1 John 5:21
Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.
“Now let me show you the shape of my heart”
In the 1990’s, there was a group of singers known as the Backstreet Boys. In one of their iconic hits, they sang a song that rang true to the feelings of a man trying to tell a woman how he felt. With the lyrics of the song, it told a story of love, vulnerability and self reflection. When we think about the heart, perhaps some vivid imagery comes to mind. A place where we feel the deepest emotions. A part of us that provides life through the rhythm it produces. It beats on and on and with each beat, there is a purpose and direction we are heading.
We use phrases such as, that will get your heart pumping. That almost gave me a heart attack. I can feel my heart beating in my chest. These are all signs that we are alive and our hearts are beating. That there is still life in us and that with that life, there is hope. Why is it that we feel a pull on our hearts, a welling up of emotions, a place where that feeling can be let out in perhaps a cry or a tear? Why did God make us have these feelings inside of us?
God always has a plan, and with that plan there is a purpose. The Lord has given each of us a free will. A choice and a decision. A crossroads where we must choose what is most important to us. Throughout Israel’s history, they had a hard time deciding as a people what they most desired. God always wanted the people to choose Him over every other thing, every other idol, every other distraction. That’s why we read in the scripture these first commands that the Lord gives.
Exodus 20:3-6
3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
What does that mean? No other god? Are there any other Gods but the one true living God Jesus Christ? There are gods we set up in our own hearts. There are things we put in the place of God. There are things that have a greater pull on us than the Lord and His Spirit. Those are the gods in this day and age. Those are what we are told not to follow or bow down to or serve.
What exactly is an idol today and how can we keep ourselves from them? Let me ask you a question. When you have a hard day, when things are going rough, when you are in pain, what is it that you go to for comfort or relief? I have had many idols in my past. Drugs, Alcohol, Pornography, Food, Pills. Things that I went to in moments of distress and exhaustion instead of turning to Jesus. Maybe you find yourself in a place or a season of life where pressure seems to be crushing the life out of you and you feel justified in your idol. Does the idol make you feel better when you are finished? Or are you still left with that emptiness that only Jesus can fill?
Brothers and Sisters, Jesus wasn’t just all powerful when he delivered you from hell, death and the grave when you came to Him in repentance your first time. He wasn’t just forgiving and loving the first time you felt His presence. He is the Eternal one, which was, and is, and is to come! If he was able to forgive your sins, if he was able to wash them away and set your feet upon a rock, give you a new name, fill you with His Spirit and call you a son or daughter, He is ABLE to give you strength, to be your comfort, to deliver you from every vice and distraction.
So if you are sick and tired or being sick and tired. If you are ready to smash that idol into pieces. If you are ready to turn your back on this present world and turn towards the master and His loving hand, I want to pray with you wherever you are reading this.
Lord, you are the giver and sustainer of all life. You have given to us freely the gift of life and a destiny carved out by your mercy and grace. I ask in the name of Jesus right now that every person reading this would receive strength to turn from whatever has a hold on them and their purpose. God, I ask you would release divine favor and blessing upon their homes and business. That their families would be knit together in your loving care. Father, let your love and You alone be the rock from which they stand. Be the center of all they do. Let them go forth triumphantly in the power of the Holy Ghost and taste victory over every idol in their life. It is not by might, nor power, but by your Spirit! Thank you for your blessing, love, and your precious Blood. In Jesus Name.
God Bless you, Greater is He that is within you than he which is in the world!
Pastor Turner