Baptist City Blog

Idolatrous Hearts

Ezekiel 14:3

"Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them?"

Idolatry is one of the sins which God hates the most. In fact, the very first of the ten commandments is, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." (Exodus 20:3) You would think that everyone would understand the importance of this commandment for God chose this to be the first that He mentioned.  This theme is mentioned throughout the Scriptures and confirmed in Matthew 6:33 when it says, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." God wants and commands everyone to keep Him, and Him alone, as the only One Whom they worship and serve.  

If I told you today that in your church your pastor decided to set up idols on the platform for you to serve, you would be angered.  Yet, though you would be angered by this wicked act, it seems that many Christians couldn't care less about the idols they have set up in their hearts. The verse above says, "Son of man, these men have set up idols in their heart..." You will notice that Israel had not set up any actual idols that you could see or touch, but in their hearts they had set up idols which are just as bad and physical idols.  Though you may not have any physical idols that you worship, let me remind you that an idolatrous heart is just as bad.  

An idol is anything that would be placed above God.  That is why God says in Matthew 6:33, "But seek ye first..." God demands Christians to take away the idols in their hearts.  Let me ask you, do you have any idols set up in your heart?  For instance, if anything else brings more excitement and emotion to you than God, then you have an idolatrous heart.  When you get more emotional over politics, sports, money, job, position, recognition, etc., then you have idols in your heart.  When preachers preach error and you continue to follow them, then you have an idolatrous heart.  If anything is of greater value to you than God, then you have an idolatrous heart.  

You must be careful about the idols that can be set up in the heart. I don't think many set those idols up on purpose, simply over time God is pushed aside for other things.  Perform an honest search on your heart today to see if you have any idols that are set up in your heart. If you are not willing to obey God's Word in every instance, then idols have been set up in your heart.  Be sure that your life is idol free.  Just as physical idols that you can see should anger you, likewise the idols that can be set up in your heart should anger you also.  Be careful that you don't allow anything to become of more importance than God.

Restoration Process

Jeremiah 52:31

"And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, in the five and twentieth day of the month, that Evilmerodach king of Babylon in the first year of his reign lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah, and brought him forth out of prison,"

There is a process that must be taken in order for someone to be restored from sin. Sin is an ugly part of life that everyone must deal with at some time. When sin has been committed, it is very important that the one who has sinned be restored back to usefulness. The whole purpose of the restoration process is so that the one who committed sin can be used by God again.  Let me show you several steps that must be taken in order for someone to be completely restored.  

First, there must be a penalty for sin.  I know this sounds strange, but part of the restoration process is paying for what you have done. Remember, the purpose is to bring them to the point where they can be used by God again. Without a penalty for what they have done, then they will continue to do wrong. Jehoiachin was in captivity for fourteen years before he was lifted out of prison.

Second, the penalty of sin must end. One of the mistakes many people make is they never end sin's penalty.  If there is no end for sin's penalty, then there is no hope for the fallen to be restored.  If there is no hope to be restored, then there is no reason for someone to follow through the whole restoration process.  

Third, restoration must immediately begin. You will notice that the king of Babylon lifted Jehoiachin out of prison.  Likewise, when someone falls into sin, and they acknowledge their sin, then you must immediately start the restoration process of lifting them out of the prison of their sin.  

Fourth, forgiveness must be exercised.  In verse 33, you will see that forgiveness was exercised when his prison garments were changed.  Your goal in the restoration process is to bring the person to the point that they are not remembered for the wrong that they did, but for the good that they will do.

Fifth, fellowship must be restored.  In verse 32, the king of Babylon "spake kindly" to Jehoiachin. One of the sad results of sin is that fellowship is broken with those whom you love.  Therefore, it is very important that those who have been wronged forgive the offender so that they can continue to go through the restoration process.  

Sixth, relationships must be reestablished. Jehoiachin was able to eat at the king's table daily.  When someone sins, you will never restore them unless you allow your relationship with them to be reestablished.  Part of the restoration process is for the fallen to be able to walk with those who will pull them out because of their influence.  If you continue to shun those who have sinned, then how will they ever be restored?  

Last, position must be available again. Yes, sin forfeits the right for certain positions to ever be held again, but a person who has gone through the restoration process must be allowed to gain position in some area once they have proven that they are not going to commit that sin again.  There must be a goal in sight for the fallen to drive them through the whole restoration process.  

Let me ask you, are you helping people who have sinned to go through the restoration process, or are you condemning them? If you want to be like Christ, then you need to make it a part of your daily life to help restore people back to usefulness.

Put Your Sword in Its Scabbard

Jeremiah 47:6

"O thou sword of the LORD, how long will it be ere thou be quiet? put up thyself into thy scabbard, rest, and be still."

Two very important principles are found in this verse. The first principle is that at times the LORD does expect His people to fight. You will notice that the LORD asks about the sword, "...how long will it be ere thou be quiet?" In the next verse there is an answer to this question when it tells us that the LORD is the One Who gave the sword the charge. In other words, the LORD is not always for peace, but at times He does expect His children to fight when He gives the command.  

There is a need for the Christian to fight.  When truth is attacked, every Christian should stand up and fight.  I become weary of pacifists Christians who idly stand by and watch truth be attacked and compromised. When truth is being attacked, it is time to stand and defend it.  

On the other hand, the other principle that was being taught is that there is a time for everyone to put their sword in the scabbard.  Notice it says in the verse above, "...put up thyself into thy scabbard, rest, and be still." Just as much as there is a time to fight, there is also a needed time to stop fighting.  Yes, there are some times when people should stand up and fight, but there are many times when people fight with each other when it is not needed.  

One of the times you should put your sword in its scabbard is with family. You only have one family, and you must be careful not to fight with family. I have found one of the reasons family members fight with each other is because they are trying to better each other. Listen, we are not in a competition to see who has the best family. Every family member must realize that they are all in this together.  There is no trophy handed to the best family at the end of life, therefore, stop trying to compete and start pulling for every family to succeed.  

Another reason families fight is because of meddling family members. I have watched family members try to read each others motives as to why they are doing something, only to cause hard feelings. It is time to put your sword in your scabbard with family. Don't allow yourself to judge the motives of other family members, and stop trying to meddle in their family affairs.  Take care of your own family and you will stay busy for the rest of your life.  

Yes, there is a time to fight, but when it comes to family put your sword in its scabbard and stop fighting.  Don't destroy your relationship with your family over petty issues.  No, you are not always going to agree with family, but you can still have a great relationship with every family member if you will learn to put your sword back in its scabbard.  Don't be guilty of wielding your sword with your family. Put the sword in its scabbard and enjoy the family God gave you.

Identifiers of Pride

Jeremiah 43:2

"Then spake Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the proud men, saying unto Jeremiah, Thou speakest falsely: the LORD our God hath not sent thee to say, Go not into Egypt to sojourn there:"

If you were to dissect sin, you would find that the core of all sin is pride. In fact, one of the first things that God mentions to take care of if you want revival is pride. In the verse above, it was pride that caused the men not to listen to the Word of God. Jeremiah preached the truth to these men and told them to stay in Judah, but it was their pride that caused them to think they knew more than they did. It was their pride that blinded them to their rebellious heart, which eventually led to their destruction. If these men would not have listened to pride, then they would not have lost their lives.  

It is no doubt that the greatest sin destroying people today is pride. It all started in Heaven when Lucifer's pride caused him to rebel against God. Still, today we find many Christians who let their pride lead them away from God's will for their life.  If you don't deal with your pride, then you will find heartache is to come.  

We find in Jeremiah 43 some of the identifiers of pride. In verse 2, we can see that pride rejects truth. These men would not accept truth because truth was condemning them.  You must be careful not to let your pride cause you to reject the truth about yourself. Pride blinds us to what we truly are, therefore, because we are blinded to what we are we reject any truth that is spoken about us.  Let me remind you that you are a sinner, and as a sinner you are going to be wrong at times.  Don't let your pride make you think that you are right all the time.  

Second, in verse 3, pride blames others. These men blamed Baruch for what was said instead of accepting the truth about themselves.  Let me ask you, when is the last time that you ever accepted that you were wrong? Do you find that your first response to any situation is to blame others? Is wrong that happens always someone else's fault? Your best response to any situation is to blame yourself first.  Don't let your pride cause you to always blame others. Stop blaming your spouse for everything and accept the blame yourself. Stop blaming others for your child's wrong, and accept the blame.  Stop blaming others for things going wrong, and accept that you are wrong.  Look honestly at yourself and the situations you face, do you find it is always someone else's fault? If you say you don't, then when have you blamed yourself lately?  

Third, in verse 4, pride always wants its way no matter what. Christian, if you are not careful you will let your pride drive your decision-maker.  That is not good!  Pride will always think that its way is right because it will blind your eyes to right. You must always set your desire completely aside, for if you don't your pride will cause you to always want it your way.  

Be careful not to let pride control you. The end result of pride is destruction and death. Don't let your pride destroy you and the one's you love. Face your pride, get rid of it and let humility control your every action. The best way to do this is to always defer to others, and pride will step out of the way.

The Greatest Life is the Christian Life

Psalm 37:1

"Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity."

When God says, "Fret not thyself because of evildoers..." He is commanding you not to become envious about those who don't live righteous lives. God knew that Christians would start looking at what the "evildoers" seemed to get away with and would consider not doing right themselves.  Let's face it, quite often it seems that the world seems to have a lot of fun with their sin.  Whenever you look at the television programs and advertisements, they always portray those who live in sin as happy people. That is the problem, we only see what they portray and not the real life of these actors. When you look at their real life, you realize that sin does not pay. Yet, we still must have a way to remind ourselves that the Christian life is the best life. God show us four ways to keep the Christian life in its proper perspective.  

First, trust God!  In verse 3, God commands you to trust Him in spite of what the heathen do. Christian, there will be many times in your life when you will just have to trust that God is right.  You may not see that God is right, but you must trust Him that He is right.  

Second, in verse 4, God says to delight yourself in Him.  The word "delight" means "to get pleasure from." In other words, God is telling you the way to keep from being envious of the wicked is to get your delight from God. Just like the wicked get their pleasure from sin, you need to get your pleasure from God.  Christian, serving God can be fun, and on top of that it is rewarding in the long run. One of the reasons why Christians become envious of the wicked is because they don't enjoy life. Learn to lighten up; laugh and enjoy life. To never laugh or enjoy the things of life is not one of the requirements of being a Christian. God wants you to enjoy life, just serve Him while you're enjoying it. Get your pleasure from doing right.  

Third, commit your way to God. In verse 5, God says that you must commit your way to Him if you are going to avoid becoming envious of the wicked.  In other words, decide you are going to walk God's way no matter what happens. Until you become that committed to God's way, you will always be envious of the wicked.  

Last, in verse 7, God says to rest in the LORD. To avoid becoming envious of the wicked, you must be patient and realize that God will come through for you, and will also reward the wicked for their ways. God's timing is not always our timing, therefore you must be patient realizing that God is keeping a record and will come through at the time appointed.  

Christian, don't become envious of the wicked's lifestyle.  It may seem fun at a distance, but it is filled with regret.  Follow the four steps above to avoid becoming envious of the wicked. If you will follow these steps, you will find the Christian life is the best life.