Put God First Series

A Look At The Ten Commandments

PUT GOD FIRST

Exodus 20:1-3

TEXT - And God spoke all these words: "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. "You shall have no other gods before me”.

INTRODUCTION

I. NOTICE THE SCENE

A. Exodus 19:18-19 - Mount Sinai was covered with smoke, because the LORD descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace, the whole mountain trembled violently, and the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder. Then Moses spoke and the voice of God answered him.

B. Deuteronomy 4:12-15 - Then the LORD spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of words but saw no form; there was only a voice. He declared to you his covenant, the Ten Commandments, which he commanded you to follow and then wrote them on two stone tablets. And the LORD directed me at that time to teach you the decrees and laws you are to follow in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess. You saw no form of any kind the day the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of the fire. Therefore watch yourselves very carefully,

C. Deuteronomy 5:22 - These are the commandments the LORD proclaimed in a loud voice to your whole assembly there on the mountain from out of the fire, the cloud and the deep darkness; and he added nothing more. Then he wrote them on two stone tablets and gave them to me.

D. These Were The Moral Laws Of Israel

E. Many Balk At The Idea of Commandments

F. God Is A Must God

1. He tells us what we must do

2. He tells us what we must not do

a. His commands are not ambiguous but absolute

b. His commands are not confusing but clear

c. His commands are not burdensome but blessings

d. The line is distinct

1) Black and white

2) Right and wrong

3) Non negotiable

G. Many Want To Exchange The Must God For A Mush God

1. The mush god

a. "The mush god has no theology to speak of, being a cream of wheat divinity.

b. The mush god has no tenets of faith,

c. The mush god is not a jealous god.

d. You can even invoke him to start a drunken party he/she or it won’t be offended.

e. The mush god is a serviceable god whose laws are chiseled not on tablets but written on sand,

f. The mush god’s laws are open to amendment, qualification, and deletion.

g. This is a god that will compromise with you and make allowances for you.

H. Why Do We Need Such Commandments

ILLUS: Moral erosion continues in America, according to James Patterson and Peter Kim. They report that 74 percent of Americans will steal from those who won’t miss it, and 64 percent will lie for convenience as long as no one is hurt. Most Americans (93 percent) say they alone decide moral issues, basing their decisions on their own experience or whims. Eighty-four percent say they would break the rules of their own religion. And 81 percent have violated a law they felt to be inappropriate. Only 30 percent say they would be willing to die for their religious beliefs or for God. -- Reported in The Day America Told the Truth (Prentice Hall, 1991). "To Verify," Leadership.

I. BEFORE GOD GAVE THE GAVE THE COMMANDMENTS HE ESTABLISHED HIS AUTHORITY

A. I Am God

1. He asserts that He has the authority to enact these commandments

a. He is omnipresent

1) Everywhere at once

2) Proverbs 15:3 - The eyes of the LORD are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good.

3) Jeremiah 23:24 - Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him?" declares the LORD. "Do not I fill heaven and earth?" declares the LORD.

b. He is omniscient

1) All knowing

2) Hebrews 4:13 - Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

c. He is omnipotent

2) All powerful

3) Jeremiah 32:17 - "Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.

d. He is independent

1) God does what He wants without consultation with ma

2) Daniel 4:35 - All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: "What have you done?"

3) Isaiah 40: Who has understood the mind of the LORD, or instructed him as his counselor? Whom did the LORD consult to enlighten him, and who taught him the right way? Who was it that taught him knowledge or showed him the path of understanding?