The Golden Calf
I was movin’ a building for a customer the other day. Where I moved him was right close to a church building, and as I was setting it up for him, he says,
“I’m moving closer to the church so I can be there every time the doors are open so I can worship God.”
I just smiled and said,
“I tell folks all the time, If you’ve gotta be inside a building to worship and serve God, you might wanna check your heart.”
Of course, he wanted to know what “church” I go to. And like I’ve told a lot of folks, I said:
“I believe every born-again, Jesus-confessin’, sin-forgiven Christ-follower is the church. So I actually don’t go to a building just to sift through the ninety-nine hoping to find the one that’s truly saved so we can ‘worship’ together. Instead I try to focus on my relationship with Jesus one on one, Then I can fellowship with other believers and share what He has done for me, and build each other up like we’re actually supposed to do. And also share Jesus with everyone else too.”
Then he said something that stuck with me:
“Well, that might work for you, but I have to be in church to serve God.”
At this point, he didn’t really want to talk anymore, and I left it alone, because we ain’t here to fight or argue. I’m here to share the truth, and that truth is Christ. Everything else is just man-made ideas and mostly meaningless. So I try to keep it simple.
So here’s the simple truth:
Church ain’t a bad thing, it’s great to fellowship with other believers, but if you can’t follow Jesus outside those walls, then what you found ain’t the Lord. It’s a golden calf. (Matthew 6:6, Romans 12:5, Hebrews 10:24–25)
Lets get a little back story here:
God did all the miracles, He parted the Red Sea (Exodus 14), fed the people with manna from heaven (Exodus 16), poured water out of a rock (Exodus 17), and led them by fire and cloud every single day (Exodus 13:21–22). He stayed with the people, not in some building, but in their midst wherever they went.
But when Moses went up the mountain a little too long, the people panicked. So what did they do? Yeah, they melted down their gold and built a calf and said:
“These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.” (Exodus 32:4)
Imagine that, giving credit to a golden calf after God just split a sea for you? Have you ever had to deal with a stubborn cow? A wild beef calf? How could someone even think they could worship a gold calf and how did they think it was the god that got them out of slavery?
Well, those are all great questions, but now we know the answer to that, and we know it never stopped, they didn’t thank God for getting them out, they instead bitched and complained all the time that they were not back in slavery in Egypt. You're probably thinking, “wow what fools!” But just hang in there and we will see what happens.
Later, they asked for a king so they could be like the other nations, and God said:
“They have not rejected you, Samuel—they have rejected Me from being King over them.” (1 Samuel 8:5-7)
They didn’t want God, they wanted a figure they could see. Even after God led them personally for 40 years in the wilderness their shoes never wore out, they were never wanting or in need, food water shelter, God provided everything for them, but they kept rejecting Him.
David, a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14), wanted to build God a house (2 Samuel 7:1–7). And it was a sweet gesture. But God said:
“Would you build Me a house to dwell in? I have not dwelt in a house… I have moved about with all the people.” (2 Samuel 7:5–7)
God didn’t need a house. He wanted David’s heart, and the people’s hearts.
But sure enough, Solomon built the temple, majestic, people from all over heard about this and wanted to come see this great temple, and of course later on, people turned that temple into an idol, Solomon himself worshiped other gods and built alters to foreign gods.
But people started worshiping the building instead of the One who had lead them, the One who doesn’t live in a place made with human hands, the One Isaiah saw that filled the temple. They even built and brought idols into the temple (Ezekiel 8:5–16).
Later on they this holy majestic temple built for God, they turned it into a market (John 2:13–17).
And that’s exactly why Jesus flipped the tables, made a whip and drove people and animals alike out, not because they were making money, but because they had turned His Father’s house into a place of profit instead of prayer.
“My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves!” (Matthew 21:13)
God has always been about the heart, from the very beginning, Abel vs Cain, its all about the heart, Jesus confirmed this fact and explained it best, (sermon on the mount Matthew 5-7)
But most folks couldn’t see it, not even David fully grasped the whole picture.
He walked closely with God, but God was after something deeper, a relationship so personal that He would one day dwell inside His people, not inside four walls.
Worship Ain’t What You Think It Is
Let me say this plain: Worship ain’t singin’ the same line over and over with fog machines and stage lights while never even saying who you’re singing to.
“You are holy, you are mighty, you are awesome… Repeat 10 times”
But who’s “you”? Nobody even knows. Could be your German shepherd for all I know.
And let’s be honest, sitting on a front pew every Sunday and listening to a preacher go on for 45 minutes about a random 3-verse mashup he barely understands himself, that’s not worship either. Showing up and sitting still don’t mean your heart’s in it.
Worship is every day. Every breath. Every choice, Its:
• Telling people about Jesus
• Thanking Him even in the worst of times
• Praying in secret (Matthew 6:6)
• Sharing your testimony
• Saying no to sin
• Resisting temptation
• Loving your neighbor even when it costs you something
That’s true worship. That’s what God wants, He said: “worship me in spirit and truth” (John 4:24), Not with lights and lies and repeat 10 times.
“Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7)
David brought the ark back to Jerusalem. He was jumping singing and praising God even got his wife mad at him for having a shameless show going on and everybody thinks that's David praising God and worshiping, But that makes for a proud heart because of our accomplishments and makes us think we did something, like the pharisee vs the tax collector, remember God looks on the heart. (Luke 18:9-14)
David messed up big, adultery then murder, but when he got called out, he broke.
He repented. He got real with God (Psalm 51).
That’s what God wants. Not perfection but a heart after God, and honesty.
We’re gonna mess up, we’re stupid humans. But God’s after a heart that loves Him and keeps comin’ back. That’s why He called David a man after His own heart, Not because he praised God while he was victorious, But because he worshiped God in spirit and truth and praised God in the bad times and humbled himself and came to God one on one!
If You Say You Follow Jesus… Then Follow Him
The Bible says:
“If you say you love God but hate your brother, you’re a liar.” (1 John 4:20)
“Whoever says ‘I know him’ but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” (1 John 2:4)
No body is gonna like this, but to bad, the truth is if you put one pastor, one ceremony, one church building, one standard ahead of Jesus, you’ve built yourself a golden calf.
Jesus said:
“These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. They worship Me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.” (Matthew 15:8–9)
You Wanna Love Your Neighbor?
Well, loving your neighbor ain’t about sitting in a pew. It ain’t sitting quiet for an hour then rushing out to be first in line at the buffet.
It’s seeing a need and meeting it, even if it’s Sunday when you’re supposed to be in “church.”
It’s showing up for people when it’s messy and inconvenient. Jesus healed on the Sabbath while the religious crowd flipped out. (Mark 2:27)
“I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” (Hosea 6:6 / Matthew 9:13)
He wasn’t interested in tradition, rules or religion. He was interested in your heart, and speaking truth.
The Calf Today Might Not Be Made of Gold, But It’s Still being worshipped.
• If your faith is in your church’s name and not Christ, you’ve built a calf.
• If you only serve God when the music plays and the sermon’s being preached, well, you’ve built a calf.
• If you’re afraid to question a system because “that’s just how we’ve always done it” then again, you’ve built a calf.
Jesus tore the veil (Matthew 27:51), so we could walk with God every day, everywhere, without a middleman, without a temple, without a program.
Don’t trade the Living Christ for a polished religion. Don’t look at His torn back, His crown of thorns, His blood-soaked cross, and then say:
“Thanks Lord, but I still need my membership card to feel saved.”
What Do We Do?
We go and make a religion and call it worshipping God…And we don’t even know what the true “church” is. We’re just trying to build one that we think is right
because that’s what we’ve been taught. We’ve been brainwashed to believe it. And unfortunately most folks can’t see a way out.
Even though everything in the Bible points to Jesus and a personal relationship with Him…Even though it’s all about believing what He did on the cross…
If we add just one rule to what He did, then we’re sayin’ He died in vain.
“If righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.” (Galatians 2:21)
So why not just…Love Jesus, Love your neighbor, Build each other up. Encourage one another every day.
Instead of going to a “church” gathering and sitting through another sermon that doesn’t mean much, and half the time, the preacher don’t even know what the church is himself.
Because let’s be honest: If you’re a preacher…you’ve probably already missed the point…..
Because Jesus said:
“Don’t call anyone teacher or rabbi, because you have one Teacher—Christ.” (Matthew 23:8–10)
If we’d let the Holy Spirit lead us into all truth, we would see it plain. But if we let someone else lead us, we’ll never understand the full truth. Because we never fully surrendered.
“When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth…” (John 16:13)
This ain’t some crap I made up, this is real, first hand experience in my own life, trust me, I couldn’t see any of this for almost 30 years. Because this is what we’re taught. I thought I had to go to “church” because that’s what Christians do, right?
But one fine day, (Checkout Testimony) Jesus grabbed me by the throat, and I finally opened the Bible for myself. I stopped listening to man’s teaching and started praying,
“Holy Spirit, show me the truth. Guide me through this Word. Open my eyes.” And you know what?
It started popping out everywhere. And once you see it, you can’t unsee it. It’s only by the grace of God that He let me see this. And it’s only in His perfect timing. So If you don’t see it I know why, But I would ask that you try to put all your preconceived ideas away, and only focus on Jesus and read His Word. Then you might just start to see that its really simple math, It’s Jesus plus nothing equals everything!
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God…” (Ephesians 2:8–9)
That’s enough rambling for me, but I’ll leave you with this:
Jesus is the only King, He wants your heart, not your performance, You are the temple now, The Church is the people, not a place, Real worship happens in spirit and truth. (John 4:23–24, 1 Corinthians 3:16–17)
So I challenge you, please, smash the golden calf. And follow Jesus today, Not just on Sunday, but with every breath. Go into your closet, close the door, and pray to Him.
In spirit and truth, walk with Him daily, the same way He’s been wanting since Eden.
Don’t let all He went through for you on the cross be in vain. Isaiah said He was scarred beyond recognition. His back looked like a plowed field.
He bled and died for you so you could live forever, I mean free from pain and suffering and free in Him!
So Please, I beg of you! Don’t trade this Man…The Son of God. The Savior. The Lamb. The Lion of the tribe of Judah. The King of Kings. The Lord of Lords.
…for some gold calf! (Isaiah 52:14, 1 Corinthians 3:16–17, John 4:23–24, Revelation 5:5)
Until next time and from now on, may the Good Lord bless you!
~ Joe Lester ~
Note: Always remember to read your whole bible from Genesis - Revelation, not just the verses I laid out here, and please do not take my word for any of this, the last thing we need is “The Joe Lester religion” but please don’t take any man or woman’s word for it, instead take the Word of God, Jesus words without prejudice and surrender your all to HIM!