Counterfeit god....Counterfeit faith

Jab 1

How many of you have ever been given a drawing by a child and working your hardest to squint and to move the paper around at all angles you still can’t figure out what the picture is supposed to be?

As children develop you can see what stage of development they are in through how they draw.

Stage 1 – Scribble Stage (1 – 3 years old)

Children at this age are engaged in the physical activity of drawing. There is no connection made between the marks and representation during most of the scribble stage. However, towards the end of this stage children may begin to give marks names. This stage is mostly about the enjoyment of purely making marks.

Stage 2 – Preschematic Stage (3 – 4 years old)

Children at this stage of artistic development are beginning to see connections between the shapes that they draw and the physical world around them. Circles and lines may be described as people or objects that are physically present in the child’s life. It is in this stage that a child first makes the connection to communicating through their drawings.

Stage 3 – The Schematic Stage (5 – 6 years old)

Children at this stage have clearly assigned shapes to objects that they are attempting to communicate. They often have developed a schema for creating drawings. There is a defined order in the development of the drawing.

Drawings at this stage have a clear separation between the sky and the ground. Often the sky is a strip of blue at the top of the paper, while the ground is a strip of green at the bottom.

Objects are often placed on the ground instead of floating in space. Objects of importance are often drawn larger than objects of lesser importance.

Stage 4 – The Dawning Realism (7 – 9 years old)

At this stage in artistic development, children are beginning to become more critical of their own work. It has become evident that a structured order to drawing objects is no longer sufficient. While a schema is still used to create drawings, it is more complex than the schema used in earlier stages. Overlapping can be seen and a sense of spatial relationships is more evident.

Stage 5 – The Pseudo-Naturalistic Stage (10 – 13 years old)

The use of value and light is now apparent in drawings. Children at this stage of artistic development are very critical of their own success. Success is determined by the level of realism achieved in the drawing. Frustration is a common occurrence. It is exceptionally important to encourage students at this stage.

Stage 6 – The Decision Stage (13 – 16 years old)

Children at this stage will decide to continue drawing or view it as an activity without merit. Because of the level of self criticism inherent at this stage, many children, (now young adults) view drawing as a skill that do they do not possess.

Others, however, decide to continue working on their drawing skills and continue to develop. I think that it is important to encourage students to continue drawing despite their level of skill. Any skill level can be attained with practice. This stage of artistic development is perhaps the most critical to the development of an artist.

Right Hook

counterfeit[ˈkoun(t)ərˌfit]ADJECTIVEmade in exact imitation of something valuable or important with the intention to deceive or defraud.

As believers we go through similar stages of development in our faith....it may not be the six stages that can be seen in children’s drawings, but stage of development can be seen in the life of a believer

the problem sometimes comes when we stop spiritually developing

our relationship with Jesus is only for Sundays

our relationship is a private thing I don’t want to tell you about....between me and Jesus

might forget about Jesus throughout the week

Maybe to continue to develop our relationship with Jesus takes more time and energy than we have

Other times we hit a spot in our life where our relationship with Jesus hits a sore spot.....or a sensitive place in our life where we don’t want to change something God is asking us to change, or we have been shown something that has become an idol in our lives.......

-if we stop growing deeper in our relationship with Jesus then we grow stale

-things start to creep in our lives that develop into counterfeit gods counterfeit gods are things in life that we elevate above the almighty God.

-beliefs we have about God stop developing and we will become stuck in one place and then counterfeit beliefs start to creep in that at first might sound like God but actually pull us away from him. This can turn into a counterfeit faith

In our text today we are shown counterfeit gods and a counterfeit faith lets read more into the word

Exodus 6:28–7:13 NLT

When the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, he said to him, “I am the Lord! Tell Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, everything I am telling you.” But Moses argued with the Lord, saying, “I can’t do it! I’m such a clumsy speaker! Why should Pharaoh listen to me?” Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pay close attention to this. I will make you seem like God to Pharaoh, and your brother, Aaron, will be your prophet. Tell Aaron everything I command you, and Aaron must command Pharaoh to let the people of Israel leave his country. But I will make Pharaoh’s heart stubborn so I can multiply my miraculous signs and wonders in the land of Egypt. Even then Pharaoh will refuse to listen to you. So I will bring down my fist on Egypt. Then I will rescue my forces—my people, the Israelites—from the land of Egypt with great acts of judgment. When I raise my powerful hand and bring out the Israelites, the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” So Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded them. Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron was eighty-three when they made their demands to Pharaoh. Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Pharaoh will demand, ‘Show me a miracle.’ When he does this, say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down in front of Pharaoh, and it will become a serpent.’ ” So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did what the Lord had commanded them. Aaron threw down his staff before Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a serpent! Then Pharaoh called in his own wise men and sorcerers, and these Egyptian magicians did the same thing with their magic. They threw down their staffs, which also became serpents! But then Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs. Pharaoh’s heart, however, remained hard. He still refused to listen, just as the Lord had predicted.

I am the Lord

-At first glance this might look like God is saying “ I AM GOD HEAR ME ROAR”

-as we look back to the last section of scripture we see God talking to Moses he said, “I AM WHO I AM”

-I will be with you and I will be everything you need

-God was reminding Moses who He was ......I am the God of your forefathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

-This automatically is a reminder of the heritage and the promises God has kept to his ancestors and with a culture that was so focused and aware of their ancestry and the deity of their ancestry this gave Moses great comfort

Moses was preparing to stand in the presence of a powerful adversary and God was telling him......don’t fear I am

JEHOVAH-SHAMMAH- The Lord who is present

This is an indication that when you think you might be hearing from the Lord he is not going to remind you about your faults, places you have fallen short

God is going to remind you who HE is and invite you to rest in the strength, depth and breadth of his presence and love.

“Pay Close Attention to this”

In many translations it uses the word “See”

-In the beginning when God created man and women he created them as co-creators with him

-Adam he gave the right to name the animals

-Eve he gave her the ability to recreate life within her own body

We were created to be in a creator-created, worshiped-worshipper, father-child relationship and it is clear he is our Lord and Master

-and yet from the beginning he has walked with us, invited us into his creative process as co-creators

-when God is preparing to do something great He invites us into it

God was saying to Moses..... “come closer I want to show what I AM about to do”

-God invited Moses and Aaron into one of the coolest things that He was going to do in the history of Israel

-this work would be the new thing that God would identify himself as

-Before He said I am the God of your Forefathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

-Now He was preparing Moses to make history to where he would now be known as I am the God who brought Israel out of Egypt

-Acts 7:36 Stephen recounts the faithfulness of God to a group of leaders who have not made the connection between the God of this story and Jesus the God of all the stories

2 Timothy 3:8 Paul is warning Timothy there will be godless people in the last days.....just like the sorcerers who opposed Moses with depraved minds and counterfeit faith

Exodus 7:6–7 NLT

So Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord had commanded them. Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron was eighty-three when they made their demands to Pharaoh.

In scripture whenever you see the main characters in the scriptures mentioned followed by their age this is an indication that something BIG is about to happen.

-this was something the writers of the bible did to sere as a marker for when these big events in the life of God’s people happened.

-So we know by this indicator that God is preparing to do something BIG!

Aaron’s staff into a snake

I like to think that God has a sense of humor since we do and we are made in his image....

have you ever wondered why God chose to have Aaron throw down his staff and it became a snake?

-When this happened I envision God looking over at Moses and winking with a half smile on his face

-while we don’t know what type of snake it was we can assume it would have been one that was native to the area so that it would be something that is recognizable to the people. Whether it was a cobra or not we don’t know

-However Pharaoh was the King or god of the cobra and he wore a cobra crown

-so God changing the staff into a snake was God letting Pharaoh know I created this animal you claim to have domain over and for that matter I created you.

-as soon as Aaron’s snake swallowed up the others this was also an indication to Pharaoh that the God of this miracle was more powerful than the counterfeit gods he was calling on and it could lead to his demise as well.....yet he hardened his heart again.

Application

Satan can only do 2 things duplicate or destroy

in our text we saw how satan was able to duplicate God’s miracle, but this duplication did not have the power of God in it.

-It was a poor carbon copy of the original and eventually it was shown to be fake and powerless

God gives us the ability to see the True God from the counterfeit god and the True faith from the counterfeit faith.

Counterfeit gods will always remind us of who we are, BUT God reminds us of who he is!

-God know who we are and he knows our faults

-God also knows that we also know our own faults

whether we try to cover them up with self-confidence, narcissism, or self medication of some kind.

-God comes to us and reminds us of who he is and who he has been and who he will be.

John 6:35 NLT

Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

John 8:12 NLT

Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”

John 10:9 NLT

Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures.

John 10:11 NLT

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep.

John 11:25–26 NLT

Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?”

John 14:6 NLT

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.

John 15:5 NLT

“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.

Counterfeit gods and counterfeit faith will keep you at arms length and discourage questions, But the One True God invites us into His story and invites us to know him better

-counterfeit gods call their followers to try to reach up to them, Our God is the only one who has come down to us and lived among us.

-counterfeit gods and counterfeit faith doesn’t want you to see behind the curtain or to know how the magic happens, but God calls us deeper into relationship with him to see how he works

AND HE WANTS TO DO THE WORK THROUGH OUR LIVES......TO BE THE CONDUIT, THE PATH FOR THE MIRACLES IN OUR LIVES AND THE LIVES OF OTHERS.

Philippians 2:12–13 NLT

Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.

Counterfeit gods and counterfeit faith will always fail you, BUT God almighty will never fail you.

-the gods and idols that we set up in our lives will leave you empty and will never quench the thirst for peace and satisfaction in your life

-self-satisfaction, gratification

-entertainment

-politics

-money

-power

-position

-retail therapy

-Netflix binging

searching for more never enough

-Jesus told the woman at the well

John 4:14 NLT

But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”

-when we have the light and life of Jesus we want more of Him and that is where we will be filled to the top and overflowing with Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-control because these are the fruits of his spirit.

Bottom Line: We will not yield our hearts to false “gods” and idols that keep us from Jesus.