Most of us believe nothing could be better than seeing our dreams come true. In that pursuit of happiness, it never enters our minds that getting our heart’s desires could, in fact, be the worst thing that ever happened to us. Good things can go bad.

Why does getting your heart’s desire so often lead to disaster? It’s because our hearts are idol factories. We can take a good thing, indeed a gift from God, and if we’re not careful, we can end up elevating it to a place where it was never meant to be, giving it a position it was never fit for.  

An idol is anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your attention and affection more than God, anything you seek to give you what only God can give.

One of the most classic pictures of this is found in the Old Testament book of Genesis.  Abraham was born into a wealthy family of idol-worshipers. But God made him a staggering offer: if he would forsake his idols, leave his ancestral home, and follow God’s leading, the Lord would bless him beyond his wildest dreams. More specifically, this promise would be fulfilled through Abraham’s offspring. 

The problem was, Abraham had no offspring. He and his wife were childless. But he took God at His word and stepped out in faith. 

The years passed, and still, no child came. Finally, when Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah was 90, it happened. Miraculously, a son was born to them. They named him Isaac. 

From the moment of his birth, he was the delight and the idol of his father’s heart. So, “God stepped in to save both father and son from the consequences of an uncleansed love.” (Tozer)

God tested Abraham, asking him to sacrifice his son—his only son, whom he loved. The Lord knew Abraham had to deal with his idol, and as painful as that was for Abraham, the alternative would have been even more painful.   

If a person is put in the place of God, it creates an idolatrous love that will smother the person and strangle the relationship.

Abraham passed the test. He obeyed, and God stepped in, stopped Abraham, and gave him back his son.

In our lives, things will inevitably arise – even good things – that we will turn into idols.  It may be your children, your husband, wife, girlfriend, or boyfriend. It may be success in athletics, or a dream to be on the stage, or making it big in business.  

Idols demand to be fed. We will sacrifice for them, or to them. Yet they never end up delivering.

Good things can and often do go bad as we turn them into our idols.  And it’s then that God, in His mercy, calls us to a Moriah moment. 

Mark it well: It will not be easy.  The most painful of times will be when our “Isaacs” are challenged, threatened, or even removed.  

Sometimes it seems as if God is killing us when He challenges our idols.  In reality, He’s saving us.  Though it appeared that God was being excessively cruel to Abraham, in reality, God was freeing Abraham to be a great man who would become the Father of our Faith.    

Text: Genesis 22:1-18

Originally recorded on November 21, 2010, at Fellowship Missionary Church, Fort Wayne, IN

The Old Testament prophet Ezekiel wrote, “These men have set up idols in their hearts.” (Ex. 14:3) I would suggest that those words written thousands of years ago could easily apply to us. Though we may not bow to idols of stone or wood, the issue of idolatry is no less real now than it was in Ezekiel’s day. 

As we begin this series, we’re going to consider some fundamental questions: 

• What is idolatry?
• How do I know what my potential idols are?
• Why does the Bible make such a big deal about idolatry?

Let’s start with “what is idolatry?”

An idol is anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your attention and affection more than God, anything you seek to give you what only God can give.

An idol has such a controlling position in your heart that you can spend most of your passion and energy, your emotional and financial resources, on it without a second thought.  An idol is anything so central or essential to your life that, should you lose it, your life would hardly be worth living.  

The question isn’t IF we have an idol problem. That’s a given. The question is, “Which idol is God’s biggest rival in my life?” Some potential idols might be: 

• Money 
• Success
• Attractiveness
• Relationships
• Children
• Pleasure
• Career
• Church

So, how do I know what my idol threat is? These questions might reveal it. 

• Which of these do I find myself thinking about the most? 
• Which one of those do you most fear losing or feel like life might not be worth living without it?
• Which one of these idols most gives me a sense of identity?
• Which of these do I look to most to make me feel secure?
• Which one of these do my efforts and resources most tend to revolve around?
• Which one of those would other people who know me well say is my most threatening idol?

The Ten Commandments begin with a warning against worshiping any gods other than Yaweh. Why? Because it’s the key to all other issues. You never break any of the other commands without first breaking the first one.

Why does God hate idolatry so much? He hates it not simply because it robs Him of the honor and worship and adoration He deserves, but God hates it because of what it does to us.

See, the counterfeit gods have not gone away. They have just changed clothes. They still promise much and fail to deliver. They still get us to sacrifice our lives to them without coming through for us.  And that’s why God hates them so much.  They destroy His children. 

Text: Ezekiel 14:3; Exodus 20:1-3

Originally recorded on November 14, 2010, at Fellowship Missionary Church, Fort Wayne, IN

We are wrapping up our series on the topic of worship with some honest talk, because here’s the thing: worshipping God from the heart isn’t always easy. 

There are times when worship comes easily—when life is good, prayers are answered, and joy overflows. But what about when it’s not? What about when your heart is heavy, when questions remain unanswered, and when hope feels distant? That is the place where worship sacrifices. 

Some would say it’s hypocritical to praise when you don’t feel like it. God says, it’s not hypocrisy, it’s obedience.  

Hebrews 13:15 says: “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise – the fruit of lips that confess His name.”

Praise and worship are never to be slaves to our circumstances but masters over them.  

Sacrifice has been part of worship since the beginning. And while Jesus’ death and resurrection mean blood sacrifice is no longer needed, there is still a place for sacrifice in our praise. There is still a time when our worship of God costs us something. Will we worship even then? Is He still worthy of our praise—even when it’s hard? 

Here are three conditions when worship may require sacrifice for you in the days ahead. 

1.     When someone has hurt or wronged you. (Acts 16)

Like Paul and Silas, you, too, to varying degrees, are going to be hurt by people. You’re going to be wronged and mistreated. And you’re going to face the challenge of how you’re going to respond.  Will you commit to offering a sacrifice of praise anyway?  Is God still worthy of your praise?

Christ is often most clearly shown when in our mistreatment, when things are totally unfair, and we worship anyway. It’s then that people wonder, “What is it that you have?  What do you know? Whatever it is, I want it.” 

2.     When you are deeply disappointed. (Habakkuk 3:17-18)

What happens to your worship when things don’t turn out the way you’d hoped? For the prophet Habakkuk, his worship rose like a defiant “nevertheless.” Even in the face of all these hard things, even when things don’t go my way…I will rejoice in the Lord. 

3.     When you’re worried or afraid. (Psalm 27)

David is faced with threats of all kinds, yet even in the middle of all these fears, the one thing he knows he needs is worship. He knew that in the sanctuary, in God’s presence, he would find perspective and the recovery of hope. 

Note what happened in each of these stories. Worship came first, and then came the transformation. The sacrifice of praise was offered before circumstances changed. 

Now it’s our turn. Will you allow the circumstances to silence your praise, or will you determine to offer God a sacrifice of praise? Give God the worship that perhaps touches His heart the most, and in the process, you may find Him to be everything you need.

Text: Heb. 13:15; Acts 16; Hab. 3:17-18; Ps. 27

Originally recorded on February 7, 1999, at Fellowship Missionary Church, Fort Wayne, IN

An idol is anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your attention and affection more than God, anything you seek to give you what only God can give.

Idols can take on many forms: money, success, power, popularity, or physical attractiveness.  But idols can also take on human form. 

When you look to a person for the kind of deep affirmation and acceptance that only God can provide, it results not only in pain but in bondage.

The Bible graphically illustrates this in the story of Jacob and Leah. Jacob had a twin brother, Esau. Esau was their father, Isaac’s favorite—his idol. Because of this, Esau grew up proud, willful, and impulsive, while Jacob grew up cynical, bitter, and conniving. 

After Jacob deceived his father and received the blessing Esau desired, Esau vowed to kill Jacob. So, Jacob fled for his life. 

He ended up in his Uncle Laban’s house, where he got a job tending sheep. There he met Laban’s daughters—Leah and Rachel. Leah had “weak eyes,” while Rachel was beautiful. Jacob was utterly smitten by the lovely Rachel. He had to have her. He would do anything for her. She became his idol. 

This unhealthy desire consumed Jacob. Rachel was not just the wife he wanted; she was the savior he needed.  

Jacob asked her father for her hand in marriage. But Laban deceived the deceiver, Jacob, and after working for seven years, Laban gave him, not Rachel, but Leah. Jacob had to work another seven years for Rachel.

Perhaps the greatest casualty in this story is Leah. The daughter whom her father did not want is now the wife her husband did not want. As a result, Leah had a hole in her heart every bit as big as the one in Jacob’s heart. And now she tries to fill it with a person. She sets her heart on getting Jacob’s love.

Genesis 29:31 says that “when the Lord saw that Leah was not loved, he enabled her to conceive, but Rachel remained childless.” The Lord gave Leah sons, and with each birth she thought, “Maybe now Jacob will love me.” But it didn’t work out that way.

Ironically, after all that pain, Leah is the one who shows spiritual progress in all this. When her last son is born, her response is, “This time I will praise the Lord.” It appears that she has finally taken her heart’s deepest devotion off of a person and put it on the Lord. She has dealt with her idol.

I look at what God did in Leah, and then I consider what God did for her. If you track the genealogy of Jesus, you will see that of all Jacob’s sons, He came through the line of Judah, Leah’s son.  

God reached out to the girl that nobody wanted, the unloved one, and made her the ancestral mother of the Messiah.  Salvation came to the world, not through the beautiful Rachel, but through the unwanted, unloved Leah.

No human can bear the burden of godhood. No person can meet the deepest needs of your soul.

Jesus is the only one who can live up to the hopes, dreams, indeed, the expectations that we all have. And only when we place Him in the temple of our hearts in a position of unrivaled prominence will we be in a position to love anyone well.

Text: Genesis 29

Originally recorded on December 5, 2010, at Fellowship Missionary Church, Fort Wayne, IN

Psalm 73 is one of my favorites because it’s just so true to life. Here we have a guy named Asaph who was a worship leader in his day. But he starts this song by admitting that he nearly lost his spiritual footing. He was ready to quit. 

Why? Because he saw the inequity of life. He noted how often people who didn’t follow God were successful, healthy, and wealthy, while he gave everything to serve God and His people, yet he struggled to get by. The dissonance was killing him.

“It’s not fair, God!” That’s the gist of the first several verses. “I’ve tried to keep myself pure and do the right things, but what has it gotten me? I’m faced with afflictions and pain all day, every day.” 

But then he came to a turning point. “When I tried to understand all this, it troubled me deeply till I entered the sanctuary of God…” (v. 17)

Worship was the hinge upon which his soul swung from death to life. Worship changed him. 

What worship did for Asaph, it can do for us. 

1. In worship, he received perspective. (vs. 18-19) When we have eternity in view, we recognize that what really matters, that which is truly valuable, is not wealth, beauty, or fame—it’s the Kingdom. 
2. In worship, he was able to diagnose the condition of his heart. (vs. 21-22) In worship, we come face to face with our selfishness and shortsightedness. But we also see how much God loves us and that His ways are best.
3. In worship, he was reminded of the fact that he wasn’t alone. (vs. 23-24) Picture yourself walking through life with God holding your hand like a little child with her father. By drawing close to God in worship, He is able to keep us from making foolish, self-destructive mistakes.

Asaph concludes his song with these beautiful words: “Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” (vs. 25-26)

It’s as if he’s thinking, “What if I hadn’t come to the sanctuary? What if I hadn’t prioritized worship?  I would have gone on in bitterness and envy. I would have settled for short-term gains at the expense of long-term benefits. I would have trashed my life by engaging in self-destructive decisions. I would have walked through life all alone. Thank God for the sanctuary.  Thank God for worship. Because worship has the power to change me.” 

Text: Psalm 73

Originally recorded on January 31, 1999, at Fellowship Missionary Church, Fort Wayne, IN

What is it that God is calling us to when He says, “Come and worship”? Let’s seek to answer that question by looking first at some… 

Biblical Examples of Worship.

The first example is found in Psalm 95. It gives us not only a call to worship, it also provides a pattern for worship. 

• Celebration (v. 1-5) Notice the phrases “sing for joy,” “shout aloud,” and “let us extol Him.” Worship is a time for God’s people to celebrate their Lord. 
• Adoration (v. 6-7) Here we’re called to “bow down,” to “kneel” before the Lord. It is a quieter, more intimate response.
• Instruction (v. 8-11) The psalmist says, “Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.” Part of worship is hearing God’s Word. 

Psalm 96 provides us with a few additional insights. The very first word in this psalm is “sing.” Three times in the first two verses, we are told to “sing to the Lord.” This is one of the most common commands in Scripture. This is why singing is such an integral part of our corporate worship gatherings. 

As you worship the Lord…

• Sing boldly.
• Sing thoughtfully.
• Sing wholeheartedly.
• Sing skillfully.

Something else we see in Psalm 96 is the call to “bring an offering.” (v. 7-9) Giving to God is an act of worship. As such, when we give, we should…

• Be intentional.
• Be thoughtful.
• Be cheerful.

Next, let’s look at some…

Biblical Expressions of Worship.

Here are eight Hebrew words, often translated as “praise,” that may revolutionize your worship.

1.     Halal: to boast; to celebrate; to be vigorously joyful; to be clamorously foolish (Ps. 35:18) 

Halal is the more common word for “praise” in the Psalms. It’s the root from which we get the term “hallelujah.” It’s is an explosion of enthusiasm in the act of praising. 

2.     Tehilla: to sing; to laud (Ps. 33:1) Literally, this is the singing of one’s halals. 

3.     Zamar: to touch the strings; to make music (Ps. 104:33) This is why we use instruments in our worship.

4.     Shabach: to address in a loud tone; to triumph; to glory (Ps. 145:4) This is a loud verbalization of praise—a shout. 

5.     Shachah: to bow down; to pay homage; to prostrate oneself; to have the arrogance knocked out (Ps. 96:9) This refers to lying prostrate, flat on your face before the Lord.

6.     Barak: to kneel down expecting a blessing from God; to bless God as an act of adoration (Ps. 34:1) This is kneeling before God in humility and surrender, but also expectation. 

7.     Yada: to acknowledge God’s character; to make a declaration of worship; to throw out the hand enjoying God (Ps. 63:3-4) This involves lifting our hands to the Lord in worship.

8.     Todah: to extend hands in thanksgiving and acceptance; to offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving (Ps. 116:17) This also involves the lifting of hands to the Lord, but it more specifically has to do with offering a sacrifice of praise.

Text: Psalm 95, 96

Originally recorded on January 24, 1999, at Fellowship Missionary Church, Fort Wayne, IN

What is worship? Here are a few definitions:

• Worship is the total adoring response of man to the Eternal God. 
• Worship is responding to all that God is with all that I have.
• Worship is an active response to God whereby we declare His worth.

Do you see some common threads? First of all, worship is an active response. There is no such thing as passive worship. Secondly, worship is to God. It’s not “me”-focused. It is ever and always a God-centered activity. 

But what happens when worship deteriorates into something else? And how does that happen?

To help us answer those questions, we’re going to look at one of the darkest chapters in the Old Testament— a time when the worship of God’s people totally unraveled. 

In Exodus 32, Moses had gone up Mt. Sinai to receive the law from God and had been gone for many days. The people started getting restless, so they went to Aaron (Moses’ brother) and asked him to “make us gods” to worship. So, Aaron created a golden calf and invited the people to worship it. The people’s worship of this “god” devolved into drunkenness and revelry. When God saw this, He was angry and ready to destroy them. 

How did this happen? How did their worship so utterly deteriorate and what observations can we make related to our own worship? 

1.     Worship deteriorates when it becomes casual.

These people did not abandon worship or forget God altogether. They simply wanted to make Him more palatable, more controllable. 

You might be wondering, “Did they know any better? What had their encounters with God been like before this?”  Exodus 19 gives us a snapshot. God has given Moses instructions to gather the people to encounter Him. God’s presence was displayed through fire, smoke, thunder, lightning, and the sound of a trumpet. The holiness and fearsomeness of God filled the people with awe. 

Could you imagine anyone in that crowd picking their fingernails or chatting with their neighbor? Would anyone dare critique the presentation? No! They trembled with holy fear because they realized they were in the presence of the Living God!

Friends, when we gather for worship, the same God is here! But all too easily we can lose our sense of awe and trivialize God by making worship casual.

Here are three ways you can begin to challenge the drift to casual worship.

• Come prepared. We prepare for what matters. 
• Come on time. We prioritize what matters.
• Come with a sense of commitment. Commit to worship with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.

2.     Worship deterioriates when it becomes consumer-oriented.

The Israelites asked Aaron to “make us gods to go before us.” They focus was on them. 

Consumer-oriented worship has its emphasis on what I want, what I get out of it. It sits back with arms folded and says, “Wow me.”  It critiques worship as one might a show.

But real worship focuses on God and responding to Him as He deserves, not as we prefer.  

3.     Worship deteriorates when it becomes compartmentalized.

That is, it becomes disconnected from life.  In Ex. 32, the people went straight from “worship” to behavior that was disgusting and dishonoring to God. 

If our worship is simply going through motions, God is not impressed. Worship is meaningful to God only to the extent that it is the reflection of the authentic desires of my heart and an extension of my lifestyle on a day by day basis.

Text: Exodus 32, 19

Originally recorded on January 10, 1999, at Fellowship Missionary Church, Fort Wayne, IN

Worship is basic to everything else in the walk of faith. Seeing God for who He really is and responding to Him as he truly deserves is at the center of everything the church believes, practices, and seeks to accomplish. It is so important, that if it gets off track, it is disastrous for the people of God.

When the people lost their awe of God and let their worship deteriorate, everything else fell apart. They began to compromise and fall into sin. They lost their passion for the lost around them. They stopped giving sacrificially and dissension arose within their ranks.  When worship got fuzzy it led to cold hearts, hard spirits, and the death of love.

The Bible gives us three reasons why worship matters both personally and corporately.

1.     Worship is the dividing line of all humanity. 

Essentially, all human beings can be divided into two groups: those who willingly bow their knee to the true and Living God, and those who do not…and will not. 

This line was first seen back in the book of Genesis with the first two people ever born—Cain and Abel. Abel gave God his first and his best, and God was pleased. But Cain only gave “some” of his crops. His worship was careless and mindless, and God was displeased. In the end, Cain’s hardened heart led him to murder his brother. (Gen. 4:1-12)  

A failure to worship wholeheartedly not only dishonors God, it removes you from God’s blessing, and is the first step toward sin gaining a foothold in your life. 

2.     Worship is the destiny of the redeemed.

We were made to worship. We were saved so that we might “declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.” (1 Pet. 2:9) And one day, when we see Him face to face, we will worship Him fully, an eternal celebration of the wonders and glories of God.

But we don’t have to wait until then to experience His presence.  You can know the firstfruits of that here and now as you provide Him a throne in your worship.

3.     Worship is the one disctinctive that God cannot give Himself. 

God is completely self-existent. He depends no one and no thing for anything. And yet, there is one thing He cannot give Himself: people who will worship Him. Indeed, He longs for this. 

In John 4:23, Jesus said that the Father is seeking those who will worship Him in Spirit and in truth.

Will you be one who says, “I will be that kind of worshipper. I will respond to all that You are with all that I have.”

Text: Genesis 4:1-12; 1 Peter 2:9; Revelation 19:5-10; John 4:23 

Originally recorded on January 3, 1999, at Fellowship Missionary Church, Fort Wayne, IN

There are certain passages in this book that are downright stunning to me. For instance, Paul doesn’t just tell the Philippians to “rejoice in the Lord,” he tells them to “rejoice in the Lord always” (Phil. 4:4). He doesn’t just say, “don’t worry,” he says, “don’t worry about anything” (Phil. 4:6) Now in today’s passage, Paul says, “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation” (Phil. 4:12)

Remember, Paul isn’t able to say these things because his life has been easy. Just the opposite! He faced life-threatening circumstances over and over again, all for the sake of Christ. Indeed, at the very moment he penned these words he was chained to a guard in a Roman prison. Even so, Paul had “learned the secret” of being content. 

What can we learn from Paul that can help us learn to be content no matter what comes our way?

The Greek word Paul uses for contentment means “satisfaction with what one has; independence from all things and all people.” It’s the idea of not needing anything, anyone, or any change in the circumstances in order to be at peace.

But how do you get there?  In Paul’s day, as in ours, there were two philosophies that people followed to ease their discontent. Counterfeit contentment, you could say. 

Contentment isn’t a matter of giving in to stoicism. Stoicism believes the goal is to get rid of desire, to eliminate emotion. In other words, to simply not care. 

In today’s parlance, the watchword would be “whatever.” “My job’s been eliminated. Whatever. I don’t care.”

But this is not what Paul is talking about.

Contentment isn’t a matter of turning in to self-sufficiency. This is the philosophy of the Cynics. One of their beliefs is to trust no one but yourself. 

The problem with that is, the only resources you have are the ones you can muster up, and when those run out, you’re out of luck. That’s why Cynics are seldom content; they’re bitter.

So, what’s Paul’s secret? It’s found in verse 13. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

This is one of the most popular verses in the Bible, used as motivation by athletes and millions of others facing challenging situations. But we would do well to understand that the original context of these words has to do with learning to be content.  What they remind us is that…

Contentment is a matter of leaning in to divine sovereignty. Paul’s contentment was anchored in His awareness that Christ was enough and that his life was controlled by a sovereign God who worked all things together for our good and His glory.

Here are some actions steps that can help us when discontentment creeps in.

Ponder: thank God for all that you do have. Discontentment is largely triggered by ingratitude. Instead of focusing on what isn’t, thank God for what is. One of the secrets of contentment is gratitude.

Wonder: ask yourself what God might be up to. God is always at work. What might He want you to learn about Him, about you? How might He use these circumstances for the greater progress of the gospel?

Surrender: trust God’s heart rather than your understanding.  There will be times when God’s actions baffle us. In those moments, we much surrender our need to understand the situation and fall back on what you know is true about God – His character and love for you.

Text: Philippians 4:10-13, 2 Corinthians 11:23-28; 12:7-12

Originally recorded on February 1, 2009, at Fellowship Missionary Church, Fort Wayne, IN

We have been given the incredible offer by God to not only find forgiveness, but to experience transformation. We have been made different to make a difference.

How is this transformation done? Romans 12:2 gives us a hint. “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but rather be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Transformation starts in the mind. 

Paul teaches the same thing in Philippians 4:8-9. “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—THINK about such things.Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice (DO). And the God of peace will be with you.”

THINK—DO. According these verses, the transformed life begins on the inside with what you think. Your outward action – that which you do – is an overflow of that. THINK—DO.

Cognitive psychology has confirmed what the Scriptures have taught and from that study, have identified two “laws.” 

1.     The Law of Cognition: You are what you think. 

Another way to say it is: the way you think creates your attitudes, shapes your emotions, and governs your behavior.

Using trees as an illustration, Jesus taught that if the inner life (what you can’t see) is healthy, the outer display (the fruit—that which you can see) will be healthy also. If the stream of your thoughts is “true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, and of good repute” then you will be able to “do” or “put into practice” that which is delightfully different.

By the same token, if the inner life, the unseen life of a person is unhealthy—if the stream of thoughts is misguided, false, impure or ugly—then that will become evident as well. The state of your inner life will inevitably leak out.

2.     The Law of Exposure:  Your mind will think most about what it is exposed to.

What repeatedly enters your mind eventually shapes your thinking and ultimately expresses itself in your behavior. It’s like creating mental ruts in our brains—pathways worn deep by repeated patterns of thought. 

These ruts can be destructive, like resentment, complaint, negativity, worry, or lust. Or they can be life-giving, “whatever is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely,” etc.

How can you change the ruts you’re in? 

• Catch the negative or untrue thought. 
• Replace it with that which is true and contstructive.
• Guard your mind by being careful about what you expose yourself to.
• Build structures that can help you create new ruts, such as worship, Scripture reading, and community. 

Text: Philippians 4:8-9; Romans 12:2 

Originally recorded on January 25, 2009, at Fellowship Missionary Church, Fort Wayne, IN