9.12.24
We are continuing our series in the attributes of God. And this week we’re looking at his supremacy - that he has to be #1 in our lives. And what we’re learning is that if he is not (and he never is), something else inevitably will be. We all naturally turn to idols, because God made us to find validation outside ourselves. And with our relationship with him cut off, we turn to his creation.
The only alternative to finding our life in God is to find it in substitute idols. And these idols can take on millions of forms. As God tells us in Exodus, “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.” In other words, everything in creation can be the source of our idols. We turn to things from the obvious, like over working and co-dependency and eating disorders…to those that are harder to see, like vowing to be independent and not needing any idols (addicted to being independent) or even cultural idols like money and time (America) or family and community (South America). We often turn to politics and cultural wars as forms of idolatry. It can be anything!
So how are we healed from these fatal attractions? Is there any hope if serving them is inevitable? The beginning of healing comes when we see that you only have two choices in life. Either you will serve God or you will serve something else. But you WILL worship something. And if your heart is finding life in anything besides God, you aer a slave.
And the question comes down to this: are you willing to live with a real God - who sees things you cannot see…and knows things you cannot know…and is working everything for the grander good of our lives than we could ever conceive? This is a God who allows cancer and car accidents and bad hair days. This is a God who is working deeper in our lives than we could ever imagine. And are you willing to let him do his work - even when you can’t understand it?
In order to find healing, we need two basic things. First, we need to be honest and uncover the sources of our fears, our anxiety, our stress. In every case, it’s because some idol has taken hold in our hearts and is either being threatened, has been taken away, or is in the throes of being lost. Take the time to identify the real source of your struggles. Don’t simply blame it on unlucky circumstances or on your own inabilities to keep up. Something has you in its grip. And until you identify its source - and the power you have given to it - you will never be free from its slaving influence.
Second, we need to see who Jesus really is. As God tells us here, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, our of the land of slavery.” God redeems us from our slaveries - not by waving his magic wand, but by purchasing us - redeeming us - buying us back. There is a cost to our redemption. And it comes in the perfect life and death of Jesus in our place. Jesus is more than our moral guide or motivator for living a better life. He’s not a genie who grants our wishes. He’s the Lover of our souls who endured hell itself to rescue us from our slavery and bring us back into relationship with him. Other coping mechanisms may give you temporary relief or hope. But only Jesus can actually rescue you from their grips.
The best news you will hear today is that your God is a jealous God. He is jealous for your love. And because of that deep love, he will do whatever it takes to rescue you and bring you back to himself. This is not a God of rules looking to consign you to hell. This is a personal, passionate God who longs for you - for relationship and intimacy and community with you!