God’s List Of Do’s And Don’ts (1-3)

Why? Because he tells them things they do not want to hear.

For example, how many would turn to the astrology section of the newspaper, if it told them something like this, “You are a very dumb person, and because of that, some very bad things are going to happen to you today!”

They turn to the astrology section of the newspaper, because it tells them something like this, “You are a very optimistic and talented person, and something nice is going to happen to you today.”

There was a time, when many Christians had the highest regards for a preacher who would preach the Word of God, as it is, to man, the way he is.

But it is an obvious fact, that the average person who is looking for a church today, is not looking for a church where the man of God preaches the Word of God. They are looking for:

• Attractive buildings to worship in.

• Churches that entertain with drama, humor, and music.

• Churches that have a youth program.

• Churches where the preacherette, preaches a sermonette, to the Christianette.

This is sad, but many believe in America today, the days of good old Bible preaching are a thing of the past. I SINCERELY HOPE NOT, BECAUSE IF IT IS TRUE, WE AS A NATION ARE DOOMED!

However, this is the age when God’s Word has been compromised!

We do know this, this is the age where, if you are going to make it big in the religious realm, you have got to be willing to compromise God’s Word. But, if we love the Lord and His Word, we are cautioned not to be CONFORMED TO THIS WORLD. Why?

The fact is, this Bible that I hold in my hands, tells us there are some things that GOD LIKES, and there are some things that GOD DISLIKES.

For example, in this passage that I read to you a few minutes ago, this is not Moses talking, this is God telling us some things HE LIKES and DISLIKES!

God tells us ten things about Himself, in what we call the Ten Commandments. We want to cover these ten things in the next three sermons.

But I want to remind you, before we get into these ten commandments, these are not TEN SUGGESTIONS, they are TEN COMMANDMENTS that He will hold you and I responsible for on the judgment day.

Let’s listen very closely, as we consider these ten things.

We can learn a lot by listening to people. Let us look at this passage and discover what God likes, and dislikes.

Look at this list of things, we see:

I. HIS PRIORITY LIST.

Look at Exodus 20:3, we read, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.”

In this verse of scripture, God is telling us that He will not settle for anything but FIRST PLACE in our lives.

Illus: Jennifer Flowers alleges that she had a twelve year affair with president Bill Clinton. She was asked on the Larry King show if Hillary knew anything about the affair. She said she did know about the affair.

She then explained that she was at a big social event, standing beside Governor Bill Clinton, and Hillary walked up to him and said, “Bill. Come over here, I want you to meet someone.” He told her he would do it later, and he continued to stand beside Jennifer Flowers. He later told Jennifer, in a motel room, that Hillary got angry when he did that, and told him, “I do not care who you mess around with, but do not ever again embarrass me like that in public.”

Evidently, Bill did not care who she messed around with either. In August of 1999, a new book came out, called “Bill and Hillary”, that documents that Hillary and Vince Foster had a long term affair going on.

Now, this is a messed up marriage to put it mildly. But yet, while many can see this is not the way things should be, they still think they can have a similar relationship with God.

Listen, God makes it clear, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.”

Matthew 6:33, We read, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness…”

God tells us the only way we can have a relationship with Him, is to put Him first in our lives.

Now, I know that we have many preachers today that are watering it down, and you get the impression that if God is somewhere on our top ten list, we are alright.

But the Word of God says, God requires that we PLEASE HIM FIRST.

• WHY DON’T PEOPLE WANT TO PLEASE HIM?

Because, when you PLEASE GOD, you are not going to PLEASE THE OTHER GODS IN YOUR LIFE.