Get Rid of Your Idols!

[Rev. Dr. Dorothy E. Hooks, PsyD]

 

Scripture: Deuteronomy 5:7

““You shall have no other gods before me.”

We will NEVER find God, until we ALLOW Him to strip away, EVERYTHING from our heart, that is competing with us finding Him; EVERY false thing, that the devil is using to keep us serving, and “enjoying,” instead of building a REAL relationship with God!! 

God said in Jeremiah 29:13 AMP: “Then [with a deep longing] you will seek Me and require Me [as a vital necessity] and [you will] find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.”

The NLT version of Jeremiah 29:13 says: “If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.”

We have allowed the cares of this life, to cause us not to seek, and worship God, for who He is; to cause us to turn our hearts towards THINGS and look to PEOPLE, instead of trusting and looking to God!! Mark 4:19 (NKJV) tells us about these cares: “and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.”

And 1 Peter 5:7 AMP tells us what to do with our cares, so the devil won’t be able to use them, to steal the Word from us: “casting all your cares [all your anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares about you [with deepest affection, and watches over you very carefully].”

It’s time to turn our hearts back to God!! It’s time to reconnect with God and let ALL things that have captured our hearts go!! God should be the MOST IMPORTANT PERSON in our lives, then our Families, and in third order of priority, should be our Church, then everything else!! We have gotten our priorities twisted!!  

Jesus said in Matthew 6:21 AMP, “for where your treasure is, there your heart [your wishes, your desires; that on which your life centers] will be also.”

Jesus goes on to say in verse 33, of Matthew 6, “But first and most importantly seek (aim at, strive after) His kingdom and His righteousness [His way of doing and being right—the attitude and character of God], and all these things will be given to you also.”

Jesus died for us; therefore, we should live for Him!! We have NEW LIFE, ABUNDANT LIFE, THOROUGH Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection!! Accepting Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior, means we accept God the Father, and God the Holy Spirit - The Trinity! 

We don’t accept Jesus and turn back to the world; to the way things were before Jesus!! We are NEW CREATIONS; our desires should NOT be for the things of the world, but for the things of God!! Since Jesus has restored our fellowship with God; Jesus HAS reconnected us with God but it’s up to us, to receive what Jesus has done!! It’s up to us, to seek God, asking Him to remove EVERY hinderance from us, that is stopping us from STAYING connected with Him!! 

Galatians 2:20 AMP says, “I have been crucified with Christ [that is, in Him I have shared His crucifixion]; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body I live by faith [by adhering to, relying on, and completely trusting] in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”

Colossians 3:1-5 AMP says, Therefore if you have been raised with Christ [to a new life, sharing in His resurrection from the dead], keep seeking the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. ² Set your mind and keep focused habitually on the things above [the heavenly things], not on things that are on the earth [which have only temporal value]. ³ For you died [to this world], and your [new, real] life is hidden with Christ in God. ⁴ When Christ, who is our life, [a]appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. ⁵ So put to death and deprive of power the evil longings of your earthly body [with its sensual, self-centered instincts] immorality, impurity, sinful passion, evil desire, and greed, which is [a kind of] idolatry [because it replaces your devotion to God].

Again, it’s time to get rid of EVERYTHING in our lives, that we have REPLACED our devotion to God for; EVERYTHING that we have placed on the throne of our hearts, where Jesus should be; EVERYTHING that we have made a god in our lives; EVERYTHING we have REPLACED the TRUE and LIVING God with!! 

Again, God said in Deuteronomy 5:7,““You shall have no other gods before me.” And said the same thing in Exodus 20:3, ““You shall have no other gods before me.”

Just because we are not under the Law anymore, but under grace through Christ (Romans 6:14 - NKJV), that does not mean we can have other gods or idols before God!! We are STILL supposed to obey God!! Paul says in Romans 6:1-4 NKJV,   “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? ² Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? ³ Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? ⁴ Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”

We will NEVER have TRUE Peace, until we get rid of ALL idols in our lives!! God makes it clear in Deuteronomy 5:7 (NIV) ““You shall have no other gods before me.”

And God says the same thing in Exodus 20:3 (NIV), ““You shall have no other gods before me.”

We CANNOT have peace, without the Prince of Peace, Jesus!! We will NEVER see God’s FULL Power, manifest, operate in our lives, until we let go of the false gods, and recognize, and embrace, the TRUE and LIVING God!! We CANNOT operate in the Power of God, without the Holy Spirit - He is God’s Power!!

Let’s tear down the altars, we have built up in our lives; those false gods of THINGS AND PEOPLE, and ANYTHING else, that we have put first place in our lives; we have put before the TRUE and LIVING God!! As the saying goes, “Let’s stop playing Church, and be the Church!!” Let’s be the Body of Christ; let’s do what God called us to do!! We each have a part to play, in advancing the Kingdom of God; in preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ!! 

1 Corinthians 12:12-27 NIRV says, ¹² “There is one body, but it has many parts. But all its many parts make up one body. It is the same with Christ. ¹³ We were all baptized by one Holy Spirit. And so we are formed into one body. It didn’t matter whether we were Jews or Gentiles, slaves or free people. We were all given the same Spirit to drink. ¹⁴ So the body is not made up of just one part. It has many parts.

¹⁵ Suppose the foot says, “I am not a hand. So I don’t belong to the body.” By saying this, it cannot stop being part of the body. ¹⁶ And suppose the ear says, “I am not an eye. So I don’t belong to the body.” By saying this, it cannot stop being part of the body. ¹⁷ If the whole body were an eye, how could it hear? If the whole body were an ear, how could it smell? ¹⁸ God has placed each part in the body just as he wanted it to be. ¹⁹ If all the parts were the same, how could there be a body? ²⁰ As it is, there are many parts. But there is only one body.

²¹ The eye can’t say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” ²² In fact, it is just the opposite. The parts of the body that seem to be weaker are the ones we can’t do without. ²³ The parts that we think are less important we treat with special honor. The private parts aren’t shown. But they are treated with special care. ²⁴ The parts that can be shown don’t need special care. But God has put together all the parts of the body. And he has given more honor to the parts that didn’t have any. ²⁵ In that way, the parts of the body will not take sides. All of them will take care of one another. ²⁶ If one part suffers, every part suffers with it. If one part is honored, every part shares in its joy.

²⁷ You are the body of Christ. Each one of you is a part of it.

Let’s make up our minds TODAY, to let go of EVERYTHING that is keeping us from giving God our WHOLE heart, allowing Jesus to take His rightful place in us, and Holy Spirit to lead us!! Let’s run after God (pursue God), seek God, like we have never sought Him before!! Ask Holy Spirit to help you; to show you where to begin, and how to begin, that is best for YOU!! We are all individuals, and God treat us as such - what works for me, does not work for you and vice versa. That is why, it is so very important, for you to get your revelation from Holy Spirit, on how to seek God! But first, ask Holy Spirit to show you the idols, and how to tear them down, so you can COMPLETELY surrender to God!! Again, it’s time!!

Two worship songs came to me, as I was writing this message and I have included them below. Listen to them and allow Holy Spirit to speak to you.

“Wide As The Sky” by Matt Redman 

“Like Never Before” by Shekinah Glory & William Murphy 

I pray Numbers 6:24-26 ESV over you all, and your families (I left the reference Scripture link to each verse, so you study these passages of Scripture, if you like): 

²⁴  The LORD a bless you and b keep you;

²⁵  the LORD c make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;

²⁶  the LORD d lift up his countenance (Or face) upon you and give you peace.

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In His Service,

Rev. Dr. Dorothy E. Hooks