Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

This morning I want us to begin a new direction for a new few weeks.

It is a direction that perhaps we do not always consider faithfully because it is from the Old Testament period.

But I want to tell you it is one that we cannot easy forget because it is important to the past, present and future of humanity.

It is the decalogue, the law- the 10 commandments of God that i want us to begin looking at over the next few weeks.

This is the law that God gave to Moses on Mount Sinai, as the children of Israel were encamped around the mountain of God.

So why is it important to us?

Why?

Because it still pertains to us, listen to Jesus in Matthew 5:17

It is important for us to know and understand the law of God, to understand perfectly what God desires for us as His children.

It is important, understand please do not make the mistake that since we are under grace that the law doesn’t matter any more.

It matters my friend, and it matters deeply.

It is important for us to know and understand the law of God, to understand perfectly what God desires for us as His children.

It is important, understand please do not make the mistake that since we are under grace that the law doesn’t matter any more.

It matters my friend, and it matters deeply.

Let take our Bibles and lets go to the Old Testament book of Exodus, and lets find chapter 20.... verses 2-3.

This my friends is the first commandment of the Lord, You shall have no other gods before me...

So lets begin with this first thought today....

1. Understand that we are in a relationship with the Lord

Now I choose the word “understand” for us to consider this today, we must reason together that the Lord has called us to know Him; to live in relationship with Him.

In the Book of Exodus, we find that God has delivered the children of Israel, He has brought them out of Egypt, He has delivered them from their oppression, from their slavery in a land that no longer welcomes them, or remembers Joseph any longer.

So He has brought them through the wilderness to the mountain of God, and here the Lord will enter a covenant relationship with them.

to the mountain of God, and here the Lord will enter a covenant relationship with them.

He will be their God and they will be His people.

So the Lord, calls His people to live and walk with Him.

Let me share a passage with you, one that reminds us just how special our relationship with the Lord is....

Listen to

The relationship we have with the Lord our God should produce to overarching outcomes in our lives.

In fact the greatest commandment says we are to love God with a over abundance of love, a love that comes from the totality of who we are as his children.

So with mind, body, soul and strength we are called to love Him.

Now here is the truth of the matter, this is only possible if the Lord is the only one we love.

You shall have no other gods before me… we cannot love God unless He is the only object of our affections..

Amen.

And look at where that love leads us..

We have to, it is a must for us to teach our children, if we do not the world will surely lead them astray.

So the Lord says…

Verse 7… with diligence (not being slack) we are to teach them to them our children.

and notice the frequency by which we are to speak to them about it..

At home or moving about, getting up in the mornings or laying down to sleep we are to teach them.

In fact they are to be beyond to our hands and head, and placed on the door posts of our homes..

Explain how the Jews wrap their arms and tie boxes to their heads as they pray

Explain how in dedicating their homes to the Lord they would attach them to the entrance.

A personal relationship with God, with the Lord Jesus today still commands that we worship Him alone as God…

Ex

There can be nothing else beside him.... if there is we are a idolatrous ppl.

So here is a thought to ponder.... how is your relationship with the Lord..

Now on to my second thought for today...

2. Understand He is worthy of our obedience and worship.

Now lets hang onto the word understand, for it means we are reasoning together concerning what we believe about the Lord our God.

Why is this so....

Go back to verse 2

A. Notice this thought first..

I AM.... the Lord your God.

The Lord your God is the one who led you as a people up out of the land of oppression, the great I am who appeared to Moses in the burning bush, He is the one who as acted on behalf of His people to lead them...

B. Then we come to the Word “brought’ this particular word has a very personal note to it.

It was the Lord who brought them out of the land.

Now someone might say it was Moses.... but Moses us the vessel, the one God used, but is the Lord who did the work.

B. Then we come to the Word “brought’

C. Why did the Lord our God do all these things… He did so out of love for us..

If we go back to the very first chapters of the Old Testament, to the book of Genesis we can find one great truth for His children to see… He loves His children.

He created man and woman, and God walked with Adam and Eve in the garden.

And if you continue and see man at its lowest, when God decided to destroy the world through a flood, God saved a righteous family.

Out of love, He called Noah to build an ark and saved a remnant of creation.

Later on, God called Abraham, out of love to come and follow Him..

So in each of these cases I see that God has always called His people to come and follow, not half way but all the way.

And even in the last days, for the children of Israel, God has promised to save a remnant of His people

And today, under the New covenant, the one which Christ ratified with His own body and blood, He still calls us to walk with Him… Why,, He loves us...

So by obedience we are called to follow the Lord and to worship Him.

God called the children out of the land to come and worship Him and so we are called to worship the Lord as well.

Jesus brought us out of the land of death and sin and saved us by his marvelous grace.

Are you worshipping the Lord?

It is more than just coming and sitting in these pews, worship is the giving back in praise to the one who laid down His life to redeem us, buy us back from sin, death and pain.

Let me share Revelation chapter 5, verses 6-10

Can you imagine with me just how wonderful it is, just to hear the praise and rejoicing in heaven because of Jesus.

If all of heaven rejoices… should we not lift up our voice and praise the name of Jesus?

He is worthy of our obedience and worship...

Now just one last thought for us to consider today my friends.....

3. Understand our Focus must be on Him and Him alone...

The first commandment of God, His first law says:

God is very singular in His approach my friends… We can have no other gods before Him.

Our focus must be on God and God alone....

How do I know this… well lets look at the example of Jesus.

Matthew chapter 4 tells us of the Temptation of Jesus in the wilderness by Satan.

Three times Stan challenges the Lord, once with hunger, once with fame and once with power

Sin is always the same.. it is just presented a little differently, but Satan was trying to pull Jesus into sin,

Satan appealed to the eyes, He was hungry… He has fasted 40 days in the wilderness.

He was weary, take a short cut and allow the whole world to see just who you are… by-pass the cross… jump off the temple pinnacle....

and finally, I can give you everything just bow down to me....

In each of these tempations, Jesus responded with His focus on the Father...

listen...

Matthew

And then again in

Then finally listen to the last response Jesus makes...

Its powerful my friends, Jesus showed the world who His focus would be… and he testified to it… I have come to do not my will, but the will of the one who sent me....

Here is a great question to consider.. whose will are you doing?

Where is your focus?

Why do I ask that.... if our focus isn’t on God, then it is on self and essentially that is who we worship… Anything we put ahead of God , robs God of obedience and worship.

Why do I ask that.... if our focus isn’t on God, then it is on self and essentially that is who we worship… Anything we put ahead of God , robs God of obedience and worship.

Consider Samson from the book of Judges in the OT, He is mentioned in to 16

When you look at the life of Samson, we see a mighty man, one who was called to great things by the Lord, but there was a problem… it was Samson.