PROBLEM
Lots of people seek the spiritual for help.
- Apparently, the religious website Beliefnet sends out more than 8 million daily emails of spiritual wisdom in various flavors to more than 5 million subscribers. Generic inspiration is the most popular 2.4 million emails, followed by inspirations from the Bible with 1.6 million. But there are 460,000 subscribers to the Buddhist thought of the day, 313,000 Torah devotees, 268,000 subscribers to daily Muslim wisdom, and 236,000 who get spiritual weight loss messages. Even nature worshiping pagans are divided into a mind boggling pan plea of Wicca, Druidism, Pantheism, Animism, Teutonic Platonism, and the God of Spirituality folk. And in case you can’t find one to suit you on that list, there’s Eclectic Paganism.
- Apparently we are very religious people. In fact, 79% of people in the U.S. under the age of 60 would categorize themselves as spiritual. Not religious, but spiritual. Two-thirds of all Americans claim to pray every day.
- Not so different.
Acts 17:23
For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god.
GOD
Most prefer idols over God
- Difference between worshiping an idol and God: when you worship an idol you tell it what you want. When you worship God he tells you what he wants.
- Can you worship both? No, because it all becomes about what you want
- What does God need you to do that he can’t do?
1 John 5:21.
"Little children, keep yourselves from idols."
APPLICATION
It takes vigilance to worship God
- What is the antidote to idols? Constantly impose the light of his presence and the truth of his word.
- Johnny wants something more than a God (parent) who will provide for him. What little Johnny actually wants is to be that God (parent).
- Will my sinfulness prevent me from choosing what is best?
- We must constantly be tearing down and burning up the altars of our own idols in order to let God in.
VISION
Why should I worship God?
- His precise orchestration of my life. The guarantee of peace and joy.
1 Corinthians 2:9 No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived the things God has prepared for those who love him.
- There are so many idols, God could do so much more. Every idol represents a worthless effort and something God’s not doing.
- Idols aren’t innocent, they consume us until there is nothing left:
- We lose our ability to see the Lord at work
- We lose our ability to sense His presence
- We lose our ability to voice true of praise
- We lose our ability to walk with and toward Jesus