The Center Crumbles

Whether things are worse today than in other periods from an objective point of view—more sins committed, more laws broken—is debatable. But an amoral age presents a problem for preachers who want to expound faithfully God's Word on ethics, morality, and behavior.

In the early twentieth century, skeptics rejected Christianity because it wasn't true—"miracles cannot be." Today, skeptics reject Christianity because it even claims to be true—"absolutes cannot be." Modernity (the mindset of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries) said that moral absolutes could be discovered only by human reason and research. Postmodernity now says there are no moral absolutes to discover.

How did we get to this? In the fifties and sixties, the existentialism of Camus and Sartre began to collapse confidence in human reason and progress by teaching that truth and morality were completely relative and individually constructed.

Today's postmodernity (also led by French thinkers, such as Derrida and Foucault) teaches that truth and morality are socially constructed by groups. In short: "No set of cultural beliefs can claim logical superiority over another set because all such beliefs are motivated by subjective interests, or we are motivated by our perceived feelings and emotions.”

In this view, all "truths" and "facts" are now in quotation marks. Claims of objective truth are really just a cover-up for a power play. Those who claim to have a story true for all are really just trying to get power for their group over other groups.

In the past, Christian moral absolutes were seen as simply narrow or old-fashioned. But today they are seen as oppressive and even violent.

INTRODUCTION

Judges 17:1-6

So, Micah the son did not honor his mother, he stole from her, lied about it, First, he coveted the silver, and then he took it. Then he lied about the whole enterprise util the curse scared him into confessing. So, he broke the fifth, eighth, ninth, and tenth commandments, and he broke the first and second commandments by having a shrine of false gods in his home. Breaking 7 of the 10 commandments without having to leave your own home is quiet an achievement.

His mother also, broke the first two commandments by making an idol and encouraging her son to maintain a private shrine in his home.

1.What happens when we fail to let God be God in our lives?

(we begin to filter out things consciously or unconsciously about the nature of God that our hearts cannot accept. I don’t believe in a God like that, I believe that God is like this.)

Illustration:

In an article for the Gospel Coalition, pastor and author Tim Keller offers this potent definition of sin: "Sin isn't only doing bad things, it is more fundamentally making good things into ultimate things. Sin is building your life and meaning on anything, even a very good thing, more than on God. Whatever we build our life on will drive us and enslave us. Sin is primarily idolatry."

We reject part of the scriptural revelation of God.

NOTE: We are in essence saying that our culture’s distaste for this idea means that we must drop it. We must have a God that fits our cultures sensibilities of right and wrong.

Illustration:

It is interesting to me that when we have people write out their personal testimony of coming to faith during our discover the Journey Class, you would think the first part of coming to faith should be recognizing our sin nature, and that we are destitute and in need of God’s Grace.

But, instead most people seem to skip this part and move right the part where we get grace not judgement. While this is part of the gospel message, we cannot have grace without an understanding the depravity of our sins, which leads us to a need to be saved.

It all depends on how do you see yourself, how do you see the world, and how do you see yourself in the world.

We ignore the parts we don’t like.

For example: all through scripture God is very strong on giving our money away and being generous, not lavishly spending it on ourselves. But, we just avoid the implications of this for our lives. We may know that God is very strong on forgiveness and grace, yet we live a life where we are judgmental and unforgiving of others.

We subjectify all morality.

Subjective: based on or influenced by personal feelings, tastes, or opinions.

If I don’t believe this is a sin against the holiness of God we then become morally neutral.

For Example: Two professing Christians may decide to have sex with each other even though they are not married. Why? Because they prayed about it (good) and then “felt peace about it” (irrelevant). They ignore the direct commands in scripture about sex outside of marriage. This is what Micah’s family has done. They follow God’s law so far, and then they twist it to fit their own agenda’s and desires.

Why is this a problem? Because it makes it impossible for us to have a personal relationship with God.

ILLUSTRATION

In a relationship we are grown and shaped by each other. For example: There are times when my wife contradicts me and even at times disagree with me. This is a real relationship called marriage. This kind of relationship with God means that we know longer have a God who can contradict our desires and tell us “not.” It’s like the permissive parent who never tells a child ‘no’. They just give into their every whim and desire. What kind of relationship does the child have with the parent, and what kind of child will you be raising?

Keeping something Back

The mother had said that she dedicated the silver to the Lord, but in reality she only dedicated 200 of the 1,100 pieces of silver to the Lords use.

We fail to look at the implications of the Gospel for every area of our Lives. (the hypocrisy of our Christian culture.)

Galatians 2:14 Paul confronts Peter with the hypocrisy of his racial feelings and prejudices in some areas of his life.

ILLUSTRATION

Many professing Christians are un-Christian in how the conduct their work life. They may be as shady and ruthless as everyone else in their line of work. They are more than ready to consecrate their whole lives to Christ on Sunday’s but they will only give Him Sunday’s. The rest of the week belongs to them-self.

2.What happens’ when we make religion about our personal preferences?

17:5 Micah now takes the idols and sets up his own shrine in his own home. The temple or tabernacle was centered around the cloud of God’s glory and his presence. The nation of Israel in the desert would pick up and carry the tabernacle of the Lord with them from place to place. When the glory cloud moved the tabernacle moved. This was the place where the sacrifices were made, where atonement was made for the sins of Israel.

NOTE: The high priest wore the ephod, it was a place where people could come make requests of God and ask questions. People had not been allowed to worship wherever they liked.

Obedience to God’s commands become optional (extra)

Way’s Micah falls into Error.

he set’s up his own place of worship, at his convenience. Israel’s worship has now become one of personal preference. he makes his own son a high priest, which was reserved according to the revelation of God for the tribe of Levi.

NOTE: Micah had an image problem. What does it mean for you to be in Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:17 “If anyone is in Christ?” This is an image change, an identity change. When we take up idols in our life we are in essence telling God that we prefer these other images to Him. We make the image of God optional in our lives. Ephesians 6 tells us to take up the whole armor of God. The problem we have is that we assume that we can pick it up and take it off whenever we like.

Principles of worship become optional

What exactly are we doing when we gather as churches for worship? And how do we know what we should be doing in those weekly gatherings?

Gathered Worship in the Old Testament: Ever since God banished man from the garden of Eden in Genesis he has been working to reconcile and draw us back to himself. God led His people out of Egypt and drew them to His holy place, which was the Tabernacle, the elaborate tent, in which the priests would offer sacrifices on the alter of the Lord for the people sins. This was a covenant relationships between God and his people. Israel’s corporate worship was a special-few times a year occasion. Even though worship was something that the Israelites were called to practice around the clock. However, intimate access to the presence of God was reserved to specific people, places, and times.

Worship fulfilled in Christ: The turning part of the story is the incarnation of God in flesh in the person of Jesus Christ. All of the events of the Exodus, Exile, and return find their fulfillment in Christ. Jesus promised that he would tear down the temple and rebuild it in three days. Jesus was the Temple and the perfect complete fulfillment of the law. Jesus also replaces the entire sacrificial system. Jesus atoned for the peoples sins once and for all. Instead Jesus purifies our conscience by renewing us inwardly. God’s people now experience his presence through faith in Christ and the indwelling of the Spirit. So, in essence now we carry the tabernacle around with us all the time. We now have instant access to God 24/7, not just a few select priests.

Gathered Worship in the New Testament: Romans 12:1 “Now we do not offer animals as sacrifices on the alter we offer ourselves. Our whole lives are the living sacrifice for God’s glory and honor. Hebrews 13:15 “Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.” “We continually offer up praise and worship not just on Sunday’s. What now characterizes worship is the New Covenant, that is written on our hearts. What is unique about the we worship God together, is that it is a time that we build each other up by worshiping God together. Worship in the New Testament has a whole new fabric than worship in the Old Testament.

ILLUSTRATION:

We imitate what we admire and worship. Example of our granddaughter Evelyn copying what they see. i.e. clapping is the big thing now. So, what if kids didn’t grow past this stage? What if they continued to imitate whatever they saw the world doing? We would then become a bunch of mindless robots, walking around making mirror images of what we see.

v.6 “Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”

How do we change worship to fit our convenience?

We allow convenience to dictate when and where we will worship.

(For example: we may only worship on Sunday’s, or we may choose not to go worship with the body on Sunday’s if something more appealing or pressing comes up in our lives. i.e. family, recreation, sleep, COVID 19 has become the new excuse of choice.....)

We allow convenience to step in front of God and steal His worship.

(For Example: The worlds empty promises hijack our hearts and affections. “When our hearts fall in love with convenience the call of Jesus to follow Him in shouldering a cross feel foreign.”)

NOTE: “Jesus did not leave the eternal convenience of heaven for the fleeting conveniences of this World”

“ Don’t settle for anything in this world that keeps you from Jesus. Instead take up your cross daily and follow Him.”

Micah’s Religion on his Terms: Setting up a shrine in his home leaves the presence of God out of the situation. It is a religion that is not about God and His truth, and His will, but about me, and my preferences, and my ideas.

Micah seizes the opportunity to make his home-aid do it yourself shrine even more impressive. He could have his own real live Levitical priest. Micah’s shrine now outwardly resembles the the divine worship set out in the mosaic-law-priest must be Levites while all the time breaking the whole purpose of the law, that worship must be directed the way God see’s it not man.

Verse 13: “Now I know that the Lord will bless me”

Judges 18:1-6

Desperate Dan

Here is the outworking of doing what is right in your own eyes. 18:1 In the day’s without a king the Danites are still seeking a home.

Why is the tribe of Dan still seeking a home? Because while all of the other tribes had partly fulfilled God’s command to fight courageously and drive out the Canaanites out of their God given inheritance. Dan had failed in their military obligation, and were confined to the hill country. They were forced into a semi-nomadic existence in the mountains. So now they were in search of land they can settle in to plant, grow and eat crops. The Danites are pictured as the weakest of those who call themselves God’s people-they are conspicuous by their absence in the list of tribes of Israel who are in glory (Revelation 7:5-8)

2 Major Problems with Dan

1) They have an idolatrous view of God

(they are wondering, because they have lost the imagio dei of God)

What is the Imgio dei of God: whether its the appearance of systemic racism in our society or a bad self-image. It all goes back to the creation and the creator. We are all made in the image of God. We are all created in dignity, value, and worth. When we try to replace that image with something else in our culture, i.e. our job, our family, our outward appearance. We then mare the image of God in our life and continue to seek after idolatrous relationships.

2) They ignore God’s word

He has told them where to live but they stop at Micah’s shrine instead.

vs. 7-10 The Danites refused to listen to or trust in the Lord, decided that their “God” has blessed them and set out to take the land. (vs.11-12)

vs. 13 Passing by Micah’s house, what could be better than to take a religious shrine to their new home? They “know what to do” v. 14, and take all that makes Micah’s shrine so special. v. 15-18.

The Levite challenges them, but they propose a better outlook, convincing the Levite that he could serve a whole tribe and clan in Israel rather than just one man’s household. This is a great sales pitch for a man who had once been homeless and a wonderer! Gladly he went along with the Danites.

The Levites Journey

His decisions have driven him entirely by self-interest. Yet each one takes him further away from the Lord. He began as a Levite in the town of Bethlehem of Judah. The foremost tribe (and, of course the town that was at the center of God’s plan for His people). He ended up in Laish, outside the land God had given to his people, working for a tribe who would not reach heaven. In his own life and his own terms, he has achieved dizzying heights, running the worship for an entire tribe of God’s chosen people. Yet it is hollow worship, which knows only the god of self-promotion.

3.What happens when we look to something other than God for meaning and purpose?

It changes how we view God.

18:5 “Notice that Dan does not use the expression of Yaweh or “the Lord” in his request.

So, here is the scene as it unfolds. You have the tribe of Dan, one of the twelve tribes of Israel, you have an idolatrous household, with an idolatrous priest.

NOTE: They have found a land that they can take by their own strength, without needing to rely on God. When we take the easy road instead of the road God has planned for us to follow, we then view God as distant, irrelevant to our decisions, a God of convenience not the Yaweh of the Bible.

YAWEH (so holy it was barely spoken out loud or in a whisper)

YAWEH - is the self-existent, eternal God

God has no need of us.

That simple fact can be a little offensive to our human nature – that part of us that wants to be significant; to be needed.

But it’s true – God does not need us. He doesn’t need anyone. He is completely whole within himself, and he is eternal – he has always existed, and he always will. He is the beginning and the end, the Alpha and the Omega.

YAWEH - is a Relational God

Yahweh is only used in the Bible when the author is talking about God’s personal relationship with his people. A great example of this is Psalm 19. The author talks in the first 6 verses about Elohim (another name for God) and his relationship with the material world. Then, in verse 7, he shifts and starts to write about Yahweh and his relationship with those who know him and who are in covenant with him.

The fact that God introduces himself to us as “Yahweh” tells us that his first priority in relating to us is making sure we know that he is the intensely personal God, seeking to have a relationship with his people.

YAWEH - is Unchanging

Heraclitus said it best: “There is nothing permanent except change.” Our world is constantly shifting; everything is subjective, and lots of things seem to change day to day.

But our God does not conform to any of this. He remains constant through it all. He doesn’t change his nature based on what is new and popular at the moment.

YAWEH - Keeps His Covenant with us

We talked earlier about how God only uses the term “Yahweh” with his friends – the people who know him and who are in covenant with him. Yahweh is the covenant-keeping name.

God calls himself “Yahweh” when he first enters into the covenant with Abraham, a subtle promise that he will forever be faithful in keeping his word. When he reveals himself again as “Yahweh” to Moses, it is our reminder that he is unchanging, and we can trust him not to back out or change his mind.

God will never stop wanting us, and he will never cease in his pursuit of us. He is the ultimate covenant-keeper, the one who keeps his promises and does what he said he will do.

We can trust God as much as we want and it will never be too much. He will always measure up.

Judges 18:14-20

What could be better, than to take a ready made shrine, and a sure enough legitimate Levitical priest with you to your new home. The Levite challenges them, but the Danites persuade the Levite that it would be better for him to serve a whole tribe of the nation of Israel than just this one mans household. Notice it’s all about position and power.

WHEN WE LOOK TO SOMETHING OTHER THAN GOD FOR MEANING AND PURPOSE-

It Changes how we view ourselves

ILLUSTRATION

Bearing the Image of God

Does a person’s view of what it means to be human influence their ethical decision-making?

John Evans, a sociologist at the University of California, San Diego analyzed data from 3,500 US adults in order to find out. The results: Those who believed humans bear the image of God held more humanitarian attitudes than those who did not.

The more that respondents agreed with the purely biological definition of a human, the less likely they were to view people as special. They were less willing to stop genocide and more likely to accept the ideas of buying kidneys, suicide to save money, and taking blood from prisoners. By comparison, those who believed humans are made in the image of God were less likely to agree with money-saving suicide or nonconsensual blood donation.

The editor of New Scientist, where Evans’ research was published, commented, “If this preliminary result is upheld

NOTE: Judges 18:7-10

7 Then the five men departed and came to Laish and saw the people who were there, how they lived in security, after the manner of the Sidonians, quiet and unsuspecting, lacking nothing that is in the earth and possessing wealth, and how they were far from the Sidonians and had no dealings with anyone. 8 And when they came to their brothers at Zorah and Eshtaol, their brothers said to them, “What do you report?” 9 They said, “Arise, and let us go up against them, for we have seen the land, and behold, it is very good. And will you do nothing? Do not be slow to go, to enter in and possess the land. 10 As soon as you go, you will come to an unsuspecting people. The land is spacious, for God has given it into your hands, a place where there is no lack of anything that is in the earth.”

“How they Lived in Security” The people of Dan had continued to play it safe. You will notice that it said there was no lack of anything there for them, except the presence of YAWEH!

If we reduce God to a mere manmade image, a projection of ourselves, our desires, our will, our failed attempts at holiness. We see ourselves as the creator, and God as a mere image on a tapestry, or a carved image of the real thing.

But, when we have true, Gospel faith, we know the real God, who out of His great power and love for us, sent His son to die in our place, and give us His righteousness, that we might be called son’s and daughters, of the most high God.

Now Which of these sounds most appealing to you?

1 Peter 2:9-12

9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. 12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

It changes how we view our Home.

What one thing if it were taken from you would you miss the most?

v.24 The Levite claimed he had nothing left. There is only one God who will never be taken away from us.

John 6:68-69

66 After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. 67 So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, 69 and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.

So far we have not been told the name of the Levite. But, now, here is a depressing twist in the story. They are in Laish, Dan, the idols are set up for worship, and Jonathan son of Gershom, the son [i.e. descendant] of Moses, and his sons were priests for the tribe of Dan. It is proof that “God has no grandchildren” - every individual must find God personally and individually. No one is related to God by family tree; no tribe (or denomination, or local church) is related to him by pedigree.

As scholar and writer Don Carson has said, one generation knows the gospel, the next assumes it, and the third loses it. Nowhere is this better seen in Scripture than in Moses’family.

CONCLUSION

Scripture calls us BC (Before Christ) - Aliens, Strangers, and orphan’s

Scripture calls us AC (After Christ) - Child of the king, adopted, royal priesthood, chosen nation, people belonging to God.

Close Encounter of the 3rd Kind

Why have people throughout history been so fascinated with the possibility of other life on other plants out in the cosmos. In my day, it was ET (phone home), some unsuspecting kids harbor a fugitive alien life form in their bedroom. Then came close encounters of the 3rd kind, a team of scientist and experts are working just to make contact with the alien vessel, using musical intervals and sounds to bridge the gap.

I think people have continued to be fascinated with other life forms out there because deep down inside they know they are aliens, strangers, and orphans in this futile existence where everything is dying and passing away.

When God is not God in our lives, and we seek our own personal preferences before Him, and we look to other things to gain true purpose and meaning.

APPLICATION

God has been blowing the whistle and sounding the alarm ever since man sinned in the garden. But, when man has chosen his own set of rules and decided to pick and choose which ones he will allow to govern his life, he will never hear the whistle God is blowing. Instead we are like Micah, who is holding on so tight to the idols that he has been worshiping.

When all other things fail us, and yes, they will, we are left saying, “What Have I left.”

What are you holding onto today, so tightly that if it were gone tomorrow you would feel your whole life crumbling around you. Or, maybe instead you need to let God of the idols in your life that you have been holding far too long, and let God be God.

Related Media

Related Sermons