Naming and Tearing
Remix of Sunday’s Message “Tearing Down Idols” (audio available at – http://www.firstgrandville.org/content.cfm?id=213&category_id=4)
Exodus 32:1-14; Luke 18:18-24
The story goes that a guy, who has everything going for him, comes up to Jesus and asks a very important question, “What do I need to do to have eternal life?” He goes on to explain that he is a very religious guy and plays by all of the rules. You may recall that Jesus’ answer is something like, “That’s great; just one more thing – sell all your possessions and give the proceeds to the poor…and follow me.” And the story ends with the guy walking away very distraught because he couldn’t let go of his wealth – it turns out he already had a god.
Another story goes that God had rescued His people out of oppression and slavery. And while God is writing a covenant for them with His finger, they got, let’s say, antsy. So instead of waiting for Moses to come down from the mountain, they made a golden calf and starting thanking it for rescuing them. Sound crazy? I know God has rescued me, but how many times do I forget that and get tempted to put my trust in stuff that did not and could not save me? Too often.
We can say that it is a human nature thing to cling. We want God to be close – that is a good thing. But we also know that human nature is sinful – and so often when we don’t feel like God is close we…cling to other stuff. And that is how idols are made.
And let’s not forget that God wants to be close to us. In the story of God’s people above, He wants to be in covenant with them. It’s why He sent Jesus into the world. This is God who is jealous (in the best way) and wants a full, personal relationship with each of us – the real thing!
And yet, Martin Luther said, “That to which your heart clings is your god.” And in these two above stories, that is how it played out. And yet it plays out in many ways in our time too. But here is what we have to understand. An idol takes life; God gives life. An idol can only accept worship – and it just keeps taking; God receives worship and gives life – eternal and abundant life!
But here is what happens, as Augustine explained, “My sin was this, that not in him (God) but in his creatures – myself and others – I sought for pleasures, honors, and truths, and so fell headlong into sorrows, confusions, errors.”
Think about it, most of our sorrows, confusions and errors are a result from seeking pleasures, honor and truths in things that aren’t God!
So, we have to be vigilant about two things. Naming our idols and tearing them down!
First, naming them. Please reflect on these questions – On what do we spend our thinking, time, discussions and resources? What is getting in the way of our fully enjoying a relationship with God through Jesus? What do we cling to or depend on when we are stressed out?
Yesterday in worship we named a number of them. We did this by asking a group of members to present scenarios of modern idols and how the idols impact lives. The group members consisted of all ages and were only presenting possible idols that people can struggle with. They were not offering testimony; they were simply representing an idol to help listeners think about them. For example, Elizabeth does not have a problem with food and Brett does not have a problem with alcohol and so on. Though they did a great job and were convincing even though only presenting; they spoke to and blessed many people through their efforts to be authentic.
Among the ones we named were: sports, food, image, alcohol, TV, money, jobs, other people, ourselves, religion, music and others. And there are others we can name too – pornography, drugs and others. There is no shortage of idols in this world that have the illusion of helping us or saving us. But please know their power is greatly diminished when we name them (honestly to ourselves, to God in prayer, to others who care for us); their power flows from being secret and subtle.
Once we have named our idols, we have to tear them down. And so we did. Each presenter tore the poster with the name of the idol on it. But also we then asked people gathered to write it down on a piece of paper in and come forward and toss the paper and idol at the foot of the cross. (It was a beautiful sight to see so many people do this! Praise God!) This is because we can only tear down idols when we put them to the cross.
You know, according to Scripture, as Jesus died, the curtain in the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. Which meant that thanks to his death on the cross, from that moment on, nothing in this world had the power to stand between God and us anymore. Believing in Jesus would open the door to God and with the coming of the Holy Spirit, would offer the power for any obstacle to be overcome in a relationship with God. Amen!
The good news is we can tear down our idols by putting them to the cross. The good news also is that we never do this alone. God is with us, and we are called to carry one another’s burdens too. When seeking to tear down idols, don’t go it alone. Ask me or a trusted friend to walk with you – we all need to do this when an idol has taken over.
You see, we have this beautiful gift – the gift of a life-giving relationship with God. It is precious and holy and fully satisfying – if and when we fully engage it through Christ. Too often, we love other things, and cling to other things, unwilling to let go of them in order to receive and fully experience this once in a lifetime, saving, restoring gift!
Whatever it is you are clinging to today, whatever your idols are – please know that they can be named and torn down and on the other side of that journey, is a joy and peace and life none of us can fully imagine – the embrace of a loving God and Savior who will never let go.
Praying all of this for you today.
Amen.
Discussion Questions
- Are you wrestling with an idol in your life – something that is a god to you? Can you name it?
- Have you wrestled with some idols for a long time they just keep winning? What might you do differently?
- Have you found it difficult to tear some idols down? What are some reasons for this?
- Please think of someone who loves you and in whom you can trust to help you tear some down – it will make the difference!
Living Water 