[Watch this Youtube video of Oprah and God’s Jealousy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wB4J1JpG_PA]

[What happens when you listen to a part of a sermon?  Or what happens when you hear only a small portion of the Word of God?  Oprah says she was sitting in a Baptist Church listening to a good Bible preacher declaring the greatness of God, but when the preacher mentioned that God was also a jealous God Oprah’s mind immediately began to wander and clearly she no longer heard that preacher and she no long looked into the Word of God.  Did you hear her in this video?  Oprah stated, “Why would God be jealous of me?”  All Oprah would have had to do to gain her answer is listen to the rest of that preachers message, or even better yet, seek her answer in the revealing Word of God.  But instead Oprah elevated herself to the position of God and developed her own god.]

[I will address the jealousy of God in this text as I work my way through this message today.  If you listen, you will hear God’s clear answer to Oprah’s frustration.  However, if you decide that you will follow Oprah’s course, you will shut me out, you will shut out the Word of God, and you will end up doing what God clearly warns you about doing.  You will create your own God and will cast Almighty-God aside.]

[Our text is reminiscent of the commands given to the gentile believers by the Church leaders in Jerusalem when the Antioch gentile Christians sent Paul to answer the question of whether a gentile Christian had to become a Jew to be saved.  They sent back this reply with the Apostle Paul,]

[Acts 15:19-21 ¹⁹ Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God: ²⁰ But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood. ²¹ For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.]

 [The first two of the Ten Commandments are clearly contained in the statement “that they abstain from pollutions of idols”  There is but one and only one God.  Jehovah God, the Lord God Almighty.  He is the creator and sustainer of all things and manifests Himself in the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.  Anything else is not God.  God has said,]

[Deuteronomy 4:35 ³⁵ Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know that the LORD he is God; there is none else beside him. ]

[Deuteronomy 6:4 ⁴ Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: ]

[Isaiah 44:6-8 ⁶ Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God. ⁷ And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it, and set it in order for me, since I appointed the ancient people? and the things that are coming, and shall come, let them shew unto them. ⁸ Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any. ]

[If there is one and only one God, then where do other god’s come from?]

Let us Consider,

A.    The Folly Of Idolatry (vs 4) [- Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: - Our text is clear in its declaration of the source of every other god or our idols.  Consider,] 

1.      An Idols Manufacture (Isa 44.9-20) [- Anyone who worships false god’s is worthlessly deceived.  There is no hope in a false God.  There is no promise in a false God.   There is no future in a false God.  So where do idols or false gods come from?] 

[Isaiah 44:9-20 ⁹ They that make a graven image are all of them vanity; and their delectable things shall not profit; and they are their own witnesses; they see not, nor know; that they may be ashamed. ¹⁰ Who hath formed a god, or molten a graven image that is profitable for nothing? ¹¹ Behold, all his fellows shall be ashamed: and the workmen, they are of men: let them all be gathered together, let them stand up; yet they shall fear, and they shall be ashamed together. ¹² The smith with the tongs both worketh in the coals, and fashioneth it with hammers, and worketh it with the strength of his arms: yea, he is hungry, and his strength faileth: he drinketh no water, and is faint. ¹³ The carpenter stretcheth out his rule; he marketh it out with a line; he fitteth it with planes, and he marketh it out with the compass, and maketh it after the figure of a man, according to the beauty of a man; that it may remain in the house. ¹⁴ He heweth him down cedars, and taketh the cypress and the oak, which he strengtheneth for himself among the trees of the forest: he planteth an ash, and the rain doth nourish it. ¹⁵ Then shall it be for a man to burn: for he will take thereof, and warm himself; yea, he kindleth it, and baketh bread; yea, he maketh a god, and worshippeth it; he maketh it a graven image, and falleth down thereto. ¹⁶ He burneth part thereof in the fire; with part thereof he eateth flesh; he roasteth roast, and is satisfied: yea, he warmeth himself, and saith, Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire: ¹⁷ And the residue thereof he maketh a god, even his graven image: he falleth down unto it, and worshippeth it, and prayeth unto it, and saith, Deliver me; for thou art my god. ¹⁸ They have not known nor understood: for he hath shut their eyes, that they cannot see; and their hearts, that they cannot understand. ¹⁹ And none considereth in his heart, neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say, I have burned part of it in the fire; yea, also I have baked bread upon the coals thereof; I have roasted flesh, and eaten it: and shall I make the residue thereof an abomination? shall I fall down to the stock of a tree? ²⁰ He feedeth on ashes: a deceived heart hath turned him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand? ]

[A false god, represented by an idol, is the manufacture of the minds, skill, and work of mankind and their imagination.  So it is with every God or system of religion that is not based on the one true God.  What does it take to bring people to their senses so that they come to realize that what they worship is no god at all.  All of the Greek gods of mythology are the manufacture of the minds of mankind.  They only exist in the minds of people.]

[But the one true God is not so, He exists apart from the minds of human beings, instead the minds of human beings exist because of His creative hand and benevolent will.]

2.      An Idols Manipulation (Jer 10.3-16) [– Jeremiah says much about the confusion that accompanies idolatry and the false God’s of our imaginations.  Jeremiah writes,] 

[Jeremiah 10:3-16 ³ For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. ⁴ They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not. ⁵ They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good. ⁶ Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee, O LORD; thou art great, and thy name is great in might. ⁷ Who would not fear thee, O King of nations? for to thee doth it appertain: forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like unto thee. ⁸ But they [idols] are altogether brutish and foolish: the stock is a doctrine of vanities. ⁹ Silver spread into plates is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the workman, and of the hands of the founder: blue and purple is their clothing: they are all the work of cunning men. ¹⁰ But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation. ¹¹ Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens. ¹² He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion. ¹³ When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures. ¹⁴ Every man is brutish in his knowledge: every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them. ¹⁵ They are vanity, and the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish. ¹⁶ The portion of Jacob is not like them: for he is the former of all things; and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: The LORD of hosts is his name.]

[How utterly foolish to worship something that has no life, will, or power, yet that is what the idolater does.  He worships, honors and obeys something that is nothing and in so doing rejects the one true living God.]

3.      An Idols Manifestation (Deut 4.15-20) [- Anyone who feels like they need some kind of image in order to worship God, those who feel they need some statue, picture or object to look at to worship God is sorely confused and fails to understand the nature and commands of God.  Moses reminded Israel,] 

[Deuteronomy 4:15-20 ¹⁵ Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the LORD spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire: ¹⁶ Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female, ¹⁷ The likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the air, ¹⁸ The likeness of any thing that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth: ¹⁹ And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven. ²⁰ But the LORD hath taken you, and brought you forth out of the iron furnace, even out of Egypt, to be unto him a people of inheritance, as ye are this day.] 

[No Idols Today? - Someone might say, “Well I’m good preacher, I don’t have any idols in my life?”  Perhaps you have not created an image and called it your God, but you still may have idols in your life.  What do I mean?  The idol merely represents a false god, a false religion, or a false authority in your life.  An authority is anything that you hold yourself accountable to.  For instance,  your authority might be,] 

·         [Your Job – If it takes precedence over everything else, when your job calls what do you do?  Nothing wrong with giving time and effort to you job, but when it asks you to honor it instead of honoring God in worship, what then?  I have seen many people who will go to work with a cold, but won’t come to church tired.] 

·         [Your Family – I will be the first one to tell you that your family is important in your life, don’t ever underestimate the importance of your family.  But, does your family take precedence over God and His worship.  A wise family knows that they must honor God in their family, because God will help them to make their family stronger, better, and eternal.] 

·         [Your Treasures – Is your money and stuff your God?  I have known many people who will gladly pay for their stuff, but find every excuse in the world for why they cannot give God their tithe.] 

·         [Your Entertainment – I think athletics have become the religion and God of our day.  Just look at the churches on a given Sunday, almost year round, then look for the weekly sporting event and you will see where people are on Sunday.] 

[My friend your God is what holds authority over your life and is manifested by your actions.  You make time for, and give toward those things that are really important to you.  Idols are man made, powerless to truly affect our lives, and mindlessly worshipped through our allegiance and actions, according to the passages we have just read. ]  

[Sporting events are man made and hold no eternal and little mortal life changing value in our lives.  Your job or career is man made and holds no eternal and little mortal life changing value in your life.  Your money is man made and holds no eternal and little mortal life changing value in your life.  Each of these and many more man made objects are good when viewed properly but they can all become idols or false gods in our lives.] 

[Be reminded that there is only one God and nothing in this world could ever hope to represent Him.  Any other God that any man would imagine and develop in his mind is no God at all.  We know who God is and about God merely because He has revealed Himself to us through His written Word, the Bible, and has confirmed this written Word through the resurrection of His only begotten Son and our Savior the Lord Jesus Christ.  Any thing else is no god at all.] 

B.     The Forgetfulness Implied (vs 5; Deut 8.19; 2 Kings 17.38; Psalm 9.17; 78.7; Jer 2.32) [- Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: . . . –  The truth of any idol, false religion, or false authority is that is evidences a forgetfulness on the part of people.  It reveals that people have forgotten the one true God.  God says,] 

[Deuteronomy 8:19 ¹⁹ And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, . . .  ]

[2 Kings 17:38 ³⁸ And the covenant that I have made with you ye shall not forget; neither shall ye fear other gods.]

[Psalm 9:17 ¹⁷ The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God. ]

[Psalm 78:7 ⁷ That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments: ]

[Jeremiah 2:32 ³² Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? yet my people have forgotten me days without number. ]

[Idolatry, false religion, and false authorities are evidence that people have forgotten the one true living God, the Lord God Almighty, Jehovah God.  In forgetting God they have,]  

1.      Forgotten His Protection (Deut 8.11, 14-16, 19) [- Without any doubt almighty God is our fortress, our stay, and our strength.  When people begin to forget God they then forget the protections that God has provided them and their nation.  God had protected Israel, Moses wrote,] 

[Deuteronomy 8:11, 14-16, 19 ¹¹ Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day: . . .  ¹⁴ Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the LORD thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; ¹⁵ Who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water; who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint; ¹⁶ Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that he might humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end; . . .  ¹⁹ And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish.]

[We would be fools to think that we, in America, by our ingenuity and strength have somehow protected ourselves.  What about all those times when we should not have won the war or battle, but did, to what do we attribute that?  God has protected America, even when America has not deserved his protection.  But have we forgotten God?  Do we really want to forget God?]

2.      Forgotten His Provisions (Deut 8.11, 17-19) [- Notice in these verses what else Israel had forgotten about God,] 

[Deuteronomy 8:11, 17-19 ¹¹ Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day: . . .  ¹⁷ And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth. ¹⁸ But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day. ¹⁹ And it shall be, if thou do at all forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely perish.]

[It is common in our day for people to say something like, “Well, I don’t see where God has given me anything.  I worked and earned everything that I have!”  But have you considered who gave you the ability and resources to work and prosper.  Have you considered that God does not have to maintain your health, or that God does not have to provide a good economy for you to work in, or that God does not have to water your crops and cause them to grow?  But He does.] 

3.      Forgotten His Promises (Deut 4.23-25; Heb 10.29) [- But the greatest forgetfulness on the part of Israel and of people throughout our world is our forgotten covenants with God.  The Bible states,] 

[Deuteronomy 4:23-25 ²³ Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the LORD your God, which he made with you, and make you a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, which the LORD thy God hath forbidden thee. ²⁴ For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God. ²⁵ When thou shalt beget children, and children's children, and ye shall have remained long in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves, and make a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, and shall do evil in the sight of the LORD thy God, to provoke him to anger: ]

[The New Testament states,]

[Hebrews 10:29 ²⁹ Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?]

[God made a covenant with Israel and they forgot and abused that covenant. God has made a covenant with all who would be saved, redeemed through the blood  sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ and many have forgotten that covenant and turned to false god’s and their vain imaginations.]

[Rebellion - Many may feign their idolatry as forgetfulness, but it is often just open rebellion against God.  Rebellion was the case for king Jeroboam according to,]

[1 Kings 14:9-10 ⁹ But hast done evil above all that were before thee: for thou hast gone and made thee other gods, and molten images, to provoke me to anger, and hast cast me behind thy back: ¹⁰ Therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, and will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as a man taketh away dung, till it be all gone.]  

[Idolatry all idolatry finds its foundation in a forgotten or rejected Lord God Almighty.]

C.    The Fellowship Instilled (vs 5-6) [-  . . . for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; ⁶ And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. – The desire of God for His creation is clearly revealed by God in His Word.  God did not just create the universe and then step away from it.  In the beginning God walked with Adam and Eve in the garden.  God always has been and always will be intimately involved in His creation.  In our Lord Jesus Christ God showed a level of involvement that astounds human minds and this speaks to and about the Jealousy of God.] 

1.      The Jealousy of God (2 Peter 3.9; 1 Tim 2.3-6) [- . . . for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, . . .- How could an omniscient, all-powerful, omnipresent, loving God be jealous?  And why would he be jealous of an insignificant human being like me?  Oprah seems to state that her confusion regarding the jealousy of God caused her to leave Christianity and to do exactly what God has called, for all time, for all mankind never to do, develop your own God or build you an idol.  Is it that hard to understand the Jealousy of God?  Oprah’s mistake is that she thought the preacher and the Bible said that God was jealous of her! How thoroughly ridiculous.] 

[God is not jealous of any created being, but God is jealous for us.  God is jealous that we be not lost and condemned for all eternity from Him.  God is jealous that those He has created and given sacrificially for be drawn to Him and not driven from Him.  God is jealous that you and I, and all mankind be saved.  God is jealously protective of our eternal souls.] 

[2 Peter 3:9 ⁹ The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.]

[1 Timothy 2:3-6 ³ For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; ⁴ Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. ⁵ For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; ⁶ Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.]

2.      A Joining With God (Rev 21.1-4) [- God is Jealous that nothing should rob us of God’s desire and purpose for all of His creation and that is revealed in.] 

[Revelation 21:1-4 ¹ And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. ² And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. ³ And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. ⁴ And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. ]

[God’s purpose for His creation is revealed at its beginning and again at its end.  God has created us to walk in absolute unity with Him.  To walk in eternal fellowship with our Heavenly Father.  God desires that nothing would rob you of that glorious blessing.  It is God’s purpose for giving the law.  It is God’s purpose for sending Jesus.  It is God’s purpose for enduring with the evil choices of his creation, angelic and mortal.  Almighty God wants you to choose Him by choosing Jesus.  God is not jealous of you, God is jealous for you.] 

CrossRoads Baptist Church, August 16, 2009