"And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols." -1 John 5:20-21

"Idolatry, it is the greatest danger of all in the spiritual life." -Martyn Lloyd-Jones

"The human heart is a factory of idol. Everyone of us is an expert in inventing idols." -John Calvin

"Idolatry is the most discussed problem in the Bible."

"True worship is more about the position of our hearts than the songs on our lips."

"An idol is something within creation that is inflated to function as God. All sorts of things are potential idols, depending only on our attitudes and actions toward them...Idolatry may not involve explicit denials of God’s existence or character. It may well come in the form of an over-attachment to something that is, in itself, perfectly good...an idol can be an object, a property, a person, an activity, a role, an institution, a hope, an image, an idea, a pleasure, a hero- anything that can substitute for God."

"An idol is anything in our lives that occupies the place that should be occupied by God alone. Anything that holds my life and my devotion, anything that is central in my life, anything that seems to be vital, anything that is essential to me; an idol is anything by which I live and on which I depend. Anything that moves and rouses and attracts and stimulate me is an idol. An idol is anything that I worship, anything to which I give much of my time, and attention, my energy, and my money; anything that holds a controlling position in my life is an idol." -Martyn Lloyd-Jones

"Whatever your heart clings to or relies on for ultimate security." -G.K. Beale

Questions to ask:

• What makes me sad?
• What makes me angry?
• What brings me the most joy?
• What makes me feel safe and secure?
• What do I complain about the most?
• Where do I make financial sacrifices?
• What am I scared to lose?
• What structures my calendar?
• What worries me?
• Where do I look for my identity?

Idols in our life:

• Idol of Self
• Idol of Money
• Idol of our Phones
• Idol of Comfort
• Idol of Sex
• Idol of Sports
• Idol of Nationalism
• Idol of Work
• Idol of Church
• Idol of Relationships

1) Turning Good Things into God things

"So Aaron said to them, “Take off the rings of gold that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” So all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden[a] calf. And they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” -Exodus 32:2-4

"The people of Israel had also done as Moses told them, for they had asked the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry and for clothing. And the Lord had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked. Thus they plundered the Egyptians." -Exodus 12:35-36

2) Wrong Living

"When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord.” And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play."

"And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless." -Romans 1:28-31

3) False Sense of Security

"They made a calf in Horeb and worshiped a metal image. They exchanged the glory of God for the image of an ox that eats grass." -Psalm 106:19-20

4) Becoming what you Worship

"And the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people.” -Exodus 32:9

"Like a stubborn heifer, Israel is stubborn;" -Hosea 4:16

5) Judgment and Death

1) Remember the Gospel

"In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." -1 John 4:9-10

2) Confront and Confess

"Idols are not to be managed; they are to be destroyed." -Tony Merida

3) Continually stir our affections for Jesus

 "But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first." -Revelation 2:4

"Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent." -Revelation 2:5