Ten Words: Who is this God?

Ten Words series

Over the next six weeks: Foundations for Living as a People of God

Opening Statement: There’s a difference between the laws of religion and the Life of God.

Don’t get me wrong, both require that you surrender your will to God’s will.

The difference is, unlike the laws of religion that leave us enslaved to our own failure, the life of God empowers you to experience the fullness of God.

Ten Words (Exodus 20:1-17 CEB)

Then God spoke all these words:

2 I am the LORD your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

3 You must have no other gods before me.

4 Do not make an idol for yourself—no form whatsoever—of anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth. 5 Do not bow down to them or worship them, because I, the LORD your God, am a passionate God…

7 Do not use the LORD your God’s name as if it were of no significance…

8 Remember the Sabbath day and treat it as holy. 9 Six days you may work and do all your tasks, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God…

12 Honor your father and your mother so that your life will be long on the fertile land that the LORD your God is giving you.

13 Do not kill.

14 Do not commit adultery.

15 Do not steal.

16 Do not testify falsely against your neighbor.

17 Do not desire and try to take your neighbor’s house. Do not desire and try to take your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox, donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.

“Words” from God

The church traditionally calls this list the Ten Commandments or “The Decalogue”…

But the Hebrew just says, “And God spoke these WORDS…”

Anybody ever had God speak something to you…heard it so clearly! Changed your life!

God is not big on small talk!

We know according to Genesis 1 that when God speaks the earth responds!

“Just one word from God can change your life!”

Ten Words (Exodus 20)

I am the Lord your God; you shall have no other gods beside Me.

You shall make you no carven likeness (idols).

You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.

Remember the sabbath day as holy.

Honor your father and mother.

You shall not murder,

You shall not commit adultery.

You shall not steal.

You shall not bear false witness against your fellow man.

You shall not covet.

Truth: These TEN WORDS are more than about what to do and what not to do.

These are Words coming from the one true & Living God.

[God identifies himself] Exodus 20:1–2 “Then God spoke all these words: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery.”

Illustration: When you were a kid your brother or sister may have threatened you, and you would bow up back at them. But when your mom said, “Boy, I brought you into this world and I can take you out!” …your reaction to that is DIFFERENT because of who said it!!

These are Words telling us who we are.

When God gives you a Word, he is giving your life meaning, purpose, and direction.

it is THIS God (the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, The God of Jacob, the God who raised Jesus from the dead having first raised Israel from Egypt) that we must rely on to live the WORDS.

A Rule vs A Word

A Rule…Tells you what to do, and not do A Word…Tells you who you are

A Rule…Restricts you from doing A Word…Frees you for being

A Rule…Creates distance between the giver and receiver A Word…Establishes intimacy and covenant from the giver to the receiver

When God gives us a Word, He’s giving us Jesus

Genesis 1:1–3 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness covered the surface of the watery depths, and the breath of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.”

John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

John 1:14 “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Psalm 107:20 “He sent his word and healed them; he rescued them from their traps.”

Hebrews 11:3 “By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible.”

Truth: To live the commands of God, requires the Word of God You cannot white-knuckle your way into following the commands of God. To follow God’s commands and live as God’s people you must rely on God’s Word: Jesus.

Why these Ten Words?

1. Because we cannot become a People of God without knowing the Ways of God.

Psalm 25:5 “Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; I wait for you all day long.”

2. Because rejecting the Ways of God is a trap of Satan.

God’s command is LIFE

John 6:63 “The Spirit is the one who gives life. The flesh doesn’t help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.”

Deuteronomy 30:19 “I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live,”

3. Because submitting to these 10 Words is how you discover God’s Promise for your life.

Psalm 1:1–3 “How happy is the one who does not walk in the advice of the wicked or stand in the pathway with sinners or sit in the company of mockers! Instead, his delight is in the Lord’s instruction, and he meditates on it day and night. He is like a tree planted beside flowing streams that bears its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.”