Do We Provoke the Lord to Jealousy

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Do We Provoke the Lord to Jealousy?
2

• I, the LORD Your God,
  am a Jealous God. (Exodus 205)

3
Joshua 2419-20 (NASB)

• 19 Then Joshua said to the people, "You will not
  be able to serve the LORD, for He is a holy God.
  He is a jealous God He will not forgive your
  transgression or your sins. 20 If you forsake the
  LORD and serve foreign gods, then He will turn
  and do you harm and consume you after He has done
  good to you."

4
Isaiah 428 (NASB)

• "I am the LORD, that is My name I will not give
  My glory to another, Nor My praise to graven
  images.

5
Exodus 3414 (NASB)

• For you shall not worship any other god, for
  the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous
  God. cf. Malachi 36

6
Exodus 203-5a (NASB)

• 3 "You shall have no other gods before Me. 4
  "You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any
  likeness of what is in heaven above or on the
  earth beneath or in the water under the earth. 5
  You shall not worship them or serve them for I,
  the LORD your God, am a jealous God - cf. Deut
  64-5, 13-15 Luke 1027

7

• Therefore, my beloved,
  flee from idolatry
  (1 Cor. 1014)

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Do We Provoke the Lord to Jealousy?

• Israel married to the Lord, provoked God to
  jealousy by her acts of unfaithfulness.

9
Isaiah 545 (NASB)

• "For your husband is your Maker, Whose name is
  the LORD of hosts And your Redeemer is the Holy
  One of Israel, Who is called the God of all the
  earth.

10
Hosea 12 (NASB)

• When the LORD first spoke through Hosea, the
  LORD said to Hosea, "Go, take to yourself a wife
  of harlotry, and have children of harlotry for
  the land commits flagrant harlotry, forsaking the
  LORD."

11
Psalm 7858 (NASB)

• For they provoked Him with their high places,
  And aroused His jealousy with their graven
  images.

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Do We Provoke the Lord to Jealousy?

• Christians are married to the Lord and must
  prove themselves to be faithful
  (Eph. 522-33 Gal. 327 1 Cor. 1213 cf.
  Mat. 196).

13
Revelation 197-9 (NASB)

• 7 "Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory
  to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and
  His bride has made herself ready." 8 And it was
  given to her to clothe herself in fine linen,
  bright and clean for the fine linen is the
  righteous acts of the saints.
  - cf. Rev. 211-4

14

• Like Israel, are we provoking the Lord to
  jealousy?

15
1 Corinthians 1019-22 (NASB)

• 19 What do I mean then? That a thing sacrificed
  to idols is anything, or that an idol is
  anything? 20 No, but I say that the things
  which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to
  demons, and not to God and I do not want you to
  become sharers in demons. 21 You cannot drink the
  cup of the Lord and the cup of demons you cannot
  partake of the table of the Lord and the table of
  demons. 22 Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy?
  We are not stronger than He, are we?

16

• Like marriage to only one mate, we must put away
  all other suitors or idols and
  give ourselves
  completely to the Lord!

17
2 Corinthians 112-3 (NASB)

• 2 For I am jealous for you with a godly
  jealousy for I betrothed you to one husband,
  that to Christ I might present you as a pure
  virgin. 3 But I am afraid, lest as the serpent
  deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds should
  be led astray from the simplicity and purity of
  devotion to Christ.

18

• Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy?

19
Little Children,
Guard Yourselves from Idols.

• We must watch for anything or anyone that could
  possibly take the place of God in our hearts and
  lives.

20
1 John 520-21 (NASB)

• 20 And we know that the Son of God has come, and
  has given us understanding, in order that we
  might know Him who is true, and we are in Him who
  is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the
  true God and eternal life. 21 Little children,
  guard yourselves from idols.

21
Little Children,
Guard Yourselves from Idols.

• If we fail to guard ourselves from idols, then we
  may find ourselves devoted to
  God-substitutes in life.
• Something or someone other than God will reign
  supreme over us! (Ezek 143)
• In America, there is a great temptation toward
  idolatry. (cf. Deut 3215-18).

22
Deuteronomy 3215-18 (NASB)

• 15 "But Jeshurun grew fat and kicked- You are
  grown fat, thick, and sleek- Then he forsook God
  who made him, And scorned the Rock of his
  salvation. 16 "They made Him jealous with strange
  gods With abominations they provoked Him to
  anger. 17 "They sacrificed to demons who were not
  God, To gods whom they have not known, New gods
  who came lately, Whom your fathers did not dread.
  "You neglected the Rock who begot you, And forgot
  the God who gave you birth.

23

• We should closely examine our lives to make sure
  no form of idolatry is being practiced.

24
We ask ourselves some candid questions

• What is my greatest motivation in life?
• What am I most enthusiastic, zealous about in
  life?
• What is most important to me in life? What is my
  top priority?
• Who or what is my greatest love in life?
• Who or what do I hold most near and dear, in my
  thoughts and in my heart?

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Three of the most common forms of idolatry we
must guard against.

• Prioritizing family members above God (Mat.
  1037 cf. Luke 1426).
• Romantic love in which nothing else and no one
  else matters but the beloved (e.g., 1 Kings
  111-4).
• Putting yourself above God
  (2 Tim. 31-2a).

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There are many other forms of idolatry we must
beware of.

• Money material possessions (1 Tim. 69-10 cf.
  Mat. 619-20).

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1 Timothy 69-10 (NASB)

• 9 But those who want to get rich fall into
  temptation and a snare and many foolish and
  harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and
  destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root
  of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it
  have wandered away from the faith, and pierced
  themselves with many a pang. cf. Mat. 619-20

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There are many other forms of idolatry we must
beware of.

• Money material possessions (1 Tim. 69-10 cf.
  Mat. 619-20).
• Physical pleasure (2 Tim. 35b).
• Sexual pleasures (lust, fornication,
  self-stimulation, pornography) and alcohol (or
  drugs) (1 Pet. 43).

29
1 Peter 43 (NASB)

• For the time already past is sufficient for you
  to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles,
  having pursued a course of sensuality, lusts,
  drunkenness, carousals, drinking parties and
  abominable idolatries.
  cf. Gal. 519-21

30
There are many other forms of idolatry we must
beware of.

• Money material possessions (1 Tim. 69-10 cf.
  Mat. 619-20).
• Physical pleasure (2 Tim. 35b).
• Sexual pleasures (lust, fornication,
  self-stimulation, pornography) and alcohol (or
  drugs) (1 Pet. 43).
• Gluttony (Phil. 318-19).

31
Philippians 318-19 (NASB)

• 18 For many walk, of whom I often told you, and
  now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies
  of the cross of Christ, 19 whose end is
  destruction, whose god is their appetite (belly
  KJV), and whose glory is in their shame, who set
  their minds on earthly things.

32
There are many other forms of idolatry we must
beware of.

• Money material possessions (1 Tim. 69-10 cf.
  Mat. 619-20).
• Physical pleasure (2 Tim. 35b).
• Sexual pleasures (lust, fornication,
  self-stimulation, pornography) and alcohol (or
  drugs) (1 Pet. 43).
• Gluttony (Phil. 318-19).
• All of these were a part of ancient idolatry (1
  Cor 107).

33
1 Corinthians 107 (NASB)

• And do not be idolaters, as some of them were
  as it is written, " The people sat down to eat
  and drink, and stood up to play."

34
There are many other forms of idolatry we must
beware of.

• Money material possessions.
• Physical pleasure
• Sexual pleasures and alcohol
• Gluttony
• Any sin continually practiced without repentance
  (Col. 35).

35
Colossians 35 (NASB)

• Therefore consider the members of your earthly
  body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion,
  evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.

36

• Things not necessarily sinful in
  and of themselves that
  become addictions or masters are idols!
  (1 Cor. 612 cf. Mat.
  624).

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Has a Liberty (e.g., TV) Become Your Master?
(i.e., Your idol)

• 1 Cor 612 All things are lawful for me, but not
  all things are profitable. All things are lawful
  for me, but I will not be mastered by anything.
• Matt 624 (NASB) "No one can serve two masters
  for either he will hate the one and love the
  other, or he will hold to one and despise the
  other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

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Examples of Liberties (Permitted,
but not required by God)

• Favorite sport teams
• Music
• Internet
• Recreation
• Hobbies - gardening, games, crafts, decorating,
  reading novels,
• Entertainment (e.g., TV, movies)
• Reading of magazines / newspapers
• Politics

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• When doing Gods will
  is disregarded for something
  or someone idolatry has been
  committed!

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Give Your Idols Up for the Lord.

• Fellowship with God is impossible when you
  practice idolatry!

41
Deuteronomy 3219-21 (NASB)

• 19 "And the LORD saw this, and spurned them
  because of the provocation of His sons and
  daughters. 20 "Then He said, 'I will hide My face
  from them, I will see what their end shall be
  For they are a perverse generation, sons in whom
  is no faithfulness. 21'They have made Me jealous
  with what is not God They have provoked Me to
  anger with their idols. So I will make them
  jealous with those who are not a people I will
  provoke them to anger with a foolish nation, -
  cf. Isa. 592

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• You will never have a close, meaningful, right
  relationship with the Lord when idols stand in
  the way between you and God!

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Take Action!
Purge your life of all idols!

• 1 Thess 19 (NASB) For they themselves report
  about us what kind of a reception we had with
  you, and how you turned to God from idols to
  serve a living and true God,

44
Give Your Idols Up for the Lord.

• Kneel at the cross, give your idols up to draw
  near to the Lord.
• Idols only pull us away from God.
• To draw near to God, we must go through Jesus
  who intercedes for us (Heb. 725).

45
Hebrews 725 (NASB)

• Hence, also, He is able to save forever those
  who draw near to God through Him, since He always
  lives to make intercession for them.

46

• Let Us Resolve not to Make Our Lord Jealous and
  be Wholly Devoted to Him Always.