Idol – Technology, Part 2

We'll spend hours on social media and won't spend minutes in the Word. Dr. Tony Evans says everybody these days is looking for followers, but so is God. When you make technology an idol, you lose God, because God says, I will have no other God before me. This is The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans, author, speaker, senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, Texas, and president of the Urban Alternative. A lot of us think that worshipping idols was something that only primitive cultures would do, but today Dr. Evans explains that American idols are more than just contestants on a TV show.

Let's join him. Technology is part of our world, and it ought to be. When God created the world and set man and woman in it, He gave them the responsibility to rule over His creation in Genesis chapter 1 verse 26, and He said, and I'm going to bless their rule, He told Adam to take the raw material of creation and develop it, cultivate it, and mine out its potential. Now, having established that man was created to enjoy and develop creation under God and alongside of God, not in replacement of God, we come to Genesis 11. We're told that the whole earth used the same language and the same words.

They were on the same page with their communication. They journeyed east. In the book of Genesis, to journey east is to journey away from God. You see, God had given an instruction in chapter 9 verse 1 for the world to spread out and become separate nations. God established that they were to separate.

They decided, we're not going to do that. They said, we're going to settle in Shinar and we're going to stay together different than what God told us to do. Come, verse 3, and let's develop technology to disobey God. What we're going to do is we're going to make bricks, burn them thoroughly, use bricks for stones, use tar for mortar.

Okay? We're going to take the raw material created by God, we're going to use it to build something to do opposite to what God told us to do. We don't like what God says, but we got technology and we're going to pull this technology together and we're going to do what we want to do. Let us, we are going to, for us, build a city. Now, heretofore, these were nomads.

These were people who roamed the land. They said, no, we're not doing that no more. We're certainly not going to separate and build other independent nations. We're going to build our own capital cities. This is the city that would be the capital, the capital of mankind. We're going to build this city that will be the center of man's definition for himself because we choose not, I'll prove it in a moment, we choose no longer to be defined by God. We want to be defined by us. So we're going to come up, we're going to take God's raw material, we're going to build technology that will establish a whole urban center, a whole city where we will define ourselves and we will determine what we want, when we want it, what we have, how we'll get it.

We will not answer to anyone. We're going to build a humanistic empire. We're going to put, verse 4 says, in this man-centered society using the technology we built with the raw materials that God created, and we're also going to put here a tower, it says. A tower, better known as a ziggurat, is a huge facility in the middle of the city and they says it will reach into the heavens. So we're going to have religion, because it's going into the heavens. So we're building society, city, in the middle of it is going to be this religious symbol, a tower, and we're going to take technology and it's going to be the bomb, because this thing is going to go higher and higher and higher and higher and higher. This thing is going to pierce the clouds and it's going to get into the heavens. I mean, this thing is going to be a skyscraper like you have never seen before.

Okay, watch what's happening there. It's not God coming down telling us. It's that we ourselves are starting with us and we're going up there to inform Him. We're not starting with God coming down. We start with man going up through building up. We're going to build our own construction business, and in this construction business we're building a city, and we're building a religious symbol to man, because it's us, apart from God. We're going to use technology and we're going to keep God out.

I don't know if you know it or not, but that's what's happening today. They wanted to build a religious tower by man up into the heavens. Whenever you use the creation to define you, rather than the creator to define you, you have become an idolater, according to Romans 1. It says because they took the creation and ignored the Creator.

That's idolatry. And so as a result, mankind was rebelling against God, independent of God, misusing God in order to replace God while still keeping His name. The Lord God, verse 5, came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built.

Oh, I love this, I love this, I love this. The Lord came down to see. Wait a minute. In verse 4, they were building through technology a tower that would go through the heavens to God. God came down to see. I don't know how high they got, but however high they got, God couldn't see it. He couldn't even see it.

He couldn't even look out of his throne room and see it. He said, we got to go down there to see what they're doing down there. They're trying to come up here. Let's go down and see. So God comes down to investigate the technological development of mankind. Let's go see what they're doing with their computers, their iPhones. Let's see what their telescopes, their medical science that they're now using to kill babies. Let's go see what all this technology is that they're doing. Let's check out. Let's investigate what they're doing.

That gets interesting. The Lord said, behold, they are one people and they have the same language. Ooh, they're communicating. And this is what they began to do. Look at what they're trying to do. Build civilization through technology without me. But then he makes a curious statement at the end of verse 6, and now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them.

That sounds odd. God says, if we don't do something, nothing that they plan to do can be stopped. Why would God say that man, if I don't do something, if we don't do something, He said, let us or the Trinity, let us go down there. Let's investigate this, because if we don't stop them, they can't be stopped.

Well, Dr. Evans will answer that question when he returns in just a moment. But first, many of us are concerned about the direction our society and nations seem to be taking these days and feel helpless to do anything about it. But Dr. Evans says it's not too late for our country to turn around, and he's written a book that explains exactly how Christians can work together to usher in a revival unlike anything we've ever seen.

We have the potential and the power to reclaim justice, morality, freedom, and strength for our nation. Find out how by requesting a copy of his book, America Turning a Nation to God. And if you make a donation right away, we'll send you his current eight-part teaching series, American Idols, available on both CD and digital download, along with a copy of that timely and important book I just mentioned. Both of these powerful resources can be yours with our thanks in return for your generous contribution toward keeping these messages coming your way on this station and around the world.

Just visit tonyevans.org to make the arrangements. You can also call our resource request line at 1-800-800-3222. Our phone center never closes, so there's always somebody waiting to help you. Again, that's 1-800-800-3222.

We'll get back to today's message right after this. Bible study is like gold mining. The deeper you dig, the more treasure you'll unearth. If you're ready to tap into the mother lode, explore the kingdom anytime, anywhere, through the growing list of online courses waiting for you now in the Tony Evans Training Center. Take your time with each online module that'll take you verse by verse through the text with exclusive in-depth content from Dr. Evans, probing discussion questions, access to full length messages, and an online discussion forum where you can ask specific questions and get detailed answers. The focus is on understanding and application, equipping you to put God's Word to work in the real world. Explore our growing list of courses covering many of the most important concepts in Christianity.

The Tony Evans Training Center, a world of discovery anytime, anywhere. When God created mankind, He uttered these three words, let them rule. Let them rule.

We're going to create the earth, but we're gonna turn it over to them. For good or for bad, they get to decide. Let them rule. We get questions asked about theodicy all the time, all the evil in the world, and people being slaughtered.

You read the newspaper, and just evil, just people killing people out of a whim, just a whole groups of people being discarded, babies being aborted, and we ask the question, how could a good God up in heaven allow such evil? He allows it for three reasons. Let them rule. We're going to give them the freedom. They can use it with me, or they can ignore me and go their own way. If they go their own way, there will be passive consequences to them going their own way and leaving me out.

Abandonment, murder, divorce, abuse, neglect, all war, all of that stuff. When they leave me, I said let them rule. I turned it over to them. I told them, you don't want to do this without me, but if they insist on building society, on building their lives, on building their purpose, on building their family, if they keep wanting to do it without me, chaos will set in. Because he said, let them rule. He gave us freedom to leave him out. He gave us their freedom. He doesn't step in every time.

He says, if you don't want me, okay, let's see how well you do without me. I'll let you use my stuff. You can build your technology. You can build all that, all that fine stuff that you you live in, the cars you drive, the smart devices you use, and it's amazing how far we get without God, and how addictive it becomes.

It doesn't it? It becomes addictive. We'll spend hours on social media and won't spend minutes in the Word. We will spend hours on the telephone, but hardly any time talking to God. So we'll keep God in the neighborhood, but we become addicted to what technology offers us and how it weeds into our lives and dominates us with this device, that device, with all the social media. And we say, follow me instead of getting people to follow Christ as I follow Him. Everybody's looking for followers, and so is God. God is texting and He says, I'm looking for some followers. I can't find no followers. Where are my followers?

Oh, they're getting folk to follow them. So not only does the device become idolatrous, but we become idolaters getting people to follow us while we follow the device that has stripped us away from God while we borrow from the stuff He made. And so God says, come, let us go down and confuse their language so that they will not understand one another's speech. So the Lord scattered them abroad from over the face of the whole earth, and they stopped building the city, therefore its name was called Babel, because the Lord confused their language.

When you make technology an idol, whatever that technology happens to be, you lose God, because God says, I will have no other God before me, even a tech God, no other God. So when you bring that tech stuff next to me and don't keep it in its rightful place under me, when you bring it next to me, then you lose me. And when you lose me, watch this confusion will set in. Babel. Babel is confusion. We can't communicate anymore.

You have communication problems in your family, you got communication problems across races, got communication problems across... Okay, look, there has never been a country like America because it was predicated on the premise, not consistently applied, but the premise of freedom which allowed maximum development, which allowed personal benefit, which motivated creativity. And so the world has benefited from the greatness of the technological advances that by and large have developed here. People drive cars all around the world because Ford came up with an idea and he was free to develop the idea and on and on and on.

iPhones are used everywhere. People want to come here from all over the world because they see at least the potential of opportunity of freedom. So there's never been a country like this at this level that we have in America. However, however, you will never travel again like you used to travel before 9-11. 9-11 has forever changed your travel nuances because of terrorism.

So watch this now. So 19 men from caves halfway around the world invaded the greatest country that has ever been on the face of the earth and brought us to our knees. 19 men from undeveloped countries came to the greatest country ever created and shook us up.

How could 19 men bring America to its knees? Because America needed a lesson and the first thing they did after 9-11 was call a church meeting. All of a sudden God was important. All of a sudden we better get together to pray. All of a sudden we better talk to the Almighty because God knows when your britches get too tight. God knows when your technology has given you the big head. He knows how not to stop stuff to bring you to your knees. And so God does this with nations and He does this with people and He does this with families. He will allow confusion to let you know.

I don't care how techy savvy you are, you ain't all that in a bag of chips. The word Babel is from Babylon. Babylon is used in scripture of this rebellious, illegitimate, self satisfying thing. And the Bible says in Romans 1, it says in Romans 1, they took the creation, they treated it like the Creator, and then it says, and neither were they thankful. Instead of thanking God for all the raw materials you can do, get all this stuff, every time you get in your car you ought to be thanking God.

Every time you use a washing machine you ought to be thanking God. Every time you get on the smart device you ought to be thanking God, because all of this is borrowed from God. How many iPhones we got in here? How many iPhones? Where the iPhones are? Oh, most of you have iPhones. Do you know what it feels like to lose this?

Anybody ever misplaced or lost their iPhone? Oh, panic sets in. Panic sets in when you lose it.

You know why? Because this technology has taken over our whole life. See, stuff that we used to have to do in different places, we all do it here now. We find the weather here now. We look at a bank account here now. We pay bills here now.

We got our calendar here now. We talk on the phone here now. In other words, this thing runs your whole life. So when you lose the phone, you lose your life.

People act like they dying. Have you seen my phone? I can't find my phone. Where's my phone? Where's my phone?

Where's my phone? Because this has become your life. Because all of your life is in here.

And so when you lose this, you don't think you can make it because everything technologically is so advanced, it can all fit here. Well, what God is saying is folks, how do you feel about losing me? I am your life. You don't search for me like you search for this phone. You don't look for me like you look for this phone. I don't want this phone to be your life. I want to be your life. Because even when you can't find your phone, you need my oxygen. Even when you can't find your phone, you need my health.

I want to be your life. Dr. Tony Evans will conclude our look at the dangers of placing too much trust in tech when he wraps up today's message in just a moment. Before he does though, I want to remind you of that special double offer I mentioned earlier. As our way of saying thanks for your contribution to help keep Tony's broadcast coming your way on this station, we'll send you all eight messages from his current teaching series, American Idols, and his timely book, America Turning a Nation to God.

American Idols will help you identify and avoid hidden idols, those thoughts, people, places, or things that can push God out of your life. And Tony's book America will help you grasp spiritual strategies that can reach beyond political and cultural issues and can spark a much-needed nationwide revival. This special bundle is only available for a limited time, so contact us right away at tonyevans.org to get all the details and make the arrangements. Or call us at 1-800-800-3222, where members of our resource team are ready to assist with your request 24-7.

Again, that's online at tonyevans.org or by phone at 1-800-800-3222. If someone asks you to choose between God and money, it isn't hard to come up with the right answer. But possession obsession is a real problem, and on Monday, Dr. Evans will explain why it's so important to loosen your grip on the stuff that can easily take over your life.

Right now, though, he's back with this closing thought. True story, some time ago, plane took off from Texas without a pilot. Some other pilot left it on or something, and some gear got unhooked, and it went down the runway and took off by itself.

True story. And it went higher and higher and higher and higher. It's just a marvel that this plane could take off by itself, and it just kept going higher and higher.

The problem came because it ran out of gas, and when it ran out of gas, it went plunging down to a disastrous clash. Why am I telling you that? I just want you to know you can go high without God. You can get your degree without God. You can get your money without God. You can get your reputation without God. You can get your significance without God, and you can climb high.

There are a lot of folks who are godless people who have climbed high, and people want to know how he gets so rich and he's so wicked, because you can climb high without God. But I just need to tell you one day you're gonna run out of gas. And if you don't have God as your pilot, when you run out of gas, it's gonna be a mighty fall. So you better keep God in the steering wheel of your life. That's why I keep my flip phone, so that when this don't work for me, I got the base right with me. You better keep God with you, so when the high-tech stuff runs out, you don't find yourself without a God. The alternative with Dr. Tony Evans is brought to you by The Urban Alternative, and is made possible by the generous contributions of listeners like you.