Untitled Sermon (2)

5 But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness.

6 Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.

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.

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11 Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.

Sermon Title: Who will you worship?

Prayer

The Children of Israel had serious problem with Idolatry.

No matter What period of time.

, they continually found themselves worshiping other Gods

In fact if you take read a through the old Testament you will become deeply acquainted with the statement

“And it came to pass the Children of Israel wandered after other Gods”.

100$ dollars for every time that Statement Occurred, or something like that in scripture.

I could by everyone in here a new CAr.

Oh yes the CHildren of Israel Had a serious Problem with Idolatry

In period Judges (THey wandered after other Gods)

In the period of the Prophets(They wandered after Gods)

In the periods the period of the Kings( They wandered after other Gods)

And even When they were carried away captive to Babylon, which was there punishment for following after other Gods, They found themselves

Bowing down to the Golden Statue erected by King Nechuchadnezzar.

The Children of Israel had a serious problem with Idolatry.

In fact summing up the experience of the children Israel from the Egypt to Canaan and from Canaan to Babylon.

God speaking through the Prophet JEremiah states

This evil people, which refuse to hear my words, which walk in the imagination of their heart, and walk after other gods, to serve them, and to worship them, shall even be as this girdle, which is good for nothing.

Oh yes, the children of Israel had a serious problem with Idolatry.

But these later Apostasies were not the subject of the Apostle Paul in 1st corinthians 11: 7.

The Holy Spirit Instead Directs Paul's inspired Pen to Focus on the very first time the Children of Israel abandoned The God of HEaven and worshipped a False God.

The Chilrend of Israel had just been miraculously delivered from The Cruel Bondage of their Egyptian Masters.

God had done a mighty thing in Earth.

Through a series of 10 plagues on the Egypt. God humbled a Ancient Super Power and set his people free.

The Children of Israel saw the Power of an Almighty God working on their behalf.

These were the people that had saw the waters turn to blood,

THese were the people that saw Frogs come out of nowhere and take over Egypt.

These were the people that saw hail Hail fall from the SKy Frozen, and then catch fire when it hit the ground.

THese were the people that the saw Sun refuse to give her light, and cover the Land of Egypt in Darkness while they themselves had light in there places of dwelling,

These were the people that saw almighty God open up a path through the read sea, as walked through on dry ground.

And yet despite this Comsic Heavenly Deliverance, a few days later we with the sea salt from the Red sea still on there skin, we find them bowing down to a Golden Calf,

Oh Yes, Children of Israel had a serious problem with Idolatry.

Paul in relating this tale of betrayal picks up the narrative in vs 5

When He writes

5 But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness.

6 Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.

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.

Verse 7 is a direct reference to the Golden Calf episode found in eXodus 32.

32 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.

2 And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me.

3 And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron.

4 And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

5 And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the Lord.

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.

They had betrayed God.

Often times when we see the type of blatant rebellioN and misbehavior exhibited by the children of the Israel, we have a tendency to distance ourselves.

If I had been there…..

But Paul comes to knock us off our High Horse, with his commentary he says

6 Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.

He brings home.

11 they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.

Paul under inspiration is trying to let us know, he is trying to warn us

that the same pull that they had to Idolatry we also possess

The reason for this is because Human nature has not changed.

WE are still born

Born in SIn Shapen in Iniquity.

THe Natural Heart is still deceitful and desprately wicked

devoid of the restraining power of Spirit of God, all we are capable of great evil

It would appear that disconnected from God,

we are prone to Idolatry,

we will worship false Gods,

we will put other Gods before him. It is something that comes natural to us.

But what is interesting about Paul’s take on the event is that in relating the story the Idolatry of the Golden Calf, he doesn’t mention the calf at all,

but instead speaks of common day practices of eating drinking and playing.

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.

Could it be that we could eat and drink, play/recreate in such a way that makes us Idolaters.?

And what is does it mean to be an idolater in this day? What is modern Idolatry

We don’t have Golden Calfs, Statues of Zues…. WE don’t have temples set up to Dagon, Athroditie, And Ashtoreth.

And what is does it mean to be an idolater in this day? What is modern Idolatry?

We need to find out, cause the Bible says that Idolaters will not be in heaven?

Be not decived Idolaters will not Inherit the kingdom

14Blessed [are] they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

15 . But outside of the city are Idolaters and murders and liars.

Brothers We need to find out what modern Idolatry is so that we can avoid it.

The word Idolatry in the Greek comes from a combination of two words.

noun eidolon that means false God.

And a verb Latuero that means to give Service or worship.

To be an Idolater is to worship FAlse Gods.

a worshipper of false gods, a idolater

It would appear to be able to understand what Idolatry is, we must get to the heart of what Worship is?

According to the Merriam Websters Dictionary Worship is defined as extravagant respect or admiration for or devotion to an object of esteem.

I decided to go a little deeper, and look up the word devotion, because it seems to be at the center of worship.

So I went to look up the word devotion.

It is defined as the act of devoting <devotion of time and energy>

I went to look up what it meant to devote.

To devote means to give over or direct (as time, money or effort) to cause enterprise or entity.

My understanding of Worship started to expand.

You see to worship is to give devotion to and object of esteem

To give devotion is the act of devoting.

To devote is to means to give over or direct (as time, money or effort) to cause enterprise or entity.

I had never realized that when one devotes 10% of his income to God.

And when you give your offering to build up his kingdom on this earth.

Tithing is an Act of Worship.

yet more than money our

most precious resource is time.

That means that when we devote time to God, it is an act of Worship.

When you devote time with God in his word that is an act of Worship.

When devote time with him in Silent prayer you are worshiping God.

Worship is more than what you do in Church.

We have been preoccupied debating about Drums and Instruments and worship styles, that we missed that the heart of worship spending time to God.

So in understanding what true worship is composed of and how we worship God, we begin to understand what is it means to worshiper of false Gods, or an Idolater.

When we devote to other things, the energy and time money that belongs to God, we are we are setting that thing above God, and committing the sin of Idolatry

I ask the question do you know who your God is?

When I take my tithe an offering money that belongs to the Lord and spend it on things that I want to spend it on?

I am committing the sin of Idolatry.

When i give to things and people the time that belongs to God, When I spend no time with the Lord and devote it to other things I am worshipping false Gods.

Do you want to know who your God is Breath of Life , who/ what has your thoughts, who has your time. Think on where you spend the free majority of your time,, who is getting your greatest affections, you have just come in Contact with the God you serve.

And if this is not the God of heaven then we have been guilty of Idolatry.

Are you an Idolater?

You can make Television an Idol, by spending so much watching it and spending no time with God in prayer and Bible Study.

Young folk you can make video games your God, we get so caught up

You can make the music industry your God, have you ever seen folk, with head phones just sticking out of there head, they can’t function without worldy music pumping through their heads.

You can make A god out of competitive sports. LeBron and Step and Kobe, Tom Brady, Cam Newton, Odell Beckem.

We can get so caught up in fashion

You can make a spouse, or girl/boy friend if your God, if when after spending time with them you have no time for God.

Nothing wrong with work Trying to get a head in life, trying to keep up with Jones. And we are spending no time with God.

Are you an idolater today?

Have you worshipped God this week, have you spent time with him. Have you gave him your time. Did talk in prayer, did you devote your time to him, in reading his word.

Did you give a thought this week

Back in the day, the children of Israel would bring there burnt offerings and sacrifise them before False God.

But we so often bring our time offerings to the altars of these false gods to be burned at the altar and be consumed.

We worship these false Gods we give acts of devotion to them, so often neglect the God of heaven.

Have you been guilty of modern Idolatry.

Testimony

The Bible says

2 I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt,

out of the house of bondage.

3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

Whenever we set anything in our lives, above God and his service or his requirements and statues, it immediately becomes an Idol.

And we become Modern Idolaters.

We may all serve different lower gods, but the god that we truly worship when we are not worshiping the true God,

Is the God of I the God of Self

I don’t care what God says about I want it.

When we choose to put our wants and our desires above God, we are worshipping at the Altar of Self. Self is our God.

You can’t sin without Breaking the 1st commandment. And thats why its the first commandment.

When we choose to put our wants and our desires above God, we a

We are called from Scripture to flee Idolatry

God wants you to turn from our worshp of false Gods right now. because the last conflict on this earth is about worship.

The Last Conflict is all about Worship

6 And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,

7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.

9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,

ONLY THE WORSHIP OF GOD WILL KEEP US FROM WORSHIPPING THE BEAST AND HIS IMAGE.

ONLY THROUGH THE SPIRIT OF GOD WILL WE BE ABLE TO RESIST THE NATURAL TENDENCY TO IDOLATRY.

If we are fleshy or devoid of the Spirit of God, in the time of end we will commit the sin of Idolatry, worship the beast and his image and receive his mark.

THE LAST CONFLICT IS ALL ABOUT WORSHIP!!!

Who will you worship?

The stories

Daniel are prophetic.

In the Life of Daniel and Friends

tested early on, when he came to Babylon and was asked to eat of the Kings meat?

Would they bow down at the altar of Self, would they think about advancement in the kingdom or would be faithful to the commandments of God. Would he make his belly his God?

There were many Jews that were faced with the test.

And when the bigger test came, And when Babylon erected the image on the plains of Dura, they didn’t bow down. Why because they were worshippers of the True God.

For the Hebrews who chose to worship the God of Self, when the False God Statue was set up They were used to Idol Worship, they were use to putting the God of self, above the requirements of God.

And as a result it was normal and natural to bow down.

History will be repeated. False religion will be exalted. The first day of the week, a common working day, possessing no sanctity whatever, will be set up as was the image at Babylon. All nations and tongues and peoples will be commanded to worship this spurious sabbath. This is Satan’s plan to make of no account the day instituted by God, and given to the world as a memorial of creation.

Trial and persecution will come to all who, in obedience to the Word of God, refuse to worship this false sabbath. Force is the last resort of every false religion. At first it tries attraction, as the king of Babylon tried the power of music and outward show. If these attractions, invented by men inspired by Satan, failed to make men worship the image, the hungry flames of the furnace were ready to consume them. So it will be now. The papacy has exercised her power to compel men to obey her, and she will continue to do so.

(The Signs of the Times, May 6, 1897).

Do you want to know what you would do, Ladies and gentlemen?

Do you want to know what you would do, Ladies and gentlemen?

What you will do then is what you are doing now.

all professional Idolaters now, will be idolaters then, and we will yield.

Those who yield now to the God of Self, and ease, will then do the same then, and will be lost.

God is calling us to put away our idols. And worship.

Today if you hear the voice of the HOly Ghost Harden not your heart.

It is in the worship of the true God you will gain the power to walk away from your false ones.

1st Angels MEssage is a call back to the worship of the true God.

Larnelle harris used to sing a song.

JEsus is depicted REv 3:20 into our hearts.

I miss my time with you

Those moments together

I need to be with you each day

And it hurts Me when you say

You're too busy

Busy trying to serve Me

But how can you serve Me

When your spirits empty

There's a longing in My heart

Wanting more than just a part of you

It's true, I miss My time with you.

Will you give him time today.

Worship him through time in his word.

Worship him through Time in prayer.

Worshp through thinking on him.

Worship him through spending the Sabbath day dwelling on him.

Worship him through your tithe and offering.

Worship in Spirit and in Truth

God is calling you To worship.

It is in the worship of the true God, in your time spent with you will gain the power to walk away from your false ones.

Appeal.

If it is desire to stop being and idolater, and worship the true God of heaven by spending time with him.

I invite you to come down.

Break away from those idols and serve the true God. I come to you in the Spirit of Joshua choose you this day who you will serve, I come to you in the Spirit of Moses, who is on the Lord's side , I come to your in the sprit of Elijah, Why halt ye between two opinions if God be God serve him.

You might be saying Pastor some of my Idols have a hold on me. NExt we we are going to learn about how God can break you from some of those Idols and besetting sins.

If it is your desire to follow God all the way today In baptism