The Danger of Idolatry

Date:  Jan 25, 2012
To:  The Body of Christ
From:  Aldwin and Wendy Naruse
Subject:  Daily Devotional Journal
Re:  Idolatry

Idolatry

Exodus 20
3 “You shall have no other gods before Me.
2 Kings 17:12
for they served idols, of which the LORD had said to them, “You shall not do this thing.”

Ezekiel 37:23
They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions; but I will deliver them from all their dwelling places in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them. Then they shall be My people, and I will be their God.

Definition of Idol:
any person or thing regarded with blind admiration, adoration, or devotion.  (dictionary.com)

Commentary:
When we place value on people or hold them in high esteem, we are treating them like idols. We all value different things and people on different levels. There are basically three types of values: Face
value, special value and divine value. Face value is what you see in front of you. Special value is that element(s) about that person that makes him more valuable than anyone else in your eyes. Divine
value is when you worship that person as if he is your god. When we place value on some one or some thing, we spend all our time and energy on it. We think about it. We exercise it. We take care of it. We dream about it. We meditate on it. We mull over it. Over time, it builds value. It then becomes something special. When something is determined special, more value is added to the face value. At that point, it becomes special value. Left unchecked, the special value continues to grow and the need level in you increases and it becomes an idol. Idols are derived from one who places divine value on a person, place, or thing. This entity has then become his idol because it has high value to him. This is why people kill themselves when they lose a loved one, a huge amount of money, or their job. They have placed so much value on this one person, thing, or place that when this entity is removed from them, they feel like they have no more reason to live. This is the danger of having idols.

Most people are ignorant of the devil’s schemes. They do not know that the devil wants them to have idols. The devil hates God and does not want us to worship God. So he tries to get us to worship
another human being (i.e. actor, singer, etc), or our job or even our own self. If the devil can get you to worship something or anything other than our Lord Jesus Christ, he has succeeded in pulling you
closer to him (the devil) and away from our Lord Jesus Christ. If we never come to the realization in our lifetime that we are worshiping man more than God, we have sold our soul to the devil and thus,
we will lose our salvation. The only person who deserves all of our worship, praise and honor is our Lord Jesus Christ. No man on this earth, no matter how seemingly successful or great he is in the eyes
of man, is worthy of all praise, glory, and full worship.  When you have idols in your heart, the Lord Jesus Christ is kicked out of your heart. The two cannot co-exist in your heart. Either you serve Jesus or mammon. You cannot have two masters. Many believers today who sit in the churches will lift up holy hands to praise the Lord Jesus Christ while they are in possession of one or more idols in their hearts. This grieves the heart of God more than anything. If the Lord is not your Lord of all, He is not your Lord at all. Our Lord Jesus Christ will never share His glory with anyone else. If He is only in your heart half the time, then He really isn’t your  Lord at all. He is not a part-time Lord. He is an all-the-time Lord.  

Questions to ponder
● Do you hold anything in your heart more valuable than Jesus?
● Think about the people in your life? your money? your job? your position? How do these
entities stack up against the Lord Jesus?
● Is the Lord Jesus Christ really your Lord? Or is He more like an extra-curricular activity?
● If Jesus told you today to give half of your money to the poor, how will you respond?
● Would your answer be “No way, man, it took me 10 years to save up this money,” or “Lord, are you serious? Can I just give $50?” Or will it be “Yes, Lord, I will do that immediately.”

Sobering, isn’t it, when we are face with the decision of whether to choose Christ or some other person, place, or thing? Who is your idol? Who do you value most in your heart? What do you value
most in life?

The first commandment says, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” “The sin against this commandment which we are most in danger of is giving the glory and honour to any creature which
are due to God only. Pride makes a god of self, covetousness makes a god of money, sensuality makes a god of the belly; whatever is esteemed or loved, feared or served, delighted in or depended on,
more than God, that (whatever it is) we do in effect make a god of. This prohibition includes a precept which is the foundation of the whole law, that we take the Lord for our God, acknowledge that he is God, accept him for ours, adore him with admiration and humble reverence, and set our affections entirely upon him.” (Henry)

Some common forms of idols in today’s society are the following:
● an actor or actress that you really love to watch over and over again because he or she is either good-looking, talented in acting, or makes us laugh.
● a teacher that you secretly admire and think about all the time.
● an ex-girlfriend that you cannot seem to forget because she was such a good catch.
● a pastor that you love to talk to every chance you get because he is such a holy man of God and preaches a great sermon every single Sunday.
● a statue in the temple that you bow to religiously three times a week.
● your television set, your car, your house, and your baby....did you know people idolize their baby all the time? That is why by the time the baby turns two, he is running the house and his parents are running around the house catering to his needs and wants.
● the self, the ego which strives to be seen, heard, recognized, admired, and so forth. This is the most prevalent idol in today’s society.

God wants to bless us more than we can ever know. But He will not bow to our needs. He will not bow to us. He knows who He is, the Almighty God. He came first. He created all of humanity. He is
omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscience. We bow to Him. He does not bow to us or our needs. In fact, if there was no God to begin with, you and I would not be here today. He is our creator. He is the potter. We are the clay. Sometimes, we forget that and we think we can run the show.

2 Chronicles 7:14 (NKJV)
14 if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

This passage clearly shows us that God’s people (you and me) can be wicked in our ways. He is saying “IF” My people who are called by My name will do these four things which is to be humble, pray, seek God’s face and turn from their wicked ways, then he will hear from heaven, forgive their sins and heal their land. God is saying a few things here. He is saying that if you will do your part, I will do mine. In this case, we are talking about idolatry, so we are to humble ourselves and pray and seek His face and turn from idolatry. Also, notice that God said “if My people..... will turn from their wicked ways.” This shows that God’s people, who are called by His name, have the ability to be wicked. “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? (Jeremiah 17:9) How sobering!! God’s people can choose to be wicked. Many of them go to church every Sunday. Everything stems from the heart. Righteousness is a daily choice, not a gift.

How do we turn away from idolatry? 
Answer:  Take all that blind admiration, devotion and adoration that you had for a human being. Then confess, repent, forsake it and cast it to hell, and give back to the Lord Jesus what is rightfully His which is your total, exclusive and complete admiration, devotion and adoration. Idols are from the pits of hell. Idols make you tie to the devil and separated from God. The more idols you have, the more tied you are to the devil, our enemy. And they are there to draw you away from Jesus, not closer to Him. The more idols you have in your life, the farther and farther you will be away from the Lord Jesus and if left unchecked and undealt with, you can lose your salvation. So wake up before its too late. Turn or burn.

Prayer to God:
Gracious Abba Father, in the name of Jesus the Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we ask for forgiveness. We admit and confess the idols in our hearts and lives. We pray to denounce all these idols, rebuke, and cast them all into the dead sea. We ask for forgiveness for putting these idols above You and in place of You, oh Lord. We pray to sever all negative soul ties with people, places, and things that we held in high esteem. We pray to denounce all these idols today and forevermore. We ask for forgiveness of the sin of idolatry. We ask to be restore into full fellowship with you, Lord. We give you all the worship, praise, admiration, devotion and adoration which is rightfully Yours. We thank and praise You, Lord. In Jesus most precious and holy name, we pray. Amen.

Work cited:
1. Henry, Matthew, commentary on Exodus 20, http://www.blueletterbible.org/commentaries/comm_view.cfm?AuthorID=4&contentID=698&commInfo=5&topic=Exodus