Are We Worshipping Idols?
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Are We Worshipping Idols? Introduction
Are We Worshipping Idols? Introduction
Last week - saw 7 men chosen help 12 Apostles take care of food distribution
1 of those was Stephen - described full of faith & Holy Spirit
Appears Stephen’s role covered various aspects of ministry incl. preaching
During time when he’s sharing gospel at own synagogue in Jerusalem...
Some people disagreed with what Stephen said & start arguing
But Stephen inspired & empowered by H Spirit - arguments failed
So these disgruntled people instigated mob against Stephen
Came up with serious charges against him
& found people to lie as witnesses in support of charges
Grabbed Stephen & dragged him before Sanhedrin Council in Temple
These were head Jewish religious leaders incl. High Priest Ciaphas
They were most powerful group in holy land at time - Slide
These were charges made against Stephen
Then they secretly instigated men who said, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.”
And also - Slide
and they set up false witnesses who said, “This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law, for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses delivered to us.”
,
Instead of trying to defend himself - Stephen does something unexpected
Acts6:
Instead of
Inspired by God’s Spirit he turns those accusations on their head
Using history of Hebrew people - shows his accuses they’re ones guilty
Guilty making idols of how they worshipped, where worshipped, who worshipped
Slide
The "How We Worship” Idol
The "How We Worship” Idol
So first accusation made against Stephen
Spoken words against Law & claimed Jesus will change customs given to Jewish people
1 of things Jewish people very sensitive about - Law & religious customs / traditions
So Stephen tells history of Jewish people - incl. story of Moses
Moses on Mt Sinai after leading Hebrew people out of Egypt
God gives Moses His living oracles - God’s living words / Torah / Law
Mosaic Law & all religious customs / traditions developed afterwards - Jews believed holy
Religious leaders, Sanhedrin, Pharisees, Scribes etc believed upheld & kept all God Laws
But Stephen shows them - firstly at Mt Sinai in desert people got Aaron / Moses brother
To make golden calf statue - then bowed down worshipped it then...
Later in history Jewish people repeatedly turned away from God worshipped false gods
So God sent Jewish people into exile in Babylon
They had history oppressing & murdering prophets, treating own people unjustly
all climaxed with bearing false witness & then murdering Righteous One / Messiah
So Stephen says actually its you religious leaders guilty speaking falsely of God’s Law
You can imagine that made those listening very very mad - Slide
You can imagine that made those listening very very mad - Slide
There are lots houses being built around Papamoa where we live
On windy days we seem to get all msorts of builders rubbish blowing into our garden
Building houses is messy business - with all digging up earth for foundations
laying pipes, electrical & phone wires, pouring concrete, nailing wooden frames
Cutting 2x4’s all wood dust, metal cuttings off roofing metal, bits of building paper
Plastic pipes, gibboard dust, paint, pink batts, scaffolding
And all this is done in sorching sun, pouring rain, gailforce winds - Slide
But its not until all mess has been cleaned up you get to see end result of all hard work
Owners get to walk up to & into this beautiful new home
Been transformed from big mess into something new, clean, perfect
Our lives as Christians are like houses being built - messy & caotic
God builder - He works within us throughout our lives so we’ll be ready for eternity
Problem for Jewish people = got hung up what they were doing outwardly to worship God
Got fixed on what
Actually lost sight of what law was for & what God was trying to say to them - Slide
Sadly Jesus had told exact same thing Stephen told them
Jesus
Has not Moses given you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. Why do you seek to kill me?”
Religious leaders focused on outwardly keeping religious laws / customs
Yet inwardly hadn’t changed at all - Jesus called them white washed tombs
Clean on outside but on inside is death - nothing living - Slide
Stephen called the stu
“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you.
Acts
Stephen accused them of stubbornness & essentially not cutting or removing sin in lives - Slide
For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
God’s original intent = Law wasn’t an outward thing about doing religious things
God’s original intent Law wasn’t an outward thing about doing religious things
But it would affect our hearts & minds - we’d become different from inside
Jesus summed up whole of OT in 1 commandment - remember?
We need to love God with all that we are & love people equally
You can’t do that outwardly - its got to come from within -
So our lives as Christians are like houses being built - messy & caotic
God builder - He works within us throughout our lives so we’ll be ready for eternity - Slide
So 1st challenging question Stephen puts to us today is;
Is HOW I worship more important to me than WHO I’m worshipping?
Is HOW I worship more important to me than WHO I’m worshipping?
Just like Jewish people - we too can make an idol out of how we worship
Make an idol out of our personal or church religious traditions
So do we worship the doing rather than the one we’re doing it for? - Slide
The “Where We Worship” Idol
The “Where We Worship” Idol
Second accusation against Stephen was regarding the Temple
They said Stephen spoke words against the holy place - Temple in Jerusalem
and they set up false witnesses who said, “This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law, for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses delivered to us.”
For 1st C Jewish people - very sensitive subject - Temple was centre of Jewish religion
Second accusation
And Stephen said Jesus of Nazareth will destroy temple - sometime in future
For 1st C Jewish people - very sensitive subject - Temple centre of Jewish religion
Its interesting Stephen’s accusers pick up on that - there’s small element of truth in lie
What did Jesus say?
Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
Now Jesus wasn’t talking about literally Temple building
We understand he was actually talking about his own body
Jesus predicted Jewish leaders would destroy his body (temple)
But God would raise him from death 3 days later - Slide
Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.
This what Jesus did say about Temple
I.e. Jesus declared with his arrival - Temple now obsolete
What Jesus did say about Temple
Only through Jesus
No need for it - because we can worship God anywhere
That again its about what’s happening on inside that matters
We’re to worship God truthfully & genuinely with all we are
So Stephen addresses his accusations in his history of Jewish people
He first points out Moses was given plans for Tent / tabernacle in wilderness
This was place of worship Hebrews took with them - so could worship God anywhere
But it was King David centuries later who wanted build God house / Temple
But God didn’t let David do it but allowed Solomon to build Temple
Difference between tent & temple was - God gave tent goes anywhere
Man chose build temple that’s fixed in one place
But then Stephen says clearly - vs 48 Most High doesn’t dwell in houses made by hands - Slide
Thus says the Lord: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest? All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the Lord. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.
He then quotes some OT scriptures - one them from Isaiah
And Isaiah is right - how can you build a house worthy of Creator!
In fact if
In fact Stephen uses Israel’s history to show God meets with people anywhere
God meets Abraham in Ur & Haran - not in Israel
God met Moses in burning bush in desert on Mt Sinai - not in Israel either
What does God say to Moses - take your shoes off you’re standing on Holy Ground
What made place holy? Moses, burning bush, Mt Sinai, desert, a nearby temple? No!
Its God who chooses make himself known - Where God is - there’s holy ground - Slide
I love walking through bush - I love the quiet, the stillness
Ability to hear bird calls - particularly Tui - I love listening to Tui’s
I get a real sense of God’s presence in bush - sense peace, wonder
I’m able to worship God through beauty of His creation He’s given for us to enjoy - Slide
The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
All through Psalms - tells us that all creation worships God - Slide
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises!
Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the world and those who dwell in it! Let the rivers clap their hands; let the hills sing for joy together
Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the world and those who dwell in it! Let the rivers clap their hands; let the hills sing for joy together
Psalm 98
Psalm 98:
I totally feel connect to God, experiencing His grace & blessing in bush
Which is what Psalmist I believe is expressing here
God is glorified whrough creation / creation reflects his glory
Jews fallen into false belief - God only be worshipped properly in Temple at Jerusalem
God’s true presence dwelt in Holy of Holies in Temple - Slide
But Jesus told Samaritan woman at well something we need hear
But Jesus told Samaritan woman at well something we need hear
Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.
This what Jesus did say about Temple
Jesus declared with his arrival - Temple now obsolete
That’s because he would die on cross & come back from death
So we could receive forgiveness of our sins directly from God through Jesus
No need for sacrifices, no need to go to temple to find forgiveness
Thats because we can find God & worship Him anywhere
Again God’s far more interested about what’s happening on inside
Its not where we worship that counts - what building, what place
Instead about whether we worship God truthfully & genuinely with all we are today - Slide
So 2nd challenging question Stephen puts to us today;
Is WHERE I worship more important to me than WHO I’m worshipping?
Is WHERE I worship more important to me than WHO I’m worshipping?
Like Jewish people - we can make idols out of our church buildings / sacred places
We can think worshipping God only happens on Sundays in church building
So do we worship the place where God is or worship God where we are? - Slide
“Who We Worship” Idol
“Who We Worship” Idol
Lastly - almost there! - Final accusation made against Stephen
They claimed Stephen had spoken blasphemous words against Moses & God
Last sensitive subject for 1st C Jews - blaspheming God -
in Mosiac Law - found guilt of blaspheming sentanced death by stoning!
Interesting how Stephen responds to this accusation
He in fact talks a lot about Moses - all of it positive things
Stephen actually lifts up Moses as important godly figure
But what he does do is remind religious leaders about their history
Hebrews ignored Moses & God’s word given to him by God - worshipped idols
They refused listen God’s prophets warnings & predictions
Instead threw them in jail or killed them - then taken captive into Babylon
Then Stephen puts final nail in coffin - talking to Israel’s religious leaders...
Just as Moses predicted - Hebrew Prophet like Moses has come - Messiah
Stephen calls him Son of Man / Righteous One - now you’ve ignored him & killed Him!
God gave you His Word / Law & you’ve murdered Messiah not kept it & now
And they ki
Stephen basically calls all religious leaders of Israel - murderers
They’ve resisted God’s Spirit, ignored God’s Word, & rejected God’s Son / Messiah
Their version of God they thought they worshipped = completely wrong
Instead their picture of God complete pposite to who God truly is - Slide
How many of you have done drawings of people?
Drawing person accurately is really hard - as you can see - Slide
In fact - because we know human face so well - we look at faces all time
Can tell straight away when someone’s drawn it wrong - somethings not right - Slide
Who likes having their picture taken?
I hate having my picture taken - I never feel like I look right
I’m sure Katie Holmes (actress) here felt she’d had better days than this one! - Slide
What about when people take pictures & they think “this will look really nice” - Slide
And then you see picture & wonder - what were they thinking!?!
Often times what we think we see in our minds completely different to reality!
Sadly Jewish people were convinced they worshipped true God
& admired & venerated Moses as ultimate prophet / man of God
Sadly Jewish people were
But they couldn’t see - they were no better than their ancestors
They too were worshipping a god of their own making
A God who was pleased with holy spiritual outward appearances
A God who’s pleased with tithing herbs, giving loud elaborate prayers in public
Only giving to people you care about, feeling superior to those less spiritual
Jewish religious leaders refused to acknowledge God of Scripture cared more about heart of man
They refused to admit they were wrong, they’d sinned, & needed to genuinely repent
Instead they chose worship God who cares about what they care about
A God who doesn’t upset status quo; A God who benefits them & their passions
It sounds ridiculous - but we can all fall into same trap as Jewish people
Worshipping our version of God - one we like - one who does & says what we like
And we ignore difficult bits; challenging bits; bits make us uncomfortable
And we justify this by taking bits of scripture & making it say what we want
Like “Well if God is love then he won’t want me to stop doing what makes me happy”
But what if what makes you happy isn’t good for you?
What if it actually will harm you?
Or worse effect what happens to you in future? - Slide
So 3rd challenging question Stephen puts to us today;
WHO am I worshipping - The God of Scripture or my god from Scripture?
WHO am I worshipping - The God of Scripture or my god from Scripture?
Like Jewish people - who wanted to worship idols & other gods they’d made with hands
We can make idol image of God in our minds/hearts who makes us happy - but it isn’t really God
God sent Jesus to earth because He wants us to know him / so we could truly know Him
God sent Jesus to earth so we could finally know God as he really is
Through Jesus life, death, & resurrection - every person can know God in real personal way
think worshipping God only happens on Sundays in church building
So do we worship the place where God is or worship God where we are? - Slide
Through Jesus God revealed just how much He really loves us
But we can only know God if first come to Him & admit we’ve failed...
Spirit breathing life into scriptures
We’ve done stuff wrong; we’re weak & we can’t save ourselves
Admit we’ve failed God, we’ve done stuff wrong; we’re weak & can’t save ourselves
Once we can admit we need God’s forgiveness & help...
Then we can begin to build personal relationship God wants with you
So let’s choose today to worship God of Scriptures, through faith in Jesus Christ
And will come again to restore & ren