If you would go in your Bibles to 1st Corinthians chapter 5 1st Corinthians chapter 5
1st Corinthians chapter 5 I'm going to continue this morning with the series
I started several weeks back entitled get right or get out
And what we're doing is we're going through 1st Corinthians 5 where the Bible actually lists
Several specific sins that would get a person kicked out of church and some people
That's kind of a profound concept that that a church would actually kick people out of it, you know people
Often assume that you know a church is so desperate to just get as many people as they can in there that they would never
Even dream of kicking somebody else or kicking somebody else anybody out, excuse me
But the it's a biblical concept, you know, and it's not something that we enjoy doing
It's not something that we look forward to having to do
But you know this book is our final authority and we have to learn to let this book
Determine how we're going to live our lives how we're going to you know
Run a church and Paul makes it really clear here. Can somebody close that blind right there? Just that one right straight ahead of me
That'd be great. Thank you
So we have to go to the book and say well
What does the book say about this and I don't know how you can read 1st Corinthians 5 and other passages and walk away saying
You know, nobody has a right to kick somebody else at a church now, of course, you know, that's up to
It's up to church leadership to exercise that discipline and and the congregation definitely has a part to play
When it comes to church discipline and you say why are you preaching this? Are you fixing to kick people out of church?
No, you know
but this is just one of those things to be perfectly honest the way I was even inspired to preach through this series as I was
Making clips of Pastor Anderson's preaching and he touched on this and he said boy
That'd be a great series for somebody to preach through and I thought well here am I send me I will preach it
So it's not that I have anybody in mind. You know, I'm not I don't operate like that
I'm not trying to prepare you for some great purge or something like that, but it's good to keep these things in front of us
It's good to remind ourselves of you know, there is a potential that if we if we if we start
You know living loose and letting sin creep into our lives
It can get to a place that you know, we could find ourselves on the receiving end of church discipline
So really the whole thing is just it's a preemptive, you know attack, you know, if you will or it's a you know
It's a maintenance sermon or maintenance series is what we're doing. And again, we're just going through first Corinthians 5
And we're looking at every one of these sins individually and today we're gonna talk about railing, you know, the Bible talks, excuse me
And that's not the one I would talk about that's this evening. Alright, so now I've already given myself away we're doing
We're doing idolatry. Where did I put that?
Don't tell me I put this place my notes. No, there should be there should be a sermon around here somewhere. I
Pulled it out. I don't know where it went. There it is. I found it
Got it right here. So we're gonna actually doing idolatry that comes first. So, excuse me
So first of all, again as I was saying, you know church discipline is a biblical concept, you know
It's not something that's we're just pulling out of thin air. It's not something that we just practice because we enjoy, you know
Being bullies or something like that. It's a biblical concept. And if you've been following out the series, you probably already know about it
You know, it lists it very clearly there in first Corinthians 5 that certain people to be put out of the congregation
And you know, I've preached several sermons on this and I've gotten some feedback, you know from the online
crowd, you know, nobody in churches contacted me and voiced any displeasure over what I'm preaching concerning the series, but
You know, I read one
subgeniuses comment on there saying, you know, hey
What you know you're he was complaining about the sermon the series title
Get right or get out and he said get right or get out
What a proud arrogant statement for somebody to make man, you're so puffed up to put it that way
And I said, well, would you prefer the way Paul put it deliver such and one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh?
You know and and here's the thing
There's nothing proud or arrogant about this concept, you know, we don't you know, if somebody's being disciplined by the church
It's not because you know, the person in charge has you know some
It's just a megalomaniac who's out there to just beat his chest, you know, it's because it's biblical
Look there first Corinthians chapter 5 verse 1
In fact, Paul says it's arrogant and and and and puffed up to tolerate sin in the church
That's what he says here verse 1
It says it is reported commonly that there's fornication among you and such fornication is not so as much as named among the Gentiles
That one would have his father's wife
Verse 2 and ye are puffed up and have not rather mourned that he that hath done
This deed might be taken away from among you. So it's act the irony is it's actually the complete opposite
That the the arrogance see the being puffed up there. That's what's referring to the the the pride that the arrogance see is
It's actually found when you're not kicking people out of church
You know, that's the irony to sit there. Oh, who do you think you are to kick somebody out of church?
Well who you are to let somebody who's guilty of these sins stay in a church and what's the point?
What's the purpose of behind this is because as he says in verse in 1st Corinthians 5 that a little leaven leaven at the whole lump
the reason why I had to deal with these sins this way is because if if you
Tolerate it in a church if you don't mourn and you don't take that person away from among you
Like Levin it will it will leaven the whole lump
You know, somebody will say oh that person's living in fornication and you know
And everyone knows it and they're here and they're fine and it's tolerated and then you have young people in the church that see that
you know and they're going through that phase in their life where that's a real strong temptation and
They might just be like well if the church is okay with it. I'm just gonna go ahead and do it
I mean, I know the Bible says it's wrong, but
You know, these guys are in church. They seem happy. They seem blessed. There's no discipline there
And
What I really like about this is that you know, Paul was so quote-unquote puffed up and so arrogant
That he even made this call without even being there. If you look there in verse 3. He said for very I verily as
absent in body
But present in spirit have judged already though as if I were present as though I were present. I mean he wasn't even there
To get the whole story. I mean he knew enough to just say look you need to get that guy out of there
He doesn't belong there. You need to kick him out. And what did he tell me to do? Look in verse 5
To deliver such and one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh
You know, I wonder how many if that's gonna hurt some people's feelings
And if I if I had titled the series that delivering such unto Satan
destroying the flesh
You know, so this this a title of the series get right or get out, you know
It's it's supposed to you know
The the obviously the purpose behind it is that people would not get kicked out of church
That they would either get right or they would keep themselves, right?
And then we wouldn't find ourselves guilty of these sins so that we wouldn't have to deal with any of this. That's the point
And here's the thing people who have problem with this people who have you know
Have objections to this kind of church discipline. You're probably people that would end up having to be purged themselves
You know a lot of times they're like people people would see something like that take place
You know, oh you kick so-and-so out for such-and-such a sin or they you hear this preached
They have a problem with it. You start to wonder. Why do you have a problem with it?
I mean if it's not gonna get you if you're not, you know gonna get kicked out. What are you so worried about?
But sometimes you got to kind of scratch your head and say well, why does this bother you so much?
And of course when it comes to the a lot of the online community, you know, I'm not saying everybody
But a lot of the goofballs that comment out there, you know
They a lot of times they're not even in a church to get kicked out of you know
You know proving themselves
You know on word they can't even get have enough character to even get in a church
But they want to you know comment and tell the church how it up how they ought to be run
They want to criticize and and you know and and and rail quite frankly. I'll get into that tonight, but
But today we're not talking about fornication. I'm just laying this groundwork again
because this even just this concept of people being kicked out of church can be very important to us and
We need to make sure that we understand that this is something that this church practices it has practiced and you know
Hopefully won't have to but we'll practice it needed
So it says here we're going to talk about idolatry. That's one of these many sins that can get you kicked out of church
So what is idolatry right?
Obviously, you know, we probably have a very, you know, most people probably understand what idolatry is. I mean, it's the worship of
The depictions of false gods, you know, it's the statue of Mary. It's the statue of Buddha
It's the actual making an a graven image and then worshiping it. Okay now if you would
Go over to Exodus chapter 20 Exodus chapter 20
You're going to Exodus chapter 20
It says in Leviticus 26 you shall make no idols nor graven image
Neither rear up a standing image. Neither. Shall you set up neither shall you set up any image of stone in your land?
To bow down unto it for I am the Lord your God
So God couldn't be any clearer in the Old Testament and elsewhere that he does not want us worshiping idols
Okay, not to make any graven image
Not to make any image of stone and you know, we have a lot of people today. They do this
I mean the Catholic Church obviously is what comes to mind in most people's minds
And that's probably one of the few examples that we have in this country of idolatry
I mean we could but you if you go over to places like India and China, you know different parts of the world
They practice idolatry every bit as much if not, it's probably even more prevalent in a society other than ours and you know
That's because of their religion, you know Buddhism they they do that Hinduism
They have a lot of idolatry in these religions, too
Well, no, no mistake about it. We have it here as well and the Catholics
They have a lot of and I've preached about this previous and I really don't want to go into it at great detail to try
and debunk
Catholics, you know you
They say well, it's not idolatry. We're not really worshipping these statues, you know, and you guys have been coming here
You know, I've held up the pictures of the Pope kissing the little statue baby Jesus's foot
Kissing the statue Mary on the forehead bowing down to them and
You could call it whatever you want. It's worshiping if that's not worshiping it. I don't know what is okay
It is idolatry. It's the making of an image. I mean even if you want to say, okay. Well, I'm not worshiping it
You know God forbids just making it. I mean look here in Exodus chapter 20
Is that where you went Exodus chapter 20 verse 1 and God spake all these words saying I am the Lord thy God
Which brought thee out of the land of Egypt out of the house of bondage thou shalt have no other gods before me
Thou shalt not make thee any graven image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above or that is in the earth beneath
Or it is in the water under the earth
So he says first of all don't even make it
So I don't even care if you want to say well, I'm not gonna bow down to it
I'm not gonna worship it even owning it even making it is a sin and
If we're being really honest the purpose behind making these things is so that people can worship them
And so that they can venerate it whatever you want to call it. It's idolatry
He said thou shalt not bow down thyself to them
I mean, how many pictures do you have to see of the Pope bowing down to these things? I mean, it's there
To deny that is it would be ridiculous
For I and the Lord thy God am a jealous God
Visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children under the third and fourth generation of them that hate me
So he said well, what's the big deal? I mean what for making a statue of you know, what's the supposed Jesus?
You know this this image that they somebody conjured up in their mind
Many hundreds of years after he walked this earth and said this is what Jesus looks like when nobody has any idea what he looked
like
But I can guarantee you one thing. He wasn't Caucasian
When you're when you're when you're born in Israel back then, you know, you probably had brown skin
But what are all the depictions of Jesus that we see today the white guy, you know, they look more like me, right?
so
That's that's inaccurate. First of all, but here's the thing. What's the we say? Well, what's the harm?
What's what who you know, what's the harm? It may I mean, it's Jesus, you know, it's the mother Mary
It's the mother Mary. It's the Saints that we're worshiping. These are you know biblical characters. What's the harm in this?
Well when you're worshiping it when you're venerating when you're bowing down to it, you know, you're you're
You're you're you're giving that which is that glory which is due unto the Lord unto an image
Unto a statue and that's why he says there at the end. I am a jealous God
He said why shouldn't you why did he would not want them to have no other gods before them?
Why did he say that they should not make thee any graven image or any likeness that is in the heaven above he ends up
I see he says because I am a jealous God
Mean be just like if my my children, you know, I'm taking care of my children providing for them
Looking after them nourishing them
Clothing them feeding them giving them, you know, keeping them safe and then they're gonna go call some stranger daddy
You know
I come home from work and I want my some affection for my kids that I've been working hard for all day and
They just walk right by me and go out across the street and hug the neighbor and say I'm glad you're home dad
You know, he's not paying the bills. He probably might have his own kids or whatever. It's kind of like that
I mean, it's kind of that's kind of an the analogy that can help you understand why God would be upset about it
I mean any one of us as a parent or a father would be upset about that if our children started, you know
Give the credit for for their
You know for their having been taken care of to somebody else
If they started to think somebody else for all the groceries and everything else that that they were able to to have
But go over to Deuteronomy chapter 27
So again, I just want to talk about the fact that you know
I don't care whether you want to say you worship it or not
Once you once you've even gone so far as even making an idol you're already in sin. I
Mean if you make an idol and you you know
Want to do whatever after that point, you know, just hang hang some flowers on it and put some beads on it
I mean, I don't care you made it you're in sin. Okay?
Look here in Deuteronomy chapter 27 verse 15
Cursed be the man that maketh any graven or molten image
You want to get the curse of God in your life?
Go make a molten image go make a graven image and call it God and worship it
He said an abomination unto the Lord
So I you know Amy and he said any graven image is an abomination to him. I don't care what name you slap on it
It's the mother. It's the queen of heaven. It's the mother Mary. It's Jesus. It's one of the Saints. It's the Apostles
I don't care whose name he put on it. He says any molten image is an abomination unto the Lord
The work of the hands of the craftsman and put it in a secret place. All the people shall answer and say amen
He said look this isn't up for debate. There's no gray area here any graven image. Anyone who makes it is cursed
It's an abomination
Idols are an abomination
And you say well, I just don't I disagree, you know
I have my reasons as to why I think that you know
There's nothing wrong with it to use it and religious worship and so on and so forth
You know you go ahead and feel that way
But you know what you just did when you start to argue with with the Bible when you start to you know
Try to reason your way around clear scripture. You just made an idol out of your own reasoning
Because now you're the authority now you're gonna worship your own
Reason your own reasoning more than what the Bible actually says now you're the authority, you know
Now you've just made an idol out of that, you know, maybe not physically but you know intellectually you've you've said well
I know that's what the Bible says
But I'm gonna usurp the authority of Scripture because of I because of my feelings or whatever
I mean the Bible could not be any clearer
That idols are an abomination and that God doesn't want us making them and
Again, you know, it's more prevalent in some cultures than all the others, you know go over to Revelation chapter 2 Revelation chapter 2
No, I don't think anybody in the room this morning is struggling with this. I don't at least I hope not I
Don't think anyone's gonna go home today after church and you know
Have have make lunch or dinner or whatever and then take a small portion aside and go set it in front of some statue
You know what? I'm gonna leave it there
And obviously this this isn't something that's you know, we see a lot of in our culture, but it is there
You know, we don't have to go I mean go down to San Xavier Catholic actually don't go
But just look at it online like I did, you know this church down here this ancient Catholic Church
San Xavier just south of here and that place is a great example of idolatry
It's filled with it and you know, and they call it religious art and God calls it idolatry and
It doesn't matter if it's in a so-called church building or what name you associate
associate with that idol at the end of the day that idol God considers it an abomination and
you know again, the reason we're preaching this is because
This isn't something we want to fall into we're probably less likely to have to deal with this here
But think about it. I mean even here in Tucson
How many doors do we knock on
Where you know you go into the Hispanic neighborhoods where everyone's predominantly Catholic and they have an image of Mary in the front door
I mean just a plaque there with Mary or they've got Mary out in the front yard under a half-buried porcelain tub
You know, I've seen that they take the bathtub and they put it in there and that becomes that's they used to do that
We had it in Michigan even in northern Michigan in the in the in the Polish communities and out in the rural areas
I mean they had their Catholic churches. Everybody was Catholic, you know, and they had their statues of Mary prominently displayed in the yard
You know, it's out there to sit there and say well, what are you talking about? Maybe it's you know
Maybe we don't see it much in our personal life, but it is out there now
What if we went to one of these Catholic neighborhoods and we got some Catholic saved, you know
And they started coming to church. They might still have an affinity for their old religion
They might think well, you know, I I know Jesus is how do you know salvation's by grace or faith?
I mean they're saved they get it, but there could still be you know, this fondness of
You know having some idols around they might say well, what's the harm and you know having and what this old statue of Mary that?
You know, I've had it was my grandmother's or something like that. Look God says it's an abomination
plain and simple
So look there and I did that you went to revelation
I'll remind you what it says in Acts in Acts 17
It says now while Paul waited for them at Athens
So here he is in a specific city called Athens
His spirit was stirred in him when when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry. I
Mean there could be entire cities that are just given over to this
Now we might not see that as much here in the United States
But like I said, you go abroad you go to certain countries in this world. I mean they are giving over to it
It's everywhere in a lot of these in some of these other countries
So again, you know people that might come out of these other cultures, you know, these Athenians that got saved in Paul's day
They might have had to work a little harder to let go of some of these these old traditions that they hung on to
you know the saying old habits die hard, you know that might come into play here and
Even even if the person doesn't you know, they get saved and maybe they don't have any idols per se
But they're not they're not ready to go so far as to agree with the Bible say well, it's an abomination
To say yeah, I know it's not right but you know
What's what's the big deal? Well, the Bible says it's abomination. Well, I know but it's just it's just my necklace
It's just you know, it's just a you know, this the patron saint of
You name it. I mean there's a patron saint for everything, you know, it's just the patron saint for making a ham sandwich
You know
Our I'm trying to think of a funny name, but I can't
You know, whatever it is
Well that little necklace that little graven image on there God calls it abomination and I know that you know
It was grandma's and so on and so forth, but you need to get rid of it. You need to get that out of your life
Because God does not you know, we're gonna see that here later that you know, God takes a real strong stand on this
So, why are you preaching it because old habits die hard
Because we are in an area that you know, there is a certain degree of idolatry that takes place even in Tucson
Yeah
Now look here you're going to Revelation
Chapter 2 the Bible says in leta vivus 19 turn ye not unto idols
Nor make to yourselves molten gods. I am the Lord your God
Bible says in Revelation chapter 2 verse 12 and to the angel of the church of Pergamos
Right these things say a theme which hath the sharp the sharp sword with two edges. So who's he writing here?
Is he writing a bunch of heathen?
Is he writing a bunch of unsaved heret, you know heretics unbelievers?
No, he's writing the church that is in Pergamos saved people, right?
It goes on it says in verse 13
I know thy works and where thou dallest even where Satan seed is and thou holdest fast my name and hath to not not denied
My faith even of days were and where an Antipas was my faithful martyr who was slain among you where Satan dwelleth
But I have a few things against thee because thou hast them there that hold the doctrine of Balaam
Who taught Balak to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel to do what eat things?
Sacrificed unto idols and to commit fornication
So even in a church like this you can see how this idolatry kind of begins to creep back in
Now it goes on a verse 18 another church, right and under the angel the church of Thyatira
Right these things say at the Son of God who hath his eyes
Like unto a flame of fire and his feet like fine are like fine brass
I know thy works and charity and service and faith and patience and thy works and alas to be more than the first
Notwithstanding, I have a few good things against thee because thou suffers that woman Jezebel
Which called herself a prophetess to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication and to eat things
Sacrificed unto idols
So again, even in these churches that you know, God is praising for their faith and their patience and their works
We can see that this idolatry is still creeping in and a lot of it probably has to do with the fact that you know
we're dealing with
You were dealing with the Gentile nations here, you know
and that was idolatry was very prevalent in a lot of these societies and
Maybe some of them kind of you know, still kept an affinity for those old things
So this this this idol worship
So what we see here is that you know, God does not want us
condoning idolatry in the slightest degree
I should have had you keep something there in 1st Corinthians 10 if you want to go back there go to 1st Corinthians 10
But I'll begin reading in verse 25. He said whatsoever sold in the shambles, you know, that's talking about the the markets
You know whatever sold in the market there
He says that he asked no asking no question for conscious sake
For the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof
If any of them that believe not bid you to a feast and you'd be disposed to go whatever so ever set before you eat
Asking no question question for conscious sake
So he's saying look if you go somewhere and they give you some food don't ask where you know
If it's sacrificed to idols because you remember back then a lot of food
They would sacrifice if I sit to an idol and they themselves would eat it rather than just let it go to waste
You know, it's funny. I see this even go on here in I saw it up in Phoenix
Remember I when we had the North location
I would pick up doughnuts in the morning and I went on to this this one off of Campbell
Can't remember the name of the doughnut shop. It doesn't matter. I went in there and I get doughnuts and they had the little statue
I don't know if it was Buddha or what
but they had a little statue down kind of on this little platform on the floor and
You could see where they had left out a doughnut and the and the coffee in a styrofoam cup
And the coffee had been there long enough to evaporate, you know, you could see this the stains from where it had been
So they're like putting out coffee and doughnuts to this idol every day
And I so I bought these doughnuts, you know, and this first came to mind
I'm like man, should I be serving doughnuts? But then I thought well these they didn't tell me these were sacrificed idols
I don't think these specific doughnuts. So I brought him a church and I said eat asking nothing for conscious sake
Go ahead. I don't think it's a big deal, right?
but
You know he what he is saying here
Is that if a man say verse 25 if any man say unto you this is offered and sacrificed unto idols
Eat not for his sake that showed it and for conscience sake for the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof
So he's saying look if somewhat we and he goes on later in Corinthians says look
We know that an idol is nothing that it's a false god that it doesn't mean anything that it's pointless
But he's saying don't eat it not for yours not just for your conscience sake but more so
For him that showed it for the sake of him that showed it for the guy that's saying hey, this is sacrificed an idol
Well, then I'm not gonna eat because the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof and you need to repent of that idolatry
So you can see that God, you know, he doesn't want us condoning of idolatry to the slightest degree. Okay?
Now again, those of us that have no previous experience
Are less likely to with idolatry are less likely to struggle with this
Okay, and quite honestly, that's the boat. I'm in like I don't have I don't come from a long line of I mean
My mother was raised Catholic, but she was by no means a practicing Catholic. You know, I remember I might have gone to a Catholic Church
You know, I could probably count as many times on one hand as I've been there, you know
And whenever I went, you know, I was getting trucked there by some Catholic aunt or something, you know
I'm looking at the statues and it's creeping me out
Because I'm growing up watching, you know, remember unsolved mysteries, you know, and they're always talking about the Mary statue that started to bleed
You know cry cry tears of blood and then they have the picture of the statue used to face this way and now it's facing
That way, you know, so now I'm going to the Catholic Church
It's expecting to see all this take place and it freaked me out. But that's about that's about you know, the the extent of my
Experience with idolatry, you know as those few times I've been in there and saw those things
Of course that was all just made up, you know, that's all just a big fabrication
So, you know, I really don't have a lot of experience
so it's kind of hard for me to even really preach this and and and
Sometimes I have to scratch my head and say does this really something that needs to be preached?
But I don't know where everybody else is at. I don't know where everybody else is at in this room
Maybe this is a struggle for some people, you know, some people maybe they did have a background with
You know Catholicism and idolatry and things like this and this they need to hear this. Okay?
So here's the problem with idolatry now, what what's the big deal why is a God so intolerant of it
They were saying don't even make them if you make him you're cursed
Don't even eat food that we were told was you weren't it they weren't even there when it was sacrificed
It was they were just told hey, we sacrifice this and I don't even need it
Have nothing to do with it, right? God has zero tolerance. Why is that?
Well, there's several reasons one I believe and if you would keep something in Corinthians, I know I just had you turn there
But go over to 2nd Chronicles chapter 33
2nd Chronicles chapter 33. We'll see a you know a story here that shows us several things that are you know wrong and dangerous about idolatry
Probably the first thing that everyone thinks of is the fact that you know idolatry
That takes the place of the Lord, okay
Instead of pray directing your prayers towards heaven to the to Jesus Christ, you know
The Bible says there's one meteor mediator between God and man the man Christ Jesus. I mean the Bible says there's one mediator
One and it's the man Christ Jesus. It's not Mary. There is no, you know
Mediatrix that's not in the Bible. It's not scripture
You know that you don't pray to the Saints
You pray to Jesus okay in the spirit and you know, he offers those prayers to the Father
That's how we pray. Okay
so
Number one the problem with idolatry is that you start to direct those prayers not unto the Lord but unto some
Stupid image or what the Bible calls a dumb image
Literally calls it dumb not in the sense that it has a low IQ but that because it can't speak it doesn't talk
It's dumb. Okay, and
You know that that that would provoke the Lord to jealousy that's the problem with it the Bible says and Colossians
I'll read to you mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth fornication uncleanness
ignored affection evil concupiscence and covetousness
Which is idolatry for which things sake the wrath of God cometh upon the children of disobedience
So the Bible says that look these are the these things bring the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience
That's the problem with idolatry, you know, I mean that enough right there should
be enough to scare us to you know away from these sins a
Scarce away from the fornication the uncleanness the inordinate affection that can keep a sense the covetousness the idolatry
We you know, why you know, we say well, what's the problem? Why does it matter? I
Mean
God it brings the wrath of God. Okay, but why does God
Why does God have a problem with it? Well, because it takes the place of him
The worship and the praise and that he is worthy of is directed to somewhere something else
He says there in 2nd Chronicles chapter 33 verse 1
Manasseh was 12 years old when he began to reign and he reigned 50 and 5 years in Jerusalem
But he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord
like on the abominations of the heathen when the Lord cast out before the children of Israel and
What were the abominations that they did verse 3 for he built again the high places which has a chi his father had broken down
And reared up altars for Balaam and made groves and worshipped all the hosts of heaven and served them
Verse 4 also he built altars in the house of the Lord
Where of the Lord said in Jerusalem shall be my name forever and he built altars for all the hosts of heaven
In the two courts of the house of the Lord
So it's not just enough that this guy is out there when he gets into this idolatry and worshipping the hosts of heaven
Which is bio by the way where a lot of Greek, you know idolatry comes from, you know
All the Greek gods are named after Mars Jupiter Pluto
I mean they named him after the planets that they saw in the sky the hosts of heaven
But then they actually made physical carvings out of them and worship those as well, too
But you know like the the the image of the Greek goddess Diana that we read about in Acts, okay
But here's the thing. Not only do they this guy
Manasseh go so far as to just rear up these groves and build these altars on of these false gods
He actually does it in the house of God
He goes into the temple. He goes into the house of the Lord and says well, we're not gonna worship God here anymore
We're not gonna worship the Lord of heaven the Almighty. No, we're gonna worship
Balaam we're gonna worship the host of heaven in
These two courts so you can see the problem with idolatry is it takes the the worship that God is worthy of and gives it
Unto false gods. Okay, and not only that but idolatry also leads to other sins that are even far worse
Okay, look here verse 6 and he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom
Where did he get that? He didn't get that from God. That's not that's not the Bible
That's what was involved in this false idol worship. And if you're wondering what that means, he's saying literally that he burned his children alive
He caused his children to pass through the fire. That's what that's talking about and
Burning them in this valley of the son of Hinnom
also
he observed times and used enchantments and used witchcraft and dealt with familiar with a familiar spirit and with
Wizards and these are things that God condemns with the death penalty if we were remember our study in Deuteronomy
You know thou shalt not suffer a witch to live the Bible says
and here he is messing with it and
What was it associated with with his idolatry?
That's where I believe it began and it led this worship of false gods and we'll see why here in a second
Why it leads you into these other sins
And he did rot much evilness. I Lord to do what to provoke him to anger
So here's the thing God's not just gonna give you a pass on idolatry
These things provoke God anger he's not just gonna be disappointed and go oh gee, you know, I'm jealous
Maybe one day they'll worship me. No God's gonna get mad and he's gonna do something about it
And if we recall the story of Israel, that's exactly what he did. You know, he punished them severely
And he said verse 7
He said a carved image and the idol which he made in the house of God of which God he had said to David and
Solomon his son in this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen before all the tribes of Israel
I will I put my name forever
Neither will I anymore remove the foot of Israel from either the land which I have appointed to your fathers
so that they will take he to do all the that I have commanded them according to the whole law and the statutes and the
Ordinances by the hand of Moses. So Manasseh made Judah
And the inhabitants of Jerusalem to err and to do worse than the heathen
Whom the Lord had destroyed before the children of Israel and the Lord spake to Manasseh to his people, but they would not harken
to this idolatry, I
Mean it leads to these wicked sins and it goes so far as it makes them worse than the heathen that God destroyed
Which is what we're reading about, you know in Deuteronomy where God's getting ready to send them into land
Remember when we first started in Deuteronomy a God was commanding them to wipe out all the Canaanites
and that they were guilty of all these abominations that we went over the you know, the
the homosexuality
The the bestiality the inset just all these wicked sins that you know
just that are frankly things that reprobates do people that are rejected by God and
The Bible saying here that look when Manasseh got into this stuff
He made that Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to do worse than them
That's how bad it made them. So idolatry is a big deal with God because one
It takes the place of him and two it leads to other sins
Are you still in first Corinthians chapter 10?
Look at first Corinthians chapter 10. We'll see that here in verse 1
It says moreover brother and I would that you should would not that you should be ignorant
How that all our fathers were under the cloud and passed through the sea and we're all
Baptized unto Moses in the cloud in the sea and did all eat the same spiritual meat and did all drink from that same
Spiritual rock for the drank of that spiritual rock that followed him and that rock was Christ
But with many of them God was not well pleased for they were overthrown in the wilderness
Now these things were our examples to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted
Neither be he idolaters as were some of them as it is written
The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play
Neither let us commit fornication as some of them did and fell in one day three and twenty thousand neither
Let us tempt Christ as some of them also tempted and were destroyed of the serpents
So look this can affect God's people. This is something that if we're not careful can creep in a person's life
I mean he's saying here. Look they all ate of that same spiritual meat. They are all baptized with Moses in the wilderness
They all drank of that same spiritual rock
But what happened to them there were some of them that even despite all that?
You know were became idolaters and they ate they rose up to eat and drink was he referring to he's referring to the golden calf
That he made in the wilderness and when did they make that golden calf?
Was it before God had revealed himself?
No
It was when God had come down in a pillar of fire upon the mount and spoke and spoken to them
When Moses had gone up to receive the commandments of the Lord in the meantime
They're making at the very base of that mount making an idolatrous
Calf and worshiping it people who have seen all these things that God have done so we shouldn't be so
You know puffed up to think that this will never affect any of us right because we don't even have any of these things
You know all we have this which is all we really need honestly
but I mean
What if people were seeing the pillar of fire and seeing the Red Sea split and seeing the plagues of Egypt?
Can still fall into these sins?
Can't we sure if we're not careful
That's why he says in verse 13 there is no temptation you take no with no temptation taking but such as is common to man
But God is faithful who will not suffer to be tempted above that you're able
But will with the temptation also make a way to escape that you may able to bear it
Wherefore my dearly beloved flee from idolatry, you know, we often quote verse 13
When we're sucked when we're struggling with, you know certain temptations
But what's he talking about specifically in verse 14 fleeing idolatry?
He's saying look there's no temptation such as taking but such as is common to man
Therefore, you know, there's a way to escape therefore flee what?
idolatry
You know, that's really the context of that that verse, you know, the the temptation and is idolatry now
I believe you could definitely apply that to any sin right because there is no temptation
All right, but he's specifically dealing with idolatry here. So how could people get into this?
I mean, how could people you know get into these wicked sins like in Manasseh's day, you know
Well, how is it that somebody could start worshiping an idol that end up, you know, committing child sacrifice?
amongst other things and getting involved with
Wizards and you know familiar spirits and doing I know
Setting up altars in God's house and doing all these wicked blasphemous things
How does I why does idolatry lead to that because at its core where the people realize that or not idolatry is demonic
It's demonic
It has evil wicked spirits behind it. That's who's behind all of it
And if you would first go to your first Corinthians 10 look at verse 19 the Bible couldn't be any clear about this
It says what say I then that the idol is anything or that that which is offered to idols is anything?
But I say unto you that the things with the Gentile sacrifice
They sacrifice to devils and not to God. Did you say the things that they sacrifice to idols?
They sacrifice to just molten images
He's saying look what we know. It's that these these actual physical
Carvings are nothing you say that's what he's saying there. What's saying that that the idol is anything?
No, he's not saying I'm not saying the idol is something, you know that we have to worry about the idol itself
It's what's behind the idol
That we ought to be concerned about it's what that idol represents. Okay, and
What does it represent it says they sacrifice to devils and not to God
And he goes on and says and I would not that you should have fellowship with what with Devils
So we're getting involved with idolatry, you know, we are getting involved in in in demonic
Activity honestly, that's what it is
You know, the devil is sitting back and receiving that worship
You know and if you know the Bible says it is shame to even speak of those things which are done them in secret
And I'm not real interested in trying to pull back the veil on
All the all these occultic practices that go on out there, you know at the end of the day. It's all demonic
But from what little bit I've heard and testimonies I've heard is that people worship there
There are secret societies and things like that where they worship
You know fallen angels and they have statues built to them
I've heard about this and it's it's internet stuff
I mean who knows if it's really true, but I mean does the Bible not say that that when you're worshiping these idols
You're sacrificing them unto Devils
Now does a person know that that's doing this you think back in their day and the Corinthians day when they're going to
Worship, you know, whatever Greek God they have an image of in their town that they think. Oh, this is to a devil
This is to a demonic being no, they there's thinking. Well, it's just this
Nice statue that we set up, you know, it's just been part of our religion. My family's always done this, you know every
here we go down there and we make these sacrifices and burn these incense to
This statue and what they whether they realize it or not. The Bible says they're sacrificing to a devil
That's why he says in verse 12 you cannot drink of the cup of the Lord and the cup of Devils
You cannot be partaker of the Lord's table and the table of Devils
Look you can't be a Christian and saying believe this book and then practice idolatry. They don't mix
It's their opposed one to another
Go over to Revelation chapter 9
Say well, that's just one verse the Bible says over and over again that idolatry is the worship of Devils
Psalms 106 you're going to revelation 9 says they they did not destroy the nations concerning the Lord whom the Lord commanded them
Right this time on Israel
But we're mingled among the heathen and learn their works where they learn they learn their heathen practice their heathen worships
Well worship services they learn
Idolatry and they serve their idols and worse which were a snare unto them. Yea
They sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto Devils
So when you know their patch hook causing their children to pass
through the fire in the valley of the sons of Hinnom when they're worshiping worshiping these these these
These idols and
Sacrificing the Bible says their sons and their daughters the Bible doesn't say they're doing it unto either. They're doing it actually unto Devils
And it makes sense because we know that the devil he's a murderer from beginning
And all he wants to do is destroy and to rob and to kill
so whether he does it just whether people are
you know destroying their own children and their own lives and
And just pull out open worship of Satan himself or whether they're doing it to some false idol under some other name
he doesn't care because his end is still accomplished God is not getting the glory and
Life is being destroyed. That's what he's all about
It says in verse 38 and shed innocent blood
Even the blood of their sons and their and of their daughters whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan
so again, the idols are
Devils the Bible couldn't be any clearer look at Revelation chapter 9 verse 13 and
The six angels sounded long and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar
Which is before God saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet loose the four angels
which are bound in the great river Euphrates and the four angels were loosed and were prepared for an hour and a day in a
Month and a year for to slay the third part of men and a number of the army of the horsemen were
200,000,000 and I heard the number of them and I saw the horses and their vision and then that sat on them having breastplates
of fire and of Janseth and brimstone and the heads of the horses whereas the heads of lions and out of their mouths issued fire
And smoke and brimstone by these three were the were the third part of men killed by the fire
And by the smoke and by the brimstone which issued out of their mouths
For their powers in their mouth and in their tails for their tails were like unto serpents and had heads
Which and with them they do hurt and the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet
Repented not of their hands that they should not worship devils
So he's punishing these people and these people still wouldn't get it right and you think if someone's gonna get right with God this
You're being hunted down by these just hundred about you know, these thousands upon hundreds of thousands of these just
Crazy
Creatures with you know horses with heads and tails like scorpion. I mean if there was a time to get rid of God
This is it people
but they wouldn't and they would not repent of what their worship of devils and
idols of gold and silver and brass and stone of wood God saying look whether it's an idol of brass or gold or silver or
Wood or porcelain anything you want to make it out of it's at the end of day. It's a devil
It's the worship of devils
Whether the people realize it or not
So you're not only is are you robbing God of the glory that he deserves
But you're actually giving that glory unto a devil when you are involved in idolatry
And here's the thing, you know say well, you know what? No one here is got a little statue of Buddha at home
And no one here is putting out donuts to Buddha every day, you know
No one here is you know, we've taken down the statue of Mary in the backyard or whatever and that's you know us recall
You know when I was writing this I remembered
Somebody here. I know we went out
We're out soul winning one of these neighborhoods and they sent me a picture of that you say I doll
Is this really that prevalent who sent me that picture of that? They had like a pyramid built in the front yard
Was it you? Yeah, it was like I mean how tall was that thing?
It's like 15 feet high like this literal pyramid in the top didn't have like a statue of Mary on the top
But don't tell me this stuff isn't out there. It's it's like less than a mile from here. Maybe a mile from here
I mean, they don't their yard wasn't that very big to begin with. I mean that neighborhood isn't it isn't exactly
You know Beverly Hills or something like that. I mean, it's it's pretty quaint homes and some modest yards, you know
But these people they were so devout to Mary that they took that nice section of their yard and instead of putting out lawn chairs
You know or a nice garden or something like that. They built this brick pyramid and put a statue of Mary on top
You know and we laugh at it and it's funny and I mean because it's just it's kind of over the top
I mean even for that, you know, but what's sad about it is that person they have such devotion to this thing and
It Bible says that whether they realize it or not. It's it's demonic in nature what they're doing
And here's the thing, you know, we might never be guilty of that, you know
I don't think anyone here has probably got that going on in their house, you know
And if you do you're gonna have a hard time hiding it
You might as well just get out right now can tell you what that thing was huge, but it can take idolatry can't take form
In other ways in our lives in our lives, you know idolatry can manifest itself in other ways in our lives
Maybe not in a physical thing that we actually build and and worship and stuff like that
But the Bible did say we read it earlier that covetousness is idolatry
You know that we can make a god out of money out of money, you know, the almighty dollar that phrase
It's because people do they devote their life and their energy and their worship to making money
You know that could that could fall we could fall into that easily if we became covetous people and we just made God
Or made a made money our God instead of going to work going to church
We're just gonna work more, you know instead of reading our Bible
We're gonna you know, read the you know, rich dad poor dad or something. I don't know
You know me we could there's ways to do that and that wouldn't be too far-fetched. I mean people do do that
Okay
So here's the thing if you would go over to Psalms chapter 15, we'll wrap it up here
You know, we shouldn't make light of idolatry, you know
We do we kind of joke about it and because it is funny when we see some of these crazy things that people do
But we have to remember at the end of the day that you know
People are lost and they stay lost because of these things because they get so hung up
On their on their traditions and they're you know
They're they don't want to let this go and they have lots of ways
They're gonna defend these idols and this idol worship to the bitter end
and you know
it's unfortunate because
You know idolatry will keep people some people from getting saved
I believe that because some people are gonna get so offended that you would even suggest that it's demonic in nature
That they're just gonna totally dismiss anything else you have to say
But did I not I mean what at the end of the day you have to say to those people?
Well, what's your final authority? Is it this book or is it a church is this book or is it the Pope?
You know any honest Catholic will tell you it's the Pope
And you know and I know a few
Cap, I mean died in the world hardcore Catholics with you know statues of Mary in the bedroom, you know
I'm the dresser and
You confront him with the Bible and they say yeah, but that's what the Bible says. The Pope says
Yeah, but the Catholic Church teaches. Okay, but that's fine if you want to do that go ahead
But just understand something this book isn't your authority then
You know, you're you've put your faith and trust in a man in
In in the father, you know of that somebody's calling himself papa
You know and dresses like mama and the Bible says not to call any man upon earth your father
So there's one in heaven, which is your father
You know and so on and that's unfortunate, you know, because people are going to die and go to hell because of
things like this because of idolatry because they're gonna get so offended that's a Baptist preacher would get up and
Tell it like it is from the book
That they're not gonna want to hear the gospel. They're just gonna dismiss it. Look at Psalms 135. Did I have you go there?
Psalms 135
It says in verse 3
But our God is in the heavens
He hath done whatsoever he hath pleased
You know, I'm glad that my God today isn't in some stupid statue that came off an assembly line
You know, I'm glad it's not he's not plastered on the side of a candle that you can buy at the dollar store
That's not where my God is
You know, my God isn't hanging, you know isn't depicted hanging on the cross and some Catholic Church somewhere
The cross is empty friend. Why do you want to have an image of Jesus constantly crucified in front of us?
You know, he came down off the cross was buried and rose again. We look unto Jesus in the heavens
You know, we see God we see the Lord in this book
Not in some depiction made by man. Okay
My God our God is in the heavens and he had done whatsoever he 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 they have feet, but they walk not
Neither speak they through their throat saying look they had everything, you know
They were careful to put the eyes and the ears and the nose and the hands and the feet
But none of those things work because they're useless because it's not real
Right when look at verse 8 and he says they that make them are like unto them
They that make them are like unto them
So is everyone that trusteth in them
What does he mean by that?
Well, I mean they have eyes, but they see not they have ears, but they hear not they're blind. They can't hear they don't move
they're not alive they're dead and
People that are trusting in these things. They're spiritually dead
They're just like their dumb idol
They can't see they can't hear and they're never gonna speak the word, you know, they're never gonna call upon the name of Lord
Now they can
But this can be a real hang-up for people. So don't make light of idolatry
Just don't be like yeah, I know they're Catholic and whatever. Oh, they're Buddhist and it's just a statue
They have look friend that thinking late. Well, if they'll trusting in that they'll lead them straight to hell
Okay
Still make don't make light of it, you know, and I don't think anybody is but if you're guilty of it
Get right or get out. Yeah, that's the title of the service. Let's go ahead break