In this sermon, the speaker discusses the four elements that make up the creation: people, places, things, and events. He highlights the problem of Christians seeking consolation, satisfaction, and fulfillment in people, which can lead to disappointment. The speaker shares a story about police dogs being used to catch a young boy who had wandered into a department store, emphasizing the importance of having our hearts fixed on the Lord rather than on earthly things. He concludes by urging listeners to rejoice in the Lord Jesus Christ and turn back to the Creator, as seeking satisfaction in the world will only lead to emptiness and despair. The sermon references Philippians chapter 2 and emphasizes the need to make Jesus Lord of our lives.

I want to speak in two passages this morning. First of all, in the Book of Romans, chapter one is my text, Romans 125. That's my text, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans. Find it. It's not in your Bible. Okay. Romans 125. Now, once you get to Romans, and you should really be there by now, once you get to Romans, then keep that place and turn on over to the right to Philippians, because I'm going to be giving a study, basically, in the Book of Philippians. This is Sunday school hour. This is a Bible study this morning, and so we'll be most of the time in Philippians. But my text is in Romans 125, and I'm speaking on the subject of Christian idolatry, Christian idolatry. You say, there isn't any such thing. That's a contradiction of terms, but I don't think it is, having been a Christian for many years and knowing many, many Christians. I believe there is such a thing as Christian idolatry, and if someone were to ask the question, are Christians ever guilty of idolatry, what would you say? See, you have agreed. Now you're hooked. Christians are guilty of idolatry. Look with me, please, at my text now, Romans 125. What's interesting is, my text is not referring to Christians. My text is a text that's referring to the pagan world. It wasn't written about Christians. It was written about the pagan world. I want to make sure you know that I know that. But one thing that's interesting about it is that sometimes things that God says about unbelievers apply to believers, such as in 1 Corinthians when he was talking about carnal Christians and said, aren't you walking like men? That is, people who are not Christians. And sometimes people who are Christians do things that people who are not Christians do. Is that right? Is that right? All right, it's never polite to sit and stare when someone asks you a question. So you make sure you answer. And so in this matter of idolatry, sometimes Christians are also guilty. Let me read my text, Romans 125, speaking of the pagan world, who changed the truth of God into a lie and worshiped and served the creature, that is, the created thing, that which God had created. Not as in your King James Version, more than. You see, if you have a center reference in your Bible, a little number, and it will correct that word. The word should be rather than. Worshipped and served the creature, the created thing, rather than the creator, the one who created it, who is blessed forever. Amen. Now, when I ask the question, are Christians ever guilty of idolatry? In order to find the answer to that question, let's ask ourselves another question. Where do I look for satisfaction in life? Now, that's quite a question, and I trust that every one of us will ask our own hearts that question this morning. Where do I look, where do I turn, where do I go for satisfaction in life? Have I found full and complete satisfaction in the Creator, in God, in Christ, or am I seeking at least part of my satisfaction in life in the creation, the things that God has created? Now you say, well, what's in the creation? Well, first of all, here's the question. Is it the creation or the Creator where I go for satisfaction, for consolation, for what I need in life? There are four things that make up the creation. There are people, places, things, and events. One of the great troubles with many Christians is that they are looking to people for their consolation, their satisfaction, their fulfillment in life, and people can be disappointing. Yes, I heard a husband laugh, I think. Sometimes people don't do what we want them to do, do they? Do you know anybody that doesn't do what you want them to do? How many of you do? Yes, and the rest of you aren't being truthful this morning. People. So many times as I talk to Christians, and I talk to hundreds and hundreds of Christians, so many times as I talk to them and they begin to tell me their troubles and they begin to tell me why they are defeated and why they are not walking with God and why they don't have the joy of the Lord in their heart and why they're not victorious in the Christian life, they immediately start to tell me about people, other people in their lives, their husband or their wife or their child or their neighbor or their employer or the employees or someone who is supposedly the cause of their problem. But the real cause of the problem is that we are looking to people for our satisfaction and fulfillment in life, and people are part of the creation. And God wants us to get our eyes and our hearts off from people and on the Creator, the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen? I had just walked into my house one night, and this has only happened a few months ago, and it was supper time, and I had come in and set my briefcase down, and suddenly the phone rang. I picked up the phone, and on the other end of the line was my assistant pastor, who's a very wonderful young man. He's just taken to church now, so he's no longer with us, but an excellent young man, Bob Peters. And he said to me in a very strange voice, Pastor, have you heard about the accident yet? And I said, What accident? And he said, You haven't heard about it? And there was a sob in his voice. And he said, There's been an accident with one of the automobiles going to the quiz. Now, our church is very active in Bible quizzing, and don't mind if I'm like Paul and boast a little bit, but they have won the Canadian nationals three years in a row, and then they went down and beat the United States. Pardon me, folks. Then two members of our quiz team went to the internationals, and they won there, and so they have quite a few trophies. We had three carloads of young people who had left that day. In fact, I had been at the church when they left, and they had headed for Brandon for a weekend of Bible quizzing. And then as I listened to Bob, he said, Pastor, Jan Neufeld, Dallas Lutzer, and Kerry Dick are dead. And I tell you, I couldn't believe it. I said, Bob, are you sure? And he was crying on the phone. He said, Pastor, I'm sure. He said, A call just came from the driver of that car. He's the only survivor. He called his mother from the hospital, and she has just called me, and there's no question. Jan Neufeld, the young housewife with a seven-week-old baby who was the coach of the quiz team and had coached them to victories and whom they loved dearly, and Dallas Lutzer, the only son of Albert Lutzer, the chairman of our church board, who is a brother to Irwin, who is here speaking at the conference, and Kerry Dick, the daughter of one of our elders, all of them the very choicest young people in the church, the cream of Christian youth. And they were gone in a moment. I think one of the hardest things that I've ever had to do in my entire life was to go to the Lutzer home to tell Albert and Jean that their only son, 16 years old, for whom Albert had just bought another farm because he wanted to go into farming, that he was dead. You say, what did they do? You know, those three families proved to my heart again what it means to have your heart and your life and your commitment in the Creator rather than in the creation. Were they brokenhearted? Of course. Were they prostrated with grief? Of course. But in the midst of their grief, in the midst of their tears, in the midst of their heartache and heartbreak, in the midst of that tragedy, on every side, everywhere I turned, I found those families witnessing for Jesus Christ and confessing their faith in Christ and standing firm in the Lord. Hallelujah. I want to say to you that there isn't any place we can go for consolation in this world except in the Lord Jesus Christ. Christian, don't be guilty of Christian idolatry. Don't get your heart so fixed and so centered upon people. And don't put them in the center of your heart instead of putting Jesus in the center of your heart. If you love any person in this world more than you love the Lord Jesus Christ, you are going to fail as a Christian and you're guilty of idolatry. You believe that? Oh, may God center our hearts upon him so that when people fail us, when people are taken from us, that our hearts and lives are firmly fixed in the Lord Jesus Christ. Turn with me to Philippians chapter 1, Philippians chapter 1, verse 12. Listen to Paul. But I would, ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happen unto me, I'm going to talk about events, happenings in a minute, have fallen out rather under the furtherance of the gospel so that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace and in all other places. Paul was in jail and he was facing some very serious things. And then he said, many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife, and some also of goodwill. The one preached Christ of contention, not sincerely supposing to add affliction to my bonds, but the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defense of the gospel. So in that case, I'm just going to give up and I'm going to quit because all of these Christian people have failed me. That's a perverse version. That's not what your Bible said. No, mine says in verse 18, what then? Notwithstanding in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice. Paul's heart was so firmly fixed in the Lord Jesus Christ that when men turned against him, at one time he said, all those who are in Asia have turned against me. Think of it. And his heart stood firm because his heart was fixed upon the creator rather than the creation. Look with me also at the second chapter in verse 25. Pardon me, verse 21 first. He says, for all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ. Again, speaking about how people have failed him. Verse 25. Yet I suppose it necessary to send unto you Epaphroditus, my brother and companion in labor and fellow soldier, but your messenger and he that ministered to my wants. For he longed after you all and was full of heaviness because that he had heard that he had been sick. For indeed he was sick nigh unto death, but God had mercy on him and not on him only, but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. Paul lost many of his companions in the gospel. He thought he was going to lose Epaphroditus, but no matter how men failed him, no matter how he saw his dearest loved ones perish, his heart was firmly fixed on the creator, on the Lord Jesus Christ, not on the creation. Now, the second thing in the creation is places. Now, sometimes we get in some bad places. Some of you are looking at me so strangely. Don't you have a sense of humor? I don't know if you've ever been in a place like that. Some of you have been in hot water, haven't you? Oh, yes. Paul said, I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content. Somebody said he was never in the state of New York. I pastored for 13 years in Alabama in the deep south, and there are some large department stores in Birmingham, Alabama, and they have a unique way of protecting their stores at night. They have police dogs in some of these stores. One night the alarm rang in a store, and the police went rushing to this department store and found everything locked except the back window. So they knew someone must be in there, and they unlocked the doors. They went in very cautiously, and they got the police dogs, and they started hunting around. The dogs led them finally to a large case where there were sliding doors, and the dogs stood there growling and whining at the case. So they got back, and they got their revolvers out and the flashlights, and they got ready, and one of the policemen jerked open the sliding door, and there sat a little black boy, and he was terrified. He was sitting there, and his eyes were as big as saucers, and he had just wandered in there, and he wasn't really robbing the store or anything. He'd just gotten all fouled up, and there he was sitting there just shaking and trembling all over like a... I was going to say like a leaf. I should say like a thief. There he was, and one of the policemen said, Hey, you black boy, what you doing in there? And the little boy said, Hey, everybody's got to be somewhere. He said, Yeah, but I don't like where I am. Isn't it funny how sometimes where we are seems to affect our Christian victory? I remember when I went from Florida right below West Palm Beach on the East Coast up to Akron, Ohio. Dirty, filthy city, right? I mean, it's not anything like West Palm Beach for beauty and cleanliness and all that, but it's full of wonderful people, right? Some of them are sitting here in the front row. And people would say to me, What in the world did you leave? You left West Palm Beach, Florida? To come to Akron, Ohio? And they'd, you know, sort of tap their head. Why would you leave a place like that to come to a place like this? Well, it's simple. The place has nothing to do with it. The Lord led us there. Amen? And those nine years are some of the happiest years I've ever lived in my life. Don't you ever forget it. Wonderful years. We think if we could just be in a different place, if we could be in a different neighborhood, if we could be in a different, do I dare to say it, church? Some of you pastors think, You know, why is it I always get all the bad churches? I mean, Dick Sibley, he's so lucky. I guess I am. I get all the wonderful churches. Somebody says, Why is it every church I get into, the people are cantankerous and mean and backbiting and gossiping and fighting and quarreling? And they don't want the blessing of God and they don't win souls. And I tell you, I get up there and I really let them have it, but it doesn't change a thing. And it won't. God wants to teach us that the place doesn't matter. Don't fix your heart on a place. Fix your heart on the Lord Jesus Christ. We sing so loudly, but we don't mean it. If Jesus goes with me, I'll go anywhere. We say, It's heaven to me where ever I may be if he is there. And then we go home. We say, I hate this messed up, rundown house. When are you going to build a new house? We have our hearts so fastened on the places where we are because we're guilty of idolatry. Christ is not in the center of our hearts. Look with me again at Philippians 1, 12 and 13. Especially 13. So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace and in all other places. Paul was in prison and most of us, I'm afraid, would be saying, Lord, if that's the kind of a place you're going to put me in, then I'm fed up. I'm through. And instead, Paul was saying, Hallelujah. Ever since I've been in jail, I've been able to witness to the servants of the Caesar. And people are being saved right in the emperor's palace because I'm here. And not only that, because I'm in jail, there have been some weak Christian brethren who have taken courage because they saw me stand true to the Lord in jail. And now they're out preaching the gospel boldly. And Paul said, I rejoice and I will rejoice. Places. Jesus said in John 14, 27, Peace I leave with you. My peace I give unto you, not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. He said in this world, he shall have tribulation, but fear not. I have overcome the world. I don't know where you are this morning, what kind of a place you're in. I know where you are right now. And maybe some of you are already saying, I wish I wasn't here, but I pray that God will just get ahold of our hearts this morning and get our eyes on Jesus so that it doesn't matter where we are. Then there are people whose hearts are fixed on things. And they're all concerned about the bank book. They're all concerned about how much money they have and how much they can buy and whether they can get a new trinket and a new toy. How many people's lives who are Christians are totally defeated this morning because they are looking to material things for satisfaction. And they say, I love Jesus, but they cannot be happy without one more thing. Say, if I could just, how many times you use that word just, if I could just have a new dishwasher, or if I could just have a new car, if I could just have a new dresser, if I could just have, and they go on talking about things. Where's your heart centered? Is it centered upon things or upon the Lord Jesus Christ? Turn with me to Philippians 3, 7. Philippians 3, 7, listen to the words of Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit. For what things were gained to me, those I counted loss for Christ. What things were gained, I counted loss for Christ. Yea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but done, that I may win Christ. Things of little value in Paul's eyes. Turn me also over to the fourth chapter, Philippians, and verse, beginning with verse 11. Paul says, Not that I speak in respect of want, for I have learned whatsoever state I am therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound everywhere, and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me. Notwithstanding, ye have well done that ye did communicate with my affliction. Now ye Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only. For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity, not because I desire a gift, but I desire fruit that may abound to your account. But I have all and abound. I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odor of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well pleasing to God, and then you could quote verse 19 with me, but my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. I remember one time down in Alabama I was pastoring a little church where they had promised me five dollars a week and never did make it, ever. So we just prayed and trusted God for everything. We paid our own rent and all other expenses. In fact, one of the men said one day, I know the district must be supporting them because we're certainly not. That was true, but it wasn't true that the district was supporting us. And Thanksgiving was coming up and my wife and I had both been brought up in homes where we didn't have a great deal, but usually Thanksgiving we had chicken or turkey or something like that. And so we thought, oh, would it be nice if we could have a chicken? So it was about two weeks before Thanksgiving, so we started praying for a chicken. Thought we'd give the Lord plenty of time. And we no sooner began to pray for a chicken when somebody came and gave us a chicken. I mean, just like that. And we were a little surprised, but thankful. And so we said, oh, that's our chicken for Thanksgiving. And we'll put it in the freezing compartment of the refrigerator, had a little bitty place there, just big enough for it. And we'll keep it for Thanksgiving. So we put it in there. Oh, that was a mistake. Like the Lord said, don't save the manna, eat it. I'll give you some more tomorrow. We hadn't learned that yet. So we saved it for Thanksgiving. And the night before Thanksgiving, we went to prayer meeting and some of the dear folks in the church from the farms had come in and they brought us a couple of box of groceries. And in the box of groceries was a chicken. And so we took that home with us that night. Now we had two chickens and only two of us couldn't possibly eat it. And the next morning, a fellow Alliance pastor didn't live very far, came by and said, wife, and I decided we wanted you to come over to our house. We get so worried about them and we get so concerned and get our hearts so fixed on them. And all these things will perish. Brother, don't hang on too tight. You get your fingers burned when it all catches on fire. Amen. God has said he's going to burn it up. You believe that? I may make you kind of angry, but God's going to take your beautiful home. He's going to burn it to cinders and your new car and everything else you have. He's going to burn it up. Do you believe it? Now, I didn't think that up. God thought it up. Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man loved the world, the love of the father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life is not of the father, but is of the world. And the world is passing away and the lust thereof, but he that doeth the will of God, what? Abide it forever. Hallelujah. Somebody says, well, what happens if I lose my job? I say, well, you won't have any money. How could I live without money? I say, well, you couldn't live very long. Well, if you don't have any money, then what? Well, I won't be able to buy any food. Well, then what? Well, I would starve. Well, then what? Well, I would die. And then what? That's the question. Is heaven all that bad? Huh? What are you worried about? Heaven's not that bad. In fact, I'm kind of looking forward to it. Anybody looking forward to heaven? Yeah, now you're going to put all your money in the offering today. No, I'm kidding. I know better. Well, we get all shook up about things. I was listening to Dr. Henry Brandt. He's a character. If you've ever heard him, you know that. By the way, Dr. Henry Brandt said that when he first was saved, he was an engineer, in case you didn't know that. And God started to use him in counseling people. He developed a tremendous counseling ministry as an engineer and a Christian. And then everybody said, oh, you should go to college and get your degree in psychology, and then you'll really be a counselor. So he went and he took eight years of education and got his doctorate and went into practice. And he said he had sort of forgotten all the things God had taught him from the Word of God, trying to counsel as a Christian, but trying to use worldly philosophies. And he said about ten years after he got finished with his education, he found himself right back where he started, counseling like he did before he went to school. Oh, how we need to get our hearts fixed on the Lord. Anyway, I was listening to Dr. Henry Brandt, and he lives down in Florida, and he said that he decided he'd make a little money trying to take care of himself in his old age. And so he got some property and he made a nice contract, and he's going to have them build three apartment houses. That's good business in Florida. So they had the first one almost all the way up, and he'd go by every day and admire it and think how it was going to take care of him in his old age, and he's going to be secure. And my God was so good to help him to be secure when he got old, and his heart was so full of joy. And so he said it was almost finished when one of those wonderful storms struck Florida. A hurricane came through and a tornado after it, and he said the next morning, and I've been through three hurricanes in Florida. I know what they're like. And he said the next morning he hustled over to look at his property, and he said it was just a tangled mess of concrete and steel and rubble, just totally just like a bomb had hit it. And he was standing there and looking at it and wondering what in the world and why a thing like that would happen to a good godly man like him and all those things. And he said suddenly the Lord started to talk to him and said, Henry, I just wanted to show you how unimportant things are. He said, Henry, all I had to do was go. And my, what a lesson he learned. You know, all those things that you're so dependent on, all God has to do is go. And you won't have anything but God. Isn't that terrible? No, no. That's the most wonderful thing to have your heart set upon him and let him be in the center of your life so that things can be taken and we're steadfast in Christ because he is the supreme love of our life and we're dependent totally upon him. Finally. Events. Woe is me. When I was pastoring in Alabama, I drove over into Mississippi once a week to hold a Bible study in Amory, Mississippi. One of the, one of my first experiences in home Bible studies before I ever got to the Stowe Seminar or anything, but God gave us great blessing there. Today there's an Alliance Church there and we saw God perform some miracles. There was a man in that church as we were getting it founded. He had quite a sense of humor, but he always looked like a, he always had this sad Alabama hound dog look, you know. Have you ever seen, any of you know what Alabama coon dogs look like? Oh, they're a sight. Long ears, long face, long nose, long jowls, everything. I don't know, his face was foreign like that. He was a great guy, but that's the way he looked. And he said, you know, he said, I'm in so much trouble, I'm nutty as a fruitcake. And he said, so many bad things have happened to me recently that if one more thing goes wrong, it'll be at least 15 days before I can worry about it. I don't know if you're in that shape or not. After a while, you might as well just quit worrying. You never will get caught up. Some people have their worries all filed, you know, so they can consider them in orderly fashion. I'm on worry number 563. It's interesting how our lives get centered in happenings. You ever hear people talk about being happy? Christians ought not to be concerned about happiness. They ought to be concerned about the joy of the Lord. My brother, there's an eternity of difference between happiness and joy. Joy is dependent on my inward relationship with my creator. An eternal, unchangeable condition fixed upon an unchangeable God. Amen? But happiness is based upon happenings, happiness happenings, events. Do you know there are lots of people that just live from one event to the next? Really, there are even Christians that live that way. The only thing that makes their life endurable is that they're planning the next event, the next thing they're going to do, the next place they're going to go, the next meeting they're going to attend. I mean, they go from church to the picnic to the ball game to the singing to the conference to the night with their friends to the next trip they're going to make, and their whole life is scheduled completely on one happening after another, and they have to keep the events coming and keep them interesting and enjoy themselves, and that's quite a word, enjoying yourself. Somebody says, isn't it all right to enjoy yourself? Well, why don't you try enjoying others for change? Amen? How about enjoying God for change instead of ourselves? Even in the church, we can get to the place as a Christian where our Christian life is completely based on events in the church, and there are Christians who are running from one event to the next as fast as they can go, morning, noon, and night, and neglecting their prayer life, neglecting their Bible study, neglecting their wife, neglecting their children, neglecting all the responsibilities before God because they are caught up in events, happenings, and they have to have them in order to continue to go on, and that's part of the creation, not the Creator. Oh, may God help us to see that only in the Lord Jesus Christ is there love, contentment, peace, satisfaction, joy, security. Look with me at Philippians 3, Philippians 3.1, Finally, my brethren, rejoice where? I'll say it louder. We are to rejoice in the Lord. Philippians 4.4, Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, rejoice. You cannot always rejoice in people. They may disappoint you, they may fail you, they may leave you, they may break your heart, they may die. God may take them. We can love them, but we cannot center our hearts upon them. We just prayed this morning for the dear family of Mr. DeMoss, who at 54, I'll be 53, I think, September 14. Now you know I couldn't possibly drop dead. Don't you kid yourself. Because the first Christmas I was in Regina, I spent three days in coronary care. And when I came out of coronary care, the specialist said, I said to him, what do I do now? You know, I thought I had to start being careful. And he said, go home. And I said, well, I mean, don't I do anything? Don't you tell me what to do? You know, how do I eat? How do I live? He said, no, just go back to living your normal life. He said, just don't shovel snow at six o'clock in the morning in 20 below zero weather anymore. Now the Lord healed me and here I am as healthy as I can be. No heart disease, no heart problem, nothing wrong. But my good brother, Mr. DeMoss just dropped dead at 54. And I tell you, we must have our hearts fixed on the Lord. We can love our families, but have our hearts fixed on the Lord. Places, they can change. Things can be taken away from us. Events, they can be tragic and disappointing, but we can rejoice in the Lord Jesus Christ. Look with me at Philippians chapter two and closing Philippians chapter two, verse one. If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the spirit, if any vows and mercies, fulfill ye my joy. What I want to say to you this morning is this, that God has given us a glorious creation, a marvelous universe, a fabulous world created by the mind of an infinite God. He has given us all good things freely to enjoy. That's his word. They are gifts from his hand. But the reason that mankind is in such desperate trouble this morning is because he has turned from the one who gave the gift and is fixing his heart on the gift instead of on the giver. He is worshiping and serving the created thing rather than the one who created it. His heart is empty and broken and desolate and dark and desperate and doomed. Dr. Dennis Kinlaw, president of Asbury College, said that God, after the fall of man, turned a beautiful world into an alien place. Why? Because man had turned from the creator to serve the creation. And the only way God can get man back to himself is to turn the creation into an alien place to drive him back to God. And my friend, if you seek satisfaction in this world, the creation, God will let it turn to ashes in your hands. I pray he will make it turn sour in your mouth, like vomit, because in this world you will never have true and eternal joy. But oh, that we might turn back to the creator and set him in our hearts and let him be Lord of all. That's what this conference is about, to make Jesus Lord of our lives.