Date: May 30th, 2010
Speaker: Pastor Kevin Snyder
Title: Loving God
Text: Exodus 19,20
Introduction
Today talk about 10 commandments:
Humour Quotes on
The Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments contain 297 words. The Bill of Rights is stated in 463 words. Lincoln's Gettysburg Address contains 266 words. A recent federal directive to regulate the price of cabbage contains 26,911 words. - Atlanta Journal
Somebody recently figured out that we have 35 million laws to enforce the ten commandments. - Attributed to both Bert Masterson and Earl Wilson
A Sunday school teacher was discussing the Ten Commandments with her five and six year olds.
After explaining the commandment to "honor" thy Father and thy Mother, she asked, "Is there a commandment that teaches us how to treat our brothers and sisters?"
Without any hesitation, one little boy (the oldest of a family) answered, "Thou shall not kill."
Cajun Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments in Cajun... (Keeps it REAL Simple)
God is number one... and das' All.
Don't pray to nuthin' or nobody... jus' God.
Don't cuss nobody... 'specially da Good Lord.
When it be Sunday... pass yo'self by God's House.
Yo mama an' yo daddy dun did it all... lissen to dem.
Killin' duck an' fish, das' OK... people - No!
God done give you a wife... sleep wit' jus' her.
Don't take nobody's boat... or nuttin' else.
Don't go wantin' somebody's stuff.
Stop lyin'... yo tongue gonna fall out yo mouf!
If God had text messaged the 10 Commandments:
- no1 b4 me. srsly.
- dnt wrshp pix/idols
- no omg’s
- no wrk on w/end (sat 4 now; sun l8r)
- pos ok - ur m&d r cool
- dnt kill ppl
- :-X only w/ m8
- dnt steal
- dnt lie re: bf
- dnt ogle ur bf’s m8. or ox. or dnkey. myob.
M, pls rite on tabs & giv 2 ppl.
ttyl, JHWH.
ps. wwjd?
Firstly, let me make a couple of comments on the structure & context of the 10 commandments
a. 2 major divisions
Love God |
Love People |
No other gods |
Honour parents |
No idols |
Not murder |
Not misuse name of God |
Not commit adultery |
Remember Sabbath |
Not steal |
|
Not give false witness |
|
Not covet |
These 2 divisions correspond with Jesus ‘ summary in Matthew 22: 37 – 40 – Jesus replied, “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love the neighbour as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commands.”
b. The 2nd thing to note is the context.
The 10 commandments are set against the background of a covenant. As we talked about last week , God had taken the initiative to choose his people, deliver them, and reveal himself to them. He chose to make them his people and to be the recipients of his love and blessing.
Exodus 19: 3 – 9
Then Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain and said, “This is what you are to say to the house of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: 4 ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, 6 you?a? will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.”
7 So Moses went back and summoned the elders of the people and set before them all the words the Lord had commanded him to speak. 8 The people all responded together, “We will do everything the Lord has said.” So Moses brought their answer back to the Lord.
9 The Lord said to Moses, “I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, so that the people will hear me speaking with you and will always put their trust in you.” Then Moses told the Lord what the people had said.
In Exodus 20:1 we see the foundation: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.”
Point:
More we comprehend who God is & what he has done – that he is greater than all other gods, ….that he is our deliverer, healer, provider….the more we realize those things the more want to fulfil 10 commandments.
The idea is captured by 1 John where it says “We love because he first loved us.”
When we consider what we have received we want to respond.
In other words, we don’t seek to obey the 10 commandments because we have to….but we do it in response to the love showered on us. We want to. It is our part of taking on his name and being his people.
So let’s focus in on the 1st 4 commands.
They all focus on “Loving God” and give us some real clues on how to do that.
Today I would like to reflect on what it means to love God.
What does that look like?
Our mission statement as a church says that we exist to love God. But have you ever wondered what does that look like?
- How do we love God ? Can’t see him?
- And How can I tell if I am growing in my love for God or not? Is it something I feel? What?
I think the 10 gives us some answers to that question.
Let me try and capture the “how” with 4 words from the 1st 4 commands
- Only
- Central
- Honour
- Remember
-
“Only”
The 1st command says “You shall have no other gods before me.”
Our love and worship is to be singular in focus.
i.e.
Bob Dylan song – “Gotta Serve somebody” Captures this thot.
We are all incurably religious. We will worship /serve somebody. It’s not a question of “if” we believe in god or not, but rather do we believe in the living God or a substitute?
Matthew 5: 20
4 “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.
We will serve. Question is “Who or what will be our god?
Martin Luther said:
“Whatever your heart clings to, or whatever you heart relies upon that is your god.”
God calls us to love, serve him only. Singular in our focus.
Key Question: Who do you serve?
Important because
a. Becomes the source from which we derive our principles and values
James Michener:
Ancient times – practised fertility cult and her faithful loving husband was chosen to go to the temple prostitutes. Noticed a change in his demeanor…noticed a little too much enthusiasm
Her response was:
Maybe if he had different gods he would be a different man”
Captures this. Who or what is our God will affect all of these circles.
- It will determine how we view good & evil, responsibility, compassion
- It will influence what we think is important – honesty, kindness, compassion, loyalty
- It will direct how we view other people, their value, how we view family, etc
- And it will direct our behaviours – what is acceptable and what isn’t.
We see this with Israel.
As they changed gods at different times in their history, so did their practises change.
2. It shapes our personalities
God called Israel from a polytheism of gods in Egypt to serve one god.
And one person put it well:
“Polytheism in the heart will produce polytheism in the personality and emotions.”
Translated:
The more things that you worship & serve the more conflicted and fragmented you will be in your life.
Who hasn’t felt that inner conflict?
In Romans 7, the Apostle Paul, speaks to that conflict when self and God are vying for 1st place
i.e.
I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18 I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.?b? For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.
His remedy: When Christ becomes Lord of his life.”
You see, having more than 1 god has 3 effects
a. live a 2nd secret life
b. internally conflicted – greater tension & anxiety
i.e. workaholic – Serving another taskmaster beside God…moonlighting
c. Inconsistent – we waver back & forth in the wind. We aren’t consistent in our responses. We seek to please whichever god is strongest at the moment.
i.e.
My desire for money overcomes my love for God and so I rip off this customer…but I go to church on Sunday …and give my tithe.
And so the first word that helps us to know how to love God is “only”
We are monogamous. Commited to only loving and serving one.
Old hymn says “Lord, take the 1st place in my heart.”
2. Word # 2: Central
“You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
An idol is anything that usurps the place of God in our hearts.
Augustine:
“Idolatry is worshipping anything that ought to be used or using anything that ought to be worshipped.”
What is the reason given for not having idols?
Because he is a jealous God.
i.e.
In premarital counselling I talk about the #1 source of marriage conflict that I see. It is called “centricity”
Picture it like this:
When you go to get married you picture your relationship like a solar system. You are the sun and your partner is Earth. In our minds, we picture that our spouse’s world revolves around us. We are the centre of their attention, their thoughts.
However, when we sense something comes along that begins to steal their heart, their heart begins to revolve around another sun, it awakens in us a jealousy. You see, we jealously desire the heart of our beloved.
And the thing that can steal the heart can be almost anything: work, sports, another person, church, hobby, old friends.
And it’s not that we don’t like those things but we don’t like the place it is taking in their hearts. We feel sidelined, unimportant.
In some ways, that is how to understand God’s jealousy. There is this covenant where they said he would be their God, and they would be his people. And when something begins to pull them away God seeks to pull us back.
Perhaps that is why whenever the people of Israel began to go after idols it is referred to as spiritual adultery.
i.e.
Newspaper
Clever ad -Asked people to look on back page.
Back page was completely empty except down in the bottom right hand corner, in small print were these words:
“Is this where you have placed God?”
Application
Now this has everyday relevance. It speaks to us about our priorities, schedules, focus.
It asks us: What does my life…my family solar system revolve around? What gets the focus and attention?
Meddle for a moment
Concerning trend I see among parents today. Even Christian parents. What is at the centre (the sun) is the children. They are the ones who determine family schedule, and priorities.
And what our kids are learning is to serve “self” not Christ or a bigger cause.
I.e. Connie Podesto in her response to the idea that kids and youth have changed today said “No, they haven’t”
What has changed is their parents & leaders.
25 years ago kids were expected to show respect, to be hard-working, to be loyal to a cause and see something thru whether bored or didn’t like it or not. Expected to be compassionate and treat other people properly be it at school or in neighbourhood. Expected to serve others first. Expected to not be focal point at the table when company came over. I was told that if you got in trouble at school you’ll be in twice as much trouble when you get home.
Do you see that something else is at the centre there?
There is something bigger, something outside themselves that is central. Perhaps it is Christian values. The values of serving others….being good citizens.
Now, if child doesn’t like something….whole family changes to accommodate the child. We try to adjust life and world to fit our child, instead of adjust our child to fit life and the world.
Perhaps I have said enough. Think about that.
Who or what does your family revolve around?
If an alien were to watch your life, and family what would he observe as the central organizing principle of your life? What is the sun? or
What is the idol?
3. Word # 3: Honour
“You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
The word profane comes from 2 Latin words
Pro – out of
Fane = temple
Profane then literally means taking something out of the temple out into the marketplace.
What this command is saying is doing that with God’s name.
A way in which we express love for God is how we express honour for his name.
i.e.
Jewish times – wouldn’t say name of god
Copyists – wash, put on special clothes, not dip pen in ink well in middle of writing god’s name, not respond even to a king while writing name.
They showed great honour to god’s name. because it represented who he is - his character, person, will.
In the Lord’s prayer we are given the positive side of this command”Our Father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name…”
So how do we profane God’s name
1. Use it flippantly
You see, language reflects our heart.
i.e.
How many of you who love your wives would call her an old lady….old bag? Don’t dare.
If you have close relationship you call them “honey”, sweetheart, some affectionate name. you don’t think of profaning their name.
2. Perjury
The bible talks about making oaths. Practise was to swear by heaven or God that you were telling truth.
Graphic: someone swearing an oath in court with hand on Bible
i.e.
court – hand on bible “I swear to tell the whole truth, nothing but the truth, so help me God…”
One we believe Bible is truth.
Now the underlying thought here is that if didn’t do that we would lie. So we use an oath to convince someone we aren’t lying.
Jesus said “Let your yes be yes and your no , no.
i.e.
Ever loaned money?
Ever had someone swear they will pay you back by Friday?
One man said he heard person swear they would do that and said “Well, if you do you will be the first person in my history who actually followed through.”
Perhaps asking: “What are you getting at?”
We are called Christians….Christ-followers, right?
Well, we take on Christ’s name.
And we profane Christ’s name when we don’t follow through on our vows, when we don’t fulfill our promises.
- when we sign but don’t pay our bills
- when we don’t follow through on marriage vows
We profane God’s name by actions that don’t reflect the character of the person who’s name we bear.
Friends, we show we love God by how we honour him with our mouths and with our actions.
4. Word # 4: Remember
Part of being God’s people is that they would take a day off. A day to worship and rest.
God was showing these slave people what it was like to be free. That life in his kingdom was different than everybody else. It was more gracious.
Friends, today we see the world again moving at hyper-speed. 6 days of work is not enough. We have to go 7. we have to be open every day.
And one of the tragedies we are encountering in our world is that we are so busy that we don’t have time to reflect, to put value even on what we are doing. We just have our head down and just given her. Busy is a sign of importance and value.
And part of loving God is just stopping from the retrace and spending time with him. Taking time to reflect on what he has made.
One person said
“God gave us the tithe to keep us from materialism.
He gave us the Sabbath to keep us from workaholism.”
You see, the Sabbath principle is one of the best ways to keep our earth revolving around the Son Jesus Christ Often the 1st thing to go when our love for God beginds to wane is our habit of worship. It gets lost in the busyness. And soon everything becomes important. And then everything else becomes more important.
Part of loving God is just taking time to be with him. It is remembering.
Conclusion
In these 4 words you can get a measurement of your growth or deterioration in your walk with God.
- Only – Is Christ first & only? Have you become polytheistic? Measure: level of internal conflict, inconsistencies in life, secret life
- Central – Who does your world revolve around? Who is the sun in your galaxy?
Has money usurped the place of God? Things? Kids?
- Honour – Is our words and life increasingly hallowing god’s name or profaning it?
- Remember – What’s happening to the rhythm of your life? Is there a regular time of spiritual and emotional refreshment? Is Sunday the 1st day or a leftover flex day or just another day?
Friends, part of God’s purpose and plan for our lives as his people is that we might respond to his love by loving him – only, centrally, with honor, and always remember.
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a Or possession, for the whole earth is mine. You
The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. Ex 19:3-9
The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. Mt 6:24
b Or my flesh
The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. Ro 7:15-19
The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. Ex 20:4-6
The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. Ex 20:7