AM Sermon preached at Central Christian Church January 7, 2007 (updated)
God’s Top Ten List (10 Commandments sermon series)
Introductory Sermon The Love Behind The Law
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Here’s the situation. Two companions have just completed the most difficult of tasks. After months of traveling in secret over the most dangerous terrains, after battling their ways through storms and blizzards, after having endured capture and escaping from it, these two unlikely heroes, two hobbits, had snuck behind enemy lines and managed to destroy it, the evil Ring of Power. This Ring if it had not been destroyed would most certainly would have been returned to the evil Sauroman who would have used it to reek havoc over the face of Middle Earth. But Sauroman would never again get his hands on the Ring of Power, because Frodo and Sam had seen to its successful destruction by having it cast into the fires of Mount Doom---and their reward---well it seems that for all the good they had done----they were going to be repaid with death. Let’s watch a short video clip to catch their feelings of despair…
[VIDEO CLIP FROM “THE RETURN OF THE KING”----THEN BLANK SCREEN] {NOTE for those reading this on Sermon Central---in this clip Frodo and Sam are trapped on a small rock which is surrounded by molten lava---they’re thinking they’re going to die and they begin to open up to each other talking about things they would have liked to have seen once more or done…}
When it seemed there was no possible way to escape, when it looked as if death was certain, when hope was giving way to despair and then to acceptance that the end had come…the eagles came and bore them away… For those of you who haven’t seen the movie----both Sam and Frodo recover.
I had never really thought much about it before this week, but as I was preparing this first sermon of this new sermon series it dawned on me that those feelings of despair voiced by Frodo and Sam and their rescue----must parallel somewhat what the ancient Israelites went through with their exodus from Egypt.
Remember the story----it goes back to the time of Joseph. Joseph had been sold into slavery by his jealous brothers---and eventually with God’s intervention Joseph ended up in Egypt, in the house of Pharaoh. In fact Joseph became Pharaoh’s right hand man. Everything Joseph did seemed to turn out right and Pharaoh and Egypt benefited as a result. That’s why when a severe famine hit, Pharaoh was more than happy to tell Joseph “Go ahead and invite your family to come and live in Egypt. They don’t need to be scraping around trying to find something to eat. I mean after all Joseph, you’re the one who made certain we have more than enough food here. Yes, go ahead and invite your family to come and live here.” And that’s what Joseph did. His family accepted the invitation and moved to Egypt. Things went only too well for Joseph’s family in Egypt too. Everything they did seemed to work out well for them too. Their herds grew in number, their wealth dramatically increased and you’d have thought they were rabbits the way their families grew----there were so many of them they were thought of as nation within the nation---and they were became known as the Israelites. The years passed and eventually some of the Egyptians in authority, people who had little or no knowledge of the good things Joseph had done for Egypt, well, they decided to make slave of all the Israelites. And that’s what happened. The Israelites went from being guests to slaves---from enjoying lives of ease and luxury to lives of forced labor, beatings and chains. This went on for years and when it had reached a point that there seemed to be no way of escape---when it seemed to the Israelites that the only future that there was for their children was the same forced labor---when hope was nearly exhausted and many were beginning to accept slavery as their lot in life, God brought Moses into the picture and God delivered the Israelites from their slavery. Listen as I read from the Bible how God described His activities in bringing about Israel’s deliverance---- Exodus 19
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1 In the third month after the Israelites left Egypt—on the very day—they came to the Desert of Sinai. 2 After they set out from Rephidim, they entered the Desert of Sinai, and Israel camped there in the desert in front of the mountain.
3 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.
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God says I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Here’s the reason I’m bringing all of this to your attention. You see, today I’m beginning a new sermon series based on the Ten Commandments and before we really get into them I want to be sure we see them for what they are----because so many people have a mistaken idea about them. A lot of people understand the Ten Commandments to be nothing more than a list of don’ts ---a list of thou shalt nots---merely a list of behaviors which God prohibits. A lot of people think of the Ten Commandments as the cold commands of a cosmic killjoy. They think God gave them because He’s all about living the serious life and He doesn’t want us to have any fun. But that’s so far from the truth. The fact is the very title “The Ten Commandments” is a rather poor label for what God has given us. The Hebrew is more rightly understood as the “ten words” or “ten things”and the Jews sometimes simply label this list “Torah”; torah meaning instruction. And while it’s true folks that this list does restrict certain types of behavior it also encourages other types of behavior. The Ten Commandments have been seen for too long in a negative sense. These things we’ll be looking at should be seen positively, not negatively. They’re not so much about throwing cold water on bad behaviors as they are about adding fuel to the fires of good behavior. Rather than cold and confining, the Ten Commandments are warm and freeing---they bring to life holy requirements that pulsate with God’s love for us---the ten words from God reveal the most awesome guidelines for living the best possible life in any age.
All too often people approach the Ten Commandments as if it were this list of laws that merely showed up on the scene one day. But they need to be understood in the context in which they were given. Remember the situation. God’s just freed the nation of Israel from years of slavery. Through miraculous means God has brought this nation of people out of Egypt with plans to put them in a new land, a beautiful, fertile land. He’s delivered them---brought them out on eagles’ wings. Why? So He could make life miserable for them again? So He could enslave them again with all kinds of rules and regulations that would suck all the fun out of their lives. No, not at all. God brought them out of Egypt to Himself. He wants to enjoy a special relationship with them and He wants them to enjoy a special relationship with Him. Again let’s go back to the Bible----God’s just finished saying to Moses “Remind the people that they saw how I carried them out of Egypt on eagle’s wings and brought them to myself…” And then He adds,
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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."
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God’s about to give the people of Israel the law. He’s about to roll out His Top Ten List. But before He does that He wants Moses to say certain things to the people so they will be in the right frame of mind when the list is given. God wants the people’s hearts prepared so they will receive the list in the spirit of love in which it is given. And I want the same for us in the weeks ahead. That’s why today I didn’t jump right onto the first commandment but instead have been giving you some of this very important background information. Like ancient Israel, we too need to prepare our hearts to receive this list of ten words. We too need to get ourselves in the right frame of mind so that we receive them in the spirit of love in which they were given.
Ron Mehl in his book “The Ten(der) Commandments shares these insightful thoughts, “As I write these words, February 14 draws nigh on my calendar. Unless you’re Charlie Brown or Saddam Hussein, you’ve probably given and received some special valentines in your life. You’ve probably had some things wrapped in red foil or fancy ribbon or a heart-shaped box. Or maybe you’ve stood at a florist’s counter trying to decide on a “just right” arrangement of roses.
It’s fun to say “I love you” in elegant, ornamental ways sometimes. It’s fun to bring a sparkle of surprise into the eyes of your valentine. (Even a Snickers looks better if it’s got a red ribbon around it.)
But the truth is, love doesn’t always come wrapped that way. Love doesn’t always arrive in pink foil with little red hearts. It doesn’t always come in a perfect bouquet of hothouse flowers.
Love comes in surprising packages sometimes. Love—the real thing---arrives at the front porch of your life in ways you might not expect or immediately recognize. You have to have your eyes open to see it…and receive it.
It may come in a normally reserved father’s quick tear.
Or in a teenaged son’s spontaneous, awkward hug.
Or in a little girl’s crayoned landscape, created just for you.
Or in a friend’s quiet willingness to put his or her own shoulder under your too-heavy load.
Or on a lonely, blood soaked cross one dark Friday, somewhere outside
The city gates.
Mehl concludes, “Love doesn’t always look the way you’d expect it to look. It isn’t always dressed for dinner. It isn’t always pretty or frilly or soft. It might even be written in stone. It might even show up as Ten Commandments.”
I believe Mehl’s right. I believe God’s love for us is what motivated Him to give us the Ten commandments. And I believe God’s love for us flows freely in each and everyone of the ten words He’s left for us to live by. And in the weeks ahead as we dig deep into these things, I think you too will come to believe it too.
I believe you’ll come to see as I have that God gave us these ten to help us avoid confusion about right and wrong, about what is His will and what is not His will for us. You’ll see that God gave us this list to guide us away from the traps and snares of Satan, to keep us from having to endure the harsh consequences of sin and to make us shine as lights in this dark world.
As we get a better handle on God’s Top Ten list we’ll find that they’re not outdated ---to the contrary we’ll see that they address some of today’s most pressing issues. They hit us where we are. They speak to our hearts in the here and now. They deal with finding purpose in life. They speak to the dangers of workaholism and the importance of taking time to connect to those you value most. They address such topics as anger management, honoring marriage, maintaining integrity and getting a grip on materialism. They reaffirm the power of words and call for us to avoid addictive behaviors. In short this list of ten, if understood and applied can help us value the valuable while steering us clear of some of life’s most hurtful and harmful activities.
As I begin to wind things up in this morning’s message I hope you realize that what I’ve set out to do today is to present you with the appetizer---one which will be followed by a full ten course meal…I hope I’ve succeeded in making you hungry---and I hope you’ll plan on returning for every course that’s being prepared.
Now before we stand and sing our decision hymn I want to share one last illustration with you. I want us to go back to that comment God made to Israel about His carrying them on eagles’ wings. Eagles are such magnificent birds that we use them as symbols of our country. They seem to float so gracefully, so high above the earth. But there’s something about eagles you may not know. If you see an eagle carrying an eaglet high above its nest, it’s probably doing it for the specific reason of dropping it. Maybe you can imagine the scene---here’s this small bird crouched down inside this huge warm nest. Eagles have been known to build nests as large as nine feet wide and twenty feet deep. Anyway here’s this little eaglet all snug and comfy at the bottom of this down lined nest just enjoying eating and napping and harassing its siblings when momma eagle grabs it up and begins to rise high above the nest. The eaglet might just be beginning to enjoy the wing rustling through its feathers when all at once momma let’s go. That’s right, the mother eagle let’s her little one experience a free fall towards the earth. Here’s this little bird facing this rude awakening. It’s flipping and jerking around, spinning uncontrollably as it races towards the earth. All the while the mother eagle soars overhead watching. Just about the time the little bird is probably thinking it’s going to be dashed to pieces on the rocks below, the mother eagle swoops down and grabs it. She soars upwards high above the nest, let’s go and starts the whole process all over again. She does this time and time again, not to be cruel to her little one, but because she knows it’s best for her little one. Because she knows it’s necessary. Eventually the little eaglet will catch on and will learn to fly.
Sometimes in life God takes us up on His wings and then He lets us fall into situations and circumstances we’re not too sure about. Sometimes He gives us instructions He wants followed. We may not like His instructions---but those who are wise will obey them. We need always to keep in mind that fact that God doesn’t drop us into a free fall and He doesn’t erect barriers to activities because He’s against us. He does those things because He’s for us. Not all limitations are bad, you know. Like when a parent tells their child-----you don’t ride your trike in the street---don’t throw rocks at that wasp’s nest----do not drink water from the dog’s dish----they do it because they have the child’s best interest at heart--- Be sure of this----God gave us His Top Ten list with our best interest at heart. You see it is as ---Ron Mehl says, “There are some things in this sin-damaged world of ours that are so shattering and devastating to our brief human lives that He doesn’t want us to have to learn them by bitter experiences. So He’s given us His Word to guide us and protect us.” God better than anyone else, friend, knows what makes life work. He knows what is best----He knows what is needed. And He invites us to soar through life with Him. The choice is ours to make.
This morning as our praise team leads us in our decision hymn, if you would like to be baptized into Christ or if you’d like to become a member of Central Christian, I invite you to meet with me in front of the stage so we can discuss your desire.
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NOTE TO THOSE WHO READ AND OR CHOOSE TO MAKE USE OF ANY OR ALL OF THIS SERMON: I am sharing this sermon with the hopes it will be an encouragement to others. I apologize for any blatant typing errors! If you find any I’d appreciate hearing from you so I can correct them. I try to give credit where credit is due, noting writers and or sources to the best of my ability. I have for years been drawing from a wealth of sources including this website. I recognize that my mind and writing processes are fallible. I may occasionally fail to properly identify a source. Please do not take offense if you see anything of this nature. I never intend to plagiarize. Having said that I want you to feel free to draw from my message. When appropriate I hope you will give credit as I do. But most of all I hope Christ will be lifted up and God will receive the glory in all things.
