Text: 2 Kings 17:25-28

This morning I want to look at a very serious problem that a group of foreigners had as they settled in the land of Israel. The king of Assyria moved these groups of people into Israel as the king defeated the armies of Israel and took over their lands. The problem started as soon as the new settlers entered the land. They did not worship the God of this land. We know that the God of this land is the one and only true God. The great God Jehovah. He is a God that desires the praise of all men. It is true this morning that God desires your praise. He has created you in his image and he longs to hear your voice in worship and in adoration to him.

But these new settlers did not know how to worship this God. So God sent lions into the land to destroy some of these new settlers. He did this as a defense for the children of Israel, but he also did this to grab the attention of the new settlers. God wants you to know that he is worthy to be praised. Let me ask you a question this morning, is he trying to get your attention? Is God trying to get you to turn from the things of the world to worship Him? Have you noticed that God is calling your name? Don’t cruse him, worship him!

The king a Assyria hears of this problem and call for one of the priest that has been exiled to come back and to teach the new residents the customs of this religion. So one of the priest came back to teach the new settlers how to worship the Lord.

Isn’t it also important that we teach the people how to worship? Isn’t it time that the fathers and mothers of the church begin to teach the true meaning of worship? Isn’t it time we take notice that God is a God that deserves worship. Let the church open their eyes a see that God is a God worthy of praise. He alone is worthy.

Psa. 29:2

2 Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.

Psa. 29:3

3 The voice of the LORD is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the LORD is upon many waters.

Psa. 29:4

4 The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.

Psa. 29:5

5 The voice of the LORD breaketh the cedars; yea, the LORD breaketh the cedars of Lebanon.

Psa. 66:4

4 All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name.

Selah

Psa. 66:5

5 Come and see the works of God: he is terrible in his doing toward the children of men.

Psa. 66:6

6 He turned the sea into dry land: they went through the flood on foot: there did we rejoice in him.

Psa. 66:7

7 He ruleth by his power for ever; his eyes behold the nations: let not the rebellious exalt themselves.

Selah

Psa. 66:8

8 O bless our God, ye people, and make the voice of his praise to be heard:

Psa. 66:9

9 Which holdeth our soul in life, and suffereth not our feet to be moved.

Psa. 66:10

10 For thou, O God, hast proved us: thou hast tried us, as silver is tried.

Psa. 66:11

11 Thou broughtest us into the net; thou laidst affliction upon our loins.

John 4:23

23But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

John 4:24

24God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

**Back to our Text (verse 33-34): The residents begin learn how to worship God. They begin to offer the sacrifices that were pleasing to the Lord, but there is another problem. The people not only offered God praise but they continued to offer worship to their own gods. They couldn’t give up their past traditions. Isn’t that how some of us are? We have come into a new land and we have heard the message that it is important to worship. We had heard that God delights in the praises of his people so we begin to worship. We begin to lift our hands and we begin to sing the songs of Zion, but somehow we have missed the message that God is a jealous God and wants our praise to be for him only. So we come to church with our worship for God on Sunday, but Saturday night we were worshipping our own gods. We have the old golden calf out and the old totem poles lifted high and we are doing it our way. We are trying to please God half the time and trying to please ourselves the other half of the time. But that will not work.

Deut. 5:9

9Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me,

Josh. 24:19

19And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the LORD: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins.

Josh. 24:20

20If ye forsake the LORD, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done you good.

God is a consuming fire. He is a jealous God. We can not follow our former practices and still serve the Lord.

Josh. 24:15

15And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

Josh. 24:16

16And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the LORD, to serve other gods;

Josh. 24:17

17For the LORD our God, he it is that brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and which did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way wherein we went, and among all the people through whom we passed:

I will worship the God that has delivered me. I will worship the God that has broken the chains of bondage in my life. I refuse to stay in my old customs and my old traditions, but I will serve the Lord.

** Notice in verse 35-39 the new settlers are told about the covenant that was made between the descendents of Jacob and God in which God gave them this command: "Do not worship any other Gods or bow before them or serve them or offer sacrifices to them. Worship only the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt with such mighty miracles and power. You must worship him; offer sacrifices to him alone. Be careful to obey all the laws, regulations, instructions, and commands that He wrote for you. You must not worship any other gods"

This command is still for you today. Stop trying to worship other Gods while you worship the true God. You must be willing to worship Jehovah only. After all it is Jehovah God that will be the one who will rescue you from all your enemies. He will be the God that will deliver you from all your bondage. He will be the God that will save you from your sins. He is the God that can heal you of all your diseases. So don’t give into the desire of the flesh that will lead you to worship your old religious traditions. You don’t want to go backward. Its time you give your whole heart in dedication to God. Stop the madness of fulfilling the lust of your flesh after-all:

1 John 2:16

16For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

1 John 2:17

17And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

You can abide forever. Tear down the idols of your life and worship the Lord your God.

In closing let me read you of the King in the next chapter who set a great example for us to follow:

Read 2 Kings 18:3-7

Destroy your idols and worship the Lord God with all your heart and allow God to bless everything that you do.