“Right God Wrong Way” (Part 2)

“What we want, if men become Christians at all, is to keep them in the state of mind I call ‘Christianity And’. You know—Christianity and the Crisis, Christianity and the New Psychology, Christianity and the New Order, Christianity and Faith Healing, Christianity and Psychical Research, Christianity and Vegetarianism, Christianity and Spelling Reform. If they must be Christians let them at least be Christians with a difference. Substitute for the faith itself some Fashion with a Christian colouring.” ― C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters

One of the real enemies to Christianity in our current modern culture is the reality of Syncretism. Trying to mix some kind of ideology, some kind of philosophy, some kind of pagan practice, some kind of political principle, some kind of pragmatic methodology for success, some kind of new psychological technique, some kind of new science, some kind of new moralism, some kind of new therapy, some kind of religion with Christianity. The ole Jesus and__________.

This was the real danger of 1 century gnosticism that the apostles found themselves to be in constant combat. It is defined as a collection of religious ideas and systems of the 1st century. They took what they like of other religions, Hellenism and greek philosophies and blended them together with the doctrines of Christianity. Pre-Socratic and platonic philosophical principles such as dualism, greek mythology, eastern religious practices like Persian Zoroastrianism and buddhism were all mixed in with Christianity. The ole Jesus and __________.

But this is happening today with a constant mixing of Christianity with religions and new kinds of thinking and practices. Books on Christian Astrology. Books on Christian New Age. Christian Tarot card readings. Christian psychic hotlines. Christian behavioral and general sciences. Christianity and materialism. Christianity and individualism. Christian self-esteem movement the blending of Christian doctrines with Self-esteem methods created by Nathaniel Brandon who was a disciple of Atheistic Philosopher Ayn Rand. And even the blending of Christianity and other religions. Professing Christians along with the president of fuller Seminary joined Muslims in their fasting during Ramadan. And MaClarens idea that you can be a Christian and still remain a practicing Buddhist.

But the atrocities continue in modern evangelicalism today. Many professing to be Christians obedient to the will of Christ, yet follow their real gods of pleasure, profits, popularity, and power. These gods are real in our day and age. Christ commands us not to steal, but when the God of greed and materialism tells us to steal for our satisfaction we do it. We say that Jesus sits on the throne of our lives but the will of the god of physical pleasures seems to always win out. We sing trust and obey on Sunday but then the will of the god of fortune and fame seems to light our way. We declare that Christ is the way the truth and the life, but the love of money continues to glamorize the life we really want.

Idols are more than just statues made of gold and silver.

Colossians 3:5 NLT

So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world.

The Lord will not nor ever will share His glory with anything or anyone. No one and Christ means no one can serve two masters… you will either love one and hate the other, you will be devoted to one and despise the other. And here we are again this is strange. The Lord is going to judge us for worshipping Him. Strange it is. But strange is the key. Because the Lord wants us to worship Him but he does not want it to be strange. No strange fire is to ever be given to our Lord. It is not just important “that we worship God.” It is also important “how we worship God.” The essence of the 2nd commandment. But if we will be judged because of our worship why even bother. Because then we will be judged for not worshipping God. But our worship is tainted with sin and we will be judged for that. Yes. Judgement is real. But not only can we be saved from the judgement of God, through Christ we can offer our bodies as a living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Let’s look.

Zephaniah 1:4–9 NLT

“I will crush Judah and Jerusalem with my fist and destroy every last trace of their Baal worship. I will put an end to all the idolatrous priests, so that even the memory of them will disappear. For they go up to their roofs and bow down to the sun, moon, and stars. They claim to follow the Lord, but then they worship Molech, too. And I will destroy those who used to worship me but now no longer do. They no longer ask for the Lord’s guidance or seek my blessings.” Stand in silence in the presence of the Sovereign Lord, for the awesome day of the Lord’s judgment is near. The Lord has prepared his people for a great slaughter and has chosen their executioners. “On that day of judgment,” says the Lord, “I will punish the leaders and princes of Judah and all those following pagan customs. Yes, I will punish those who participate in pagan worship ceremonies, and those who fill their masters’ houses with violence and deceit.

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.

Synchronize

Apostatize

Revitalize

The first thing we will explore today is the right God wrong way worship of syncretism and the reality that no one can serve two masters. Second, we will look at how many today still attend church but no longer seek the Lord as their hearts are far from Him. Finally, we will see the wonders of the Gospel of Jesus that will bring us a revitalized life and the potential to bring worship acceptable to the Lord.

Thesis: Though sin and the pattern of this world may cause us to try to have our cake and eat it too when it comes to worshipping the Lord to our own destruction, it is the truth of scripture and the power of the Holy Spirit that will cause us to see that Christ and Christ alone is foundational to our new life and to the offering of acceptable worship to the Lord.

I. Synchronize

- Right God wrong way worship: Syncretism.

A. Devotion is given to Molech too. Worshipping Jehovah and giving some worship or oath taking to another God called Molech or Milcom. This Canaanite God appears in the scriptures. The Lord made it clear that they were not to participate in the worship of Molech.

Leviticus 18:21 NLT

“Do not permit any of your children to be offered as a sacrifice to Molech, for you must not bring shame on the name of your God. I am the Lord.

Even King Solomon built temples to this god.

1 Kings 11:6–7 NLT

In this way, Solomon did what was evil in the Lord’s sight; he refused to follow the Lord completely, as his father, David, had done. On the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, he even built a pagan shrine for Chemosh, the detestable god of Moab, and another for Molech, the detestable god of the Ammonites.

B. The crazy thing about the worship of the God Molech was that it did not just include sexual rituals to remind the gods to procreate to fertilize the land, but it involved the sacrifice of children by passing them through the fire. This was the giant metal god with the body of a man with a bulls head. It had a hole in its stomach where sacrifice took place. Believe it or not historians show that the worship of Molech would continue on too many other cultures and countries like North Africa. They would rename Molech; Kronos and that would find its way to Greece to become the Titan who would be the father of Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades.

C. But the significance of this worship carries on to this very age. When a couple sacrificed their firstborn, they believed that Moloch would ensure financial prosperity for the family and future children. Are you serious sacrifice children for financial prosperity? Our children our most precious gift from God. Yes the people of God were actually doing this. Children are important, but out health, wealth, and prosperity is much more important.

2 Kings 23:10 NLT

Then the king defiled the altar of Topheth in the valley of Ben-Hinnom, so no one could ever again use it to sacrifice a son or daughter in the fire as an offering to Molech.

D. How barbaric of those people. How could they be hostile and unsophisticated. You won’t see people today doing barbaric things like killing children for the hope of a better lifestyle. We would not nor could not offer any kind of devotion or trust in anything that promises us prosperity much less make any kind of sacrifice especially my children.

E. Not true. How many times do we hear about abortions being done because the mother and father will have a better life. Not having the baby because we desire a better life and it will mess it all up. What about our lonely little leaguer looking up at the stands for daddy, but daddy is in the office working for that promotion. The wellbeing of children at stake with mothers and fathers trying to keep up with the Jones’ making sacrifices to do what is necessary to make whatever is making the prosperity promises. Sure we may not sacrifice our children by dropping them into fire, but we are indeed dropping them.

F. The stories are endless of children who say their parents ignored them, abandoned them, and flat out dumped them. I know of a father who dumped his son and daughter so that he could devote his life to the god of drugs and alcohol. Oh yes sacrifices of devotion are being made to our modern false gods. Let us not be fooled. This kind of syncretistic worship is happening today in the church. Come to church on Sunday morning to worship God, sing the right things, pray the right things, say the right things to the right people, show up, punch our attendance card, and give God his day; and then monday morning we begin serving the other god in our lives. Monday morning we seek guidance and answers from the world. From talkshow hosts, politicians, life coaches, social media, the news, and other things promising hope, success, and prosperity. Do what they need us to do, no matter what God tells us in His word.

G. Even in the church, we disobey God to get the desires of our hearts. We steal for the god of materialism, we lie for the God of happiness at all costs, we fornicate for the god of lust and pleasure, we covet, we are envious, we reak of jealousy, we offend others because of the god of pride in the name of Christ. Any time we disobey Christ to get something we are obeying the other master. Where is our devotion today. There is no line of compromise between the two. God is to be obeyed no matter what. The Lord will share his glory with no one.

H. If we are today serving two masters… Jesus said it is impossible.

Matthew 6:24 NLT

“No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.

I. We cannot worship God halfway. God must have it all. Christ must have an undivided heart from his people. No less. And what we see here is that the judgement of God will come to those who come to worship with divided hearts. If we try to serve two masters, the King of kings will indeed bring a sword. Right God wrong way worship will bring the judgement of God.

II. Apostatize

- Right God wrong way worship: Apostasy.

A. And the people had fallen away. They no longer seek direction from God nor do they seek his blessings anymore. They did not ‘seek’ the Lord, that is, make every endeavour to find him, enter into a living relationship with him, and serve him (2:3). Seeking the Lord and his blessing is the hearts desire of the people of God.

Psalm 27:4 NLT

The one thing I ask of the Lord— the thing I seek most— is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, delighting in the Lord’s perfections and meditating in his Temple.

B. One the one hand you got worshippers who don’t give God their full devotion. Now you got those who give no devotion at all. People did not read the word anymore, but found their guidance, with following the directives found in the sun moon and stars. In pagan practices like tarot cards, ouija boards, psychic hotlines and even life coaches, jet setters, the rich and famous, politicians, and social and financial influencers. Even in the church many have abandoned the word for esoteric experiences, emotionalism, feelings and intuition, impulses, imaginations, visions, dreams… tons of so-called knowledge of God and be completely biblically illiterate… how is this possible?

C. We have lost the original purpose. We have lost our first love. We have turned away each of us to his own way. And we continue to deny the power of God, but have a form of godliness. John Calvin writes,

- And, doubtless, we shall find that the fountain of all false worship is this—that men are unwilling truly and from the heart to serve God; and, at the same time, they wish to retain some appearance of religion. For there is nothing omitted in the law that is needful for the perfect worship of God: but as God requires in the law a spiritual worship, hence it is that men seek hiding-places, and devise for themselves many ceremonies, that they may turn back from God, and yet pretend that they come to him. While they sedulously labour in their own ceremonies, it is indeed true that the worship of God and religion are continually on their lips: but, as I have said, it is all hypocrisy and deception; for they accumulate ceremonies, that there might be something intervening between God and them.

Matthew 15:8 NLT

‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.

D. And yet again we see reasons for the judgement of God coming upon his people for all the right God wrong way worship. The 2nd commandment makes it clear that how we worship God is just as important as that we worship God. Faulty worship will bring the judgement of God. He will judge the split devotion given to other gods, breaking the 1st commandment and he will judge the no devotion given to God. Judgement will come to those who have lost their first love. Those who no longer seek God.

Romans 3:10–11 NLT

As the Scriptures say, “No one is righteous— not even one. No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God.

III. Revitalize

- Made alive with Christ.

A. But Shane I am and have been guilty of many things pointed out here in Zephaniah. I have offered many times the right God wrong way worship. I have many times come to the Lord with a divided heart trying to serve two masters. I have many times come to the Lord honoring him with my lips but my heart is far from Him. I am guilty of having a form of godliness and denying the power. I am guilty of prayerlessness. I don’t seek Him like I should. I am guilty of not seeking his guidance. I am not meditating on the scriptures like I should. I am guilty of right God wrong way worship.

B. Will I be judged? Yes. Judgement is coming for all who have fallen short of the glory of God. But it goes even deeper than even that. Yes, we will be judged because we have sinned, but we will also be judged because we are sinners. We are all by nature children of wrath. While we were yet in our mother’s womb we were sinners. When Adam sinned we all sinned. Judgement is coming. Yes and when judgement comes, he will begin with the house of the Lord. Yes and when judgement begins with the house of the Lord, he will begin with church leaders, but know that though it starts with church leaders, it will not end there. We will all be judged.

C. We are all dead in sin like the scriptures make abundantly clear. But is there hope? There is hope. Yes the punishment for sin is gonna happen. Our God is not unjust. Sin must and will be punished. If judgement is gonna happen how can you say that there is hope. There is hope because someone is gonna take and suffer the punishment for us. The sin of the world was put upon his shoulders. Could it be that this is what he felt in the garden of gethsemane? Did Jesus take our punishment? You bet he did.

D. The scriptures say that Jesus died for our sins according to the scriptures and he was buried and he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures. He came to seek and save that which was lost. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance that Christ Jesus came into this world to save sinners.

E. We can have hope because all who call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. He said that if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved. These things are written so that we may believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the living God and that by believing we will have life in his name. This why we can rejoice… though we were dead in sin, we are now made alive in Christ.

F. And it is by the grace of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit that we will be able to offer to the Lord a sacrifice that is pleasing to the Lord. A worship that is pleasing. A worship full of true faith and done in accordance to the Law of God unto His glory alone. For without faith it is impossible to please HIm. So today we pray like the disciples did. Increase our faith Lord. Faith comes by hearing His Word. It comes when we seek His guidance. Seek His Blessing today.