Idols - How to Identify and Overcome Theme
Notes
Transcript
we just finished our missions encounter
On Nov. 3rd Gabe and Krista Pyle as well as Robyn Moore shared
and Nov. 10th John Gerig as well as Ed Kim shared--
from topics like burn out, to friendships and loneliness, to American culture, to immigration in a refreshingly non-political way...
all these are missionaries we support...
and as a continued response to this—there’s a couple ways you can support our missionaries:
watch these online if you missed...
consider giving to the Christmas missionary offering (it’s not too late! We encourage you to give these ASAP—today!) as a bonus)
consider taking an ornament from the Least
Please turn to Acts 19. Acts 19:23. Acts 19:23.
We are following the work of Jesus through the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church.
and Paul the Apostle is helping lead the charge to spread the good news of Jesus everywhere he goes
in the city of Ephesus (map on screen), a city of over 200,000 people
We have seen that:
God’s Word advances vs.
Human opposition (8-10)
Sickness (vs. 11-12)
Satan (vs. 13-17)
Sorcery (vs. 18-20)
and now we will see one more thing:
don’t stand yet...
just listen...
Acts 19:23–41 (NIV)
23 About that time there arose a great disturbance about the Way. (again that is a reference to Christianity—it is a way of life; Jesus is the Way, Truth, and Life—people noticed that their Way of life was different than theirs)
24 A silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought in a lot of business for the craftsmen there.
25 He called them together, along with the workers in related trades, and said: “You know, my friends, that we receive a good income from this business.
26 And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus and in practically the whole province of Asia. He says that gods made by human hands are no gods at all.
27 There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited; and the goddess herself, who is worshiped throughout the province of Asia and the world, will be robbed of her divine majesty.”
so let’s pause—do you see what is going on here?
Demetrius works with his hands.
He is a tradesman, a silversmith.
Makes silver shrines or silver replicas of the the temple of the goddess Artemis in Ephesus (also known as Diana).
The Temple of Artemis is known as one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world.
It was longer than a football field...
constructed mainly of marble
pillars 60 ft high
the temple brought in all sorts of tourists, people who wanted to worship and spend money, festivals, and “worship”. she was known as the goddess of the hunt and fertility.
and now Demetrius is concerned. he calls the union in and notes how business is not booming anymore.
that Paul, the Apostle is spreading this new teaching—saying that gods made by human hands are no gods at all.
so 2 charges against Paul
1. our trade is in trouble
2. Artemis is being defamed
now stand...
28 When they heard this, they were furious and began shouting: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
29 Soon the whole city was in an uproar. The people seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia, and all of them rushed into the theater together. (this theater is outdoors, thought to hold almost 20,000 people)
30 Paul wanted to appear before the crowd, but the disciples would not let him.
31 Even some of the officials of the province, friends of Paul, sent him a message begging him not to venture into the theater.
32 The assembly was in confusion: Some were shouting one thing, some another. Most of the people did not even know why they were there.
33 The Jews in the crowd pushed Alexander to the front, and they shouted instructions to him. He motioned for silence in order to make a defense before the people.
34 But when they realized he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison for about two hours: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” (now interestingly, this Gentile, non-Jewish, pagan crowd, cannot distinguish between Judaism and Christianity at this point. We know that they are different because as Christians--Jesus Christ is our Savior, Lord, and treasure.)
35 The city clerk (city manager—the Gregg Sprunger of their town) quieted the crowd and said: “Fellow Ephesians, doesn’t all the world know that the city of Ephesus is the guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image, which fell from heaven?
36 Therefore, since these facts are undeniable, you ought to calm down and not do anything rash.
37 You have brought these men here, though they have neither robbed temples nor blasphemed our goddess.
38 If, then, Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a grievance against anybody, the courts are open and there are proconsuls. They can press charges.
39 If there is anything further you want to bring up, it must be settled in a legal assembly.
40 As it is, we are in danger of being charged with rioting because of what happened today. In that case we would not be able to account for this commotion, since there is no reason for it.”
41 After he had said this, he dismissed the assembly.
what do we see God’s Word advance against now?
Human opposition (8-10)
Sickness (vs. 11-12)
Satan and his kingdom (vs. 13-17)
Sorcery (vs. 18-20)
5. Idolatry (or idol worship) (vs. 23-41)
now before I go on—notice this:
the gospel of Jesus Christ challenges not just individuals but entire societies and cultures-it can change an entire region…that’s the power of the Gospel.
God uses unexpected people to help protect Christians. (this city clerk; Roman law; many have noted how with this ruling, this legal precedent, it gave a precedent for Christians everywhere to say--“See, the Gospel is not a threat to the Roman Empire. Christians are not a threat to Roman rule.” so protection.
whenever the Gospel advances—there is acceptance and…resistance. BOTH. the Gospel has sharped edges…it says:
you are more flawed and hopeless than you ever thought—YOU ARE A SINNER
yet you are more loved and accepted through Christ—you are SAVED.
FINALLY, this Gospel challenges idolatry.
so let’s look at...
what is idoltray
what are some examples of it
how do we discern them
how do we overcome them
What is idolatry:
sometimes when we think of idols—we think of these silver statues in ancient cultures or a tribe in the rainforest that people literally bow down to. while idolatry is that—it is more than that
An Idol is a substitute for Jesus. (on screen)
It’s anything you worship more than God.
it is putting a created thing in place of the Creator
25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.
one author says it like this—it is taking some incomplete joy of this world and building your entire life or identity around it.
in the original 10 commandments, the first commandment is this:
3 “You shall have no other gods before me.
and then there are several others—you shall not lie, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder.
ever thought about why God says the first one is idolatry? why is that listed first?
Martin Luther says you only break commandments 2 thru 10 b/c you break #1.
Why do you lie?
because you have put another god/an idol in the place of Jesus. because maybe in that moment you don’t want to hurt your reputation so you have put your reputation ahead of telling the truth and honoring God.
the people in Ephesus were worshipping Artemis because she was the goddess of fertility and wealth and the hunt—so if you wanted the goddess to bless you having children, you looked to her or made sacrifices to her—or you do this to bless your crops. so this was a goddess they looked to for important things—money, blessing, prosperity. and when it was threatened they had a massive reaction.
their civic pride was threatened...
their money/economy was threatened...
their very way of life...
in our context in America, our idols are not statues, but they are just as powerful.
What are some examples:
One of my favorite books and authors on this topic is by a preacher named Timothy Keller—his book Counterfeit Gods (on screen) is excellent.
In it he gives some examples of idols—and he breaks them down into 3 categories:
Personal Idols
Religious Idols
and Cultural Idols
i. Personal idols--I need your participation. before I give you some example of personal idols--just shout out--what are some things that you or someone you know might put before God:
1. Money
2. Romance
3. Children
think about these three. money--as the ability to take on godlike control in your life. but it’s deeper than just money...
some people look to it to give them status. if I have money then I can buy the right shoes or phone or car or home.
some look to it for security--if I have enough money in investments or in my bank account, I feel secure. so I don’t spend money…I save it—I spend it on my investments
some look to it for power--if I have money then I can get what I want, do what I want. i hae control and influence
some for acceptance--if I have money, people will love me. this is why Jesus said--you cannot serve both God and money. it’s either one or the other. we were meant to look to Jesus, not money.
or think of romance--some look romance to give them what only God can give. if they just have that miss right or mr. right, then I will be someone. I won’t be a loser. I will be loved and feel loved. it is dangerous to put another person in that role. because when that person lets you down (and they will), it is devastating.
(songs---
How do I get through one night without you?
If I had to live without you
What kind of life would that be?
Oh, I, I need you in my arms, need you to hold
You're my world, my heart, my soul
[Pre-Chorus]
And if you ever leave
Baby, you would take away everything good in my life
And tell me now
[Chorus]
How do I live without you? I want to know
How do I breathe without you if you ever go?
How do I ever, ever survive?
How do I, how do I, oh, how do I live?
or think of children--and this just illustrates this principle--anything or anyone, even a good thing can be an idol. when you take a good thing and it becomes the ultimate thing--you have a substitute for god. we are called to love, discipline, raise in our children in the training and instruction of the lord.
but what happens when the child becomes the central thing of our lives? what happens if we look to our children to become our identity, our meaning, our hope rather than Jesus?
we either overparent and hover around them, trying to control them; because they can’t end up as failures, or I will be a failure, or we may underparent because we need their approval and affection rather than what’s best for them.
ii. Religious idols--another category is religious idols. remember good things can be idols. let me give you some examples:
1. doctrinal correctness--some people look to their theological doctrine their rightness as their identity. as long as I have the right doctrine and can spell it our clearly, then I feel good. those of us in the reformed or Calvinist camp can lead to this. and this if you--if it leads to superiority complex--looking down on others. and ungraciousness. such a person does not understand being saved by pure grace, but they are saved by doctrine and right thinking.
2. ministry success or ministry giftedness--this happens when we exalt results in ministry, performance, a gifted preacher or teacher or leader above godliness. it is when we confuse spiritual giftedness with spiritual fruit. for pastors, this can be tricky--because our identity if we are not careful is our ministry. as long as it is “successful”, we are good, but if it not, it is devastating. we forget that our identity is in Jesus’ finished work, not our results. (Covid—it was hard to measure results—i had a leadership crisis, really an identity crisis....I ended up meeting with a counselor for about once a month for a year—one of the best decisions I ever did—and through it…I had to soul search—was I placing my identity in my life as a pastor in ministry success?)
3. moral living -- religious people sometimes look to their moral performance, their right living--instead of looking to Jesus and his life--we try to justify our own existence with church attendance, moral living, and our performance. “If I just do the right thing…God has to _______ me. “bless”
even if we just say “busy...” How are you doing… “I am busy...” we wear it as a badge of honor…and status
iii. Cultural idols -- this is idols not just of individuals but idols of societies.
1. traditional societies--family, hard work, duty. I will do everything for the family or approval of my parents. here we wrestle with this—idols can be family—it can be our last name, our genes, our heritage…our connections....i feel like in small towns—information is an idol. “did you hear about...” “you didn’t know...”
2. contemporary societies: the individual.—self discovery, self freedom, self pursuit, self expression....This is why in America, there is often a deep divide between conservatives (who idolize the family at times) vs. liberals (who idolize the individual and the individual rights).
1. that is why election season--it’s not just a clash of ideas--but a clash of idols. ever hear the word “ideology”--that’s when you take an idol and make it THE way of life.
we often have a clash of idols between the political right and the political left....
anything and anyone can be an idol.
if you say —well nothing is an idol. i won’t let anything be my idol—then your independence is your idol.
so this is why the ancients were much more honest about their idols....
they had a god and goddess for everything.
if you take beauty or sexuality and make it an idol—it’s Aphrodite...
take wisdom and knowledge and make it an idol—you have Athena or Apollo
make power an idol - you have a god like Zeus or Ares...
the ancients were much more honest about it...
3. How do you know what it is…3 big tests:
Test #1 --- Big Life Categories Test — our idols, our substitutes for Jesus—have big life categories—what are these: (on screen)
---things like significance…where do I get this?
—things like meaning in life
—security and comfort
—control
—acceptance
—beauty or worth
where am I looking to to find these big life categories
a. even if you say, “Well, I am not religious; I don’t worship idols.” hold on--there is something or money someone in your life that you are looking to for your ultimate joy, your ultimate meaning, your ultimate significance and security. that is a great question. you are looking for a kind of salvation. and identity. and if you don’t know--chances are the people who know you best know. I dare you--to ask your best friend or spouse or kids--what is the most important thing to me?
Test #2: Big Resources Test — what do I make sacrifices for? of time? of money? of energy? even family time or children for this thing?
I remember talking to one guy in my last church and he said as he looked at how he spent money over the last year, he realized he had spent thousands of money on guns—he loved having gun. Guns was his idol? why-mainly for hobbies, pleasure, collecting, and deep satisfaction. if we have an idol, we will spend endless time or money without blinking or thinking
a. big emotions and big reactions are attached to them - often, when you find yourself reacting to something or something with big, wild emotions, you often have a substitute for God--and idol attached to it. For example, if it is money--if you might lose your money, you are not just concerned, which is normal, but deeply anxious, can’t sleep at night. if someone gets in the way of your money--you are not just upset, which is normal, but you want to kill them (CSI shows). if you lose your money, you are not just sad, which is normal, but you want to kill yourself and you are devastated.
i. here in Ephesus: we see some big responses when their idols are threatened. when their money is threatened, when their way of life is threatened, when their goddess and religion is threatened, push back. a riot.
How do we overcome them...
application:
identity and discern them
b. I want to take a second right now--pray, and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal your idols. I know this may be scary--but this is great. because an idol is often the reason that you and I do what we do. you see this gives us a bigger more comprehensive definition of sin--sin is not just doing break God’s law or disobedience, but sin is when we fix our entire beings on something or someone else besides God. at the root of sin, is worship of idols.
c. this is scary--why--when the Gospel moves into an area--it must confront and change the idols of a person or culture deeply. There is acceptance but also massive push back. If the Gospel is doing its work--like here in Ephesus--you will have a riot in your heart; your world will feel like its crumbling because the Gospel goes in deeply.
d. let’s pray.
e. last category--by the way--I printed off a list of ways to discern and identify different types of idols.????
2. Jesus Christ must become more precious or valuable than any idols.
a. this gets a little tricky when you think about this—some of our idols we need to smash and get rid of. and never look back. some are so bad and so evil—we need to make a clean break.
and so for this—I would say the key thought is you can’t just get rid of idols. you have to replace them. you can’t just uproot idols. you have to plant something or rather, someone in its place.
b. and then some of our idols are actually good things—like our kids or family…but the key is not to love them less—it’s to love Jesus more.
b. and something or, rather someone we replace them with is--none other than Jesus Christ.
c. you may be sitting here thinking--why does this matter so much. I am not really hurting anyone with my idols. hold on. if you build your life on anything else other than Jesus--you are living a massively insecure life. a very unstable, chaotic life.
this is illustrated in our text--I mean when the Ephesians have their idols threatened, there is extreme fury and anger, chaos, confusion, unrest, a riot. based on how your idol is doing in your life--you will be so unstable. if your work or career is your idol--if it is going well, you will be the best person to be around, but if not--get out of your way ,because you are out for blood.
d. whenever you read a story in the Bible, we have to ask, why is this included. out of all the stories that happened to Paul-why is this? well ironically--the Christians are accused of turning the social order upside down--but really--it’s the pagans who are--they are the ones rioting, not the Christians. you see, if you base your life on anything but Jesus--you will be so unstable. there will be a riot in your heart.
e. you see this is the thing about idols--whatever is your idol will control you. it’s like an addiction. when you are addicted to a substance, eventually you need more to get the same high. the more you have the more you need, it’s never enough.
you sacrifice everything for it--maybe your life, relationships, money. it is enslaving and controlling. well, even good things can do that. I mean if money is your master--how much more do you need until you have enough--a little more. if being accepted by others is your idol--how much do you need until you are satisfied, just a little more. if achievement is your idol--how much do you need--a little more. if political victory is your idol—when are you secure? only if your candidate or party wins. if social media and desire to be in the know is your idol—or to influence people is your idol—how much do you need?
it is enslaving, addicting, and unstable. your idols are demanding. they are never satisfied. they always want more. and they will leave you high and dry.
f. but I am here to tell you that in Jesus Christ, if He is your #1, if he is your delight and treasure--then you have a God who is so satisfied in Christ, and in you. you have a greater security than money. you have an inheritance in heaven with Christ as your inheritance. nothing can separate you from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus. if Jesus Christ is the most important thing to you, you have a lover more intimate than romance; someone who will never leave you or forsake you or abandon you or cheat on you; in fact, he loves you so much, he sacrificed his very life for you on the cross, so that you could be with him. if your reputation or street cred or family name is the most important thing for you--you have a greater reputation --bought with the precious blood of Jesus Christ--you are a child of God. a greater new family
g. you see in this text--Paul wanted to go into the crowd--and he was warned not to because they would probably riot around him and kill him. Well, we have a Savior Jesus Christ, who faced a mob and a riot. we have a Savior, who took our sin upon himself on the cross, dying painful death, faced separation from the Father on our behalf, so that you and I, if we believe in Him--if we base our entire life on Him--We will have rest; we will have peace. we will be forgiven, set free, have life with God. abundant life.
h. you see in Jesus, if you find him--you have someone who will ultimately satisfy you, and if you fail him, will ultimately forgive you. Your idols can’t do that.
2. here in our text--the Ephesians tried to convince themselves--for 2 hours--“Great is Artemis of the Ephesians.” well--I am here to tell you--Great is our God. Great is our Savior Jesus Christ. if we really believe this as a church, as individuals in our world through the week--we will be like the Way--the Christians who based their life on Jesus. we will see a sharp reaction against it. Let’s pray.
response:
—what do you need to discern and uproot
—how can you love Jesus more…maybe it is some disciplines…maybe it is getting in community (or both)...
end with plug for transitions:
6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him,
7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
it’s all in Him...