Rule #1: God Is Number One!
By Pastor Scott Heine
Estrella Community Church · Goodyear, AZ
June 4, 2000
If you could rate your life on a scale of 1 to 10 today, what rating would you give it? I’m talking about an overall rating — one that takes all aspects of your life into account: your understanding of who you are, your relationships, your enjoyment with life, your sense of satisfaction. And don’t just rate your life according to your current circumstances — all of us go through good and bad times. Think more about the overall picture — who you are, how you are doing, how you are thinking, how you are feeling, how you are relating, etc.
Take a second and think about it. Don’t just grab a number. I’m serious; how would you rate your life on a scale from 1 to 10?
Now think about this: What would it take to make sure that your life was a “perfect ten?” Are there things that would have to change? Are there priorities that would need to be shifted around? Are there habits that would need to be broken, or habits that would need to be developed? What about relationships — are there people or principles that would need to be considered differently? I know that none of us can really go back in time and change history, so let’s not get stuck on what has happened in the past. Let’s look at what the future holds. What would it take for your life to be a “perfect ten?”
Well, I’m sure that it won’t surprise you to learn that God has some idea on that subject. After all, he created life. He is omniscient — he knows absolutely everything. And he is all-wise — he knows how to put his knowledge to use the right way. And he even wrote the book on life (we call it “the Bible” J). Even Jesus described God’s desire in John 10:10 by saying,
“…I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
But what is God’s strategy for living life as a “perfect ten?” Well, Jesus summed up all of the Bible in just two sentences. In Matthew 22:37-40, Jesus said,
37 … “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
So, if you want the quick “Reader’s Digest” version of the Bible — if you have any question about God’s plans for you, if you want to know what the architect of life said about how you should build your life, if you want to impress your friends at parties by saying that you know what the Bible is all about — then remember these two central facts: love God and love others. Say them with me: J love God and love others. If you can do those two things every moment of every day of your life, your life will be a “perfect ten” for sure.
But you might ask, “How do I do that? What does it mean to love God and love others? Where do I start?” And to find the answer to that question, we have to go back a long way in history. Because nearly 3,500 years ago, God expanded upon these two points in tremendous detail by giving the nation of Israel what the Bible calls “the Law.” If you want to know what that’s all about in great detail, read the first 5 books of the Bible — they’re all written by a guy you may have heard of, who goes by the name of “Moses.”
But God knows that you and I are not the brightest bulbs in the universe — we have trouble remembering where we left our car keys, much less 5 books full of history, poetry, and religious legislation. So even way back then, when God provided his expectations of his people, he gave a very concise summary of how to live life as a “perfect ten.” We call that summary “the Ten Commandments.”
It’s too bad that there are some segments of our society that would like to remove all public reminders of the Ten Commandments. After all, our founding fathers were very much sold on the principles of those instructions — even those who otherwise had some areas of doubt when it comes to God. But they couldn’t deny the obvious — the Ten Commandments are powerful principles for living. They’re a strategy for living life to the fullest, and finding not only a sense of peace but also of incredible security, justice, and hope. (And I can promise you one thing — any public official or lobbyist who gets upset about public reminders of the Ten Commandments is not living life at a “perfect ten!”)
And if you look closely at the Ten Commandments, you’ll see that they are broken down into 2 basic categories — those that have to do with loving God and those that speak of loving others. That is not a coincidence! J
The first four all have to do with loving God:
· No other God’s before me — God is number One!
· No idols — No substitutes for God!
· God’s name is holy — Don’t take God for granted!
· The Sabbath is holy — Time spent with God (and others) is a priority!
And the next six all have to do with loving others:
· Honor parents — Respect and submission are critically important skills!
· No murder — Life is priceless!
· No adultery — Commitment is priceless!
· No stealing — Don’t deny others what God has given them!
· No lying — A truthful God expects truthful people!
· No greed — Be satisfied and content.
Somewhere along the line the Bible got a bad reputation for being a list of “do’s and don’ts,” and you may have noticed that a lot of these instructions are in the negative — “thou shalt not.” Unfortunately, some very well-meaning religious people have added a lot of their own “thou shalt not’s” to this list over the years, and a lot of times the man-made lists just don’t make as much sense to people as the God-made one. So some people have written off the whole “Ten Commandments thing” in favor for other philosophies and worldviews. After all, who likes being told what they can’t do; isn’t that an imposition on our personal freedoms? And perhaps it is.
But you know what? Sometimes the negative rules in our lives are for our own good. For example, my kids have a rule: “Thou shalt not play with the kitchen knives.” Can you imagine a child saying, “Aw, but Dad — the knives are really fun! You can throw ‘em at this target that we made out of wood, and they’re much better at cutting out things than dumb old scissors. Besides, we want to play with them. Don’t infringe our freedoms! It might not be alright for you to play with the knives, but don’t burden me with your rules.” Of course, the reason for the rule is not to take away anyone’s fun; it’s because we know a little bit more than our kids about the dangers of sharp knives, and we really want to do our best to make sure they go through life with all their fingers still attached.
In the same way, God knows a little bit more than we do about the dangers of some of the choices we face in life, and he really wants us to go through life with all of his blessings.
So if you and I can learn to live by these instructions, our lives will be full and satisfying. So this Summer we’re going to take time to look at each of these principles. Sometimes our journey through God’s instructions will be fun; other times it will be challenging…and maybe even painful. But think back to what I asked you a moment ago: What would it take to make sure that your life was a “perfect ten?” The answers are all here in God’s instructions. The only question that remains is if you and I are courageous enough to follow the Designer’s plans.
Let’s start off with the very first commandment. If you have your Bibles, turn with me to Exodus 20:1-3. (You’ll also find this list repeated in Deuteronomy 5, when Moses had to repeat these instructions to the children of the people who were delivered from slavery in Egypt. You see, the first audience who heard this list did a terrible job of following what God said. Let’s hope you and I can do better. J)
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.
Nothing comes before God. God is number one. Deuteronomy 6:4 — the verse that is considered the greatest statement in the Bible by both the Jews and by Jesus — says it this way:
4 …The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
Make God your number one priority. Love him with a passion. Love him with your emotions, with your spirit, with your physical strength. Love him with everything you have, and love him more than anything or anyone else. This is the starting place to having your life become a “perfect ten.”
When you think about it, this first commandment is really all about choices. You know, our lives are full of choices. We make choices concerning our lifestyle, our allegiances, our commitments, our priorities, our affections, our relationships, and so much more. Will we live our lives for ourselves? For someone else? For an idea or a dream? Or will we live our lives for God? Will we let God be God, or will we let someone or something else crowd its way to the top spot in our choices?
Surely you already recognize your innate instinct to worship. It’s part of God’s design for all of us. We were built with this incredible urge to worship. God gave it to us to draw us to himself, so that we would enjoy an intimate, life-changing friendship with him. The question isn’t really if we will worship, but rather what we will worship.
Think about the experience of the nation of Israel when God first gave them this commandment. Here they were, freshly delivered from 400 years of slavery in Egypt. This generation had grown up in a culture that worshiped the sun, cats, dead things, fire, water, and even their king. And now they were preparing to go to a new land where the Canaanites worshiped the sky, the weather, the seasons, death, animals, and all sorts of other things. There were a lot of choices as to what they would worship and how they would satisfy this innate instinct to worship.
And, for what it’s worth, there are still a lot of choices today. Some cultures still worship rocks and trees and animals. Some so-called “sophisticated” cultures worship various ideas, people, philosophies. And it’s becoming increasingly popular to simply worship yourself — that’s what “humanism” is all about: making yourself and your needs the number one focus of your life.
Well, God is jealous. He doesn’t want you to try and satisfy your instinct for worship with anything or anyone else besides him. He gave you that instinct to drive you into a relationship with him, not to go out and find some god of your own design. “You shall have no other gods before me.”
And here’s a question for you: Why would you want any other gods besides the one true God? Margo sang it for us earlier:
God and God alone created all these things we call our own; God and God alone reveals the truth of all we call unknown; God and God alone is fit to take the universe’s throne; God and God alone will be the joy of our eternal home. ("God and God Alone" by Phill McHugh; Copyright (c) 1984 River Oaks Music Co.)
He is… GOD! What more is there to say?
He is the one who merely spoke and the stars burst forth into existence.
He is the one who breathed life into the dust and created man.
He is the one who stands outside of time and space, who knows all things, who holds all power in his hands, who is infinite and holy and beyond anything you and I can even pretend to imagine.
He is the one who has spoken to mankind, who has reached out to you and to me and to everyone else who has ever walked this planet throughout history.
He is the sound of the booming thunder.
He is the loving persistence behind your conscience.
He is that still, small voice that whispers to our soul on those nights when we’re staring at the ceiling trying to figure things out.
He is the one who has shared every moment — every breath, every heartbeat — in your presence…and he still loves you.
He is the one who is eager to hear about your joys, your frustrations, your struggles, and your sorrows. Though a billion voices may be crying out to him at once, he can still pick out your words and thoughts and attend to you with the fullness of divinity.
He knows you inside and out; he knew you before you were born, he knows the number of hairs on your head, he knows your dreams and your heartaches, and he knows the day you will die.
Why would anyone want a substitute when they can have the one true God?
And before you think to yourself, “Well, I don’t want any substitute. I don’t want to worship anything else;” ask yourself some tough questions:
What makes your heart beat faster?
What is the focus of your life?
What is it that makes you want to get up in the morning and face another day?
What occupies your thoughts during those idle moments?
You know, your mind is like a compass. When a compass comes to rest, the needle always swings to point to true North. What about your mind? When you find yourself at rest, where do your thoughts swing to point — Your job? Some dream? A hobby? A relationship? Your possessions or your finances? Where is your heart really at? Is the true passion of your soul God, or is it something else?
You see, God is very jealous. He wants to be your all-consuming passion. He wants to be number one in your life — the focus of your priorities, your dreams, your experiences, your choices. That’s what this first commandment is all about. That’s where you and I need to start if we want to rate our lives as a “perfect ten” when all is said and done.
You know, I don’t want to lay some sort of guilt trip on us, but I know there are some of you thinking that God is not number one in your life, and you don’t even know how to begin to make him number one, or even if you want to make him number one. And some of you have hung around a church long enough, and have enjoyed knowing God to whatever degree for so many years, and yet you struggle with whether he is truly the focus and passion of your life.
And we have a spiritual enemy that would just love to sneak in and whisper all sorts of statements of guilt and shame into your thoughts — anything that might cripple you and make you feel like a failure. But you need to know that that kind of thing is not the stirring of God’s Spirit.
You see, God loves you. I mean he really loves you. He created you for the purpose of being loved by him and loving him in return. Even though you have made some bad choices in your life — some small, others not so small — he still loves you. And even though your moral shortcomings caused this rift in your relationship with an absolutely holy God, he loves you so much that he did something about it. He took the consequences of your guilt upon himself, which is what the cross is all about. He loves you enough to step out of the wondrous glory of heaven and become a mere mortal, and even to be rejected and executed in your place — all because he loves you.
And if our spiritual enemy is trying to make you feel like a failure for not loving God back with the same intensity and passion that God has shown you, then you need to tell him to shut up so you can get on with the task of experiencing life as a “perfect ten” the way that God intends. Don’t just think it; our spiritual enemy can’t read your thoughts the way God can. At some point you need to tell him out loud that you are making a commitment to have God as your number one priority, and that he has no right to badger you with guilt or shame any longer. Don’t get hung up on the past; God certainly doesn’t. Instead, focus on the future and what you desire for your relationship with God.
Where do you start? Probably the best place is to take a good long look at your life with eyes wide open and the courage to deal with the truth. Is God number one in the big choices you make in life — career, family, and that sort of thing? What about the little choices — those day-to-day decisions about what you’re doing and with whom you’re doing it? Hey, if you really want to be courageous, how about asking your husband or your wife, or maybe a very close friend, or maybe even your kids, to share their thoughts about your passions and priorities in life. They probably know you better than you’d care to admit, and might be able to point out blind spots that you either don’t see…or don’t want to see.
Truth is important here. It doesn’t do any good to think that God is number one, or to say that God is number one, unless God really is number one. So gather some truth, and take the time to really look in the mirror and evaluate your life.
Then, once you’ve got an accurate picture of where you stand, you’ll begin to see what kinds of changes you need to make in order for God to move up in your priorities and passions. You’ll see the things that are taking prominence over him — maybe all of the time, or maybe even some of the time. And if you’re really serious about getting everything out of life that God intends — if you really want to live life at a “perfect ten,” you may need to make some radical shifts in your environment and circumstances. And if those changes seem too tough, just keep asking yourself: Would you really want to settle for life as a 3, or a 5, or maybe even a 6 or 7, when God has a “perfect ten” waiting for you if you’ll only follow his instructions. Don’t you really want to know what perfect satisfaction, joy, contentment, security, hope, and peace feel like on a day-to-day basis? Well, it all starts with making God number one.
And then, once you’ve grappled with the truth of where you are and are committed to making whatever changes are necessary to be where God wants you to be, you need to give in to that instinct to worship. You need to fall on your knees, cry out to God, and allow him to saturate your thoughts, your words, and your decisions. You see, here is the marvelous thing: God so enthusiastically wants to be number one in your life that he is more than ready to help clear the path so he can take prominence in everything. If you think making those changes will be tough, just remember that those changes are pretty easy for an all-powerful God.
God is number one. In fact, he is number one in the universe whether we choose to acknowledge it or not. But he wants us to choose him for ourselves — to bow down before him in all things, not with reluctance because we have to, but with overflowing joy because we love him so much we just can’t help ourselves.
Graham Kendrick once wrote a song that has become one of my very favorite expressions of worship. The words go like this:
All I once held dear, built my life upon, all this world reveres and wars to own; all I once thought gain I have counted loss; spent and worthless now compared to this: knowing you…Now my heart’s desire is to know you more, to be found in you and known as yours…Knowing you, Jesus…there is no greater thing. ("Knowing You" by Grahamn Kendrick; Copyright (c) 1993 Make Way Music, LTD)
May that be the passion of your life. Knowing God. Making him number one. And may it be the beginning to the most incredible journey you’ve ever experienced, as you seek to enjoy the “perfect ten” that God has in store for you.
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Copyright ©2000 by Scott F. Heine. This sermon and data file is the sole property of the copyright holder and may be copied only in its entirety for circulation freely without charge. All copies of this sermon and data file — written, recorded, or electronically transmitted — must contain this copyright notice. This sermon and data file may not be copied in part (except for small quotations used with citation), edited, revised, resold, or incorporated in any commercial publication, recording, broadcast, performance, display, or other product offered for sale, without the written permission of the copyright holder. Requests for permission should be made in writing and addressed to: Scott Heine, Estrella Community Church, 16069 Desert Bloom Street, Goodyear, AZ 85338.
Unless otherwise noted, scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. The "NIV" and "New International Version" trademarks are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by International Bible Society. Use of either trademark requires the permission of International Bible Society.
