1. The Great God Ay
“I”

2. What is Idolatry? Image that represents a man-made deity Is 44:9-20
Not always an image. Eze 14:4 "Therefore speak to them, and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Everyone of the house of Israel who sets up his idols in his heart, and puts before him what causes him to stumble into iniquity, and then comes to the prophet, I the LORD will answer him who comes, according to the multitude of his idols,
Eze 14:5 "that I may seize the house of Israel by their heart, because they are all estranged from Me by their idols."'

3. The 10 Commandments No other Gods Before Me
No graven image, don’t bow down or serve
Don’t Covet
Col 3:5 ¶ Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

4. Idolatry is Rejecting God
1Sa 15:19 "Why then did you not obey the voice of the LORD? Why did you swoop down on the spoil, and do evil in the sight of the LORD?"
20 And Saul said to Samuel, "But I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and gone on the mission on which the LORD sent me, and brought back Agag king of Amalek; I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.
21 "But the people took of the plunder, sheep and oxen, the best of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the LORD your God in Gilgal."
22 Then Samuel said: "Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He also has rejected you from being king."

5. Idolatry is Putting Self Before God

6. Idolatry is Putting Self Before God
Eve
Ge 3:5 "For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.“ 6 ¶ So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.

7. Idolatry is Worshipping The God, “I” (Ay)
Other Examples:
King of Babylon: Isa 14:13 For you have said in your heart: 'I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.‘
Citizens of Babylon: Isa 47:10 "For you have trusted in your wickedness; You have said, 'No one sees me'; Your wisdom and your knowledge have warped you; And you have said in your heart, 'I am, and there is no one else besides me.'
Edom: Ob 1:3 The pride of your heart has deceived you, You who dwell in the clefts of the rock, Whose habitation is high; You who say in your heart, 'Who will bring me down to the ground?‘
Naaman: 2Ki 5:11 But Naaman became furious, and went away and said, "Indeed, I said to myself, 'He will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leprosy.‘

8. The God “I” makes us Worldly, Enemies of Christ
Php 3:18 For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: 19 whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame--who set their mind on earthly things.
1Jo 2:16 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.

9. An Idol is anything that comes between us and God
Most often it starts with “I.”
“I want”
“I don’t want…”
“I think”
The list is long:
Control
Career
Money
Power
Fame and prestige
Another person (Jesus: love father, mother more than me…)

10. How do We Avoid “I” Surrender to God Examples:
Ro 6:13 And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.
Jas 4:7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Ro 12:1 ¶ I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
Examples:
Mary: Lu 1:38 Then Mary said, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.
Jesus: Mt 26:39 He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.“
Paul: 2Co 3:5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;

11. How do We Avoid “I” Submit ourselves to one another
Eph 5:21 ¶ submitting to one another in the fear of God.
2Co 12:15 And I will very gladly spend and be spent for your souls; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I am loved.
Jas 2:8 ¶ If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," you do well;
Job 29:16 I was a father to the poor, And I searched out the case that I did not know.
Keep things in proper perspective
Ro 12:3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

12. Summary
An idol is anything that comes between us and God. Most often, it is “I.”
To avoid “I” we must:
Surrender ourselves totally to God
Submit ourselves one to another
Keep things in proper perspective with God first.