Broken Cisterns: The Idol of Self Significance
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Summary: God alone deserves the place of priority in our lives. And that means we can’t even put ourselves before Him. He has the place of priority. He comes first. This message talks about what it means to put God before ourselves.
Over the past couple of weeks we’ve been going through our Broken Cisterns Series on Idolatry.
We’ve talked about what an idol is: it’s anything or anyone that takes the place of God in our lives. It’s whatever we place in that place of priority in our lives which pushes God aside. We also talked about how whatever we choose to worship as an idol will eventually let us down. Only God will never fail us, and only He is worthy of our worship.
Today we’re going to continue our series and discuss another idol which a lot of people struggle with… the idol of Significance.
Sometimes it’s not the external things which we struggle with. Sometimes it’s ourselves. Our happiness, our comfort, our popularity become all that’s important. And while it’s not bad to be happy, it’s not wrong to be comfortable, it’s not evil to be popular, when all we seek are those things and they become more important than God, they become a problem. And they can greatly interfere or even destroy our relationship with Him.
God alone deserves the place of priority in our lives. And that means we can’t even put ourselves before Him. He has the place of priority. He comes first. So this morning we’re going to talk about what it means to put God first as it relates to the Idol of Self. Let’s go.
Putting God First Means…
1. You seek God’s approval, not man’s applause.
We normally think of this as a teenage problem. Teens want to be liked. Teens do things because everyone else is doing them. Teens give in to peer pressure. But it’s not just a teenage problem. Of course, we adults don’t call it peer pressure. We call it going with the flow, compromising, finding the middle ground, not causing waves… we don’t want to do anything and we don’t want to say anything that’s going to upset anyone or make them distance themselves from us, because we want their approval.
Shortly after Jesus was arrested, the religious leaders who were also influential politically presented their case before Pontius Pilate. Pilate was a Roman official who had the authority to either release Jesus or have Him executed. And all kinds of accusations were being made against Him. The religious leaders arranged for people to tell lies and make false accusations, and they really incited a mob mentality. And Pilate felt the pressure.
We’re told in the Bible that Pilate found Jesus innocent and he wanted to release Him. He even offered to have Jesus flogged (or whipped) before he released Him, but the crowd rose up with a mighty roar demanding that Jesus be given the death penalty. Again Pilate declared that Jesus was innocent, but the people continued to shout for His death. So finally Pilate gave in and handed Jesus over to be crucified. That was the first case of “Pilate Error.”
Pilate knew that Jesus was innocent. He knew Jesus didn’t deserve to die. He knew that he should release Jesus. But he didn’t. Why? Because of the pressure that was placed on him to do what everyone else wanted him to do and gain the approval of the crowd.
King Solomon in the Old Testament was the third king of Israel. And at that point of history, Solomon was the richest king in the world. Comparatively, he could have put Bill Gates to shame. He was also the wisest man in the world. But catch this… the guy had 700 wives! Now, I love my wife. I enjoy being married. But 700?!? I’ve heard of the 700 Club, but I had no idea. Maybe Solomon wasn’t so wise, after all.
Actually, it was common in the world at the time for people in general and royalty in particular to have several wives. It was often more of a political union than one of the heart. Treaties could be sealed with a wedding. But God has warned Solomon not to intermarry with several of the surrounding nations because those wives would lead him to worship false gods. And sure enough, that’s exactly what happened.
We’re told in 1 Kings 11 that Solomon gave in to the pressure his wives were placing on him, he built shrines for all of his foreign wives to worship their own gods, and he even began to worship them himself. Why? Because he wanted their applause. He wanted to make them happy because it would make him look good. And he gave in to the pressure.
You go to school, people put pressure on you. You go to work, people put pressure on you. You go to a club, people put pressure on you. You come to church, people put pressure on you even here. We all face the pressure to fit in. Nobody likes to be singled out. We’re all jealous of the people who seem to be the “in” crowd… the ones who get all the attention and get all the breaks and have all the friends. And it feels good when people accept us and make us feel important. But when that pressure tells you to do something that you know is wrong, don’t give in to it. The Bible says:
Galatians 1:10
10 For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.
Instead of seeking the applause of man, seek the approval of God. Make it your goal to someday hear him say to you;
Matthew 25:21
21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’
Putting God first means you seek God’s approval over man’s applause. It also means…
2. You seek God’s way over your way.
I was thinking about how the Idol of Self means we want things our own way, when I saw a sign along the side of the road which quoted Jesus saying, “I am the way…”
John 14:6
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Let me show you a couple other verses:
Proverbs 3:5-6
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
7 Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.
Psalm 119:105 (NLT)
105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
Putting God first means…
3. You seek obedience over convenience.
Choosing to live as a Christian and devote your life to God does not mean that everything will be hunky-dory for you. Actually, it can mean that you will encounter difficulties and challenges in life that without God’s help you wouldn’t survive. Because we’re not called to a life of comfort or convenience… we’re called to a life of obedience.
It’s not like going to a buffet where you choose what looks good to you and ignore the rest. The call on your life and mine is to be a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ, regardless of the cost.
I once heard a story about Thomas Jefferson. I can’t confirm whether the story is true or if it’s just something that someone made up, but this is what I heard. Thomas Jefferson wanted to be a Christian and he wanted to take God seriously, but there were parts of the Bible that troubled him. Perhaps the passages demanded more of him than he was willing to give. So he took a pair of scissors and began to cut out the parts that he didn’t like.
But that’s not really an option. We don’t get to pick and choose what we think is important, because everything God says in His Word is important. And sometimes it’s not convenient to be obedient. Sometimes it’s not comfortable. But that doesn’t negate the fact that we are called to a life of obedience.
Luke 9:57-62
57 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” 59 To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 60 And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 61 Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” 62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Is Jesus anti-family? No, but He wants us to understand that it’s not about what we want, it’s about what God wants. And it’s not about convenience, it’s about obedience.
4. You seek holiness over happiness.
“Contrary to popular opinion, the call of the church is not to make people happy but to make them holy.”
Michael W. Smith is a name you may recognize as a top-selling recording artist with success on both the secular and Christian charts. Listen to what he said…
“Everybody plays it safe. Here’s where I’m at: I’ve got a franchise. I can sit here and play it safe, protect the franchise, do well the rest of my life, retire and be happy. That’s the last thing I need to do, even if it costs me my career. I’ve got to be God’s man. I’ve got to impact culture.”
~ Christian Recording Artist Michael W. Smith
What’s the difference between happiness and holiness? Happiness is a result of our circumstances and changes from day to day. What are some things that influence our level of happiness? (the weather, our work, our families, and the random events of life.)
Holiness, on the other hand is an internal condition that is the result of daily surrendering ourselves to the work of God.
Being holy does not mean you are completely without fault. It does not mean that you become someone really weird who’s completely out of touch with reality. It does not mean it is impossible for you to sin. But it does mean that it is possible for you not to sin. It does mean that it is possible for you to operate your life according to the love of God flowing through you. It means that you aim to glorify God in thought, word and deed and make Him proud of you, His child. That’s what it means to be holy. Check out these verses:
Romans 6:22
22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.
1 Thessalonians 5:23-24
23 Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.
5. You seek transformation over validation.
“God’s ultimate goal for your life on earth is not comfort, but character development. He wants you to grow up spiritually and become like Christ. Becoming like Christ does not mean losing your personality or becoming a mindless clone. God created your uniqueness, so he certainly doesn’t want to destroy it. Christlikeness is all about transforming your character, not your personality.”
~ Rick Warren
If you seek validation, you want people to tell you that you’re okay just the way you are. You want to be told that your priorities, your standards, your lifestyle, your actions are all fine. There’s no room for improvement, you’ve already attained all there is to attain.
Here’s what I believe. I believe the Bible teaches that God loves us just the way we are, but He loves us too much to leave us that way. It’s not validation we need, it’s transformation.
Romans 12:2
2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
There was a time when some of you were just like that, but now your sins have been washed away, and you have been set apart for God. You have been made right with God because of what the Lord Jesus Christ and the Spirit of our God have done for you.
All of us need the transforming work of God in our lives. We don’t need to be validated and told that we’re okay, we need to allow ourselves to be transformed by the power of God into the people He wants us to be.
Do you need to die to yourself this morning? Do you need to put the Idol of Self away and commit to the leadership and transforming power of God in your life? I’ve got to tell you, it’s not a one time decision. It’s a daily commitment. It’s getting up every morning and giving God permission to do anything He wants to do with you, anything He wants to do in you, and anything He wants to do through you.