Sermon Tone Analysis

“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.

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.

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.

Even King Solomon built temples to this god.

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.

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.