Jehovah: The One and Only
Exodus 20:2-3
http://gbcdecatur.org/sermons/JehovahOneAndOnly.html
I. A Proclamation.
v. 2 “I am the Lord” – a statement of the reality of God. For centuries scientists and philosophers have tried to ‘establish’ the existence of God. But nowhere does the Bible make attempt to prove God’s existence. The Bible simply asserts His existence. Genesis 1:1 proclaims, “In the beginning God...”
So how is God’s existence known so emphatically without concrete proof?
A. By Creation.
Psalms 19:1
The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.
Romans 1:20
For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
In other words, you can see the invisible God by looking at visible creation. Everything you see bears the stamp ‘made by God.’ This is true whether you are looking with your eyes only, thru a microscope, or a telescope.
With a microscope you can look at a single cell, the smallest unit of living matter. One single living cell is more complicated than New York City. Imagine millions of people running to and fro, all the network cable, lights, cars, rats, etc. It’s a complicated place. But the cell is more intricate. How can anyone look at that and say, ‘That happened by accident.’?
With a telescope you can look at the vast universe, where light travels 186,000 miles per second, and probably faster the deeper you go into space. The space shuttle moves at up to 17,000 mph, but that is less than 5 miles per second. Light makes it from earth to the moon in 2 seconds, and then in a matter of minutes it passes the inner planets, and in a couple of hours it’s out of our solar system. But how long does it take it to get to the closest star to us? 4 years at that speed! But that’s just one of billions of stars in our galaxy, which is one of billions of known galaxies. Should we believe this just happened on its own?
Ill.—I look at my watch and say there must have been a designer and maker. I look at my house and say there must’ve been a designer and a builder. I look at my own eye and wonder in amazement.
The evolutionist says, just give nature enough time and it will come up with amazing things. They say if you blindfold a room full of monkeys and gave them a typewriter and enough time, one of them would eventually type out a Shakespeare quality play. And yet that would be a small miracle compared to the creation of one living human cell by chance.
B. By Conscience.
Go back as far as you want in human history, and you’ll see that mankind has always had a need to worship. There has never been a people group anywhere in the world, from dark jungles of Africa to frozen tundra, that was not engaged in some kind of worship. They may not have been worshiping the true and living God, but they were worshiping something. Why? Because man has a built in need to worship. It’s a universal hunger placed there by God.
Every universal hunger, and there are many, has a universal fulfillment.
• Food. God has placed on the earth milk, grain, fruit, and vegetables and meat to satisfy that hunger.
• Water. God gave us rivers and streams so we can drink.
• Companionship. God gave us others to interact with.
• Oil. God gave plenty of this...for some reason He gave it to someone else!
So why does man have this innate need to worship? Because God has written it on the wall of every human heart: “There is a God.”
Psalms 53:1
The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.
In order to believe that you have to suppress your natural instinct, and that’s a foolish thing to do.
How many here know someone who claims to be an atheist? Someone who claims to believe in nothing. Well, it’s not true, for even the atheist worships something. They find something to replace God with. Many become radical environmentalists. Everyone wants to have some cause they are behind, and these today that want to say we are killing the planet are actually worshiping the planet! They are doing what Paul said they would do in Romans: worshiping the creation rather than the Creator. Some of them stare into crystals. Some read their horoscopes...they want some kind of direction in their life as well, and tho’ they don’t want it to be God, they still need something! Maybe a movie star or a rock star or a sports star, because they have rejected the Bright and Morning Star! Their real problem is not in their head, it’s in their heart. [fool hath said in his...] Their problem is not with their intellect, but with their heart. It’s a moral problem! It’s not God they don’t like as much as having to be accountable to God. The words ‘there is’ are in italics in that verse because they are not in the actual text. The atheist addresses God directly and says to Him, ‘no, God!’
Ill.—when you waive off the waitress at the end of your meal saying, ‘no dessert’... you aren’t denying the existence of dessert, just saying no to having it yourself.
Atheism is a religion, but it has never dispelled fear from a troubled heart. It has never dried the tears of a broken heart. It has never given peace to a tormented heart. And then they die and lie in a casket...all dressed up with no place to go [supposedly]
Proclamation by Creation, conscience...
II. A Prohibition.
v. 2-3 ‘no other gods’ – no rivals – He’s a jealous God.
They promised not to...but Israel worshiped other gods after this. The calf at the base of the mountain, and later they worshiped the false gods of the Canaanites. Like Baal-Peor, god of corruption. Baal-Zeba, god of the flies, Molech, god of fire, and they offered their children there as living sacrifices. We look at this and say that was so wicked, pagan, and awful, but do you suppose we have other gods today?
Consider with me the gods of the pagans and let’s compare with people today:
1st god of the pagans: Baccus, god of wine and revelry – tens of millions of Americans are slaves to alcohol, outnumbering addicts of all other drugs. And those who drink bow at this altar. Some say, I’m not an addict, not an alcoholic, I only drink a little now and then in moderation. That’s like saying, I’m not a Baptist, I only go on Sunday mornings, I’m not faithful. Yes, but you still worship at the same place. You still worship that same God, just not so faithfully as others do.
To those looking for happiness in a bottle, let me say that there is no joy like the joy of knowing Jesus, and there is no high like the Most High!
2nd god of the pagans: Mammon, the god of money. How’s that for a description of America today? Marriages are being sacrificed on this altar, as are morality and ethics. Children are being sacrificed here as well. We ruin our health in the pursuit of money, and then spend all our money trying to get back our health!
For many Americans their god is money and the bank is their holy temple.
Colossians 3:5
Mortify ... covetousness, which is idolatry:
This is a mother of many sins. Some are killed because somebody wanted something they had. Some commit adultery because of covetousness. Stealing begins here. Lies are told daily in the name of business as we bow to the god of mammon.
The 3rd god of paganism: Aphrodite, goddess of sex. She is not the god of love, but of lust. Guys are hormone hurricanes, and there’s no worse climate than the days in which we live, w/ the advertising, tv, movies, internet, magazines, etc. Guys need to get their eyes under control and not bow down to the goddess of sex. Girls need to be aware of this, and when some guy says, hey baby, I love you, and I’ve got the urge to merge...and if you love me, you will. You need to slap that guy so hard his brains ring like church bells on a cold morning!
“Sorry man, I serve one God, and you’re not him!”
The 4th god of paganism: Minerva, god of intellectualism. America has become the home of intellectual idolaters. We think we’re smarter than God today. Scientists [I use the term loosely] have more degrees than a thermometer, ever learning, but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth, puffed up, and too proud to bow!
You can show the intellectual today, even in the church world, verses on the sin of homosexuality, and looking at it they will say, I see it differently! They think they know better! And they’ll do all kinds of mental gymnastics trying to come up w/ other explanations than the plain sense of Scripture. It’s idolatry to do so!
So tell me, is America guilty of idolatry? Yes, and many in the church as well!
A proclamation, a prohibition...
III. A Plea.
v. 2 I am the Lord THY God. He’s not just A God or even THE God...He’s MY God! How personal!
To think that the God of this vast universe even knows about me, much less wants to know me more and come into harmony with Him!
How to respond to God’s plea:
• Submissively—
Matthew 11:25
At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.
It’s not to those w/ a high IQ that God gives advantage to. It’s to the humble. We can all do that, the playing field is level.
• Sincerely—
“Seek the kingdom of God” with all your heart. Some go away from church empty, because they didn’t come for something. They sleep, or tune out. They aren’t hungry so they don’t eat. We must thirst for him like our tongue is swollen in a vast desert...that’s the person God comes down and really satisfies!
• Scripturally—
God has revealed Himself in the Bible. We can come face to face with Him by reading it. Jesus is the Word. Rom. 10 says that faith comes by hearing the Word. To get to the one and only God, Jesus is the way...without Jesus, there’s no going. Jesus is the truth...without Jesus, there’s no knowing. Jesus is the life...without Jesus, there’s no living!
http://gbcdecatur.org/sermons/JehovahOneAndOnly.html
