ACCEPT NO SUBSTITUTES

Ten Values That Build Strong Families - Part 2

September 5-6, 1992
Ex.20:4-5 (series)
2nd Value:
EXODUS 20:4-5 (LB) You shall not make any idols...
you must never bow to an image or worship it in any way.
* Dont idolize anything!
* Worship only God!

I. DONT IDOLIZE ANYTHING!

Idolize - to value something more than God
...some park their idol - garage
dock...at marina
put..in safe deposit box
Thru-history..mans habit to turn things/people
into objects of worship
(every culture)
In past: idols of wood, stone, metal
Bible times - worshipped 3 main idols:
BAAL (sex) MOLECH (violence) MAMMON (money)
TODAY: We have mental idols/metal
TV
worship the image of success/wealth/sensuality
idolize physical beauty
status/
athletic
Elvis!
wear our idols on T shirts!
GOD: IDOLIZING ANYTHING IS DUMB!
READ DEUT.4:15-16 (GN)
For your own good...dont sin by making an
idol in any form at all. Deut.4:15-16 (GN)
Why? 3 reasons - teach to kids

1. Idols will disappoint me

READ JER.10:14 (GN)
...those who make idols are disillusioned because the
gods they make are false and lifeless. Jer.10:14 (GN)
promise more than-can deliver

-wear our label, youll be popular

-buy..product....
successful
-use toothpaste
sex appeal
-drink our beer
be fulfilled
ILL: Ever bought something thru mail-be disappointed?
Sea monkeys? Solid gold medallion...
FACT: When you expect any person or anything...
to solve all your problems
to guarantee your happiness
DISAPPOINTED!
READ HAB.2:18 (GN)
Whats the use of an idol? Its only something a man
has made. What good does it do...to trust it? Hab.2:18 (GN)
2. Idols will dominate me
READ 1 COR.12:2 (GN)
...(before you knew Christ) you were controlled by
dead idols, who always led you astray. 1 Cor.12:2 (GN)
Notice 2 eventual effects
A) End up being controlled
Result - it runs your life

(addictions)

ILL: I could give this up anytime Right!

B) You lose your values perspective led astray
THE
Lure of a promotion
Profit motive
Promise of fame

HAS CAUSED MANY TO

ignore their family
compromise..convictions
throw away their integrity

MAYBE YOUVE NEVER REALIZED..

When-allow-someones approval to control you
from doing whats right - IDOLATRY!
1ST STEP: BREAKING CODEPENDENCY - Put God first

3. Idols will deform me

You lose your uniqueness.

READ PS.115:8 (GN) & JER.2:5 (GN)

Those who make idols will become like them, and

so will those who trust in them. Ps.115:8 (GN)
They worshipped worthless things and became worthless
themselves. Jer.2:5 (GN)
..shape an idol & it ends up shaping you!
FACT: WE BECOME LIKE WHAT WE VALUE MOST
ILL: Yuppie came to Jesus sell it all Idol!
sadly walked away..

If you cant give a possession away if God tells you=IDOL

AMAZING: how big $50 seems at church/small
Dad complaining - ch service in car going home..
Little boy I didnt think it was a bad show for a $1
Anytime you value something or someone more than God
eventually disappoint, dominate, deform
NOW THE FLIP SIDE -

II. WORSHIP ONLY GOD!

Worship - to give my highest love & devotion
Only God deserves that!
Unfortunate ROM.1:25 describes most people.
READ ROM.1:25 (GN)
(Many) exchange the truth about God for a lie; they
worship and serve what God has created instead of
the Creator himself! Rom.1:25 (GN)
CRAZY what people will worship today:
-nature/pyramids/good luck charms
-the stars (astrology)
-crystals
Why do intelligent people fall - irrational nonsense?
An attempt to limit God to a location
-I always know where he is
-I can go places where he cant see what Im doing
-..dont want him around? Shut the door

An attempt to reduce Gods size/power

Whittle him down to our size-less imposing
-More convenient/manageable.
ILLUS: IM DRAWING A PICTURE OF GOD
But no one knows what he looks like!
We want God in our lives-but in careful, small doses
..want to control the situation/doesnt get out of hand
An attempt to control God-for our purposes
God becomes a genie - I can manipulate
BUT GOD WONT BE PUT IN A BOX!
JOKE: If you ever want to see your mother again..
YOU CANT MANIPULATE GOD!
BUT - Hes promised incredible benefits
when we give him our love & devotion:
BENEFITS
1. IT WILL DELIGHT ME
Ill experience the fulfillment in life Ive

been looking for.

READ PS.37:4 (GN)
Seek your happiness in the Lord and He will give
you your hearts desire. Ps.37:4 (GN)
guaranteed!
Common I only wish Id done this sooner
Q: How many of you?
READ ROM.10:11 (GN)
Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed. Rom.10:11(GN)
Cant beat the real thing!
Accept no substitutes!
2. IT WILL DELIVER ME
-experience freedom like never felt
WHY?
no longer controlled by approval of others
...need to prove yourself
...lack the power to break addictions
...afraid of dying!
...haunted by past regrets!

READ JOHN 8:31-32 & JOHN 8:36

Jesus said, If you obey my teaching...you will know
the truth and the truth will set you free. Jn.8:31-32
If the Son sets you free, you will be really free. Jn.8:36
I can to ALL things...
3. IT WILL DEVELOP ME
READ 2 COR.3:18b (LB)
As the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become
more and more like Him. 2 Cor.3:18b (LB)
Law: You become like what you love/worship
WORSHIP...
Money
Self
Christ

BECOME...
Materialistic
Selfish
Christlike!
READ EPH.4:13-15 (Ph)

We arrive at maturity-that measure of development

which is meant by the fullness of Christ. Eph.4:13-15 (Ph)
Gods plan is that you become like Christ
The only way to become all youre meant...
*******************************
I dont have any idols in my home. Im a believer
IDOLATRY CAN BE INTERNAL/EXTERNAL

A MENTAL IMAGE OF GOD CAN BE JUST AS DISTORTED AS..METAL...

How do you imagine God? some...
-unpleasable parent...angry step-parent
-weak grandparent-lets you get away with murder
Today-reversed: Gen.,1:27 & Ps.118:24
If God doesnt fit my lifestyle-change my image of God
My God winks at immorality Doesnt care...
GODS IMAGE IS NOT OPTIONAL!
WHAT IS GOD REALLY LIKE?
God wants you to have the right picture of him so he sent Jesus

READ COL.1:5
Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. Col.1:5
Look at Jesus!
ILL: Philip Show us the Father Seen me...
YOU GET TO KNOW GOD BY GETTING TO KNOW JESUS! (Gal.5:22-23)
Want to build a strong family?
Step 1: Put God first
Step 2: Accept no substitutes. Reserve your highest love &
devotion for God. Get to know Jesus Christ
who God sent to show us what hes really like.
(BENEFITS)

Shifting images of the Almighty

Despite claims that we have become amoral and godless, 95 percent of the respondents in a recent study
professed a belief in God What has changed, according to sociologist Wade Clark Roof, are peoples
images, not their affirmations.
Americans have traditionally held very paternal views of the Deity, but they are gradually accepting
softer images. Roof analyzed the results of a question about images of God that appeared in the General
Social Survey, sponsored by the National Opinion Research Center. Respondents were given 12 images of
God: Creator, Father, Friend, Healer, Judge, King, Liberator, Lover, Master, Mother, Redeemer and
Spouse, and asked, When you think about God, how likely are each of these images to come to your
mind?
Creator was the most dominant image, chosen by 82 percent of the more than 1,500 respondents.
Spouse was the least popular, selected by only 17 percent. Healer and Friend were chosen by 69 percent
and 62 percent, respectively.
Despite the fact that traditional paternal and authoritative images were selected more often than
softer images, Roof believes peoples images are more individual, intimate and softer than they used to
be. Almost half of the respondents said they can imagine God as lover;
one-fourth can see God as a mother.
Surprisingly, conventionally religious respondents were more likely to acknowledge softer and less
traditional images than those with more secularized attitudes toward religion. Roof speculates that
conventionally religious people are more likely to consider various images of God because they spend more
time thinking about God in general.
Highly educated respondents were unlikely to think of God in terms of any of the images provided
by the survey. For them, views of the Deity may be more abstract. Despite the current conservative
movement, images of God are very much in flux, says Roof. People are reaching out for more personal,
intimate images.
Roof is at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Jennifer L. Roof, a student of psychology,
collaborated with Roof. The research appeared in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion (Vol.23,
No.2)