097 - The Ten Suggestions?

You pick up your Bible and wonder, is there more here than meets the is there something here for me. I mean it's just words printed on paper right it may look like just print on the page but it's more than Inc. join us for the next half hour, as we explore God's word together as we learn how to explore it on our as we ask God to meet us there in its pages welcome to more than the last time you left Moses up the mountain with God and he's going to get to the tent suggest living know that a lot of them much more than just 10 tips for life. Look at that today on more than welcome to our dining line Dorothy and I'm Jim and this is more than Inc. and have arrived at Exodus.

We are about to dive into that huge statement that we know is the 10 Commandments is literally the 10 words attend where God spoke out. We left Moses at the top of the mountain. And we said last time. Remember that we need to understand that Moses had gone up and come down several times over the course of the days that they were there at the beginning and each time he goes up. And God says something and he comes and tells the people. The people respond. Moses takes the word back to God. So, here today we get this big final statement is very complete statements right very famous. The 10 words yes was just jump right in figure while well and it's very thing to me that there's a lot of words around the first four or five commandments writing to get to the Sabbath day and very short so let's let's just start reading chapter 20 we have lots of all well we shouldn't use in the tank and am familiar with them, but the first four focusing on our contact with God in 5 to 10 our conduct with man so it's interestingly yeah it's who he is and then who we are who we are that yeah okay list everything will just keep watch on ourselves to recheck 20 verse one Moses up there with God and God spoke all these words, saying I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. Number one you shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them for my the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments to stop. I got to say. So we start off with, you know it's interesting before.

Yes, the first commandment.

He reminds him again to get ready. I got right so this is the is the authority statement.

I got you so number the first one number three on verse three you have no other gods before me. But sums pretty straightforward and it's pretty straightforward, but now you can elaborate right a little bit.

So don't make a carved image. Nothing in heaven about nothing on earth beneath nothing in the water right anything that the Egyptians had an image, or any of the other pagan nations had no carved symbols of nature, yes.you don't. So do that because I am the unseen God invisible God that is so common and false religion is is you you know mankind has a sense of God exists. And so to give them kind of a tangible touching makes it become something that we want to God, we can see which we know is going to happen to the Israelites, not very far in the chair, but the state when he says you shall not back down to them in verse five or serve them. For I the Lord your God. So you think I am that I am your God jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the phis and the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me yeah and you know it's a lot of people were critical Bible say what is his other gods got jealous because of the got jealous and are really bad way to look at that's that's not true at all. But the jealousy is is an issue of mutually exclusive relation right it's exclusive and and despite the fact that there really are no other gods in the universe read Isaiah 4041 4044 for him is very clear about that. We can we like a little idol factories make their gods and then we carve her own images and God saying I'm not going to have any of that.

I don't you have your man made idols between you and me just drop stuff jealous well and we think of jealousy as a negative thing but in this case the when God applies it to himself, he it means he is a right zealous for what is exclusively his. He has to exclusive claim on the hearts of mankind and anything else that would intrude on that God is jealous against. After all, he brought them out of Egypt right so I mean the used to belong to Pharaoh. In that sense but I never belongs to Pharaoh because God says your mind that always happen, but I messed issues. I've always belong to God always were God's. And so here is basically sayings since we have this mutually exclusive relationship.

Frank don't make idols between sexist nuts attached to it. I'm a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the five children, third and fourth generation of those who hate me, is important we understand that correctly because what God is saying to them is your idolatry will impact the future generation flows downhill it's gonna it's going to impact your children serious warning he doesn't mean that if I send them my kids right. However, in a sense they sort of do because there is there is all the junk that comes with sin and it will affect them. There is nice it will impact my children exactly that's releasing so this statement is not intended as a punishment. It's intended as a deterrent right. It's a way of saying if you love your kids and your kids rides for kids kids kids stay faithful to stay faithful because what you do is go off-line because I show my steadfast love to thousands who love me and keep my commanders this. Write me love me and treasure what I tell you yeah and so there there is a threat here and I said what I said we were idol factories. There is a thread here that even in this modern era, we think were so spiritually, religiously free, enlightened stuff. So I really no threat to being an idle person will ask you when you say you're not then you are just devastating blind and it's easy to spot your idols through the things that you look to find life to the things you invest in, hoping to get back to you life you know it's like second worship the things that you rely upon to find life that are outside of you. That's an idle tonight when money can operate as an idle popularity power can operate as many things in our present could you look to them to bring life's is not. Don't look to the sink to bring life this dislike a workout well yeah he demands 100% on devotion motion yeah that's that's were about anything because God is who he is. He has a right to expect and demand to exclusive worship.

So that's why this is right at the front right to get out. No other gods before me. Don't make an image because I am rightfully righteously zealous for you. You are exclusively mine so that she echoes the marriage relationship just exactly.

So exclusive yes and no human beings will twist jealousy because of our sin, but it is right. It can be righteous for spouse to be rightly zealous for the exclusive devotion of their spouse on people look at this essay while your God is very narrowminded allow you to cut a devil alone is God exactly what you would never make that claim about marriage is you know your spouse very narrowminded.

Why won't they let you come sleep with people know what because in the marriage in the marriage relationship got through that is telling us this exclusive relationship mirrors my relationship with you, has to be exclusive, and that's why God allows in Deuteronomy divorce clause for the purpose for the sake of unfaithfulness to Pat marriage cognitive exclusivity has already been broken and I am my plans were going on here. This whole thing about the images and stuff like that that's poorly interpreted by people at the time saying you can't paint a picture. Well, you know, if you're tempted to worship it.

If you paint a picture of Jesus you put in your living room, put candles around it and you sacrifice to do some kind of little idol worship of this picture. And when the pictures gone.

You don't have God there is like see a kind of gets in the way it ends up being a middleman, but we are in this relationship with God and it's it's a tricky business for this process created beings we are physical and now God saying I intend for you to have relationship with me. Jesus told the woman at the well, you have to worship God in spirit right in spirit that's that's one thing is tricky is not impossible. But the burden of making this relationship work extra rest on God. He's the one that reaches us. And if you remember Jesus said to Philip, and Philip sent if you just show us the father. Jesus said don't you get it yet. If you see me you seen using the father but having pictures of Jesus. The problem, because then we superimpose on that picture all the qualities that we think we see so that you know it's troubling. We need to press on what I'll just make a point to is that I said this last time is that God has relationship established with Israel beginning through his word. That's a word-based relationship and that's how it has to stay instead of being a physical visual relationship has to be based on the word on his word and that Central central to the relationship and so for a spirit being like God, that sort of makes sense. Our relationship is based on these concepts of his word and who we so just extra okay boy, there's a lot I was depressing. Okay, let's get the get to the third. Okay verse seven you shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain ponds for his don't understand that I heard someone once say this mean cell value this this means if we accept the name of God on us and claim to be named by him rightly belong to God and then we live slanderously in a way the subject God's holy name to slander. That's what this means or if we may have fraudulently rightly say well I belong to God and God belongs to me and then we live in a way that is directly opposed the character of God. So were not talking about necessarily swearing and including the name of God or the name of Jesus can be include the biggest picture now like if you if you haven't sworn using his name last week, you still might be guilty of this. I think we haven't a clue guilty and it helps me to go back to how I define terms when you talk about the name of God says you don't take the name of the Lord your God name in an ancient sense always means is the encapsulation of the reputation right of a person or something, you name you name it. Based on the reputation so we talk about the name of ever talking about his reputation, who yes I'm in the nature of who is so if somehow you identify yourself with the nature of who God is and then you do it for a wrong purpose, then you're actually dragging his reputation into the mud. That's why the hypocrisy part of it economic to act differently in the second year the nation of Israel to be known around the world as people left out of the center. Praying what happens if they start living like idiots right which much of it is this going to do something to the perceived name of God in the rest of the world and in the problem is these things you do are vacuous.

They're happy to have absolutely no benefit at all night dragging God's name effective word vain means empty so if you go toward empty things and identify guys name to it. Look what you're doing to the name of God and in the same way when when I wife and husband, Mary and the wife takes her husband's name or identity is now tied up with kids, but I she then goes out and lives in a and in a sexually provocative manner or sexually unfaithful manner. She is making the marriage empty empty, which is the same idea have been taking his name in vain.

Slanderously exactly what I do all the time to if it's cloudy to me what this means I go back to the marriage relationship that's meant to be a very deliberate picture to working picture for us to Forget what is God exactly mean and that makes it really clear that makes it very clear what this is all about is a whole bunch of being identified with frivolous things and with it the critical things and even with profane things, but it were, talk about all that.

If you take the name of God and say I live in the nation, whereas at its center, man, you better watch your P's and Q's.

You do not want going out. God is that's that's taken and will oh my gosh number 411 okay, I will remember the Sabbath day is a big one. This is the fourth tone of the fourth commandment. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

Six days you shall labor and do all your work with the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God on it. You shall not do any work you or your son or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant or your life soccer your sojourners within your gates. Bring six days the Lord made heaven and earth to see all that's in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

To set it apart so you remember holy just means silver like it's not. It's different from everything else. Now he had already given them the idea of the Sabbath is at six days gather at the seventh day it's a rest day, you're going to get twice as much today before and got his you the Sabbath rest on the basis of the fact that God has set this model himself as God's doing this and so you should do this and if you're my people. Then you'll do this with me so much more than God does this so you should do that. I hate even presenting what was going to connect to dealers and I've always made this I made this picture with farmers and stuff like that. If you're if you're a farmer you realize you take a day off if I take a day off the microbes. I'm the bugs going to come in the weeds got commandments like it's his perpetual diligence is what it is. And God says to disagree people as well as us. You can take a day off and all coverlet stuff is really an issue of trust and for what purpose I'm just sitting around pulling your thumbs. Know this is a Sabbath to the Lord issued his relationship with God.

You can actually have a day in the week where you can meet with God and not be encumbered by all that other stuff.

What a great lunch and so that's what he says so often it's a Sabbath to the Lord right now that you're serving them. But your actions. And hey, I get to take some time off kickback. You don't get a nice Steve read his word and and have Lisha put the Lord well in day out recognize lingering leaning our entire weight on that on the rock. The bedrock of what God has done. Yes, God invited us into his rest and into his presence in that section of the core of why we have the society is to be in his presence. And that's what setting aside all this work allows us to do with the great luxury I'm is just this incredible and not be distracted by all the stuff I was thinking as well about the fact that you know in the New Testament. Many of the writers will say that the Sabbath is is kind of a picture. The Sabbath is is a shadow and the fulfillment is in Christ, so we don't really have time to go into this deeply, but what we find is because what Christ has done for us. It allows us to live a Sabbath life, not just one day of the week but every day in the same in the same way that God rested from his works. We rested for my works in terms of impressing God and that's due to Christ so so the Sabbath idea from the New Testament is a perpetual state of being. It's not one to write condition will have time to find and hard times. Talk about that enough deeply settled in what God has accomplished.

He invites us in what we were. We rest in what he has done and not worry about what we haven't done and resting who he hasn't. It's a big big deal. It's central to so much so much so well, there's a there's a reason why this can't the Sabbath command is central in the 10 Commandments right is right in the middle and has the most texts devoted to write the most explanatory text because this is a turning point in the 10 Commandments write everything that came before, but who is God and and who are you in relation to him right.

But here we turn the corner. That kind of becomes more about and so what is the evidence in the fruit of the people who rest in God. The outgrowth of this nation right behavior is going to testify to God. So the first part who is God, and the second part is so cool I will show you how shall you. So for instance the fifth one verse 12 honor your father and mother, that your days may be long in the land the Lord your God is giving to father, mother, well, because God has set up human life that we passed life from generation to generation to generation. None of us got here without a father.

So even if your father and mother were godless or wicked were abusive cats is now recognize that I have put in place.

The fact that life comes to you spiritual life comes to you from God by physical human life comes to you through the means of a father and mother recognize that yeah that that's why in our current culture we grieve so much of the nuclear family can disintegrate knowing where everyone still has mother and father, but do you actually have a mother and father that you live with when you're young and train you will know we don't so it it actually violates in the it's an assault against the 10 Commandments is against the fundamental backbone of how guys design the society is his father's mother's eye I remember someone saying one time, he said, just a Little bit of silliness in areas like final under my mother she's going to shorten my life will hear my mother live you live long in the land is more than just a short life is the fact that if you want a good life. You need on father, mother, it's by design from God, right up to lets you just do it just to the most fundamental blessing being you received human life you through the union of a father and a mother. So on that hundred okay okay you shall not murder. Why is a life giver. All life belongs to him and if you are his people living in relationship with him. You will not take life as long as you belongs to God. Now there's there's wanton circumstances that you can take life but murder and killing exactly that's right. That's why like if I could be a speaker says murder. Yes, that's were talked about and Jesus equates that the hate Sophie take a like taste on hate. That's were talking about. Well even says actually if you think it you're already a murderer.

I just haven't had the opportunity to do exactly always in number seven verse 14 you shall not commit adultery. This is the second duct that mutually exclusive rulings rent this built in the husbands and wives and is in our second this. This predates this I mean they knew this of you get the Joseph at the end of Genesis right Joseph and Potiphar's wife and all guys denying her and say nothing to offend God. Christ is wrong. So this is this is not a new idea as well and it goes back to when God created man and woman he created man and woman for each other right and the two shall become one flesh. They are exclusively connected to one another. Number nine. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor weight. He jumped when Steve fell 15 why everything belongs to God. Don't be taken. What's not yours and like I've always said this is just really good because I'd rather live in a society that doesn't.

This is good for us not to steal socio-number nine should not bear false witness against your neighbor saying bad things about you. Why demeaning our God is truth speaks truth so you need to be people who speak truth and don't be robbing your neighbor up there good character and reputation, character assassination and the number 10 and verse 17 you shall not covet your neighbor's house shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or Sachs for his donkey, or his motorcycle or anything or anything that you need so anything that your neighbor has you should be looking at that say I wish I had that and instead you know you need to you need to conduct yourselves in a way that you are content with what you because God gives to each one, lives his daily bread exact right. They've already God has given each one exactly what he needs for the day. And Jesus taught us to pray, that give us today needful. If I'm resting in God's provision for me. Need to be envying somebody else and the degree to which you pant over which is with me that other people stuff you're saying that God has not given me enough.

Yes, blaming God and the writer in Hebrews 13 says basically you the conductors you need to conduct yourself in such a way that that you know what you have it. All you need and got to okay let's finish this up just a few minutes left and so were waiting for safety. Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking. People were afraid and he trembled and they stood far off and said to Moses you speak to us and will listen but don't God speak to us, lest we die. They had already said on a previous visit, up and down the mountain with Moses and the Lord says will do what I do it but here they hear and they see the trembling in the mountain and smoke in the fire and Michael got anymore as we went human mediator.

The big deal.

Verse 20 so Moses said to the people do not fear for God has come to test you that the fear of him. Maybe before you, that you may not sin. The people stood far off while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was so interesting. Don't do not fear, but you need to figure him well yeah you don't need to some teasing yeah were not talking about fear. In terms of being afraid of God here in terms of being properly reverent for God and it and I want you to take seriously the nature of sin is what is right. You may not sin because sin always is all time self-destructive in some fashion self-destructive using the plates of the people I meet just bad.

It's toxic meets you from a holy God.

Vanessa already said I love you and I want you to be mine if the only thing that's good. The only one who is good is God himself.

Why would you separate yourself from and that's what sin doesn't separate you from the goodness of God that that's a bad trait to really Petri social and I'm doing all this so that you'll fear in such a high respect you deeply take this very sloppily understand this big big deal because I don't want to send.

It's it's a lesser life in so many ways. If you sent someone to come back to this a lot in the next few weeks only goodness.

One can't just skip merrily into the presence of God.

He is holy and we can only approach him.

The one way that he has put in place for us in Jesus hears a God who loves us treasures us and yet we have these self-inflicted wounds of sin, which we cannot earn our way out of cannot do enough in order to in order to somehow impress Christ brings us into this relationship. That's not a new test message see it right will not first time. This reinforces the nation. We will come back to the fear law so is like a tutor that brings us to let you get there to join us next time we talk about right here on Main Street church is solely responsible to contact us with your questions or comments see that scepter that