Babylon, Idolatry, And You Part 2

Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. Jeremiah 2.13 says that Israel forsook God the fountain of living waters and hewed out broken cisterns for themselves which can hold no water. For this God's judgment fell.

Have we in the modern church hewed out broken cisterns? Stay with us. From the Moody Church in Chicago, this is Running to Win with Dr. Erwin Lutzer, whose clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line. Today we continue a series on the church in Babylon, unleashing the power of a Spirit-filled witness. Pastor Lutzer, tell us more about Babylon, idolatry and you. You know Dave, the human heart is prone to idolatry. It was Calvin who said that the human heart is basically an idol factory. We always want an idol, but eventually an idol always breaks the heart of its worshippers. That's why this series of messages is so important. I've written a book entitled God's Devil and this of course relates to what was going on in Babylon and what is going on in our present culture. For a gift of any amount this book can be yours.

You can simply go to rtwoffer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337. Ask for the book God's Devil and for now let us listen once again as we go to the Old Testament to try to understand our times. You see it was not only spiritual adultery that the people were committing and turning from the living water to the broken cisterns, the brackish water, but they were sexually immoral.

And these pagan gods were very tolerant of whatever sexuality you wanted. And the problem with that tolerance, which offers so much and which promises freedom, the problem with that tolerance is it brought so much baggage. And when you drink from that fountain you gag because of the guilt and because of the broken relationships and because of the emptiness and because of the sense of destruction of who you are and the self-respect that you should have as a person. All of those consequences are huge but the problem is you're bonded to these idols.

So you keep drinking from the bitter fountains that can hold no water but you keep going back again and again and again. You see that's the problem with different views of God. I have books in my library where people have totally redefined God in accordance with human desire, whatever it is. In fact there was a book written it just comes to mind as I'm preaching conversations with God. By the way did you know that that book was written by a demonic spirit? I read it maybe about 10 years ago but the author said that as he was writing a spirit came along and basically dictated it. And basically what God said is I am whoever you want me to be.

Well isn't that ever great. Do you know that it was Huxley who said the reason that we accepted evolution without a lot of proof is because we didn't want a God to interfere with our sexual mores? That was Huxley. In other words get God off our back so that we can be free.

But ah the freedom comes with a huge price of bondage and you end up choking on those fountains. It's a hard lesson to learn isn't it? Now the thing is that you remember the story told it maybe 10 years ago when you've been here as long as I have you sometimes lose a little bit of track of time about the man who was driving through a farmyard and he noticed that on the barn there were a bunch of targets and right smack in the middle of each target there was an arrow. So he stopped to commend the farmer for being such an expert marksman. The farmer said what you saw there wasn't done by me. It was done by a village boy who is somewhat mentally challenged.

He comes out here he shoots arrows into my barn and then he paints the targets around them. That's what society does. I want to do what I want to do. I want to live the way in which I want to live and God will come along and make it all right and agree with me. A very famous pornographer whose name I will not mention was interviewed and I remember reading the interview in which he says my God doesn't have a problem with what I do. He says my God doesn't have a problem with what I do. You see it used to be when I was younger that used to the bumper sticker said if it feels good do it.

Now the bumper sticker should say if it feels good believe it. So what we have is a God who comes along and justifies everything that we want to do. Third characteristic of idolatry is willful self-deception. Willful self-deception. Now here in the text they say for example in verse 23 as they are trying to justify themselves.

By the way notice in verse 22 you know of course that I am in chapter 2 it says though you wash yourself with lye and use much soap the stain of your guilt is still before me. How do you think they're washing themselves? They're washing themselves with self-justification. They're talking among their friends and they're saying well everybody does it.

How could this be wrong? And so they're trying to cleanse their consciences but it's not working very well. How can you say I am not unclean?

I've not gone after the bales. Look at your way in the valley and know what you have done restless like a young camel running here and there a wild donkey used in the wilderness in her heat sniffing the wind. And you know what the prophet goes on to say? You go out looking for sin. It's not just that sin comes to you but you go cruising trying to find it. Running toward the sin and not away from it. That's where your heart really is. That's what the prophet happens to be saying.

Wow. And then he says in verse 26 as a thief is shamed when caught so the house of Israel shall be shamed they their kings and so forth. I'll tell you what he's saying there and think about this. Anything that you and I are doing which if it were exposed would be shameful is something that we already know intuitively is wrong. You know a boy might be sleeping with his girlfriend totally justified you know because two can live more cheaply than one and yada yada yada yada and on and on it goes. But when he's exposed there is embarrassment and there is shame. Why?

Because intuitively you know that it's wrong. And these people going to the hills and to the mountains and saying that we are worshiping these other gods they knew down deep that they were not able to wash their souls from the stain of guilt. Where does this leave us?

A couple of observations quickly. First of all would you remember that idolatry that all idols all idols demand worship and allegiance. All idols demanded.

These pagan gods demanded worship. They demanded allegiance. The people tried to get away from them. Just occurs to me now remember that old story about tar baby trying to get away but it always kept sticking and they always kept coming back. They couldn't overcome their addictions.

You know what they ended up doing? They ended up sacrificing their children to the god Moloch. That's how bad it became because you see once you say we're free from god the god of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all of his laws and all of his traditions and all those things and now we're free to be our own gods.

You never know where it's going to end up but every god demands allegiance. And actually idolatry is not first of all such things that we normally think of. It's certainly not the idols out on the fields because we don't have that today but we do have sports and we do have business idols and we do have people whose whole identity is wrapped up with relationships.

We have women for example who feel that they're totally worthless unless there is a man on their arm. That also can be an idol and as a result of that you see whether or not it's money or fame or adulation or being well thought of. You know Calvin the great theologian said that the human mind is an idol factory. It's always just generating one idol after another and God has to come along and show those idols to us. I may have idols in my life I am even unaware of but when we are serious with God he begins to show us because he also demands allegiance and the first commandment is thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thy heart with all thy soul with all thy mind and thy neighbor as thyself. Anything that we love more than God, anything that satisfies us more than God is an idol.

It could be our family, it could be something good, totally justified but is God first? All gods demand allegiance and certainly these gods did. Second the answer, the answer is to return to the Lord. Now I'm going to jump to chapter three and obviously in this series we are not going to be going verse by verse but chapter 3 verse 12 for example. Return faithless Israel declares the Lord. I will not look on you in anger for I am merciful I will not be angry forever only acknowledge your guilt that you rebelled against the Lord your God and scattered your favors among the foreigners under every green tree and that you've not obeyed my voice return oh faithless children for I am your master. God says to you and to me today return, return even with your idols because they're too strong for you to deal with but the Bible says in Thessalonians that we turn to God from idols. In other words God doesn't say leave your idols behind and come to me. How do you tell somebody addicted to an idol leave it behind and come to me?

No you come with your idol but you come to God to know that he's the one to forgive you and to deliver you and bring you hope and bring you back to the satisfying fountain but you come to God seriously with your idols. You know this past Friday night Rebecca and I were at a banquet some of you perhaps were there where Dr. Ben Carson spoke. He is one of the most famous surgeons in America. Can you imagine at the age of 33 he actually is head of the neurosurgical, I hope I pronounced that correctly, unit at Johns Hopkins University. He's the first man to take two twins joined at the head and successfully separate them. What a remarkable man. He actually has the gift of eye hand coordination that is unusual. He also can think in three dimensions.

I have no idea what that is. Bill do you have any idea as to what it is to think in three dimensions? I think for most of us one is about all we can handle but as a teenager growing up in poverty he was angry. You know he actually said he took a hammer to hit his mother and his brother grabbed the hammer as it was held up at the back of Ben and then he was going to take a knife and put it into one of his friends but the knife hit the friend's belt and as he began to think about it he said anger is going to destroy me. He said he went into the bathroom was there for three hours reading the scripture confessing to God seeking God regarding anger and according to his testimony and if you were there when he left the bathroom that was the end of his anger. God did it up right which is very important if you're a surgeon working on somebody for 18 hours as he has done.

It's also important that because he's getting a lot of criticism now because he said some things that were politically incorrect and one of the things that Saul Alinsky who wrote that book radicals to help people and community organizers say that you have to demonize your opposition because then when you demonize them they'll say something that looks very stupid and you'll get them and according to Ben Carson and that actually is what he was talking about he referenced Saul Alinsky according to him when all of this criticism comes when the Boston Globe said that he was speaking to a hate group for example he doesn't even have to reply he's totally at peace because anger has been taken away. Anger can become an idol getting even with somebody can mean more to us than God. I know somebody who said I'll never get right with God until these Christians put things right with me. That is idolatry.

Yes the Christians if they wronged you should make things right but even if they don't are you telling me that your justification is more important to you than your relationship with God and you're blowing God off until somebody comes and apologizes? Clearly God has second place. Idolatry is deep. It is abiding.

It has many many different idols and God says I want in your heart that there be an altar and that you bow before that altar and the only altar before you bow is me the Lord your God your Redeemer. That's what God is after. That's what God is after in our lives.

I want to conclude with a word of hope here. You say oh Pastor Luther you're painting such a dismal picture. I mean you know Judah going downhill looks a lot like America though we don't want to overplay the relationship. What about Jeremiah young man called God calls him. Listen God calls you and me for this moment of history too but now you're back to chapter one.

I want to show you something. Chapter one verse 17 this is what God said to this young prophet who was objecting to his call. Chapter one verse 17 and thank you for turning to it the rustling of biblical pages makes me very happy up here.

I hope I hear them often. But you dress yourself for work arise say to them everything that I command you don't be dismayed by them lest I dismay you before them. Well you'd better respond to the call and behold I make you this day a fortified city an iron pillar of bronze walls against the whole land against the kings of Judas officials its priests and the people of the land they will fight against you but they will not prevail against you because I am with you declares the Lord. I read and I say oh when did God make Jeremiah a fortified city an iron pillar and bronze walls. He made him that before he went to work that day. He said get ready put on your clothes you're going to go to work you're going to represent me but I'm not saying now Jeremiah go out there and be a fortified city be a bronze be a bronze pillar be whatever no excuse me God says I have already made you that. I pre-qualified you to walk in victory the God who calls you to this moment of history is the God who supplies what you need at this moment of history the God who calls you for this moment and calls me for this moment gives to us all we need to walk in victory. He doesn't abandon us he is with us and one of the ways in which he strengthens us is by God's people because when Jesus died on the cross his death was so sufficient he says not only is it proof that I love you but I forgive you I receive you you are mine come on to me all ye who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest you come to me the true fountain come to me and drink be done with the bitter streams that make you choke in the end you come to me and I invite you to do that if you've never received Christ as your savior I invite you to do that if you're a believer and you're not walking with God finally get rid of those idols and bow before the sovereign Lord and say I shall serve him only no matter the cost father we ask that even as we will be participating in a moment in your table as a reminder that Jesus died for us help us to realize that in light of the fact that he did all that for us oh Lord God we give ourselves to you today without reservation expose the idols that we might with one heart and one mind serve you in Jesus name amen amen well my friend this is pastor lutzer you know the older I get the more impressed I am with the deception of sin idols promise so much but deliver so little you simply don't get what you think you're going to get and you are deceived no matter where you are today on your spiritual journey would you make sure that you are in fellowship with God would you ask God to look into your heart to help you to understand and to uncover the idols that have lived within you that you have nourished perhaps for many years it is God who is supreme and what we need to do is to recognize that let me ask you a different question how powerful do you think our enemy is how powerful is Satan perhaps you've wondered about that question well at last you are getting an answer Satan is as powerful as God allows him to be and not one whit more that's why I've written the book entitled God's Devil the incredible story of how Satan's rebellion serves God's purposes I believe very deeply in spiritual warfare warfare praying but what we need to do is to pray from the standpoint of strength we should not pray in such a way that we are filled with unbelief wondering whether or not God can overcome our enemy for a gift of any amount this book can be yours here's what you do go to rtwoffer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337 now perhaps I gave you that info too quickly I want you to get a pencil so that you can write it down so that this book can be yours God's Devil go to rtwoffer.com and by the way thank you so much for helping us in this ministry because together we are making a difference or if you prefer you can pick up the phone right now as a matter of fact and you can call us at 1-888-218-9337 it's time once again for you to ask pastor lutzer a question about the bible or the christian life the church is divided about how God currently treats the nation of Israel Mitch has been looking into this and wants your take on an issue Dr. Lutzer he asks do you believe in replacement theology that is that the church replaces Israel and that God no longer has any special plans for the jewish nation Mitch the answer is no I do not believe in replacement theology and you're absolutely right replacement theology says that the church actually takes the place of Israel in God's economy and God is totally finished with the nation Israel but you know when you read the old testament and you might want to read for example Jeremiah 33 and other passages where it says so clearly that as long as sun and moon endure the nation of Israel shall remain before me and then think of it this way think of the words of the angel to marry he shall be great he shall be called the son of the highest the Lord God shall give on to him the throne of his father David and he shall rule over the kingdom of Judah etc now has that been fulfilled I don't think so and yet Jesus is going to be sitting on the throne of David I interpret that to mean ruling from Jerusalem someday and so I don't believe in replacement theology there are other implications to this I could go on a long time but just read the prophets of the old testament read the continual repetition of God saying again and again I will bring a remnant back into the land and then ask yourself has this been fulfilled no because even after the captivities after Israel has been so disciplined by God you still have those promises so I believe in a future fulfillment for Israel thank you Mitch for your question and thank you Dr. Lutzer if you'd like to hear your question answered go to our website at rtwoffer.com and click on ask Pastor Lutzer or call us at 1-888-218-9337 you can write to us at running to win 1635 North LaSalle Boulevard Chicago Illinois 60614 these days what was wrong is now right and what's called right is really wrong next time on running to win Erwin Lutzer talks about a time when darkness is called light and light darkness thanks for listening this is Dave McAllister running to win is sponsored by the Moody Church