[0:00] right. Psalm 115, if you will. Don't worry about me. I just had some questions, had some theological questions for our preacher's passage. I always check with our piano player before I bring out anything new. Psalm chapter 115, verse number 8 says, they that make them are like unto them, so is everyone that trusteth in them. They that make them are like unto them. That is the title for the night. Kyle Shreve says, I don't know why preachers say, if I had a title tonight, this would be it. Just make it the title. This is the title. They that make them are like unto them. Speaking about idol worship, they become like they worship. That is the theme of this passage. I will ask you for five extra minutes tonight. In exchange, you will get 45 minutes of preaching in 20 minutes.
[0:47] All right. That's my bargain here with you. You're all in agreement, I see. Psalm 115, let me read verse number 1. Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory for thy mercy and for thy truth's sake. That not unto us, O Lord, not unto us. William Wilberforce, this verse comes up many times through history as a favorite verse of people at the time of gaining great victory. After slavery was abolished in England, five foot three, William Wilberforce went into his office and collapsed on the ground. And he had memorized Psalm 119 and he would quote it as he was going to parliament, coming and going. He just really soaked his heart in the word of God. But this was the verse that he cried out on that day when that happened. And he said, not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory. Which is to say, I don't need my name going down in the history books. I did not do what just happened. Lord, that is for you. I am going to reflect all of this where it belongs. And so this is an appropriate verse when there's a major victory. But in the context here, they're not at a place of major victory. They're surrounded by opposition, but they're claiming in faith what God will do.
[2:04] Verse two, wherefore shall the heathen say, where is now their God? But our God is in the heavens. He hath done whatsoever he has pleased. The psalmist here with the declaration that God, not men, should receive glory. This is the decisive decision we must all make with our days. It was the decision that Kyle told you that he made that day outside of the township where he said, I am not going to live for my own glory. Isaiah 48, 11 tells us that God will not share his glory. He is jealous for his glory. It all belongs to him. A Monday night, I had opportunity to speak to the Monday night guys.
[2:43] Bible study has been going on for so long. So grateful for that group of men. Shared with them my life verse from Acts 13, 36. And where it really grabbed a hold of my heart as a teenager when it says, for David served. To make a decision in your life that I am not going to live for myself, but to glorify God by serving others is a decisive decision, is a decision that every one of you must make. And that's what the psalmist is saying, not unto me, not unto me, but your glory, Lord.
[3:13] It's not about me. It is all about you. So it opens with the declaration that God, not men, shall receive glory. The idols were attractive to the children of Israel. As we'll see here in a little bit. And as they're compared, the idols that, the way they lived and they, they had ears, but they couldn't hear that eyes and they, they couldn't see that the mouth, but they couldn't speak. They couldn't even get a sound out of their throat. It's attractive to have a God that does not speak. The emphasis here is that the idols have no ability to speak. It is much easier to submit to a silent God than to a talking God who calls you the holiness. People may not reject the theory of God, but they don't want a talking God. They don't want that has demands upon their lives. They want a silent God. I would, I would estimate that in our county over the last 16, 17 years that this church has been here, there has been put up over 150 idols, wooden, metal, concrete, idols, just like you imagine in your mind. It's just absolutely staggering. I could take you and show you many of them, them that are going up every year in buildings in our County that they're there, but there's also idols where we just do not want a God that is speaking. I don't expect to be sending a transfer letter from this building to any of those places that have those type of gods, but all of us in here have the temptation of wanting to worship a silent God, one that conforms to our image, one that doesn't have any rights on our lives, one that doesn't speak to us, the one that the word of God isn't real and living and has rights to our lives, but one that is silent. So even though the idolatry may look different in our community, in our context, the motive is still the same. They wanted love, trust, and worship. They wanted to find satisfaction in something outside of God. There are all the other places that had idols. Where is your God is the question that's going to be asked. Where is your
[5:14] God? Here's our God. You can look at him. You can see him. You can go to him, but where is your God? Where is your God? I don't see him. He's not here. Where is your God is the question that they were mocking them and taunting them. So there's mentally we indulge in idolatry when we have thoughts about God that are unworthy of him. Mental idolatry. 1 John is about false teaching. 1 John 5 21 says, Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Little children, keep yourself from mental idolatry, which is false teaching. Keep yourself away from the false teaching about God. A hard idolatry involves trusting anything other than Christ to give us meaning and significance, joy, and salvation.
[6:00] There is no spiritual growth without the detection of idols and the destruction of them. You need to recognize that idols can be brought into your life mentally and emotionally, and we need to be on guard as little children. We need to keep ourselves from idols because we become what we behold.
[6:21] Behold, even the moon, Job 25 verse 5. Behold, even the moon, it shineth not. Yea, the stars are not pure in his sight. Is the Jens still in here the night? I know he was getting very sleepy. Jens, I told you you could help me. You have jet lag. You come up here, Jens, all right? I told Jens I'd help them stay awake tonight. So in the book of Job, it says that the moon does not put out light, that it only reflects it, which is amazing. How would they have known that? And the time has nothing to do with Jens' head.
[6:51] All right, I know where some of you are going with this. Okay, Jens. Were you doing that before I even said that? All right. And so, Behold, even the moon, it shineth not. Rejecting glory is needed to reflect glory. Jens, if you wouldn't mind grabbing that mirror that is in there, I got to teach you a dad joke. You haven't been a dad very long. Anytime you go into a store and you look into a mirror, what are you supposed to say? Oh, they have a picture of me here. Unbelievable. Come look at this, kids. Look, they have a picture of our family here. That is a quality dad joke, all right?
[7:20] And so, Jens, what are you seeing in this mirror? Nothing good. Nothing good, all right? Jens is seeing a reflection of himself, right? Is there any expectation that he will see anything other than a reflection of himself? You see, in regeneration, the shattered glass is restored and is able to be pointed towards God. We will become like whatever it is that we are worshiping. Sometimes I meet people and I look at them and I think, what demon are you worshiping? Because you are starting to look like something that is even not of this world. I'm not even kidding, all right? The things that people do is like, what are you worshiping? What are you reflecting? You can see. But through regeneration, we can now reflect the Creator as we were created to do. We were made in His image. We are to reflect. We are to shine forth His glory. And so, instead of just looking unto Himself and reflecting His own glory, we are now able to say, not unto us, not unto us, turn the mirror around if you will, all right? And not unto us, but unto His glory. But now through regeneration, we're able to reflect. Hold it up high, Jens, all right? As high as you're able to, no offense, all right? And then we have, if I have the word here, God. If you wouldn't be able to read Him, but now we have the ability to reflect God. And that's what we were called to do as worshipers of Him. You can take that with you as a parting gift, all right? If you hold it though, service, you won't fall asleep. 1 John 3, 2. Beloved now, we are the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be. But we know that when He shall appear, you know what it says, we shall be like Him.
[8:50] Why? For we shall see Him as He is. As we behold Him, as we worship Him, we become like Him in these communicable attributes that we are called to, holiness. We will never be a God. We will never be God. But we're going to be made into His image as we behold Him and worship Him. That is what is to happen tonight as we worship Him, as we sing about our life being here upon an altar. Psalm 115, 8.
[9:18] That they make them are alike unto them, so is everyone that trusteth in them. Those that worship these false idols are going to look like these false idols, is what it says. There is nothing that makes you more miserable or less interesting than being self-absorbed. So much of the world beholds themselves, and they become more of themselves. They want to go find themselves. Don't go out into the desert and find yourself. You go out into the desert and find God. Go out and get to know Him.
[9:48] So the cure for becoming self-absorbed is to be absorbed, to be totally focused on the things of God. We need constantly a dynamic encounter with a God that makes us long for Him more, for His glory, not our own glory, not unto us, but unto Him. He deserves to receive the glory, verse 1, for thy mercy and for thy truth's sake. He deserves all the glory because of His loving kindness towards us, His mercy, and for His truth. He is all truth. He is all mercy. And so beholding, it is becoming. And when we worship worthless idols, then we live spiritually worthless lives. But in contrast, when we worship a living God, we grow into His image. Not the dead, but the living, verse 16. The heavens, even the heavens are the Lord, but the earth are given to the children of men. The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down in the silence. But we bless the Lord from His time forth and forevermore. Praise the Lord.
[10:47] So it speaks as if they have no understanding of eternity. It's to say, hey, let's worship the Lord while we can because someday we will be dead. We will be in the grave and we will never get to worship Him anymore. But the verse doesn't stop there. It says, those that worship false idols, they will die. But it says, but, verse 18, but we will bless the Lord from this time forth and forevermore. Like this, praise God while you have breath and you will praise Him after your breath is gone. Don't waste your life living for substitute gods. You know, all the great things you need to know in theology are hit in the third stanzas of hymns that our music ministry won't let us sing. What is it? All right? That's what I was asking Kristen earlier. Why can't we sing the third stanza? All right? And the third stanza, it says, you know this song, then in a nobler, sweeter song, I'll sing the power to save when this poor, whispering, stammering tongue lies silent in the grave, lies silent in the grave, lies silent in the grave, when this poor, whispering, stammering tongue lies silent in the grave.
[11:49] But the hymn writer did not stop there. The next one that we never get to sing is this, Lord, I believe thou hast prepared, unworthy though I be, for me a blood-bought free reward, a golden heart for me, tis strong and tuned for endless years, informed by power divine, to sound in God the Father's ears, no other name but thine. He said, I will rejoice with you with my mouth as I live, but when I die, I believe you have a heart prepared for me that I will play for all eternity. How beautiful is that? If you give your breath in life to praise Him, you will get to use your words to worship Him afterwards. What idols can't do what God does. Verse 2, Wherefore shall the heathen say, Where now is thou their God? Where is He at? And what a great answer, verse number 3. Oh man, this is great. Verse number 3 says, But our God is in the heavens, and He hath done whatsoever He pleased. Our God is in heaven, and what is He doing? He does whatever
[12:52] He wants to do. And then look at their idols. They're silver and gold, their work of men's hands. They have mouths, but they speak not. Eyes have they, but they see not. They have ears, but they hear not.
[13:03] Noses have they, but they smell not. They have hands, but they handle not. Feet have they, but they walk not. Neither speak they through their throat. They that make them are likened to them, so it's everyone that trusts in them. Jeremiah said they were like scarecrows in a cucumber field.
[13:18] Isaiah reminds the people, he says, Hey, don't forget to take your idols when you leave, because they can't call an Uber. They can't walk home. They can't call an Uber. If you don't pick them up and carry them, they are not going anywhere. We have been taunted throughout the years, throughout the decades, as being people that say, Where is your God? And Israel doesn't, they give an answer to the taunt, not merely just to look sensible in the eyes of culture, but to commend this God to unbelieving Gentiles. And we continue, Luke 23, 39, And one of them, a male factor, which hanged, railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. Where is your God? I don't see him. If you're God, what are you doing? It continues the day. People ask you, Where is your God? When this happens, where's God in your life? This thing happened to you. And it isn't enough just us to look sensible in the eyes of culture, but we need to show them that our God is in heaven, and he does whatever he pleases.
[14:18] Trust the Lord is our help and shield. Verse 9, O Israel, if you mark in your Bible three times in a row, O Israel, trust the Lord, trust thou in the Lord. He is their help and their shield. Hey, get to verse 9 with me, will you? I'm going to read, and you're going to respond with, He is their help and their shield. You ready for this? Verse 9, O Israel, trust thou in the Lord. He is their help and his shield. Oh, house of Aaron, trust in the Lord. He is their help and his shield. Ye that fear the Lord, trust in the Lord. He is their help and his shield. That's us. He that fears the Lord, trust the Lord, because he is their help and their shield. God blesses His people. We find this throughout the Scripture, verse 12 through 15. He will bless us. He will bless the house to Israel. He will bless the house of Aaron. He will bless them that fear the Lord, both shot both small and great.
[15:07] Verse 15, you are blessed of the Lord. Five times it mentions his blessing. This threefold call to trust in the Lord is complemented by this threefold assurance that is blessing his people.
[15:19] My younger kids and my older kids, I have two, we call the older kids, two of the younger kids, and we say, hey kids, we're going to go somewhere. They always want to know, is it the big ones or is it the little ones that are going to get to do this?
[15:29] When you say, who is it that God's blessing? The big and the small and the great. All of us. He is saving all of us. We have been abundantly blessed.
[15:40] Ephesians 1, 3 said, Blessed be the God, Father, our Lord Jesus Christ, who is blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places. How and who? In Christ.
[15:51] All spiritual blessings have been given to who? The small and to the great. We trust in him. What a contrast between the living God and dead idols. The living blesses, fulfills promises, dispenses grace on both the small and the great.
[16:07] His blessings fulfilled promises, and abundant grace has been experienced by all who have trusted in the redeeming works of his Son, our Savior. Dead idols, in contrast, never promise, provide what they promise.
[16:18] They only leave you longing for more. They never bless, only deaden. They never grant grace, only condemnation. And the only logical response is the trust in the Lord, not in created things.
[16:31] He is their help and their shield. He is their help and their shield. He is our help and our shield. And this is how we should truly say, not unto us.
[16:42] How do we say not unto us? Proverbs 3, 5, and 6, Trust in the Lord with all thine heart. Lead not unto thine understanding, and all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct the path. Not unto us, but your glory.
[16:55] How does it happen? We trust in him. We trust in him to be our shield. And let us be glad today. Psalm 33, 21. I want us to end the day with gladness. Chris, we'll come up here in a moment.
[17:07] We will sing a song together, and we will sing with gladness. Psalm 33, 21. For our hearts shall rejoice in him. Why? Because we have trusted in his holy name.
[17:20] Not unto us. You know, you say that in verse number one. William Wilbur Forrest. Not unto us, Lord. Not unto us, but to your glory. We can all say that in here today. But how do we live a life that's not unto us, not unto us?
[17:31] It's to say, well, God, if you want me to go to Australia, I'll take up my cross and I'll follow you. Right? It's to say, God, you will dictate my life. That's the example for our brother here.
[17:41] But in your life, what is it trusting the Lord looks like? How do you say not unto us? The Lord's prayer, not my will, but thy will be done. And Psalm 115 sounds very strange in a self-centered world, but it is the foundation of the Christian life.
[17:58] Not unto us, not unto us, but to your glory. That is the foundation of everything we have been made to be. So let us pray through this passage together, and then we will stand and sing.
[18:10] Would you pray with me? Psalm 115. Heavenly Father, we come tonight and we say corporately together, not unto us, O Lord, but unto thy name give glory for thy mercy and for thy truth's sake.
[18:23] Lord, we don't want to live a self-centered life. That is not the Christian life. We want to live a God-centered life. Lord, we want to say not unto us. Wherefore, Lord, the heathen say, where is our God?
[18:35] Lord, even though they taunt us, we know the response. We know where you are, and you do whatever you please. You are in the heavens. Lord, the idolatry, there is silver and there are gold.
[18:46] They have hands, but they can't do anything. They have a mouth. They can't speak, Lord. Nothing comes out of their throat. No sounds. Lord, we still see the idols today in our lives, and we want to destroy them.
[18:57] We make things in our own image. We make an idol, and we call it God, but it is not. It's just something formed in our image. And we live lives, Lord, that reflect us and not you. And, Lord, you have been so long suffering and kind to us.
[19:11] And, Lord, we become like what we behold, and I want to behold your glory. I want to see you. I want to be conformed into your image. Lord, our worship is going to determine our character.
[19:23] Lord, may we be a people that worships you, and I can say we trust in the Lord. You are our help and your shield. Lord, to the house of Aaron, Lord, to the house of Israel, and to all those that fear the Lord, to the small and to the great.
[19:36] Father, we see the relationship between trusting you and the blessings that are in our lives of becoming more and more like you. Lord, while we have our time here on earth, we want to praise you with everything that is in us and with our voice.
[19:52] And then, Lord, when you take us home, we want to continue that for all eternity. Lord, for your truth and your mercy's sake, you deserve the worship. And we, Lord, commit tonight as a church family to not give it the lesser things, but to be a reflection of you upon this world.
[20:10] In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.