Six Signs of Self-Idolatry
By Pastor Matt Black
28 May 2006
Lord's Day Evening
Isaiah 5:8-23
Introduction: Open your Bibles to the book of Isaiah chapter 5. The title of tonight’s message is “Six Signs of Self-Idolatry.”
[Read Isaiah 5:8-23]
Tonight we come to us a reality test. In our text we read about a spiritual exposé. What if God were to expose who you really are before all? Tonight we are going to see how Isaiah exposes the cult of self-idolatry. This is the ultimate cult of personality. The truth of the matter is, we love ourselves too much! We are going to see what happens if we give ourselves to self-worship. This is a false religion. In our day, we call it secular humanism. The basic foundational truth of this idol is “I am the only one in the universe that matters.” That is essentially what the majority of people in this world believe.
Before we begin in our text here in the Old Testament prophecy of Isaiah, let’s look at a few verses in the New Testament that deal with self love.
The Bible nowhere tells us to love ourselves. What does it say? It warns us that we love ourselves too much!
Philippians 2:3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.
1 Corinthians 3:3 For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?
Paul says something very revealing and important here. He says that by nature we are self-absorbed. We love ourselves. What is evying but wanting more for self, and strife, but fighting for what I deserve, or divisions, which is basically saying “my way or the highway”?
Galatians 5:26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.
Tonight we are going to see God making His case against the idol of self-love in the book of Isaiah. We need to cast out every idol from our lives. How can we do that? Well, let’s ask ourselves the question:
What happens when you give yourself to self love? How does it show up?
Some people say, I don’t love myself, in fact I hate myself! Because of our wicked heart, even self-hatred is a form of self love. Self-doubt, or worse, self-hatred, invariably leads to self-centredness. The question of “who am I” really does not matter. We must not seek own identity, but find our identity in the Lord.
We think far too highly of ourselves! A. W. Tozer, in The Pursuit of God, writes:
The labour of self-love is a heavy one indeed. Think for yourself whether much of your sorrow has not arisen from someone speaking slightingly of you. As long as you set yourself up as a little god to which you must be loyal there will be those who will delight to offer affront to your idol. How then can you hope to have inward peace? The heart's fierce effort to protect itself from every slight, to shield its touchy honour from the bad opinion of friend and enemy, will never let the mind have rest.
Well, sometimes it is subtle, but it always creeps up. It’s not like people go around saying, “How Do I Love Me? Let Me Count the Ways!” No, people on the outside seem humble enough. They seem interested in others. But let’s see some of the fruits of self-idolatry.
How do I know if I love myself and have made self an idol? Let me ask you: are you self-absorbed, not caring about others, or are you empathetic to others?
1. Have you Created a False Reality? (You need to expose your comfort zone.)
When you hold the philosophy “I’m all that matters”, it will lead to seclusion.
8 Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth!
God gave Israel their land. They were to be content with it. The land was to remain in the family. There was the law of the kinsman redeemer, and the year of jubilee so that land would stay within the families. And yet they were breaking God’s law for their comfort zone. When self gets on the throne, beware! You will always deny what gets in the way of your idol.
Matthew 16:24 If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
The sin has been stated: the idol of comfort zone. Now the punishment follows.
Punishment:
If you sow to your comfort zone, you will reap SECLUSION!
a. EMPTYNESS
9 In mine ears said the LORD of hosts, Of a truth many houses shall be desolate, even great and fair, without inhabitant. The idea here is that the “one house of MANY HOUSES” though it be enormous and beautiful will be left as a ghost town: without inhabitant.”
b. FRUITLESSNESS
10 Yea, ten acres of vineyard shall yield one bath, and the seed of an homer shall yield an ephah. An acre is as much land as ten oxen can plow, so the land plowed by 100 oxen will yield about 8 gallons of grape juice! Notice it does yield something. It is not as if the ungodly have no signs of life. They tares have a “form of godliness, but deny the power thereof” even though they are truly spiritually DEAD! They have the one talent, but have nothing else to show for it!
2. Have you Cut off True Reality? (You need to expose your carnal pleasures.)
When you hold the philosophy “I’m all that matters”, it will lead to slavery.
11 Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them! These people become SLAVES to pleasure. Now we must not be legalistic about this verse. Yes it is condemning alcohol, but this verse can be applied to any pleasure.
a. Slavery comes because of Blindness.
12 And the harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in their feasts: but they regard not the work of the LORD, neither consider the operation of his hands.
Remember that Saul would call David to play the harp. Music was ordained to praise the Lord, but we must be very careful, because the comfort of music can be an idol in itself. This music did not lead these people to praise, but to sensuousness. God condemns this and says the cause of their
b. Slavery comes because of Ignorance of God’s Word. People are gladly ignorant of God’s Word, because “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). John 3:19 tells us that “light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.”
13 Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge: and their honourable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst.
Those who were drunk with alcohol for pleasure—they were satiated with that liquid that stole their brains, and now they are “dried up with thirst.” That’s what pleasure will do to you. It will take away your desire for God’s Word. The Bible will either keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from the Bible!
Hosea 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee.
Amos 8:11 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:
c. Slavery leads to final Destruction.
14 Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it.
Accomplishments will mean nothing in hell, so do as Paul did, and count them as dung NOW so that you might have that who is truly valuable, namely CHRIST! (Philippians 3:8).
d. This slavery affects All people.
15 And the mean man shall be brought down, and the mighty man shall be humbled, and the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled: The “mean man” means the common man, and the “mighty man” refers to the privileged. The fact is that BOTH suffer from the idol of self love! All are proud. As Paul says in Romans 3:12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
So self-love brings you nothing but SLAVERY! But…
Love for God
16 But the LORD of hosts shall be exalted in judgment, and God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness.
17 Then shall the lambs feed after their manner, and the waste places of the fat ones shall strangers eat.
3. Are you Caught up in Lies? (You need to expose your calloused heart.)
When you hold the philosophy “I’m all that matters”, it will lead to self-dilusion.
18 ¶ Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity [LYING], and sin as it were with a cart rope:
This is a strange sight. A heavey cart is being laboriously drawn, not by work animals but by men; yoked, straining, tugging men. They are yoked like animals and hitched to a heavy wagon, and just as animals are known to do, so these men drag after them the heavy cart. This cart is their own sin and iniquity!
Proverbs 5:22 His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins.
The ropes are “cords of vanity” which are lies! Every sin has lies that carry it into your life! If you can tell yourself the truth, you will be set free from this cart!
Romans 1:25 Paul tells us here that self loving people are those “Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator...”
19 That say, Let him make speed, and hasten his work, that we may see it: and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come, that we may know it! These people lied so much to themselves they began laughing at God! But look at who has the last laugh!
Psalm 2:4 He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.
You may sit in the seat of the scornful as Psalm 1:2 says, but God sits on the throne of judgment!
4. Are you Redefining sin in your life? (You need to expose curtailing of shame.) You see this especially in our society today. Sins that were so shameful they would never be mentioned are now being held out in the open
20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
Even the most depraved men will look good on the outside and do right, but when they get their chance, they will twist the truth and turn the truth of God into a lie.
Example:
Socially: Sodomites in our culture, abortion, etc.
Permeates all of life!
Personally, you begin excusing sin!
5. Are you Self-Righteous?
21 Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!
Even
6. Can you be bought?
22 Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink:
23 Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!
Conclusion:
Ask yourself these six questions:
1. Have you Created a False Reality?
2. Have you Cut off True Reality?
3. Are you Caught up in Lies?
4. Are you Redefining sin in your life?
5. Are you Self-Righteous?
6. Can you be Bought?
Where are you tonight?
Closing Hymn: Just as I am