Jesus said: "If you love
Me, keep my commandments."
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Now people all over the
world are turning back to God's
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eternal moral law, claiming
His promise to write them
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in our hearts and our
minds. Live from the DC Armory
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in our nation's
capital, 3ABN presents
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The 10 Commandments Weekend.
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Before I introduce
pastor David Asscherick,
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or before I have
him come out and speak,
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we're glad that
David is going to be here,
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director of Arise
Institute, I want to invite
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Angela
Bryant-Brown back with Reginal,
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and we appreciate
their music so much,
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once again, God bless you.
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Amazing Grace, shall
always be my song of praise.
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For it was grace
that bought my liberty,
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And I do not know, just
how He came to love me so.
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But Jesus looked beyond all
of my faults and saw my needs.
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And I shall forever
lift mine eyes to Calvary,
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To view the cross, where
my Jesus bled and died for me
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How marvelous, that grace
that caught my falling soul
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He looked beyond all of
my faults and saw my needs.
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And I shall forever
lift mine eyes to Calvary,
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Yes, Hallelujah,
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To view the cross, where
my Jesus bled and died for me
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And how
marvelous, oh, how marvelous,
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that grace that
caught my falling soul
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He looked beyond
faults, Jesus looked beyond
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all of your
faults, Jesus looked beyond
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all of my
faults, and saw my needs.
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[Audience claps]
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Good Evening Saints.
[Audience] Good Evening.
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Happy Sabbath.
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Nice to be here
in Washington DC.
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How many of you
are from Washington DC?
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How many of you are
not from Washington DC?
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That's what I figured.
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Looks like the
sinners outnumber the saints.
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This is my first visit
to the nation's capital
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and I'm thrilled to
be here, really thrilled.
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Looking forward to a
great weekend, how about you?
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That nice lady that was
just out here, I apologize,
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I don't know her name,
she sings like an angel,
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doesn't she?
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I'm going to sing like that when
I get to heaven, only lower.
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[Audience laughs]
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Wow, I'm looking forward
to being here, it's so nice.
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So I guess we're
preaching through all of
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the 10 commandments, amen?
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That sounds like a good idea.
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I wonder who came
up with that idea.
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Well, they've assigned
me the second commandment,
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and I'm looking forward to that.
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I think originally they
had asked me to preach on
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the 1st commandment, but
then I requested the second
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because I just have a
particular passion and burden
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for the 2nd commandment. Even
though our message is on the 2nd
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of the 10 commandments,
our message is entitled
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"Making God in our image"
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I'd like to begin
with a word of prayer.
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Father in Heaven,
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we come to You this
evening on Your Holy Sabbath
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to thank You and praise
You because you are creator
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and redeemer.
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Father, we are
here not to honor man,
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but to honor You, and as we work
through these 10 commandments,
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a transcript of Your
very character, it is my hope
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and prayer that all of
the speakers, myself included,
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all of the singers, will lift
up, not only the commandments,
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but the Christ
of the commandments.
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Father, as we open Your word,
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we need You to open our hearts.
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We come to you,
and many of our hearts
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have become hardened.
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Father, we ask that
You will give us the Spirit
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to soften, to
transform our hearts,
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to make them malleable
and mouldable, transformable,
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by Your grace.
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Father, as we spend a special
moment on the 2nd commandment,
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very near and
dear to Your heart,
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a part of that photograph, that
transcript of Your character.
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Oh God in heaven,
please be with us.
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Condescend to come
into this very room,
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even though it's a huge
room, You can fill this room.
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May Your angels be
here, may Your Spirit be here,
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and may our minds and
our hearts, and our sometimes
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stubborn wills be guided
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instructed and
inspired, not by a preacher,
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but by You.
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Be with us now Father, in
Jesus' name, let all the saints
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of the living God say amen.
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"Making God in our Image."
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Genesis 1, why
don't we begin there,
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Genesis 1.
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In Genesis 1:26,27, we find
a familiar, but very remarkable
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passage of
scripture, Genesis 1:26,27.
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"Then God said: Let us
make man in our image,"
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"according to our likeness,
let them have dominion"
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"over the fish of the
sea, over the birds of the air"
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"and over the cattle
and over all the earth,"
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"and every creeping thing
that creeps on the earth."
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Verse 27: "So God
created man in His own image,"
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"in the image of
God He created him,"
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"male and
female, He created them."
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One of the most
sublime truths of scripture
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is that God
condescended to make mankind
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in His own image.
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He says it in
plain language there:
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"Let us make man in our image."
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This is a
beautiful, scriptural truth,
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but our contention
this evening, as we look at
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the 2nd commandment,
is going to be that we are
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prone to try and
make God in our image.
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It is scripturally sound
and true to say that we are
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made in the image of
God, but it is untrue to say
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that God is in our image.
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Go with me in your
Bibles, to Exodus 20,
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that's a passage of scripture
that's very familiar to you,
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and especially this
weekend, as we're concentrating
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and spending special
time on the 10 commandments.
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Let's take a look at
that second commandment.
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Exodus 20, beginning in verse 4.
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Exodus 20:4, God's
speaking: "You shall not make"
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"for yourself a carved
image. Any likeness of anything"
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"that is in the heaven
above or the earth beneath,"
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"or the water that
is under the earth."
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"You shall not bow down yourself
to them, nor serve them,"
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"for I, the Lord your
God, am a jealous God,"
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"visiting the iniquity of
the fathers upon the children"
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"to the 3rd and 4th generation
of those who hate Me,"
00:10:26.58\00:10:30.10
"but showing mercy
unto thousands of those"
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"who love Me and
keep My commandments."
00:10:33.38\00:10:38.13
God reiterates the
same thing in that chapter
00:10:38.52\00:10:41.68
down in verse 23.
Notice that, Exodus 20:23,
00:10:41.71\00:10:46.39
God says it
again, through Moses,
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"You shall not make
anything to be with Me,"
00:10:49.27\00:10:54.39
"gods of silver
or gods of gold,"
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"you shall not
make for yourself."
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This is one of the
longer commandments,
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tomorrow I'll be
speaking on the 8th commandment,
00:11:03.58\00:11:06.56
"Thou shalt not
steal." Very simple.
00:11:06.87\00:11:08.92
The second
commandment is longer,
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"Thou shalt not make
unto thee any graven image"
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"or any likeness of anything
that is in the heaven above,"
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"the earth beneath or
the waters under the earth."
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"Thou shalt not bow down
to them, nor serve them..."
00:11:17.07\00:11:19.75
it's a long commandment, but
you could take this commandment
00:11:19.78\00:11:22.89
and distill it
down, it's very easy,
00:11:22.92\00:11:24.94
the commandment says:
"Don't worship graven images."
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"Don't worship idols", it's
the essence of the commandment.
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There is a larger frame that
goes around the commandment,
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but the essence of it is:
"Don't bow down and worship"
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"idols and images."
00:11:43.93\00:11:46.81
The Bible is
uniform in its condemnation
00:11:46.98\00:11:50.30
of idolatry. I
want to say that again:
00:11:50.33\00:11:53.30
the Bible is uniform, it is
consistent, in its condemnation
00:11:53.33\00:11:57.50
of idolatry. The
word "idolatry" comes from
00:11:57.53\00:12:00.30
a juxtaposition of 2
Greek words: "idolon",
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which means "shape" or "form",
and "latreia", which means
00:12:04.42\00:12:10.33
"to worship", so idolatry is
"to worship a shape or a form."
00:12:10.36\00:12:16.86
I want to hone in on that,
to worship a shape or a form.
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An idol could be made of
anything, an idol could be made
00:12:23.95\00:12:26.19
of plexiglass, an
idol could be made of wood,
00:12:26.22\00:12:29.35
an idol could be made of metal,
00:12:29.38\00:12:30.76
an idol could be made
of anything, it's a shape
00:12:30.79\00:12:33.40
or a form that is worshipped,
before which someone prostrates
00:12:33.43\00:12:38.46
themselves, in
an act of obeisance.
00:12:38.49\00:12:42.24
God says: "You shall not, as My
holy people, commit idolatry."
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I want you to notice
something fascinating:
00:12:52.82\00:12:56.17
there are 2 places in
the Bible where we find
00:12:56.62\00:12:58.76
the 10
commandments in their entirety,
00:12:58.79\00:13:00.95
one of them is in Exodus 20,
and Bible students, you tell me,
00:13:00.98\00:13:04.60
where is the other
one in the Old Testament?
00:13:04.63\00:13:07.86
Where is it at?
00:13:07.89\00:13:09.71
Deuteronomy 5, why don't
you go to Deuteronomy 4 with me.
00:13:09.74\00:13:14.48
Deuteronomy 4, 5th
book of the Old Testament.
00:13:14.51\00:13:17.85
Deuteronomy 4.
00:13:18.55\00:13:21.56
Here, Moses is
preparing to recapitulate
00:13:22.00\00:13:27.25
the 10 commandments, that
means he's going to go back
00:13:27.28\00:13:29.88
over the 10 commandments,
that's actually what the word
00:13:29.91\00:13:32.39
"Deuteronomy" means,
it's "deu", which is "two",
00:13:32.42\00:13:35.38
and "nomos", which is
law. The word actually means
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"the second reading",
or "the second rendering"
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"of the law."
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Deuteronomy 5
contains that revisiting,
00:13:42.79\00:13:46.01
or that recapitulation
of the 10 commandments,
00:13:46.04\00:13:48.05
but I want you to
notice something fascinating
00:13:48.08\00:13:49.75
in Deuteronomy 4, just before
that recapitulation begins.
00:13:49.78\00:13:54.40
Deuteronomy 4:15.
00:13:54.43\00:14:00.99
Moses has some timely
instruction for the children
00:14:01.02\00:14:05.83
of Israel.
00:14:05.86\00:14:07.84
He says: "Take careful
heed to yourselves, for you saw"
00:14:08.12\00:14:13.43
notice the language, "no
form when the Lord spoke to you"
00:14:13.46\00:14:18.49
"at Horeb, out of
the midst of the fire."
00:14:18.52\00:14:20.79
He's
referencing here, Mt. Sinai.
00:14:20.82\00:14:23.42
He's reminding them
of the Sinai experience,
00:14:23.64\00:14:26.36
and he says: "don't forget,
when we were there at the foot"
00:14:26.39\00:14:29.40
"of Mt. Sinai, when
we were camped there"
00:14:29.43\00:14:31.37
"and God spoke to us our of
the flame, out of the smoke,"
00:14:31.40\00:14:33.64
"out of the fire, and
out of the thunderings,"
00:14:33.67\00:14:35.30
he says, "you didn't see a
form, you didn't see a shape."
00:14:35.33\00:14:40.10
Notice the
rest, that's verse 15:
00:14:40.54\00:14:42.68
"Take careful heed to
yourselves, for you saw no form"
00:14:42.71\00:14:44.63
"when the Lord
spoke to you at Horeb,"
00:14:44.66\00:14:46.05
"out of the midst of the fire."
00:14:46.08\00:14:47.76
Verse 16: "Lest you act
corruptly, and make for"
00:14:47.79\00:14:52.45
"yourselves carved image
in the form of any figure,"
00:14:52.48\00:14:57.91
"the likeness of a
male, or a female,"
00:14:57.94\00:15:00.41
"the likeness of any
animal that is on the earth,"
00:15:00.44\00:15:02.54
"or the likeness of any winged
bird that flies in the air."
00:15:02.57\00:15:05.54
"The likeness of anything
that creeps on the ground,"
00:15:05.57\00:15:07.81
"or the likeness of any
fish that is in the water"
00:15:07.84\00:15:10.50
"beneath the earth."
00:15:10.53\00:15:12.93
Just as Moses is preparing
to revisit the 10 commandments,
00:15:13.45\00:15:17.08
he reminds them that when they
were at the foot of Mt. Sinai
00:15:17.12\00:15:20.32
they didn't see a form
or a shape or anything,
00:15:20.35\00:15:24.58
and he says: "You can't
make an accurate representation"
00:15:24.61\00:15:29.43
"of God because
you didn't see Him."
00:15:29.46\00:15:32.48
Can someone say amen to
that? [Audience replies] Amen.
00:15:32.87\00:15:35.11
"You didn't see
Him. You could guess."
00:15:35.14\00:15:38.24
"You could try, but your
form would fall so far short"
00:15:38.27\00:15:42.91
"of who and what God
is." He reminds them:
00:15:42.94\00:15:45.58
"You didn't see anything, so
don't go making graven images,"
00:15:45.68\00:15:50.30
"like a man or a woman, or
a bird, or any such thing."
00:15:50.33\00:15:54.05
Now why would he
remind them of that?
00:15:54.08\00:15:56.68
Let us remember
00:15:57.12\00:15:59.16
that the nation of Israel
had been in Egyptian bondage
00:15:59.19\00:16:02.32
for the better
part of 400 years.
00:16:02.35\00:16:07.42
The Egyptians are
what we call "polytheists",
00:16:07.72\00:16:12.35
that is to say,
they have many gods,
00:16:12.38\00:16:14.92
a multiplicity of
gods, a pantheon of gods,
00:16:14.95\00:16:18.18
and for each of these gods,
they would erect idols or icons,
00:16:18.42\00:16:22.60
or images, so they would
have a visual stimulus to remind
00:16:22.63\00:16:26.60
them of their god.
00:16:26.63\00:16:28.30
In some instances those icons,
or idols, actually were the god.
00:16:28.52\00:16:32.45
So coming out of Egypt,
familiar with polytheism,
00:16:33.32\00:16:36.58
familiar with idolatry, where
they had the gods of the rain,
00:16:36.61\00:16:39.80
the gods of the
moon, the god of the dogs
00:16:39.83\00:16:42.75
and the god of the
birds, the god of the hogs,
00:16:42.78\00:16:44.81
the god of the
roosters, the god of man,
00:16:44.84\00:16:47.30
all of these different
Gods. Moses says: "Don't forget"
00:16:47.33\00:16:51.32
"when you were at Mt.
Sinai, you didn't see anything."
00:16:51.35\00:16:56.96
"You can't make an
accurate representation of God."
00:16:56.99\00:17:01.65
Are we on the same
page everyone, yes or no?
00:17:01.68\00:17:04.12
He reminds them, and then
he goes on to recapitulate
00:17:04.15\00:17:07.61
the 10 commandments.
00:17:08.03\00:17:09.64
The Bible is unapologetic
on this central point,
00:17:11.34\00:17:17.85
and that is
this: God is invisible.
00:17:18.27\00:17:28.11
In fact, there's a
philosophical term for this,
00:17:28.28\00:17:30.75
it's called "immaterial".
00:17:30.78\00:17:33.01
We speak about God as being
immaterial, that means He's not
00:17:33.44\00:17:36.54
extended in space.
00:17:36.57\00:17:39.39
Jesus, speaking at the
woman at the well, said:
00:17:39.66\00:17:41.39
God is a Spirit.
00:17:41.42\00:17:44.18
God is a what
everyone? God is a Spirit.
00:17:44.21\00:17:46.70
Jesus, after His
resurrection, said: "Touch Me,"
00:17:46.73\00:17:48.67
"and feel Me, I'm not a
spirit, a spirit doesn't have"
00:17:48.70\00:17:51.78
"flesh and bones", and yet
Jesus affirmed in the plainest
00:17:51.81\00:17:55.19
language, God is a Spirit.
00:17:55.22\00:17:57.31
The Bible is unapologetic
that God can't be seen.
00:17:57.34\00:18:01.84
If God wants to, it is His
prerogative to take a physical
00:18:02.04\00:18:05.96
form, He can manifest Himself
physically, but God is not bound
00:18:05.99\00:18:10.87
by physicality.
If that makes sense
00:18:10.90\00:18:12.59
I want you to say amen.
[Audience replies] Amen.
00:18:12.62\00:18:14.40
Think of just a few texts,
I'm reading Colossians 1:15,
00:18:14.43\00:18:18.16
the Bible says that Jesus is
the image of the invisible God.
00:18:18.19\00:18:27.87
1 Timothy 1:17, "Now
unto the King eternal,"
00:18:28.26\00:18:33.17
"immortal,
invisible, God, only wise."
00:18:33.20\00:18:38.85
In Hebrews 11:27,
speaking of Moses, it says:
00:18:38.88\00:18:43.07
"By faith he forsook Egypt, not
fearing the wrath of the king:"
00:18:43.20\00:18:48.60
"for he endured, as
seeing Him who is invisible."
00:18:48.63\00:18:56.20
This is a complaint
that is commonly lobbied
00:18:57.12\00:19:01.82
by atheists,
sceptics and agnostics.
00:19:01.85\00:19:05.26
They say things like:
"If your God is real,"
00:19:05.29\00:19:09.09
"how come I've never seen Him?"
00:19:09.12\00:19:12.03
They take issue with the
fact that God is invisible,
00:19:12.87\00:19:15.17
but I want you to
be clear on something,
00:19:15.20\00:19:17.13
the Bible declares in
unapologetic, unashamed language
00:19:17.16\00:19:21.25
that God has not
been seen by man, in fact,
00:19:21.28\00:19:24.79
Jesus Himself said, "No on
hath seen God at any time."
00:19:24.82\00:19:29.51
I always get a kick out of the
fact when atheists, agnostics,
00:19:30.44\00:19:33.66
and other say: "Well
I can't believe in God"
00:19:33.69\00:19:36.31
"because I've never seen Him."
One of my favorite questions
00:19:36.34\00:19:39.64
to ask, among others,
is: "Have you ever been"
00:19:39.67\00:19:42.49
"to the island of Madagascar?"
They'll say: "No, I've never"
00:19:42.52\00:19:48.44
"been to Madagascar."
00:19:48.47\00:19:50.12
"So then it's invisible to you."
00:19:50.32\00:19:52.32
"Oh yeah, it's
invisible, I've never seen it."
00:19:52.35\00:19:54.49
"But do you believe it exists?"
00:19:54.52\00:19:57.23
"Well, other
people have seen it."
00:19:58.07\00:20:00.30
Then I say: "How do you
know they're not lying?"
00:20:00.33\00:20:03.23
God is unapologetically
invisible, and Moses reminds
00:20:04.82\00:20:08.95
them of the fact that they
didn't see God, so they can't
00:20:08.98\00:20:11.69
go carving a god that would
be an accurate representation
00:20:11.72\00:20:15.14
of Him. The saddest
part of all of this,
00:20:15.17\00:20:18.89
of course, is that just
days, some would say hours,
00:20:18.92\00:20:22.62
after having received the
10 commandments in Exodus 20,
00:20:22.65\00:20:26.97
Moses was tarrying too
long on top of the mountain,
00:20:27.00\00:20:29.49
so the people went and
lobbied Aaron to make a god,
00:20:29.52\00:20:33.12
and he made them a golden calf.
00:20:33.15\00:20:36.11
What a pathetic,
miniature, small representation
00:20:37.49\00:20:42.59
of the illimitable God
of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob:
00:20:42.62\00:20:47.01
a golden cow, dancing around it.
00:20:47.04\00:20:53.59
In the Bible, God is
plainly against idolatry.
00:20:57.18\00:21:04.53
He calls it, among
other things, and abomination,
00:21:05.71\00:21:09.56
and as I have thought about
this, idolatry and graven images
00:21:09.73\00:21:13.24
"what's the big
deal anyway, God?"
00:21:13.27\00:21:16.49
I think the
answer has to be in part,
00:21:17.65\00:21:21.56
that a graven image,
we would carve something,
00:21:22.06\00:21:24.92
and work on it, and
fashion it, and look at it,
00:21:24.95\00:21:27.68
the worship of that graven image
00:21:27.71\00:21:29.39
does at least 2 things:
it insults the intelligence
00:21:29.42\00:21:35.61
of man, and it insults
the glory of the illimitable
00:21:35.64\00:21:40.47
God of heaven.
00:21:40.50\00:21:42.22
I think that this is why God
is so uniform in His distaste
00:21:42.86\00:21:48.52
of idolatry and graven images.
It insults the intelligence
00:21:48.55\00:21:52.14
of man, and it brings low
the glory of the illimitable
00:21:52.17\00:21:55.94
God of heaven and earth.
00:21:55.97\00:21:58.61
In fact, look in Daniel
5:23, you know where that is.
00:22:00.15\00:22:05.56
Daniel 5, Belshazzar is
having a feast, and in the midst
00:22:09.50\00:22:14.76
of this feast the
hand writing on the wall
00:22:14.79\00:22:16.63
"Mene Mene Tekel
Upharsin", and Daniel "the sage"
00:22:16.66\00:22:20.92
is ushered in to the
presence of Belshazzar,
00:22:20.95\00:22:23.85
and Daniel says something
fascinating, almost humorous,
00:22:23.88\00:22:27.62
to Belshazzar in the
midst of this situation.
00:22:27.87\00:22:30.54
Daniel 5:23: "And you
have lifted yourself up"
00:22:30.57\00:22:34.72
"against the Lord of heaven.
You have brought vessels"
00:22:34.75\00:22:38.71
"of His house before you,
and your lords, your wives"
00:22:38.74\00:22:42.92
"and your concubines,
have drunk wine from them."
00:22:42.95\00:22:45.21
Notice what he says
next: "You have praised"
00:22:45.24\00:22:48.51
"the gods of silver
and gold, bronze and iron,"
00:22:48.54\00:22:53.30
"wood and stone, which
do not see or hear or know;"
00:22:53.33\00:23:00.48
"and the God who holds
your breath in His very hand"
00:23:00.51\00:23:04.27
"and owns all your
ways, you have not glorified."
00:23:04.30\00:23:10.80
Fascinating.
00:23:10.90\00:23:12.67
He basically comes in
and crashes the party.
00:23:13.43\00:23:17.40
"You're in here dancing your
jigs, and doing your various"
00:23:17.82\00:23:20.90
"[unsundry???] things,
and offering all of these
00:23:20.93\00:23:25.02
instruments" "of God's house to
these idols; these idols don't
00:23:25.05\00:23:28.62
see," "they don't
hear, they don't move,"
00:23:28.65\00:23:30.89
"and you have
forgotten the living God,"
00:23:30.92\00:23:33.12
"the God of your
grandfather, Nebuchadnezzar."
00:23:33.15\00:23:37.42
"The living God who holds
your breath in His very hand."
00:23:37.55\00:23:41.73
In essence, what
Daniel is saying is:
00:23:41.76\00:23:43.60
"this is utterly foolish."
00:23:43.63\00:23:47.59
In fact, one of my
favorite passages, in which God
00:23:49.07\00:23:51.35
expresses His
absolute contempt idolatry
00:23:51.38\00:23:56.54
is Isaiah 44, let
me show you that one.
00:23:56.57\00:23:59.67
I think we have to conclude
that God has at least something
00:24:00.65\00:24:04.40
of a sense of humor, when
we read passages like this.
00:24:04.43\00:24:08.42
Isaiah 44:6, "Thus says
the Lord, the King of Israel,"
00:24:10.95\00:24:19.62
"And his Redeemer, the
Lord of hosts: I am the First"
00:24:19.65\00:24:23.22
"and the Last;
Besides Me there is no God."
00:24:23.25\00:24:29.11
Can someone say amen?
[Audience replies] Amen.
00:24:29.14\00:24:30.99
I think Pastor Gallimore
did a fantastic job of visiting
00:24:31.02\00:24:33.93
the first
commandment, praise the Lord.
00:24:33.96\00:24:36.54
Jump down to verse 8:
"Do not fear, or be afraid;"
00:24:36.89\00:24:39.27
"Have I not told you from
that time, and declared it?"
00:24:39.30\00:24:42.31
"You are My witnesses.
Is there a God besides Me?"
00:24:42.34\00:24:47.25
"Indeed there is no other Rock"
God says: "I know not one."
00:24:47.28\00:24:54.71
Then He begins to talk
about idolatry, and I want you
00:24:54.93\00:24:57.86
to notice the contempt,
almost the humor with which
00:24:57.89\00:25:01.20
He speaks about our
idolatry, notice it in verse 9,
00:25:01.23\00:25:03.60
see if you can pick
up on the humor here:
00:25:03.63\00:25:05.77
"Those who make an
image, all of them are useless,"
00:25:06.55\00:25:09.27
"And their precious
things shall not profit;"
00:25:09.30\00:25:11.91
"They are their own witnesses;
They neither see nor know,"
00:25:11.94\00:25:16.10
"that they may be ashamed."
00:25:16.13\00:25:18.48
"Who would form a
god or mold an image"
00:25:18.54\00:25:21.00
"that profits him nothing?
Surely all his companions"
00:25:21.03\00:25:24.84
"would be ashamed and the
workmen, they are mere men."
00:25:24.87\00:25:28.26
"Let them all be gathered
together, let them stand up;"
00:25:28.50\00:25:31.89
"Yet they shall fear, they
shall be ashamed together."
00:25:31.92\00:25:34.90
Verse 12: "The blacksmith
with his tongs works one"
00:25:35.03\00:25:39.81
"in the coals, He fashions
it with hammers, and works it"
00:25:39.84\00:25:43.46
"with the strength of his
arms. Even so, he is hungry,"
00:25:43.49\00:25:46.51
"and his strength fails; He
drinks no water and is faint."
00:25:46.54\00:25:50.16
Here, God is painting
the picture of a man who is
00:25:50.19\00:25:54.03
working
tirelessly to create a god.
00:25:54.06\00:25:57.66
He goes on, verse 13:
"The craftsman stretches out"
00:25:58.18\00:26:01.76
"the rule, he marks one
with chalk; he fashions it"
00:26:01.79\00:26:05.58
"with a plane, he marks
it out with the compass,"
00:26:05.61\00:26:08.29
"and makes it like
the figure of a man,"
00:26:08.32\00:26:11.33
"According to
the beauty of a man,"
00:26:11.36\00:26:12.82
"that it may
remain in his house."
00:26:12.85\00:26:15.77
"He cuts down
cedars for himself,"
00:26:15.80\00:26:17.73
"and takes the
cypress and the oak;"
00:26:17.76\00:26:19.46
"he secures it for himself
among the trees of the forest."
00:26:19.49\00:26:21.95
"He plants a pine, and
the rain nourishes it."
00:26:21.98\00:26:24.26
Now here's where the humorous
part begins, He's talked about
00:26:24.29\00:26:26.21
a blacksmith who pounds
and pounds, and works the coals
00:26:26.24\00:26:29.72
and the tongs, in
order to create it,
00:26:29.75\00:26:31.34
and now he's talking
about a man who creates a god
00:26:31.37\00:26:33.27
out of wood: he goes and he
gets a cedar, or he gets a pine,
00:26:33.30\00:26:37.32
now watch this, this is
the funny part, at least
00:26:37.35\00:26:40.01
I think it's funny, verse 15,
00:26:40.04\00:26:43.12
it says: "Then it
shall be for a man to burn,"
00:26:43.74\00:26:47.67
"for he will take some
of it and warm himself;"
00:26:47.70\00:26:51.10
"Yes, he kindles it
and bakes his bread;"
00:26:51.13\00:26:54.89
"indeed he makes a
god and worships it;"
00:26:54.92\00:26:58.04
"he makes it a carved
image, and falls down to it."
00:26:58.23\00:27:02.00
"He burns half of it in
the fire; with the half of it"
00:27:02.03\00:27:04.90
"he eats meat; He roasts
a roast, and is satisfied."
00:27:04.93\00:27:07.97
"He even warms himself
and says," Ah! I am warm," "
00:27:08.01\00:27:11.71
" " I have seen the fire." "
00:27:11.74\00:27:13.75
"And the rest of
it he makes a god,"
00:27:13.78\00:27:17.66
"his carved image.
He falls down before it"
00:27:17.69\00:27:20.42
"and worships it,
prays to it and says:"
00:27:20.45\00:27:22.40
"" Deliver me,
for you are my god!""
00:27:22.43\00:27:25.87
Do you see the humor, yes or no?
00:27:26.29\00:27:28.65
God says: "Isn't this something.
You go, you cut down a tree."
00:27:28.87\00:27:32.46
"You cut it in half,
and you take one half"
00:27:32.49\00:27:35.47
"and you warm yourself
and you bake a little bread,"
00:27:35.50\00:27:38.22
"and you cook a roast on
the fire, and then you worship"
00:27:38.25\00:27:40.98
"the other half."
00:27:41.01\00:27:42.97
I hear God saying in between
the lines "aren't you thinking?"
00:27:45.91\00:27:50.10
"What separates the half
that you cooked your bread with"
00:27:51.81\00:27:54.11
"from the half that
you're worshipping?"
00:27:54.14\00:27:55.96
"Maybe you burned the god
half and you're worshipping"
00:27:55.99\00:27:58.22
"the bread half."
00:27:58.25\00:28:00.72
Notice what it goes on
to say, verse 18, He says:
00:28:01.76\00:28:04.05
"They do not
know nor understand;"
00:28:04.08\00:28:07.15
they don't get it, "For
He has shut their eyes,"
00:28:07.73\00:28:11.04
"so that they cannot
see, And their hearts,"
00:28:11.07\00:28:13.72
"so that they cannot understand.
No one considers in his heart,"
00:28:13.75\00:28:16.91
"nor is there knowledge
nor understanding to say,"
00:28:16.94\00:28:19.32
""I burned half of it in
the fire, yes, I have baked"
00:28:20.08\00:28:23.19
"bread on its coals; I
have roasted meat and eaten it;"
00:28:23.22\00:28:26.35
"I shall make the
rest of it an abomination?"
00:28:26.70\00:28:29.27
"Shall I fall down
before a block of wood?"
00:28:29.38\00:28:34.14
"He feeds on ashes; a deceived
heart has turned him aside;"
00:28:34.26\00:28:39.53
"and he cannot
deliver his soul, Nor say,"
00:28:39.56\00:28:42.21
""Is there not a
lie in my right hand?""
00:28:42.24\00:28:45.32
The folly of idolatry
would be humorous and funny
00:28:46.75\00:28:50.50
if it wasn't so totally sad.
00:28:50.53\00:28:54.07
A man worshipping a tree.
00:28:55.38\00:28:58.37
A man worshipping a stone,
00:29:00.33\00:29:03.13
a stone that can't even
move itself, the man has to move
00:29:03.16\00:29:06.67
the stone.
00:29:06.70\00:29:09.00
Daniel comes into
Belshazzar's feast and says:
00:29:09.03\00:29:11.04
"What are you thinking
Belshazzar, you look like"
00:29:11.07\00:29:12.82
"an intelligent person,
that thing can't move itself."
00:29:12.85\00:29:15.45
"It can't see, it
can't think, it can't eat,"
00:29:15.48\00:29:18.11
"and you, a volitional,
intelligent, rational,"
00:29:18.14\00:29:21.34
"human being, made in the
image of God, are worshipping"
00:29:21.37\00:29:24.17
"that thing? I
don't get it", he says.
00:29:24.20\00:29:27.04
And God looks with absolute
contempt on this situation
00:29:28.81\00:29:32.32
for 2 reasons, as I've
already stated: it insults
00:29:32.35\00:29:35.71
the intelligence, of
man, can someone say amen?
00:29:35.74\00:29:38.84
I mean, you
wouldn't worship your cat.
00:29:39.23\00:29:41.37
I don't even like cats much.
[Laughter from the audience]
00:29:42.76\00:29:47.33
And even if they did
find a cat that I could like,
00:29:48.12\00:29:50.69
I wouldn't worship it.
00:29:50.72\00:29:53.03
I like dogs.
00:29:53.06\00:29:55.54
I have heard it said that
God created cats to show us
00:29:56.18\00:29:59.20
what we're like
before conversion.
00:29:59.23\00:30:02.30
And God made dogs to
show us what we should be like
00:30:02.80\00:30:05.19
after conversion. Amen!
00:30:05.22\00:30:08.98
But even a cat is
better than a tree,
00:30:10.92\00:30:13.50
even a cat is
better than a stone,
00:30:14.34\00:30:18.30
God's contempt for
idolatry is in 2 elements.
00:30:18.50\00:30:22.17
#1 - it insults the intelligence
of man, and #2 - it degrades
00:30:22.20\00:30:26.97
and lessens the glory of
the illimitable, omnipotent,
00:30:27.00\00:30:31.37
omnibenevolent,
omniscient God of the universe.
00:30:31.40\00:30:35.39
Someone say amen!
00:30:35.42\00:30:37.61
God says: "Don't do
that, it's an insult to you,"
00:30:37.64\00:30:40.38
"and it's an insult to Me."
00:30:40.41\00:30:42.55
Go with me to Psalm
115, there is a line here
00:30:45.48\00:30:52.36
that I want to hone in on,
in fact, we're going to spend
00:30:52.39\00:30:56.00
the rest of the
message on this single line.
00:30:56.03\00:30:59.93
I'm going to unpack
that line, that one sentence.
00:31:01.43\00:31:05.40
Psalm 115, beginning in verse 1:
00:31:05.43\00:31:08.71
"Not unto us, Lord, not unto
us, but to Your name give glory"
00:31:09.59\00:31:14.05
"because of Your
mercy, because of Your truth."
00:31:14.08\00:31:16.10
Can someone say amen?
No one gets glory but God.
00:31:16.13\00:31:20.97
Paul says "I know that
in me, that is in my flesh"
00:31:21.71\00:31:23.73
"dwells no good
thing." If any good thing
00:31:23.76\00:31:26.16
comes of this 10 Commandment
weekend, Danny Shelton
00:31:26.19\00:31:28.82
doesn't get the
praise, someone say amen!
00:31:28.85\00:31:31.40
And David Asscherick, Doug
Batchelor and none of the other
00:31:31.43\00:31:33.48
capable preachers get any
praise, God gets the praise.
00:31:33.51\00:31:38.02
Can someone say amen?
[Audience replies] Amen.
00:31:38.05\00:31:39.80
Hallelujah, let's set
that straight right up front.
00:31:39.96\00:31:42.68
Verse 2,"Why should the Gentiles
say: where is your God?"
00:31:42.71\00:31:45.53
See, the Gentiles
don't understand, because God
00:31:45.56\00:31:47.38
is invisible.
00:31:47.41\00:31:49.23
"Hey, we have our god,
he's over in the corner."
00:31:49.51\00:31:51.27
"Where's your god?"
00:31:51.46\00:31:53.05
"You see our god over
there? He's over in the corner."
00:31:54.13\00:31:56.16
"We worship him,
where's your god?"
00:31:56.19\00:31:58.79
David says "why
should the gentiles say:"
00:32:00.39\00:32:01.93
"where is your god?"
Verse 3, here's his answer:
00:32:01.96\00:32:05.66
"But our God is in heaven;"
00:32:06.49\00:32:11.16
Where is He? He's in heaven.
00:32:11.19\00:32:14.45
"He does whatever He
pleases. Their idols are silver"
00:32:14.60\00:32:17.97
"and gold," - now
here's that humor again,
00:32:18.00\00:32:20.37
that humor that would
be downright hilarious
00:32:20.40\00:32:22.85
if it wasn't so
totally sad, verse 4:
00:32:22.88\00:32:29.34
"The work of men's
hands. They have mouths,"
00:32:29.37\00:32:33.05
"but they do not
speak; they have eyes,"
00:32:33.96\00:32:37.20
"but they do not see;"
00:32:37.96\00:32:39.70
"They have ears,
but they do not hear;
00:32:39.95\00:32:44.11
"they have noses,
but they do not smell;"
00:32:44.21\00:32:48.51
"they have hands, but they do
not handle, they do not feel;"
00:32:48.72\00:32:55.31
"they have feet,
but they do not walk;"
00:32:55.34\00:32:57.93
"nor do they mutter
through their throat."
00:32:57.96\00:33:00.25
Notice verse 8, this is the
verse I wanted to hone in on,
00:33:00.47\00:33:03.17
"Those who make
them are like them."
00:33:03.60\00:33:08.97
"Those who make
them are like them."
00:33:11.25\00:33:16.47
"So is everyone
who trusts in them."
00:33:16.50\00:33:19.81
Up to this point in the
sermon we've been talking about
00:33:21.74\00:33:23.81
idolatry in what you might call
00:33:23.84\00:33:25.62
"the run of the mill" sense.
00:33:25.65\00:33:28.30
Probably all of us have
seen a video, or perhaps
00:33:30.28\00:33:33.20
we even have a relative
that we have physically seen,
00:33:33.23\00:33:37.89
in, perhaps, some distant land
going up, and giving obeisance
00:33:38.16\00:33:41.99
to a stone idol,
offering an offering,
00:33:42.02\00:33:45.04
burning some incense,
kissing the foot, all of us
00:33:45.07\00:33:48.13
have seen this, some
of us, perhaps in person,
00:33:48.16\00:33:50.17
some of us might have
relatives that do this
00:33:50.20\00:33:51.74
very thing. You
might call this idolatry
00:33:51.77\00:33:54.84
in the "run of the
mill" sense, and that's what
00:33:54.87\00:33:56.78
we've been talking
about up to this point.
00:33:56.81\00:33:59.86
God looks at that with contempt.
00:34:01.04\00:34:03.09
I want to say something here,
00:34:03.12\00:34:05.71
God does not look with
contempt on the idolater,
00:34:07.78\00:34:11.68
but on the idolatry, do you hear
the difference there, yes or no?
00:34:11.71\00:34:16.07
Jesus said in the
plainest language:
00:34:16.26\00:34:17.83
"For God so loved the
world..." and of course, this is
00:34:17.86\00:34:21.71
the dilemma that God
faces. He loves sinners,
00:34:21.74\00:34:24.90
but He hates sin.
00:34:24.93\00:34:27.50
And the supreme object
of God's love is sinners.
00:34:28.56\00:34:32.08
And the supreme object
of God's hatred is sin,
00:34:32.72\00:34:35.40
and God has to perform this
most difficult of all cosmic
00:34:35.43\00:34:38.59
surgeries, what I call
the "sin [adnectomy??]",
00:34:38.62\00:34:42.71
where He must separate
the supreme object of His love
00:34:43.17\00:34:45.76
from the supreme
object of His hatred,
00:34:45.79\00:34:47.82
so let's be clear on something,
even though God abhors
00:34:47.85\00:34:50.80
idolatry, He does
not abhor idolaters.
00:34:50.83\00:34:54.41
Can someone say amen?
[Audience replies] Amen.
00:34:54.44\00:34:56.75
Because you might not be an
idolater tonight, but I'll tell
00:34:56.78\00:34:58.90
you what, you're a sinner.
00:34:58.93\00:35:01.79
But I'm going to contend,
or at least I'm going to try
00:35:03.97\00:35:06.17
and contend in the rest of this
message that many of us may have
00:35:06.20\00:35:09.60
fallen for a more
subtle form of idolatry.
00:35:09.63\00:35:14.35
We're too sophisticated in our
modern era, to set up a stone
00:35:16.48\00:35:21.55
and worship it;
after all this is the USA,
00:35:21.58\00:35:24.93
we're in Washington DC.
00:35:24.96\00:35:27.71
But could it be that even
those of us in the church,
00:35:28.78\00:35:32.29
even those of us who believe
the Bible, have fallen victim
00:35:32.32\00:35:36.51
to a more subtle, more
[egregious?], more malignant
00:35:36.54\00:35:39.73
form of idolatry than this
kind that we've been describing
00:35:39.76\00:35:42.46
up to this point.
00:35:42.49\00:35:44.50
I want to close off this
part of the sermon with a story
00:35:46.28\00:35:48.54
that the Lord
gave me just yesterday.
00:35:48.57\00:35:51.29
Last Sabbath I conducted
a series of revival meetings
00:35:52.73\00:35:55.27
in Montrose, Colorado.
Any Coloradans here tonight?
00:35:55.30\00:35:58.73
Anyone? I love Colorado.
00:35:58.76\00:36:01.74
As we were driving
back, my 2 little boys, I have
00:36:02.08\00:36:04.50
a 4 and a half year old, Landon,
00:36:04.53\00:36:06.91
and a 3 year old, Jebel;
00:36:06.94\00:36:09.19
tones of energy, don't
know where they get it from,
00:36:09.27\00:36:11.77
but these kids
are just everywhere.
00:36:11.80\00:36:17.35
My wife sometimes jokes when
people say: "How many children"
00:36:17.38\00:36:19.66
"do you have?" She
says "I have 3, 3 boys."
00:36:19.69\00:36:22.55
Me and the other 2.
00:36:23.87\00:36:25.88
Well, it's very hard for boys
like mine, to sit in a car seat.
00:36:26.35\00:36:29.94
We had to drive for 20 hours.
00:36:29.97\00:36:33.42
For about the 1st
hour they're okay.
00:36:35.55\00:36:38.04
And then they start to shake.
00:36:38.37\00:36:40.77
Then they start to yell.
00:36:40.80\00:36:43.22
They feel like
they're going to selfdestruct,
00:36:44.16\00:36:45.40
and we have to tighten
those seat belts, tighter...
00:36:45.43\00:36:47.21
I'm just kidding, we
don't. [Audience laughs]
00:36:47.24\00:36:50.21
Something that I like to do
for my boys as we're travelling
00:36:50.41\00:36:53.31
is just buy them little
toys that tied them over.
00:36:53.34\00:36:57.52
The day before yesterday
we walked into a 7 Eleven,
00:36:58.17\00:37:02.70
and there was on the ground
level, those people are smart,
00:37:03.10\00:37:07.51
they know right where
to put the toys, I didn't
00:37:07.54\00:37:08.97
even see it, it was
the first thing my son saw:
00:37:09.00\00:37:11.96
a motorcycle, toy motorcycles.
00:37:12.40\00:37:15.70
My 2 boys, their
favorite things in the world
00:37:15.90\00:37:18.69
are skateboards, don't
know where they got that from,
00:37:18.94\00:37:21.67
and motorcycles.
00:37:22.72\00:37:24.62
They could tell you
the difference between
00:37:24.83\00:37:26.57
a Harley Davidson, a
touring bike, a sport bike,
00:37:26.60\00:37:30.06
a dirt bike, a Honda, a Suzuki,
they have a veritable collection
00:37:30.09\00:37:35.16
of toy motorcycles. They
love their toy motorcycles,
00:37:35.19\00:37:39.14
[makes motorcycles sounds],
00:37:39.17\00:37:41.14
but let me tell you
something fascinating,
00:37:41.17\00:37:43.61
though they love their toy
motorcycles, in fact, I was
00:37:44.73\00:37:47.85
actually going to bring
one here and show it to you
00:37:47.88\00:37:49.72
for an illustration, but
they wouldn't let me borrow it.
00:37:49.75\00:37:52.87
"Hey Landon, can I borrow
you motorcycle for the weekend?"
00:37:54.26\00:37:56.74
"No Papa."
00:37:57.88\00:37:59.28
"Alright."
00:38:00.54\00:38:02.36
Here's the fascinating
thing: I own a real motorcycle,
00:38:02.56\00:38:07.46
a Honda Goldwing,
00:38:08.19\00:38:10.47
and it's a big bike.
00:38:10.83\00:38:14.11
I sit on that bike,
[makes motorbike sound effects],
00:38:14.14\00:38:19.09
fire that thing up, you
know what happens with my boys?
00:38:19.12\00:38:23.27
They go running
the opposite direction.
00:38:23.70\00:38:26.75
The bike's all fired up
and I'll say: "Hey Landon,"
00:38:27.75\00:38:29.91
"come sit on the
motorcycle with papa."
00:38:29.94\00:38:31.84
No way, not going to
sit on the motorcycle.
00:38:31.87\00:38:34.84
"Jebel, come
here." Jebel is gone,
00:38:34.87\00:38:36.65
he's in the next
county. When he even hears
00:38:36.68\00:38:38.83
the motorcycle
trying to fire up,
00:38:38.86\00:38:41.55
he's gone, he's under the bed.
00:38:41.58\00:38:43.29
We can never find him when
the motorcycle is fired up,
00:38:43.32\00:38:45.99
Landon stands at a
distance and if he sees papa
00:38:46.02\00:38:48.75
beginning to move
towards him to try and get him
00:38:48.78\00:38:50.31
on the
motorcycle, he's gone, woosh.
00:38:50.34\00:38:52.80
Isn't this interesting?
00:38:52.99\00:38:55.22
They love the model, but they're
afraid of the real thing.
00:38:55.92\00:39:00.92
They love the model, but they're
afraid of the real thing.
00:39:01.63\00:39:05.98
God knows that if we
develop an affinity and a taste
00:39:07.02\00:39:12.70
for models of Him, it will
so debase our conceptions of Him
00:39:12.86\00:39:19.62
and His holiness,
and His awesome majesty
00:39:19.65\00:39:22.62
and solemnity that we
will not appreciate Him.
00:39:22.65\00:39:27.68
This is one of God's
chiefest concerns when it comes
00:39:30.47\00:39:33.53
to idolatry.
00:39:33.56\00:39:35.59
After all, if you're
God can be put in a suitcase
00:39:37.59\00:39:40.99
and transported,
00:39:41.02\00:39:43.24
what are you going to
do when the living God
00:39:43.51\00:39:45.23
of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,
shows up in His illimitable,
00:39:45.26\00:39:49.30
infinite glory?
00:39:49.33\00:39:51.90
You're going to run in
fear, just like my boys do
00:39:52.74\00:39:55.19
when a real motorcycle is seen.
00:39:55.22\00:39:57.89
I want you to look at
that last verse there,
00:39:59.64\00:40:01.46
let's move to the
second part of our message.
00:40:01.49\00:40:05.22
The Psalmist says: "those
who make them are like them."
00:40:06.98\00:40:12.27
Making God in our image.
00:40:13.87\00:40:16.07
Historically, mankind
has made 2 kinds of gods.
00:40:17.49\00:40:21.50
Historically, mankind
has manufactured, invented,
00:40:23.79\00:40:28.79
2 kinds of false gods, #1:
the false god that is exactly
00:40:29.06\00:40:35.40
like them.
00:40:35.43\00:40:38.01
Greek and Roman
mythology are "exhibits A".
00:40:39.63\00:40:44.13
These "gods" are
moved by caprice and malice,
00:40:44.74\00:40:48.60
they're moved by
envy and jealousy,
00:40:48.63\00:40:50.32
in fact, for all practical
purposes, they're just like
00:40:50.35\00:40:53.09
a divine soap opera.
00:40:53.12\00:40:56.29
The gods that were
invented by the Greeks,
00:40:57.51\00:40:59.33
the gods that were
invented by the Romans
00:40:59.36\00:41:01.21
were basically just
caricatures of themselves,
00:41:01.24\00:41:04.34
with one
exception, they were powerful.
00:41:04.37\00:41:07.63
Capricious: Yes. Arbitrary: Yes.
00:41:09.36\00:41:11.35
Envious: Yes. Foolish: Yes.
00:41:11.38\00:41:13.41
But powerful.
00:41:13.44\00:41:15.32
This is, historically, the
first kind of God that man has
00:41:15.90\00:41:18.64
manufactured, a god who
is, for all intensive purposes,
00:41:18.67\00:41:21.80
just like himself.
00:41:21.83\00:41:24.08
The second kind of God that man
has manufactured is a god that
00:41:24.92\00:41:28.72
is totally
unknowable and unknown.
00:41:28.75\00:41:33.01
This is the god of the
deists. Deism is not so popular
00:41:35.38\00:41:39.64
in this day and age,
but not so many years ago
00:41:39.67\00:41:42.06
Deism was the "avant-garde"
of religious enthusiasm
00:41:42.09\00:41:46.13
for those who were not
Christians, and the Deist
00:41:46.16\00:41:48.49
believes that God had
wound up the universe,
00:41:48.52\00:41:51.74
and wound up the
earth, and then He let it go,
00:41:51.77\00:41:53.93
He stepped out of the picture,
and He was not knowable.
00:41:53.96\00:41:58.16
He was wholly other, totally
separate, totally different,
00:41:58.19\00:42:01.58
totally removed,
even ambivalent to man.
00:42:01.61\00:42:06.35
These are the 2 gods that
man has historically made.
00:42:07.02\00:42:09.27
#1: the kind that is
just like him, and the other:
00:42:09.30\00:42:11.73
that is so unlike him as
to be unknown and unknowable.
00:42:11.76\00:42:15.26
This is almost, incidentally,
like the god of Islam.
00:42:15.29\00:42:18.98
I've many Muslim
friends and love them dearly,
00:42:20.40\00:42:23.59
but the point is, for the
Muslim, God is not something
00:42:23.62\00:42:27.44
to know and to have
a relationship with,
00:42:27.47\00:42:29.92
for the Muslim
God is wholly other.
00:42:29.95\00:42:34.45
Not just unknown,
but almost unknowable.
00:42:34.80\00:42:39.52
In Romans 1 Paul
speaks about those gods,
00:42:42.50\00:42:47.38
that first kind, that are
just like man, look at Romans 1.
00:42:47.92\00:42:53.30
Romans 1:22, he says:
"Professing to be wise,"
00:42:55.67\00:42:59.48
"they became fools,
and changed the glory"
00:42:59.51\00:43:02.16
"of the incorruptible
God into an image made like"
00:43:02.32\00:43:07.09
"corruptible man."
00:43:07.12\00:43:09.88
Paul is describing
the fate of the gentiles
00:43:11.22\00:43:13.44
and he says that when people
turn from the knowledge of God,
00:43:13.47\00:43:16.15
they begin to invent gods,
and those gods look glaringly
00:43:16.21\00:43:21.18
similar to themselves.
00:43:21.21\00:43:23.95
Of course, that's
a safe god, isn't it?
00:43:24.12\00:43:26.75
Zeus, Poseidon and
Mercury are safer gods
00:43:27.66\00:43:30.95
than the God of
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
00:43:30.98\00:43:33.12
Zeus, Poseidon, Mercury,
these invented gods are so much
00:43:33.35\00:43:37.32
like me that I feel comfortable
with that kind of a god,
00:43:37.35\00:43:41.34
that's the kind of
god that I would invent.
00:43:41.37\00:43:44.18
The God of Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob, the invisible
00:43:45.62\00:43:47.98
God of the universe,
the God of heaven and earth,
00:43:48.01\00:43:50.64
is a different kind
of God. He's not like me,
00:43:50.67\00:43:54.67
I can't manufacture Him.
00:43:55.52\00:43:58.23
He made me,
00:43:58.85\00:44:00.94
not the other way around.
00:44:01.35\00:44:03.74
In Acts 17, notice that with
me, you go from Romans to Acts,
00:44:05.92\00:44:09.66
the book immediately before.
Paul is preaching in Athens.
00:44:09.94\00:44:15.33
He says in verse
22: "Then Paul stood"
00:44:18.69\00:44:22.83
"in the midst of the Areopagus",
that is the council in Athens,
00:44:22.86\00:44:27.51
"and he said, "Men of Athens,
I perceive that in all things"
00:44:28.34\00:44:31.03
"you are very
religious;" King James says:
00:44:31.06\00:44:33.67
"too superstitious",
00:44:33.70\00:44:36.39
"for as I was passing through
and considering the objects"
00:44:37.34\00:44:39.83
"of your worship, I even found
an altar with this inscription:"
00:44:39.86\00:44:43.92
"TO THE UNKNOWN GOD".
00:44:43.95\00:44:47.47
Paul was walking around Athens,
he knew he was going to have
00:44:48.43\00:44:50.97
to give a testimony before the
Areopagus, and he was looking
00:44:51.00\00:44:54.71
for an illustration.
He comes upon this idol,
00:44:54.74\00:44:57.61
and we don't know what it
looked like, but there was
00:44:57.64\00:44:59.64
and inscription and it
said "TO THE UNKNOWN GOD",
00:44:59.67\00:45:01.91
and Paul says: "I've got it.
There's my sermon illustration."
00:45:01.94\00:45:05.77
Notice what he says there:
"Therefore, the One whom you"
00:45:06.33\00:45:09.43
"worship without
knowing, Him I proclaim to you:"
00:45:09.46\00:45:13.98
Verse 24: "God, who made
the world and everything in it,"
00:45:14.90\00:45:19.18
"since He is Lord of heaven
and earth, does not dwell"
00:45:19.66\00:45:22.31
"in temples made with
hands. Nor is He worshiped"
00:45:22.34\00:45:26.48
"with men's hands, as
though He needed anything,"
00:45:26.51\00:45:30.60
"since He gives to all
life, breath, and all things."
00:45:30.63\00:45:36.05
"And He has made from one blood
every nation of men to dwell"
00:45:36.42\00:45:39.47
"on the face of the
earth, and has determined"
00:45:39.50\00:45:41.15
"their appointed
times and the boundaries"
00:45:41.18\00:45:43.14
"of their dwellings, so
that they should seek the Lord,"
00:45:43.17\00:45:46.57
"in the hope that they might
grope for Him and find Him,"
00:45:46.60\00:45:49.80
"though He is not
far from each one of us;"
00:45:49.83\00:45:52.91
"for in Him we live and
move and have our being,"
00:45:52.94\00:45:56.62
now he quotes a Pagan poet,
"as also some of your own poets"
00:45:57.00\00:46:00.04
"have said, 'For we
are His offspring.'"
00:46:00.07\00:46:03.35
"Therefore, since we are the
offspring of God," notice what
00:46:03.88\00:46:06.26
he says: "we ought not to
think that the Divine Nature"
00:46:06.29\00:46:10.97
"is like gold or silver or
stone, something shaped by art"
00:46:11.00\00:46:16.88
"and man's
devising." And then he says:
00:46:16.91\00:46:21.51
"Truly, in these times
of ignorance God winks,"
00:46:21.54\00:46:25.35
"but now commands all
men everywhere to repent,"
00:46:25.78\00:46:30.96
"because He has appointed
a day on which He will judge"
00:46:31.05\00:46:34.05
"the world in righteousness by
that Man whom He has ordained."
00:46:34.08\00:46:39.63
"And has given assurance
to us all by raising Him"
00:46:39.66\00:46:44.67
"from the dead."
00:46:44.99\00:46:46.61
Powerful!
00:46:47.75\00:46:49.54
Paul goes right into the
epicenter of Greek Pantheism,
00:46:49.73\00:46:55.09
and Greek philosophy, and he
says: "You know, I was walking"
00:46:55.12\00:46:57.53
"in your courts and I
found this inscription:"
00:46:57.56\00:46:59.48
" 'TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.'
That's the God I'm going"
00:46:59.51\00:47:02.41
"to preach to you about
now. This God doesn't need you"
00:47:02.44\00:47:05.13
"to make Him, you can't
worship Him with your hands,"
00:47:05.16\00:47:07.64
"He doesn't dwell in
your tents, He doesn't dwell"
00:47:07.67\00:47:09.45
"in your temples, He doesn't
dwell in your tabernacles."
00:47:09.48\00:47:12.00
"In fact, the truth of the true
God is not that you made Him,"
00:47:12.03\00:47:15.96
"but that He made you!"
00:47:15.99\00:47:19.76
Then he says: "I have confidence
in this because He has"
00:47:20.09\00:47:25.50
"appointed a day in which
He will judge the whole world"
00:47:25.53\00:47:29.24
"by a man named Jesus of
Nazareth, whom He resurrected."
00:47:29.27\00:47:35.58
When they heard about the
resurrection, that was too much
00:47:36.07\00:47:38.74
for them, they said: "No,
this is getting out of hand."
00:47:38.77\00:47:41.74
They could believe that
this little stone was a god,
00:47:41.94\00:47:44.94
but they couldn't
believe that God became a man.
00:47:44.97\00:47:47.90
"We will hear of you
again on this matter."
00:47:49.66\00:47:52.74
2 kinds of gods man has
historically made for himself.
00:47:53.08\00:47:55.95
One is a god who is just like
him, so Paul says in Romans 1
00:47:55.98\00:48:00.57
"they transformed the
glory of the incorruptible God"
00:48:00.60\00:48:02.40
"into an image made
like corruptible man."
00:48:02.43\00:48:04.54
And the other god is a
god who is totally unknown
00:48:04.57\00:48:06.89
and unknowable.
00:48:06.92\00:48:09.32
Why does man
struggle with idolatry?
00:48:12.31\00:48:15.69
It must because he
does not understand himself,
00:48:17.83\00:48:21.52
and his space, her space,
in the big scheme of things.
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We make gods like
ourselves because we don't know
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the scriptural truth that we
are made in the image of God.
00:48:35.17\00:48:40.26
I'm going to be
so bold as to quote
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the 2nd prophet of Mormonism.
00:48:48.29\00:48:53.06
1st prophet of
Mormonism was Joseph Smith.
00:48:54.75\00:48:58.43
After Joseph Smith's
unfortunate and unusual demise
00:48:59.36\00:49:05.11
another man came onto the
scene to head the Mormon church,
00:49:05.40\00:49:09.53
a man by the
name of Brigham Young.
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This is what Brigham Young
said about God and His nature,
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and man and his
nature, listen very carefully.
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This is not quoted to upset
our Mormon friends, not at all,
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it is quoted to show just
how easy it is to get the nature
00:49:30.23\00:49:35.42
of God wrong, and the nature
of man wrong, when we depart
00:49:35.45\00:49:38.50
from the scriptures.
00:49:38.53\00:49:40.98
Quoting Mr. Brigham Young:
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"What man is, God once was."
00:49:46.13\00:49:50.81
"And what God
is, man may become."
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Did you hear it?
00:50:00.05\00:50:02.33
"What man is, God once was."
God used to be a man like you.
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"And what God is you can
become" that sounds familiar.
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That sounds like "Ye
shall be as gods", Genesis 3.
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That sounds like Isaiah 14,
"I will be like the most high,"
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"I will exult, I
will become like God."
00:50:21.08\00:50:25.25
Man gets himself into trouble,
we either invent gods that are
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totally like us, or gods
that are totally different
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because we don't
understand where we fit into
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the scheme of things.
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The second command forbids
idolatry in what we might call
00:50:42.74\00:50:47.19
the "run of the mill" sense,
but is there another idolatry,
00:50:47.22\00:50:51.56
a more subtle
form? I think there is.
00:50:51.59\00:50:54.27
In Deuteronomy 27:15,
Moses speaks and he says:
00:50:57.22\00:51:02.64
"You take your idols and
you hide them in the forests"
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"and in the mountains,
and in the secret places."
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Israel was not supposed
to be filled with idolaters,
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so people would sneak away
clandestinely under the cover
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of darkness, and they would
put their idol, and they would
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hide it in a certain location
and they would sneak away
00:51:22.96\00:51:26.10
at certain times
and go and worship it.
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Moses says in Deuteronomy 27:15,
God sees those secret idols
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in hidden places.
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Then in Psalm 51, why
don't you go there with me,
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Psalm 51.
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This is the Psalm
of David's repentance:
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"Have mercy upon me, O
God, according to You loving"
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"kindness, according to
the multitude of Your tender"
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"mercies, blot out my
transgressions." that's verse 1.
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This is Psalm of repentance,
David had stepped out on
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the veranda, saw Bathsheba
there bathing, and he committed
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a terrible, heinous
sin, that eventually resulted
00:52:04.45\00:52:08.18
in even the premeditated
death of her husband, Uriah.
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Such an ugly picture, and when
the monstrosity, the ugliness,
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the hugeness of
this sin fell upon David,
00:52:16.73\00:52:20.00
he cried out to God, and he
said "God, I have failed You."
00:52:20.03\00:52:24.42
"Have mercy upon me, not because
of who I am, but because of who"
00:52:25.45\00:52:29.06
"You are." Beloved, I'm so happy
00:52:29.09\00:52:31.08
to tell you that if
you have ever blown it,
00:52:31.11\00:52:33.70
Psalm 51 is for you.
Can someone say amen?
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There have been times
when I have let the Lord down
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in such a way,
and I thought "Oh...",
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I've gone to my Bible and with
trembling lip and tear filled
00:52:42.74\00:52:45.89
eye I have opened it up and I'm
hoping that it's still there.
00:52:45.92\00:52:49.88
I'm hoping that it doesn't
go Psalm 50 and then Psalm 52,
00:52:49.96\00:52:53.29
and I open it up
and it's still there.
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I read through Psalm 51
and my heart rejoices in God,
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not because of who I
am, but because who He is,
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"His mercy and His
forgiveness endureth forever."
00:53:03.34\00:53:05.95
Can someone say amen?
[Audience replies] Amen.
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I want you to notice verse 6.
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"Behold, You desire truth in the
inwards parts and in the hidden"
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"part You will
make me to know wisdom."
00:53:18.06\00:53:21.90
"In the hidden part you
will make me known wisdom."
00:53:22.47\00:53:25.97
Remarkable, that's the same
Hebrew word in Deuteronomy 27:15
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"You put your idols in secret
places," he says you desire
00:53:30.16\00:53:33.89
truth in the inner
part, in the secret places.
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Not in the groves, not in the
mountains, but in a much more
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secret location, images
of God that are inconsistent
00:53:49.02\00:53:54.11
with His Biblical revelation?
00:53:54.14\00:53:56.75
You say: "Pastor, where
could these secret places be?"
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"Where could they be?
In the Arctic National"
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"Wildlife Refuge?"
00:54:02.03\00:54:04.15
No.
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"Could they be in the
mountains of Colorado?"
00:54:06.15\00:54:08.71
No.
00:54:09.28\00:54:10.49
"The deserts of Africa?"
00:54:10.67\00:54:12.88
No.
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These secret
locations could be in our mind.
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We construct fictitious,
imaginings of who God is.
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Friends, if our understanding
of God is not informed
00:54:28.72\00:54:31.18
by the Bible, we could
be committing idolatry in
00:54:31.21\00:54:34.40
our own minds.
00:54:34.43\00:54:37.02
In my preaching evangelistic
meetings I hear people saying
00:54:38.29\00:54:40.27
the silliest things.
I hear people saying:
00:54:40.30\00:54:42.00
"Well my god wouldn't
condemn me for thus and so..."
00:54:42.03\00:54:45.09
"Well my god wouldn't
care if I did thus and so..."
00:54:45.12\00:54:47.98
"Well my god isn't
concerned about thus and so..."
00:54:48.01\00:54:50.42
And I have to tell these
people: "Maybe that's your god,"
00:54:50.45\00:54:53.07
"but maybe your god is
not the God of the Bible."
00:54:53.10\00:54:56.50
Several years ago I
was in a Bible study.
00:54:58.55\00:55:01.09
We were studying
hell, not my favorite topic,
00:55:01.12\00:55:04.25
but a Biblical
topic, and a pastor came in
00:55:04.39\00:55:07.72
and he listened in on the
study, and as he was listening
00:55:07.75\00:55:10.37
we were talking about
the punitive element of hell,
00:55:10.40\00:55:12.82
that hell has a
punitive component that people
00:55:12.85\00:55:15.25
will be punished, and
that God will oversee it.
00:55:15.28\00:55:19.16
And the pastor stood up
with indignation and he said:
00:55:19.19\00:55:22.16
"that's not the God I serve.
The God I serve wouldn't punish"
00:55:22.19\00:55:26.55
"somebody such as you're
describing, that's barbaric."
00:55:26.58\00:55:29.57
And I showed him text
after text after text,
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and his only answer was
"that's not the God I serve."
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"I will never serve that
God, that God is not my God."
00:55:35.39\00:55:40.03
Of course, we do not
believe that God burns people
00:55:40.24\00:55:42.56
throughout the
ceaseless eternal ages,
00:55:42.59\00:55:45.89
but that does not mean
that there is not a punitive
00:55:46.29\00:55:48.79
component to hell. Amen.
00:55:48.82\00:55:52.92
The Bible says: "Him that
did things worthy of stripes,"
00:55:53.13\00:55:56.14
"and knew his Master's
will, beaten with many stripes."
00:55:57.05\00:56:00.14
"And he that didn't know his
Master's will and he did things"
00:56:00.35\00:56:03.48
"worthy of stripes, he
was beaten with few stripes."
00:56:03.51\00:56:05.29
And I showed this pastor
text after text after text,
00:56:05.32\00:56:08.16
and his resolute response
was "That's not my God."
00:56:08.19\00:56:13.33
Finally, the Holy Spirit
came upon me with boldness
00:56:13.36\00:56:16.13
and I looked him
right in the eye and I said:
00:56:16.16\00:56:17.81
"Then pastor, your god is
not the God of the Bible."
00:56:17.84\00:56:23.22
There's a more subtle
form of idolatry beloved.
00:56:26.22\00:56:29.25
We might be too sophisticated
to set up something in a grove,
00:56:30.19\00:56:33.02
and God certainly abhors that,
00:56:33.05\00:56:36.01
but perhaps we have
set up pictures and images
00:56:36.35\00:56:39.09
in our own minds of who God is.
00:56:39.12\00:56:43.82
Maybe the in the
secret places of our heart.
00:56:44.27\00:56:46.61
If we are sloppy students of
scripture we will have a sloppy
00:56:48.94\00:56:53.65
picture of God.
00:56:53.68\00:56:56.01
Our picture of God and
who he is must be informed
00:56:59.14\00:57:02.09
by the revelation of
Himself. Anything short of this,
00:57:02.12\00:57:06.06
we are in danger of committing
idolatry between our ears.
00:57:06.09\00:57:12.07
I beseech you on
behalf of the living God,
00:57:12.90\00:57:15.13
the God Abraham, the God
of Isaac, the God of Jacob,
00:57:15.16\00:57:17.76
I beseech you on behalf of our
Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ,
00:57:17.79\00:57:21.07
who is the image
of the invisible God.
00:57:21.20\00:57:23.71
I beseech you as
John does in 1 John 5:21,
00:57:23.74\00:57:29.68
"Little children, keep
yourselves from idols."
00:57:30.03\00:57:44.36
[Music for Credits]
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