Three Questions (Mt. 10:37-39)

Read Matthew 10:37-39.

1.  Who do you love most?  To follow Jesus, He must be your first love. Is there any person or any thing that you love more than Jesus?  If so, that person or thing is an idol.

2.  What have you left?  When you weren't following Jesus, you bore no cross.  That has changed.  'Taking up your cross' means death to self, sin and the past.  You're a walking dead man!

3.  What are you looking for?  This question has to do with expectation.  Are you looking to make your life better?  How about forgetting yourself, looking to Jesus, and losing yourself in ministry to Him?  The problem is that culture, even church culture, is obsessed with winning.  Jesus calls you to lose.  Lose your self. The most lost Christians are the ones who have "found" themselves.

Fearing the Lord and Idols (2 Kin. 17:41)

It is clear from a larger context that...

• This duplicity wasn't the Lord's design.  The people were to love and fear only Him.
• Separation unto the Lord wasn't easy to maintain.  The record shows the people struggled with idolatry since their inception.
• National implementation preceded individual participation.  Laws were altered, the forbidden was called acceptable and many jumped on board.
• Leaders played a huge role.  How might history have changed had Jeroboam not erected shrines at Dan and Bethel?  Leaders lead, followers follow.  That's true about righteousness and idolatry. 
• One generation continued the idolatry of the previous generation.  The current generation redefined "normal" and "acceptable".  Before long, people didn't think twice.  Just because something is popular doesn't mean it's okay.
• The idols weren't secret.  Everyone knew what they were, where they were and how to serve them.  The biggest issue wasn't ignorance but arrogance.  People served them anyway.
• The best time to demolish an idol is right now.  The longer you let it live, the stronger it gets.  It is the nature of an idol to deceive and dominate.

Don't miss the point in 2 Kings 17.  It tells you why Israel went into captivity -- refusal to turn from idolatry.  What is your idol?  What will you do about it?  What keeps you from taking that action right now?

The Fifth Woe (Hab 2:18-19)

This last woe is Habakkuk's commentary against idolatry.

1. Definition of an "idol." An idol is any image, structure, entertainment, thought system or person (other than God) that you trust in to teach, guide or comfort you. Examples: food, sports, sex, good works, politics, etc.
2. Determination of an idol. How do you know if something or someone has become an idol? Idols consume your valuables. Your most valuable assets are time, attention, energy, money, family and spirit. God is no longer priority one.
3. Deception of an idol. Idols claim to live, but they're dead. They promise life and fulness, but result in decay and emptiness. Underneath the glitter and flash are disappointment and the ordinary. (After all, every idol is man-made.) See also Hab 1:16.
4. Destruction of an idol. Admit that such-and-such has become an idol. Ask God's forgiveness. Change: take down the statue and smash the image. Now give God the time, attention, energy and money you once gave the idol.