Idols of the Heart

Turn your Bibles to the book of Ezekiel chapter 14. Ezekiel chapter 14. I swapped things out today and did tonight's message this morning. And so I'm doing this morning's message tonight as we go through and talk about King Me and uh we're going to take a look at uh Ezekiel 14. And I want you to look at verses 1-8. Ezekiel 14:es 1-8. It says, "Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me and sat before me, and the word of the Lord came unto me, saying," Now, let me stop here and say this. What we're reading right now is after the kingdoms. This is after they've been taken into captivity and uh and now they're their way.

They no longer have a king anymore. And so, this is after the kingdoms. Uh up to this time from Judges to 2 Chronicles, Israel struggled with idols. But after they were uh taken into captivity, captivity, they seemed to get over having idols and begin to really see God as their one true God. And um and during all the time of the kings, the good kings would get rid of the idols and the bad kings would bring them back and they went back and forth on this. But now they they seem to have settled that as far as the physical idols. But look what happens when the the elders of Israel come to to Ezekiel and he says the word of the Lord came unto me saying son of man these men have set up their idols in their heart.

They tore down the physical idols but now they've got idols in their heart and put up stumbling block of their iniquities before their face should I be acquired of at all of all at all by them. Therefore speak unto them and say unto them, thus sayeth the Lord God, every man of the house of Israel that setth up his idols in his heart, and put the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and come unto the prophet, I the Lord will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols, that I may take the house of Israel in their own heart, because they are all estranged from me through their idols.

Therefore say unto the house of Israel, thus sayeth the Lord God, repent and turn yourself from your idols, and turn away your faces from all your abominations. For every one of the house of Israel or or of the stranger that soldierth in Israel, which separateth himself from me, and set up idols in his heart, and put the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to a prophet to inquire of him concerning me, I the Lord will answer him by myself, and I will set my face against that man. and I will make him a sign and a proverb. I will cut him off from the midst of my people and he shall you shall know that I am the Lord.

So again, they they had finally gotten the point that they got rid of the idols physically and when they came to Ezekiel, I think they were probably surprised. Wait a minute. We we got rid of the idols, but God says, but you still have idols in your heart. And and so I want to touch on something I I dealt with a little bit last week where we talked about Assa and how he got rid of the idols and the images and how he got rid of the high places. And I want to just kind of apply that to our lives. Look at Ezekiel chap 20 and verse number 16. Ezekiel chap 20 and verse number 16. He talks about the idols of the heart.

In Ezekiel 26, it says, "Because they despised my judgments and walked not in my statutes, but polluted my Sabbath, for their heart went after their idols." And so their their problem was the idols in their heart. Now, idols, as we know, are images. And uh and and and what they are is they're made from they're gods made from our imagination. Uh is basically what it is. They're they're images that are made from our imagination. It's why they're called images. I want you to look at Romans chap 1 and:es 21-2. Romans chap 1 and:es 21-2. Have you ever seen pictures of idols? You know that what I'm talking about is that some of them are really kind of weird looking, you know, and you wonder who imagined that who came up with that idol.

And in Romans chapter 1 and verses 21-2, it says because that when they knew God, they glorified him not as God. neither were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God, into an image made like to corruptible man, to birds and for-footed beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God has also given them up uh to uncleanness, through the lust of their own hearts, dishonor their own bodies between themselves, who changed the truth of of God unto a lie, and worship and serve the creature more than the creator who is blessed forever.

Amen. Now, today's society, we don't have people building physical idols, but yet we see this exact thing who people who change the truth of God. Things that we know are true. Like there's a man and a woman. There's nothing that's in between those two. But the world has said that no, there is. And they've changed the truth of God into a lie. And we see that in our society today. They're they they've gotten vain in their imaginations. Go over to Exodus 20, the book of Exodus 20, and [clears throat] look at verses 3-6. Exodus 20 and:es 3-6. He says, "And thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or as in earth beneath, or there is in the water under the earth.

Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them. But I for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God visiting iniquity as a father upon the children unto the third and the fourth generation of them that hate me. You know, it's interesting that that of all the ten commandments, this is the one that he spent the most time explaining because God says, "I don't want you to have idols. I'm a jealous God and and you should not have other idols before me." Now, let me ask you a question. What are the images in your heart? In Genesis chapter 6 and verse 5, it says, "And God saw the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every imagination of the thought of his heart was only evil continually."

See, I think if I went into most of your homes and looked around, I I probably wouldn't find an idol sitting on your shelf. I I probably wouldn't find an altar with an idol next to it in your house. But we do have those idols, those images in our imagination that we have taken on. Idols for example of bitterness or an idol of envy or sexual thoughts or fantasy or anger or pride. You see we built these idols in our imagination and we don't have a physical idol but we still have idols in our heart and we need to bring that imagination under control. In 2 Corinthians chapter 10 and verse number 5, it says, "Casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalted itself against the knowledge of God and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ."

You see, we've got to control our imaginations because it's our imagination that that builds those idols in our hearts, those images in our heart. In Proverbs 4:23, it says, "Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life." And we've got to protect the heart. The armor of God is the breastplate of righteousness to protect our heart and to keep it right with God. The word keep means to put a guard before our heart and controlling the images that we allow into our imaginations, into our heart, into our life. And and so one of the places that you and I have trouble with images is places like on the TV or on the internet.

You see, again, I wouldn't find little statue idols in your home, but many of you got an idol that sits right there in the middle of your living room, the whole focal point of your living room, and it's called a TV. Many of you got an idol that's that's a a computer, and you bow down to that computer, and that that feeds your imaginations in wicked ways. Or or even on your iPhone and sitting looking at that real after real after real and watching all these things. And we've we've been feeding our heart with all these wicked images in in Romans chapter 1. Turn over there if you would. Romans chapter 1 and look at verses 29 through32.

Romans chapter 1 and:es 29 through 32 the Bible says being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetous and maliciousness, full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignancy, whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, covenant breakers. I got to get my light here so I can see this. Covenant breakers without natural affliction and plaable, unmerciful, who knowing the judgment of God, and they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

And and our imagination today is is called Google because every imagination of ours right there on that internet. and and we've allowed our hearts to build up images, imaginations, idols because of what we're watching online, what we're watching on TV, and what we're allowing to be fed into our hearts and life. We got to guard our hearts. We got to put protection to keep those images out of there. You see, it it's a constant battle. Go over to the book of Jeremiah. Jeremiah chapter 7. Jeremiah 7 and look at verses 23 and 24. Jeremiah 7:es 23 and 24. But this thing I commanded thou commanded I thou saying Obey my voice and I will be your God and you shall be my people and walk you in all my ways that I've commanded you that it may be well unto you.

But they hearkened not nor inclined their ear but walked in the counsel of the imaginative their evil heart and went backwards and not forward. They were backsliding. Go over to Jeremiah 8 and look at verses 4-6. He says, "Moreover, thou shalt say unto them, thus sayeth the Lord, shall they fall and not arise? Shall he turn away and not return? Why then is this people of Jerusalem slitten back by a perpetual backsliding? They hold fast deceit, they refuse to return. I hearkened to heard, but they spake not a right. No man repented of his wickedness, saying, "What have I done?" Everyone turn turned to his course as a horse rushes into battle.

And that's what happens when we get on the internet. We go into we click again and again and again. We get on social media. We like watch real after real after real. We watch TV programs and all those things are feeding idols, imaginations in our heart and we're allowing them to come in. And we've got to deal with the idols of the heart, the imaginations of the heart. See, there's idols that we worship. In Romans 2, chapter 2 and verse 22, it says, "Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, does thou commit adultery? Thou that abhorest idols, does thou commit sacrilege?" You know, we would say we're we're against idols, but yet do we have that struggle in our own lives?

Go over to 1 Corinthians chapter 6. I want to look at some of the idols of the heart that we struggle with. The idols that we worship as in in 1 Corinthians chapter 6 and look at verses 9 and 10. 1 Corinthians chapter 6 and:es 9 and 10. He says, "Know ye not that the unrighteous not inherit the kingdom of God. Be not deceived, neither of fornicators, nor idolattors, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkers, nor revilers, nor extortioners shall inherit the kingdom of God. idlers, uh, idoltors and and allowing those idols in our heart.

Go to go look at u uh verses 15- 20. Know ye not that your bodies are members of Christ? You'll ident members of a harlot? God forbid. What? Know ye not that he which is joined to a heart is one body. For two saith he shall be one flesh. But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. And flee fornication. Every sin the man doeth is without the body. But he that committh fornication is sinnth against his own body. What know you not that your body is a temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you which you have of God and you're not your own? For we are bought with a price. Therefore glorify God and your body and your spirit which are gods.

We've allowed sex to become an idol. We've allowed sex to become something that through the internet and through TV and through media, we've allowed it to build images in our in our minds and our hearts. And then that causes us to struggle in our marriages and causes struggle with our personal walk with the Lord. And and you know, sometime people say, "Well, pastor, I only look at those things. I I don't actually do that." But remember, it was said to take pleasure in them that do that. In Matthew chapter 5, Jesus said in verse 27-28, you heard this said by them old time, thou shalt not commit adultery.

But I say to you that whosoever lookth on a woman would lust to lust after her commit adultery with her already his heart. You know, God says, listen, when you look, you're doing it. You got that. Maybe you don't go out and commit adultery. Maybe you don't go out and commit fornication, but you are committing it in your heart. And we've allowed that to come into our lives through these idols that we built in our imaginations. Don't idolize sex. Idealize it. In Hebrews chapter 13 and verse number four, it says, "Marriage is honorable and all and the bed undeiled, but whoreongers and adulterers God will judge."

We're doing a Bible study for the young Marys on Friday nights. And this last week, it was about sex and marriage. And sex in marriage is a wonderful blessing of God, a wonderful gift of God that he wants us to enjoy fully. He wants us to idealize sex within marriage, but not to idolize sex in the imaginations of our hearts. But another idol is covetousness. In Colossians chapter 3 and verse 5, it says, "Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth, fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupisence, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Covetousness is an alter, an an idol that we have built up in our hearts.

Uh the love of money in 1 Timothy chapter 6, he says that the love of money is the root of all evil. It's not money that's evil. God wants us to be blessed financially. He wants us to do well and and to be good stewards of what he's given us. And there's nothing wrong with earning money. There's nothing wrong with saving money. But when we become covetous, when money is the driving force, that love of money that becomes an idol in our hearts. It's a love of things. In Luke 12:15, he said unto them, "Take heed and beware of covetousness. for a man's life, excuse me, consistent not in the abundance of the things which he possesses.

You see, God says, listen, it's not about things. And we build up this image in our mind. If I just had this, if I just had that, I'd be happy. And we're looking for things to make us happy. Another idol in our heart, another idol that we build up is entertainment. In 1 Corinthians chapter 10 and verse 7, neither be idolattors as some of them as were some of them. As is written, the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up and play. They became idolattors because life was all about having a good time. It's about all all about going out and enjoying entertainment. And we are an entertainment society.

We spend more time watching TV than we do reading our Bible or going to church. We spend more time on entertainment than we do on on entering into the throne of God. And it becomes an idol of our hearts. And it can even be good things like sports or uh it can be good things like there's not every TV program is bad and not everything on the internet is bad. But we've allowed it become that idol in our heart. Well, another idol of the heart is stubbornness. In 1st Samuel 15:es 22 and 23 as Samuel said, "Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as obeying the voice of the Lord?

Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as a sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou has rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected thee from being king." You see, we've allowed stubbornness become our idol. And and we kind of dig in our heels and say, "I'm going to do it my way rather than God's way." And another idol is the idol of pride. In Ezekiel 14 and verse number six, I want you to turn over there me with you could. Ezekiel 14 and verse number six. Therefore say unto the house of Israel, thus sayeth the Lord God, repent and turn yourselves from your idols and turn away your faces from all your abominations.

We need to repent of that pride. Proverbs 16:5, everyone that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord. Though hand jo hand, join in hand, he shall not be unpunished. God says we are pride becomes an idol. Your pride becomes your idol in your heart. And God says you need to get rid of those idols of the heart. So what do we need to do with our idols? What do we need to do with them? Look at 2 Chronicles chapter 14. We looked at this last week. 2 Chronicles chapter 14. 2 Chronicles chapter 14 and verses number 2-5. 2 Chronicles 14. I would think so. And verses 2-5 it says, "And Asa did that which was good and right and high eyes of the Lord his God.

And he took away the altars of the strange gods in the high places and break down the images and cut down the groves and commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers and to do the law and the commandment. Also he took away out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the images and the kingdom was quiet before him. He took away, he break down, he cut them down. And that's what we got to do with our idols. You got to take them away. Look at 2 Corinthians chapter 6. 2 Corinthians chapter 6 and look at verses 14-1 17. 2 Corinthians chapter 6 and verses 14-1 17. Be not unequally yolked together with unbelievers.

For what fellowship of the righteousness with unrighteousness? What communion hath light with darkness? And what concort that Christ would bal? Or what part hath he believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the living God. As God has said, I will dwell in them and walk in them, and they I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, be separate, sayeth the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing, and I'll receive you. See, God wants us to come out and be separate. He wants us to take away these things out of our life.

Uh in 1 Corinthians 10:14, it says, "Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry." And that's what we have to do. We have to get drastic about dealing with these idols and these images in our hearts. You got to be drastic about saying, you know what, I'm going to get rid of uh Netflix or HBO and because it's not good for me. I I I'm going to put some kind of control on my computer. I'm going to put some limits on the time I can spend on Facebook, social media. We we've got to deal with these things and come out from among to be separate and put some standards and say, "I'm not going to put any evil thing before mine eyes and and I'm going to have some standards about what I watch and what I listen to and where I go on social media."

And 2 Chronicles 14:3 it says, "For he took away the altars of the strange gods and the high places and break down the images and cut down the groves." In Joshua 24:15, it says, "If it seem evil unto you, serve the Lord. Choose you this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood or the gods of the Amorites whose land you dwell. But as for me in my house, we will serve the Lord." There are things you got to separate from that you got to cut out and take away and get rid of and and you're not going to get the victory until you do that.

But I don't not only the idols but also the high places. In 2 Chronicles 14:5 also he took away out of all the cities of J Judah the high places and the images and the kingdom was quiet before him. So what are the high places? Anything that takes a higher place in your life than God. If sports is more important than to you than God. You know, on the mainland, uh, one of the things I they praise God for is Super Bowls played in the afternoon here. So, people can come to church Sunday morning, watch the Super Bowl, and come back Sunday night. But on the mainland, Super Bowl is played during church services.

And a lot of people will stay home to watch the Super Bowl instead of going to church because that sports has become a higher place than God. And there's so many things in our life that we've allowed become more important than God in our lives. More important than reading our Bible, more important than prayer, more important than being in church, anything with a higher place. Matthew 6:33 says, "But seeking first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." High places are things that are more convenient. They had the high places. They weren't places where they worshiped idols necessarily.

They had that, but there were places where they would worship God, but it was more convenient than going to the temple. The Bible tells us in Acts 24:2, "And as he reasoned of righteousness, tempers, and judgment to come, Felix trempled and answered, go thy way for this time when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee." in the high places when we try to make things nothing wrong with making things easy but at the same time when it's we do it because it's more convenient than doing what's right and and it becomes a high place in our lives high places was the area they struggle with the most in first Kings 22:43 it says he walked in all the ways of Assa his father he turned not aside from it from doing that which was right in the eyes of the Lord never lest The high places were not taken away.

For the people offered and burnt incense yet in the high places. He dealt with the idols. He dealt with the groves. But he could not he did not deal with the high places. And there's sometimes the things that we struggle with the most. But they also break down the images in Exodus 23:24. Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their works, but they shall utterly overthrow them and quite quite break down their images. You got to get rid of the images. You got to break it down. You got to smash it. Turn over to Acts chapter 19. Acts chapter 19 verses 18- 20. said many that believe they came and confessed and showed their deeds.

Many of them also which had uh curious arts brought them their books together and burned them before all men. And they count counted the price of them and found that 50,000 pieces of silver so mightily grew the word of God and prevailed. See when these people got drastic and got rid of it and said, "You know what? We don't we're not just going to, you know, we're going to get rid of it. But we're going to cut it out. We're going to deal with it very strongly. In Psalms 51:17, it says, "The sacrifice of God or a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart. Oh God, thou will not despise." And you got to break down these these images and and you got to cut down the groves.

When you read through the book of Kings and and Chronicles, you'll hear over and over they got the the idols, they've got the images, they've got the groves in the high places. And the groves, they were places of sexual immorality. In 2 Corinthians 7:11, it says, "Behold, this same self-same thing that you sorrowed after godly sort. What carefulness and wrought in you, yay, what clearing of yourselves, yay, what indignation, yay, what fear, yay, what vein desire, yay, what zeal, yay, what revenge, and all these things, you prove yourself. Be clear in these matters." You got to cut it out and say, you know what?

I don't want this anymore. You got to deal with it drastically. In Matthew, he says, "If you look upon a woman, lust your heart, pluck out your eye, cut off your hand, if he's doing wrong." And and that's he's not saying you physically should do that. What he's saying is you got to get serious. You got to get drastic. Because some of you that are struggling with sexual immorality, some of you young people, some of you married couples, some of you uh even older men in the church, you're struggling with you're going to have to deal with this drastically because this is the thing that they struggle with the most.

And when sexual sin gets a hold of you, it just doesn't want to let go. In 1 John 5 and verse 21, the Bible says, "Little children, keep yourself from idols." Amen. As we go through the book of Kings and look at all the different kings, this is what they struggled with. One king would get rid of the idols and yes, the next one would bring them back. One king get rid of the images, next one bring them back. And they kept struggling with these things. And even when they finally got rid of all the physical idols, then they just put the idol in their heart, kind of hidden from the world around them, but it was still there and they were still worshiping it.

That's why God says keep your heart with all diligence for out of issues life. God gave us the book of Kings and Chronicles to teach us a lesson. Don't keep going through the cycle in your life that they went through. Deal with these things and then God can bless you. So as we close out, I challenge you to look at this and just go back and look at your life and say, "Are there idols in my life? Are there images, things that I've allowed to build up in my life that I need to cut out? Do I need to do something drastic? Are there high places of convenience? Are there groves of sexual immorality that I need to deal with?

So, as we close today, we're going to break up into small groups and I got three questions to answer. What are the idols of our hearts? What's what's things when he talks about the idols of the heart? What are some things that become idols in our heart? Share that and try to share that with each other. What are some things that we we deal with that? And then how can you bring your imagination under control? And second Corinthians says casting down imaginations and bring into captivity with thought to the obedience of Christ. So how do you do that? How can I control when that you know the old saying I can't I can't keep the bird from flying over my head but I can keep it from building nests in my hair. So how do I deal with it? How do I cast out? How do I bring these into captivity? And then what are some examples of high places today that we struggle with? What are some things that are that are high places of convenience in our lives as Christians? Just talk about that.