The Infection of Idolatry

Opening & Intro

Does anyone here garden?

If you catch an infection on a plant early what do you do?

What will happen if you don’t do anything?

One example is tomoatoes. A common issue with tomatoes is Blight.

Once blight is positively identified, act quickly to prevent it from spreading. Remove all affected leaves and burn them or place them in the garbage. Mulch around the base of the plant with straw, wood chips or other natural mulch to prevent fungal spores in the soil from splashing on the plant.

If you don’t treat it guess what can happen?

Your whole crop, even your garden can be completely destroyed.

You have to move fast. Blight can get into your soil and ruin you whole plot.

If you have blight you HAVE to treat it ASAP.

Now imagine an expert gardener comes and tell you you have blight. You might not see it but they have enough knowledge to see the start of it. WHat do you do?

I don’t know about you but I am going to listen.

This is our theme today! We have blight in our lives. Sin due to idolarty.

Main Point

Idolarty is an infection that needs to be dealt with.

Why Does it Matter

Just like blight It will ruin everything. Which brings me to today’s scripture.

Scripture

Micah 1:2–6 NIV

Hear, you peoples, all of you, listen, earth and all who live in it, that the Sovereign Lord may bear witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple. Look! The Lord is coming from his dwelling place; he comes down and treads on the heights of the earth. The mountains melt beneath him and the valleys split apart, like wax before the fire, like water rushing down a slope. All this is because of Jacob’s transgression, because of the sins of the people of Israel. What is Jacob’s transgression? Is it not Samaria? What is Judah’s high place? Is it not Jerusalem? “Therefore I will make Samaria a heap of rubble, a place for planting vineyards. I will pour her stones into the valley and lay bare her foundations.

2: Everybody everywhere listen and see what the LORD has to say about you

3: God is coming to walk on earth

4: His holiness is hot nothing will sirvive

5: This is beause Israel is so broken

6: I will destroy samaria

Micah 1:7–9 NIV

All her idols will be broken to pieces; all her temple gifts will be burned with fire; I will destroy all her images. Since she gathered her gifts from the wages of prostitutes, as the wages of prostitutes they will again be used.” Because of this I will weep and wail; I will go about barefoot and naked. I will howl like a jackal and moan like an owl. For Samaria’s plague is incurable; it has spread to Judah. It has reached the very gate of my people, even to Jerusalem itself.

7: The idolatry has got to stop. The offerings, the images, the prositution.

8: God is broken over this

9: Israel has allowed themselves to be infected with Samaria's idolarty. Every part of it.

Micah 1:10–16 NIV

Tell it not in Gath; weep not at all. In Beth Ophrah roll in the dust. Pass by naked and in shame, you who live in Shaphir. Those who live in Zaanan will not come out. Beth Ezel is in mourning; it no longer protects you. Those who live in Maroth writhe in pain, waiting for relief, because disaster has come from the Lord, even to the gate of Jerusalem. You who live in Lachish, harness fast horses to the chariot. You are where the sin of Daughter Zion began, for the transgressions of Israel were found in you. Therefore you will give parting gifts to Moresheth Gath. The town of Akzib will prove deceptive to the kings of Israel. I will bring a conqueror against you who live in Mareshah. The nobles of Israel will flee to Adullam. Shave your head in mourning for the children in whom you delight; make yourself as bald as the vulture, for they will go from you into exile.

10-13: Every land will suffer because of these actions. No one will be spared. You reep what you sow.

14-16: There is still time. Repent!

Hope is not lost.

Micah 2:1–5 NIV

Woe to those who plan iniquity, to those who plot evil on their beds! At morning’s light they carry it out because it is in their power to do it. They covet fields and seize them, and houses, and take them. They defraud people of their homes, they rob them of their inheritance. Therefore, the Lord says: “I am planning disaster against this people, from which you cannot save yourselves. You will no longer walk proudly, for it will be a time of calamity. In that day people will ridicule you; they will taunt you with this mournful song: ‘We are utterly ruined; my people’s possession is divided up. He takes it from me! He assigns our fields to traitors.’ ” Therefore you will have no one in the assembly of the Lord to divide the land by lot.

2:1: Watch out for those who plan evil. They will do it.

2: They will take what is not theirs

3: God still protects you. (mercy) But you will be humiliated.

4. People won't respect you. We have to accept our consequences

5: Not one priest will be able to help.

What if the gardener told you about the blight and you ignored them? Then a month later and they come back to see your whole garden destroyed? Say we spent time talking up our garden in the first place and how good it was. Then we decided not to listen to someone who knew better than us. We are still here but I bet we would feel very low!

This is Israel at the moment...

Micah 2:6–7 NIV

“Do not prophesy,” their prophets say. “Do not prophesy about these things; disgrace will not overtake us.” You descendants of Jacob, should it be said, “Does the Lord become impatient? Does he do such things?” “Do not my words do good to the one whose ways are upright?

6: They call YHWH a liar

7: they pretend to know who God is they don't know him.

The world will try to tell us who God is. They don’t know Him. How can someone who has never taken the time to understand tell us who our God is? They can’t. All they can do is offer up their basic understanding.

They tell us God can’t be good. God can’t be powerful. Where is God? Why doesn’t He fix this? If He loves us how can He send us to Hell? Punishing His children because they don’t believe in Him the right way?

All statements made from ignoance and quite frankly arrogance?

Example of waiting through something hard for a better result

Micah 2:8–13 NIV

Lately my people have risen up like an enemy. You strip off the rich robe from those who pass by without a care, like men returning from battle. You drive the women of my people from their pleasant homes. You take away my blessing from their children forever. Get up, go away! For this is not your resting place, because it is defiled, it is ruined, beyond all remedy. If a liar and deceiver comes and says, ‘I will prophesy for you plenty of wine and beer,’ that would be just the prophet for this people! “I will surely gather all of you, Jacob; I will surely bring together the remnant of Israel. I will bring them together like sheep in a pen, like a flock in its pasture; the place will throng with people. The One who breaks open the way will go up before them; they will break through the gate and go out. Their King will pass through before them, the Lord at their head.”

8: Israel will rise but not as conquerors from battle

9: No you will rise as you lose everything God has given you.

10: We need to start over again. This will not do.

11: Their "prophets" want to party. They want the riches of this life. They are prophets for the "people".

12: This is only a time. You still have God's promise.

13: When you turn to God again you will again see victory.

Application

Walk through this pain now. It is here but learn from it! Grow.

Don’t let your next garden die.

What are Idols in our lives?

Job, money, family, friends, school, homework, sports teams.

Luke 14:26–27 NIV

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

This verse isn’t about hating your patents in a literal sense. Infact it can’t be because of:

Exodus 20:12 NIV

“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

No, God wants you to respect your parents. But not to love them more than Him.

God is your Heavenly father and heavenly father trumps earthly father, Sorry dad.

If one of my kids comes to me and says they are called to do mission work in a country that kills christians and I say ABSOLUTELY NOT!

If this is the call they have in their lives then they need to obey God over me. I won’t like it and I will be angry and I will challange them at every turn to make sure they are convinced.

Maybe you have to make an unpopular decision in the name of integrity. That is the Holy Spirit talking and you need to listen.

Closing

Don’t let the blight of idolatry snuff out the garden that is a full life in Christ.