Bible, Bros & Brew
Bible, Bros, & Brew is all about helping you navigate your relationship with God in practical, real-life ways. Hosts David and Phil dig into scripture—'chopping up the word'—and bring it to life with insights you can actually use every day. And while they’re at it, they share their favorite 'brews'—don’t worry, it’s not booze! Just a solid lineup of classic coffees and teas to keep the conversations flowing.
Bible, Bros & Brew
Identifying Idolatry | Dealing with Modern Day Idols | Bible, Bros & Brew
What if the idols of today weren’t golden statues but everyday distractions?
In this episode of Bible, Bros, and Brew, we explore the modern-day idols that compete for our attention—whether it's career success, political allegiance, or social media validation. Rooted in Exodus 20:3, we revisit the first commandment to reveal how it still applies in today’s world, urging us to refocus on God amid life’s many distractions.
While enjoying our favorite coffee—whether it’s Peet's French Roast or a smooth Califia Farms Mocha Almond Latte— we dive deep into the often-misunderstood concept of God’s jealousy, likening it to the fidelity of a marriage, showing how it’s truly an expression of God's love and a desire for our exclusive devotion.
Through biblical references and personal stories, we expose the uncomfortable truths of modern idolatry—from the devaluation of human life to the hyper-sexualization of our culture. We challenge you to recognize the idols in your own life and rediscover what it means to put God first.
This episode is a powerful reminder that overcoming idolatry is not just about avoiding the obvious distractions, but about nurturing a deeper relationship with God. Join us for a thought-provoking, life-changing discussion that will leave you spiritually refreshed.
Ryan's Coffee: Peet's French Roast Blend Coffee | Free Shipping Over $49 | Peet's Coffee (peets.com)
Phil's Coffee: https://www.califiafarms.com/products/almond-latte/
gotbrew@biblebros.net
Just kind of picture this for a moment.
Speaker 1:You know the children of Israel. They get miraculously delivered out of the land of Egypt and then they enter into the wilderness. Moses goes up on Mount Sinai and he gets these commandments from God. It's like these two stone tablets. It brings them back down and the very first commandment listed on those tablets said you shall not have any other gods for me. You will not have any other God but me. That is something that not only pertained to the children of Israel, but also has application in our lives today, and so in this episode of Bible Growth and Growth, we're going to talk about that. We're going to talk about things that have the potential to become idols or become gods, or things that you put ahead of him in your life if you're not careful. So tune in, it's going to be good, put your Bibles in your coffee and to Bible Bros and Brew. Again. My name is Philip, and with me is John and Ryan and David. We are here to talk about a very fascinating topic in terms of what could become, or what could potentially be, an idol in your life if you're not careful, and we're basing that on the scripture Actually actually goes all throughout the Old and New Testament this concept of idolatry and what it actually means.
Speaker 1:A lot of times we have a very shallow definition of it, where it's just OK, a little statue that you put on your mantle and you bow down to, or whatever you know. People have just this idea of idolatry like it's something that happened more in the ancient world than now. But actually the idea of idolatry is a lot bigger than that. It deals with the condition of our hearts and where God stands, what his place is and what priority we've placed on him in our hearts. So we're going to talk a lot about that tonight. But before we dig further into it, let's go around the virtual room and let's see who's doing what in terms of their brew. Let's see, ryan, what's in your cup tonight.
Speaker 2:Well, I have the ever-classic Pete's French Roast, pete's French Roast. And when you have a Costco size bag of coffee, you drink it multiple weeks in a row. We have the French Roast. We're doing it hot today in my travel mug from Academy Sports.
Speaker 1:Nice, excellent serve. Grew it on the go, dude.
Speaker 2:I like the travel mugs. The travel mugs keep it hot. They keep it hot for a long time and I'm doing my trunk voice so I'm sorry about that.
Speaker 1:It's like second hand sucking. That's all right, john. How about you? Buddy Dude? I almost forgot and I almost had to write it down. I'm drinking maple burger. I put that a little too excited there. Maple burger and coffee from Lidl Absolutely delicious, no creamer, because it's amazing. And I also just like to drink black coffee and a nice little Star Wars mug there for you, Because if you can't tell, what about you, Mr David?
Speaker 3:Tonight I am drinking. I am drinking spiced buttered rum from Red Barn Coffee. Honestly, I can't tell you the flavors that I'm tasting. It's a little spicy, but not very much so. But what it is is, it's very smooth and it is a lovely combination with some creamer, and I couldn't be happier, couldn't be more ready to take a little bit of a nap, to be honest with you.
Speaker 1:Why not, dude? Why not? Well, we hope that you stay fully awake for this episode. Get the best out of you. I'm actually drinking something that's a first-time situation for me. It is a coffee called Califia Arms Mocha Almond Latte dude, it's coffee with almond milk in it. Super good man. I can't lie like it has a strong coffee flavor, because it does not, but it's good man. It's like it's the chocolate milk with a kick, basically.
Speaker 3:Well, just remember, it's a latte, so we know that lattes are more milk than they are coffee, Exactly exactly Okay.
Speaker 1:So we know that lattes are more milk than they are coffee Exactly Exactly Okay. So we were talking about the concept of idolatry and the concept of, or really the thing that God laid out to the children of Israel when he said you must not have any other God but me. And that's actually found in Exodus, chapter 20, verse 3. It's the famous first of the Ten Commandments and it's one of those things that it can be easy to overlook because you know it's the first one. It's like, ok, this is just kind of a warm up to the real ones, you know, whatever, but it's actually this is if you don't get this one right, you literally will not be able to keep any of the other commandments. And I believe that's why God put it first, because in Exodus 20, verse 3, he said you must not have any other God but me. And this hits on a deep level, actually. I'll read verse 4 as well you must not make for yourself an idol of any kind. Now it's interesting. He said you must not make for yourself an idol of any kind. So there's an element of self-serving already that he's talking about here. You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea.
Speaker 1:Now, if you wonder why God even had to say something like this, you have to understand a little bit about the cultures of those ancient times. When the Israelites came out of Egypt, during that time they were going into a land that was already populated. We know that they were going into a land that was already populated, we know that. But the groups of people that were there were heavy, heavy, heavy into idolatry of every kind. They were polytheistic. They worshipped all kinds of gods. You know. They had a god for the sun, a god for this, a god for that.
Speaker 1:And if you start studying Exodus itself, when the judgments were coming on Egypt, you know, because Pharaoh would not let the children of Israel go, after repeated requests from Moses. After a while, all of a sudden, these strange things start happening. You know, frogs from the sky are flying down all over the place and all these different kind of wild natural phenomenon has happened. Well, the interesting thing is, when you study it out, is that every single plague that was sent was a rebuke of some God in the Egyptian pantheon. So that's fascinating to me, and I had the time I break it all down as to which God went with which plague.
Speaker 1:But God was not only judging Pharaoh and judging the land of Egypt, but he was judging the gods of Egypt as well and judging the land of Egypt. That he was judging the gods of Egypt as well Because, again, it was don't have any other gods before me. And so if they didn't get the message from their time in Egypt, when they got out of Egypt and started, you know, kind of transitioning into the land God was taking them to, he was saying, ok, I know the culture you came out of and there's also a culture you're going to be going into. These other lands, the Canaanites, the Jebusites, the Hittites, all these people, they all worship these different types of gods. And so God was trying to make it clear I don't want you acknowledging or worshiping any other deity, any other god but me.
Speaker 1:And the way that this kind of translates into today's time is when you think about the whole idea of a God or having a God in your life. It's something that you are deferring to, if you want to put it that way. It's something you give deference to, something you give honor to. It's this idea of honoring a being or someone higher and more powerful than me. It's also this idea of dedication and devotion as well, like, okay, if I'm going to honor or name something as a God or as an idol, what I'm saying is this thing is the thing that takes care of me, this thing is the thing that I defer to, is this thing is the thing that takes care of me, this thing is the thing that I defer to, and those types of things. When you think about it in that way, you can kind of see what God was getting at and why.
Speaker 1:That same idea carries even into the New Testament when Paul was saying you know, don't be a covetous person, because covetousness is idolatry. And he said that in Ephesians 5 and some other places too. So this whole idea of looking to something or someone to take care of you, to supply all your needs, to be your source that is the essence of what idolatry is. If it's not God, it's an idol of some kind. So I've said enough for now as an intro. But, david, your thoughts on this. I've said enough for now as an intro but David, your thoughts on this.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I'm excited and interested to have some conversation around this, simply because, you know, when we looked at that scripture last week in 1 John 5.21, the New Living Translation says Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God's place in your heart.
Speaker 3:However, when you look at the King James Version, it says little children, keep yourselves from idols, amen. And so you can see that, no matter what, even in you know, philip was just talking about how things were in the Old Testament. It seems very clear that there was also something the problem in Ephesus and some of the places when he was on the run from one city to the other. It was because they were trying to erect statues of Diana and all of that stuff, and Paul called that out, and so there was a huge to do about it, where Paul was run out of town over and over again. And what's interesting is that the idol makers knew that basically what was happening was Paul was messing with their revenue stream street. So they don't even they did. You know, I've often wondered did you even, did you even really believe in your idol or did what you? What you believe in was the revenue that you were generating by creating the idols now I think it's an isaiah.
Speaker 3:Um, I could be completely wrong. So, uh, charge my head, mom, not my heart. But you know, god talks about how these are. These idols are the works of your own hands, the works of your own mind, and so god takes a front to that. And you'll see that as we talk tonight, that the things that we're going to talk about are definitely man's creations, the creations of his own hands and the creation of his own mind. And you can begin to see. This is why God doesn't want idolatry. He doesn't want you chasing something false down the road, expecting a godly outcome but never getting one, and having your heart broken over it because you didn't get what you believe God was leading you to when God was never in it.
Speaker 1:Wow, Good stuff, David Ryan. How about you? Some thoughts on this.
Speaker 2:Well, you know, the first thought to you know, in my mind is well, why does God tell me that I can't have any other gods If he's? So you know, maybe somebody trying to make the argument of well, if God is so powerful, why would he care if anything gets in between me and him? So powerful, why would he care if anything gets in between me and him? If he is all powerful, if something gets between me and him, why would it make a difference? Because at the end of the day, I'm still going to worship him. You know some sort of argument like that. And so I go back and throughout the Old Testament you see this word jealous and it kind of explains God's character.
Speaker 2:In my opinion, he gives his reasoning as to why this is a commandment, a demand that there be no other idols between his creation and him. And it's over and over again in the Old Testament, but specifically Exodus 20, verse 5. The old testament, but specifically exodus 20, verse 5 you shall not bow down, uh, bow down to them or serve them, for I, the lord, uh, your god, am a jealous god visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generations who hate me. That that's, that's pretty mind blowing and that just goes to show the amount of love that God has for his children, for his people. And yeah, that word jealous, that's a very, to me that's a very strong, important word.
Speaker 3:I agree, right, I think I was just sitting here thinking can we just talk about that for just a moment? Because we, I think that and y'all fix me if I say the wrong thing here I think there is that. You know, we cannot necessarily ascribe human emotion to God, right? But I think this word, jealousy, is one of those that you know. That jealousy you experience is the same kind of jealousy, but more, that God experiences over you, and it's a perfect word choice because it really does communicate that God does not want you fooling around out there. It's like you know, if you're married God, we are married to God as believers.
Speaker 3:And the concept that he better not find you in the bed with someone else. He better not find you in the bed with someone else. He better not find you out in the streets with others, or some other guy or some other girl entertaining something that's not from him. The only thing about God that's different than men is that the words of God says he's married to the backslider, so even when he finds you cheating, he doesn't quit you Right.
Speaker 1:Come on, come on, dude.
Speaker 2:Well, that's the second part of that verse. You know where he says that. Can you put it back up, john? The second part of that verse? You know the sins of the parents. The entire family is affected, even the children to the third and fourth generations who reject me. In a translation I read those who hate me. So he's still jealous in pursuing even those that are still rejecting him. But he still demands it. And if you look at the word in the Hebrew, this word jealous still demands it. And and if you look at the word in the hebrew, this word jealous I just pulled it up.
Speaker 2:You know it's defined as demanding exclusive service. So, uh, he he god. In this kind of a strange but almost intuitive way, he demands this exclusivity between his creation and himself. Because then you have to go back to the Genesis story, I think. Well then why? And God was trying, I don't know God was trying to. You know people will say, well, god was lonely and whatever. He was trying to find somebody to love. But I don't believe that. I think that God was trying to. Um, god was taking and filling a void in in heaven, because Lucifer was cast out and he was in charge of worship, and so he was. He's creating a new form of worship to himself through, through human beings, and you know Lucifer had to do that. But you have a free will to do that, which makes it even more powerful.
Speaker 1:Right, it was fascinating too, because you do hear people when you bring up the scripture about God being jealous and this type of thing up, this scripture about God being jealous and this type of thing, there's always some kind of reaction from certain folks who are like, see, what kind of God is that? He's angry all the time, he's mad, he demands me to worship him, and they feel like it's almost like being coerced.
Speaker 1:If you want to call it that to serve God, or whatever the thing that blows my mind about it. And once you really come to know the Lord, you get saved, you start getting into His Word, you start understanding His nature more and more. That whole idea of God being this angry, vengeful being starts kind of fading off. And it's not that he doesn't have wrath towards sin or anger towards sin, but the Bible says in Psalms God's angry with the wicked every day. You know so there's a part of him, that's. But at the same time what you start understanding is that how good he really is. You start discovering that more and more as you walk with him.
Speaker 1:And so it's like if I had the choice between driving a Ferrari and clunking around on a tricycle with one wheel that didn't work, which one's going to get me where I want to go in the best style possible. You know what I mean. And so God is in his mind. He's like OK, I know how to take care of you. I know how to supply your needs. I know how to keep you in peace. I know how to keep you healthy. I know how to have your relationships work out well, your marriage to work out well. I know how you can raise your kids to where they won't act a fool. You know all those things.
Speaker 1:And he said I've got it all laid out. I know how to give you the best life you could ask for, but you want to choose something over here or something over there as a bad substitute that won't even do as well as I can do. You know, and I can imagine like that would kind of tick me off too. You know, and I can imagine like that would kind of tick me off too if I knew that I had the ability to help somebody or bless somebody. But they chose Joe Schmoe over here. That can't do half of what I can do for him.
Speaker 3:You know what I mean I can do none of what you can do.
Speaker 1:Exactly, you know, and so I can see where God's coming from. He's like dude. Why are you wasting your time with this little trifling mess over here when you've got me you know? And so Jeremiah 2 and John, if you don't mind putting that up, jeremiah 2 kind of covers this and it says here in verse 13 he says for my people have done two evil things. Now he called them evil, which I find interesting. Number one they have abandoned me.
Speaker 1:Okay, I can see where I'll already be going off the rails they have abandoned me, the fountain of living water, and they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns, and a cistern is like a container cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all. So if you think about it, he's like OK, first of all, you stopped, you know, you abandoned me, you left me and I'm a, I'm a, I'm a doggone fountain. Not just a little pot of water, but a fountain, where the fountain keeps going, it keeps flowing, you know what I mean he said. And then you try to dig some container that has cracks in it, that can't even hold a little bit of water that you can get. And so I can see why God is sitting here, like I don't want to say he's facepalming, but it's like what is wrong with y'all? You know, and that's honestly the majority of the Old Testament In the books of the prophets it's like what are y'all doing, man? You know why? Are you going here and worship this thing or worship that thing? And I've got everything you need.
Speaker 3:You know, but what's so common also not also, but that's what's so common in the books of the prophets in the Old Testaments. They were constantly having to fight idolatry.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 3:It's like where'd y'all go? Oh, we're up here in the trees making some new idols, you know, oh, we molted down some gold so we could have a calf, because we didn't know when you were coming back down gold so we could have a calf, because we didn't know when you were coming back down.
Speaker 3:You know, and it's like it's every step of the way, when God is doing something, they're out somewhere else trying to make a substitute for the one who was delivering them and that's why we that we do that in our own lives and we get get frustrated and all these things, because we don't feel like god's moving fast enough, we don't trust him to, and that I think this is really a big one. We don't trust him to do what he said he would do, and so we start trying to. We even make ourselves idols because we try to make our own way and so it's just. It's such a wild thing. And to see how the children of Israel hindered themselves over and over and over again, the times that God sent them into exile because they wouldn't give up their idols, they wouldn't let them go, even watching God mock them.
Speaker 3:I'm thinking about Elijah when I just remember Philip's rap about Elijah. By the way, who's God? He's the real God. Yes, my God, real God, my God is still God. Dig a trench, storm an altar, pour the water, call the fire down. False brothers got slaughtered. That's.
Speaker 1:Phil.
Speaker 3:That was mine. Look how God mocked their false idols With Isaiah. Like where'd he go? Is he asleep Using the bathroom right now? Where is your God? And then he calls down fire from heaven, and you just think about it. And then he calls down fire from heaven, and you just think about it. How many times you know the children of Israel? Fire by night, cloud by day, when you think about the amazing things that they were seeing?
Speaker 3:the amazing things that were going on around them. I often wonder would I have been one of them? And if so, god forgive me, right? Because how do you see a pillar of fire in front of you every night, guiding your way and giving you the light that you need, and you just be like, no, no, no, no, no, I think I need some wood. It's wild y'all. And you just be like no, no, no, no, no, I think I need some wood. It's wild, john, it's just wild.
Speaker 1:It's fascinating man In Hebrews 4, I think it's Hebrews 3 or 4, and he talked about that. He was like don't harden your hearts like those people did in the wilderness. He said they saw me doing mighty works for 40 years straight. They were out there in the wilderness. They saw his miracles. He took care of them. Water out of the rock, manna from heaven. He was meeting their needs every day. But, like you said, david, I think the issue comes when they start getting impatient. You know we feel like God's not moving fast enough or not doing everything we think he should do, and so that means you know what's God doing. I mean they even said I forgot where it was, but it's in the Bible somewhere. They even said it's because God hated us that he brought us out here into the wilderness.
Speaker 1:Right right, they were mad about it, man, and it's because they were not willing to be patient and let God cook, as they say. They weren't willing to. But, ryan, your thoughts on this too.
Speaker 3:Can you hear that extra voice out in the woods saying let him cook, Let him cook.
Speaker 2:Let him cook now, let him cook. Let him cook now, let him cook.
Speaker 1:Let him cook.
Speaker 2:I just want to ask the both of you guys a question. Okay, so we're talking a lot about the Old Testament, but do idols exist today? And then, even just like you say God mocked him, does God mock the idols and the gods that we have before him today? Even just like you say God mocked him, does God mock the idols and the gods that we have before him today?
Speaker 3:My answer to that is yes and yes, yes, he does. I think that one of God's ways of mockery is to say you know what, Go ahead and chase that thing down like that. Then go on that way.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:And to let you walk down that path, but I do. I do think that that idolatry is a modern day. I don't. Idolatry never left us. That's the thing. If you, you know, you can still, in one sense, the old gods still exist. Come on, dude, you just need to know what you're looking for. A great example is over and over again in the Old Testament, we see Baal, we see the god Baal being worshipped and and people will say, well, that doesn't exist anymore. Have you? I'm gonna get in trouble, I know that and I'm okay. But have you ever seen a planned parenthood? Because those are altars of ball where they take in the sacrifice of children. Blood spill for Baal, that's right. I forget the other, the god of sexuality.
Speaker 3:Dionysus was one. Yeah, Dionysus and others. And just look at our hyper-sexualized world where we literally people will do anything to expel their sexual pleasures for a period of time, and the extent that they will go to in order to do so. So, yeah, ryan, it does exist today. And then there are other things that exist in our world that we should talk about, that have created problems and act as gods in our lives. Yeah, what's your thought, philip?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I would agree, like you said, david, I would agree as far as yes and yes, you know, like you said, it takes different forms. There's a lot of things going around now where I don't even know if I can name a specific practice. But these spiritual practices that are going on now that people get into like I've seen some stuff on Twitter and different things where you know, these folks go out into the wilderness for a five day camp and they screamed at the top of their lungs and, you know, body slamming stuff on a tree or whatever they think they got to do to get out their primal instinct or whatever the thing is. A lot of times it's just a bunch of, you know, hyped up emotionalism that appears to be contacting some spiritual force or whatever. You know, some of that stuff's just just overhyped emotions and nothing more really, um, but a lot of times people seek these things, they seek these workshops, they seek these things.
Speaker 1:I'm gonna walk on hot coals and it's gonna make me, you know, stronger and all this stuff like that. Uh, no, bro, you just burned your feet and spent about five thousand dollars for no reason. You know, that's pretty much what that boils down to. So it's very rare that these types of things can produce a long lasting life change in someone's life. It's something that you get hype for the moment, but then it still leaves you lacking later, and so again a cistern that can't hold water. That's what I think about. I think about these things, yeah, and like I think we mentioned earlier, like does God mock these things? I think I can say this, and I hope I don't get in trouble we're already in deep waters in this podcast.
Speaker 3:Anyway, that's right.
Speaker 1:But some folks have made their megachurch their idol and I have seen but have we not seen over and over and over in recent months, this pastor stepping down because it was discovered he was sleeping with somebody, this pastor stepping down because he's in some nasty, perverted thing, going on over and over again. It's like, I believe, many ways many believers have made idols out of their own church and have looked to it as the source of their everything instead of their personal connection with God.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you know, Philip, I think it's not just if I could add to that, it's not just the mega churches, it's even these little churches.
Speaker 2:What's so?
Speaker 3:interesting is they don't have the footprint to be as visible. You know nobody's watching them like people watch the megachurches day and night. So you know you're not. You don't see that this pastor of 500 people over here just was stepped down because you know he was sexually involved with four girls. You know, I'd literally just saw a video earlier where a Sunday school teacher was just put in jail for 15 years for trying to be involved with other little boys in the Sunday school. Oh my gosh. And so the other thing I was going to say really quickly, in addition to what you were saying just a minute earlier I don't think not only are there these things, but I think we also live in an age right now where people are out pursuing these other gods these false religions, these false answers?
Speaker 3:you know they're literally. They're um not literally but figuratively out in the woods searching for idols, um, and I, I think that exists. They're out there, they're looking for answers out there and they're looking for it in the form. For some reason or another, god's too much for them. But if they can find a wooden stick to worship, they'd rather do that, and it's really interesting.
Speaker 2:Let me ask a question why do you think it's always, like you know, in the church, like that's pretty apparent, that I mean a common theme is, like it's usually sexual? Why do you think that's? I know there's other idols and other problems, but why do you think that one is like just so prevalent and demonstrative and crazy?
Speaker 1:and crazy.
Speaker 2:That's a good question, man, because it seems to be the the sin of choice lately, as far as um, you know, yeah, but yeah, why that though?
Speaker 1:I think it's because it's one of the I don't know how to put it, man, one of the easiest ones to commit.
Speaker 1:You know it's the one that pulls at so many people, like from any and every walk of life. You know, you've got this uh, a desire that that you know comes from something god created. I mean, you know, god invented the whole idea of sex. But then of course, you have several uh things that the enemy has perverted about sex to where people start pursuing things that God never intended for sexuality, and so those things pull on people. Unholy desires we'll call that ungodly desires, evil desires even that, for whatever, whatever reason, it becomes a lure and it just seems to be in many cases, the most convenient way to get somebody to trip up. And so, you know, it's almost like the path of least resistance for the devil to pull some people into that type of wrongdoing.
Speaker 3:Yeah, wrongdoing, yeah you know it is to me. It has the. The the problem with sex has taken us back into the old testament, right, and it has walked us forward, and one of the number one it's a. It's a fleshly desire and it's not one that god hasn't provided for, but when we remember we, it's like wicker furniture is twisted furniture yeah and it's like god has given us perfectly good furniture called sex, but then satan comes along and twist and makes wicker furniture around it.
Speaker 3:Now all things are available, but what it really boils down to is it boils down to a selfish appetite that is being fulfilled by self.
Speaker 2:And when you have to sit on it in the summer then it gets all sticky and then you got all them little bumps on your leg and it hurts.
Speaker 3:Right that right.
Speaker 2:That's nasty. When you sit on wicker furniture in the summer, it's painful.
Speaker 1:Well, that's true, that's what I mean. It'll pinch your legs too.
Speaker 2:The cushions are put up. You're not allowed to sit on the cushions.
Speaker 3:Yeah, but those cushions may not work.
Speaker 2:Grandma put them up because she didn't want them to get messy.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's a sexual perversion. I think about gosh. I'm wanting to say it's in Thessalonians, but I could be wrong. That's why We'll fact check, you don't worry. Yeah, I'm sorry y'all, but it's in. It's in the New Testament letters and it's either Thessalonians or or Titus right around there.
Speaker 3:But one of the things that Paul Paul was talking about maybe it was cautious, but one of the things Paul was talking about was some of the men who were basically making their living through as being sex servants to the Greeks at that time. So they were in the Jewish community and they wouldn't lift a hand to help anybody or do any other thing. Wouldn't lift a hand to help anybody or do any other thing. And Paul says, yeah, these are basically kind of nasty people because they go out and do the sexual bidding of the Greeks and then they come back with their grapes and all that and they think they're better than everyone.
Speaker 3:And so over time, you've got people who have given themselves up to it. And you want to know a perfect example of that. Why do we have only fans right now? Because you've got people giving themselves over to it. And I watched something the other day where these girls were thrilled about their only fans. They love the act of showing off their bodies and and performing the acts that they were performing and doing all and the guy was like, well, what about what you're doing to the viewer, what about the harm that you're causing and all of that? It's like who cares?
Speaker 1:Who cares? And in those cases, honestly, there is an intersection of another idol, the love of money.
Speaker 3:Right. See, that's the problem. And, to fill up what you just said, something that Jesus just said, and that's what ends up intersecting all the time. Idols crash and one starts helping and then another one gets involved in it. Intersecting all the time. Idols crash and one starts helping and then another one gets involved in it, and before you know it, you're a victim to multiple idols. But let's just call them what they are they're demonic spirits.
Speaker 3:They're demonic spirits that have taken on this form that's more pleasing and easy to you to accept, so that you will give yourself over to anything but God, because remember the one thing that I believe Satan would love above anything is to see people go to hell Because that means he won them. Right Mission accomplished right, Right, and so by appealing to man's flesh and not his spirit. Unfortunately, he's winning some.
Speaker 1:Some are giving their lives over, and it's a crazy thing, for sure, and it is happening, like, like you said, in so many different ways now, and it's interesting because some of these, some folks that are that are living these types of lifestyles. They'll claim up and down I'm not religious, I don't believe in any kind of god or any kind of thing like that, but yet you are actually practicing a religion of a sort. You don't realize that, but you, that's it. In effect. What you're doing, uh, you're giving yourself over to something, you're showing devotion to something, you're dedicating your time and energy to something, uh, that you hope pays a return in some kind of a way. That's a form of ceremonial religion, it's a type of practice like that, and so in many cases, it becomes someone's substitute for spirituality, and that's actually, honestly, a lot of times, what these people are seeking. They don't know it because they're wrapped up in all the entanglements of sin.
Speaker 2:Well, we're all on this mission to fill that cistern right.
Speaker 1:Exactly, exactly. There is a and we've heard it before and I think it's a good quote there's a God-shaped hole in everyone's heart and only he can fill that hole. But the problem is we don't quite know what it is sometimes, so we seek it through other things. We seek it through sex, through power, through money, through whatever else it might be, looking for that thing that's going to make that feeling go away or at least feel fulfilled in some kind of a way. But the only thing that can do it is God, or at least feel fulfilled in some kind of way. But the only thing that can do it is God. Once you finally lock in to him and understand who he is, all of a sudden man, you realize. It's like what Jesus said. He said the person who comes to me will never thirst again because he is the well of life. That's right.
Speaker 3:Praise God. And so, ryan, back to what you previously asked about why is sexual sin so prevalent in the church? Well, now you go back to even this concept of, because it's just like Philip just said men are trying to fill a God-shaped hole with something other than God, and so they may not even, in some cases, know it. Open the door to allow this in, and then the Bible clearly tells us just, it clearly tells us there are wolves in sheep's clothing in the body of Christ. They come in, titus says, with their hoods on and they pretend piety, but they're devils and demons and they have no good intention but to make money off of and take advantage of the church. Timothy calls them to take advantage of the silly women in the church. And it's not just the women who are silly, but we, just in the church, are so afraid to confront, be strong and stand firmly for what God says that we'll let anything come in, and then you'll have these people who will commit these sexual sins where we won't even turn them over to the police.
Speaker 3:We'll create cover-up councils, because now, what are we protecting? We're protecting the reputation of the church over protecting the person that's been harmed, right or personned.
Speaker 2:Yeah, like you said earlier, we try to make an idol out of it. So when you make an idol, you've got to protect it at all costs. Right the integrity of right, the, the, the integrity of the pastor, the integrity of the church what will people think it'll make people walk away, so on and so forth.
Speaker 2:and then you're tormenting this one person for their I watched it happen. This kid, um, uh, you know, it's really really. I mean this one kid that was in our youth group and at another church he was sexually assaulted and everybody covered it up, even his parents, and it tormented him, for it still torments him today in like very, very evil ways. And you know, I don't want to be standing next to that guy that did all that on his judgment day. I don't want to be anywhere near that, because, yeah, I mean that's a whole other thing.
Speaker 2:Yeah you're right, because we've made an idol, so we've got to do a whole cover-up story. We'll take it into our own hands.
Speaker 3:Just if you think about it and we'll talk some more about it next week we've got natural idols that exist out there, that we've made. We've got our own idols that we've created, but then we have idols of things like our politics, our workplace and our careers and our job. We can make our children our idols, our spouses our idols, and we can take all of these things and once again, what is it? Anything that would take God's place in your heart is an idol, and that includes your spouse, your children. Everybody's got a right place within the pecking order of the thing. But God says I'm first and I'm always going to be first, and this is something he demands. And after, the thing is is that when we put God's first, when we put God first, it's amazing how easy it is to take care of everything else down the line. But it's when we don't put God first. Then we start trying to juggle everything down the line and we get to a point where we can't handle it anymore and then we break.
Speaker 1:And it turns ugly.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you guys, we have to put a bookmark in it right here, for right now, we got nowhere near what we intended to talk about, as per usual, yeah, but we'll pick it up next week. We're going to talk about these idols and we're going to talk about the things that we've made idols in our lives and maybe a little bit about how we've made them our idols and what to do if you find yourself in that position and you need to break free from some idolatry in your own lives. Any final thoughts, gentlemen?
Speaker 2:Two for me. The first one is just going really quick, just touching back on God mocking, just want to remind you that when the Paris Olympics, when they mocked the Last Supper, then the next day the power went out, except for at the church, and the church was called the Sacred Heart of Jesus. So I thought that was it's a kind of a modern day example of God mocking the idols, and that's a sexual idol that they were doing. The second thing that I just want to quickly bring up is Exodus 32, where they make the calf, because I just think it's so interesting, because you're saying, well, how do these things take place? And maybe we could talk about this a little bit more next week.
Speaker 2:But the crazy thing is is when we're in the moment of having these idols or making these idols or worshiping these idols. Oftentimes we're so blind to it. And the crazy thing to me is that Israelites have this crazy encounter with God. They're set free from slavery, god parts the seas, they walk across on dry land and then Exodus 32. Anybody know how long between them leaving Egypt and Exodus 32?
Speaker 1:in.
Speaker 2:Exodus 32? Three to four months, Wow. And then the reason they say they're going to make this idol is because Moses is on the mountain talking to God for too long. Who knows, it could have been like a couple of hours, who knows how long it was? At least a couple of hours because they had to melt down the middle, but I mean it couldn't have been that long, more than a couple of days at least. You know what I mean.
Speaker 2:So that we try to take it into our own hand. And I just think that's so interesting that the Israelites, this human nature, that we OK. Well, all these things have happened and Moses has gone for too long. So now I'm going to just take it into my own hands and we just totally lose sight. And why is that? My opinion is we become so entitled. We become so entitled like God owes me something. He's not working in my timeframe, he's not working in what I want him to do, when I want him to do it. So I'm just going to do it myself. And the interesting thing is is first for Aaron, the right-hand man of Moses tells the people these are your gods Now.
Speaker 2:the calf, this is your, your God now. And that, just that blows my mind. And I think it's because we become so centered focus. We become focused on me, which is so antithetical to the gospel and the whole Bible. We become focused on me, which is why I think sexual sin is so prevalent in the church, is because, what turns a man inward more, more quickly and more perversely than sex, um and and and.
Speaker 2:So I think that's the whole goal is to get you focused. And so I think that's the whole goal is to get you focused, not even worshiping money or religion, but to focus on yourself.
Speaker 3:Yeah, wow.
Speaker 1:Final thoughts Will. Everything Ryan said was good, I would agree. The essence of idolatry, if you want to break it down, it is selfishness. At the end of the day, it's like unfettered self-centeredness. That really is the core of idolatry. It's what can I do for me to benefit me, even if it's at the expense of other people? We're going to talk a lot about that next week, I'm sure, with a little bit more detail as far as some, I don't want to say case studies or examples of what could be an idol. So that's going to be exciting, but yeah, that's my thoughts.
Speaker 3:So thanks everybody for watching. We hope that, first of all, we hope you got something out of this episode and we hope that you gained some inspiration from it. We're always excited when you join us. Thanks for those of you who've joined us live and thanks for everybody who's watching this or listening to it on your favorite podcast platform or on YouTube or one of the other platforms that we put out on. You can always reach out to us. You can reach out to us by email, at gotbrew, at biblebrosnet, and you can ask questions. You can comment, share things with us if you want to. You can also just do us a big, huge favor and you can hit that subscribe button, the like button and whatever platform you're watching or listening on. Just let us know that you enjoy the program and that you're listening. And, of course, we'd love to interact with you on social media, so you can reach us on Instagram, at Bible Bros and Brew on Instagram, also on Facebook, we'll be on X soon as well, so just working on that. Hopefully, I have that ready within a few days.
Speaker 3:Until next time. I'm David, he's Phillip, that's Ryan and John is somewhere in the back playing with his coffee. John, don't make your coffee in either. Until next time, everybody. Good night Good night.
Speaker 1:Thank you.
