Alright, please turn with me in your bibles to Isaiah chapter 44, Isaiah chapter 44.
When you get there, please go to verse 13, and while you're turning to Isaiah chapter 44,
I want to read to you from Psalm 115. The Bible says in Psalm 115, starting at verse 3, it says,
But our God is in the heavens. He hath done whatsoever He hath pleased.
Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands.
They have mouths, but they speak not. Eyes have they, but they see not.
They have ears, but they hear not. Noses have they, but they smell not.
They have hands, but they handle not. Feet have they, but they walk not.
Neither speak they through their throat.
They that make them are like unto them, so is everyone that trusteth in them.
The title of my sermon tonight is The Stupidity of Idolatry.
Idolatry is the worship of idols or graven images that men make with their own hands.
It talks about this in the scripture here, about how people make graven images, and they make molten images,
and they look like a human being. They have eyes, and they have a nose, and they have ears,
and they have a mouth, and they have hands, but they can't do anything.
It's just a piece of wood, or a piece of stone, or a piece of metal.
It can't do anything, and it says in verse 8,
They that make them are like unto them, so is everyone that trusteth in them.
Another way to put that is, if you worship idols, and you make idols, basically you're an idiot.
You're literally worshipping and bowing down to something that you made yourself.
The Bible talks about this in Isaiah chapter 44.
Go down to verse 13.
The Bible says,
The carpenter stretcheth out his rule, he marketh it out with a line,
he fiteth it with planes, he marketh it out with a compass,
and maketh it after the figure of a man,
according to the beauty of a man, that it may remain in his house.
He heweth him down cedars, and taketh the cypress and the oak,
which he strengthened for himself among the trees of the forest.
He planteth an ash, and the rain doth nourish it.
Then shall it be for a man to burn,
for he will take thereof, and warm himself.
Yea, he kindleth it, and baketh bread.
Yea, he maketh a god, and worshippeth it.
He maketh it a graven image, and he falleth down thereto.
He burneth part thereof in the fire, with part thereof he eateth flesh.
He rosteth roast, and is satisfied.
Yea, he warmeth himself,
and saith, Aha! I am warm, I have seen the fire.
And the residue thereof he maketh a god, even his graven image.
He falleth down unto it, and worshippeth it,
and prayeth unto it, and saith, Deliver me, for thou art my god.
They have not known nor understood, for he hath shut their eyes,
that they cannot see in their hearts, that they cannot understand.
And none considerth in his heart,
neither is there knowledge nor understanding,
to say, I have burned part of it in the fire.
Yea, also I have baked bread upon the coals thereof.
I have roasted flesh, and eateth it,
and shall I make the residue thereof an abomination?
Shall I fall down to the stock of a tree?
So basically, here God is making fun of these fools who worship idols,
these people who cut down cypress and oaks and cedars from a forest,
and then they fashion it to be a god.
But before that, they used the same wood that they cut down out of the forest
to make themselves bread and to warm themselves.
The same wood that they cut down, that they planted,
and they cut down, they're going to form and fashion it to make it look like a man,
and then they're going to bow down and worship it,
and that's stupid, for obvious reasons.
But there's so many people out there today,
we don't really realize it as much,
because I guess it was more common in the past,
but there's still billions and billions of people in this world today who worship idols.
There's Hindus, there's Buddhists,
and also here in the United States there's Roman Catholics.
It's always funny how Catholics will say,
we don't worship idols, we don't practice idolatry,
we just venerate images.
But then anybody who lives in Arizona knows that that's false,
because you can go soloing for literally an hour in Maryvale or South Phoenix,
and it's impossible not to see a shrine of Mary made of porcelain or whatever it's made out of.
It's the same thing, they just make a shrine to the queen of heaven,
or they make a crucifix with Jesus on it.
It's again the same thing, where they try to make Jesus into a wooden image,
and then they hang it up on their wall, and then they pray unto it.
It's the same thing that we see in this story.
It's foolishness.
And so idolatry is a sin according to the Bible, it's an abomination.
It's the second commandment, God says not to make a graven image,
and not to bow down yourself to it.
So that's another thing they say, they say,
Oh, we don't worship graven images.
But even just having a graven image, you say this is God,
you say this is what God looks like, you make it yourself,
and you put it in your church, that's idolatry in and of itself.
It doesn't matter if you actually call it worshiping it,
if you're bowing down to it and you're making it and you're calling it God,
then yes, it's idolatry, so it's foolishness.
So let's pray.
Father in heaven, please help every other preacher to be filled with your spirit,
and please help us all to focus on the preaching of your word.
In Jesus' name we pray, amen.