AM Sermon preached at Central Christian Church January 14, 2007
2nd in God’s Top Ten sermon series The 1st Commandment
“Life’s Most Important Choice”
[PROJECT ASAP AS COMMUNION IS WINDING DOWN… SERMON SERIES SLIDE----IT WILL AUTOMATICALLY TRANSITION TO SERMON TITLE SLIDE----THEN TO A BLANK SLIDE]
[SLIDE]
This man is more quickly recognized by his stories than his picture or his name. His name is Theodor Seuss Geisel. He’s perhaps best known for his story “The Cat In The Hat.” A less familiar story yet still a fun and thought provoking one is his story of a character he calls Zoad. It goes like this….
Did I ever tell you about the young Zoad?
Who came to a sign at the fork of the road
He looked one way and the other way too
The Zoad had to make up his mind what to do - Well, the Zoad scratched his head,
And his chin, and his pants. - And he said to himself, "I’ll be taking a chance.
If I go to Place One, that place may be hot
So how will I know if I like it or not.
On the other hand, though, I’ll feel such a fool
If I go to Place Two and find it’s too cool
In that case I may catch a chill and turn blue.
So Place One may be best and not Place Two.
Play safe," cried the Zoad,
"I’ll play safe, I’m no dunce.
I’ll simply start off to both places at once.
And that’s how the Zoad who would not take a chance
Went no place at all with a split in his pants.
[BLANK SLIDE]
Ah, life is so full of choices. Sometimes we choose wisely. Sometimes not so wisely---like the little boy whose older brother talked into letting him crack some eggs on his head. The two of them were getting ready to boil some eggs so they could decorate them for Easter when the older brother told the younger one---“if you let me break three eggs on your head I’ll give you a dollar.” The younger one’s eyes grew wide with the prospect of getting a dollar. “really?” he said, “a whole dollar?” “Yep. If you let me break three eggs on your head I’ll give you a dollar.” “Promise?” “Promise.” “Okay.” The younger brother closed his eyes and held his hands at the side of his face as the older brother giggled and cracked open the first egg. As the yolk was just beginning to roll down onto his cheeks, the older brother said, “That’s one. Here’s two.” As he cracked open the second egg the older brother said, “This is so cool.” The younger boy then braced himself for the third egg. After about ten seconds he said, “Come on, I’m ready for the third egg.” The older brother then slyly said, “Are you kidding? That would cost me a dollar.”
Choices. They come in all shapes and sizes. We make them every day. Some are rather piddly like [SLIDE] whether we want fries with that or not….[BLANK SLIDE] Mounds or Almond Joy----hmmm--- because you know sometimes you feel like a nut and sometimes you don’t. Right? Other decisions are much more important like where we’ll go to college, whether to rent or purchase, whether we cheer for the [SLIDE] Bears or the Rams. Gee, I wonder how that happened??? [BLANK SLIDE] Seriously, some of life’s choices carry much more significance than others. And today as we continue with our God’s Top Ten sermon series we are confronted in this first commandment with life’s most important choice.
Let’s start getting a feel for this choice by beginning to look at this morning’s scripture passage from Exodus 20.
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1 And God spoke all these words: 2 "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 3 "You shall have no other gods before me.
Okay, now for those who weren’t here last Sunday and for those who were I want to take just a couple of minutes to remind us of the setting for these words. Three months have passed since the Israelites left Egypt. In Egypt they had been slaves. Now after a series of miraculous events they were a free people. God had made this freedom possible and He had appointed the man Moses to act as His spokesman and the people’s leader. God said to Moses “I want you to give the nation of Israel a special message from me. I want you to share with them my commandments, my guidelines for living life the way it was meant to be lived. Now before you lay out the rules though I want you to remind them of who I am and what I’ve done for them. Remind them that I was the one who delivered them from slavery.” And so here in our text we have Moses passing on to the people this special message from God. God’s laws, His governing policies for the nation, His expectations of His people. And so Moses begins by saying “I’ve got a message for you from God. And here it is. God says to you, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.”
There’s so much good stuff here---even in His opening remarks---God’s love and the good news He is sending through Moses cannot keep itself from breaking through. God begins “I am the LORD your God.” “I” that’s a personal pronoun. With his very first word God sends a powerful message. I am not an “it.” I am not an impersonal force. I’m not a mere object like some of the carved stones which the Egyptians worshipped as gods. No, I am the LORD.” That word “LORD” there---that’s God’s special name. It was the name God told Moses to call Him by--- back when Moses was at the burning bush receiving his marching orders from God. Remember? Moses said, “okay let me get this straight---you want me to march right up to Pharaoh and tell him that he’s supposed to let all the Israelites go free. And I’m supposed to tell all the Israelites and Pharaoh that God wants the people to go free. Well, now if I do that what god am I supposed to tell them is the god that told me to make that demand for freedom? I don’t even know your name.” And remember God’s answer? God told Moses “You tell Pharaoh and the people that the God Whose name is ‘I am’ is the God Who told you to make this demand.”
And so here there are now, three months after the people have left Egypt, with God sending His law through Moses. “I am the God whose name is I am. Now let’s get personal. I’m not just any god, by my own choice I have decided to be your God. I chose to bring you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. I chose to bring you to myself.” And with God’s choice of the pronoun “your,” He was making it very clear that His desire was not just to have a personal relationship with the nation collectively, but He wanted to have a personal relationship with each individual in that nation.
And then God adds, here’s how that personal relationship is to work…. “you shall have no other gods before me.” By the way, folks, here’s something I would like for you not only to take mental note of but here’s something it might be a good idea to write down in a note to yourself so you will better remember it--- everyone of the commandments is expressed in the second person singular. When God says “You shall have no other gods before me,” and when He says “You shall not worship idols” and “you shall not kill” and “you shall not steal” and so on. God’s not saying to the crowd in general “you” as in the good ole southern style of “you all”---God is saying “you----that’s you personally. You____ and you______ and you_______ and God’s saying to me….You, Darren…. You ---each one of you---you shall not have any other gods before me.
You shall have not have any other gods before me. That’s the first commandment. The first commandment is not “you shall believe in and worship god.” And the reason is simple. You do. It doesn’t matter if you’re an agnostic who claims “there may or may not be a god.” Or if you’re an atheist who says “there’s no such thing as god.” Or is you’re a monotheist who believes there is one God or a pantheist who says “there are all kinds of gods and they’re found everywhere and in everything.” No matter who you are, what your occupation, your skin color, age or gender----you do believe in and worship someone or something as god. [BLANK SLIDE]
In their book, Where’s Moses When You Need Him?, Bill & Kathy Peel write, “Whatever takes first place in our lives, that is the god we worship. Sociologists tell us that something is a god, an object of worship when it becomes the source of our self-worth and the ultimate consideration in decision-making. A man’s job becomes his god when he determines his value by how high he can climb, and he is willing to sacrifice health, family, and even ethical standards to get to the top. A woman’s social status becomes her god when she chooses to snub old friends who can’t help her get into a certain social club or organization in favor of those who can.” Bill & Kathy Peel
Martin Luther claims, “That to which your heart clings and entrusts itself is, I say, really your God.”
“Your god,” according to J I Packer, “is what you love, seek, worship, serve and allow to control you.”
I like the way R. Kent Hughes puts it, he says “There are only two categories of people----true worshippers and true idolators---for all have a god.”
Think about it----all have a god. The question this first commandment raises is not whether you will or will not have a god in your life----the question is who or what will be god in your life----the question is will you give the One true God first place in your life or will you give that to something else? You see making the choice to give God first place is what this commandment is really all about. The Hebrew words translated “no other gods besides me” can also be understood as “no other gods before me.” And both expressions have to do with our making the specific decision to make God number one---to give Him the place in our hearts that is above all others, to give Him our undivided allegiance.
Perhaps an insight can be gained through looking at and considering the pictures on the next few slides. [SLIDE] [SLIDE] These are all pictures of thrones. [SLIDE] There are a few famous thrones among the pictures. [SLIDE] King Tut’s throne. [SLIDE] Queen Elizabeth’s throne… [SLIDE] Prince’s throne… Notice something common to these thrones---- they’re made for individuals. None and I repeat that, none of these were made to be shared. They were all designed for single occupancy.
And this first commandment is making the point that at the very core of our being, on the throne of our heart, there is room only for one----and by rights, as our Creator, and as the one who loved us enough to die for us in order to make it possible for us to be freed from the punishment of our sins--- by rights, that place should be God’s and God’s alone.
But the reality of life is that many, many things compete for God’s rightful place in our lives---- things like pleasure, sex, food, occupational or social positions, recreation, alcohol, club memberships, money, cars, houses, boats, power, sports, other people, video games, web sites, drugs, family……….innumerable things carry with them the potential to crowd God off the throne of our heart. And that’s why in this first commandment God not only challenges us to look at our perception of He Who is--- but God also challenges us to look at where we’ve placed our relationship with Him in our list of priorities. God wants us to understand that it isn’t enough for us to have a right understanding of Who He is, nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing but giving Him the right place in our hearts is enough. Jesus said as much when He responded to the question, “what’s the greatest commandment of all?” by saying [SCRIPTURE SLIDE] “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind and all your strength.” Mark 12:30
Choosing to love God more than all others, determining to give Him first place----that’s what’s at the heart of the first commandment. And the reason this commandment comes first is because it is foundation upon which all of our responses to the other nine will be built. [BLANK SLIDE] Think about it----If God’s not first in our lives than we will not care all that much about what He has to say about how we should live our lives. On the other hand if God IS first in our lives, we’ll want to live to please Him---and so we’ll listen closely to His instructions and we’ll do our best to obey His commands. All of our answers to the why questions of the other nine words hinge on how we respond to this first question----why? Obey? I’m obeying these commandments because when I made the choice to give God first place in my life, I made the choice to live life His way---to follow His rules---to try to do what pleases and honors Him. You see I trust that He knows what is best for me. That’s why I obey the other commandments….that’s why I take a break from my work routine each week to worship God---I don’t want to allow work to take God’s place in my heart. I respect my parents because God wants me to. I’m faithful to my spouse because I don’t want to worship sex. I don’t steal or covet because I don’t want things to be my master.
So then the question we must answer is this one “In my life is God number one or not?”
Rick Atchley’s developed a test to help each of us answer that question. His test is built as an acrostic around the word “first.”
[SLIDE] F. ---he has standing for the word Focus. As we’re thinking about whether or not we’re giving God first place in our lives we should think about where our focus lies. We should attempt to identify what occupies our thoughts most of the time? When we’re winding down at night, when we get up in the morning---when we’ve got some free time---what do we think about? Our answers to those questions can give us real insight into whether or not we’ve got God in first place.
[SLIDE] Then there’s I. I is for Income. Atchely raise the question….Where are you spending your money? Think for a moment---if shortly after your death a modern biographer was hired to write your life story, you can count on it---he’d research your cancelled checks and your credit and debit purchases. What would his findings reveal about your priorities? Would he find that you humbly and secretly supported a charity or sponsored a third world child? Would he find that you spent more on dining out in one month than what you give to the church in a whole year? Where you spend your money says volumes about your relationship with God [SLIDE] because as Jesus said, “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:21
[SLIDE] Next obviously we have R. R = Relationships. Our relationships with other people---how we treat others, interact with them, talk about them---whether we bear grudges or practice forgiveness----our relationships---the people we choose to hang out with, the people we choose to avoid and our reasons for drawing near or steering clear of others says a great deal about whether we’ve given God first place in our lives.
[SLIDE] S. S is for Security. Atchely says we need to question ourselves about our sense of security. The last time we felt insecure, the last time we felt we needed some support or someone to lean who did we first turn to? When we’re hurting or struggling with fears or negative emotions--- do we turn to God first, last or somewhere in between?
[SLIDE] And finally, T. T represents our Time. Besides wanting to see your check stubs, a biographer in modern America would also want to see your Daytimer---for he would know that how you make appointments reveals a lot about you. What you schedule in, what you schedule out. Your weekly and daily routines, the special activities you work in they all clarify your life’s priorities. Do you begin your morning with the thought “God help me live this day for you?” Do you end it by asking yourself “How’d I do today? Did I do the things Jesus would have wanted me to do today? Did I fail Him today?” Do you ask God in prayer to help you to see what you might have done well? Do you ask Him to help you recognize what you might have done differently?
F-I-R-S-T. First. First place that’s what God wants. [BLANK SLIDE] That’s the choice laid out before us in this first commandment. It’s life’s most important choice and one we cannot avoid. We either choose to put God at the top or we don’t. The fact that to chose not to chose is not an option was once very vividly portrayed in a church camp skit.
In the skit a girl was sitting on a fence when a Christian came along and encouraged her to make the choice of following Jesus. The girl however chose to stay on the fence. Then along came another person----this one invited her to take part in some terrible sinful behavior. The girl shook her head no and remained on the fence. Then the time of judgment arrived. Jesus came and He took the Christian who had witnessed to the girl to be with Him in heaven. Satan came and took the person who had tempted the girl to commit terrible sins to hell. A few moments passed then Satan returned for the girl. The girl began to argue----I know I didn’t follow Jesus but I didn’t commit those terrible sins either. I just spent all my time sitting on this here fence. And then Satan said to the girl, “ah but what you should have known is that I own the fence. Now come with me.”
You shall have no other gods before me. Those are the words of the first commandment. At first they sound so restrictive, so negative. And that’s how Satan wants us to understand them. But to take them that way is to misunderstand them. Because the other side of this negatively stated ultimatum is a wonderfully positive opportunity. Satan’s tried to fog the picture folks, but the Holy Spirit runs to us and says, “don’t you get it? Sure you’re not to have any other gods beside God---but that’s just it, you can have God!” We can choose to give God first place, we can choose to snuggle up to and love the One true God Who already loves us with the knowledge that He loves us and will someday take us to heaven! Or we can choose to turn away from Him and pay the consequences. I choose God. I hope you do too.
As we stand and sing Change My Heart O God---- think about what place you’ve given God in your life. If He’s where He is supposed to be right now, I encourage you to choose to keep Him there. If He’s not where He should be I encourage you make the choice today to return Him to being number one. And as always if you have a public decision to make you can meet with me down front to discuss it as our invitation in being sung….
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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.
