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In Times of Plague… Turn from your idols

Live! Sunday 3.29.2020 at 11:00 am

2 Chronicles 7:13–14 (NLT)
13At times I might shut up the heavens so that no rain falls, or command grasshoppers to devour your crops, or send plagues among you.

14Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.

The most wicked things we do as humanity flows from breaking the first and second commandments.

We love other gods over God. We worship idols and bow our hearts to them.
All sin flows from our heart’s dark affections. 

This happens when we worship the creation over the creator.
Sin and death are symptoms of our hearts refusing to worship God and worshipping idols instead.

What are idols…? Created things we worship and exist for.   What is worship? Where we put our ultimate affection and joy.

Romans 1:18–25 (NLT)

18But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness.19They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them.20For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.21Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused.22Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools.23And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.24So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies.25They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen.

The Idolatrous heart

  • We all have traded the truth for a lie. 
  • We want to have the glory and joys of creation without the creator in it. 
  • Creation can’t flourish without its creator.
  • Humanity is the virus of creation but also the solution. Humanity brought sin into the world but through humanity, the world is also set free from sin and death.
  • The Word became flesh to make this redemption possible.

Romans 8:1–11 (NLT)

1So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.2And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.3The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins.4He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.5Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit.6So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.7For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will.8That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.


But!

9But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.)10And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God.11The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.


Application
2 Chronicles 7:14 (NLT) 14Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.


One person did this. Jesus. He fully humbled Himself. He sought God’s face. He completely turned from wickedness. He is humanity’s only advocate who has not worshipped false gods. 


In Him we have life.
His righteousness is now our righteousness
His life is now our life
He gives eternal life to Mortal flesh. Though these bodies of death are going to die, mortal flesh will now live eternally because of Christ, who has taken on flesh and made his dwelling among us.

This empowers us! This is what sets us free to seek YHWH over the idols of this world.
This is what changes our heart’s affections to love the creator more than this creation and worship him above all gods.  This is what will lead our hearts to joyfully repent and be transformed more into our true selves… the beloved redeemed children of God…