Ten Words Series: Commands for Loving God

Hillbilly Ten Commandments

Ain’t But One God.

Honor Yer Ma and Pa.

No Tellin’ Tales or Gossipin’.

Get Yer Hide to Sunday Meetin’.

Ain’t Nothin’ Come Before the Lord.

No Foolin’ With Another Feller’s Gal.

No Killin’, ‘Cept for Critters.

Quit Yer Foul Mouthin’.

No Swipin’ Yer Kin Folks Stuff.

Don’t Be Hankerin’ Fer It Neither.

Ten Words series

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

Series Principle: The Ten Commandments are “words from God” that, when lived and practiced, bring freedom, not bondage.

There is not a battle between Law & Grace, OT vs NT, or 10 Commandments vs The Gospel

What God did in Jesus empowers us to finally live the way God has commanded us to live, not made it obsolete!

Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5), Jesus specifically references the Ten Commandments…He is the fulfillment (full definition) of their meaning…He is how we live the Decalogue.

It’s actually not the Law that kills, its religious performance kills. God’s Law points us to JESUS…to freedom. They instruct us on how to be the people we were created to be!

Not just about “doing”, they are about “being” the unique people of God as seen mist fully in the person of Jesus Christ.

Ten Words (Exodus 20:1-17)

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.

Two Halves to the Decalogue: 1-4 How to Love God; 5-10 How to Love One another

Remember Jesus says, Matthew 22:36–40 ““Teacher, which command in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important command. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.””

“And God spoke these words…”

[Before I make some observation on this first set of commandments…]

Divine Speech Act: The principle that within the words God speaks is the power to perform them.

Or put another way, when God speaks over you, his word holds the power (grace) required to see that word come to pass in your life.

It would be divine abuse for God to give a command, and yet leave us without the ability to obey.

Principle: Within these commandments is a release of the Holy Spirit that will empower you to obey God’s law and live in the freedom God intended for you!

[It’s baked into his word.]

YOU CAN LIVE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THESE COMMANDS. [Full Stop]

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.”

The Holy Spirit is your helper. Pray this prayer: “Come, Holy Spirit.”

How to Love God

Not to love God ONLY is not to love God at all.

This is a hard saying but here’s the key…all love comes from God, when I love God first, out of that love flows a love for my family, neighbor, enemy.

Matthew 6:24 ““No one can serve two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

We Love the God we see in Jesus, not the god we suppose supports our preferences, agendas, and ideals.

Matthew 19:16–22 “Just then someone came up and asked him, “Teacher, what good must I do to have eternal life?” “Why do you ask me about what is good?” he said to him. “There is only one who is good. If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.” “Which ones?” he asked him. Jesus answered: Do not murder; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not bear false witness; honor your father and your mother; and love your neighbor as yourself. “I have kept all these,” the young man told him. “What do I still lack?” “If you want to be perfect,” Jesus said to him, “go, sell your belongings and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When the young man heard that, he went away grieving, because he had many possessions.”

Idolatry - Big Bible word for active worship of anything other than God.

Nationalism

Capitalism

Individualism

Consumerism

Sexuality…just to name a few idols

To bear the image of God means His Word (name) has the final say in all areas of my life.

Growing up I was taught to use God’s name as a by-word was to take his name in vain…

Pretty sure that one would send you straight to hell! While, I’m pretty sure I don’t want my children using God’s name to swear, I think there is more going on here.

Think of Counting the Cost to take God’s family name as your own: Luke 14:27–30 “Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. “For which of you, wanting to build a tower, doesn’t first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, after he has laid the foundation and cannot finish it, all the onlookers will begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘This man started to build and wasn’t able to finish.’”

We love God not only in our doing (faithfulness), but especially in our “not-doing” (restfulness/contentment).

How does a Sabbath practice honor God?

Resting is halting all productivity.

We have an infatuation with productivity and we have often fashioned our own God of productivity and efficiency by making our prayers about success and getting things done.

It’s not actually WORK, but rather REST that honors God. Yes, we are faithful to do our part, to tend the ground (Genesis 1). But it is the Lord who brings the miracle of the harvest.

A Sabbath practice is a weekly way of saying, “It’s not my work that is getting the important work done here. It’s the lord of the harvest who is bringing fruitfulness.