Three Questions That Will Help You Identify The Idols In Your Life

Did you know the Bible gives some precise instructions on when we are to FIGHT and when we are to FLEE?

But you, O man of God, FLEE these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. FIGHT the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called, and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. - 1 Timothy 6:11-12 (NKJV)

The first verse instructs us to FLEE, and the very next verse commands us to FIGHT. So, which is it, fight or flight? Both. Sometimes, God intends for us to get in the ring and fight. Other times, he intends for us to run in the opposite direction. Over the next few weeks, we will evaluate God’s expectations of us in these regards.

Looking at it again, Paul said, “FLEE these things….” What things? If you choose to read it, you will discover the list is quite specific in 1Timothy 6, but Paul also gets very direct in some of his other writings regarding what we are expected to flee. Idolatry is one of the things that he speaks of specifically to the church at Corinth, “Therefore, my beloved, FLEE from idolatry.” (1 Corinthians 10:14 NKJV) Don’t stick around. Don’t put on your boxing gloves and fight with it, just get moving. Get out of there! Flee from it!

In our day, hearing this term, IDOLATRY, we might think that Paul’s exhortation doesn’t apply to us in this modern world, but that's because we lack context.

First, let’s look at it in a New Testament setting and then our present day. As revealed in the New Testament’s Book of Acts, at the time Paul was preaching and teaching, there was a great deal of pagan idolatry in the world. Each city worshipped its favorite god or goddess and built shrines around its idols for worship. So, for instance, when Paul went to the philosophical epic center of the ancient world, Athens, he observed that it was overly inundated with idolatry.

The idolatry of ancient societies was facilitated through worship that sought a pathway to receive such things as beauty, power, and money. When you evaluate that list of things to pursue, it becomes evident that modern society is not fundamentally different from ancient cultures. Today, we still bow perpetually to BEAUTY, POWER, and WEALTH.

A great lesson in learning to flee idolatry is that we must realize, one doesn’t have to visit a paganistic shrine or burn incense to a false god to become an idolater. God speaking through Ezekiel informs us, “Son of man, these leaders have set up idols in their hearts.” (Ezekiel 14:3 NLT) Based on this statement by God, Tim Keller provides the commentary, “The Bible teaches us that the human heart is an idol factory.” This principle is why so many people will sacrifice so much to obtain beauty, power, and wealth.

Grasping the truth that Idolatry can manifest in anyone’s life, each of us must evaluate our lives to see if it is time for us to flee personally. Thankfully, Keller’s book, Counterfeit Gods (which influenced many of my thoughts on this subject as a whole), provides an excellent survey for understanding, “What is an idol?” So, we can better know when it is time to flee!

An idol is:

1. Anything more important to you than God

2. Anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God

3. Anything you seek to give you what only God can give

Keller, Timothy. Counterfeit Gods . Penguin Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

Idols can rise in your life in the form of a relationship or anything that rules your thought life and overly consumes your imagination or creative energy. An idol can be almost anything that is elevated to an improper status in our hearts! Even an addiction can be a form of idolatry. One clear example of a potential idol from the Bible’s teachings is money as it can also take on divine attributes in our lives, “...Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world.” (Colossians 3:5 NLT) According to this verse, a greedy person is no different than someone who worships false gods! So, we learn, God views idolatry as something more than that which we associate with statues, shrines, and incense.

As we referenced before, Paul further exhorts, “But you, O man of God, FLEE these things and PURSUE righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.” (1 Timothy 6:10-11 NKJV)

Notice in those verses, we are told to FLEE one thing and PURSUE another. Run from idolatry to God! We are to FLEE from idolatry and PURSUE the things of God.

The reason we can fall in love with pursuing Jesus passionately is that He first loved us. He loved us so much He gave His life for us! But too often, we take His love for granted and become complacent in our relationship with God. To maintain spiritual success, it is imperative that we always put God first and never lose our first love. This approach helps tremendously with overcoming the temptation to elevate idolatrous behaviors in our hearts.

I find it helpful to think of it this way:

F IRST

L OVE ____________over

E VERYTHING

E LSE

FLEE from idolatry by NEVER putting anything above your FIRST LOVE! According to his own word, only God is entitled to own that spot; your First Love (Ref. Revelation 2:4).

As you run from idolatry and towards God, remember this point of worship, it is impossible to topple the idols in your life without denying yourself. You will always have to lay some things down in order to flee the idols in your life. But, don’t get discouraged -- it’s an ongoing process because there will always be another thing to lay down! We are human and the world has a way of reeling us in unexpectedly. You will constantly need to make sure that you are putting your First Love first by giving Him your whole heart, mind, and soul.

Paul took idolatry so seriously that he went as far as to encourage us to take a spiritual inventory every time we partake of the Lord’s Supper, “Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. I speak as to wise men; judge for yourselves what I say. The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?” (1 Corinthians 10:14–16 NKJV)

It’s impossible to experience a “common-union” with God and simultaneously bow to the idols that tend to take an elevated position in the desires of our hearts. So right now, stop what you’re doing. Invite the Holy Spirit to help you examine your heart. Is there any idol that needs to be toppled over? If so, don’t delay. Knock that idol down and flee! Arrive at the throne of God’s presence and go all in, once and for all!

There is so much more that I have to share on this subject that I believe can be helpful to you in your pathway to being an all-in follower of Jesus Christ. You can find those insights in this message, Is It Time to Flee?

You can view the message in its entirety at this link: https://youtu.be/3lPq1kmvYZQ

WATCH IT | DISCUSSION GUIDE | MESSAGE NOTES

Four Practical Ways You Can Live an Abundant Life Through Christ

During the message, Grave or Garden, I share an encounter our family had in Wisconsin. Enthralled with a tourist attraction that was little more than a photo-op (a giant orange moose), all around us, others -- more informed than us -- explored incredible beauty through miles and miles of trails. Our family didn’t even know the trails existed, yet we were standing within just a few feet of the entrance. This experience taught me something... Through God, we can experience incredible, abundant, overflowing life. Not just on the other side of eternity, but here and now! God can and will give you a lifestyle in the peace, joy, and love of His presence that is exceedingly above anything you could ever ask for or imagine. But… you must know how to access it.

There may be some of you that are very new to your walk with God, or maybe for others, you’re walking in a season of rededication to the Lord, and you want to make sure you're taking the right next steps. Yet others, after many years of professing salvation, are finally ready to pursue more than just a Sunday experience with God. You want to become a genuinely faithful follower of Jesus. A true disciple! With these realities of different journeys in mind, I would like to give you a handful of applications you can use to take your walk with God to the next level of abundant living and better explore everything His presence has to offer.

Throughout Grave or Garden, we evaluated the first section of the Lord’s Prayer:

Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.” 2 So He said to them, “When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Luke 11:1-2 NKJV)

Notice, Jesus said to them, “When you pray, say...”

There is an expectation within this verse that you and I will pray. Anyone who’s a follower or a disciple of Jesus must be someone who prays. To truly live a life that is full of abundance, we must live a life full of prayer. For in sin, a man declares his independence from God, but humanity expresses dependence on God in prayer. As S. M. Lockridge once so eloquently proclaimed, this truth is why God did not say, “Men ought always to work or men ought always to preach, or that men out to always play. God said men ought always to PRAY!

God’s declaration about prayer It’s not a suggestion; it’s a command. We must have lives that are FULL of prayer. On the good days and the bad days, in every situation! The disciples wisely understood this concept. They grasped that Jesus’ life was full of power because of His prayer life. In the Gospels, we do not find their focus on asking Jesus how to preach or perform miracles. Instead, they pleaded, “Lord, TEACH US how to pray!” The disciples saw how Jesus valued and placed importance on prayer, and they desired to mimic this model in their own lives.

Jesus said to them, “When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.”

He teaches his first disciples and now us to pray by starting with praise. If you are going to live a life of abundance through God, you need to live a life full of praise. If you haven’t already, then start praising God because praise has the power to draw the presence of God near to you. (We see this truth declared many times throughout scripture.)

I encourage you to stop lamenting what you’ve lost and start praising God for what you have left! After all, the miracle is always made manifest in what you have left! If you want to live a life of abundance and walk-in resurrection power, you have to bring praise into your life!

Rather than pointing out your bruises, start thanking God that the weapon formed against you will not prosper! Quit detailing your pain, and start thanking God for the breath still in your lungs. Be encouraged that you have the resurrection power of Jesus Christ within you, and you will prosper! Start praising God! (Ref. Ps. 150:6)

Life is just like a vapor; it’s just a mere breath when compared to eternity. As I once gleaned from Myles Munroe’s preaching, don’t worry if you’re going to die young or die old; just die finished. Jesus died at 33 years of age, but He was able to say it is finished! Everything that was in Him had been released through Him. Live your life full of prayer. Live your life full of praise. BUT also live your life on purpose.

Jesus said to them, “When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven... Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

I hear so many people allude to the reality that they feel as though they have potential but can’t identify it. I think they are trying to say is, “I know I have a purpose, but I can’t define it.” Only when we submit your own will to God’s will for your life can you begin to walk in the true purpose He has for you. Pray for God’s will to be done in your life, and start living your life on purpose. We must be totally and utterly dependent on God if we shall walk in actual power and purpose in our lives, just like Jesus did.

Jesus said to them, “When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven... Your kingdom come.

We serve a King for whom the grave could not hold. A King who resurrected fully, and this truth is why His kingdom can be with us wherever we go is that He has conquered death, Hell, and the grave. Live a life full of prayer. Live a life full of praise. Live life on purpose. But also live a life full of power -- Jesus’ resurrection power!

In the message, Finding Jesus, we get to recognize through John’s Gospel that Mary Magdalene struggled to stop looking in the grave for Jesus (Ref. John 20). She couldn’t fully process that He was no longer there. It wasn’t until she turned around and looked in the garden that she saw the resurrected Jesus. With her experience assisting our perspective, I want to encourage you: stop looking in the grave, turn around, and start looking in the garden.

Think about it, graves house death but gardens house life. Mary’s encounter teaches you to stop looking for God where the dead things in your life were laid and start looking for Him where things are alive! Start seeing the abundant life God has for you, and start walking in the resurrection power! There is power through Jesus Christ in your life.

LIVE A LIFE FULL OF PRAYER.

LIVE A LIFE FULL OF PRAISE.

LIVE LIFE ON PURPOSE.

LIVE LIFE WITH POWER.

Check out this message by Pastor Eric as he walks us through Luke 11:1-2 and gives us some compelling practical applications to start applying to our own lives!

WATCH IT | DISCUSSION GUIDE | MESSAGE NOTES

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