The prophet Jeremiah was called around 627 B.C. and he prophesied for forty years against Judah. And he prophesied during the reign of Judah's last kings. And then when Judah was taken captive—the Southern Kingdom was taken captive in 586 B.C.—he was among the Jewish refugees that went down to Egypt. And, as far as we know, that's where he died. So he had a forty-year-reign of prophesying against the sins of Judah that we have a record of today.
And in Jeremiah chapters 7 through 10, they are often referred to as "The Message in the Temple Gate," those three chapters because, as we're going to see, Jeremiah was standing out in front of the gate and doing the prophesying. And that way anybody who came in would hear his prophecies. And the theme of Jeremiah 7 through 10, The Message at the Temple Gate, was the causes of God's judgment on Judah—what they were doing wrong.
So with that in mind, let's go to Jeremiah 7 and we'll begin in verse 1. And you might want to put a ribbon or a marker in your Bible because we'll be coming back to this from time to time. Jeremiah 7 and verse 1:
Jeremiah 7:1. The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, (KJV)
So this is a message that God spoke directly to Jeremiah. Verse 2 of Jeremiah 7, God told him:
Jeremiah 7:2. Stand in the gate of the Lord's house [Right in front of the Temple!], and proclaim there this word, [saying], (KJV)
Now this is the introduction for these three chapters, but it gets to the point very quickly.
Jeremiah 7:2b. …Hear the word of the [Eternal], all [you] of Judah, that enter in at these gates to worship the [Eternal]. (KJV)
They're coming to worship God and God has a message for them. Here's what He's telling them, verse 3:
Jeremiah 7:3. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel [First thing, He says], Amend your ways and your doings, (KJV)
Obviously, there was a problem, a bunch of problems! And God is saying, "I want you to amend your ways." He says:
Jeremiah 7:3b. …Amend your ways and your doings, and [He said, if you do,] I will cause you to dwell in this place. (KJV)
He's talking about Judah, Jerusalem, the Temple. He's saying, "If you amend your ways, then I'll let you stay here."
But notice verse 4. This is what we want to focus in on. Notice what He says!
Jeremiah 7:4. Trust [you] not in lying words, saying, (KJV)
Now He's telling them, "You say lying words and here's what they are." Now notice what He says that they're saying.
Jeremiah 7:4b. …The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, are these. (KJV)
Meaning: when they say, "The Temple of the Lord," three times, He said, 'These are lying words."
And when I read that I thought, "Okay. Why would God say this? What is He really referring to? And why are they 'lying words' and why was it going to lead to the destruction of Judah? What was God's point in bringing out the fact that they said, 'the Temple of the Lord, the Temple of the Lord, the Temple of the Lord'?"
So we're going to address that and investigate that in the sermon today. If you'd like a title, we'll just call it, The Temple, The Temple, The Temple as a reminder.
The First Point that is obvious when you study into this and study those chapters and study the history of Judah's fall and Israel's fall before that, the First Point is that:
I. Judah thought the Temple would save them.
The fact that the Temple was there and that God was in the Temple, they thought that building, as long as that building was there they were safe.
Now remember Judah had seen the defeat of Israel and the captivity of the Northern Kingdom. That happened 721 to 718 B.C. Their ancestors had seen that and had witnessed that. And obviously the history of that was well known in the nation of Judah, but Judah made the mistake of thinking that as long as they had the Temple that God would not allow them to suffer the same fate; God would not allow them to be taken captive as He did with the northern ten tribes. And therefore, they were saying, "The Temple, The Temple, The Temple, that's what's going to save us!"
They believed that because the Temple was in Jerusalem that they would always be protected no matter what their conduct. They didn't have to change. As long as the Temple was here, "We're safe. As long as the Temple is here, we're not going into captivity."
Now let's just stop here and look at another prophet that warned them also. And he was in place many years before that. He was a contemporary of Isaiah. And that prophet is the prophet Micah. So you can keep your marker here in Jeremiah and we'll turn over to the Book of Micah. Now Micah prophesied against Judah. You can read that in Micah 1 and verse 1. He prophesied approximately seventy years before Jeremiah did. And Micah prophesied between roughly 752 and 697 B.C. So Judah fifty years before had had plenty of warning from Micah before Jeremiah began his prophecy. So let's look at Micah 3 and verse 11. Notice what the prophet Micah says—exactly the same warning! Notice Micah 3 verse 11:
Micah 3:11. The heads thereof judge for reward, (KJV)
The heads of the nations, the judges, they judge to get a bribe.
Micah 3:11b. …and the priests thereof teach for hire, (KJV)
They teach God's Word for money!
Micah 3:11 continued. …and the prophets thereof divine [or prophesy] for money: (KJV)
Now notice this!
Micah 3:11 continued. …yet will they lean upon the Lord, and say, Is not the Lord among us? (KJV)
Meaning: "In the Temple. "The Temple is here. Is not God among us?"
Micah 3:11 continued. … [no] evil can come upon us. (KJV)
"Because the Temple's here! And we can be false prophets for money. We can be hirelings in the priesthood. We can be judges that are corrupt and it doesn't make any difference because the Temple's here and God is not going to allow us to have the same fate as the northern ten tribes." And, as a result, Judah would not change! Despite God's warnings, they would not change.
Now let's go to Micah chapter 6 and we're going to read verses 10 through 15. Notice how wickedly evil they are. Micah 6 verse 10:
Micah 6:10. Are there yet the treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked, (KJV)
Referring to Judah! "You have treasures of wickedness in your own house!" And I'm reading out of the King James.
Micah 6:10b. …and the scant [The Hebrew word means "short."] measure that is abominable? (KJV)
Meaning their balances and their measures were off in order to steal money from people. Verse 11:
Micah 6:11. Shall I count them pure with the wicked balances, and with the bag of deceitful weights? (KJV)
And you know the balances that they had. You put weights on one side and whatever you are measuring in the other. And if you had false weights, then you could cheat people with deceitful weights. Verse 12:
Micah 6:12. For the rich men thereof are full of violence, and the inhabitants thereof have spoken lies, and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth. (KJV)
This is the state of Judah long before Jeremiah prophesied. They had plenty of warning. Verse 13:
Micah 6:13. Therefore also will I make [you] sick in smiting [you], in making [you] desolate because of [your] sins.
14) [You shall] eat, but not be satisfied; and [your] casting down shall be in the [middle] of [you]; and [you shall] take hold, [and shall] not deliver; and that which [you deliver] will I give up to the sword. (KJV)
He's warning them. "The sword is coming if you don't amend your ways." Verse 15:
Micah 6:15. [You shall] sow, but [you shall] not reap; [you shall] tread the olives, but [you shall] not anoint [yourself] with [the] oil; and [you'll have] sweet wine, but [you're not going to] drink [that] wine. (KJV)
"You won't be around to do it because you'll be in captivity." And He warned them and warned them and warned them. God told them what He wanted.
We're here in chapter 6, look at verse 6 through 8, very familiar Scripture. This is what God wanted Judah to do. God says:
Micah 6:6. [Wherein] shall I come before the Lord, and bow [down] myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? (KJV)
They're talking about the Temple. "Is this is what is going to—I can behave wickedly as long as I just bring these calves and sacrifice them? I can do what I want as long as the Temple's here and I drag those sacrifices in and they slit the throats and then everything's fine." Verse 7:
Micah 6:7. Will the [Eternal] be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I [even] give my firstborn for my [sin], the fruit of my body for the sin of my [life]? (KJV)
Notice verse 8. This is what God wanted.
Micah 6:8. He [has] showed [you], O man, what is good; and what [does] the [Eternal] require of [you], but to do justly, (KJV)
Be fair! No corrupt weights. No deceitfulness. No bribing. No wrong judgment based on money.
Micah 6:8b. …and to love mercy, (KJV)
To be merciful to those who are less fortunate, to be merciful to those who are in trouble.
Micah 6:8 continued. …and to walk [with humility before your] God? (KJV)
Not exalting the self! That's what God wanted. And if Judah had done that, they would not have suffered the way they suffered. And yet, despite all of the warnings, despite all of their sins, Judah thought that because the Temple was in Jerusalem that God would save them and not leave them. That's the First Point.
Now we get to the Second Point. We bring it down to the modern day. And in the modern day Church of God—this is Point Number Two:
II. In the modern day Church of God, people think that a corporation or that the leader of the corporation or the administration or the hierarchy of the corporation is going to save them.
People believe that!
We just talked about it's been twenty-five years since Mr. Armstrong's death. And yet, in years past many thought the Worldwide Church of God and Mr. Armstrong personally would save them. That "As long as the Church was there—God wouldn't do away with the Church—as long as Mr. Armstrong was there—God wouldn't do away with Mr. Armstrong—as long as we stay where we are, we can do whatever we want; we don't have to look after ourselves; we don't have to change ourselves and we'll just all march into the Kingdom of God together." That was kind of the common understanding in the fifties, sixties, and seventies of the Worldwide Church of God.
And I'll tell you I've heard preached, "God will never allow Mr. Armstrong to die." I've heard that preached several times. I've heard preached, "This is God's Church. He will never allow the Worldwide Church of God to fall or to fail." Heard that preached many times.
And I've heard people, when you go back and went to the campuses, Big Sandy or Pasadena—and it was a wonderful place! The lawns were manicured. The buildings were just perfect. You saw all the bushy-tailed kids running around smiling and happy. And it was just like a breath of fresh air when you walked onto the campus. There was a sense of peace. And people could look around—like the Jews did—and we could look around and say, "Look at the auditorium! Look at the hall of administration. Look at all the dormitories and look at the track and all the landscaping and the beautiful lawns! Look at all of that! And, as long as this is here, we're safe! As long as this is here, we have an entry into the Kingdom of God."
And, as I told you here—I don't know—a year or so ago, a man told me, this was on the campus at Pasadena. He was a worker at Pasadena. He said, "If Mr. Armstrong told me to kill someone, I would." And I was just shocked. And he said, "Well, I would do it because I knew it came from God." And I thought, "Okay, now wait a minute. A man tells you to kill somebody. The Bible tells you not to. Now who are you going to believe?" Well, people were making a "god" out of Mr. Armstrong or were putting him in front of God's Word. Many people did that.
And yet, we look now, in twenty-five years of hindsight, look at what God caused to happen or allowed to happen to the Worldwide Church of God. Look what happened.
And today, twenty-five years later roughly, people are making exactly the same mistake! You would think we would have learned! We look at the demise of the northern ten tribes. We look at the demise of Judah. We look at the demise in the Worldwide Church of God and you think we would have learned that lesson and, yet, today people are making exactly the same mistake!
I've heard say from the pulpit of other groups, "If you are with us, you will be saved because we are the only ones going to the Place of Safety. If you look to us or you look to me, then you've got it made." I heard a good friend of mine several years ago said, "I have a leg up on the Kingdom of God as long as I stay with" and he named the name of a man. "Because I stay with this person, I've got a leg up on the Kingdom of God." And I've heard say just two or three years ago, a minister said, "We are the only ones God is dealing with!" And so when somebody says that, then they're implying that "Look, if you're not with us, God's not with you. And you're not going to be saved. You're not going to go to the Place of Safety. You're a reprobate."
And today God's people make a similar error that Judah did and that Israel did and the folks in the Church in the fifties and sixties and seventies did by putting the sayings of a man before God.
I mean a leader said here a few years ago, "You can't speak to your relatives and friends in the Church if they are not part of" a particular group. Now that's not what the Bible says, but yet people put the sayings of a man before what God says. Just like the man that said, "I would kill." And we make the same mistake if we put the words of a man before God's Words. You can't find that concept in the Bible.
But rather, we see Christ saying something completely different. Let's go to Luke chapter 21. We're talking about the modern day Church making exactly the same mistakes that Judah made—"The Temple, the Temple, the Temple!" Luke 21, we're going to read verses 34 through 36. Christ says this; He's giving us a warning. He says:
Luke 21:34. take heed to yourselves, (KJV)
Now He's not saying, "Okay, group. Okay, fellowship. You take heed." He says:
Luke 21:34. [You yourself take heed] lest at any time your hearts… (KJV)
Individually! Not a group. Individually!
Luke 21:34b. …your hearts be overcharged… (NKJ)
The King James says, "surfeiting." The New King James says, "carousing."
Luke 21:34 continued. …and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you [individually] unawares. (KJV)
This is what Les was talking about in his sermonette. This is the warning. And it's an individual warning. He's not talking to a—can you imagine God talking to a humanly manufactured corporation? That is just so ridiculous! God is saying, "You individually," each one of us.
Verse 35:
Luke 21:35. For as a snare [that] shall come on all [of] them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.
36) Watch [you] therefore, and pray always, that [you individually] may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man. (KJV)
Now the English two words "accounted worthy" is one Greek word that means to be judged worthy. And we know—Peter tells us. We won't turn there 1 Peter 4 and verse 17. What does he say? "Judgment is now on the house of God," on the Church of God.
And He's saying, "You take heed so that you may be judged by Jesus Christ who is the Chief Judge, you might be worthy to avoid the horrors that come." He's referring to individuals and not a group. And we need to get that through our heads.
We will be judged by what we do according to our deeds. Let's go to Galatians 6 verses 7 and 8 as a reminder. I know you know this, but Judah didn't know it. Many people in the Worldwide Church of God didn't know it. Israel didn't know it. And too many people don't know it today. Galatians 6 verses 7 and 8, we are told again, warned:
Galatians 6:7. Be not deceived; (KJV)
When Les was talking about hypothermia, you get confused. You can't think straight. And we're being warned!
Galatians 6:7. [Don't be] deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man [or a woman sows], that shall he [or she] also reap. (KJV)
That law is there. Nothing's changed.
Verse 8:
Galatians 6:8. For he that [sows] to his flesh shall of [his] flesh reap corruption; but he that [sows] to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. (KJV)
We have to make that part of our mind and our very being. We can't forget that!
Let's go back to Acts chapter 26. And we're going to look at two verses where Paul is talking to King Agrippa and notice the point that he makes. Acts 26, we're going to read verses 19 and 20. I'll read it out of the New King James. It's more clear, Acts 26 verse 19, Paul says:
Acts 26:19. "Therefore, King Agrippa, I [referring to himself—Paul] was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, (NKJ)
He had previously described that. Verse 20:
Acts 26:20. "but declared first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem, and throughout all the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, [This is what he declared:] that they should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance. (NKJ)
Due to works as a demonstration of the fact that they had repented! This is all God wanted, when He inspired the prophet Micah in chapter 6 that we just read, to do, turn repent and bring forth individual works—what we do in our lives—to show that we have changed course, that we've turned around.
In looking to the Temple and looking to an administration and looking to a man for our salvation is one thing. It is idolatry! And we've all committed idolatry. We cannot do that! As they looked to the Temple, that was an idol. As we look to an administration or a corporation or a board or an individual for our salvation, that is putting some man or some group or some organization in front of God and that is idolatry! We have to get that message through our head.
The New Testament Church was warned about that in 1 Corinthians 10 and verse 14. Let's read this verse. I know we've read it before, but let's read this verse with the background of the Temple, the Temple, the Temple and understand that there is a tendency for human beings to worship men. And we're told not to do that. 1 Corinthians 10 and verse 14:
1 Corinthians 10:14. Wherefore, my dearly beloved, (KJV)
Paul says what? 1 Corinthians 10 verse 14:
1 Corinthians 10:14b. …flee from idolatry [he says]. (KJV)
That is Strong's 1495. And it's the Greek word eidololatreia (i-do-lol-at-ri'-ah). And it means the worship of false gods. That's one of the meanings.
When we think of idolatry, we think of a statue or something and people are bowing down to it. But we can worship false gods in our head. We can put our trust in humans or organizations and it becomes idolatry. You don't have to bow down to something of wood or stone to commit idolatry. We can commit idolatry by putting anything in front of God.
So, the Second Point is:
II. The modern day Church tends to think that a human or a corporation or an administration will save them.
And that is idolatry! Because only God saves! Only Christ saves!
That leads us to the Third Point.
III. God has in the past and will today and in the future destroy every idol we put in front of Him.
I'll say that again.
III. God has in the past, He is today, and will in the future destroy every idol that we, His people, put in front of Him.
The Biblical record is consistent with this concept—God destroying idols. We won't turn there, but you know the story in Genesis 11 about the Tower of Babel. They constructed this tower because they wanted to get up to God's level. They wanted to be God. They thought by building this tower they could march up to heaven and be God. "And it will get us to heaven. It will get us to God."
And you know what God did? God confused the languages. And all of a sudden the work stopped. People couldn't communicate. Gradually they dispersed. The ones that had similar languages went off one direction. Others went off in another direction.
And that gigantic tower just sat there! And over time, with erosion and wind and weather, it gradually just fell to nothing. And it was a graphic demonstration to the civilized world at the time. Coming at that time, it was a graphic demonstration that "Your idols mean nothing to Me. Your idols aren't going to do anything." And history said that that tower did become an idol to the people.
And that tower—just my speculation—was the forerunner of the obelisk. And we see it today in St. Peter's Square. We see it today in Washington, D.C. We see it in church steeples. All probably goes back to that tower. It was an idol pointing to heaven, a physical thing that's going to "get us to heaven and is going to save us." God destroyed the Tower of Babel.
If we look at ancient Israel, God destroyed all the idols of Egypt when they were in captivity before they came through the Red Sea. God, if you look at that and look at that account, virtually every plague that came on Egypt destroyed one of their idols—the flies, the frogs, the river. They all worshiped those. They were their idols. And God is saying, "Unh huh. I'm going to destroy them right in front of your eyes." And He did. He absolutely did.
Then God destroyed Israel's idol after they came through the Red Sea, after all those miracles. Moses went up to the mountain—the thunder and the lightening over the mountain and all of that. And guess what? As soon as he was gone, what did Israel do? They turned and they made themselves an idol.
Let's go to Exodus chapter 32 and read the first six verses. It is just amazing that human nature, carnality will turn to an idol every time! Exodus 32 verse 1, Moses went up to the mountain. He didn't come back when the people thought he should come back. And now there is a problem. Exodus 32 verse 1:
Exodus 32:1. And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the [mountain], the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, (KJV)
What did they say?
Exodus 32:1b. Up, make us gods, (KJV)
Now you would think that's just so stupid on the front end because they'd seen the miracles of the Red Sea. They'd seen all the miracles of the plagues. God had brought them through miracle after miracle." And they say, "No, we want you to make us with your own hands, make us a god that we can bow down and worship."
Exodus 32:1 continued. …make us gods, which shall go before us; [because as] for as for this [guy] Moses, [this] man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt,
Well, they should know that no man performed those miracles.
Exodus 32:1 continued. …this man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we [don't] know what's become of him.
So Aaron made a real bad judgment call—really bad. He said in verse 2:
Exodus 32:2b. Break off [all your] golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me.
3) [And he says] And all the people [did just as he said. They broke] off [their] earrings [from] their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. (KJV)
And in verse 4:
Exodus 32:4. And he received them at their hand, fashioned [them] with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, [This is our god] These be [our] gods, O Israel, which brought [you] up out of the land of Egypt. (KJV)
These things didn't even exist back then! And yet, they're falling down, falling all over themselves to worship something that was just freshly made. Go figure!
Verse 5:
Exodus 32:5. And when Aaron saw it, (KJV)
He made another big mistake!
Exodus 32:5b. …he built an altar before it; and made [a] proclamation, [saying], To morrow is a feast to the Lord. (KJV)
Now maybe in his mind, he was trying to turn them and remind them of God, but that was pretty lame really. Verse 6:
Exodus 32:6. And they rose up early [in the morning, the next morning], offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, (KJV)
The King James says they "rose up to play." The New International says, "They rose up to indulge in revelry"—to party, to corrupt themselves—drinking, fornicating and all that they did that day.
Now let's stop here and ask the question: What did God do to this idol? He's destroyed every one that we've talked about before. What did God do? Look at verses 19 and 20.
Exodus 32:19. And it came to pass, as soon as he [referring to Moses] came [near] unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses' anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and [broke] them beneath the [mountain or at the foot of the mountain]. (KJV)
Verse 20, notice what he did.
Exodus 32:20. And he took the calf which they had made, [he] burnt it in the fire, [he] ground it to powder, (KJV)
The King James says, "and strawed". The New King James says, "He scattered it upon the water and made the children of Israel to drink it." So here they had this water flecked with little pieces of gold and each person had to take one or more drinks of this water.
Now think about twenty-four hours later. We know the Israelites when they had to relieve themselves had their little paddle. They went out and dug a little hole and squatted down and relieved themselves. Now think about this. I believe this happened. You look at the residue that you've just deposited in the soil and what if you see little flecks of gold there? I believe they did. Now what does that say about the idol that they were just worshipping? It's in their own poop!
And God is doing that as a graphic representation of what idols are to Him! They mean nothing. They stink! Think about that. God is saying, "Look at your idol now. Where is your idol now?" He's teaching them a lesson.
Then God destroyed the idols of the Philistines as an example, when they stole the ark, when they captured the ark, rather. Let's go to 1 Samuel 5 and read the first four verses. We're talking about God destroying every idol we put in front of Him. The Bible is replete with example after example after example. 1 Samuel 5 first verse, it tells us:
1 Samuel 5:1. …the Philistines took the ark of God, and [they] brought it from Ebenezer unto Ashdod. (KJV)
Verse 2 of 1 Samuel 5:
1 Samuel 5:2. When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon [their prime god], and set it by Dagon [as a trophy]. (KJV)
"Look at this offering we're bringing you, Dagon."
1 Samuel 5:3. And when they of Ashdod arose early the [next day], behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of the [God]. (KJV)
Like Dagon was now bowing himself before the ark. And so the people said, "Well, maybe the foundation here where we put Dagon's statue was unstable and maybe there was an earthquake or a little disturbance and he fell. Well:
1 Samuel 5:3b. …they took Dagon, and set him in his place again.
4) And [they arose early on the [next] morning, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the [Eternal]; (KJV)
But notice what else happened!
1 Samuel 5:4b. …and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold; only the stump of Dagon was left to him. (KJV)
So obviously God was teaching them a lesson. And God is saying, "Okay, look at your idol now. Where's your idol?" He's teaching them a lesson.
Then guess what happened? Remember the Jews in Jeremiah's day said, "The Temple of the Lord, the Temple of the Lord, the Temple of the Lord." What happened in 70 AD? The Temple of the Lord was totally destroyed. There wasn't one stone on top of another. Absolutely destroyed!
And in those days prior to that destruction, Jews would travel hundreds, sometimes thousands of miles under very arduous conditions—travel wasn't what it is today—just to see the Temple once in their lifetime! To go and what? Idolize the Temple, bow down in the Temple. They idolized not God. They idolized the building. And they would go and sacrifice and travel hardship after hardship just to go and look at the building that would save them as long as it was there.
Now notice what Christ said in Luke 21. We'll read verses 5 and 6. You know what He said. This is the parallel of Matthew 24. And Christ was standing in front of the Temple, Luke 21 verse 5 and notice:
Luke 21:5. as some spoke of the temple [the building], how it was adorned with goodly stones and gifts, (KJV)
They're saying, "Oh! It's so beautiful inside. It just shines in the sun and the gold is glimmering in the sunshine. Look at this building! Look at this edifice! Look at this thing," they were saying.
Luke 21 now, verse 6:
Luke 21:6. As for these things which [you] behold, [Christ is saying,] the days will come, in the which there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. (KJV)
And when that happened, do you know what Christ is saying to all of us? "Look at your God now! Look at your idol now? Where is your idol? It's just a pile of rubble. Look at it!"
God destroyed the Worldwide Church of God. People looked at the campuses and the buildings and the administration and this beautiful auditorium. We had a campus in England, and then one in Big Sandy, and one in Pasadena, and all of that is gone. It's not rubble like the Temple, but it's been sold off. It's carnal people who have nothing to do with God now own all of that. And the Worldwide Church of God is gone. They may claim to be part of it, but they're not. It's all gone!
And guess what God is saying to all of us? "Look at your idol now? Where is your idol? It doesn't exist." Dagon was broken. The golden calf was ground up into powder. The Temple was a pile of rubble. And we look at what many people worshiped back in those days and even today, where is it today? It's gone.
So the Third Point: We've seen that down through history, God has totally destroyed all the idols that His people attempted to worship. He's destroyed every one of them! There's a lesson there.
Now that leads us to the Fourth Point. God now is in the process of destroying the biggest idol of all. Now think about that. God is in the process today in our lives, our individual lives, of destroying the biggest idol of all. And what is the biggest idol of all? What is it? Is it Satan? Is it the United States of America? What is it?
IV. The biggest idol of all is the self.
That is the biggest idol of all. Look at Luke 14 and read verse 26. We're here in chapter 21. Let's go back. Notice what Christ said. We call Luke 14 the chapter of "Counting the Cost." And this is a chapter we go over when people are counseling for baptism. Something we should all remember. Luke 14 verse 26, He says:
Luke 14:26. If any man… (KJV)
The word "man" is in italics. It says:
Luke 14:26. [If anybody comes] to me, and [hates] not his father, (KJV)
Now the Greek word for "hate" is Strong's number 3404. And it's the Greek word miseo (mis-eh'-o). And it means, according to Zodhiates, to love less—to love less.
And so Christ is saying:
Luke 14:26. [If anybody comes] to me, and [does not love less] his father, and [his] mother, and wife, and [his] children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and [love less, if he doesn't love less] his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. (KJV)
We must love less ourselves and we have to put God first instead of ourselves first.
Notice Colossians 3 and verse 5. God is telling us, Christ is telling us, the apostles are telling us that if we put ourselves before God, it is idolatry. Just like Judah did with the Temple. Colossians 3 verse 5, I'll read it out of the New King James.
Colossians 3:5. Therefore put to death… (NKJ)
Christ says, "You've got to love less."
Colossians 3:5b. …put to death [in] your members which are on the earth: (NKJ)
He says, "Put to death:"
Colossians 3:5 continued. …fornication, [put to death] uncleanness, [put to death] passion, [and] evil desire, and covetousness, [all of] which [are] idolatry. (NKJ)
If we put out passions, our lusts, our pride, our covetousness before God, that is idolatry. And anytime we do that, we're putting our desires before God and we're committing idolatry. We've got to get this concept in our heads. When we break the Law and put our desires, our wishes, our wants in front of God, we not only break that specific law, but we also commit idolatry because we're putting ourselves in front of God.
Now that was true then. It is true today. And it was true in the Old Testament. Let's go back to 1 Samuel 15. We know that as the chapter where Saul was instructed in great detail by Samuel to destroy the Amalekites, to kill the kids and the women and the children and all of that, very specific instructions. Saul obviously did not do that. He was rebellious. 1 Samuel 15 verse 23, notice this from the standpoint of idolatry and what we've covered so far. Samuel says to Saul:
1 Samuel 15:23. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, (KJV)
We would run away and flee anybody who tried to get us into witchcraft. We would just run away from that. He says rebellion is the same as that. He says:
1 Samuel 15:23. …rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness… (KJV)
Meaning: I want my way!
1 Samuel 15:23b. ..stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. (KJV)
If we are so stubborn we have to have our way and it conflicts with God's way, we're saying, "I'm more important than God! My desires are more important than God's desires."
He goes on to say:
1 Samuel 15:23 continued. Because [you have] rejected the word of the [Eternal], (KJV)
In other words, put your desire, what you wanted in front of God's Word
1 Samuel 15:23 continued. …he [has] rejected [you] from being king. (KJV)
He rejected Judah from their land and He destroyed the Temple because they put themselves in front of God. They committed idolatry.
An alternate translation for "stubbornness" is arrogance. Meaning: I'm up here. I can decide what I want. Translated into Laodicea that Les talked about earlier, "I have need of nothing. Nobody's going to tell me what to do. Nobody's going to put their wishes in front of mine, especially God. I'm going to do what I want to do. I'll obey a man rather than God." And it basically means, "I want my way and, if it conflicts with God's way, well I guess that's just too bad." Now we don't say that to ourselves, but when we stubbornly put our way in front of what we know is God's way as spelled out in His Word, we commit idolatry. We're guilty of stubbornness.
If we idolize the self, God will knock us down so far and so completely that we must finally come to the place of "Who comes first me or God?" He knocked the Temple down to rubble. Worldwide Church of God, all those buildings and all of that had nothing to do with God or God's way or God's Church. And we must decide at some point—God's going to knock us down and knock us down and knock us down—we must finally decide, "Is it going to be my way or God's way?" God will bring us to that point. "Is it my way or is it God's way?" God will humble us so much that finally on our knees, world fallen down around our shoulders, we finally have to ask ourselves that question. Hopefully, we will wake up before that occurs.
But it's only taken me forty-five years in the Church to learn this. And I've only learned it in the last year or two—three. That if I put my way in front of God's way, my way doesn't work. And I finally realized that my way doesn't work. My way will ultimately hurt other people. And I finally realized that my way leads to sin and to anguish and to upset and to turmoil. As I said, it only took me forty-five years to learn that. I hope you learn it a lot sooner than I did, but some of us are more stubborn than others and thick-headed. Only God's way works! And I've finally come to see that that I don't want anything pertaining to me to be part of the equation. I want God to take us by the hand and take me by the hand and take all of us by the hand and lead us in the way He wants us to go because our thoughts, our ways are futile compared to God and His way. Only God's way works.
Look at 2 Corinthians 6 and verse 16. Now the Corinthian Church had a mixture of Jews and Gentiles. And Paul is addressing the Church and the Jews would absolutely very quickly understand what he's talking about here in verse 16. 2 Corinthians 6 verse 16, he's saying:
2 Corinthians 6:16. And what agreement [has] the temple of God with idols? (KJV)
Well, the Jews would immediately say, "Well, there's no agreement with God's Temple and idols." And they had the history of Antiochus Epiphanes putting an idol in the very Temple of God. They understood that. That didn't happen that long ago. And so the Jews would immediately know what God was talking about. What agreement has the Temple of God with idols? And what Paul is doing to them is he's now going to throw a switch here. And everybody would say, "God's Temple? There's no concord. There's no unity. There's no walking together with an idol sitting in God's Temple." And then what Paul does is say this. He says:
2 Corinthians 6:16b. …for [you] are the temple of the living God; (KJV)
Forget about the building! Things have changed now. Christ has come and sacrificed Himself. And He has arisen.
2 Corinthians 6:16 continued. … [you now] are the temple of the living God; [and] as God said, I will dwell in them [rather than the Temple] … I will be their God, (KJV)
As He used to be Judah's and Israel's God, but no more!
2 Corinthians 67:16 continued. …and they shall be my people. (KJV)
"Because they are My Temple and I reside in them." It was a huge shift in their viewpoint. Don't look at the Temple. "Change yourself because I am residing in you."
And so we must realize this Fourth Point that whatever we put before God is an idol and He will ultimately remove it and have us face that fact. And it's happened to me. I had two idols when God called me and He took away both of them in the space of one year—very painfully! And I decided to myself that I was going to do this or do that in front of this calling. And God took them both away very painfully. God will do that to all of us. And going forward, if we put something in front of Him, He's going to knock it down, knock us down until we ask the question finally, come to ourselves and say, "Am I going to do God's way? Am I going to follow God? Or am I going to follow what I want?" So that's the Fourth Point.
IV. God is going to take away those idols.
Fifth, Last Point:
V. We must focus on God and Christ and repent of putting anything in front of them.
Our focus must be on God and Christ. And we must repent of doing anything, putting anything in front of Them.
Now let's go back to Jeremiah. We read that earlier, but let's go back to chapter 4 of Jeremiah. Remember God said to them through Jeremiah, "Amend your ways." Let's reread Jeremiah 7 and verse 4. He said:
Jeremiah 7:4. Trust [you] not in lying words, saying, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, (KJV)
Now let me just read a couple of sentences from the Nelson King James Study Bible. It's a note on Jeremiah 7 and verse 4.
Jeremiah's God-given message was straightforward. The physical presence of the Temple was no guarantee that judgment would not come upon Jerusalem. God's wrath against Judah's sins could only be averted through a genuine repentance that would be reflected in their total lives.
Remember what we read earlier? We reap what we sow. It's what we do. We must bring forth deeds that demonstrate the fact that we've repented.
God is saying to them and is saying to us now, "Instead of trusting in the Temple"—they're without excuse—He said, "Instead of trusting in the Temple, here's what you need to be doing." Notice the very next verse, Jeremiah 7 verse 5. Notice what He said. There's some gigantic "ifs" here.
Jeremiah 7:5. if [you] thoroughly amend your ways and your doings; (KJV)
He had said that earlier.
Jeremiah 7:5b. …if [you] thoroughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbor; (KJV)
No false balances. No false scales.
Jeremiah 7:6. If [you] oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, (KJV)
Take advantage of them for your own gain.
Jeremiah 7:6b. …and shed not innocent blood in this place [Temple grounds], neither walk after other gods to your hurt (KJV)
Now all of these are repeated in the New Testament. We don't have time to go through them, but each one of these "ifs" is repeated in the New Testament in many places. So those principles still hold true in the Old and in the New.
He says:
Jeremiah 7:6 continued. if you neither walk after other gods to your hurt (KJV)
"Then" verse 7, if you do all these things, He says:
Jeremiah 7:7. Then I will cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever. (KJV)
"Behold" verse 8:
Jeremiah 7:8. [You] trust in lying words, (KJV)
"The Temple of the Lord, the Temple of the Lord, the Temple of the Lord," which he just said in verse 4. He says:
Jeremiah 7:8. [You] trust in lying words, that cannot profit. (KJV)
And we better apply that to us today! If we're looking at a group or a man or an organization to save us, that is idolatry because God and Christ are the ones involved in that process and not a man and not a group.
Verse 9, He asks the question:
Jeremiah 7:9. Will [you] steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom [you] know not; (KJV)
He's asking the question.
Jeremiah 7:10. And come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered… (KJV)
Now the New International says, "We are safe to do all these abominations."
Why? "Because the Temple's here! And we can behave in just about any way we want or we can compromise on God's Word or we can slide," as Les was pointing out. "Slide on the Sabbath or slide on the Holy Days or slide morally in other ways, but as long as we're warming a seat here, as long as we have this group, as long as we have this individual, everything is fine." Just like Judah thought!
God said, "Are you going to do all these abominations and then think you're safe? You're going to be delivered?"
Verse 11:
Jeremiah 7:11. Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it, [says] the [Eternal]. (KJV)
And God looks down upon all of us and watches. And we have to ask ourselves, "Is God seeing this in our lives? Is God seeing this in the lives of His people around the earth?" Because it's an individual thing! Now obviously we should not be following leaders who sin. We should not be following those who set an unchristian example. That's our part too, but we also have to clean up our own lives and make sure we're not putting idols in front of God.
Look what is prophesied in the last days. Let's go to 2 Timothy 3 and verses 1 and 2. 2 Timothy 3 verses 1 and 2, we've read this so many times, but read this from the standpoint of idolatry. 2 Timothy 3 verse 1:
2 Timothy 3:1. This know that in the last days perilous times shall come. (KJV)
What is the first thing that Paul says to this young minister?
2 Timothy 3:2. For men [and women] shall be lovers of their own selves, (KJV)
Meaning they will put themselves in front of God.
The is the first thing that he mentions, "Perilous times, trouble in the last days, people are going to put themselves before God, ties into Revelation 3—"I have need of nothing. Nobody's going to tell me what to do."
Let's go to Philippians 2 and we're going to read verses 20 and 21. Paul saw this firsthand in his own life. He had people turn aside and turn away. Les was talking about—he mentioned, "Well, we've seen people that turned away. Gotten hypothermia and just left." Philippians 2 verse 20:
Philippians 2:20. For I have no man likeminded, who will naturally care for your state. (KJV)
"I have nobody with the love of God in their heart. They've all left!" Why? Because they're concerned about themselves! Not about you. Not about following God. They're concerned about themselves.
Verse 21:
Philippians 2:21. For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ's. (KJV)
They're putting their own in front of Jesus Christ. That is idolatry. We have to understand that. Then, let's go to 2 Peter chapter 2 and verses 9 through 13. There are Scripture after Scripture after Scripture in the Bible that talks about us committing spiritual idolatry by putting some being or some organization or putting ourselves most importantly in front of God and Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 2 verse 9:
2 Peter 2:9. The Lord [knows] how to deliver the godly out of temptations [or trial or tests], [but also He knows how] to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished: (KJV)
It goes both ways. Those who follow God can be rescued. Those who put themselves first are going to be punished.
Verse 10:
2 Peter 2:10. But chiefly them that walk after the flesh (KJV)
In other words, they don't walk after God and Jesus Christ, they walk after their own flesh. And what is that?
2 Peter 2:10b. …in the lust of uncleanness, and [they] despise government. (KJV)
The Greek means "one who possesses dominion or authority." They despise those.
2 Peter 2:10 continued. Presumptuous are they, (KJV)
Notice this word!
2 Peter 2:10 continued. …self-willed, (KJV)
They want their will before God's will.
2 Peter 2:10 continued. …they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities. (KJV)
Or people that have a certain job. Verse 11:
2 Peter 2:11. Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, (KJV)
They don't do these things! He says:
2 Peter 2:11b. … [they] are greater in power and might, [but they won't] bring [a] railing accusation [or an accusatory statement] against them before the [Eternal].
12) But these [referring to those who put themselves before God], [they're] natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things they [don't] understand; (KJV)
We've seen that—people talking about things that have gone on. They weren't there. They didn't hear it with their own ears or see it with their own eyes, but they just speak out as though they're authorities on the subject, condemn others.
2 Peter 2:12b. … speak evil of the things they [don't] understand; [Notice!] and shall utterly perish in their own corruption; (KJV)
Verse 13:
2 Peter 2:13. And shall receive the reward of [the unrighteous], as they that count it pleasure to riot… (KJV)
Meaning basically to break God's Commandments! What did ancient Israel do in front of the golden calf? They rioted. They partied. They went back—we would say today, went back into the world.
He said:
2 Peter 2:13. [They] shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings… (KJV)
But notice this last phrase!
2 Peter 2:13b. …while they feast with you; (KJV)
Meaning, they're part of the Church! Now they may be tares. They may be clouds without water. They have been converted at one time and they're drifting away, but they are spots because they are self-willed and they commit idolatry.
Now this also applies to the ministry in case anybody doubts. Look at Isaiah 56 and we'll read verse 11. The ministry is not immune from this. Same thing, same thing can happen. Isaiah 56 and verse 11—pretty condemning language here—a prophecy for the ministry, down through the ages, down through the Millennium. Verse 11 of Isaiah 56:
Isaiah 56:11. [Yes], they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they look [What?] to their own way [putting their own way in front of God's way], every one for his gain [Not the gain of the Brethren, not the blessing of the people but their own gain!] from his quarter [from his viewpoint]. (KJV)
"Do what is best for me. Everybody else can take the hind end, but I'm going to take the choice part." And that has happened. We've all seen that.
God is telling us today that we all must repent of making ourselves an idol, putting ourselves in front of God. And God sometimes allows us to assert our will. He's allowed me to do it. He allows us to assert our will in front of His will and He allows us to do that so that we crash and burn and then He can teach us a lesson. And I've crashed and burned many times where I just knew I was right, jumped where angels fear to tread, walked into something, did what I felt was right and it turns out to be a total absolute disaster. You crash and you burn and finally you look up to God and say, "God, I’m tired of my own way. Please take me by the hand and show me what to do because I don't want my own way anymore."
We must come to the place Christ came the night He was taken, right before He was taken. Remember He was kneeling down and He was sweating great drops of blood because of the stress and tension that He was under. And what did He say? What did He tell us in Luke 22 and verse 42? We won't turn there. He said, "Not My will, but Your will be done." And before our life is over, whether we are around when Christ returns or whether we die sooner, but before God is through with us, we have to get to the point that Christ came to when He said, "Not My will, but Yours be done." And we will have trial and tests over and over again to see if we're going to do His will versus our will because God is not going to have somebody in His Kingdom that is selfish and self-willed. Those He allows in His Kingdom are the ones that say, "God, tell me what to do. I'll do it. Tell me what you want. I'll just on it because I know my way is nothing compared to You. My intelligence, my conversion, my love is nothing compared to Yours. So just take me by the hand and show me what You want me to do."
And let's understand that repentance form this attitude is a gift from God. 2 Peter 3 and verse 9. It is a gift. God has to give us repentance, the attitude of repentance, wanting to repent. 2 Peter 3 and verse 9, Peter is trying to tell God's people this. 2 Peter 3 verse 9, we're told:
2 Peter 3:9. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering toward… (KJV)
Who? Us, individually! God is longsuffering toward each one of us. He's talking to the firstfruits. He's talking to the firstfruits.
2 Peter 3:9b. … God is longsuffering toward us [the firstfruits], not willing that any [of us] should perish, but that all [of us] should come to… (KJV)
What?
2 Peter 3:9 continued. … repentance. (KJV)
Of who we are and what we are and of the idolatry that we've committed in the past! That's God's will that we see it and we change.
And then in Romans 2 and verse 4, we're told that it is God that leads us to repentance through His holy spirit, led us to repentance prior to our baptism by God's spirit being with us, leads us to repentance now by God dwelling in us as the Temple of the holy spirit. Romans 2 and verse 4:
Romans 2:4. Or [despise you] the riches of his goodness and forbearance… (KJV)
That means putting up with us.
Romans 2:4b. …and longsuffering; (KJV)
God has been so forbearing with me and so patient with me and suffered long with me and my attitudes and my thoughts for decades! And what Paul is telling the Romans, "Understand this! That God is patient and kind and gentle and puts up with us in our wrong directions and thoughts!"
Romans 2:4 continued. …not knowing that the goodness of God [leads you] to repentance [through the leading of His holy spirit]? (KJV)
Finally, we come to see! Now it took me over four decades to come to see this one thing. I look back at God and say, "How could you be so understanding and so kind and so gentle and being so longsuffering with me?" And then, you come to the message that "Well, okay. God wants me to be that way with everybody else. God wants all of us to be patient and kind and gentle and longsuffering and forbearing with each other because that's the way He is with us. And shame on us if we don't do that!
You see we've got to ask for the gift of repentance. If we don’t see it, if we have a blind spot, we must ask. We won't turn there, but in Matthew chapter 7, you know Christ's Sermon on the Mount. What did Christ say? He says, "Ask and it shall be given to you. Seek and you shall find. Knock and it shall be opened unto you." He says, "Do that. Ask, seek, knock." And then He goes on to say, "For every one that asks, everybody that asks is going to receive. Everybody that seeks is going to find. Everybody that knocks is going to have a door open." That's a promise from God. Do you want to have the mind of God? Do you want to repent of putting idols in front of God? Ask, seek, and knock.
And then He goes on to bring it down home where He says in Matthew 7 and beginning in verse 9, He says, "Which of you if your son asks you for bread, are you going to give him a snake?" And even a carnal father wouldn't do that! As imperfect as we are, we would never do that. And He says, "You being evil, imperfect"—evil as we all are—He says, "You know how to give good gifts to your children." We want to see our kids happy. We want to see them with a smile on their face and have joy. We want to see that. And what Christ is saying is "Look, if you know how to do that as imperfect human beings, how much more will your perfect heavenly Father do that to you if you ask?"
And if you go to God and say, "God, I'm tired of my way. I'm tired of stumbling and bumbling and getting slapped down and all of that. I want Your way to rule every part of my life. I want Your thoughts in my head. I want Your words in my mouth. I want Your deeds, what Christ would have done if He's in my shoes. I want to do exactly what Christ would do if He were in my shoes today." And if we ask for that gift, guess what? God will give it. He will give it to us.
Look at 1 John chapter 5 and verse 14. This is something, as we say, we can take to the bank. We can count on this. 1 John 5 and verse 14, we're told:
I John 5:14. …this is the confidence that we have in him, (KJV)
Absolute faith! Absolute confidence!
I John 5:14b. …that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he [hears] us: (KJV)
So we have to ask the question, "Is it God's will that we don't put idols in front of Him?" Well, of course! "Is it God's will that we don't idolize ourselves?" Well, of course! Well, then if we go to God and ask for the gift of repentance and the gift of sight to see where we do that and when we do it, then God is going to give that good gift to us because it is part of His will.
So like Judah and the Temple, the Temple, the Temple, like Judah if we don't amend our ways, we like them are going to be taken captive. Idolatry leads to captivity by Satan. Idolatry leads to captivity by sin. And they went into physical captivity, but if we look to the Temple or a man or an organization or we put ourselves in front of God, then we're going into captivity. Satan will take us captive. We will be captive to our own arrogance, our own pride and we will be ultimately destroyed. So let's understand that.
So now let's conclude. Let's wrap this up.
As we have seen the physical presence of the Temple was no guarantee that God's judgment would not come on Judah. And we know that it did. The Temple was there when the armies invaded. The Temple was there when the soldiers went in and started destroying things and burning things. The Temple's existence did not stop Judah from being destroyed and taken captive.
Neither is a corporate structure, neither is an administration, neither is a leader, nor are ourselves, if we make ourselves an idol. We can't save ourselves. We all know that, but sometimes when we put ourselves in front of God, we're making ourselves above God and we're doing our will. And we're saying in effect, "God, right now I don't need You." We cannot do that! All of these can become idols and no idol can save us. No idol can save us. Only God and only Jesus Christ!
Now look how the apostle John summed this up. We were in chapter 5. Look at the last verse of chapter 5, this First Epistle of John. I John 5 verse 21:
I John 5:21. Little children, (KJV)
Notice the last thing that he says!
I John 5:21. Little children, keep yourselves from idols. (KJV)
And then he closes the epistle by saying "Amen."
"Keep yourselves from idols." Now the Greek word for "idol" is the Greek word eidolon (i'-do-lon). And that's where we get the English word "idol". And it has two meanings. It means an image or a likeness. And that's what we tend to think about idols.
We're summarizing now. When we think of idols and for years in the Church, I thought of idols in the way the pagans did. They bowed down in front of a statue, something of wood or stone or carved out of gold or some precious metal. That's one meaning of the word eidolon.
But the other meaning is "a false god." And that is what applies to God's people today when we put a false god in front of the true God. And, as I said, we can idolize a man. We can idolize an organization. Or most of us have the biggest problem of idolizing ourselves. We're going to put our wishes, our desires in front of God and Jesus Christ.
So when you hear the word "The Temple, the Temple, the Temple," or "The organization the organization, the organization," or a man's name, a man's name, a man's name, let's just understand that that is Satan's effort to get God's people to turn to idols.
And let's just remember these last words of this epistle of the apostle John. "Little children"—and we're all little children to God—"keep yourselves from idols. Amen."
Transcribed by kb February 11, 2011