WEBVTT 00:00:09.939 --> 00:00:12.679 Hey everyone, this is Josh from Encounter Church 00:00:12.679 --> 00:00:15.279 Henley and thanks so much for tuning into our 00:00:15.279 --> 00:00:19.000 podcast. Our prayer is that through this podcast 00:00:19.000 --> 00:00:20.879 you can have an encounter with Jesus that will 00:00:20.879 --> 00:00:24.379 change your life. And now get ready for an inspiring 00:00:24.379 --> 00:00:29.339 message from our preaching team. Hello friends, 00:00:29.519 --> 00:00:35.119 let me pray. Lord Jesus, I pray that your word 00:00:35.119 --> 00:00:38.219 would speak tonight, that you would accomplish 00:00:38.219 --> 00:00:42.600 your will with us, your church, that we would 00:00:42.600 --> 00:00:46.659 hear your voice through your scriptures and through 00:00:46.659 --> 00:00:48.460 the proclamation of your word today. We pray 00:00:48.460 --> 00:00:52.799 this in Jesus' name, amen. If you don't know 00:00:52.799 --> 00:00:55.880 me, my name is Tim. I'm one of the pastors at 00:00:55.880 --> 00:00:58.320 Henley, and I'm gonna move this over to the other 00:00:58.320 --> 00:01:02.409 side. I reckon I was seven when Mum and Dad, 00:01:02.429 --> 00:01:04.870 they came home to me with the greatest news. 00:01:05.609 --> 00:01:08.709 Dad was going to go back to uni next year, which 00:01:08.709 --> 00:01:10.769 meant we were going to be poor for the next three 00:01:10.769 --> 00:01:14.730 years. But to make up for it, for the rest of 00:01:14.730 --> 00:01:20.209 that year, we would have Foxtel. I remember thinking, 00:01:20.269 --> 00:01:23.450 this is the best day of my life. Cartoon Network, 00:01:24.969 --> 00:01:28.290 Nickelodeon, Dexter's Laboratory, Teen Titans. 00:01:28.879 --> 00:01:33.560 Dragon Ball Z. Come on. Come on. Kim Possible. 00:01:34.980 --> 00:01:38.760 It was a glorious year of television, but it 00:01:38.760 --> 00:01:41.420 deeply shaped a story about my family, which 00:01:41.420 --> 00:01:44.640 lives with me to this day, that we didn't have 00:01:44.640 --> 00:01:48.340 a lot. And the contrast was always highlighted 00:01:48.340 --> 00:01:50.540 when we visited cousins on either side of the 00:01:50.540 --> 00:01:54.200 family. And it created a mindset within me as 00:01:54.200 --> 00:01:57.280 I got older that money was a security. And so 00:01:57.280 --> 00:02:00.879 when I got a job at 16, I started saving diligently 00:02:00.879 --> 00:02:05.099 as my parents had trained me. 10 % to God, 10 00:02:05.099 --> 00:02:08.139 % to the savings, and 90 % for basketball shoes 00:02:08.139 --> 00:02:12.120 and PlayStation. Praise God. And as my earnings 00:02:12.120 --> 00:02:14.800 and expenses grew, I started to get a reputation 00:02:14.800 --> 00:02:19.460 within my friends of being a real sting. I started 00:02:19.460 --> 00:02:21.860 to see the number in my bank account as a source 00:02:21.860 --> 00:02:26.629 of security. And then I met my lovely wife and 00:02:26.629 --> 00:02:29.090 got married and spent all of my savings on a 00:02:29.090 --> 00:02:32.710 wedding. And that was a good decision. But it 00:02:32.710 --> 00:02:36.710 did something in me. The sense of and feeling 00:02:36.710 --> 00:02:39.969 of security from the numbers that were in my 00:02:39.969 --> 00:02:42.090 bank account began to grow in me and grow in 00:02:42.090 --> 00:02:45.050 me. And so did my anxiety about it and so the 00:02:45.050 --> 00:02:48.250 stingier and stingier I became. And my newly 00:02:48.250 --> 00:02:50.430 married wife who was one of the least stingiest 00:02:50.430 --> 00:02:55.020 people that I know. had had a gutful of this 00:02:55.020 --> 00:02:57.780 and so she drew a line with me she sat me down 00:02:57.780 --> 00:03:03.479 and she made me she made me give up a priceless 00:03:03.479 --> 00:03:06.759 limited edition award -winning Shiraz that had 00:03:06.759 --> 00:03:08.919 been given to us as an engagement present no 00:03:08.919 --> 00:03:13.120 less to a friend of ours for no reason at all 00:03:13.120 --> 00:03:18.939 just because it wasn't even his birthday and 00:03:18.939 --> 00:03:20.979 I hated it but I could see what she was trying 00:03:20.979 --> 00:03:25.319 to do And I kind of agreed with her. I needed 00:03:25.319 --> 00:03:29.439 to release my grip on what was now our finances. 00:03:30.919 --> 00:03:35.599 And I had to release my grip on it as a source 00:03:35.599 --> 00:03:38.580 of security because I had a source of security 00:03:38.580 --> 00:03:42.900 that would not abandon me in Jesus. And in giving 00:03:42.900 --> 00:03:46.120 away this priceless limited edition bottle of 00:03:46.120 --> 00:03:51.159 wine away, it broke something in me. Because 00:03:51.159 --> 00:03:53.479 it took me all the way in the opposite direction 00:03:53.479 --> 00:03:56.979 to what was my current default mode of operation 00:03:56.979 --> 00:03:58.560 when it came to monies and possessions, which 00:03:58.560 --> 00:04:01.900 was to conserve it and protect what I had and 00:04:01.900 --> 00:04:04.400 what I'd been given, clinging into it as if I'd 00:04:04.400 --> 00:04:06.379 never get a priceless, limited edition bottle 00:04:06.379 --> 00:04:08.539 of wine again in my life, which I haven't, just 00:04:08.539 --> 00:04:12.439 for the record. But instead of conserving it, 00:04:12.759 --> 00:04:15.759 I released it. And so by doing so, it actually 00:04:15.759 --> 00:04:19.980 released a heart for generosity in my life. And 00:04:19.980 --> 00:04:22.660 I found Jesus to be correct when he says, it's 00:04:22.660 --> 00:04:27.259 more blessed to give than it is to receive. And 00:04:27.259 --> 00:04:29.759 now money, money's a good thing. We need to pay 00:04:29.759 --> 00:04:32.420 the bills, to live, to buy ice cream, all of 00:04:32.420 --> 00:04:35.319 the fundamental and important parts of life that 00:04:35.319 --> 00:04:37.899 you can't live without. And what I'm trying to 00:04:37.899 --> 00:04:39.879 illustrate with my own experience is what happens 00:04:39.879 --> 00:04:43.720 when a good thing, like money, becomes an ultimate 00:04:43.720 --> 00:04:48.259 thing. A thing that I feel I need to be content. 00:04:49.100 --> 00:04:54.339 at peace, happy. A thing that I might say, if 00:04:54.339 --> 00:05:00.699 only I had that, then I would be happy. Then 00:05:00.699 --> 00:05:04.779 I would be secure. Then I would be at peace. 00:05:06.420 --> 00:05:08.319 See, my relationship to money had gotten to a 00:05:08.319 --> 00:05:10.759 point where I thought, if only I had enough zeros 00:05:10.759 --> 00:05:13.339 in my account, then I can deal with anything. 00:05:13.839 --> 00:05:20.149 Then I'll be okay. A good thing, money, had become 00:05:20.149 --> 00:05:23.829 an ultimate thing in my life. And ultimate things, 00:05:23.829 --> 00:05:26.149 they have a lot of resonance in Scripture because 00:05:26.149 --> 00:05:30.329 this habit that we have of making good things 00:05:30.329 --> 00:05:34.329 ultimate things is what the Bible calls idolatry. 00:05:35.209 --> 00:05:43.029 The worship of idols. Idolatry was physical images 00:05:43.029 --> 00:05:46.029 and statues of other gods that people would worship. 00:05:46.490 --> 00:05:49.589 And this is a basic human habit across cultures 00:05:49.589 --> 00:05:52.829 and times. John Calvin, one of the reformers, 00:05:52.949 --> 00:05:54.990 famously wrote in his institutes that the human 00:05:54.990 --> 00:05:59.790 heart is a perpetual idle factory. It's just 00:05:59.790 --> 00:06:04.769 making idols constantly. Take the Canaanite god 00:06:04.769 --> 00:06:08.990 Baal, a weather and fertility god. Now I wonder, 00:06:09.050 --> 00:06:12.470 what's at the heart of worshipping a god of the 00:06:12.470 --> 00:06:16.439 weather and of fertility? Well, it's in... It's 00:06:16.439 --> 00:06:19.639 making the good things of children for your family 00:06:19.639 --> 00:06:22.220 and rain for your crops, which were both measures 00:06:22.220 --> 00:06:25.819 of wealth and power in those days. It makes those 00:06:25.819 --> 00:06:28.519 good things ultimate things, things you feel 00:06:28.519 --> 00:06:31.860 you must have, things you feel you can't go without, 00:06:32.000 --> 00:06:35.180 things you feel you must have to have meaning 00:06:35.180 --> 00:06:40.839 and value and security. And in the ancient cultures 00:06:40.839 --> 00:06:43.579 we find in the Old Testament, good things made 00:06:43.579 --> 00:06:46.500 ultimate things they look like ritual worship 00:06:46.500 --> 00:06:50.139 of idols these are images or statues of the god 00:06:50.139 --> 00:06:55.439 of x y or z fertility war weather whatever in 00:06:55.439 --> 00:06:58.879 a world view where where they believe that a 00:06:58.879 --> 00:07:03.339 god would be manifestly present in its image 00:07:03.339 --> 00:07:05.480 in its statue in its idol you could pray to it 00:07:05.480 --> 00:07:10.240 it would hear you it would speak but we're not 00:07:10.240 --> 00:07:14.480 in that kind of culture today In today's culture 00:07:14.480 --> 00:07:17.160 here in Australia, we mostly don't go around 00:07:17.160 --> 00:07:22.519 sacrificing to altars of other gods, right? But 00:07:22.519 --> 00:07:25.180 you better believe we make good things ultimate 00:07:25.180 --> 00:07:30.660 things. See, idolatry is still rife in and outside 00:07:30.660 --> 00:07:34.680 the church. It just looks different. It's subtler, 00:07:34.740 --> 00:07:39.000 but it's just as damaging. How do we diagnose 00:07:39.000 --> 00:07:42.240 this in our life? Well, the late Tim Keller says 00:07:42.240 --> 00:07:46.860 this, What's an idol? It is anything more important 00:07:46.860 --> 00:07:50.819 to you than God. Anything that absorbs your heart 00:07:50.819 --> 00:07:54.779 and imagination more than God. Anything you seek 00:07:54.779 --> 00:07:59.259 to give to give you what only God can give you. 00:07:59.600 --> 00:08:02.240 It's anything so essential, central and essential 00:08:02.240 --> 00:08:05.439 to your life that should you lose it, your life 00:08:05.439 --> 00:08:09.040 would feel hardly worth living. An idol has such 00:08:09.040 --> 00:08:11.550 controlling position in your heart. that you 00:08:11.550 --> 00:08:13.550 can spend most of your passion and energy, your 00:08:13.550 --> 00:08:15.750 emotional and financial resources on it without 00:08:15.750 --> 00:08:18.389 even a second thought. It can be family and children 00:08:18.389 --> 00:08:21.730 or career or making money or achievement or critical 00:08:21.730 --> 00:08:25.610 acclaim or saving face or social standing. It 00:08:25.610 --> 00:08:28.209 can be romantic relationship, peer approval, 00:08:28.829 --> 00:08:32.009 competence and skill, secure and comfortable 00:08:32.009 --> 00:08:35.450 circumstances, your beauty or your brains, a 00:08:35.450 --> 00:08:37.990 great political or social cause, your morality. 00:08:38.570 --> 00:08:42.049 and virtue or even success in Christian ministry. 00:08:42.769 --> 00:08:45.029 When your meaning in life is to fix someone else's 00:08:45.029 --> 00:08:48.549 life we may call it codependency but it is really 00:08:48.549 --> 00:08:52.690 idolatry and this is what he says, an idol is 00:08:52.690 --> 00:08:55.509 whatever I look at and I say in your heart of 00:08:55.509 --> 00:08:59.549 hearts, if I have that then I'll feel my life 00:08:59.549 --> 00:09:02.529 has meaning, then I'll know I have value, then 00:09:02.529 --> 00:09:05.789 I'll feel significant and secure. And there are 00:09:05.789 --> 00:09:08.090 many ways to describe that kind of relationship 00:09:08.090 --> 00:09:12.309 to something, but perhaps the best one is worship. 00:09:14.490 --> 00:09:16.710 You see, idols in today's world, they're sneaky. 00:09:17.889 --> 00:09:19.950 Because I wouldn't say that I worshipped money. 00:09:20.110 --> 00:09:22.629 I don't go to the bank every Sunday afternoon 00:09:22.629 --> 00:09:26.509 and sing songs about how good money is. But then 00:09:26.509 --> 00:09:29.769 how many times do I check my bank app in a week? 00:09:30.789 --> 00:09:33.539 How often do I think about investing or generating 00:09:33.539 --> 00:09:36.320 wealth? How long did I spend researching the 00:09:36.320 --> 00:09:40.200 value of offset accounts even this week? Way 00:09:40.200 --> 00:09:45.360 too much. How anxious do I feel when the rainy 00:09:45.360 --> 00:09:49.740 day fund is low? How would I feel if God said, 00:09:49.820 --> 00:09:53.940 Tim, give it all away and trust me to care for 00:09:53.940 --> 00:09:57.700 you? You know, I don't intentionally worship 00:09:57.700 --> 00:09:59.899 money, but I'd be lying if I said it didn't have 00:09:59.899 --> 00:10:04.450 some kind of a hold on my heart. And I think 00:10:04.450 --> 00:10:07.370 for all of us here if we can have a moment of 00:10:07.370 --> 00:10:11.230 total honesty we would say that there are things 00:10:11.230 --> 00:10:15.289 in our lives that have a hold on our hearts that 00:10:15.289 --> 00:10:19.090 are not Jesus. There are good things in our lives 00:10:19.090 --> 00:10:22.570 that have become ultimate things. That we have 00:10:22.570 --> 00:10:25.149 some idols in our heart that we need to deal 00:10:25.149 --> 00:10:27.990 with and we need to deal with them for a lot 00:10:27.990 --> 00:10:31.770 of reasons but I'll give you just two. Idols 00:10:31.770 --> 00:10:35.909 always over promise and under deliver. They promise 00:10:35.909 --> 00:10:39.250 meaning, value, security, and you may receive 00:10:39.250 --> 00:10:41.610 them in part, but you'll never find in an idol 00:10:41.610 --> 00:10:44.590 the meaning, value, and security that lasts. 00:10:44.950 --> 00:10:47.870 It will always drive you to seek more, more, 00:10:47.889 --> 00:10:51.289 more, promising soon, soon you'll have enough, 00:10:51.529 --> 00:10:54.950 soon you'll be secure, but it never comes. It's 00:10:54.950 --> 00:10:57.389 an infinite game, a treadmill that never reaches 00:10:57.389 --> 00:11:01.950 its end. That's the first reason. The second 00:11:01.950 --> 00:11:06.690 is this. God actually hates idolatry. God hates 00:11:06.690 --> 00:11:09.490 idolatry. It's literally commandment number one 00:11:09.490 --> 00:11:13.210 of 10. You shall not have no other gods before 00:11:13.210 --> 00:11:16.070 me. But this is the story we have in the Bible. 00:11:16.690 --> 00:11:19.850 Israel does have other gods before him over and 00:11:19.850 --> 00:11:22.490 over and over again. They worship other gods. 00:11:23.090 --> 00:11:25.470 And almost all of Israel's problems in the Old 00:11:25.470 --> 00:11:28.840 Testament stem from this. Their hearts are turned 00:11:28.840 --> 00:11:33.919 away from the Lord and to idols. They abandon 00:11:33.919 --> 00:11:36.519 their covenant promises and they give their love 00:11:36.519 --> 00:11:41.299 to other gods and it destroys them. And God hates 00:11:41.299 --> 00:11:44.559 this. He hates this because he's like a parent 00:11:44.559 --> 00:11:46.879 watching his children be destroyed by their own 00:11:46.879 --> 00:11:50.419 choices. He's like a lover betrayed. He says 00:11:50.419 --> 00:11:55.820 this in Hosea 14 verse 8, Oh Israel, stay away 00:11:55.820 --> 00:11:59.179 from idols. I am the one who answers your prayers 00:11:59.179 --> 00:12:02.200 and cares for you. I am like a tree that is always 00:12:02.200 --> 00:12:08.500 green. All your fruit comes from me. And friends, 00:12:08.519 --> 00:12:10.340 I don't think it's any different in our lives. 00:12:11.259 --> 00:12:13.399 Our idols, the good things we make, ultimately, 00:12:13.419 --> 00:12:17.480 they turn our hearts away from the Lord. And 00:12:17.480 --> 00:12:20.940 if we give ourselves to these things, they will 00:12:20.940 --> 00:12:24.759 ultimately destroy us. And I think God wants 00:12:24.759 --> 00:12:28.159 to say today, hey, encounter Henley, encounter 00:12:28.159 --> 00:12:31.419 Enfield, encounter Adelaide, stay away from idols. 00:12:32.360 --> 00:12:35.480 I am the one who answers your prayers and cares 00:12:35.480 --> 00:12:38.419 for you. I am the tree that is always green and 00:12:38.419 --> 00:12:41.679 all your fruit encounter church comes from the 00:12:41.679 --> 00:12:45.960 Lord, from me. So how do we deal with our idols? 00:12:46.000 --> 00:12:47.940 How do we deal with these good things that we've 00:12:47.940 --> 00:12:51.200 made ultimate things? Well I think our reading 00:12:51.200 --> 00:12:55.000 today gives us a great framework for idol breaking. 00:12:56.009 --> 00:12:58.690 See Israel's in the promised land the time between 00:12:58.690 --> 00:13:01.809 Moses and the Kings King Saul and David and on 00:13:01.809 --> 00:13:04.389 and they have a covenant between God and themselves 00:13:04.389 --> 00:13:07.830 and They keep breaking it and at the beginning 00:13:07.830 --> 00:13:11.490 of Judges 6 God is so sick of all the evil that 00:13:11.490 --> 00:13:14.009 they're doing that he allows the Emidianites 00:13:14.009 --> 00:13:18.529 to oppress them for seven years and So they cry 00:13:18.529 --> 00:13:22.730 out to God for help And he sends a prophet And 00:13:22.730 --> 00:13:24.490 usually they name the prophet, but this is just 00:13:24.490 --> 00:13:27.649 an unknown prophet who says this to the people. 00:13:28.210 --> 00:13:30.250 This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says, 00:13:30.429 --> 00:13:33.529 I brought you out of slavery in Egypt. I rescued 00:13:33.529 --> 00:13:35.330 you from the Egyptians and all who oppressed 00:13:35.330 --> 00:13:39.129 you. I drove out your enemies and gave you their 00:13:39.129 --> 00:13:41.750 land. I told you, I am the Lord your God. You 00:13:41.750 --> 00:13:44.610 must not worship the God of the Amorites in the 00:13:44.610 --> 00:13:47.669 land you now live, but you have not listened 00:13:47.669 --> 00:13:52.419 to me. Like, hey guys, you couldn't even keep 00:13:52.419 --> 00:13:56.240 point one of our agreement. But then because 00:13:56.240 --> 00:13:59.480 God is abundant in love and forgiveness, He provides 00:13:59.480 --> 00:14:03.899 the help anyway. He calls a man called Gideon, 00:14:04.200 --> 00:14:08.000 the least of the least of Israel, to go and save 00:14:08.000 --> 00:14:11.179 Israel out of Midian's hands. And it takes a 00:14:11.179 --> 00:14:13.659 while for Gideon to accept this. If you read 00:14:13.659 --> 00:14:16.740 the beginning of chapter six, he's clearly very 00:14:16.740 --> 00:14:20.519 anxious and uncertain. But finally after a weird 00:14:20.519 --> 00:14:25.460 thing with some burnt lunch he accepts it And 00:14:25.460 --> 00:14:28.120 what's job number one of saving Israel from the 00:14:28.120 --> 00:14:31.799 Midianites? It's tearing down the altar to another 00:14:31.799 --> 00:14:36.039 God in his own backyard This is what verse 6 00:14:36.039 --> 00:14:38.549 says then That night the Lord said to Gideon, 00:14:38.769 --> 00:14:40.889 take the second bull from your father's herd, 00:14:40.950 --> 00:14:44.169 the one that is seven years old, pull down your 00:14:44.169 --> 00:14:47.009 father's altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah 00:14:47.009 --> 00:14:49.649 pole standing beside it. Then build an altar 00:14:49.649 --> 00:14:52.429 to the Lord your God here on this hilltop sanctuary, 00:14:53.190 --> 00:14:56.870 laying the stones carefully. Sacrifice the bull 00:14:56.870 --> 00:15:00.570 as a burnt offering on the altar, using as fuel 00:15:00.570 --> 00:15:05.090 the wood of the Asherah pole you cut down. This 00:15:05.090 --> 00:15:07.710 is the command of the Lord. take your dad's best 00:15:07.710 --> 00:15:12.549 bull, pull down his altar, cut down the Asherah 00:15:12.549 --> 00:15:15.690 pole or tree and with those three things in its 00:15:15.690 --> 00:15:19.789 place build an altar to the Lord, sacrifice your 00:15:19.789 --> 00:15:23.429 family's best bull with wood from the Asherah 00:15:23.429 --> 00:15:26.950 pole as fuel. Now this is an enormous and dangerous 00:15:26.950 --> 00:15:30.210 task and consistent with what we know of Gideon 00:15:30.210 --> 00:15:33.350 up to this point he is afraid and so he takes 00:15:33.350 --> 00:15:36.600 10 servants and he does it at night. And we don't 00:15:36.600 --> 00:15:38.299 know much about what this altar would have looked 00:15:38.299 --> 00:15:40.899 like, but clearly it was big and made of big 00:15:40.899 --> 00:15:43.360 stones because it needed a bull and 10 men to 00:15:43.360 --> 00:15:46.500 pull it down. And clearly there was quite a contrast 00:15:46.500 --> 00:15:48.960 when they discovered a new altar built there 00:15:48.960 --> 00:15:53.220 the next morning. And it causes a stir in Gideon's 00:15:53.220 --> 00:15:56.320 hometown. They call for his death. But then Gideon's 00:15:56.320 --> 00:15:58.740 dad says something interesting about his own 00:15:58.740 --> 00:16:02.750 shrine. He says, when they're calling for the 00:16:02.750 --> 00:16:04.909 death of Gideon for pulling it down. Why are 00:16:04.909 --> 00:16:08.230 you defending Baal? Will you argue his case? 00:16:08.769 --> 00:16:10.429 Whoever pleads his case will be put to death 00:16:10.429 --> 00:16:13.309 by mourning. If Baal is truly a god, let him 00:16:13.309 --> 00:16:16.330 defend himself and destroy the one who broke 00:16:16.330 --> 00:16:20.929 down his altar. His dad has discovered the mystique 00:16:20.929 --> 00:16:25.629 of Baal. The illusion of the idol has been broken 00:16:25.629 --> 00:16:27.789 in Gideon's father's heart. You can see it for 00:16:27.789 --> 00:16:32.779 what it is. So the Lord instructs Gideon to break 00:16:32.779 --> 00:16:36.120 his father's idols down in this way, but I think 00:16:36.120 --> 00:16:39.519 we find in this text principles for breaking 00:16:39.519 --> 00:16:42.700 down the idols in our lives too. And we have 00:16:42.700 --> 00:16:45.139 to start with our own lives. Sometimes we can 00:16:45.139 --> 00:16:46.639 look at these things and we can go, well, I know 00:16:46.639 --> 00:16:48.500 the idols of everyone else and I know the idols 00:16:48.500 --> 00:16:51.379 that are in the church, but we have to start 00:16:51.379 --> 00:16:54.940 with our own idols in our own backyard. And we 00:16:54.940 --> 00:16:57.679 have to start by identifying what those idols 00:16:57.679 --> 00:17:04.059 are. Unlikely the Baal and Asherah were the only 00:17:04.059 --> 00:17:06.339 idols in Israel at that time, but they were the 00:17:06.339 --> 00:17:09.400 idols that were in Gideon's backyard. And that's 00:17:09.400 --> 00:17:12.000 where the Lord tells him to begin. And that's 00:17:12.000 --> 00:17:15.059 where we need to begin. What are the idols in 00:17:15.059 --> 00:17:18.880 your backyard? What are the idols that to you, 00:17:19.299 --> 00:17:21.599 because of your experiences or your desires, 00:17:22.160 --> 00:17:25.599 cling to? What are those idols you cling to? 00:17:26.039 --> 00:17:27.680 What are those idols that have been passed down 00:17:27.680 --> 00:17:31.299 to you from your family? What are the things 00:17:31.299 --> 00:17:34.900 that as Keller says, you look at and you say 00:17:34.900 --> 00:17:37.740 in your heart of hearts, if I have that, then 00:17:37.740 --> 00:17:40.200 I'll feel like my life has meaning. Then I'll 00:17:40.200 --> 00:17:42.660 know I have value. Then I'll feel significant 00:17:42.660 --> 00:17:46.160 and secure. What are the things that are more 00:17:46.160 --> 00:17:49.140 important to you than God? What are the things 00:17:49.140 --> 00:17:52.240 that absorb your heart and your imagination more 00:17:52.240 --> 00:17:55.359 than God does? What are the things that you seek 00:17:55.359 --> 00:18:00.890 to find what only God can give you? Now if something 00:18:00.890 --> 00:18:02.390 comes to your mind right now and you've got a 00:18:02.390 --> 00:18:04.309 piece of paper or a pen, jot it down and if more 00:18:04.309 --> 00:18:06.990 than one come to mind, that is fine, jot them 00:18:06.990 --> 00:18:12.130 down too, but start with one. The second thing 00:18:12.130 --> 00:18:16.410 that we can do to break down our idols is this, 00:18:16.849 --> 00:18:20.430 is to dismantle it. Just as Gideon pulls down 00:18:20.430 --> 00:18:23.589 the idol to Baal, dismantling the idols in our 00:18:23.589 --> 00:18:26.289 life is what we need to do. And this could look 00:18:26.289 --> 00:18:29.609 like many things, but in essence, it's an intentional 00:18:29.609 --> 00:18:33.029 decision to rid your life of the dependence on 00:18:33.029 --> 00:18:36.589 an idol. You pull down the structures in your 00:18:36.589 --> 00:18:39.730 life that are built around this idol, and this 00:18:39.730 --> 00:18:42.069 is probably going to be very hard, and it will 00:18:42.069 --> 00:18:43.990 probably take a lot of work, but so is pulling 00:18:43.990 --> 00:18:48.849 down the altar to Baal. If it's money, this could 00:18:48.849 --> 00:18:51.670 look like an intentional decision to rid yourself 00:18:51.670 --> 00:18:54.390 of dependence could mean you give some away. 00:18:55.110 --> 00:18:58.730 If your idol is sex, an intentional decision 00:18:58.730 --> 00:19:01.650 to rid your life of dependence could be to delete 00:19:01.650 --> 00:19:06.210 some apps or get some blockers. If it's influence 00:19:06.210 --> 00:19:09.769 that is an idol in your heart, an intentional 00:19:09.769 --> 00:19:12.049 decision to rid your life of dependence could 00:19:12.049 --> 00:19:16.849 also be to delete some apps. See, this is the 00:19:16.849 --> 00:19:20.450 thing. This is where we usually stop. I so often 00:19:20.450 --> 00:19:23.579 speak with people. and it's a privilege who've 00:19:23.579 --> 00:19:26.500 identified a barrier in their life with God. 00:19:27.019 --> 00:19:29.220 They've identified a thing that has become more 00:19:29.220 --> 00:19:32.119 important to them than God and they've identified 00:19:32.119 --> 00:19:34.799 something that's not in line with the call of 00:19:34.799 --> 00:19:39.079 God in their life. An area that is not of obedience 00:19:39.079 --> 00:19:42.720 to God but of disobedience and they come up with 00:19:42.720 --> 00:19:45.539 a plan. Here's how I'm going to address this. 00:19:45.559 --> 00:19:48.079 I'm going to do this and I'm going to do that 00:19:48.079 --> 00:19:50.359 and I'll dismantle this part of my life that 00:19:50.359 --> 00:19:55.420 is perpetuating this idol because we can identify 00:19:55.420 --> 00:19:58.140 can't we that those things are unhelpful they're 00:19:58.140 --> 00:20:00.059 getting in the way of our relationship with Jesus 00:20:00.059 --> 00:20:02.079 and that we need to get them out of our life 00:20:02.079 --> 00:20:06.319 but this is usually where we stop and dismantling 00:20:06.319 --> 00:20:10.019 idols sometimes isn't enough because an idol's 00:20:10.019 --> 00:20:13.380 hold on us is too strong so we find ourselves 00:20:13.380 --> 00:20:16.799 in cycles of dismantling idols on a Sunday and 00:20:16.799 --> 00:20:20.410 rebuilding them again on a Monday And that's 00:20:20.410 --> 00:20:23.269 why we need to do what Gideon does in Judges 00:20:23.269 --> 00:20:27.930 6, which is use our idols as fuel for worship. 00:20:29.069 --> 00:20:32.130 So Gideon cuts down the Asherah pole, and he 00:20:32.130 --> 00:20:36.109 uses it as fuel to sacrifice his dad's best ball 00:20:36.109 --> 00:20:39.829 to the Lord. An Asherah pole is usually a tree 00:20:39.829 --> 00:20:42.549 carved into the image of Asherah, we're fertility 00:20:42.549 --> 00:20:46.890 goddess at that region. And here. Gideon uses 00:20:46.890 --> 00:20:50.990 the elements of his family's idols, worshipped 00:20:50.990 --> 00:20:57.069 wood and worshipped stone, as fuel and place 00:20:57.069 --> 00:21:01.630 to worship the Lord. And this is a costly thing. 00:21:01.910 --> 00:21:05.769 This is a considerable financial sacrifice that 00:21:05.769 --> 00:21:09.630 he's making. And here I think we see the heart 00:21:09.630 --> 00:21:11.710 of breaking the idols in our life. Sometimes 00:21:11.710 --> 00:21:14.230 it's simply not enough to tear them down. Sometimes 00:21:14.230 --> 00:21:16.799 we need to find We need to take the heart of 00:21:16.799 --> 00:21:19.059 what is behind our hearts obsession with these 00:21:19.059 --> 00:21:22.720 things. The elements that are at play and use 00:21:22.720 --> 00:21:25.779 them intentionally and sacrificially as fuel 00:21:25.779 --> 00:21:29.559 for worship of God. So Gideon goes all the way 00:21:29.559 --> 00:21:32.680 in the other direction from bar worship. His 00:21:32.680 --> 00:21:35.359 worship of the Lord consumes his family idols 00:21:35.359 --> 00:21:39.769 and they are burnt up forever. Now, how can we 00:21:39.769 --> 00:21:42.549 go all the way in the other direction from our 00:21:42.549 --> 00:21:45.390 idols and intentionally and sacrificially use 00:21:45.390 --> 00:21:48.769 them to worship the Lord? We let them be consumed 00:21:48.769 --> 00:21:52.130 by our worship of God. Now, this is a bit conceptual, 00:21:52.130 --> 00:21:56.250 so here's some really practical examples. If 00:21:56.250 --> 00:22:00.190 your idol is sex, how can you intentionally and 00:22:00.190 --> 00:22:04.309 sacrificially worship God with your body? You 00:22:04.309 --> 00:22:06.890 might decide to join the Encounter Run Club. 00:22:07.920 --> 00:22:10.759 It's an idea. You might choose to eat differently. 00:22:11.480 --> 00:22:13.720 But maybe if you're really, really into running 00:22:13.720 --> 00:22:16.259 or really into fitness, it might mean dialing 00:22:16.259 --> 00:22:19.079 it back a little bit and spending more time prayer 00:22:19.079 --> 00:22:22.339 walking, being intentionally about the way you 00:22:22.339 --> 00:22:26.940 worship God with your body. Amy, one of our Henley 00:22:26.940 --> 00:22:33.160 crew, takes prayer baths. Learn from her. If 00:22:33.160 --> 00:22:36.380 money is your idol, How can you intentionally 00:22:36.380 --> 00:22:38.859 and sacrificially worship God with your money? 00:22:39.400 --> 00:22:42.480 Tithing is a good example. You can give that 00:22:42.480 --> 00:22:45.359 money away to those who are in need through Stivos 00:22:45.359 --> 00:22:49.440 even. You could practice No Buy November where 00:22:49.440 --> 00:22:53.819 you just don't buy anything in November. If your 00:22:53.819 --> 00:22:58.680 idol is power or influence, how can you intentionally 00:22:58.680 --> 00:23:01.200 and sacrificially worship God with your influence 00:23:01.200 --> 00:23:04.809 and your position? It might start with publishing 00:23:04.809 --> 00:23:08.950 your beliefs online, posting about your faith, 00:23:09.730 --> 00:23:13.150 starting a Bible study in your workplace, putting 00:23:13.150 --> 00:23:15.829 yourself out there, putting your influence and 00:23:15.829 --> 00:23:18.029 position at risk for the sake of the gospel. 00:23:19.670 --> 00:23:24.289 If your idol is marriage, how can you intentionally 00:23:24.289 --> 00:23:27.390 and sacrificially worship God through your relationships? 00:23:28.329 --> 00:23:31.250 And there's many, but I'll give you one. Meet 00:23:31.250 --> 00:23:34.910 the loneliness of others in the name of Jesus. 00:23:37.009 --> 00:23:39.630 Now these things take what could be at the heart 00:23:39.630 --> 00:23:42.210 of our idols and it runs in the opposite direction 00:23:42.210 --> 00:23:46.349 towards the Lord. Building worship of the Lord 00:23:46.349 --> 00:23:50.630 on the remains of our idols. And the fourth thing 00:23:50.630 --> 00:23:53.869 we can learn from Gideon is this, let those gods 00:23:53.869 --> 00:23:58.369 fight for themselves. See Gideon's dad declares 00:23:58.369 --> 00:24:02.170 to his community, let Baal fight for Baal. And 00:24:02.170 --> 00:24:04.890 that's what we need to do. So often as Christians, 00:24:05.109 --> 00:24:08.009 I think we obsess over the things we shouldn't 00:24:08.009 --> 00:24:12.950 be doing instead of obsessing over the one who 00:24:12.950 --> 00:24:17.869 is worthy of all honor and glory and praise and 00:24:17.869 --> 00:24:20.829 giving up our lives to follow. So friends, give 00:24:20.829 --> 00:24:23.700 up the fight. Stop fighting against your idols 00:24:23.700 --> 00:24:26.339 and stop fighting for your idols. Stop giving 00:24:26.339 --> 00:24:29.279 them the time and light of day. Let them fight 00:24:29.279 --> 00:24:32.480 for themselves. Spend that time seeking first 00:24:32.480 --> 00:24:37.339 the kingdom of God. As David Benner says, grasping 00:24:37.339 --> 00:24:42.559 destroys, surrender, restores and transforms. 00:24:43.360 --> 00:24:46.140 See God may give you the good thing that you 00:24:46.140 --> 00:24:48.940 want at the heart of your idolatry But your hands 00:24:48.940 --> 00:24:52.079 might not be open to receive it if it's clutching 00:24:52.079 --> 00:24:56.339 at these idols See Gideon's backyard bash shows 00:24:56.339 --> 00:25:00.599 us how to break the idols in our lives You identify 00:25:00.599 --> 00:25:02.940 them you dismantle them you consume them with 00:25:02.940 --> 00:25:06.160 worship and you let them fight it out for themselves 00:25:06.160 --> 00:25:10.000 But ultimately if you know the story of Gideon, 00:25:10.000 --> 00:25:14.170 it's tragic And it's tragic in that it is the 00:25:14.170 --> 00:25:18.190 human story. Gideon, the idol breaker, once he's 00:25:18.190 --> 00:25:21.349 done God's work of saving Israel from the Midianites, 00:25:21.750 --> 00:25:25.490 he takes the gold that's been plundered and he 00:25:25.490 --> 00:25:27.869 fashions an ephod, which is not a word we use 00:25:27.869 --> 00:25:31.289 normally, but it's like a priestly garment. And 00:25:31.289 --> 00:25:35.650 he fashions it out of gold. And ironically, an 00:25:35.650 --> 00:25:37.470 ephod is something that's supposed to be used 00:25:37.470 --> 00:25:41.670 in the worship of the Lord. Instead he puts it 00:25:41.670 --> 00:25:44.329 up in his hometown and the people began to begin 00:25:44.329 --> 00:25:47.609 to worship this piece of gold clothing rather 00:25:47.609 --> 00:25:51.390 than God. You see Gideon goes from idol breaker 00:25:51.390 --> 00:25:55.730 to idol maker and this is the tragic human story 00:25:55.730 --> 00:25:58.369 and that's because idolatry at its essence it 00:25:58.369 --> 00:26:04.269 is a war of loves. Who or what do you love really? 00:26:05.120 --> 00:26:09.220 Which of all the gods gets your time, your money, 00:26:09.240 --> 00:26:13.140 and your affection? Is it the God made with human 00:26:13.140 --> 00:26:16.700 hands or made with the desires of our hearts? 00:26:17.039 --> 00:26:20.240 Or is it the true God who is revealed to us in 00:26:20.240 --> 00:26:24.119 Jesus Christ? See, idolatry is a war of loves. 00:26:24.759 --> 00:26:30.500 Who has your love? Friends, it's easy to choose 00:26:30.500 --> 00:26:34.839 to give God your love over everything. when you 00:26:34.839 --> 00:26:39.559 realize how much you are loved by Him. It's easy 00:26:39.559 --> 00:26:42.000 when you make, it's easy to make those intentional 00:26:42.000 --> 00:26:44.339 and sacrificial decisions to break the idols 00:26:44.339 --> 00:26:46.720 in your life when you understand not just in 00:26:46.720 --> 00:26:51.180 your head but in your heart that God has made 00:26:51.180 --> 00:26:55.140 intentional and sacrificial decisions to bring 00:26:55.140 --> 00:26:58.400 you home to Him. Gideon tore down the rocks of 00:26:58.400 --> 00:27:01.859 Baal's altar and an Asherah pole to make a sacrifice 00:27:01.859 --> 00:27:06.230 to the Lord. But God sent his son Jesus to be 00:27:06.230 --> 00:27:10.230 hung on a pole on the rock of Golgotha to be 00:27:10.230 --> 00:27:14.109 the ultimate sacrifice that washes our wayward 00:27:14.109 --> 00:27:18.369 idolatrous hearts as white as snow and reconcile 00:27:18.369 --> 00:27:22.450 us back to God again Jesus who was one with the 00:27:22.450 --> 00:27:26.490 father who never, whose heart never gave itself 00:27:26.490 --> 00:27:28.970 to idols. He never said about anything, if I 00:27:28.970 --> 00:27:31.309 have that, then I'll feel my life has meaning. 00:27:31.589 --> 00:27:34.289 Then I'll know I have value. Then I'll feel significant, 00:27:34.549 --> 00:27:36.529 secure. He never said that. He said instead, 00:27:36.529 --> 00:27:40.309 I will do what the Father requires of me so that 00:27:40.309 --> 00:27:45.390 the world will know that I love the Father. Jesus 00:27:45.390 --> 00:27:48.029 is the intentional and sacrificial decision of 00:27:48.029 --> 00:27:51.289 God to bring you home to Him. This is how much 00:27:51.289 --> 00:27:54.799 God loves you. that he would send his son to 00:27:54.799 --> 00:27:58.200 die in your place. So that our wayward hearts 00:27:58.200 --> 00:28:00.920 could be turned back to him. So that you and 00:28:00.920 --> 00:28:04.099 I no longer have to live this life with hearts 00:28:04.099 --> 00:28:08.220 riddled by idols. You see friends, idol breaking 00:28:08.220 --> 00:28:10.799 requires sacrificial and intentional decisions. 00:28:11.259 --> 00:28:13.920 But it's not about striving for moral perfection. 00:28:14.359 --> 00:28:16.640 Striving to be seen as worthy or good enough 00:28:16.640 --> 00:28:20.380 or valuable or even striving to be idol free. 00:28:20.779 --> 00:28:23.819 It's about letting God fill your heart with His 00:28:23.819 --> 00:28:27.200 love for you through the Holy Spirit. And over 00:28:27.200 --> 00:28:31.279 a lifetime, training your heart to love God over 00:28:31.279 --> 00:28:34.799 everything. It's about time after time in the 00:28:34.799 --> 00:28:36.920 disappointment, in the unknown, through the trials 00:28:36.920 --> 00:28:39.240 and through the pain. It's about running to the 00:28:39.240 --> 00:28:42.460 God who loves you and breaking down every aisle 00:28:42.460 --> 00:28:47.440 you come across on the journey. Jesus shows us 00:28:47.440 --> 00:28:50.359 what a heart that is truly turned towards God 00:28:50.359 --> 00:28:53.380 looks like. What a heart in total alignment, 00:28:53.960 --> 00:28:56.140 total unity with God the Father, what it looks 00:28:56.140 --> 00:29:00.660 like. And it looks like a life abandoned in love 00:29:00.660 --> 00:29:06.019 to God and to God alone. Because a heart that 00:29:06.019 --> 00:29:10.160 loves the Father, like Jesus loves the Father, 00:29:11.400 --> 00:29:14.579 that heart will be an idol breaker. in their 00:29:14.579 --> 00:29:18.460 lives and in the lives of others. Idols always 00:29:18.460 --> 00:29:21.859 over promise and they always under deliver. Because 00:29:21.859 --> 00:29:24.039 when you make a good thing an ultimate thing, 00:29:24.460 --> 00:29:26.880 when you put your hope and trust in it to bring 00:29:26.880 --> 00:29:31.380 you meaning, value, security, it cannot but let 00:29:31.380 --> 00:29:36.339 you down, friends. Because it is not God. Only 00:29:36.339 --> 00:29:40.759 God can bring you the sense of value, meaning 00:29:40.759 --> 00:29:44.440 and security, the love. that you are searching 00:29:44.440 --> 00:29:46.579 for and I am searching for in all these other 00:29:46.579 --> 00:29:51.500 gods. God does not over promise and under deliver. 00:29:52.119 --> 00:29:57.019 God over delivers on his promises. Is this God 00:29:57.019 --> 00:30:01.119 not worthy of our affection friends? Is this 00:30:01.119 --> 00:30:04.700 God not worthy of our worship and our praise? 00:30:05.759 --> 00:30:09.140 Is this God not worthy of our sacrificial love 00:30:09.140 --> 00:30:16.589 of him? as he has sacrificially loved us. For 00:30:16.589 --> 00:30:19.549 you today, there's so many ways that you may 00:30:19.549 --> 00:30:22.630 feel like you need to respond. There might be 00:30:22.630 --> 00:30:25.170 idols you need to do something about. There might 00:30:25.170 --> 00:30:28.309 be things you need to pray about. Please come 00:30:28.309 --> 00:30:30.250 down the front. I'm sure the elders will come 00:30:30.250 --> 00:30:32.950 and be there and we'd love to pray for you or 00:30:32.950 --> 00:30:34.910 nudge the person next to you and ask them, find 00:30:34.910 --> 00:30:38.039 someone you trust. There's so much you could 00:30:38.039 --> 00:30:40.579 do, but I have one simple challenge that I want 00:30:40.579 --> 00:30:43.980 to put to you tonight. Don't leave until you 00:30:43.980 --> 00:30:49.019 get your heart right with God. Don't. Don't leave 00:30:49.019 --> 00:30:51.819 until you've filled your heart with the love 00:30:51.819 --> 00:30:54.460 of God through the Holy Spirit. Don't leave. 00:30:54.640 --> 00:30:56.839 Get it right with God tonight. There's no better 00:30:56.839 --> 00:31:03.460 time than today. Thanks so much for tuning into 00:31:03.460 --> 00:31:06.650 this week's message. If you felt challenged or 00:31:06.650 --> 00:31:09.369 need prayer, we'd love to hear from you on Instagram 00:31:09.369 --> 00:31:12.569 at EncounterHenry. Or if you're interested in 00:31:12.569 --> 00:31:15.109 how you can support this ministry, please go 00:31:15.109 --> 00:31:19.910 to our website encounteradelaide .com .au. Thanks 00:31:19.910 --> 00:31:21.910 again for listening. God bless you.