“And they made a calf in those days, and offered sacrifice unto the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands” (Acts 7:41).
TEXT — Acts 7:36-53
Message
It was J. McMath who said, “Today’s idols are more in the self than on the shelf. That for which I would give anything and accept nothing in exchange is the most important thing in my life. Whatever that is, is my god.”
Solomon, in Ecclesiastes 7:29 noted that God created man upright, but they have sought many inventions. These include carving graven images transformed into intermediaries between man and the various gods. The foolishness of all idol worshippers is illustrated in the story of the golden calf highlighted in our text. While Moses tarried in the presence of God to receive the Ten Commandments, the children of Israel relapsed into idolatry. They persuaded Aaron to make a golden calf from their smelted earrings, which they acknowledged and worshipped as their god, contrary to the first and second commandments (Exodus 20:3,4). Since they created the image, how could it have been their God? And since they intended to carry the calf before them, how could it have saved them? The children of Israel failed to reason appropriately. They copied the practice of their neighbours worshipping Baal, Molech, and other idols. Sadly, this is still the case in many communities with a pantheon of gods: the god of thunder, the god of iron, the goddess of the river, the god of the sky, and the god of the underworld. Idolatry is, indeed, a product of twisted imagination and evil thoughts.
Today, idolatry has gone beyond bowing down before a physical object. Idolatry can be defined as the worshipping of anything or being outside God. Besides God, whatever takes the most important part of your heart has become your idol. The idol could be power, wealth, achievements, fashion, or sports. These false deities divert people’s attention away from the true God. In the end, idolaters will discover that all those who run after other gods will have their sorrow multiplied (Psalm 16:4). In Isaiah 45:5, God says, I am the Lord and none else besides me. All idolaters will be excluded from heaven (1 Corinthians 6:19; Revelation 21:8) except they repent and turn from their evil way (2 Corinthians 6:14-18). Believers should, therefore, abstain from the pollution of idols as they patiently wait for the Lord’s second coming.
Listed among “500 most powerful people on the planet” by the Foreign Policy magazine in 2013, Pastor (Dr.) William F. Kumuyi is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DCLM) headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. DCLM started in 1973 as a 15-member Bible study group right in Kumuyi’s apartment at University of Lagos where he was a lecturer. His revolutionary Bible teaching on personal holiness and commitment to evangelism soon gained so much traction and resulted in a widespread revival.
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