God Alone
Exodus 20:2 NKJV
“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
Deuteronomy 6:14–15 NKJV
You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are all around you (for the LORD your God is a jealous God among you), lest the anger of the LORD your God be aroused against you and destroy you from the face of the earth.
INTRO:
AG: Tonight, I ask you, "Who’s your God?"
TS: As you read of the Children of Israel in the desert the Bible shows them to be a very “selfish” people. In fact, you will discover that NOT EVEN GOD could satisfy their cravings. At the first opportunity, they forsake Him and long for something more.
In the 1st commandment, God declares that He alone is God, and they were to have no others before Him.
RS: As we look around today, the same problem exists.
Hopefully, this commandment declares our answer: God is our God! and there is no other.
The Children of Israel had been enslaved for 400 yrs in Egypt. If a generation is 40 years, that is 10 generations spent in that pagan culture. 10 generations removed from Joseph, who had been used by God to deliver Israel, and bring the infant nation (really just a family) to Egypt to grow to be a nation.
1. There is Only One God!
Jesus reiterated this as well as many of the commandments.
1st Commandment NT: (Matt 4:10/ Luke 4:8 NKJV
And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you
shall serve.’ ” Matthew 6:24 NKJV
“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the
other. You cannot serve God and mammon." Matthew 22:36–40 NKJV
He also said it was the greatest commandment
“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all
your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as
yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
The whole OT Law and prophets are summarized by Loving God with everything we have and our neighbor as ourselves
Clearly, Jesus taught God alone was supreme!
IL: Martin Luther: to have a God is "to trust and believe in that one with your whole heart...You lay hold of God when your heart Grasps Him and clings to Him."
2. This Command Impacts us At our Core
This command is unique in that it reaches into the depths of who we are as it addresses our worship.
If God is our God, then it changes who we are and how we live
The Bible teaches clearly that obedience brings blessings from the Lord.
When we obey this command it leads us directly to Jesus, God’s own Son. (John 3:16-18/ Rom 6:23)
John 3:16–18 NKJV
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name
of the only begotten Son of God."
Romans 6:23 NKJV
"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Our sin, inherited predisposition and living it out through committing sin
It harms us!
IL: When parents tell their children, “This is going to hurt me more than you.” I was never convinced that it did!
Disobedience hurts us.
Because of our sinfulness, we get carried away by helplessness and hopelessness.
3. Obeying this Command
In obeying command we put God 1st in our lives
1st in priority
1st in our love
1st in everything!
We are called to make a choice every day of our lives.
Conclusion:
In modern churches, we “think” we can fool God.
We break this commandment more than all the rest.
How?
Consider these statistics;
In the 21st century, it seems we “sacrificing our families, our kids, and even our culture on the altar of earthly opportunities.”
What does it say to young minds when more time, money, and energy is spent at softball, seminars, soccer, football, vacations, and other
things than in God’s house with God’s people?
What does it say when “the Lord’s day” for becomes the “the best day” for family outings which leave God out?
What message is conveyed when we claim to love Him, but put Him and His Church in 2nd place, 3rd place, or worse in their schedule.
Who/What does your schedule proclaim to be your God?
What evidence is there about your God displayed in your life?
Do you study His Word often?
Do you spend time with Him in prayer daily? weekly?
How much does His word inform your decisions?
Conclusion:
Who is your GOD?
