Smashing Idols and Phoney Gods In Your Life
We all let false “gods” gain such controlling positions in our hearts that we will spend large amounts of passion, energy, and emotional and financial resources on them without a second thought.
This week on the Everyday Disciple Podcast, we’ll teach you how to identify and then smash idols and phoney gods in your life.
In This Episode You’ll Learn:
- What idolatry is and how to recognize it in your own life.
- Why we’re quick to defend our idols and counterfeit gods.
- How to uncover “the thing behind the thing” that exposes the real idol.
- 20 Idol-Crushing Questions that will help root out your idols.
From this episode:
“An idol is whatever you look at and say, in your heart of hearts, ‘If I have that, then I’ll feel my life has meaning, then I’ll know I have value, then I’ll feel significant and secure.’ There are many ways to describe that kind of relationship to something, but perhaps the best one is worship.”
Each week the Big 3 will give you immediate action steps to get you started.
Download today’s BIG 3 right now. Read and think over them again later. You might even want to share them with others… (Includes the 20 Idol-Crushing Questions from Counterfeit Gods)
Thanks for Listening!
Thanks so much for joining us again this week. Have some feedback you’d like to share? Join us on Facebook and take part in the discussion!
If you enjoyed this episode, please share it using the social media buttons you see at the top of this page or right below.
Also, please subscribe and leave an honest review for The Everyday Disciple Podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen. Ratings and reviews are extremely helpful and greatly appreciated! They do matter in the rankings of the show, and we read each and every one of them.
Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode:
Gospel in Everyday Life – Free on-demand training Caesar mentioned
Counterfeit Gods by Tim Keller
Coaching in disciple-making and missional living with Caesar.
Transcript
An idol, if you keep following it down the path, you're looking for it to fulfill whatever it is, will always demand everything of you unto death.
Speaker:So like, so like think work, work becomes, you know, how you get your buzz, how you find your value, right?
Speaker:Workaholic to death.
Speaker:Keep following that down the road.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Like now I'm working too much.
Speaker:Now I'm working a second job.
Speaker:Now I'm like, I'm sorry kids, I can't do that with you because like no time with your wife, no vacation.
Speaker:You're always on your phone.
Speaker:You're not sleeping.
Speaker:You're freaking ulcers.
Speaker:You're going nuts, right?
Speaker:See, is it good to work?
Speaker:Yeah, scripture says if you eat it doesn't work, you shouldn't eat, right?
Speaker:But you know, it's like that's how the world works.
Speaker:It's it's not a punishment.
Speaker:It's how it works, you know, but Anything that's created good by God that we make the ultimate thing and replaces him.
Speaker:You keep following it long enough leads to death Powerful.
Speaker:That is really powerful.
Speaker:Powerful.
Speaker 2 00:01:00
Welcome to the Everyday Disciple Podcast, where you'll learn how to live with greater intentionality and an integrated faith that naturally fits into every area of life.
Speaker 2 00:01:08
In other words, discipleship as a lifestyle.
Speaker 2 00:01:11
This is the stuff your parents, pastors, and seminary professors probably forgot to tell you.
Speaker 2 00:01:16
And now, here's your host, Caesar Kalinowski.
Speaker 2 00:01:20
Alohi.
Speaker 2 00:01:20
Good to
Speaker:see you, my friend.
Speaker:Hey, man.
Speaker:Good to be seen.
Speaker:Here we are, Summer and up every area of life, including summer, including last week.
Speaker:We talked about how to have the most amazing summer on mission.
Speaker:So tons of practical ideas, people miss that and go there.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:So what's for you, summer, like you work at a church.
Speaker:I don't think that's surprising to most people.
Speaker:Sure.
Speaker:Worship leader do jack of all many trades there.
Speaker:What's what's life at the church.
Speaker:Is it kind of shut down?
Speaker:Ah, this,
Speaker 2 00:01:46
it's an interesting question that you ask because, um, that you ask, sir, Because this is VBS Is it really?
Speaker 2 00:01:53
Yeah, so we've got one of the bigger VBS's in the area.
Speaker 2 00:01:56
We've got about, I don't know, three, four hundred kids that show up.
Speaker 2 00:01:58
It's chaos.
Speaker 2 00:02:00
And, uh, and I get to be the worshipper.
Speaker 2 00:02:02
And what's VBS stand for?
Speaker 2 00:02:03
Vacation Bible School.
Speaker 2 00:02:04
No, I think it's called day, day camp or something.
Speaker 2 00:02:06
They switched the name.
Speaker 2 00:02:07
No, I knew that.
Speaker 2 00:02:08
I thought you made me come up with something wacky really quickly.
Speaker 2 00:02:11
Very not.
Speaker 2 00:02:12
Sorry.
Speaker 2 00:02:12
I'll think about that.
Speaker 2 00:02:13
So I'm actually getting to be a bird DJ.
Speaker 2 00:02:16
So I, I, we're getting to be, I don't have to be at the gospel freezing.
Speaker 2 00:02:22
So I can tell me about that earlier.
Speaker 2 00:02:23
That's not quite how you described it.
Speaker 2 00:02:25
So they've got me as the worship leader, but I'm a DJ.
Speaker 2 00:02:28
And I am a bird up in a tree, and the theme is shipwrecked, and it's about a bunch of pirates who can't find, they can't What kind of bird are you?
Speaker 2 00:02:35
Well, so I thought, I was trying to wordplay, and I thought, instead of being a cockatiel, I could be a rockatiel, and so It's cause you can't say the word cock at church.
Speaker 2 00:02:46
Yeah, that's right, yeah.
Speaker 2 00:02:47
Even if it's part of a bird's name.
Speaker 2 00:02:48
Even if it's a bird's name.
Speaker 2 00:02:49
So, I'm gonna rock out Or part of a gun.
Speaker:You're a rockatiel.
Speaker 2 00:02:52
I'm a rockatiel, spinnin the hits.
Speaker 2 00:02:54
Do you have to wear a bird suit?
Speaker 2 00:02:55
Yeah, I bought a, uh, I bought a, uh, a whole costume.
Speaker 2 00:02:58
Will you
Speaker:please, will you please humble yourself and post a picture of you in the Rocketeel outfit on the, on the, uh, Facebook page?
Speaker:Yeah, I will.
Speaker:Heath as the Rocketeel.
Speaker:Yeah,
Speaker 2 00:03:09
the Rocketeel.
Speaker 2 00:03:10
Please, please, please, please do that.
Speaker 2 00:03:11
Just don't blackmail me with it in the future.
Speaker 2 00:03:13
I got hundreds of these pictures downloaded.
Speaker 2 00:03:15
Oh, yeah,
Speaker:no, I will keep
Speaker 2 00:03:16
it.
Speaker:The internet never goes away.
Speaker:It's eternal.
Speaker:Yeah,
Speaker 2 00:03:20
I know.
Speaker 2 00:03:21
Yeah, so that's my week.
Speaker 2 00:03:22
Um, but how about you, man?
Speaker 2 00:03:24
Any, any vacation plans coming
Speaker:up?
Speaker:Uh, well, you know, we spent a little time relaxing on a beach.
Speaker:That was great.
Speaker:And then high tailed it home to be in the neighborhood.
Speaker:And, um, yeah, definitely getting some, uh, traveling in.
Speaker:We're doing all kinds of fun stuff, but mostly Staying home this summer because it's so beautiful here and all my neighbors are home.
Speaker:Yeah, so it's time to do it It's so time to do it.
Speaker:We got some driveway happy hours coming up and so it's all good,
Speaker 2 00:03:48
dude before we get going Let's read the review from Bry means says Thank you for expressing a voice that has been absent in cultural conversations for way too long.
Speaker 2 00:03:59
I appreciate the consistent logical application of the gospel to every aspect of life.
Speaker 2 00:04:02
Capital every.
Speaker 2 00:04:03
Every.
Speaker 2 00:04:04
And the relaxed and sometimes, come on, more than sometimes, humorous conversation of how it really is good news.
Speaker 2 00:04:10
So, by all means, thanks for the great review.
Speaker 2 00:04:12
Thanks for that,
Speaker:brother.
Speaker:Appreciate that.
Speaker:It means a lot.
Speaker:We're trying, we're having a blast.
Speaker:The gospel is good news, and we're just trying to help y'all see that, experience that a little bit more.
Speaker:Enjoy
Speaker 2 00:04:21
it.
Speaker 2 00:04:21
Alright, Caesar.
Speaker 2 00:04:22
So, um, the older that I get, the more I see idols in my life.
Speaker 2 00:04:28
As I was thinking about a topic that we could talk about, the concept of idols just kept hitting me for some reason.
Speaker 2 00:04:33
You haven't even told me this for a while.
Speaker 2 00:04:34
Yeah.
Speaker 2 00:04:35
God's speaking to you, brother.
Speaker 2 00:04:36
I know, man.
Speaker 2 00:04:36
So, um.
Speaker 2 00:04:37
He's got your number.
Speaker 2 00:04:39
So the older I get, I see more of these idols, the things that keep me from truly following Jesus, uh, or the things that distort the way in which Jesus speaks to different issues.
Speaker 2 00:04:48
Maybe we could start by having you define what idolatry looks like, and how do you recognize it even in your own life?
Speaker 2 00:04:53
Ooh,
Speaker:that's sort of two questions, my brother.
Speaker:Yeah, man.
Speaker:Okay, so, um, from a definition standpoint, I have to go back to the guy that really opened my eyes to all this thinking years ago, Tim Keller.
Speaker:I remember, uh, you know, I don't, maybe you can too, but I remember, you know, exactly where I was when I invited Tim Keller into my heart.
Speaker:So it's, it was a big, it was a good decision.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:He's, he says it this way.
Speaker:He says, an idol is anything more important to you than God.
Speaker:Anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, anything you seek to get, that you seek to give you what only God can give.
Speaker:And man, that's, I should almost read it again.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Should I?
Speaker:Yeah, go for it.
Speaker:An idol is anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, anything you seek to give you what only God can give.
Speaker:And that comes out of his awesome book called Counterfeit Gods.
Speaker:And I'd really recommend that book to people.
Speaker:Like I'm going to talk about some more stuff out of there in a little while here, but Um, the full title is counterfeit gods, the empty promises of money, sex, and power, and the only hope that matters.
Speaker:So perfectly titled, but so good better.
Speaker:So I'll put the link to that book in the show notes.
Speaker:So you know, hit that up there.
Speaker:Um, check this out.
Speaker:Tim goes on to say, an idol is whatever you look at and say in your heart of hearts.
Speaker:And if I have that, then I'll feel my life is, it's got meeting and then I'll know I have value and then I'll feel significant and secure.
Speaker:Thank you.
Speaker:There are many ways to describe that kind of relationship to something Tim says, but perhaps the best one is worship,
Speaker 2 00:06:26
huh?
Speaker:Like you worship that thing because it's going to give you meaning or value or significance.
Speaker:Wow.
Speaker:Right?
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:So that already stings a little.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Like for sure.
Speaker:Like that's pointing some, that's poking some things.
Speaker:Right.
Speaker:So, but now to your question of how do I recognize idols in my own life?
Speaker:Um, I thought about that, um, in light of, you know, us having this talk today, there are, there's a few ways.
Speaker:Okay.
Speaker:One is my affections.
Speaker:Where do my affections lie?
Speaker:Who or what do I love the most like today?
Speaker:You know recently and kind of feel all warm and fuzzy when I think about having it or having them that person or whatever.
Speaker 3 00:07:05
Hmm.
Speaker:Okay Again from that book Keller says a counterfeit God is anything so central and essential to your life that should you lose it your life would feel hardly worth living An idol has such a controlling position in your heart.
Speaker:That's why I say affections, right?
Speaker:Yeah that you can spend most of your passion energy on Your emotional and financial resources on it without a second thought.
Speaker:You think about the stuff in your life.
Speaker:That's like that
Speaker 2 00:07:29
Yeah, there's some puffing up just in my head I mean
Speaker:we look at you know, like like talking about Christians I love Jesus more than anything like let's look at your let's look at your checkbook and see let's look at your calendar Right, so it can be family and children or career and making money It could be achievement or critical acclaim and whatever you do or it could be saving face some sort of so, social environment.
Speaker:Um, for some it could be like romantic relationship, peer approval, uh, competence and skill, you know, like that's, that's the thing, you know, that I really have affection to gain.
Speaker:Um, Our circumstances, beauty, brains, you know, some cause that you're all about, that that's where you find your value, your morality, or even success in Christian ministry can be that.
Speaker:That can be an idol, like, cause that's where my affection lies, you know, like, I could just get my church plant to this size, or if I could just grow my ministry team to this, or if I could get our, you know.
Speaker:You know, get our Mical community to, you know, to this many people and multiply that, you know, and we start to, that's where our affection rolls.
Speaker:Yeah, I've noticed
Speaker 2 00:08:29
that too.
Speaker 2 00:08:30
Like, I mean, being a musician and a lot of times I, like, I, I value how good of a job I did based off what people say about me.
Speaker 2 00:08:38
Like, oh man, I really.
Speaker 2 00:08:40
Really strong, like set this morning and you go like, oh, it feels really good.
Speaker 2 00:08:44
I know, and it does, right?
Speaker 2 00:08:45
Yeah.
Speaker 2 00:08:46
So do you, do you, I'm holding, are you
Speaker:looking for your attaboy from humans versus God?
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Or like if I perform better or my performance is important to me Sure.
Speaker:And my value.
Speaker:So when it gets acknowledged.
Speaker:Versus I did it for God, I didn't do it, you know, right?
Speaker:Yeah, and it's
Speaker 2 00:08:59
terrible pressure
Speaker:to put on other people.
Speaker:Like, to,
Speaker 2 00:09:01
like, I'm And then you're leading
Speaker:the team, and so that guy missed his cue, or, you know, the lights were off again.
Speaker:Like, what's with the slides guy?
Speaker:The slide guy never catches up, right, you know?
Speaker 2 00:09:10
That's every church
Speaker:in
Speaker 2 00:09:10
America, you know?
Speaker 2 00:09:11
Yeah, that's like the, I should write a book called that.
Speaker 2 00:09:13
Yeah, no, you're right, man.
Speaker 2 00:09:15
Another one that, uh, that we would talk about is maybe calendar, timing,
Speaker:scheduling, right?
Speaker:Yeah, that's another, that's another way.
Speaker:Yep, that's another way I can tell, like, what are the idols in my life?
Speaker:Um What's, you know, what's, what am I spending my time on?
Speaker:Someone says like, you know, do you love Jesus more than TV?
Speaker:I believe, of course I do.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:How much time did I spend just hanging out with my brother, Lord and Savior?
Speaker 2 00:09:38
Yeah.
Speaker:How much time do I watch TV in a week or, you know, YouTube or internet or whatever, right?
Speaker:You know, um, what I spend my, so affections, what I spend my time sort of focused on and, or doing is very.
Speaker:Um, very often a good indicator of where my idols might lie.
Speaker:There again, idols, that doesn't mean they're a negative thing, but I'm going to them like they're an ultimate thing.
Speaker:I'm going to them to find or fulfill what God really is supposed to.
Speaker:So when I'm fried or I'm frustrated, I'm ticked, do I, do I go to drink and TV or do I go to God?
Speaker 3 00:10:12
Do I,
Speaker:do I, do I go to God?
Speaker:Ask my wife to pray for me and look for the unbelief behind the thing and then, you know, say that God's, God's good in this, you know?
Speaker:So here's another thing that I can kind of, it shines the light on the potential idols of my heart.
Speaker:Um, what are the things or topics or parts of my life that I tend to defend at all cost and I get weirded out or upset when anyone, you know, kind of pokes at it or, or wants to adjust it or, hey man, can I talk to you about this?
Speaker:If it's not an idol, I can go like, Oh, thanks for that, Heath.
Speaker:You know, thanks for, I didn't realize I was doing that.
Speaker:Or I didn't realize that, you know, I came off that way, but if it's an idol, I'm going to be like, no, I'm going to be defending it.
Speaker:Right.
Speaker:Um, being like, Hey, you're watching a lot of TV lately, or Hey, how come did you're always looking at your phone?
Speaker:Like, do we have a relationship or like, you know, your kids, man, they love you.
Speaker:And.
Speaker:You live on your phone, bro.
Speaker:Like, well, if it's an idol, you're gonna be like, well, you know, I was just, you know, I was checking emails for work, you know, I'm a pretty, you know, so I, that's one of the things, you asked me, like, you know, like if I defend it, it's a good chance I'm starting to give it like idol status, worship status.
Speaker:That's a
Speaker 2 00:11:16
good barometer.
Speaker 2 00:11:16
Yeah.
Speaker 2 00:11:17
So I've been around a lot of people, even just the other day, I was thinking about this, uh, who don't seem to think that they have any idols because they don't really worship like a physical.
Speaker 2 00:11:25
Golden
Speaker:statue or
Speaker 2 00:11:26
I go
Speaker:totally me as a kid Okay, envisioning, you know totem poles and statues in my little bedroom.
Speaker:Nope.
Speaker:None of those in my life, right?
Speaker:You know good to go.
Speaker:But but the truth is right.
Speaker:We all do have these idols and tons of them
Speaker 2 00:11:39
Yeah And they're not all just physically like you're not able to just point to them A lot of them are just in your heart that get uncovered, right?
Speaker 2 00:11:45
And
Speaker:there's actually different categories and types of idols Cause like we'll clear off a bunch and go like, you know, you're right, bro.
Speaker:That was an idol in my life and God is starting to set me free of that.
Speaker:And it's like, but there's this whole other Avenue, you know, fleshy part of hiddenness that, right.
Speaker:Well, you got empty space on the shelf, right?
Speaker:You ready to put something else up there?
Speaker:And a lot of it's like, like some of us are more prone to one type of an idol or another, just based on our personality, based on our upbringing, based on what we've gone through in life.
Speaker:You know, like.
Speaker:You know, if you had like a boss, it's just horrible or beat the heck out of you, or you like you did everything you could to earn their approval and never could.
Speaker:And they became the idol that you might be more prone to that in the future or less or whatever.
Speaker:So check out this list of, uh, it's called 20 idol crushing questions and it comes from counterfeit gods again.
Speaker:Okay.
Speaker:I won't have time to get through all of them.
Speaker:There's 20 of them.
Speaker:There's a lot of them, but I'm going to make it available to people and put it I'm gonna put it in you know in the In the download for the big three, but check this out.
Speaker:It goes like this Here's it's why it's clear questions life only has meaning or I only have worth if Here's the first one.
Speaker:I have power and an influence over people.
Speaker:Wow.
Speaker:It's a power, power idolatry.
Speaker:Yeah, that's a power idol, right?
Speaker:Or life only has meaning or I only have worth if I'm loved and respected by blank fill in the blank.
Speaker:Like no one's saying that, you know what I mean?
Speaker:None of these people are going like, oh, I would say that out loud, but secretly I'm, I'm, I only have worth if I'm loved by this person.
Speaker:That's an approval idolatry.
Speaker:Wow.
Speaker:Um, or life only has meaning, you know, if I have, Uh, this kind of pleasure experience or particular quality of life, comfort idol, you know, like I got to have the bigger house or I got to have the new this or like, you know what, if I, if we don't go there, so I put it all in the car, but we had a great vacation, you know, family time's important.
Speaker:Really it's a comfort idol, you know, or I, or I can't do anything on the weekend cause that's my time.
Speaker:You can have a comfort idol maybe, right?
Speaker:It's like you're saying my comfort and my refuge isn't in Christ.
Speaker:It's in laying on the couch and eating chips and watching my favorite show.
Speaker:So nothing wrong with.
Speaker:Couches, Chips, and Shows, but you know what I mean?
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:So, uh, here's fascinating.
Speaker:There's so many.
Speaker:There's so many.
Speaker:Here's a dependence idol Um, life only has meaning or only have worth if someone is there to protect me and keep me safe
Speaker 3 00:14:01
Hmm,
Speaker:it's like I'm not safe in Christ.
Speaker:He's not my shield.
Speaker:He's not my protector my provision others are so, you know Think someone's listening right now Think about like who's the person in your life or situation that without it you wouldn't feel safe anymore So they're bigger than God.
Speaker:See, that's what, that's what Tim was getting at.
Speaker:Right.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:It's like, it's that thing that you think fulfills what really only God can.
Speaker:God's our only protector, right?
Speaker:That's, that's, that's who we have to depend on.
Speaker:Uh, or life only has meaning or I only have worth if, uh, I am highly productive and get a lot done at work.
Speaker:That's a work idol.
Speaker 2 00:14:38
Yeah, the one on this list here that's popping out to me because you often don't put religion in there, too.
Speaker 2 00:14:42
The religion idolatry is, like, life only has meaning or I only have worth if I'm adhering to my religion's moral codes and accomplished its activities, right?
Speaker 2 00:14:50
Due to be.
Speaker 2 00:14:51
Yeah, totally due to be.
Speaker 2 00:14:52
That's a religion idol.
Speaker 2 00:14:52
So it's guised under Something spiritual, but it's not Christ.
Speaker:So it is an idol.
Speaker:Or, or the opposite.
Speaker:Here's an irreligion idol.
Speaker:You know, like I only have, life only has meaning and I have worth when I feel I'm totally independent of organized religion or I'm living, you know, by my self made morality.
Speaker:So tons of people, maybe even some people listening to us today are like, yeah, I don't really do the whole church thing anymore.
Speaker:I don't do anything that's organized.
Speaker:Okay.
Speaker:I'm not saying that's necessarily wrong, but do you have an irreligion idol?
Speaker:Where it's like, you only really feel like you're doing it, you're like, you're hitting the mark and you have value when you're completely independent, like in other words, you're forging your own faith road.
Speaker 2 00:15:33
Hmm,
Speaker:food for thought, right?
Speaker:How about this?
Speaker:I, I, um, I have worth because my race and culture is ascendant and it's recognized as superior, or it's not.
Speaker:So.
Speaker:You know what I mean?
Speaker:It's the opposite.
Speaker:Racial idolatry, yeah.
Speaker:So there's racial and cultural idolatry.
Speaker:So you can see where it just goes on and it goes on.
Speaker:Or, you know, I'm hurting, I'm in a problem, and only then do I feel worthy of love or able to deal with guilt.
Speaker 2 00:16:03
Yeah.
Speaker:So like a suffering idolatry.
Speaker 2 00:16:05
Or one that, one that we put pressure on even in our own marriage, the relationship idolatry, right?
Speaker 2 00:16:10
Like, my wife, or my husband, uh, is in love with me, like, I put that pressure on Kathleen all the time, like, my ultimate love comes from Christ, and so when I don't feel love to the level that I think she should be showing me, it puts pressure on our marriage, like, That's a
Speaker:huge one.
Speaker:Absolutely.
Speaker:I would say that, That most people have some degree of that.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:I mean, that's probably too strong, but maybe?
Speaker 3 00:16:32
Yeah.
Speaker:Like, I, I know for, for, uh, for our marriage.
Speaker 3 00:16:35
Yeah.
Speaker:That, and it changed a lot, Tina, at one point came, and she's allowed me to share this before.
Speaker:Sure.
Speaker:But she came to me and said, you know, I expect you to love me perfectly, and I expect you to fulfill all these things in my life.
Speaker:like consistently that only God could ever.
Speaker:And I'm like, I know it's a heavyweight.
Speaker:And so you see what you do to a person by having the idol of like, this person fulfills me, or this person meets all these needs, or this person loves me perfectly.
Speaker:They're not perfect.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:They could never.
Speaker:So you're going to have so much pressure on like on them and the marriage on the relationship.
Speaker:You feel lack you, you want to point fingers because they're not fulfilling something only God could.
Speaker:That's not fair.
Speaker:Like, Oh my goodness.
Speaker:Right.
Speaker:So there's all kinds of of idols.
Speaker:There's, there's 20 of these here that are all mind blowing.
Speaker:Um, I'll add them to the big three, like I said, just so it's like, you know,
Speaker 2 00:17:20
one of the things we talk about often on the show is the thing behind the thing.
Speaker 2 00:17:24
Right.
Speaker 2 00:17:24
That's often the key.
Speaker 2 00:17:25
The
Speaker:thing lurking behind
Speaker 2 00:17:27
the other, behind that idolatry.
Speaker 2 00:17:28
Right.
Speaker 2 00:17:28
And that's often the key to exposing idolatry in our lives.
Speaker 2 00:17:31
Would you mind speaking into that a little bit?
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:I mean, pick it, just pick one of those off that list there and let's talk about what the thing behind the thing might be like, how about number 16 there?
Speaker 2 00:17:41
Yeah.
Speaker 2 00:17:41
So my children and, or my parents are happy.
Speaker 2 00:17:44
and Happy With Me, which is a family idolatry.
Speaker 2 00:17:46
So when
Speaker:that happens I feel good.
Speaker:Like if things are going well in my family, then I have value and worth.
Speaker:Right.
Speaker:That's a family.
Speaker:So what's the thing behind the thing there?
Speaker 2 00:17:57
Initially, my heart goes to like, there's a control thing, right?
Speaker 2 00:17:59
Like I need the world to be right.
Speaker 2 00:18:01
I need to be the one who makes them happy.
Speaker 2 00:18:03
So it's, it's.
Speaker:Or when they look good.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Then I look like a good parent.
Speaker:That's part of my family identity, you know, idolatry stuff.
Speaker:Right.
Speaker:So the thing behind the thing is I have to earn my righteousness.
Speaker:I have to earn approval.
Speaker:Uh, if my kids aren't perfect, then I am seen as less than my, then therefore I have less value.
Speaker:Sure.
Speaker:So the thing behind the thing, when you pop off and your kids are flipping out, right?
Speaker 3 00:18:26
Yeah.
Speaker:Or I don't think I made my kids happy, so now I feel horrible.
Speaker:They weren't, they weren't going nuts, the Christmas gift or whatever.
Speaker:The thing behind the thing is that my value and worth comes from what they think of me.
Speaker:Sure.
Speaker:Not what God thinks of me.
Speaker:Or not what Christ has done for me.
Speaker 2 00:18:40
Yeah, and that God is not glorious enough, right?
Speaker 2 00:18:42
In a sense, they're
Speaker:more glorious.
Speaker:There's what they think of you way weightier way heavier on your mind and heart than what God thinks of you Yeah, so that's why you know Keller says it goes to worship So I actually worship that person's approval or the kid the way the kids feel
Speaker 3 00:18:57
Hmm,
Speaker:and I will kill myself to never miss a game sure cuz that's what that's what the perfect super dad does You know, that's an idol.
Speaker:That's an idol, right?
Speaker:That's a family idol.
Speaker:So you're absolutely right.
Speaker:We can read these things and we can be pierced to the heart, but we really do need to learn to go, what am I not believing to be true about God?
Speaker:There's always a lie about God that we're believing.
Speaker:or a false belief, something that's not true about them that we're believing, um, or ourselves behind every single idol.
Speaker:Like you can look at another, you know, another thing like the race, the racial or cultural idol, you know, I have value because I'm this race.
Speaker:or this skin color or not this skin color or whatever.
Speaker:It's like, what's the thing behind the thing?
Speaker:Well, the thing we're not believing is that God created everybody in his image for his glory.
Speaker:And so however he's made us and all the variations, it's all a part of showing his diversity and his beauty and his, you know, diverse, all that stuff.
Speaker:Right.
Speaker:And so then we start to say like, well, but this is better than that.
Speaker:And we're not believing that God makes all things for His glory, including us and all the races and cultures.
Speaker:And so look, learning to find that thing behind the thing.
Speaker:Now that's tough.
Speaker:We call that gospel fluency, right?
Speaker:It's part of the language of the gospel and it's key.
Speaker:Like, to try to get rid of your idols, you can't just like stop it, you know, you can't just like stop it, like, you know, the old that whole video, a Christian video and like was it Bob Newhart or something, you know?
Speaker:And so, um, but, so that's, you know, that's why we talk about this so much.
Speaker:And that's why we, you know, I offer training and books and all this stuff on this is because learning how to apply the gospel into everything and see the unbelief and what's that thing behind the thing that leads to, to, yeah.
Speaker:God, that's, I'm trying to replace God here with this.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:It's more.
Speaker:So again, I, you know, uh, I have a training called the Gospel in Everyday Life, and we do it often.
Speaker:It's a webinar.
Speaker:I'll put a link to that in the show notes.
Speaker:It's free.
Speaker:Please, please, if you're getting pierced with this, do two things.
Speaker:Get on the webinar with me.
Speaker:Okay.
Speaker:Get the book by Keller counterfeit gods.
Speaker:I mean, it's going to really help to start to unlock that.
Speaker:And, and then there's one last thing too.
Speaker:And that's like, you got to ask God about these things because he'll reveal like, God, okay, I see that's an idol, but why?
Speaker:What's lurking maybe from childhood or was someone said something or why do I live with such fear in this area?
Speaker:Why do I only feel good if this person feels good about me or
Speaker 2 00:21:18
yeah, you know, I'm even as you're just talking I'm thinking of fact just even two episodes to 171 about freedom in Christ and how Idolatry is slavery like in a sense like you're and so it follow up this this podcast with listening to episode 171 where you can see how truly free people live and it's The contrast of, of, of the pressure of all these idols that we have to make things perfect versus the freedom that Christ offers us.
Speaker 2 00:21:45
Or we're looking,
Speaker:we're looking to something that can't fulfill, can't fulfill, never, never will.
Speaker:And here's the other thing, and I think Keller said this too, an idol, if you keep following it down the path, You're looking for it to fulfill whatever it is will always demand everything of you unto death,
Speaker 2 00:22:02
huh?
Speaker:So like so like think work work becomes, you know, how you get your buzz how you find your value, right?
Speaker:Like now I'm working too much now I'm working a second job now, I'm like, I'm sorry kids I can't do that with you because like no time with your wife.
Speaker:No vacation.
Speaker:You're always on your phone.
Speaker:You're not sleeping Freaking ulcers you're going nuts, right?
Speaker:See Is it good to work?
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Scripture says, he who doesn't work shouldn't eat.
Speaker:Right.
Speaker:But, you know, it's like, that's how the world works.
Speaker:It's, it's not a punishment.
Speaker:It's how it works, you know, but.
Speaker:Anything that's created good by God that we make the ultimate thing and replaces him, if you keep following it long enough, leads to death.
Speaker:Powerful.
Speaker:That is really powerful.
Speaker 2 00:22:40
Powerful.
Speaker 2 00:22:41
So, um, let's get to the smashing side of things.
Speaker 2 00:22:44
Okay.
Speaker 2 00:22:45
What are some practical ways that we can actually start addressing the idols in our own hearts?
Speaker 2 00:22:49
Okay,
Speaker:start by honestly asking yourself, what are the things that you feel like Like, like ask yourself this, like, if I have that, then I'll feel like my life has meaning, or then I'll know I have value.
Speaker:Then I'll feel significant, secure.
Speaker:Okay.
Speaker:What, you know, ask yourself that question.
Speaker:What's that thing that you couldn't imagine living without, right?
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Then ask yourself if that person or thing has ever created you, like, is that your creator?
Speaker:You know?
Speaker:Um, does that person or thing love you unconditionally, perfectly without you ever having to perform or dance or prove yourself?
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:I think because God does.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Um, has, has that person or thing ever come and died in your place to set you free from sin and idolatry?
Speaker:Hmm.
Speaker:See, the answer is always going to be no.
Speaker:Yep.
Speaker:So start by asking yourself that.
Speaker:What's that thing or like, I can't, I don't think I can live without this person or that thing.
Speaker:And then start to compare them to the beauty and the exclusiveness of God being able to be that fulfillment, you know, um, and this will help you begin to see just like, you know, like when we were kids, like wooden and stone statues thing, well, that's the idol, but these other things are just as cheap and false in comparison to our living God and our ongoing relationship with him.
Speaker:Think about that, a relationship with the living God and his son.
Speaker:Like, can you have a relationship or live an eternal life with a job promotion?
Speaker:Or can you have a real relationship with, uh, with your income level?
Speaker 3 00:24:15
Yeah,
Speaker:it's just, it doesn't, it's so pales.
Speaker:Just like, you know, I remember as a kid thinking like they worshiped these Asherah poles, these totem poles.
Speaker:What?
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:That's so stupid.
Speaker:So weird.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:They cut it out of a log, you know, it's no different than that.
Speaker:I worship my job.
Speaker:I worship what my six year old kid thinks of me.
Speaker:I worship it.
Speaker:Yep.
Speaker:You want to love your kids well, you want them to appreciate it.
Speaker:Guess what?
Speaker:They won't always, right?
Speaker:So.
Speaker:You know, will the words of affirmation from another sinful, confused, and idle worshipping human really outweigh what God says is true of you as his child?
Speaker 3 00:24:49
Yeah.
Speaker:Your identity, your authority, the privileges that he's bestowed upon you?
Speaker:No way.
Speaker 2 00:24:55
I love the contrast of God's sacrifice versus the demands of all these other gods.
Speaker 2 00:25:01
And that's, They ask you to sacrifice everything to gain it.
Speaker 2 00:25:04
God says I've sacrificed everything, you have stepped in and spin the rolls, and I'm actually the God who, who sacrifices for you rather than demanding, demanding, demanding.
Speaker 2 00:25:14
And it's finished.
Speaker 2 00:25:15
Yeah.
Speaker 2 00:25:16
And it is finished.
Speaker 2 00:25:17
Beautiful, right?
Speaker 2 00:25:18
It's amazing, man.
Speaker 2 00:25:18
It is good news.
Speaker 2 00:25:20
But it does seem like we could spend our whole lifetime going after recognizing and then dismantling these idols in our lives.
Speaker 2 00:25:26
And I just think about, man, how exhausting that could eventually get.
Speaker 2 00:25:30
Do you think that these idols It is if you have to do it.
Speaker 2 00:25:32
That's a good point, but go ahead.
Speaker 2 00:25:34
Yeah.
Speaker 2 00:25:34
So do you think I was just gonna say do you think these idols in our life?
Speaker 2 00:25:37
Sort of dry up or start to go away the longer that we're involved in church or in community or the longer we're Christians Or do you think this is a battle that's gonna go till the last breath?
Speaker:Um, I, no, I don't think it has anything to do with how long you're in church or how long you're a Christian.
Speaker:I think that, like you said earlier, like our hearts are idol factories, wherever that quote originally came from.
Speaker:I
Speaker 2 00:25:57
think it was John Calvin,
Speaker:yeah.
Speaker:Yeah, you know, it's true.
Speaker:Like we, you know, I, God will be gracious to me and point out, like, hey, this is starting to become a replacement for me in your life, i.
Speaker:e.
Speaker:an idol.
Speaker:And I'll go like, wow, and I'll repent of that and God will give me grace in that and freedom.
Speaker:And then I'll start to invent a new thing over here that I, I find approval in or I find comfort in or, you know what I mean?
Speaker 2 00:26:15
Yeah.
Speaker:And so I don't think it ever goes away, but there again, growing in our understanding of how big the gospel is in every single area of life.
Speaker:And that's, that's why we keep talking about having a bigger gospel.
Speaker:And I want people to join me on that, that webinar.
Speaker:So I can give you some tools for that.
Speaker:Because if you think the gospel primarily speaks into.
Speaker:Sin in your afterlife, then you're left with an idol factory.
Speaker:But as you learn to see the gospel speaking in and displacing the unbelief about what's true of God and true of you
Speaker 3 00:26:44
and
Speaker:what is true of him and true of you in any and every area of life, that's where freedom comes.
Speaker:That's.
Speaker:And so is it an ongoing battle?
Speaker:Yes.
Speaker:And no, sure.
Speaker:As the Holy spirit enlightens us to the truth of the gospel, it begins to displace those idols and.
Speaker:Show them for just how sucky they are like a wooden totem pole or a piece of rock that you chipped some eyes into and you go There's you know, I think of like the story from Scripture when Israel they they formed a golden calf.
Speaker:Yeah And, and they, and they had just been completely delivered from slavery and all these plagues and all this craziness.
Speaker:Moses splits just for a little while to go talk to God about what he's going to do and how he's going to bless them.
Speaker:They come back, it's like, what's this?
Speaker:It's a golden calf.
Speaker:And they're all going, this is the God that delivered you.
Speaker:What?
Speaker:We couldn't not build this calf while you were gone.
Speaker:I just saw you pouring the gold into the mold that that guy carved, like, and they're doing it right.
Speaker:What's God's response?
Speaker:He first, he says, I'm going to kill them all.
Speaker:He's so ticked, right?
Speaker:Moses says, please don't do it.
Speaker:And God says, all right, I won't.
Speaker:He says, but, um, he has them grind up the golden calf, put it in water and they have to drink it.
Speaker:Like, how's that working for you?
Speaker:You know, is that, you know, I mean, it was great.
Speaker:It's great.
Speaker:And that's how, that's how it pales our idols pale.
Speaker:And so I think the gospel begins to displace those and little by little we get, we can see them, but sometimes I can't see them on my own.
Speaker 2 00:28:05
You're right.
Speaker 2 00:28:05
You know, that leads me into the sometimes just thinking about I've been in a few communities and you've even done this with me in my life that have called me out on different idols in my life.
Speaker 2 00:28:14
And it does suck.
Speaker 2 00:28:15
Like, it's not, it stings.
Speaker 2 00:28:16
Yeah, there's a, yeah.
Speaker 3 00:28:18
Okay.
Speaker 3 00:28:18
It
Speaker 2 00:28:18
hurts, man.
Speaker 2 00:28:19
But I, the more you defend it, the more I know I'm onto it.
Speaker 2 00:28:22
Yeah.
Speaker 2 00:28:22
Right.
Speaker 2 00:28:24
Over time.
Speaker 2 00:28:25
I'm super thankful for that because you, in a sense, you are stopping me from killing myself by serving these things that ultimately are just, right.
Speaker 2 00:28:31
Cause eventually it would.
Speaker 2 00:28:32
Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2 00:28:33
So it stings.
Speaker 2 00:28:34
It does.
Speaker 2 00:28:34
But I'm thankful.
Speaker 2 00:28:35
What do you think our responsibility is in exposing idols in each other's lives?
Speaker 2 00:28:39
And how can we do this in both a loving and a graceful way?
Speaker:Well, I think it's absolutely one of the primary reasons God's created us for community And he calls us to live like a family and live in community and invite others into that life That's that's why I say you can't you can never make a disciple like a mature disciple alone You just can't, you're not Jesus alone.
Speaker:And we need each other so much to speak the truth about what's true of God and brother, that's not true of you.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:And you're trying to fulfill this or replace that, but bro, you already have this and I need reminders.
Speaker:I need people to remind of.
Speaker:of God's ultimate glory and sufficiency and how false and crappy something else is.
Speaker:And it's never going to get there.
Speaker:And reminding us of what we know to be true in our heads.
Speaker:And like we, I read the book and I've heard a million sermons.
Speaker:I know it.
Speaker:You're reminding me what I know is in my head, but, but it can timidly crops up on my heart or my affections and my words.
Speaker:And I need community to see it.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:And, you know, say, well, that's what I have a spouse for.
Speaker:Like, you know what?
Speaker:But we get into places sometimes with our spouses where we, we share the same idol.
Speaker:Sure.
Speaker:Okay.
Speaker:Or my spouse has tried to touch that and poke that idol enough times with me freaking out on it.
Speaker:She's not touching it.
Speaker:Yeah, but a brother could, you know, or someone else in community.
Speaker:So we absolutely, to crush and kill these idols, we need the power of the Spirit at work in the community, in and through our lives and hearts.
Speaker 2 00:30:02
And I think, uh, to take it even a step further, I was in church for many years where it's like, I was in a Bible study one night a week, and I'd show up for an hour church service.
Speaker 2 00:30:14
And I put on a really good face and for 15 years, nobody knew the crap that was going on in my heart.
Speaker 2 00:30:18
Easy to do.
Speaker 2 00:30:19
It's actually doing like, that's why I love the missional community model so much is that when you're actually doing life together, you go, Hey man, we're doing life.
Speaker 2 00:30:26
And I'm starting to see this as a pattern with you.
Speaker 2 00:30:28
Like I could be in a church service or a Bible study for years.
Speaker 2 00:30:31
And if they only know me for two hours a week, they'll never know it.
Speaker 3 00:30:34
Yeah.
Speaker 2 00:30:34
How's that working out for you?
Speaker 2 00:30:35
I noticed this as a pattern.
Speaker 2 00:30:36
Yeah.
Speaker 2 00:30:37
Yeah.
Speaker 2 00:30:37
Come and study the Bible.
Speaker 2 00:30:38
Let's not talk about ourselves.
Speaker 2 00:30:39
We're going to just study the Bible and leave.
Speaker 2 00:30:41
And you go, Okay, cool.
Speaker 2 00:30:43
I have more information, but I have all these idols that no one's calling me out on and so that missional model Really is helpful at going.
Speaker 3 00:30:49
Yeah,
Speaker 2 00:30:49
I've seen you in life over and over and over and you constantly revert back in our heads
Speaker:We know it, but it still crops up in our hearts.
Speaker:Yeah, and then we don't even see it We're like, what are you talking about?
Speaker:That's a good thing.
Speaker:Well, it's a good thing.
Speaker:You're making an ultimate thing
Speaker 2 00:31:01
Yeah,
Speaker:you know, I just want to let's pray
Speaker 2 00:31:03
for you.
Speaker 2 00:31:03
Yeah.
Speaker 2 00:31:03
Yeah.
Speaker 2 00:31:04
All right, man.
Speaker 2 00:31:05
Let's get to the big big deal zmc.
Speaker:com.
Speaker:ZMC
Speaker 2 00:31:15
Miami Gram Podcast ZMC Live M.
Speaker 2 00:31:23
Put it on your.
Speaker 2 00:31:24
Stuff it in front of your Bible, read it for a week, pray over it.
Speaker 2 00:31:26
Yeah, put it in your car.
Speaker 2 00:31:27
Whatever, however helps you.
Speaker 2 00:31:28
Yeah, so let's get to the big three.
Speaker 2 00:31:29
You get those by going to everydaydisciple.
Speaker 2 00:31:31
com forward slash big three.
Speaker 2 00:31:33
These are, what are the big three for this week?
Speaker:Okay, first one.
Speaker:Idols of the heart lurk in relationships, in ambitions, and in our fears.
Speaker:And as a reminder, Tim Keller wrote, an idol or a counterfeit God's anything so central and essential to your life that should you lose it, Your life would feel hardly worth living.
Speaker:So who are the people or what are the things that you cannot imagine living without?
Speaker:That's a clue to where your idols lie.
Speaker:Yeah, that's a good point.
Speaker:The first one that could stop there.
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:That's a, it's like sandpaper on my soul.
Speaker:It's just sandpaper.
Speaker:That's a book title.
Speaker:A second one, uh, because of his love for you, God seeks to give you the best and ultimate everything.
Speaker:Like he really does.
Speaker:He, he wants to be that fulfillment and he wants, he doesn't want like, well this part of your life great and this part sucks.
Speaker:He's not withholding.
Speaker:God's not satisfied to leave us chasing false gods that cannot fulfill the desire and the desires that he himself placed within us.
Speaker:And he desires to be the fulfillment of your relational needs, your physical needs.
Speaker:your aspirations and your future, but will you trust him for all that?
Speaker:Or are we satisfied with like, yeah, I get a pretty good buzz from work for that.
Speaker:You know, like, you know, though it's going to kill me if I keep finding, yeah, so that's good, man.
Speaker:All right.
Speaker:Number three.
Speaker:Okay.
Speaker:Three, like this rubber hitting the road kind of things, prayerfully walk through the list of the Tony 20 questions from Tim Keller, get the download, get it.
Speaker:Okay.
Speaker:Uh, and start to identify potential idols in your heart.
Speaker:Be honest with yourself and then, okay, be bold here.
Speaker:Share your findings with someone you trust and then ask God to identify the lies behind the idols, the thing behind the thing, and the truth about who he is and what he thinks about you.
Speaker:Okay?
Speaker:Hint, you're his beloved child, that's what he thinks of you, and he has plans to bless and prosper you.
Speaker:Okay?
Speaker:So, get the book Counterfeit Gods, read through it in your small group and community, get, download this thing, get the 20 questions and start getting after it.
Speaker:Okay?
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker 2 00:33:34
Love that.
Speaker 2 00:33:34
We'll include those big three.
Speaker 2 00:33:36
The list of 20 questions, the link to your webinar, put all that in the download for this week.
Speaker 2 00:33:41
Like, we're serious about this, we're trying to load them up with the
Speaker:resources.
Speaker:Yeah, they're giving you a bunch of free stuff!
Speaker:Please take the time, go over to everydaydisciple.
Speaker:com forward slash big three, download this stuff.
Speaker:Get in, get, spend an hour with me in the training, okay?
Speaker:Before you go, would you just stop for a second and subscribe to the podcast?
Speaker:I'd really appreciate that.
Speaker:That way you won't miss an episode.
Speaker:We've got so much coming.
Speaker:You're not going to want to miss that.
Speaker:Please join us again next week and we'll hopefully continue to help make discipleship and mission a whole lot easier for you.
Speaker:It's great doing this together.
Speaker:I'll talk
Speaker 2 00:34:13
to you
Speaker:soon.
Speaker 2 00:34:14
Thanks for joining us today.
Speaker 2 00:34:15
For more information on this show and to get loads of free discipleship resources, visit everydaydisciple.
Speaker 2 00:34:21
com.
Speaker 2 00:34:21
And remember, you really can live with the spiritual freedom and relational peace that Jesus promised every day.