , Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Kim Jong-il And everyone else will bow before the king of kings . So vote your conscience but do not place your ultimate hope and trust in any human being . Place your hope and trust in God is in your savior.

Tell Them What You Told Them

Summation of points

Dive Home Big Idea

Conclusion