Eyes Wide Open: How do we Recognize and Overcome Modern Day Idols.

What is the 1st Commandment?

Exodus 20:3-4 “3 “You must not have any other god but me. 4 “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea.”

This is a big deal....

In our modern era it seems to be harder and harder to understand what an idol truly is.

After all we do not see statues of Zeus, Apollo, or other mythological Gods in the town square for the purpose of worship. We don’t see statues of leaders that we are ordered to worship as Gods....

Yet just becuase we do not see these statues does not mean that idolatry is not a problem. In fact I would say that there are many things that our culture has unintentionally made idols.

LIST IDOLS HERE: Money, power, hobbies like hunting fishing , recreational sport, political ideologies, sex, Nationalistic Tendencies, social justice, even Family time can become an Idol.

The thing you might notice about this list is that there are both good and bad things on the list. So how can good things become an idol?

An Idol does not have to be an evil thing or a satanic symbol…It just needs to overshadow our passion for being a fully devoted follower of Jesus.

When we close our eyes to the Idols of our Society we can easily be blinded by the Idols we have embraced from our Society.

When this happens Societal Norms become our Orthodoxy. Orthodoxy just means the generally accepted theory, doctrine, or practice for our lives.

Simply put Idols are secular pursuits that we allow to take priority over our spiritual pursuits.

Even though one may have given their hearts to Jesus if we do not continue to make our pursuit of Jesus our NUMBER ONE PRIORITY…we run the risk of creating an idol out of something God meant for our pleasure.

When People Embrace Societal Norms over the Gospel they lose their ability to be Light in a World of Darkness

Paul understood this because Jesus called him out of a system that replaced God with a lot of other things.

Being a Pharisee Paul’s idol was the law itself.

That is why he was so troubled as he walked though the streets of Athens in this passage....He understood just how easy it is to be led astray with even the greatest of intentions.

Acts 17:16-23 NLT

“16 While Paul was waiting for them (Timothy and Silas) in Athens, he was deeply troubled by all the idols he saw everywhere in the city.

17 He went to the synagogue to reason with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and he spoke daily in the public square to all who happened to be there.

18 He also had a debate with some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. When he told them about Jesus and his resurrection, they said, “What’s this babbler trying to say with these strange ideas he’s picked up?” Others said, “He seems to be preaching about some foreign gods.”

19 Then they took him to the high council of the city. “Come and tell us about this new teaching,” they said. 20 “You are saying some rather strange things, and we want to know what it’s all about.”

“21 (It should be explained that all the Athenians as well as the foreigners in Athens seemed to spend all their time discussing the latest ideas.)

Now lets unpack this a little:

As Paul was walking though Athens he saw how hungry and thirsty for righteousness the culture was…It was not that they were looking for ways to not believe…

In fact they were determined to believe something…even going so far as to create an idol to the unknown God.

Feeling he had to do something we see Paul went first to the religious community. Why did he do this? Why the religious before just going out to the rest of the community?

Paul is a missionary or evangelist at heart and he knew that he had to start with his own people. Acts 1:8 ….Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.””

Being Converted to the Way of Jesus from a deeply Jewish context he started by telling those with whom he had the most in common with about the salvation to be found in Jesus.

It could also be argued that this rampant Idolatry was either being ignored or accepted by the Jews and God fearing Gentiles…

Paul was pleading with them to embrace the Gospel of Jesus over religious dogma and secular influence.

As he was teaching the Jews and God fearing Gentiles... then the intellectuals of the city…soon joined in…

This illustrates the fact that even if people are not believers they are in fact watching and listening to how we are dealing with each other....There was a big argument going on and they were drawn in.

While they were no doubt skeptical of Paul at least they were open to hearing what he had to say…or at least intrigued enough to take him to a place where he would have a more influential audience.

Before we move on to Paul words to the more influential thought leaders…… it it vital to see the connection between what we are reading and where we are today.

If there is a better parallel between scripture and current culture I do not know what it is.....

Today’s cultures see’s the Christian gospel as one option among many. (Just like in Athens) In the worlds mind, Christianity is just like many other philosophies, the thought is it might be right for a few, but is by no means the only truth for all people.

Now This is not something to get worked up about it is just a fact of our modern times.

There is a group in our society called the Nones that make up about about 25% of the population as of 2012. The number is probably much higher today.

The word nones come from the fact the they claim no religions affiliation…they do not all claim there is no God in fact just like the Athenians they are searching for meaning and truth…

The Athenians were not opposed to the spiritual…in fact they were actively exploring it. I would say the same is true for the Nones.

The truth is in the absence of belief Idols spring up as the next best thing.

The good news is this....If people are drawn to idols then it stands to reason they could also drawn to truth.

People who are searching are not lost causes in fact the opposite is true.

Ed Stetzer wrote in Christianity today “It would be a mistake to dismiss 25 percent of the population as unreachable or act as though they were all atheists. It would also be a mistake to think church as usual will appeal to the nones.”

People want to believe in something but in order to present it the Church must be willing to do what it takes to reach them.

Paul was believe it or not....cutting edge with his approach.

22 So Paul, standing before the council, addressed them as follows: “Men of Athens, I notice that you are very religious in every way, 23 for as I was walking along I saw your many shrines. And one of your altars had this inscription on it: ‘To an Unknown God.’ This God, whom you worship without knowing, is the one I’m telling you about.

Paul began where his hearers were.....Both physically and intellectually. Physically he went to the place where thought leaders met.

Stefanie has laid the ground work to get into the schools….

Then Paul complimented them: You are very religious or spiritual.....He didn’t approach them as an adversary but as friends or people that mattered.

He noted their interest even in an unknown god and offered to enlighten them at this point.

This conversation would not have been possible if Paul had not understood the Athenians Idols.

Paul was able to connect to them and share what they did not even know they wanted.

I speak of the unknown God you already worship. He goes on for the rest of the passage explaining who Jesus is and why its important to acknowledge Him.

Acts 17:32-33 “32 When they heard Paul speak about the resurrection of the dead, some laughed in contempt, but others said, “We want to hear more about this later.” 33 That ended Paul’s discussion with them,”

Paul did not see mass conversions…but he did see some and he also planted a seed for later.

It is ok if we do not convert all of even many of the people we talk to…it is however important that you simply Talk…and God will do the rest.

Keeping our eyes Open to the Idols of our Culture will Enable us to Protect our Own Hearts and Give the Gift of Spiritual Integrity to the World.

If the world of Nones and Non-Believers see us embracing the same things they are why would they consider Jesus worthy of their trust?

Surrender those things that create Frustration that are not Eternal

Idols create a need to defend what we believe. Which goes back to the list of idols earlier…if you are defending the list instead of pursuing Jesus you have and Idol in your life.

Jesus creates a desire to worship Jesus and live out of the overflow of our heart so that the modern Day Athenians will have the opportunity to accept Jesus as savior or at least be open to continue the conversations.

Paul reminds us how important it is to be a community on mission with this teaching…

Your small group could be that kind of community…growing and Serving…what if one week you met to grow and one week you met to serve. You cannot grow without giving yourself away…this requires defeating potential idols.

If we do not surrender our Passions to God we will Surrender God for our Passions

James and Prayer Teams Come....What Idol or Passion is God leading you to Surrender today?

Altar.

Communion/ Benidiection