Slideshow image

The First Commandment says “You shall have no other gods before me…You shall not bow down to them or worship them.  For I, the Lord your God am a jealous God…

God doesn’t just want us to MAKE ROOM for him in our life, he wants EVERYTHING.

We live in a culture that likes options where relationships are built with “no strings attached” but in our relationship with God this doesn’t fly…God is not interested in an open-ended no string attached relationship with you, 

He doesn’t want to share any space in your heart with something other than Him.  HE IS A JEALOUS GOD.

God’s describes himself as jealous here and in other verses but only in the context of idolatry. 

God’s Jealousy is not envious where He is insecure and distressed over what the other idols or gods can promise you more than Him…but rather His jealousy is rooted in a passionate love and desire to keep us from being deceived and destroyed by these idols.

God knows that idols will over promise and under deliver…and will ultimately control us, keeping us from our greater purpose of becoming all God created us to be.

Idolatry lies in the worshiper, not in the thing worshiped. 

A golden calf is not an idol by itself. Left to itself, a golden calf is just a golden calf. It becomes an idol only when we begin to worship it. It is a wrong attitude that turns something good into something bad.

Martin Luther said that the heart is an idol factory and that’s why the writer of Proverbs says…”Above all else guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life” (Proverbs 4:23)

It is in the heart where things grow… our heart is a breeding ground for evil and for good.”

The writer of Hebrews says…“See to it brothers, that none of you has a sinful unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.”

Quote - “An idol is anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, anything that you seek to give you what only God can give” – Tim Keller

Jeremiah calls them “SCARECROWS” … 

Don’t be frightened by predictions such as theirs, for it is all a pack of lies. Their ways are futile and foolish. They cut down a tree and carve an idol; 4 they decorate it with gold and silver and fasten it securely in place with hammer and nails so that it won’t fall over. 5 And there stands their god like a helpless scarecrow in a garden! It cannot speak, and it must be carried, for it cannot walk. Don’t be afraid of such a god, for it can neither harm nor help nor do you any good.

Worship is the ultimate way to replace the idols of your heart. 

Worship is what keeps the scarecrows out of our melon patch, keep the idols out of our hearts.

Scarecrows in a melon patch cannot speak but

Jesus is a God that speaks into our lives everyday, he speaks truth and wisdom, and power and hope over your life.

Scarecrows in a melon patch cannot walk and must be carried…but

Jesus is a God who walks with you every step of the way, he carries you when you can’t go any further, He’s the footprints in the sand.

Scarecrows in a melon patch can neither hurt you nor help you…but Jesus is a God who takes away your pain, He is your Refugeand is your very present help in time of need.

You cannot understand the seriousness of idolatry without understanding the jealousy of God and you cannot understand the jealousy of God without knowing His relentless love and pursuit of you.  

He never quits, He never stops, He never gives up on chasing you and pursuing you, 

  • He’s the voice behind you saying you can make it
  • He’s the footsteps in the sand when you can’t walk any longer
  • He’s the reliable and steadfast God that will go the distance in even offering His Son so that you might have a relationship with Him…

So again today, find your approval not in your self-image but in the image of God in who you were created to be. So don’t let the ebbs and flows of your bank account comfort you today, but rather trust in the consistent faithfulness of God’s provision and power to give you all that you need today. 

For as Jeremiah said “6 O Lord, there is no other god like you. For you are great, and your name is full of power.