1. “Do We Provoke the Lord to Jealousy?”

2. “I, the LORD Your God, am a Jealous God.” (Exodus 20:5)

3. Joshua 24:19-20 (NASB)
19 Then Joshua said to the people, "You will not be able to serve the LORD, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgression or your sins. 20 If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you after He has done good to you."

4. Isaiah 42:8 (NASB)
"I am the LORD, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, Nor My praise to graven images.

5. Exodus 34:14 (NASB)
“For you shall not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.” – cf. Malachi 3:6

6. Exodus 20:3-5a (NASB)
3 "You shall have no other gods before Me. 4 "You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God… - cf. Deut 6:4-5, 13-15; Luke 10:27

7. “Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry” (1 Cor. 10:14)

8. “Do We Provoke the Lord to Jealousy?”
Israel “married” to the Lord, provoked God to jealousy by her acts of unfaithfulness.

9. Isaiah 54:5 (NASB)
"For your husband is your Maker, Whose name is the LORD of hosts; And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel, Who is called the God of all the earth.

10. Hosea 1:2 (NASB)
When the LORD first spoke through Hosea, the LORD said to Hosea, "Go, take to yourself a wife of harlotry, and have children of harlotry; for the land commits flagrant harlotry, forsaking the LORD."

11. Psalm 78:58 (NASB)
For they provoked Him with their high places, And aroused His jealousy with their graven images.

12. “Do We Provoke the Lord to Jealousy?”
Christians are “married” to the Lord and must prove themselves to be faithful (Eph. 5:22-33; Gal. 3:27; 1 Cor. 12:13; cf. Mat. 19:6).

13. Revelation 19:7-9 (NASB)
7 "Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready." 8 And it was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints cf. Rev. 21:1-4

14. Like Israel, are we provoking the Lord to jealousy?

15. 1 Corinthians 10:19-22 (NASB)
19 What do I mean then? That a thing sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20 No, but I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons, and not to God; and I do not want you to become sharers in demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. 22 Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? We are not stronger than He, are we?

16. Like marriage to only one mate, we must put away all other “suitors” or idols and give ourselves completely to the Lord!

17. 2 Corinthians 11:2-3 (NASB)
2 For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one husband, that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin. 3 But I am afraid, lest as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds should be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.

18. “Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy?”

19. “Little Children, Guard Yourselves from Idols.”
We must watch for anything or anyone that could possibly take the place of God in our hearts and lives.

20. 1 John 5:20-21 (NASB)
20 And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding, in order that we might know Him who is true, and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. 21 Little children, guard yourselves from idols.

21. “Little Children, Guard Yourselves from Idols.”
If we fail to guard ourselves from idols, then we may find ourselves devoted to “God-substitutes” in life.
Something or someone other than God will reign supreme over us! (Ezek 14:3)
In America, there is a great temptation toward idolatry. (cf. Deut 32:15-18).

22. Deuteronomy 32:15-18 (NASB)
15 "But Jeshurun grew fat and kicked- You are grown fat, thick, and sleek- Then he forsook God who made him, And scorned the Rock of his salvation. 16 "They made Him jealous with strange gods; With abominations they provoked Him to anger. 17 "They sacrificed to demons who were not God, To gods whom they have not known, New gods who came lately, Whom your fathers did not dread. "You neglected the Rock who begot you, And forgot the God who gave you birth.

23. We should closely examine our lives to make sure no form of idolatry is being practiced.

24. We ask ourselves some candid questions:
What is my greatest motivation in life?
What am I most enthusiastic, zealous about in life?
What is most important to me in life? What is my top priority?
Who or what is my greatest love in life?
Who or what do I hold most near and dear, in my thoughts and in my heart?

25. Three of the most common forms of idolatry we must guard against.
Prioritizing family members above God (Mat. 10:37; cf. Luke 14:26).
Romantic love in which nothing else and no one else matters but the beloved (e.g., 1 Kings 11:1-4).
Putting yourself above God (2 Tim. 3:1-2a).

26. There are many other forms of idolatry we must beware of.
Money & material possessions (1 Tim. 6:9-10; cf. Mat. 6:19-20).

27. 1 Timothy 6:9-10 (NASB)
9 But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith, and pierced themselves with many a pang. – cf. Mat. 6:19-20

28. There are many other forms of idolatry we must beware of.
Money & material possessions (1 Tim. 6:9-10; cf. Mat. 6:19-20).
Physical pleasure (2 Tim. 3:5b).
Sexual pleasures (lust, fornication, self-stimulation, pornography) and alcohol (or drugs) (1 Pet. 4:3).

29. 1 Peter 4:3 (NASB)
For the time already past is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles, having pursued a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousals, drinking parties and abominable idolatries – cf. Gal. 5:19-21

30. There are many other forms of idolatry we must beware of.
Money & material possessions (1 Tim. 6:9-10; cf. Mat. 6:19-20).
Physical pleasure (2 Tim. 3:5b).
Sexual pleasures (lust, fornication, self-stimulation, pornography) and alcohol (or drugs) (1 Pet. 4:3).
Gluttony (Phil. 3:18-19).

31. Philippians 3:18-19 (NASB)
18 For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, 19 whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite (belly – KJV), and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things.

32. There are many other forms of idolatry we must beware of.
Money & material possessions (1 Tim. 6:9-10; cf. Mat. 6:19-20).
Physical pleasure (2 Tim. 3:5b).
Sexual pleasures (lust, fornication, self-stimulation, pornography) and alcohol (or drugs) (1 Pet. 4:3).
Gluttony (Phil. 3:18-19).
All of these were a part of ancient idolatry (1 Cor 10:7).

33. 1 Corinthians 10:7 (NASB)
And do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written, " The people sat down to eat and drink, and stood up to play."

34. There are many other forms of idolatry we must beware of.
Money & material possessions.
Physical pleasure:
Sexual pleasures and alcohol
Gluttony
Any sin continually practiced without repentance (Col. 3:5).

35. Colossians 3:5 (NASB)
Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.

36. Things not necessarily sinful in and of themselves that become addictions or “masters” are idols! (1 Cor. 6:12; cf. Mat. 6:24).

37. Has a Liberty (e.g., TV) Become Your Master? (i.e., Your idol)
1 Cor 6:12 All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything.
Matt 6:24 (NASB) "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

38. When doing God’s will is disregarded for something or someone idolatry has been committed!

39. Give Your Idols Up for the Lord.
Fellowship with God is impossible when you practice idolatry!

40. Deuteronomy 32:19-21 (NASB)
19 "And the LORD saw this, and spurned them because of the provocation of His sons and daughters. 20 "Then He said, 'I will hide My face from them, I will see what their end shall be; For they are a perverse generation, sons in whom is no faithfulness. 21'They have made Me jealous with what is not God; They have provoked Me to anger with their idols. So I will make them jealous with those who are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation, - cf. Isa. 59:2

41. You will never have a close, meaningful, right relationship with the Lord when idols stand in the way between you and God!

42. Take Action! Purge your life of all idols!
1 Thess 1:9 (NASB) For they themselves report about us what kind of a reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God,

43. Give Your Idols Up for the Lord.
“Kneel at the cross, give your idols up” to draw near to the Lord.
Idols only pull us away from God.
To draw near to God, we must go through Jesus who intercedes for us (Heb. 7:25).

44. Hebrews 7:25 (NASB)
Hence, also, He is able to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

45. Let Us Resolve not to Make Our Lord Jealous and be Wholly Devoted to Him Always.