Idol Workers

Introduction

Shaq on joint ventureships...”I put up the money, they do all the work, I collect my cut, and we’re good.”

https://youtu.be/m3vozVLCYwo?si=bkzmHr2sc57TsJR6&t=3222

Idolatry is like that too. The idols dont actually do anything. Those who construct them do all the work and the idols get all the credit.

Focus: The distinction between God and the gods is the fact that God has worked to secure our salvation while the gods need our work to secure their salvation.

Function: We should rest in God’s work, and return to God’s way as recognition of God’s love for us and God’s power over creation.

Big Idea: The true God has done the work!

The true God is eternal, not temporary (verse 7)

Reference verse: Psalm 90:2 “Before the mountains were born, before you gave birth to the earth and the world, from eternity to eternity, you are God.”

“One who dwells in eternity, with time dwelling in Him.” - A.W. Tozer

The gods we create have a beginning and ending based on our comprehension and existence.

Henry A. Kissinger was U.S. Secretary of State from 1973 to 1977and the winner of the 1973 Nobel Peace Prize. In his Forbes article from 2010 he lists who he believed then to be the 7 most powerful people in hstory. Here is his list...

No. 1: Julius Caesar (100 B.C.-44 B.C.)

No. 2: Qin Shi Huang (259 B.C.-210 B.C.)

No. 3: Peter the Great (1672-1725)

No. 4: Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)

No. 5: Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821)

No. 6: Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919)

No. 7: The America President since 1945 (nuclear weapons and influence)

After a while, all these names will fade into history and so will their infleucne. But look at these verses

Isaiah 40:8 “The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the word of our God remains forever.””

Matthew 24:35 “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.”

The true God is benefits others and not soley Himself (verse 9)

Reference verse: John 3:16–17“For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

Idols have a way of taking from us. They not only rob us of our time, energy, and resources, but they also rob us of our true identity and our life itself. Our life of sacrifice to God is not that we wont have life but that we would have more life. Its an interesting equation but it works. The more of our life we give to God, the more life we receive in return.

John 10:10 “A thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.”

In this chapter of John, Jesus uses the analogy of the sheep and the shepherd. The shepherd not only protect their sheep, they are willing to give their lives for the sheep and offer a more abundant life for the sheep.

Psalm 23 “A psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd; I have what I need. He lets me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside quiet waters. He renews my life; he leads me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even when I go through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, for you are with me; your rod and your staff—they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Only goodness and faithful love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord as long as I live.”

Idols need us to live. God gives us life. In 1 Samuel 5 there is a idol named Dagon who has an issue standing up...

The true God creates humanity in His image and is not created in humanity’s image (verse 13)

Reference verse: Genesis 1:26 “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, the whole earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth.””

“Imago Dei” comes from the Latin version of the Bible, translated to English as “image of God.”

"Image of God" is defined as the metaphysical expression, associated uniquely to humans, which signifies the symbolical connection between God and humanity. This biblical passage does not imply that God is in human form, but that humans are in the image of God in their moral, spiritual, and intellectual essence. Thus, humans reflect God's divine nature in their ability to achieve the unique characteristics with which they have been endowed. These unique qualities make humans different than all other creatures: rational understanding, creative liberty, the capacity for self-actualization, and the potential for self-transcendence.

As we worship idols we have a point of reference. There is something already in exstence we want it to look like or we want to look like as we engage it. (consider the golden image in Exodus 32) What was God’s point of reference in creating us?…God created everything ex nihilo

John 1:3 “All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created.”

Genesis 1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness covered the surface of the watery depths, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” There was an evening, and there was a morning: one day. Then God said, “Let there be an expanse between the waters, separating water from water.” So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above the expanse. And it was so. God called the expanse “sky.” Evening came and then morning: the second day. Then God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. God called the dry land “earth,” and the gathering of the water he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let…”

Martin Luther said, “God created the world out of nothing. When I realize that I am nothing, perhaps God can create something out of me too.”

Being created in God’s image is not a look, its a lifestyle.

*Gospel presentation here*