This sermon was given by Rev. Brian Dainsberg at Appleton Alliance Church on Aug. 16, 2015.

Have you ever had that dream where a relative you didn't even know you had dies and leaves you some money? Maybe that's just me. Well, imagine that happened. But for a variety of reasons you never really look into it because you assume it's going to be just a few bucks. When you finally get around to it however, you discover you've been left a fortune! While you're thankful for it, you're kind of wallowing in regret because you didn't realize you were sitting on a gold mine. 

Sometimes I think that's what we do with the Bible. We know it's there, but we don't realize we're sitting on a gold mine. So instead of tapping into our fortune that possesses the power to change our lives, we continue to settle for the lint-encased change jingling around in our pockets. Our lives could be so much more if we only knew what we had in our possession. Don't waste another day! Your treasure awaits!

There’s lots to be outraged over, that’s for sure. Have you ever stopped to think about whether or not our outrage is prioritized correctly? What do I mean by “prioritized correctly?"
 
In an emotionally-driven society, it can be tempting to make our emotional reactions inerrant (i.e. without error). Implicitly, we are often told our emotions are equivalent to the rules so whatever they are telling us must be true. This can be characteristic of both non-Christians and Christians. But the Bible has a word for this: idolatry.
 
Idolatry is anything we elevate above God. It’s anything we appeal to as the standard by which all else should be evaluated other than God and His Word. When we make our emotions tantamount to truth, we are guilty of idolatry. “If it feels right, it must be” is not something to celebrate. Emotions DO NOT equal truth! Our emotions must be brought into submission. Submission to what? Scripture.
 
Just because you “feel” something is right doesn’t mean it is. Just because you “feel” something is wrong doesn’t mean it is. Scripture must direct our emotions. If Scripture isn’t directing our emotions, something else is and that something else has become an idol.
 
So the emotional outrage you feel over the recent news headlines: has it been prioritized correctly? I’m not going to do that for you, but I’ll give you a hint: of the three mentioned above, it isn’t even close.