Ten Conversations: How to protect your Heart from Idolatry
Ten Conversations
“How to Protect Our Hearts”
You must not have any other god but Me
You must not make for yourself an idol
You must not misuse the name of the Lord your God
Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy
Honor your father and mother
You must not murder
You must not commit adultery
You must not steal
You must not lie
You must not covet
The second commandment is about who/what receives the affection of our hearts.
Exodus 20:4-5 (NLT) “You must not make for yourself an idol or any kind of an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. 5 You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods.”
His jealousy is the jealousy of a faithful, devoted husband who's protecting His relationship with His bride.
Exodus 34:14 (NLT) You must worship no other gods, for the Lord, whose very name is Jealous, is a God who is jealous about His relationship with you.
Jeremiah 2:20 (NLT) On every hill and under every green tree, you have prostituted yourselves by bowing down to idols.
Ezekiel 23:37 (NLT) They have committed…adultery by worshiping idols.
What is an idol?
What do I depend on when life gets hard?
What excites me the most?
What occupies my thoughts?
What would absolutely devastate me if it were taken away?
What gets the best of my time, my energy, my money, and my attention?
“You’ll discover your idol at the altar where you sacrifice your time, energy, and money.”
Idolatry is when something takes the place of God.
Jeremiah 2:11-13 (NLT) Has any nation ever traded its gods for new ones, even though they are not gods at all? Yet My people have exchanged their glorious God for worthless idols! 12 The heavens are shocked at such a thing and shrink back in horror and dismay,” says the Lord. 13 “For My people have done two evil things: They have abandoned Me—the fountain of living water. And they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all!
Exodus 32:1-8 (NLT) When the people saw how long it was taking Moses to come back down the mountain, they gathered around Aaron. “Come on,” they said, “make us some gods who can lead us. We don’t know what happened to this fellow Moses, who brought us here from the land of Egypt.” 2 So Aaron said, “Take the gold rings from the ears of your wives and sons and daughters, and bring them to me.” 3 All the people took the gold rings from their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4 Then Aaron took the gold, melted it down, and molded it into the shape of a calf. When the people saw it, they exclaimed, “O Israel, these are the gods who brought you out of the land of Egypt!” 5 Aaron saw how excited the people were, so he built an altar in front of the calf. Then he announced, “Tomorrow will be a festival to the Lord!” 6 The people got up early the next morning to sacrifice burnt offerings and peace offerings. After this, they celebrated with feasting and drinking, and they indulged in pagan revelry. 7 The Lord told Moses, “Quick! Go down the mountain! Your people whom you brought from the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. 8 How quickly they have turned away from the way I commanded them to live! They have melted down gold and made a calf, and they have bowed down and sacrificed to it. They are saying, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.’”
Our hands may be innocent of making graven images, but our imaginations and hearts rarely are.
Matthew 6:24 (NIV) “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
Deuteronomy 18:10-12 (NLT) And do not let your people practice fortune-telling, or use sorcery, or interpret omens, or engage in witchcraft, 11 or cast spells, or function as mediums or psychics, or call forth the spirits of the dead. 12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord.
Acts 10:26 (NLT) But Peter pulled him up and said, “Stand up! I’m a human being just like you!”
We fall into the trap of self-worship when we…
Trust ourselves more than God.
Make our feelings the ultimate authority.
Build our identity around our intelligence, success, popularity, appearance, and achievement.
Crave the approval of man.
Insist on being in control.
Pursue comfort more than obedience.
Become the center of every decision.
Luke 9:23 (NLT) “If any of you wants to be My follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow Me.”
Why are we drawn to idolatry?
Psalm 115:3-8 (NLT) Our God is in the heavens, and He does as He wishes. 4 Their idols are merely things of silver and gold, shaped by human hands. 5 They have mouths but cannot speak, and eyes but cannot see. 6 They have ears but cannot hear, and noses but cannot smell. 7 They have hands but cannot feel, and feet but cannot walk, and throats but cannot make a sound. 8 And those who make idols are just like them, as are all who trust in them.
Jonah 2:8 (NIV) “Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit [turn away] the grace [mercy] that could be theirs. <—Sobering.
How can we protect ourselves from worshipping idols?
1. By choosing to love God above everything else
2. By remembering what God has done
3. By regularly examining our hearts
1 John 5:21 (NLT) Dear children, keep away [flee] from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts.
1 Thessalonians 1:9 (NLT) …turn away from idols to serve the living and true God.