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Thank you for joining me today. It’s great to be here and we’re going to dive right into the scripture today. I hope you’re ready to really get a blessing from the word of God. I am. Uh the scripture here today is Psalm 135:15-18, Psalm 135 15-18. If you have your Bible, go ahead and turn there. If not just listen closely, I’m going to read it and we’ll go through it a little bit. Oh, what good scripture this is,Psalm 135 15-18. “The idols of the Heathen are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. They have mouths, but they speak not, eyes, have they but they see not. They have ears, but they hear not. neither, is there any breath in their mouths They that make them are like unto them. So, is everyone that trusteth in them” Wow. Look in these four verses. There is a more wisdom than many, many textbooks, put together, many, many great minds put together could not write this. This is, I believe written by the Psalmist. Written by the Holy Spirit inspiration of God. Amen, there’s great wisdom in this. In fact, when I read it my Bible and I was studying it. I had to just stop and say wow that is Whoa, okay, so let’s just kind of go through this, for the next few minutes here and let’s see what we can’t pick up and what we can’t learn from what. We can’t not just understand, but apply to our lives and help us to to just grow closer to God. As we draw night of Him, His word tells us He’ll draw an eye to us. So, I believe He gave us this scripture for a reason, and it helps us identify specific practically speaking it, this helps us identify the world around us. Uh, the idols of the Heathen are silver and gold, okay. So, who are the Heathen? Uh, now in this life, we might say, oh, that Heathen over there over there in Vegas gambling that heathen, you know, all that heat in that Rebel Rouser, blah, blah, blah. But back then, I believe heathen really applied to anyone that was lost. Anyone, that was not of God. Amen. So we could just say the idols of the lost are silver and gold. Well, that’s really interesting that, that was true then because boy, how that is true today. I mean, you think about you, become you get to the age of accountability where you’re no longer a child and you’re an adult and and you kind of put on your big boy Bridges. You know, there’s a scripture in there. I think it was uh, the Lord, uh, kind of rebuking job and says job. You know, gird up your loins, I get ready. I’m going to talk to you. Hey, as an adult, uh, what do people do as they mature? Well, they are supposed to make proper decisions. They’re supposed to use all that expertise, all that knowledge. They have gained through school and through life. and yet, what do they do? Oh 99 out of 100 times the heathen they turn to what silver and gold the world they turn to silver and gold, do they not? And and how You know, why is it that way or how did it become that way? I can only imagine but I believe it became that way because the world the culture we live in values, silver and gold, that’s the culture we live in uh you know and so it becomes an idol. No not literal, silver and gold, but materialism and material things. I mean, think about it, you may say oh, brother Clark, that’s harsh. Well, is it if you’re at a job, are you not constantly trying to be promoted constantly trying to get to that next level? Constantly trying to earn more, if you’re in society, are you not constantly measuring yourselves by how much you make or where you live, or what car you drive, or where you went on vacation or what clothes you wear? Hey, go to a big city. I’ve always noticed a growing up near a big city, growing up near New York City and now living in the South for many years. I’ve lived here so long. I don’t tell people. I’m from New York, if I don’t have to, I know better than to say that I’m a Yankee. But uh, Hey I grew up there. Oh they love fashion. There they love brand names there. Oh they’re they’re you’ll see people fly from all across the world to go to the stores in New York at one time or another and then they’ll be half suitcases behind them. So suitcases are empty. They bring over to fill up and bring back to their Homeland and people in the city and visitors of the city. They love that brand name. They love the fashion. What is it? It’s trying to broadcast. They have some kind of sophistication, some kind of money. Again, all of these things are silver and gold. They might like a fine wine, or they might like to dine out or they might like a nice automobile or live in a good neighborhood, all of these things uh deal with that materialistic, attitude of valuing silver and gold to the point that it becomes an idol. What is an idol? It’s anything that you put in your heart before or above God, that’s an idol. And we have to be careful as Christians not to make idols out of the things of this world and not to be like this world. So, we’re in the world Paul writes in the Bible, we can’t. Uh, not be around sin because we’d have to be taken out of the world. So, we’re in the world we’re around this kind of sin but we don’t want to be of the world. We don’t get caught up in that stuff and it can be really difficult. But truly, the Lord is so much better than the things of this world and to value God, and to put Him first in your heart. It’s so amazing. You get peace at the world can’t understand. ,and you have this closeness with God. And you have this understanding that that wasn’t there before. And it’s just so lovely to put God first and to make Him, you’re all in all to make Him the one that you worship. The one that you seek to please the one that you’re after, with all your heart. But the idols of the Heathen are silver and gold aren’t they. And, and it’s so sad, but in all this time, with all this learning and all this knowledge, I mean, think about it, you have a smartphone, it’s connected to the internet, you can basically answer most any question, within a few clicks of a finger on a keyboard there, or on your little, uh, screen, whatever it is or swipes, I should say, I guess you can learn anything. And you’ve got, I did a message one time where we’re talking about how the smartphone is uh as smart as some space shuttles that go into space, you can look that up, it’s unbelievable computing power all that knowledge and yet we’re still serving and worshipping these Idols of silver silver and gold. And then the verse goes on to say the work of men’s hands, wasn’t that true? I mean, people aren’t out there. Working for a living to just try to get a tree or a plant or something that God made right now, they may want to live in a nice area, but for the most part, they are looking for the work of men’s hands. They are worshipping the work of men’s hands and you’ll have people that have all of their hope, you know think about it. What you’re putting your hope in your trust in, in that RV, in that boat in that new jacket in that new pair of shoes in that new job in that new partner in life. In whatever it is, they put all their hope in those things. And often all of these things, they’re the work of men’s hands. They’re not even truly made by God and now they’re made by people that God made, I understand that. But it is all worthless. You know, I think of Solomon writing about vanity, oh, it’s all vanity. That just rings in my head. So, often living in this culture. Working in this culture, trying to earn a living in this culture and constantly in my head, I’m just telling myself, this is vanity, this is vanity, this is Vanity because Is even if you think about in the workplace and corporate politics and all this, we were supposed to do a good job, we’re supposed to work as unto the Lord. But oh, do we see people that are just trying to get a position, a name for themselves, the brand themselves and to move up and the step over someone else to get to the top. That’s not how I’ve got intended it. I don’t believe that’s not how Heaven’s going to be. I don’t believe. And so we see here in the first verse, we’re studying, Psalm 135:15. That that people, you know, the lost it’s silver and gold is what they’re after, and when we’re saved and we’re changed, and we have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. We need to change our priorities. We need to have a heart transplant to have a heart like Christ. You didn’t see Christ coming in the world and His earthly ministry, seeking a bunch of silver and gold. He had to ask He had to say, show me a penny, you know, He had sent his disciple down to go, get tax money from from the water, from the sea, okay? He didn’t have anything. He didn’t even have a place to lay his head at night and He is our example. Amen. That’s the idea. Taking up the cross/ For timessake let’s move on to 16. Verse 16, they have mouths but they speak not eyes, have they but they see not. So, what what is? Oh, the Psalm is saying here. He’s saying that these Idols that, uh, that that are the work of men’s hands. Uh, they’re dumb. They have mouths, but they speak not eyes, but they see not. Well, what’s the importance of speaking? If you have a mouth Well, I would say the first thing that comes in my mind is wisdom, right? And so here, we are getting wisdom from the Bible. And here, you know, here, uh, we understand that the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord, right? And yet, here people are worshipping Idols. They’re worshipping things that have no inherent wisdom, about them, that they are dumb. And so, I think it’s really interesting, and that’s why so many people, they always want that next thing and then they’re disappointed and they move on to the next thing without ever realizing. That the thing that they desire is just not going to satisfy because it is dumb. It is not going to speak. It’s not doesn’t have wisdom. It’s not going to impart knowledge, it’s not going to help that person grow and develop and walk close to the Lord, more than likely. It is going to bring them further off into a hopelessness and to sin into Uh, this covetousness, right? That’s another one that comes out. Of this scripture is the idea that we we covet, oftentimes, what others have, and we see what others have, we try to convince ourselves if we had what they had. Oh, we’d be happy. That’s where you get the whole you know, thinking about what the neighbors got and so on and so forth. The truth is through peace and joy. Only comes through Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Saviour, nothing else, so they have mouths, but they speak not, they have eyes. But they see not and what is eye sickness signify? Well, it means that these Idols, they’re worshipping have no knowledge or understanding and cannot even see them cannot even understand them, have cannot respond to them. They have ears. But they hear not neither, is there any breath in their mouth? What is this saying? It’s saying that. Hey, you know what? They are not God. Who is God, God is one that can speak. He can see. He can hear. Uh, He has all control the Bible says, He is everywhere. He is Alpha and Omega. He’s from the beginning to the end. There is no, there is no variableness or turning of God. He’s always the same, He’s perfect. He knows all He sees all He hears. All he is all in all and the idols that they were worshipping, then the Heathen and those that the lost worship today are the same. They can’t do anything for them. There’s no use in them. And so, what we need to do is Christians is understand that we need to turn to God and we need to make a priority out of what God would have us to make a priority, which is His ways, His Commandments. Uh, we need to get into the book. We need to study the book. We need to be all about God, we need to walk on that narrow path. And when we do that, we’re going to get really a far off from the world. If you want to be close to God, you’re going to have to get far off from the ways of the world. That’s just a fact of scripture that these two things they’re like oil and water, they don’t mix in fact they’re polar Sits. And that’s what we see in the scriptures. Finally here, we have verse 18, they that make them are like unto them. So is everyone that trusteth in them? Okay, they that make them are like unto them. Well, what does that mean? That means those that make these Idols are also dead. right. They’re spiritually dead. They’re not saved. They’re not born again. They have not put their trust; they’re hoping their faith in Jesus Christ. And so they are like these dumb Idols. They are acting dumb in doing it and making these idols, but they are also headed for the same fate. And it says, so is everyone that trusteth in them? This just drives from the point. Even if you didn’t make the idol, let’s say an idol in your life is a car. And let’s say you didn’t make the car, say I haven’t make this car, I didn’t make the advertisement. It just looks really nice. And I feel like, if I had it, I’ll be happy. And so I’m just going to keep working and thinking about it, and spending all my time, trying to get it. Well, just because you didn’t make it, you are still Trusting in that for your joy, for your peace. You’re still putting that above God and therefore, you also are dead, spiritually dead. You also are headed for, uh, devil’s, hell if you don’t accept Christ your Saviour, that’s some tough truth here, but that is the truth, and we must understand that. Jesus Christ is the only way to be saved. And that once we’re saved, we need to have that heart change. We need to turn into just Rock, Solid Christians, not bending on anything, but standing firm on God’s word and understanding that we have a choice to make. Do we turn to the ways of the world and the and the things of the world, which the Bible tells us are dumb and is fruitless or do we turn to the ways of God and the things of God? You know, the Bible says, He’ll give us the desires of our heart if we seek Him. So let’s choose to seek Him today.