9/2/13 Labor Day Windermere Retreat (Jason McCray) - Perfect Problem -- Exodus 20
Perfect Problem - Exodus 20
While at the Mountain of Fire…Mount Sinai, what did God have to say to His redeemed nation?
1And God spoke all these words, saying: 2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
And then God gave the Ten Opinions…The Ten Suggestions
Or is it the Ten Commandments?
*Can you name the Ten Commandments…in order?
At least four times in the New Testament, it is clearly stated that the believer is not under the law.
Romans 6:14-15
Galatians 5:18
1 Corinthians 9:20
Ephesians 2:14-15
The Ten cannot save us, so we do not keep them for salvation.
The Ten cannot cleanse us, so we do not keep them for that purpose.
***Why did God give the Ten Commandments?
The law was designed to protect and keep Israel from the idolatry that surrounded her and provide the way for the coming of the Messiah.
*Why should we study the Ten Commandments?
The law is still revealing and instructive. It gives insight into the mind of God and helps one to determine what standards of holiness God expects of those who follow Him.
We are to keep the Law, observe the Law, only as it reveals the holiness of God and as it reveals, to us, how to love God and how to love our neighbor.
*Can you summarize the Ten Commandments?
Matthew 22:36-40
I. Have no other gods before me.
3 “You shall have no other gods before Me.
The phrase before Me can be translated in opposition to Me.
To worship another god would be to declare war on Jehovah and incur His wrath.
Now, based upon what we have seen from the book of Exodus, what Jehovah is capable of, do you think it wise to start a war with God?
Let us review what happened to those who resisted God:
National water supply turned to blood
Frogs that covered the ground and house
Lice like dust
Blood sucking Flies
Pestilence that killed cattle
Boils that covered the body
Hail that destroyed the harvest and cattle
Locust that destroyed the rest of the harvest
Darkness like a blanket that produced pain
All firstborn dead
(new) National army drowned in Red Sea
(new) Invading army defeated
Is there anything in your life that is competing for your loyalty against God?
II. Do not make idols nor bow down
4“You shall not make for yourself a carved image—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; 5you shall not bow down to them nor serve them.
What is a carved image?
A carved image is any substitute for God.
Anything which we devote our time and energy for or which we make sacrifices because we love it…can be an idol.
“What if it’s not about statues? What if the gods of here and now are not cosmic deities with strange names? What if they take identities that are so ordinary that we don’t recognize them as gods at all? What if we do our ‘kneeling’ and our ‘bowing’ with our imaginations, our checkbooks, our search engines, our calendars?”
“What if I told you that every sin you are struggling with, every discouragement you are dealing with, even the lack of purpose you’re living with are because of idolatry?”
-Kyle Idleman from gods at war
Love God with all of your heart
If your heart is not completely His then you have an idol problem
Love God with all of your soul
If you share your soul with another then you have an idol problem
Love God with all of your mind
If you have a divided mind then you have an idol problem
Love God with all of your strength
If you give your strength to another then you have an idol problem
Imagine three temples that people can visit, in order to spend their energies, their resources, their passions.
Picture three altars, in each temple, in America, where we can bow down and sacrifice our time, our families, our resources rather than to God Almighty.
In America, I would call these three temples the following…
The Temple of Pleasure
With three altars called food, sex, entertainment
The Temple of Power
With three altars called success, money, achievement
The Temple of Love
With three altars called romance, family, me
We may not carve idols out of wood and stone, but we have plenty of idols made out of paper, metal and flesh.
God will not share His worship or glory with another, just like you would not share your wife or husband with another.
God calls for complete commitment. He does not want some of you, but all of you.
How can you know what your idols are?
By answering the following questions, you can identify your most likely idol.
What do you complain about most?
If you complain about your financial situation, maybe
money has become too important to you.
If you complain about your lack of respect from others, maybe your reputation is too important.
If you complain about how poorly your team is doing, maybe sports is too important.
What worries you?
When you become consumed by fear or anxiety, then that can reveal something or someone that has power over you and you fail to have faith that God can handle the situation
When worry controls you rather than God, it is an idol
What makes you mad?
I remember a time in my life when I got mad, all the time, when playing basketball. I realized, one day, how it was affecting me and my witness for God and decided to remove that idol from my life.
Idols of winning or reputation
What dreams do you have?
Dreams are not bad, but do your dreams include glorifying God or yourself?
What do you make financial sacrifices for?
Your check book can reveal idols
What do you spend your time on?
Your calendar can reveal idols
Where is your sanctuary?
Where do you go when hurting?
Where do you find satisfaction?
At the end of the day, you find yourself upset, overwhelmed, etc.
Do you go to the fridge looking for comfort food?
Do you go to the cell phone to unload with a favorite friend?
Do you try to lose yourself in a novel, in a video game, in pornography, etc.?
The Bible says that God is our refuge and strength in times of trouble!
III. Do not use God’s name in vain
7 “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.
1. Using God’s name as a curse word
G.. D…
2. Using God’s name to express disgust or pain
Oh G..
Have you ever listened to Darren Strebelow? He is a Christian Comedian and during one of his shows said the following, “What can I tell you about myself?
I am a Christian. It’s hard to be one of those in this culture. People use your God’s name as a curse word. I don’t understand why they do that. I don’t do that to anybody else.
You don’t see me walking down the street, stub my toe, “Oh, Buddha! Hare H Krishna, look at that bruise!”
3. Using His name in an oath to tell the truth, but telling lies instead
4. Professing to be a Christian while living in known sin
1 John 2:3-6
Another way God could have given the third commandment, “Either honor my name, both by the way you live and by the way you talk, or else disassociate yourself from my name.”
Why honor His name?
It is excellent (Psalm 8:1)
It is awesome (Psalm 111:9)
It is strong (Proverbs 18:10)
It is holy (Matthew 6)
It is unique (Acts 4:12)
It is powerful (Php 2:9-11)
We can be saved by it…
We can be sanctified in it…
IV. Honor the Sabbath
8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. 11For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
Doing this does not make you holy, but it helps you appreciate the One who is Holy.
Why keep the Sabbath?
Because God observed a day of rest
Because God set it apart as holy
So that you may be refreshed…Exodus 23: 12“Six days you are to do your work, but on the seventh day you shall cease from labor so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female slave, as well as your stranger, may refresh themselves.
So that you may remember what the Lord has done in your life…Deut 5: 15‘You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out of there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to observe the sabbath day.
So that you may know what the Lord does in your life
that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you. (Exodus 31:13b)
Why keep the Sabbath?
To Rest from labors to reflect on the Redeemer
Contrary to the claims of some today, Christians are not required to worship on the Sabbath day. It, like the other Old Covenant holy days Paul mentions, is not binding under the New Covenant. There is convincing evidence for that in Scripture.
First, the Sabbath was the sign to Israel of the Old Covenant (Ex. 31:16-17; Neh. 9:14; Ezek. 20:12). Because we are now under the New Covenant (Heb. 8), we are no longer required to keep the sign of the Old Covenant.
Second, we find no hint in the Old Testament that God expected the Gentile nations to observe the Sabbath, nor are they ever condemned for failing to do so. That is certainly strange if He expected all peoples to observe the Sabbath.
Third, the Jerusalem Council did not impose Sabbath keeping on the Gentile believers (Acts 15).
Fourth, Paul warned the Gentiles about many different sins in his epistles, but never about breaking the Sabbath.
Fifth, Paul rebuked the Galatians for thinking God expected them to observe special days (including the Sabbath) (Gal. 4:10-11).
V. Honor your mother and father
12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
Canaanite cultural practices of the day for aged parents included…
When the aged became more of a burden than was comfortable, then they were sent abroad to be eaten by beasts or left out to die of exposure
Why is this command so important?
“Because it is the key principle behind all right human relationships in society.
A person who grows up with a sense of respect for and obedience to his parents will have the foundation for respecting the authority of other leaders and the rights of other people in general.”
What does honoring your parents look like?
Using Ephesians 5
A. Honor includes obedience
Walk in love, in light and wisdom
B. Honor includes redeeming the time
C. Honor includes being filled with the Spirit
D. Honor includes being thankful for all things… which includes the parents that God gave you.
E. Honor includes providing for your parents when they cannot do so themselves.
VI. Do not kill
13 “You shall not murder.
Violations:
Premeditated Murder
Abortion
Suicide
Anger – Matthew 5:21-26
Not violations:
Capital Punishment
War
Self Defense
The Last 4 Commands can be covered under the banner of…
BE CONTENT
VII. Do not commit adultery
14 “You shall not commit adultery.
The act of adultery is physical sharing of intimacy between a man and a woman where one or both parties are married.
Matt. 5: 27“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
VIII. Do not steal
15 “You shall not steal.
The word for steal can also be translated kidnap.
Stealing is the taking of something, without permission, from another person.
This is God’s way of protecting personal property.
Stealing is not only the taking of physical things…
You can steal ideas and claim that they were yours
You can steal time from an employer claiming that you were working when you were actually playing games
You can steal income from a music artist or actor by copying movies or music where you don’t have the license to do so
You can steal from God (Malachi 3:8)
IX. Do not lie
16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
Bearing false witness can be more that the act of telling a lie
It can be telling a half truth, a white lie
It can be slander, gossip, the spreading of false information
You can lie to God
By making promises that you do not keep
In your prayer time, by claiming that you feel one way about a situation but really harboring feelings that are different
The previous commands, #5-#9, deal mostly with actions while #10 is purely about the heart, which if not guarded, will lead to breaking the others.
X. Do not covet
17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”
When you are content with…
God’s sovereignty…no murder
Your spouse…no adultery
Your possessions…no stealing
Your reputation…no lying
When your heart is content then you will not covet what God has not given you.
Why be content?
1 Timothy 6:6-10 gives you 9 reasons to be content.
1. It is gain…to your benefit
2. Because you brought nothing into the world
3. Because you will take nothing with you out of it
4. To avoid falling into temptation
5. To avoid being ensnared/trapped
6. To avoid being consumed/drowned
7. To pull out the roots of all kinds of evil
8. To avoid straying from the truth
9. To avoid hurting yourself with many sorrows
How do you become content?
Through the resources of Christ – Php 4:4-8
Rejoicing, vs. 4
Praying, vs. 6
Being thankful, vs. 6
Meditating on what is true, etc., vs. 8.
The Ultimate cure for discontentment
Hebrews 13: 5Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 6So we may boldly say: “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”
Be without covetousness
Be content
By remembering that the Lord will never forsake you
The cure is the presence of Christ.
When all is said and done, why are these commands important for us to consider to obey?
1. Because God said to keep them
2. Because we love God and our neighbor by keeping them
Romans 13: 8Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.