WHAT IDOL?
August 7, 2022
“When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’ ‘Well,’ they replied, ‘some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ Then He asked them, ‘But who do you say I am?’” – Matthew 16:13-15
Not only did Jesus love using visual aids, as we’ve discussed the last few days. Jesus also loved using probing questions as He taught. That is exactly what we see in Matthew 16. Here’s Jesus, in the vicinity of this massive limestone rock that was dedicated to pagan worship and idolatry, asking His disciples some probing questions.
His first probing question was more general in nature, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” His second question was more personal, “Who do YOU say that I am?” And what makes it even MORE personal than that is the fact that Jesus asks the same question of us today. Who do you say that Jesus is?
We may not be surrounded by false deities in the form of golden statues or pagan sanctuaries today, but we are still surrounded by things that draw our attention and our affections away from God. We are still surrounded by idols that we choose to make sacrifices to and choose to give our best to every single day.
But that is the thing…we don’t typically think of these things as idols. But the truth is, if we are giving our first and giving our best to something other than God, that thing is an idol.
Are you guilty of this? What do you put before God? It could be a relationship. It could be a bad habit or addiction. It could be your job. It could be money. There are an endless number of things that could have your attention and that could take your best away from God. But make no mistake about it. These things are idols when we put them first.
God wants you to shift your attention. Who do you say He is? Is He number one in your life? And if not, how come? What do you need to do to shift your priorities back to Him?
“When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’ ‘Well,’ they replied, ‘some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ Then He asked them, ‘But who do you say I am?’” – Matthew 16:13-15
Not only did Jesus love using visual aids, as we’ve discussed the last few days. Jesus also loved using probing questions as He taught. That is exactly what we see in Matthew 16. Here’s Jesus, in the vicinity of this massive limestone rock that was dedicated to pagan worship and idolatry, asking His disciples some probing questions.
His first probing question was more general in nature, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” His second question was more personal, “Who do YOU say that I am?” And what makes it even MORE personal than that is the fact that Jesus asks the same question of us today. Who do you say that Jesus is?
We may not be surrounded by false deities in the form of golden statues or pagan sanctuaries today, but we are still surrounded by things that draw our attention and our affections away from God. We are still surrounded by idols that we choose to make sacrifices to and choose to give our best to every single day.
But that is the thing…we don’t typically think of these things as idols. But the truth is, if we are giving our first and giving our best to something other than God, that thing is an idol.
Are you guilty of this? What do you put before God? It could be a relationship. It could be a bad habit or addiction. It could be your job. It could be money. There are an endless number of things that could have your attention and that could take your best away from God. But make no mistake about it. These things are idols when we put them first.
God wants you to shift your attention. Who do you say He is? Is He number one in your life? And if not, how come? What do you need to do to shift your priorities back to Him?
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