Have You Seen God Lately? - Part 2 - Part A

What I discovered a lot of people looking at the 10 Commandments. Some are looking for guidance and were looking for moral code. A lot of people are looking for loopholes they're looking for why this doesn't apply to them why these laws are outdated and have nothing to do with modern sort of like WC Fields you know you didn't believe in the Bible but on his deathbed he was reading 70s and why are you reading the Bible that I'm looking for loopholes. Remember the photo of the sailor kissing a woman on Times Square and World War II.

What about the picture of Einstein sticking out a star with a lone man standing in front of a tank and tenement square. We all recall tremendous photos from the news that touched the sort of shot should help us understand an event or motion more clearly. Like the saying goes picture is worth a thousand words. And today hearing correctly Skip weekend division skip. Isaac continues her series, God's top 10 with a look at the second commandment to have no graven images will learn just what that means and whether it's wrong to have an idea or picture of what we imagine God looks like. Just a moment but first here's a great way to work with the kids in your life to study God's word. The most recent state of the Bible survey revealed that only 9% of millennial's read the Bible on a daily basis from a skeptical generation I record is also uninformed about the word of God. Small wonder such lifestyle confusion about your own children or your grandchildren passing your faith to a younger generation so they don't become a statistic and stepped courage again person in your life to get excited about God's word and all he has for them. Swearing to the Bible by skip-kids and 20 is an overview of the entire Bible and exciting travel guide format illustrations fascinating facts to keep them engaged will send you your copy of this may produce resource give a generous donation of $35 or more to help keep his Bible-based teachings on the air connecting more people like you to God's word. Call now to give and receive your copy of sword to the Bible 892 1888 or securely connectwithskip.com/offer as we begin this teaching. Skip will be focused on Exodus chapter 20 verses four through six so hope you open up your Bibles there as we here here Skip right, to begin this morning with very different obituary.

Very odd. Please join me in remembering the great icon of the entertainment community. The Pillsbury dough boy died yesterday of a yeast infection and trauma complications from repeated pokes in the belly. He was 71. Dough boy was buried in a lightly greased coffin. Dozens of celebrities turned out to pay their respects, including Mrs. Butterworth, hungry Jack, the California raisins Betty Crocker, the hostess Twinkies and of course Cap'n Crunch the grave site was piled high with flowers that's FLOURS. Toward the end, it was thought that he'd raise, once again, but he was no tart and Jemima delivered the eulogy and lovingly described doughboy is a man who never knew how much he was needed to work. Boy rose quickly in show business, but his later life was filled with turnovers. He was not considered a very smart cookie, wasting much of his dough one half baked scheme. Despite being a little flaky at times he was still a crusty old man and was considered a role model for millions doughboy is survived by his wife, Plato's two children John Doe and Jane go. Plus they had one in the oven is also survived by his elderly dad pop tart. The funeral was held at 350 for about 20 minutes now.

The reason we laugh at this obituary is because we all know the Pillsbury dough boy wasn't real. He didn't exist and I'm looking at some interfaces he didn't, I thought he was real know we know that he wasn't a real character so we can laugh at something like this the children of Israel living thousands of years ago in the land of Canaan were surrounded by gods and goddesses, though represented by images didn't exist. They were real.

They were all made up.

They were all imaginary gods. In fact, Elijah the prophet does make fun of them in first Kings 18 atop Mount Carmel has her crying out to Baylon asked Ricky sizzle may be on a call a little bit louder because obviously your God can hear you. Or maybe he's sleeping.

Maybe he's on vacation. He needs to be summoned. He was mocking them because he knew their praying that somebody they might as well be praying to the Pillsbury dough boy. He didn't exist.

So the writer some hundred and 15 says they have eyes but they can't see they have hands but they can handle their feet, but they can't walk speaking about the images of these gods and goddesses, and they have ears but they can't hear so what good is it, praying to a God who can't hear you or has no capacity to communicate to you and so we've been studying last week and this week the second commandment where God says don't you dare lower me to the level of all of these false gods and goddesses in the land of Canaan. All they have is an image that represents them. But there's no one there, let's go back and look at our text showing the second commandment comprises verse four, five and six of Exodus 20 you shall not make for yourself a carved image, any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

You shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love me and who keep my commandments. Last week we noted we remarked on that. This commandment made the top 10 that significant and that God considered it so important that it's number two of the top 10. So last week we talked a little bit about the prohibition that thou shalt not, and we looked at its meaning. In the Old Testament in the New Testament briefly and then how it's considered in modern times, and we meet, we show that it's not really art or the expression of art that is a question here, but idolatry that the first commandment says you shall not worship false gods.

The second commandment tells us, you shall not worship the true God in a false way that you can have the right, God. But you gotta do it in the right way so we looked at that prohibition.

Then we discussed the problem the people have in the reason this commandment is broken so often we discussed three reasons that people will often cast an image, peer pressure, personal loss and the problem people have with an invisible God.

When I was last week. Now we continue on in our study today and we want to look at the premise why God says that's why this is so important and then the proclamation that God makes of himself… Remind ourselves that these 10 Commandments are not multiple choice. That is, none of us can say well this is all fine and I've studied now, all the 10 Commandments and I like six of or I'll take seven of them before my just read my throw out this is not multiple choice there all God's commandments, but I've discovered a lot of people looking at the 10 Commandments summer looking for guidance summer looking for a moral code. A lot of people are looking for loopholes they're looking for why this doesn't apply to them why these laws are outdated and have nothing to do with modern times, sort of like WC Fields you know he didn't believe in the Bible but on his deathbed he was reading it and somebody said why are you reading the Bible is that I'm looking for loopholes.

I guess when you're about to die. Some people would do that. Let's go to our text once again and look at the premise why this is so important. So in verse four shall not make a carved image elaborates on that verse five you shall not bow down to them nor serve them watch this for I the Lord your God am stop right there. Stop right here is the premise I the Lord your God am I exist.

I'm real.

I'm active and I'm living before we finish the sentence.

That is a jealous God and what he does. First of all, he is and remember when God reveals himself to Moses in Exodus chapter 3 and Moses said will what your name I'm in have to tell the children of Israel that I was sent by you to say what's his name. God said, I am that I am you tell them that the great I am has sent you to them.

In other words, God is unlimited. He is eternal. He is immutable. The book of Hebrews chapter 11 the writer says whoever comes to God must first believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek and that makes sense before you ever can have any relationship with God. You gotta believe God is that he exists that he is real but is active and notice in our text, God is active emotionally says I am a jealous God. That's an emotion. Next verse, God declares his mercy. That's an emotion. We understand from our text that God is powerful.

He's going to visit the iniquity of the fathers upon the children so gotta sing look I'm alive. I'm real, not like all these false gods and that all they have to show for themselves. Are these graven images. I am now follow me because God is real because he's alive because he's active he's perfectly capable of revealing himself to people right and yet he has chosen not to reveal himself in any form, we discover that last week God said, you remember what I gave the lots Sinai you heard my voice but you saw no form. So, God never gave a form that they were to make or an image so we must not depict God any more than how God depicts himself. Therefore images dishonor God for two reasons. Number one because they obscure God's glory. I think about that anytime you make an image anytime you cast something and said this represents God you are obscuring the full nature and glory of God.

Isaiah chapter 40 verse 18 the prophets as to whom then will you liken God or what likeness will you compare him to the workman molten image. The Goldsmith over spreads it with gold and the silversmith casts a silver chain words, there is not a true image of God to be found in all the world any image once you cast. It is very limited, which would deny the very essence of God, God is unlimited.

God is spirit, and Jesus said whoever worships him must worship him in spirit and in truth, so soon as you make an image say this represents the God that I worship you have limited God the unlimited God and you have obscured God's glory. Think back to the first experience in exercise of this kind of idolatry which was the golden calf right. Exodus 32. Now I don't necessarily think that the children of Israel had any malice in their hearts when they made this golden calf fact, I think that they really wanted to make a representation of the God that they worship and they wanted to represent God's power and strength but what you deem do need to understand is where they came from the came from Egypt.

God is now revealing himself to them a fresh in the wilderness, but they came from Egypt and in Egypt there was a God that was worship called Apus a PIS. He was a calf and he was grew up to be a ball.

He was the God of strength. The renewal of life.

He was called. According to Egyptian legend get this Apus the bowl came from an experience where light shone from heaven on a cow on the earth and she gave birth to a calf named Apus the God of strength, so there they are camped before Mount Sinai where they see flashes of lightning, they hear thunder and with all of this lightning flashes they thought back to the legend they heard his kids about Apus the bowl the God of strength or renew her of life. So the statement they were making by this golden calf is our God is powerful. Our God is strong.

He's able to deliver the moment. However, they cast that image they limited God's glory because that golden image though it was there to represent God's power and God's greatness said nothing of his moral attributes said nothing was love this patient's his kindness is long-suffering only a strength.

So Moses naturally and God naturally became very upset at this first experience of idolatry. Now if I place a crucifix in my view, or in my church or at home.

I am picturing the greatest act of love. The world has ever seen Jesus dying on the cross. Beautiful. But it's incomplete. It it hides something, it tells me nothing of the majesty, the deity of Jesus Christ shows me a dying Jesus then tell me the whole story that he rose from the dead and conquered the grave I have now limited him who is limitless. Now I have no problem with a crucifix and what it depicts. By the way I grew up with the my problem is with what a crucifix sales to depict. There is not a depiction or an image in all the world that can capture the complete picture of God. And here's why I do if you know this or not but the revelation of God doesn't end here. This what Paul says in Ephesians 2 verse seven that in the ages to come he will show the incomparable riches of his grace expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. So, if God's going to take all of eternity to continually reveal himself to mankind. How could I possibly think that this statue that I make can totally represent it must. The moment it is cast obscure the full glory of God. So the question that people often ask Ms. will Skip when you pray, what images in your mind, none I'm not closing my eyes, picturing a grandfatherly bearded man floating on the clouds with harps around him. There's no image I could ever have in my mind that would adequately capture his nature and character. Second, images mislead God's people, not only do they not reveal all there is to know about God but they do reveal something that could lead people astray. Images give impressions. It's a psychological fact that if I focus my thoughts on an image of the one that I'm praying to that I come to think of him in the way that image is depicting now if I'm focusing on that aspect that image and I'm praying to the one that supposedly that image represents that's gonna change my approach to him based on what I see in that image is an example. Once again the golden calf. They made that goal in The God of strength the got a power the renewal of life and as they the Bible says sat down to eat and drink. They rose up to play or exercise in revelry. They felt a strong urge to worship their strong God and a strong frenzied and out-of-control manner, how they viewed God dictated how they worship God.

So it actually led them astray. Now some people have so focused on the suffering, dying Christ that they approached Jesus in a suffering, dying, manner throughout history.

You can read several accounts of people who felt the only way God wanted to be worshiped is by taking whips and whipping themselves as they were praying by crawling on their knees to shrines cutting their knees up and leaving blood on every step because that's what pleases God so focused on the suffering Christ that they themselves become suffering people.

Now, with all due respect to any artist who would portray God or Jesus. The artist is drawing what is in his or her mind. It is a projection often of himself and sort of like a little girl in kindergarten class. All of them were drawing in the kindergarten teacher noticed one little girl had been out working hard and diligently never looking up and the teacher took an extra interest in said what is it your drawing. She said I'm drawing a picture of God. The kindergarten teacher said God nobody knows what God looks like, and she looked up and said they will in a minute and so she drew her little picture of God, how she projected God to be the fundamental problem that I have personally with pictures or statues of Jesus.

Don't get paranoid here, but are not about him over for dinner at the college pictures off to relax a little bit. Here's the fundamental problem I have, they bring transcendent God limitless God to a comfortable size a manageable size. It's basically me creating God in my image rather than being the one that God created in his image. Have you noticed the art of Jesus. Let's go back to the 1950s to the 60s is something that I noticed. Maybe you have two that he gets depicted differently in different generations so if you look back to the average picture of Jesus Christ drawn in the 1950s you find a very frail thin gaunt tail. Almost a feminine looking Jesus who glows a lot in all the pictures he's he's beaming his face you get to the 1960s in Jesus's picture to sort of a college radical now is keeping in step with the times you get to the 1970s and the pictures are cards of Jesus is that he's the macho Jesus is hairs layered quaffed a little bit more get to the 80s 90s. He's the upwardly mobile Jesus. He's he's sitting on narcissistic view of what they want Jesus to be like so here's the bottom line God's uniqueness requires unique devotion that no image on earth could ever capture our ideas of God and how we look at the Bible reminds us that the Lord is unchanging, that it's impossible for us to truly understand the will learn more about that next time here in Québec we Skip weekend division of ECT was the first half of have you seen God lately. Part two is just one message of our current teaching series God's talk to you.

Be glad to know that this series is available in a convenient 17 teaching audio CD package is available right now for only $39 plus shipping. When you go to connectwithskip.com while you're there, check out this month's special offer. The Bible is the most important information you can pass along to the next generation in your family and that can be a challenge in this book, this Bible there are 16 six separate books, some long some very long. Some very, very short 31,173 verses sound like a big book it is his success by looking really seem overwhelming kids and grandchildren.

That's why you want a copy of this resource. Skip is called soaring to the kids in tween's an overview of the entire Bible from Genesis to Revelation. Unifying travel engaged all God has requested your talking soaring to the Bible friendly resource you give a generous donation of $35 or more to keep this program going strong to you and others to God's word. Call now to get 800-922-1888. You can also get online securely skip.com/offer since will never have a real photo of Jesus to look up on this earth, we figure out what he looks like we'll find out next time in our series God's talk to her and connect with Skip weekend division of presentation of connection to God's ever-changing and ever-changing time