Gods that Never Existed to Begin With

Today on some at length with JD Greer.

I understand that the day your will is better.

The mantras are a lot smarter than me and so what I think on the butt of the trust. What you give me what you know that I will like you can trust is sold. Don't you feel like you can trust him with your earthly happiness.

If you can give him your sandals. You think you can give him your future, your finances, your marriage or kids and likely after their religion.

JD Greer, as always, I'm your host Molly made a batch was written statute worship was still a common practice for the majority of Americans. It's not really something that we've seen or experienced. So we think were totally safe when it comes to the second commandment says you shall not make for yourself a carved image, but today Pastor JD reveals that many of us even Bible believing Christians buy into these false images of God without knowing it, and it keeps us from truly knowing him. Pastor JD titled today's message God's that never existed to begin with it.

If you miss any of the previous messages in this unknown God studied Benin. You can hear them all online Greer.com.

Let's get started right now there's Pastor Jamie 20 Bible today is our third and final message of the little series regarding hold unknown God, which is a series in which we been exploring the question. Can we actually know whether God exists and if so what can we know about him. We been trying to take our hope and honest look at some of the difficult questions about the existence of God. During the first week we look at how creation points just for the create tour creation. The apostle Paul tells us is like a voice that's constantly calling out to us suggesting to us that God is there. There are certain people who come up with reasons to ignore that moisture be the reason themselves out of why that's not really the voice of God. But the point was it's an instinctive response to what we see in creation. We just can respond that they will, there's a God buyback the second week we saw how they are really good reasons to believe that the voice of God was speaking in Jesus. Today I want us to look at certain distortions of God that people reject thinking they are rejecting the real God when in fact what they are rejecting is a distortion of God. That ought to be rejected, not just the irony of the tragedy. In rejecting these falsities of God that ought to be rejected. Many people miss the real God. The tendency to reshape or reimagine God in a new form has been a major problem for all of human history, which is why probably why God addresses it in the second commandment he ever gave the Magi Second Amendment of the Big Ten number two of the Big Ten reads like this, you shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.

The key word there is image. This is a command not to add any image or any shape in our minds to God that God has not already given to himself the sin we gotta be really careful not to confuse the second commandment with the first commandment they look similar but they're different. The First Amendment says this you shall have no other gods before me.

That is a command not to worship other gods besides God. The second commandment is command not to worship the right God in the wrong way. Does that make sense. We violate the second commandment when we add something to God. Some image in our minds. Some opinion that goes beyond or contrary to what God tells us about himself and his word. The fact that this command comes. Second of all of them shows us that it's something we are likely to break even though I would say most of us don't think about it that often. This was in fact the command that Israel literally broke before Moses had even returned from the mountain where he received a commandment, Exodus 32 Bob over there for will be for the rest of the time Moses through the store had gotten delayed up on the mountain with God where he was receiving the 10 Commandments and the people panicked Moses not coming back. Moses is dead.

God's not about us.

God doesn't care God, not even real, so they took off their jewelry they melted down and they constructed a golden calf to represent God.

The promises of an invisible God were not enough for them when they had real enemies wanted to kill. Now when they had real needs of the to be met so they can sit where we needed God that we can touch a God we can see a God that we can hang on to.

No one should notice that the narrator of the story makes clear that with the golden calf. Israel was not worshiping a new God watches, they were simply worshiping the real God in the wrong way watches when Aaron he was the guy in charge of all this all this he built an altar in front of the Any amounts tomorrow there will be a festival to the Lord is Lord is IN your Bible right whenever you see that that means it's God's covenant name. It's a name that he only use with his ribs are not talking about a different God.

This is a festival that they have made to the real God.

They celebrated with feasting and drinking, and they indulged in pagan revelry pagan revelry means open orgy literally in Hebrew. It reads Franklin Street. That's what it says right there be in that paragraph bad in an image. The God that they thought would work better for them, but I knew God was insufficient to save them.

I think about about new God that golden calf to speak to them. He couldn't come for them. They had to dance for him.

He couldn't even move himself from place to place. They had to carry him the true God had promised to supply all their needs. He had promised to protect them from from from danger to promise to feed them when they were thirst at hungry to satisfy them when they were thirst day.

One day he would give his life to redeem them.

They traded this God were an image of a cow that would serve as a good luck charm made on the left over jewelry and say here's what would happen. Inevitably, this image of God would fail them because he was a real it was something they had projected on the God and here's the irony.

When that golden calf failed them. When he failed them. People would be like see God's not real, but what was not real was not real. The golden calf was not God's idea, it was their idea. They projected onto God. Furthermore, this image of God corrupted them spiritually. That's why the author points out that there worship led to an orgy if our hearts are spiritually dark, which Scripture tells us that they are that any God. We project out of our hearts is also going to be dark so rather than transforming our dark arts that image of God just ends up reflecting our dark hearts back to us so let me repeat, make sure you get this same strategy from the beginning has been to twist our view of God beyond what God has said about himself and then have us reject that distorted view thinking that were rejecting the true God. That's been his strategy from the beginning if the ultimate chutzpah, no chutzpah when you think about it, you know, the Jewish rabbis and Jesus as they had a definition for chutzpah on their definition. Chutzpah was the kid that kills his mom and dad and then throws himself on the mercy of the court because he's an orphan. That's chutzpah. Satan chutzpah is he lies to us about God gives us this false image of God, then lets that image of God, let us down and we reject that image of God thinking were rejecting the real thing. Let me show you a few places. He does this in the Bible, and then I want to show you more places that he does it in our our our modern culture right was Québec to the very beginning usually determine your Bible and walk through these on Satan's first deception in the garden of Eden like this watch this now the serpent was more crafty than any of the beasts of the field.

He said to the woman you will not surely die for God knows when you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.

Once you see what Satan did there it's really subtle, but you can see it. He presents God to Eve as if God is an insecure God and God because he's insecure makes these rules to keep us down so that we will threaten his position is rules are arbitrary and oppressive because they come not from wisdom. They come from jealousy. Eve, of course, recognizes that such a God would not be worthy of worship and so Eve rejects that God you see what Satan is doing there. I here's another one.

Many of the Jews in Jesus's day, like Thomas were convinced that a God who really love them would liberate them from Roman oppression immediately. So let's think of this as the instant deliverance, God. So when Jesus didn't do that is what this it will see God is let us down. He's not trustworthy and they rejected him. Job in the Bible. We talked about him. The first week he doubted God because Satan planted in his heart the idea that Job would be immediately able to understand the reasoning and the justice behind whatever God did was call this not immediately understandable. God so when Job couldn't figure out what God was doing. He assumed God must not exist when God finally appeared to Job. He basically says Joe. Why would you assume that you can understand all my ways and he begins – Job a series of questions like a Joe word is the lightning come from a Job had you made any stars Job if you don't even know the answers to some of these natural questions you really feel like you're to be a place to understand my secret councils immediately understandable.

God is a method Satan created causes many people to doubt God because he assumes up at the bottom. It's not true. One more time. Satan's primary strategy has been to span up distorted conceptions about God and then destroy our faith when they let us down the return descendent night with Ginny here in just a moment that I wanted to take a moment to tell you about our featured resource this month. We want to equip you to care well for the people in your life whether it someone who lives in your house or someone you work with work long last print. Our newest resource is a packet encouraging green cards next month is Thanksgiving. Perfect time to connect with someone, let them know you're thankful for, then it might even be a chance to mend a broken relationship.

What greater hope. Can we share with those that we care about the bikini wearing take a practical step towards dozing a handwritten note of encouragement right now. This resource comes with your generous gift of ministry to give us a call at 866-335-5220 or check out@jdgreer.com. Now let's return for the conclusion of today's teaching. Here's ascertaining their main thousand 747 false images of God in the Bible. This is a full-time job. I'm not walking through all of them what to do though is today's will be a little different limited knowledge that I was can give you a few of what I see as the top distortions of God that I see Satan doing this with today. This is a list of compiled from others is as well as a few of my own here on ways that Satan lies about God and gets us to reject the God. That's actually a false image of him ready. His first goosebumps God, which is why what I would call them goosebumps God.

This is a God. The idea that if God is real, you'll always be able to feel him did you goosebumps of the feelings of these overpowering emotions in your heart and so if you can't feel him within the must not really be there. Let me ask you where does your Bible ever say that you will always be able to feel the presence of God. Lots of people in the Bible can feel the presence of God even when he was there. In fact, so much of the book of Psalms comes from believers saying God I can't feel you know one of my favorite and not favor Psalm Psalm 88 on the right in the middle of the song right to the end of the song. The songwriter says this, O Lord, why you cast my soul away. Why do you hide your face from the darkness is my only friend. That's the last phrase in the verse darkness is my only friend that that's what Psalms when you get to it in your quiet time, joy, pleasure with the do this but I don't feel blessed and encouraged, good throughout the darkness of my only friend you have decisions for me, this was a worship song imagine singing this in church near Glassford darkness is moment Fred God has abandoned me as can be seen to be blessed. That's what that's what they say because they felt like God wasn't there.

They couldn't feeling.

Even Jesus on the cross cried out God, where are you CS Lewis wrote about a time CS Lewis to CS Lewis is the last author in the canon that came 2000 years after Hurley of the Bible writers the way we quoted you think that CS Lewis himself wrote about a time where he didn't couldn't. Since God's presence in his life is in a book on a grief observed.

It was after his his wife died. He says I went to God during that time. You seem like it was a door slammed in my face now heard the sound of bolting in double bolting on the inside. After that silence, no lights in the windows. It feels like an empty house. Why is God suppressing the commander in our time of prosperity and so very absent to help in our time of trouble but CS Lewis somehow that quote never makes it on everybody's Facebook page a favor.

CS Lewis quotes I've yet to see them see it's real. A lot of Christians have been in situations where they could not feel the presence of God, the God of constant goosebumps does not exist.

We made them out. The real God sells is that we are to walk, not by feeling, but by faith we see a lot of Christians base their understanding of how God feels about them or their sense of the perception of the presence of God based on how they feel will feel like God is absent. Villa God is mad at me abilities visit our feelings are not reliable indicators of reality.

If I wake up tomorrow morning and I say I don't feel married Matilda at the mouth life could change the fact that I am married either some reality is not based on how we feel. Your feelings of the things of that would really change your life.

You get your mind around this.

Your feelings don't have brains, your feelings do not have a mind to think for themselves. Your mind is supposed to pay for your feelings, and sometimes tell your feelings that what your feelings are telling you are not really accurate.

That's why song writers often find we find them talking to themselves in the Bible. Psalm 103. For example, begins like this. Bless the Lord, O my soul and all that is within me, bless his holy name. The song sometimes owns a written other people sometimes are in the God who is the song written to himself I might me a song to Sheila my soul and feel like right now and I'm going bless the Lord, and any Villa God is real, so I am going to tell myself what is true about God based on his word and based on what he is gone at the cross and resurrection, and I want to tell my soul feelings are not reliable indicators of reality. God's word is a reliable indicator of reality to bless the Lord all my soul. See Christianity. We don't feel our way into our beliefs. We believe our way into our feelings, the God of goosebumps does not exist is a figment of our imagination and Satan is because many of us to believe in him and then reject that God not God fails this was never true of God to begin with. Here's a second went smooth sailing. God with smooth sailing God we assume that of God is on our side. Life will work out great. So when bad things happen to good people. What we assume mother must not be a God. This is the God to whom the athlete phrase when you quotes for Philippians 413 portions about shot things right. She thinks of me that crisis in me that I know will make this fast shot northward a God promise that the I see some MC2 wrestlers spoke with Philippians 413.to the door and get Ray to wrestle each other. Nothing. This is an interesting theological problem. I wonder which God versus God who's going to win.

You will maybe one of them has memorized the Greek. I bet he's the one is going to winter or something like that.

But where does scripture say that bad, unfortunate or unfair things when I happen to good people.

You don't get that from the Bible we think about it. Christianity started with a horrible thing happening to a very good person, the whole Christian movement was built on really good people with really bad things happening to them. So where did you get the idea that smooth sailing was the proof of the presence of God simply lesser you can get that from the Bible you get that from Christian teaching if you lost faith in smooth sailing. God good. Congratulations he didn't exist.

You should've left them by what Scripture does teach us is that God will never abandon us even in pain and that ultimately he's going to use all paying for our good and his glory. Sometimes God will prosper us financially. Sometimes God will prosper us in sports, prosperous, relationally. Sometimes God will prosper us spiritually, even when all those other things are falling apart you to go back to Philippians 413, specifically what Paul says I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me. You should read the verse right before that would which by the way, all your favorite versus just make sure you doing lights of the verse right before the verse what Paul says it will be for is I have learned. Paul writes that by the way, Woody's bankrupt imprisonment all the springs of abandonment and he said I have learned how to be joyful when I have everything and when I got nothing I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me all things he is referring to is not all of his foul shots going in all things he is referring to is having nothing or having all of it. It's smooth sailing a rough seas. I've learned that God can sustain me in both closely related to that one is what I would call on demand God on-demand got us. The God we believe always give us what we ask as long as our requester are fair and thoughtful. If it's reasonable, and will really convinced that we need it then document given to us just like we expected to and so of course when God doesn't deliver on the timetable that we think you should deliver on. We assume that did not really exist again. Where did you get this idea of God. Personally, I'm glad that God does not exist because it God had given me everything that I've asked for when I was 15 or 16 years old. My life would be a wreck. I think about some of the girls I asked God to make fall in love with me.

We dodged a bullet on some of the other side right. This might be the only place where I agree with Garth Brooks. I thank God for unanswered prayer. When Jesus gave us the model prayer. He started Jesus toward the model for off with three phrases that totally debunk on-demand got one our father who art in heaven.

When you approach God, you're approaching him the way a child dies trustingly with the father.

My son asked me for lots of things that I denied to him, not in spite of the fact that I love them but because I love it. My seven-year-old son is convinced he needs his own iPad and he will make a really compelling case just asking about why he should have his own iPad and it totally makes sense to him and I have denied that request and will continue to the next several years, not in spite of the fact that I love them but because I love so I purged out the same attitude.

I'm a father who art in heaven, always your name on your kingdom come. Got I realize that at the end of the day that what your agenda is your kingdom what's best for me personally may not be best for your kingdom was Mr. kingdom and on the best for her since I surrender to that.

Your will be done. I understand that that the end of the day your will is better the mind is your lot smarter than me and so I would say what I think I need but at the I am today. I will trust what you give me what you know that I need and so there and there's three phrases you protect your heart with celebration and surrender and faith and only then are you in a place where you can ask the other request on-demand God does exist, yet many people walked away from the faith, because they assume that's what the Bible taught about God. You see it you will doing the years no one killjoy God killjoy God is the God comes up with endless rules to oppress you control you just generally is out to kill your bias, he hates all pleasure, especially sexual pleasure EH sexual pleasure. It irritates him to see you have a really good time is like the detention whole teacher who wants to make sure that you don't have any fun in your life on earth. In the words of the great theologian, Kanye West, how come everything that is supposed to be bad. Makes me feel so good to let me ask you a question, where did you get the idea of killjoy God, the God of the Bible created joy and laughter and an even sense and this is why the songwriter Psalm 1611 says God in your presence is fullness of joy at your right hand are pleasures for evermore full. This means joy. The couldn't get any better forevermore means pleasure that had lasted longer. This is this is where it all comes from you, and any rules or guidelines and God has is ultimately to increase our eternal pleasure. Where did you get that idea of God right but let me give you couple reasons. I think people come to believe this distorted view of God. The first is I just they just don't trust God at the end of the day they just don't think he's a good God who desires the best for his children, so they think you a little religion in your life is good little religion helps everybody don't go to serious weather because of you get too serious for Jesus, you have an unhappy life for me ask you a question. My friend wasn't.

If you feel like you can trust Jesus with your eternal soul. Don't you feel like you can trust him with your earthly happiness. If you can could give him your sandals. You think you can give him your future, your finances, your marriage, your kids and everything else that's one place of us come from a lack of trust. Sometimes, however, the idea of killjoy God comes from growing up in an environment where constant rules were put on you in the name of God and walking with God make keeping all these regulations to grow up in an environment like that. One of the schools and I went to Roanoke. They have rules for everything you have told you about some of before you could drink or dancer to mess around.

The girls who do dancing was the worst of all six right you could have premarital sex because it might lead to dancing was you know the rule how we can only read the King James version of the Bible because of what Jesus read was good enough for him is good enough for you guys get all these rules let me tell you where that mentality usually comes from the comes from thinking the God's acceptance of us is based on how well we conform to some set of laws.

Jesus showed up on the opposite steps you is your history and that's it.

You're listening to Summit life with pastor Jay Greer and the message from our teaching series called unknown God sent JD this month we are inviting our listeners to become what we call the gospel partners mean exactly what is the gospel partners. Yeah, great question. A gospel partner is somebody who believes in the mission that we've embraced your Summit life to bring Bible base gospel rich teaching to every corner of the world they commit to give regular monthly support here Summit life that enables us to be on the air and enables us to go in, especially some of these places where it's listed as a less Christian. And so you're giving makes it possible for us to do that right so in a sense, Summit life is your ministry about the great commission would love you to be a part of that. So you can learn more about the advantages of the Commonwealth partners special things we do some promos we extended them like to begin a relationship with you for the lawful JD grid.com and phone number for your first gift is partner a box of 20 inspirational greeting cards to help you encourage some of the people in your life think the Lord continually faithful partners because we truly do this without only clear.com or call us right now. I 20 866-3529 Molly Witt eventually started doing again tomorrow for the leasing.

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