Worship God Alone | Ex 20:1-6

Introduction

Open your Bibles to Exodus Chapter 20

If you don’t have a bible of your own, please take the bible in front of you in the pews home. It’s our gift to you because we want the powerful, life changing word of God in your life.

Gos has just delivered His people out of their slavery in Egypt. He has brought them through the wilderness, provided everything they need, protected them and given them victory over their enemies.

And now God has brought them to a mountain called Sinai. It’s a stop on the way to the promised land that He is leading them towards.

Last week God descended upon the mountain with His presence, shaking the earth, and declaring His glory.

God called Moses up to the mountain so that Moses could hear and take God’s instructions to the people.

So we spent last week discovering the glory holiness of this God who gives the law. And today, we actually get to start hearing those laws, or, the ten commandments.

And that’s where our scripture begins:

Text

Exodus 20:1–2 ESV

And God spoke all these words, saying, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

Why does God start His laws with this phrase?

Because for Israel to know who they are, they have to know whom they belong to?

You no longer belong to Pharaoh. You belong to Yahweh, the God of the world. You are His treasured possession, a holy nation, children of God! And because you belong to me, because I have already saved you, you a. re now free to live as my people.

So right off the bat, we don’t follow the Law to earn God’s love. We follow the Law because God already loves us.

On top of that, God’s law is good for us!

God’s commandments are like A trellis for growing a sunflower. It offers stability, keeps us safe, and helps us grow in the direction we need to.

A framework of the best life possible.

So the commandments are not a burden or a restriction, they are a freedom to live the way we were made to.

And as God gives these ten commandments, He gives them in two categories. The two tablets:

The first tablet, with the first three commandments, is all about your relationship with God.

The second tablet with the other seven commandments is all about your relationship with other people.

And now we’ll see the first command that shows us how to love and worship God properly.

Exodus 20:3–4 ESV

“You shall have no other gods before me. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

You are no longer in Egypt, so no more false Gods.

No Ra, Imhotep, Anubis, Horus, Isis, Osiris.

God already showed you that these gods are not real. He defeated them with all of His plagues against Egypt. He showed that they were nothing more than statues, Idols, cavings that cannot do, or protect, or provide. 

That is why they are to make no statues or carved images. Don’t make and worship an image of something that lives on earth. No fish men, cat women, centaurs, no bulls, no goats, no eagles. Nothing. Do not worship anything but Yahweh, because there is no one besides Yahweh.

Throughout ancient History, it was the norm to have many Gods.

The Egyptians, Romans, Greeks, Indians, and the Mesopotamians all worshipped dozens if not hundreds of Gods. One for rain, fertility, death, the sun, the moon, the wind, one for luck, one for harvest, one for anything.

But Israel is going to be unique, separate, and holy in this way. They are going to worship only one single God!

They have heard, they have seen, they are witnesses that there is only one God in this world. His name is Yahweh, The almighty, the strong, the loving and merciful, the God who desolated Egypt, parted the sea, defeated armies, and shakes the earth. He alone is the one you will worship.

And as they worship Him and live like Him, they will be a light to the rest of the world that guides people toward this amazing God.

Exodus 20:5–6 ESV

You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

What does it mean that God is a jealous God?

It means that God doesn’t share.

Envy vs Jealousy

Envy: wanting what belongs to someone else.

Jealousy: Not wanting others to have what’s yours.

It means that God will not tolerate us worshipping anything other than Him because we belong to Him alone.

He delivere Israel out of their slavery to the Egyptians by His mighty works. And same today, God freed us from our slavery to sin by purchasing us as His own through the blood of Jesus. We belong to Him and we should worship Him.

And those who love and worship God, He will love and bless.

But those who despise the God who saved them will will be judged.

But why for generations after that? Does God hold grudges? no!

It’s Because those who worship Yahweh show and teach their children to do the same. And the children do the same for their children. And generations are blessed.

But those who do not worship Yahweh teach and show their children to do the same. And generations are judged.

So, God is soberingly honest about the consequences, but He promises blessing after blessing, generation after generation to those tho worship Him.

and when God warns us, it seems like a threat. But think of it logically:

I am the true God who saves His people. Apart from me there is no salvation. If you do not worship me, you will not be saved.

That’s not a threatening and angry God looking to get you. That’s an honest caring God inviting you into saving relationship with Him.

Application

Now that was back then. What about now?

Martin Luther, a pastor in the 16th century, sums up the first commandment like this:

What does this mean?

That we should fear, love, and trust God above all things.

That means God is at the top in our lives. He is above the false Gods, above people, above money, above yourself. God is the undisputed number one.

Can anyone hold God above all things? No. We are sinful, selfish, forgetful, and disloyal people. We will never worship God perfectly.

We are sinners. We fall short. But the god news is that Christ died for sinners like you and me, so that we would not remain in our sin, but constantly be forgiven, renewed, and freed to worship the true God.

So no, we’re not perfect in our worship. but we should strive to be. We should do our best. And we should never deliberately embrace the worship of someone or something else above God.

These days, there are many things to worship besides the true God.

Other religions

Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jehovas Witnesses, Mormonism, Satanism, Shinto.

These major world religions are all clear examples of worshipping False Gods who aren’t Yahweh.

Some people see all religions as the same thing anyway. Just different ways to worship the same God.

But that’s not true. They each worship a distinct different god, and all contradict and disagree with one another. Most people who argue that all religions are the same are the people who know least about any of them. But once you get past “they all have a god”, the similarities end.

The God of Christianity tells us, and we boldly preach, that He is the only God.

He has told us that He is one God, but three persons. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We call that the trinity.

He has told us that being saved comes through faith in Jesus alone, who gave His life to pay the price for our sins.

We believe in the virgin birth, the holy church, and resurrection of the dead and the life everlasting.

And we believe that He is the true God, because He offers what no one else can.

All religions and philosophies teach the same thing. they all realize that this world is filled with pain and suffering and death. like we are all in a hole we can’t get out of.

But they all teach you how to can be good enough or wise enough, how if you can pray enough, do enough, show enough. then you can climb your way out of this hole.

Christianity is the only religion where God doesn’t demand we do or prove or fix anything ourselves. He sees that we are helpless to get out if this hole. And instead of telling us how to fix it ourselves, He actually steps down into the hole, lifts us out of it, and suffers in our place.

It’s so scandalously unique. So loving, so merciful, so true.

There are some that call themselves christians, but are not. Mostly Jehovas witnesses and Mormons.

The say they worship the same God, but they don’t believe in the trinity.

They say they believe in being saved by faith, but teach that you have to earn God’s love with good works.

How many things can you change about God before you no longer worship God? Not many?

But aside from these major religions we know of, there is a very large movement of people who call themselves “spiritual, but not religious”. Where does that fit into all of this?

They usually all admit that there is a god, but that it’s too hard to find out who that God is.

And because we don’t know who this God is, we can’t be sure what he wants, or what he says, or what he does.

And if this god doesn’t talk to us, then there are no laws to follow. there are no rules to break. there is no boundary to be broken. there is no accountability to be taken.

Being spiritual but not religious is comfortable. It doesn’t require anything from you. It doesn’t require discipline, faith, obedience, self-restraint, or worship.

In the New Testament, a follower of Jesus named Paul was in Greece at a place called the aeropagus. He noticed that there was an altar to an unnamed god.

And he says to the greeks: God is not unknown.

He has made himself known to us. He has created all of us. He is not distant from us at all.

and you can know Him!

this God actually came down to us, died for us, and was raised again for us.

And this God invites you to worship Him and repent, so that you too will be saved when He comes to judge all mankind.

An unknown god is easy, but also not real.

To be fair, it is intimidating to look at all the religions and discern which one is true. But it’s worth it. Don’t settle for a false, made up, unknown God.

Worship the real God who is close, who knows you and cares for you, and who has revealed His love and salvation to you in Jesus Christ. A god who can act, comfort, forgive, provide, and save.

Besides, one thing I have noticed about people who are spiritual but not religious is that their idea of god has a few hallmarks.

He likes the things they like. He cares about what they care about. He hates the things they hate. and he does what they want him to do. He overlooks the things they overlook.

we all have the temptation to do this to God. When the bible says something about Him and we just day “No, I don’t believe that”. Well, that’s who He is.

But when we turn God into mirror reflections of ourselves, who are we really worshipping? Ourselves.

But you are a terrible god. you can’t save, or protect, or provide, or bless, or forgive.

so in a culture that teaches us to worship ourselves, don’t fall for it. Worship Yahweh.

when society insists that all religions are equal, don’t fall for it. Worship Yahweh alone. And share the truth in all love and all gentleness with those who are confused or lost or don’t know Him yet.

And between the idols of other religions and ourselves, there are many many things we wrongly fear, love, anf trust above God.

we trust in money above God. we fear the culture and those around us more than Him. We love our children more than God. We desire a house, a car, a gaming console more than Him. we follow the ways of society above God’s law. We prioritize sleeping in or our children’s sports over coming to worship Him.

We have so many ways in which we take God off of that number one spot in our lives.

But it’s time for us to repent of that error, be forgiven by Him, and but Him back on top.

Transition Slowly for the camera

Confession