Who Will You Serve?

Joshua 23:6-8, 24:14-15 Therefore be very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, lest you turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left, and lest you go among these nations, these who remain among you. You shall not make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause anyone to swear by them; you shall not serve them nor bow down to them, but you shall hold fast to the Lord your God. Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord! And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Our Wednesday night Small Group Bible Study will looking at an overview of the books of Joshua, Judges and Ruth this week with the life application theme of “Idolatry”.  Noah Webster defined the word “idolatry” in his 1828 dictionary as the worship of idols, images, or any thing made by hands, or which is not God and the worship of the heavenly bodies, the sun, moon and stars, or of demons, angels, men and animals. But, also the excessive attachment or veneration for any thing, or that which borders on adoration. Anything, seen or unseen, that we attend to, awe and respect, bow down in worship to and serve, love and revere, or put a value on before and/or higher than the only true Creator God is an idol ... another god (small “g”). Are our so-called “gods” something or nothing?

Exodus 20:3-5 “You shall have no other gods before Me. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them.

The lesson teaches that “fallen humanity” has the tendency to be tempted towards idolatry by our sinful flesh desires, the God-rejecting world system and the demonic realm of the devil. There is a “Sin Cycle” that drive us in and out of idolatry that consists of: (1) Everyone doing what is “right” in their own eyes – Judges 21:25. They do whatever they want, whenever they want. They want all their heart’s desires and they want it now. (2) Oppression is introduced by foreign raiders from other nations (those who differ and disagree) to make their lives miserable – Joshua 23: 11-13 and Judges 2:10-15. (3) Repentance is sought as they cry out and turn to the Lord for deliverance. (4) A judge from God is found as their deliverer from the hands of the oppressors – Judges 2:16-18. But, then they start the “Sin Cycle” again – Judges 2:19. This re-occurring cycle is forever spiraling downward.

Is “Idolatry” a problem today? It’s Epidemic. (1) Materialism - (1 John 2:15-17), (2) Greed – (Colossians 3:5), (3) Covetousness – (Ephesians 5:5), (4) Sexual immorality – sex outside of the context of marriage – the worship of the human body – (Romans 1:22-25),  (5) Fear- going the wrong way due to lack of faith and trust in God – (Psalm 96:4), (6) Desire for Power – the power ascribed to God, not us – (Psalm 96:5-6) and (7) Addictions – trying to fill the God-shaped hole in our life with any thing other than God – (Galatians 5:19-21). Reformer John Calvin said that the human heart is a factory for idols. Are there any areas of your life where you are putting something before the Lord, your God? Who will you serve?

Philippians 2:9-11 “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

In Christ, Brian