everybody, the musicians, and just so grateful
for what God's done among us this morning. If
you have your Bibles, grab those. We're gonna
be in 1 Corinthians chapter 10 this morning,
1 Corinthians 10. We're gonna be looking at verses
one to 14. What do you think about when someone
says the word idol? You car guys probably are
thinking about like your car idling, but I'm
not talking about IDLE I'm talking about IDOL
when you think about the word idol, what do you
think about? Maybe some of us would think of
like pagan idols kind of like ones on the screen
pagan expressions of such a thing foreign people
Worshipping foreign gods. We've all seen that
Sometimes even in our own in our own city But
obviously a lot more at overseas if you ever
traveled overseas that you see idols of all kinds
and that still goes on in the in the world Maybe
you've seen idols in the shops of people from
overseas a Buddha here or some other shrine We've
all maybe seen them in movies. Can you might
name that movie? Hey, he said not only he said
not only the right Series he said the right movie.
That was awesome. Indiana Jones, right? And like
that we've seen idols and those kinds of things
in recent years There's been I say recent years
like the last 20 years at least there's been
this show called American Idol. Have you guys
have seen that show? You can admit it. We're
fine. You know, it's not a big deal You know
the reason that doesn't I got a picture of that
too. There's there's people that the reason they
call it that the name of it being American Idol
is that the idea that people idolize celebrities,
people idolize, you may even use that expression,
you know, oh man, I love that guy, he's like
my idol, right? Or I like that athlete or I like
that actor or whatever and people feel that way
about different things or he idolizes them. And
while there's a lot of gravity to those words,
we use it in a common vernacular just to say
I really like this person. And that whole idea
comes, like I said, from this motivation that
people want to be celebrated. We want to be idolized.
That can happen. The subject at hand today, obviously,
as we're going through 1 Corinthians, this is
the 22nd sermon in that series. We'll still keep
going. We're in the middle of 1 Corinthians chapter
10. Last week we covered 1 to 13. Today we're
in verse 14. If you don't find yourselves particularly
idolizing someone like that and you don't have
any graven images, maybe you don't have like
an actual statue at your house that you bow down
to or offer sacrifices to, you may come to think
that idolatry isn't something that you have to
deal with or something you have to repent of
because it's not particularly relevant to you.
And I get that. And in a sense, you may be right
to think that you don't have a problem with that
kind of idolatry. or that you couldn't have a
problem with it because, but to think that, that
idolatry as a subject is not part of your life
or not relevant to you, would be for you to be
really mistaken. It's both prevalent. Idolatry
is prevalent in our culture right now, in Finley,
Ohio, sometimes in my own heart and life, right?
Idolatry is a relevant thing. It's a prevalent
thing. Because in the most basic sense, idolatry,
happens when we sacrifice and worship a graven
image, an idol, as a deity. But in a very real
sense, idolatry happens when we treat God any
other way as something other than what he truly
is, or when we don't give him what he rightly
deserves. That's idolatry. And... When we give
devotion, when we give adoration and worship
to anything that only God deserves, we're committing
the sin of idolatry. And I've entitled today's
message. This is the message today. I don't usually
tell you my titles. I feel like I have to have
them, but I don't always tell them to you. But
here's today's title, why you should run from
idolatry. Why you should run from idolatry. Because
this is the case that Paul makes in the text.
He says, You have your Bible, 1 Corinthians chapter
10. I should go to the actual text. Here we go,
ready? He says, verse 14, wherefore my dearly
beloved, what's the next word? Flee from idolatry.
Run from it, right? It's the case that Paul makes
here. Most importantly, the sin of idolatry is
so dangerous and damaging to us and it dishonors
God. Now. As we come to this text, let me give
you like the background of where we've been.
I know we have some people who are here today
that haven't been with us and they're new. Paul's
writing to the Corinthians and dealing with problems
that he observed in their church and when...
and then answering about problems that they have
known and are talking about in the church. So
there's problems that he saw and then there's
problems that they saw and they're asking questions
of him and they wrote to him. So chapters eight
through 10 is him asking questions. And it's
really asking questions about this, our liberty
in Christ. Who likes the word liberty? Who likes
the word freedom? Yeah, don't fist me in, man.
I like freedom. I wanna do what I wanna do. And
in Christ, there is a sense we have freedom,
right? There is freedom in Christ. And praise
the Lord, we don't, who's glad that you didn't
have to bring an animal in here today to sacrifice,
right? That we don't, not only do we not have
like, we have a nursery, but then we also have
like, and we got a cemetery back, but I'm glad
we don't have to have like a farm. where we're
keeping all these animals, right? We don't have
to do those sacrifices. We don't have to do this
ceremony. If you become a Christian as a man,
you don't have to have a surgery. Like that's
what they did before in the Judaism when someone
converted, I won't go into it, there's kids here.
But the point is, I'm glad I got freedom in Christ,
aren't you? I'm so glad for that. But the question
becomes like, how free am I? How free am I in
Christ? How does my liberty, how much liberty
do I have in things that are not a part of the
ceremonial law, but are part of the moral law,
right? Obviously the moral lie, I've got to do
what the moral law says. We agree, who agrees?
Let's not kill people. Let's not commit adultery,
let's not steal. But what about those other areas?
This question came to the church. in Corinth
like this, and stay with me if you've heard this
in the last couple of weeks, but just to catch
everybody up. In that culture, it came to the
church with a question of meat offered to idols.
In that culture, meat was offered to idols in
ceremony. And so you, eating of meat that had
been offered to idols could come to you in a
couple of different ways. Either people offered
it to the idol worshipers, Like people would
Offered it as idol worship was themselves and
then they would take it home themselves and eat
it Because kind of funny the idol didn't need
it Right, or if you were a guest in somebody's
home Someone would be offering you food and you
don't know because of the culture is so prevalent
to get Meat that would have been offered at all
You don't know if you're eating the meat that
was had been offered to an idol when you're a
guest in the home or maybe even You go to the
you go to the market and at the market There's
meat and it's all there and some of the meat
that had been offered to idol is now for sale
You know pagan priests would sell it or whatever
and so you could get it on a discount who's for
discount meat I'm for discount meat if it's high
quality right if it's like about to go bad I'm
not so much for discount me right but but the
idea is that they people like shop there and
goodbye and so what was happening in the in the
church there is that the more mature believers
have come to this understanding that because
an idol is nothing, and by the way, an idol is
nothing, that's why they're not eating the meat
when it's offered to them. An idol is a graven
image, it doesn't have any power in and of itself,
who agrees? Paul said that, the idol's nothing.
And because now, I'm really thankful for this,
as a Gentile believer, And even the Jews are
like, they could, God said that they can eat
any meat, right? Who's for cheeseburgers? Right?
Bacon. And all God's people said, amen. Right,
exactly. So I have freedom now. I don't have
to eat kosher. I can eat whatever meat that I
would want. But how far, when do I limit my freedom?
How far is too far? They knew that the eating
of meat wasn't sinful and they were right. According
to Paul, it is technically not sinful. But some
of the weaker brothers and sisters in the church,
maybe some of the younger ones, saw it as sinful.
Maybe they had participated in idol worship previously
and thought that more distance should be given.
because of their previous participation in such
a lifestyle. I've experienced that in the years
where like somebody was like a rocker before
they got saved and they were in a rock band and
they did all that came, sex, drugs and rock and
all, all that came from that. And then now once
they got saved, they're like radically different
in anything that has any kind of guitar or drum
or bass. It's obviously bad and that's not necessarily
true, right? But because they... What's bad is
the sex, the drugs and all of that, but not necessarily
the instruments. Are you with me? But there are
people that do that. And maybe some of those
people in the church are like, man, I don't want
to be involved with anything that has to do with
my idolatry that happened in the past. So I don't
want to eat this meat because it hurts my conscience.
Or what's worse, maybe it was a temptation. Like,
man, this meat, it makes me want to go back and
participate. in things that I had participated
in before. Does that make sense? And some of
that happens too, right? And so Paul got to a
very important point. He said that we have freedom
in Christ and he's helping the Corinthians to
understand that just because we are free to participate
in certain behaviors does not mean that we should
see how close we can get to the line. That we
should just, try to go, I'm gonna go as far as
I can and not think about anybody else. He says
just because we can participate in certain things
doesn't mean we always should participate in
those things. In this case, he used the example
of the children of Israel as they left Egypt
in the book of Exodus. Who agrees, that's a really
good picture of freedom. They went from actual
bondage in Egypt into. freedom going to this
promised land and in between Canaan and Egypt,
they were following the Lord in the wilderness.
And he uses an illustration of these free people
now that had experienced all that God had done,
but then used that freedom and messed up when
it came to this idea of idolatry. Paul told them
that this account from Exodus is an illustration.
Of course, these are the verses leading up to
what we're trying to teach you today. That those
children of Israel that went into the Egypt and
Moses left and they're like, Moses is gone. You
know what we're gonna do? We don't have anyone
to lead us now. He was gone for 40 days. They
had literally seen all God do amazing things,
but they got to the point where like, we're gonna
fashion to God. And they told Aaron, the guy
who was second in charge, make us a God. that's
gonna lead us. And in doing that, the Bible says
they sat down to eat and drink and then they
rose up to play. And Paul was saying that this
was written so that you would know that we shouldn't
lust like they lusted, that we shouldn't murmur
like they murmured, we shouldn't do the things
that they did. When we fashion an idol of our
own hands and we try to worship that, sometimes
we do it because we don't want to be held accountable
by the living God. We don't want to do the rules
and the regulations that He's put for us, so
we want to do whatever we want to do. So we'll
worship the God that doesn't demand from us.
That allows us to do whatever we want. As a result
of that, as a result of what happened there,
God disciplined them. And the Bible says 23 ,000
in one day fell. What does that mean? Fell under
the judgment of God. So Paul gives them this
warning, and this is where we lead up to our
text for today. He tells them about their freedom
and the temptations that come with idolatry,
and he says in chapter 10, verse 12 and 13, as
we lead up to our text, wherefore, let him that
thinks he stands, that thinketh he standeth,
take heed, lest he fall, fall to temptation and
fall under the judging, the consequences, the
actions towards God. And then he says, this encouraging,
who agrees that verse 13 is encouraging? There's
no temptation taking you, but such as is common
to man, but God is faithful who will not suffer
you to be tempted above that you're able, but
will with the temptation also make a way to escape
that ye may be able to bear it. God will make
a way of escape from that idolatry and the temptation
that comes with it. That's what he says. Who's
grateful for that? I'm so grateful that I don't
have to do. what I'm tempted to do. That in Christ
and with the Holy Spirit, God can help me to
say no to temptation and to falling to that.
And it's at this point then Paul says what we
say in verse 14, ready? Wherefore my dearly beloved,
because you can fall. But you don't have to fall.
He's saying, flee fornication. Because you can
fall under God's disciplining hand. Because God's
desire is for you to recognize Him as God, having
rescued from the bondage of sin and death. Because
He is providing a way to escape from idolatry
and temptation. Flee! I just woke up like four
people. It's warm in here, okay? Are you guys
warm? Okay, I'm warm because I'm nervous. Okay.
He says like run from idolatry. Don't use your
freedom in Christ to do temptation or to see
how close to the line you can get. Use your freedom
in Christ to live for Christ. Flee, flee idolatry.
He says in verse 15, I speak as to wise men.
Judge ye what I say. He says, I'm treating you
like wise people so that you will be wise. Right?
I don't want you to ignore the potential dangers
that come with idolatry. I don't want you to
be a slave once God's given you freedom. I want
you to be wise and discerning when it comes to
your freedoms in Christ. And what's wisdom? Flee
idolatry and all that comes with it. Eating this
meat is not the same as worshiping an idol. That's
what he's saying. But that doesn't mean that
you should allow this freedom to get you back
into that lifestyle It's not wrong for us to
do a lot of things But those neutral things sure
can replace God in your life That leads to all
kinds of dangers and discipline from the Lord.
It's not wrong to watch a movie But can entertaining
ourselves become an idol? You better believe
it there are dangerous and sinful ways to entertain
ourselves It's not wrong to play sports, but
parents, we better be careful about setting up
our kids for replacing devotion to God with devotion
to sports. Does that make sense? An idol is nothing
but idolatry is dangerous and we should flee
from idolatry. Here's three reasons why we should
do it. We should flee from idolatry. Pretty simple.
Sermon, here it is. We should flee from idolatry
for three reasons. Number one, we're one in Christ.
We are one in Christ. Look what he says in verse
16. He says, the cup of blessing which we bless,
is it not communion of the blood of Christ? The
bread which we break, is it not communion of
the body of Christ? For we being many are one
bread and one body, for we are all partakers
of that one bread. Let me kind of talk about
what he's talking about here. There's two ordinances
that God gave to the church. We're gonna practice
one of them today in believers baptism, right?
It's a picture of Christ's death, burial and
resurrection. Those who are saved should follow
the Lord in believers baptism, amen? We saw people
do it last week. It was amazing. We had five
people. We're gonna think we have four or five
people today. They're gonna follow the Lord in
believers baptism. That's an awesome thing. It's
a picture of Christ's death, bone, resurrection,
and who we are in Christ. Getting in the water
doesn't put us into Christ, it just tells everybody
that I am in Christ. Does that make sense? There's
a second order, and it's called the Lord's Table,
it's communion. Jesus literally said, this is
my body which is broken, this is my blood which
is shed, this do, this take, in remembrance of
me. He took the Passover meal, another Exodus
reference. and said, this meal is not just about
remembering that I brought you out of Egypt.
This meal is also a memorial of that, but it's
also a looking forward to Christ's death on the
cross and his resurrection. His blood that was
shed, his body that was broken, and by the way,
he also says one day he's coming back. That's
pretty exciting. And so here's what Paul's saying.
Hey, you who are in Christ, you are baptized
believers in Christ, you're part of this church.
He says to them, the cup of blessing which we
bless, is it not communion with the blood of
Christ? Don't we participate with Christ in the
fact that we're saying we're in Christ because
Jesus shed his blood? Yeah. Aren't we saying
that we're in Christ's bread, which we break?
Is it not the communion with the body of Christ?
He's not saying that the wine and the bread,
the juice and the bread become the body and blood
of Christ. That's not what he's saying. What
he's saying is when you take that, you're receiving
it as understanding that that's what this is
representing. Does that make sense? He says,
for we being many are one bread. What does that
mean? The people who are in Christ are part of
the body of Christ. We're in Christ. We're one
body. He's the head, we're the body. We're all
partakers of that one bread. We are part of Christ's
body because we have trusted in Him and been
put into Him. We are not right with God by being
in anything or anybody else. I am the way, the
truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father
but by me. So our identity is with him our fate
is up to him and praise the Lord He will hold
us fast like the children of Israel baptized
into Moses meaning they were Identifying with
Moses. We have been baptized into Christ. We
are in Christ The scripture says that we are
one body and we're all partakers of that one
bread Christ's body was sacrificed and his blood
was shed for us. And when we receive that we
are saved because we received that we are being
saved and because we receive that we will be
saved. Does that make sense? I'm in because of
him, his body and his blood. I'm in only because
of him, his body and his blood. God paid a price
to put us into Christ. Did you hear me? God paid
a price to put us into Christ. What was his price?
His son, the blood of his son. I've said this
before, I'll say it again. I love Ezekiel, Wayne,
Jennings. That kid is my kid. And if it's up
to me to choose you or to choose him, I'm choosing
him. Are you with me? But God did not spare his
only son. He put him to death. So should we worship
another God when we have a God who gave us his
son? Should we worship another God when we realize
that when we, and the argument he's making is
when you participate in idolatry, what you're
doing is you're participating in such a way that,
what they were doing literally was going to a
idol and communing with that idol and he'll get
into where that, what happens here. When we do
it, we're communing with God, we're identifying
with Christ, we're in him. I should flee idolatry
because the worship of that idol steals from
God devotion that I owe him for the great price
that was paid to put me into Christ. That's the
first reason, number two. Here's the second reason
we should flee idolatry. Don't think I'm crazy,
we're just taking the text. Idolatry participates
with demons. Verses 18 to 20, here it says, Behold
Israel after the flesh are not they which eat
of the sacrifices partakers of the altar. In
verse 18, he refers to Jews being partakers of
the altar. When the Jews partook in the sacrifice
that they were participating with God in, they
were doing that on that altar. They were participating
with God. When they were doing that, what was
happening is you're buying into the God of the
system you are being obedient to through participation.
Israel did this obediently towards God through
the brazen altar and the tabernacle and the temple.
They also did that through participation and
idol worship in the wilderness. The golden calf
worship and the adulterous behavior were connected.
He says in verse 19, so he goes on says what
say I then that the idol is anything or that
which is offered and sacrificed to the idols
is anything He had already told him that an idol
was nothing He's like am I saying now something
that I that goes against what I was saying before
the implied answer is no He's not saying that
an idol was something. He's saying it's nothing
But he goes on and makes this clarification verse
20, but I say that the things which the Gentiles
sacrifice They sacrifice to, what's the next
word? Devils, and not to God. And I would not
that you should fellowship with devils. Here's
a pretty easy position for me to take. We shouldn't
participate with devils. Who agrees? Right. The
spiritual force behind the system that drives
devotion and worship to that false idol, he says,
is demonic. False religion is governed and perpetrated
in part by false, evil, untrustworthy demonic
forces. I'm not saying that every lie that's
told is a lie that originated from the devil,
but... the devil's the father of lies. And he's
saying here that there is a specific kind of
idolatry, a specific kind of false religion,
that's actually participation. It has its source
in the demonic. Despite our monitored tendency
to seek material explanation, scripture affirms
the reality of the unseen spiritual realm. In
Ephesians 6 it says, we wrestle not against flesh
and blood, but against principalities and powers,
spiritual wickedness in high places. In our text
today in Sunday school, be sober, be vigilant
for your adversary the devil walks about like
a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. Part
of how he devours people is with false religion.
Being assured of salvation that you don't have,
being assured of Doctrine that didn't come from
God. It's literally the doctrine of devils. The
children of Israel had problems with idolatry
throughout the Old Testament. They participated
in bail worship. They participated in worship
to a god named Molech. Molech was a graven image
that stood with arms outstretched and an oven
in its belly. And worshipers would offer their
babies to an outstretched arm of the god Molech
with fire in its belly. Gehenna, who's already
heard of the term gehenna? It's a term that is
described in the Bible as hell. That's another
name for hell. The word gehenna came from the
Valley of Hinnom, the Valley of Hinnom or Gehenna.
And it started as a place where they would offer
babies to Molech. It turned into a waste dump
where they would burn trash. Jesus used it as
this illustration of a place where the fire does
not die and the worm is not quenched. Jesus used
Gehenna as an illustration of hell, a place of
eternal punishment for the wicked. We may think,
man, I'm so glad we're so much more sophisticated
than that. We don't believe in that kind of God
that would cause us to sacrifice babies like
that. Yet in our culture, we have killed babies
by the millions. You don't think that's spiritual
warfare? Galatians 1, 6 says, I marvel that you're
so soon removed from Him that called you into
the grace of Christ unto another gospel, which
is not another. But there are some be that trouble
you and will pervert the gospel or the good news
of Christ. He says this, check this out, but
though we are an angel from heaven, Preach any
other gospel unto you than that which you have
preached unto you. That we have preached unto
you, let him be accursed. Let him be anathema.
That's what that word is. As we said before,
so say I now again, if any man preach any other
gospel unto you than that which you have received,
let them be accursed. In this scripture, we find
out three things that I'd like to point out.
First, there are false gospels that are proposed,
which are not good news. If the gospel is changed,
then it's a gospel that can't save, it's a gospel
that damns. If it's a false gospel, it's not
the gospel. And if you believe a false gospel,
you'll spend eternity separated from God. I'm
telling you, this sermon is not gonna make me
popular. Okay, I'm just trying to deliver the
mail. He also states, notice in the verse, he
states that an angel isn't sufficient authority
to change the gospel. There are spiritual forces
that preach another gospel. Do you get it? And
he's saying, I don't care if they're a man or
if they're an angel, if they're giving you a
different gospel, they need to be accursed. Third,
he says that a false gospel ought to be utterly
rejected. There are systems of theology that
say that yes, Jesus, there are some systems of
theology that are like, yeah, Jesus is good,
but also, and they add to it. False teachings
that appear Christian while altering the gospel
are spiritual warfare designed to deceive people
into worshiping a manufactured version of God
and a manufactured version of Jesus. Worshipping
saints or Mary is fundamentally similar to worshiping
false gods. Idolatry continues today in all kinds
of various forms and all such practices stem
from deception with Satan being the father of
lies. Now here's the good news. Greater is he
that is in you than he that is in the world.
Idolatry is a big deal. We have freedom to, in
Christ, to live in the culture and not be a part
of the culture. Idols are nothing, but idolatry
can align us with the demonic. Pastor Ben, are
you saying that there's such a thing as the demonic?
Yes, that's what I'm saying. Pastor Ben, are
you saying that I'm putting something ahead of
God? That if I'm putting something ahead of God,
that I'm demon possessed? Can a Christian be
demon possessed? If you're saved, you're indwelled
by the Holy Spirit. You cannot be saved and be
demon possessed. Paul's argument here is that
it's possible for a believer, though, to participate
in a system that is part of the lies of the demonic.
He's saying, don't let your freedom in Christ
allow you to have an excuse to get so close to
the edge that you're not discerning about participating
in the lies and schemes of the devil. Music,
athletics, arts, business, entertainment, these
can all be good, true, beautiful expressions
of the image of God in people. The person who's
not a Christian, who's musical, like they're
just gifted, I saw a guy one time, you just hand
him an instrument he'd never seen before and
he can play it. You guys know people like that?
God makes some people, they may not even know
Jesus as their savior, but they're being able
to do that. That can be a picture of the image
of God in them. God's creative. Who agrees God's
creative? Have you seen a platypus? Is God creative?
Holy cow. God is so creative. I want one. I want
a platypus. If you know a platypus guy, get me
one. But here's my point. God is creative and
God makes people creative and that's the image
of God in those people, right? That can be a
good thing, but be discerning loved ones. You
don't think that the devil has a part in the
world that we live in, in false religion, in
business, in art, and in music? Of course he
does. Be discerning. An idol is nothing, but
idolatry is dangerous. What do we do? What do
we do with idolatry? Flee, flee. Here's reason
number three. Number three, verse 21, Christ
deserves and demands our allegiance. Here's what
he says, verse 21, you cannot drink the cup of
the Lord and the cup of devils. You cannot be
partakers of the Lord's table and of the table
of devils. Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy?
Are we stronger than he? Now clearly someone
could physically drink from two different cups.
He's not talking about the physical act of drinking
here. When we drink of the Lord's table, we do
it to remember, honor and thank our Lord. When
someone participates in idolatry, they're honoring
devils. You cannot honor God and devils at the
same time. Pastor Ben, I love you, but I hate
Megan. You don't love me. You don't love me.
We are a package deal. Amen. If you're not for
her, you're not for me, right? Here's good news.
If you're for Jesus, if you're for Jesus, then
you're for the church. The Bible says God loved
and gave himself for the church, right? And we're
one body. We're one body. So, Paul urges these
people to flee idolatry because participating
in idolatry means choosing sides against God.
While believers are secure in Christ, who's thankful?
If any man be in Christ, he's a new creation.
There's no condemnation to those who are in Christ
Jesus. I cannot take myself out of the Father's
hand. I'm in Jesus's hand, Jesus is in God's
hand. No man can pluck us out of our Father's
hand. Who's glad for that? Right? What can separate
me from the love of Christ? Nothing. Nothing's
above or below or nothing. As Paul states, so
here's the thing. While believers are secure
in Christ, and salvation cannot be lost, participation
in idolatry can happen. We can put something
ahead of God in our lives. and idolatry disrupts
fellowship with God. As Paul states, we cannot
fellowship with God and with devils. These spiritual
allegiances are fundamentally incompatible. So
Christian, don't wear Northern tops and Confederate
bottoms. Are you with me? You're gonna get shot
either way. Two questions conclude it, this section.
Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? We can. That's
the answer. We shouldn't, but we do when our
allegiance goes to anything that should go to
him. You're saying God's jealous? Yeah, our God's
a jealous God. Somebody accused God of being
petty, but he's far from it. To align ourselves
against God is to reject his character. His character
is the definition of good. So to go against God
is to go against good. Good is good because it
reflects who God is. To align ourselves against
God is to align ourselves with evil. God is jealous
for your worship because not only does he deserve
it, but he also knows that's what's best for
you and for me. To align ourselves with what
is good. But he asked this question, do we provoke
the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?
What's the answer? No, of course not. We ought
not to think that there's no need to fear the
Lord. We cannot go against God and win. Satan
is a loser. I got like two amens. I'll give you
another crack at it, ready? Satan is a loser.
Yeah. There is victory in Jesus. I should only
participate in things that point to the Lord
and that don't compete for my allegiance with
him. So let me ask you a question. Here's a question.
Is there something stealing the allegiance and
devotion that God deserves in your life? Okay,
now I'm not talking to y 'all, now I'm talking
to you. Okay, moment of reflection. Is there
anything in your life that is stealing the allegiance
and devotion that only God deserves? Is there
something that you're participating in that's
dividing your allegiance? Here's the thing, Jesus,
shed his precious blood on the cross. God put
his son to death for us. Do we think there will
be no lost fellowship, no consequences for sin
if we use our freedom in Christ to participate
in things that lead us towards disobedience?
I'm not promoting legalism or license. I'm saying
use your freedom in Christ to find your satisfaction
in him and enjoy his creation. Did I mention
God made platypuses? Right, he's got a sense
of humor. It's like a beaver duck. I mean, it's
crazy. Look it up, it's amazing. God made sugar.
Right, God made bacon. God made so many things
to enjoy and as... As the created things, we
can enjoy what's created. We ought not to worship
what's created. Worship the creator, not the
created. Listen, loved ones, this is important.
So in a sense, come in close, listen to me. God
loves you. God loves me. I'm so grateful. I'm
so grateful that when I was his enemy because
of my sin, when I had nothing to offer God but
my sin and my faith, he responded. We love him
because he first loved us. God showed his love.
He committed his love to us in this, that while
we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. If you
trusted in Christ for salvation, you're secure.
You can't lose your salvation. But that does
not mean you're immune from idolatry and its
consequences. Our hearts, if we're not careful,
our hearts can be idle factories. God made us
to worship and it's so easy for our devotion
and allegiance to go to all kinds of things other
than Him. Everybody worships something. When
we worship something other than God, we lose.
When we set our affections on things above, we
have victory. Do you remember the words of that
old song? Victory in Jesus. I heard an old, old
story. How a savior came from glory. How he gave
his life on Calvary to save a wretch like me.
I heard about his groaning of his precious blood
atoning. Then I repented of my sins and won the
victory. victory in Jesus my Savior forever he
sought me and bought me with his redeeming blood
he loves me ere I knew him and all my love is
due him he plunged me to victory beneath the
cleansing flood does he not deserve our allegiance
and our affection and our worship. Enjoy what
He created, but cause it to have you worship
the Creator. And here's the good news. All of
us have committed the sin of idolatry. All of
us. You know what the number one idol that you
and I have is? Ourselves. Lust of the flesh,
lust of the eyes, pride of life. Get off the
throne. Put God on, he's on the throne. Put God
on the throne. That's what's best for us. And
the good news is, if he is not, he can be. It
happens like this, you repent. Bible says all
of sin comes short of the glory of God. God is
perfect and holy and righteous. and all of us
have fallen short of that. The Bible says that
the wages of us falling short of his glory is
death, but the gift of God is eternal life through
Jesus Christ our Lord. God loved us so much that
he offered his son as a sacrifice for our sin.
And he wants to in that give us Christ's righteousness
and. because he's taken our sin and given it
to Jesus. And if we confess our sins, he's faithful
and just to forgive us our sins. If we call on
the name of the Lord, the Bible says, that if
thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus,
believe in your heart that God raised them from
the dead, you will be saved. So today, flee idolatry.
You know what direction you go when you flee
idolatry? You run to Jesus. You run to Jesus.
Would you bow your heads and close your eyes
with me?