The Ten Covenantal Commandments -- Part 2

Introduction

Good morning Church! Today, we will finishing up our two part message that we started last week entitled “The Ten Covenantal Commandments.”

Last week, we learned why “these ten” commandments were more important than all the rest and that was because God delivered these ten specifically to the people Himself without using a mediator.

We learned that although these were specific laws and principles they were delivered in such a way, a general, broad way, as to reach the furthest recesses of our lives and ensure that nothing is left out in the process.

We learned that these ten commandments were the basis and the framework for the covenant between the Children of Israel and Jehovah God.

Then, after Looking at the Covenantal Agreement, we looked at the Covenantal Assembly where God called the people unto Himself there at the base of Mt. Sinai and began to speak to them directly from the summit.

We read how the mountain itself looked to be on fire as God descended upon it and the Bible said that smoke went up from the top like a burning, fiery furnace and that it quaked and all the people trembled at the sight of it!

Then, after looking at the Covenantal Agreement and Assembly, we moved into the Covenantal Application and looked at the first four commandments which deal directly with our relationship to God.

Just to recoup real quick...

Commandment # 1 — Thou shalt have no other little “g”ods before me.

What is a little “g” god? Anything that separates you from or draws your attention away from the one and only big “G” God, Jehovah!

Commandment # 2 — Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

We are not to take anything created and fashion it as in the form of the creator and worship it.

No one has ever seen God, therefore, we shouldn’t take anything and try to make it into the form of God.

John 4:24 — God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Commandment # 3 — Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

Taking the Lord’s name in vain covers way more than just using God’s name in a curse word.

It’s using His glorious name out of context. It’s using His name flippantly without meaning. It’s calling yourself a Christian but not living like one.

So many people use the Lord’s name in vain, day in and day out, and the Bible says here that the person who does so will not be held guiltless!

We’d do well to heed how the Lord’s glorious and mighty name comes out of our mouth!

And lastly, Commandment # 4 — Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.

Why are we to remember the sabbath to keep it holy? To remember it as a memorial unto God for His great work in creation!

Why do we worship on Sunday now and not Saturday? Because the Lord Jesus Christ, the one and only Son of God, rose from the grave on Sunday.

Just as He finished the work of creation and rested on the sixth day, when He rose from the grave on that third and glorious morning, He finished the work of salvation and ascended to the right hand of the Father where He now makes intercession for all who would call upon His name.

So is it wrong to worship on Sunday instead of Saturday Bro. Bobby?

Absolutely not! The first Sabbath was a shadow of things to come and the reality is, we are worshipping the same person whether you worship on Saturday or Sunday!

The man and the message behind our worship is still the same!

The key is ensuring that you are setting aside at least one entire day to focus on Him, His work, His creation and His great salvation!

That’s what it means to remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy!

Alright, so now that we have looked at the first four commandments and how they deal with our relationship to God, today, we will be finishing up this two-part message by looking at the last six and how they deal with how we relate to others.

If you have your Bibles with you, I would ask you to turn with me to the Book of Exodus Chapter 20 and we will be picking up in Verse 12.

Exodus 20:12

The Covenantal Application

Vs. 12 — Commandment # 5

Exodus 20:12 — Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

This verse is also quoted in the New Testament by our beloved Bro. Paul. He said in...

Ephesians 6:1–3 — 1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. 2 Honor thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) 3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.

I want us to look at two different things in this command as we kick things off.

First, I want us to see the Reverence in the Command. Then, secondly, I want us to look at the Reward in the Command.

A. The Reverence in the Command

God begins by saying, “Honor thy father and they mother:”

The word “Honor” — Hebrew “kābēd” — and in it’s primitive root form means to be heavy.

In a negative sense, it can mean burdensome or severe while in a positive sense, it can mean numerous or rich.

And when you understand this verse before us in it’s entirety, you will begin to see that it is a verse that holds some weight! It’s a very heavy or weighty verse!

Paul said, it’s the first commandment with promise and that it’s obeisance can lengthen or shorten a persons days.

It can be a burdensome and severe commandment or it can it be a rich and numerous commandment.

It’s outcome relies solely on what you do with it!

The Bible says for us to “honor thy father and thy mother.”

What exactly does it mean to honor them though?

Listen, it doesn’t just mean obey, which is how it is often times portrayed, and how Bro. Paul begins his address to the Ephesian Christians there in Chapter 6, but rather the word “honour” goes much deeper than that.

It means not only to obey but most importantly it means to respect and to reverence.

You see, if you respect your parents, you will reverence them and if you reverence them, you will obey them.

I can obey and not respect. I can obey without reverence.

But when I respect and reverence the person giving the command it makes me want to obey.

The command then becomes a desire to fulfill because of my desire to please.

I want my father and mother to be proud of me because I respect them and reverence them, therefore, whatever they ask me to do I want to do it to make them happy!

And this example is exactly how God wanted the Children of Israel’s covenant relationship with Him to transpire.

He didn’t want to be some cosmic killjoy as Dr. Adrian Rogers used to say but rather, He wanted His relationship to the Children of Israel to be as one between a father and mother and their child where the child “wanted” to do right to please their parent!

We ought to want to please God because we respect Him and reverence Him and not just to check a box!

When God gave this commandment to the Children of Israel, it was meant to be more than just obedience.

It was meant to dive into the deepest parts of our being, the core of who we are and cause us to see that honoring or the lack thereof comes with consequences.

Which leads us to the second part of this commandment…The Reward in the Command.

B. The Reward in the Command

“Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.”

Paul said in Ephesians 6:3....That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.

He also said this was the first commandment with promise.

What is the promise?

The promise, the reward for honoring thy father and mother, is a long and prosperous life!

Listen this morning children, the honoring of your parents or lack thereof has a direct correlation to the number of days your life is extended or or shortened on this side of eternity!

If you want to live a long life, then you’d do well to respect, to reverence and to obey your parents.

I love how Paul says there in Verse 1.... Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.

The reason this is so significant is that little phrase “in the Lord.”

Reason being, if you aren’t in the Lord, then nothing inside of you will have a desire to respect, reverence or obey.

Without God, the only thing driving you is a spirit dead set on rebelling against God and His ways! It is a fleshly spirit and the Bible says in the flesh dwelleth no good thing!

Children, if you want to honour your parents the right way, you must do it the Lord’s way and the only way to do it the Lord’s way is to know Him as your personal Lord and Savior!

Adults, the same thing goes for you! If we are to respect God, to reverence God and obey God the right way, you must make the Lord Jesus Christ, Lord of your life!

You must submit to His will and His way!

Do you know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior?

If not, you will never be able to honor your father and mother the right way which is God’s way!

So we see here, Command # 5, Honor thy father and thy mother. Now, let’s move on to Command # 6.

Vs. 13 — Commandment # 6

Exodus 20:13 — Thou shalt not kill.

Although the shortest commandment in the English language, this one may be the most misunderstood of all.

The word “kill” used here, is the Hebrew word “ratsach” (raw-tsakh') and in it’s original language is best rendered “murder”.

Thou shalt not murder.

And for the person who disobeys this command, the Bible lists dire consequences for their actions!

Genesis 9:6 — Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.

Leviticus 24:17 — And he that killeth any man shall surely be put to death.

Numbers 35:16 — And if he smite him with an instrument of iron, so that he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death.

The Bible plainly speaks of capital punishment for the one who takes life!

The problem now days is that in many states we’ve taken away the death penalty and the worst punishment for taking the life of another is life in prison!

If the worst thing that can happen to you is 3 meals a day provided free of charge and a free roof over your head in a heated and cooled cell there isn’t a whole stopping a person from acting on impulse and anger and taking another’s life now is there!

But when a person understands that if they take a life, that they automatically will be giving up their right to life and will be executed if they follow through with their actions, they will definitely think twice before acting on impulse!

Thou shalt not kill!

Well preacher, what about war. What about when our military men take the life of another in battle?

I want to read to you something that J Vernon McGee said that spells it out as well as I ever could. He said....

This verse is used by many people who are opposed to a particular war. Many young men have talked to me about it. They say, "You should not kill; therefore, you should not be a soldier." The commandment "Thou shalt not kill" was not given to a nation; it was given to the individual. One man should not kill another. No one should go to any country on his own, and kill. "Thou shalt not kill" has nothing to do with soldier’s service or with the execution of a criminal. A nation is given an authority to protect human life by taking human life. "Thou shalt not kill" is a commandment to the individual and it is speaking of murder, which our Lord said comes from anger -- and we are not even to be angry with our brother.

The Verses he is referring to here is...

Matthew 5:21–22 — 21 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: 22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

Murder often stems from unchecked anger and Jesus says here that whosoever is angry with his brother without cause shall be in danger for the judgment!

Anger breeds action which more often than not, is not justified!

Be careful of acting in anger. I have found that when a person acts in anger they say and do things that once they have cooled down and reflect on the situation, they wish they hadn’t of done!

There have been many hard lessons learned of my own in this regard as well!

But the Bible says thou shalt not kill!

And before we move on, I want to speak of one other instance of murder that goes on every single day all across this world and in my opinion, is the most egregious act of all murder!

And that is the killing of innocent babies in the womb!

Abortion!

ABORTION IS MURDER IN THE FIRST DEGREE!

When a mother decides she is going to take the life of an innocent little child and follows through with it, she has committed pre-meditated murder in the first degree and I believe deep down in my heart that this kind of murder upsets God more than any other kind!

Sin is sin and I understand that but to take the life of a child with no regard for their feelings, for their life, for who they may become one day, for what God intended on them to be, it is the worst kind of murder one can imagine!

And it has been legalized, modernized, and demoralized here in this country to the point that thousands of babies a day never are murdered without any repercussions whatsoever!

And we wonder why our nation is falling apart!

We don’t deserved to live! If we don’t care enough about babies being murdered to stand up and do something about it, then we ourselves don’t deserve to live!

I’m gonna be honest with you, with all the evil going on in this world right now, I wish God would go ahead and come back and put an end to this evil wretched world!

The magnitude of evil going on behind closed doors is unimaginable!

But let me tell you something dear friend, what goes on behind closed doors, is still going on before God’s eyes and He sees the abominations that are taking place and one day, one day His judgment will come and all involved with appropriating and encouraging these atrocities will pay dearly!

Thou shall not kill!

Now that we’ve looked at 5, 6 & 7 let’s move on to Commandment # 7.

Vs. 14 — Commandment # 7

Exodus 20:14 — Thou shalt not commit adultery.

Here we have another commandment that has been legalized by man to the point it rarely has any effect on people now days.

What is adultery?

When a husband or a wife leave the confines of their own home to find pleasure in the sacred institution that God created with another person, you have committed adultery.

Jesus even took it a step further in...

Matthew 5:27–28 — 27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: 28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

Jesus said you don’t even have to commit the act, you just have to think the thought and adultery has been committed in your heart!

The problem now days is promiscuity is prancing down main street at every turn!

Every billboard, every commercial, every magazine, every tv show, every where you look Satan is using this world to destabilize the family!

The more families he can destroy, the more unraveling of the first institution that God created takes place!

The family was created by God to be a sacred institution!

One man, one woman, one lifetime!

But man has prostituted the institution of God and in turn caused the destabilization of the institution.

The world now days says, “well, if we can’t get along let’s just get a divorce and move on! If the going gets tough, let’s just give up on one another and move on!

If I’m attracted to another person more than the one I’m married to now, let’s just get a divorce and move on!"

That’s the mentality of the world we live in today!

And what people don’t realize is the effect, the toll, that the destabilizing of the family takes not only on you but also on your children!

Kids need “their” father and “their” mother to raise them! They are a part of you and no one can connect with them the way that you can!

That’s why God gave them to you!

A prime example of the toll adultery takes on the family is King David.

He was already married but seen Bathsheba on the roof bathing, he cast his gaze upon her beauty and said I want to be with her!

The seeds of adultery had been planted in his heart and then he acted upon it and had her brought to him.

He lay with her, committing adultery with the wife of one of his dearest friends and most loyal warriors!

She becomes pregnant and so David then tries to cover it up by having her husband brought in from war to lay with her so that she could claim it was his instead of King David’s but the plan was foiled when David’s friend Uriah’s loyalty was far greater than he had anticipated!

Instead of laying with his wife, Uriah stayed with King David and wouldn’t leave his side.

After his plan was foiled, David sent one of his greatest warriors and dearest friends back to war with his own death notice in hand.

The note was for the David’s general and basically said that they next fight they were in, everyone was to fall back and leave Uriah to fight the battle by himself thus ensuring his death by the enemy!

Oh how far King David had fallen and all because of his burning desire for another man’s wife!

This great evil in the sight of the Lord would be the beginning of a life of sorrows that lie ahead for King David!

You could almost say that this was the beginning of his demise!

His first child with Bathsheba was taken from them because of this dastardly deed and a life of trouble and turmoil ensued from this point on.

All because of one broken commandment!

Thou shalt not commit adultery!

Before we move on, I have one last thing to say about this commandment in a spiritual sense and I’ll make it quick.

You can also be caught cheating on God!

If you aren’t following the first two commandments, but you call yourself a Christian, then you are cheating on God!

You are committing spiritual adultery by putting your trust in another besides God and the same consequences that befall a person for committing physical adultery will also ensue for those who commit spiritual adultery!

Trouble and turmoil are sure to follow!

Thou shalt not commit adultery!

Alright, we’ve made it through 5, 6 & 7. Now, let’s look on at Commandment # 8.

Y’all are going to have to listen faster if we’re going to get out of here any time soon!

Vs. 15 — Commandment # 8

Exodus 20:15 — Thou shalt not steal.

If there is one thing in this world I can’t stand, it’s a thief!

And I’m of the mindset that if there’s one thing in this world that God can’t stand, it’s also a thief!

Jesus said in...

John 10:10 — The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

The thief Jesus is speaking of here is Satan and I’m here to tell you this morning, that a person is never more like the devil than when they steal!

To understand this commandment we need better understand what it’s saying…to begin,

What is stealing?

Stealing is the act of taking of something that doesn’t belong to you, right?

This can be tied back in to the two prior commands....to kill is to steal one’s life....to commit adultery is to steal one’s spouse!

When you take anything that doesn’t belong to you, you have now classified yourself as a thief!

And I want to say this morning that stealing goes much further than most people ever think of!

If your employer pays you to do a job but you only halfway do what you’re supposed to do, then you are stealing from your employer!

On the flip side, if an employer isn’t paying you what they promised to pay for you to complete a job, then your employer is stealing from you!

If you borrow money from a financial institution and don’t pay it back, that’s stealing!

If you borrow money from a friend or owe any person for something they have loaned you and you don’t pay that person back, you are stealing!

Another area many people don’t think of stealing is when it comes to God!

Listen, not a single person here this morning would have anything that they have unless God allowed you to have it, Amen!

So when God asks for a portion of what He’s given you back, and you don’t give it, you are essentially stealing from God!

God had to address this exact situation with the people in the Book of Malachi and Chapter 3.

Malachi 3:7–10 — 7 Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return? 8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. 9 Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, Even this whole nation. 10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be meat in mine house, And prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, If I will not open you the windows of heaven, And pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

Sunday in and Sunday out, Christians steal from God!

They come in, they get fed but they don’t give God what is rightly His and then when things hit the fan, they want to run to the Church for help!

Listen, the majority of the time, not all, but the majority, and I’ve had this happen in my own life so I’m speaking from experience here, if you are experiencing financial hardship, it’s usually due to the fact that you haven’t been giving God what’s rightfully his!

Now, people don’t like to here that, and people want to say, “well that was just for the Jews”, but the reality is, if it wasn’t meant for all it wouldn’t be in here for all to read!

Jesus himself said, render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and render unto God what is God’s!

The sad reality is this though…most people find it easier to pay their taxes every year than to give God his 10% that He is justly due!

Ponder on that for a minute!

If you don’t pay your taxes, eventually they will confiscate your property, right?

What if God decided if you weren’t going to give your tithe He was gonna take your salvation away!

Whew whee! I bet people sure would make sure they did it then, don’t you?

Thou shalt not steal!

Have you stole something this morning?

Do you owe someone something?

Are you stealing from God?

If so, give what you’ve stolen back and give God what He is justly due!

Moving on. Commandment # 9.

Vs. 16 — Commandment # 9

Exodus 20:16 — Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

To bear false witness means to lie. It can also mean to slander.

Thou shalt not lie against thy neighbor!

How many times have you lied against your neighbor or slandered their name?

How many times have you slandered or lied about the person in the pew across the isle from you?

How many times have you lied about the Pastor or slandered his good name because you didn’t like something he preached last Sunday?

That Pastor said I was supposed to tithe 10% of my income! Can you believe he’d say such a thing? All he cares about is money, money, money!

When in all reality, he actually cares very deeply about you or he wouldn’t be telling you the truth you didn’t want to hear!

Listen, the Bible says in...

James 3:5–6 — 5 Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.

The tongue has the ability to build up or to tear down. And whatever you say about your neighbor has the ability to do the same to them!

It can be an encouraging word that builds them up or it can be a defaming word that tears them down!

Sometimes the reason a Church can’t grow is because it’s members are too busy tearing one another down!

If you’re out here talking about so and so in our church to a member from another church, what kind of light do you think that sheds on New Home?

If the only thing people hear is something negative coming out of your mouth all the time, then there ain’t no way in the world they will want to be a part of it!

Now, I’m not saying that is a problem we have here to my knowledge but the reason I mention it is so that it doesn’t become a problem!

The Bible says in...

Proverbs 12:22 — Lying lips are abomination to the Lord: But they that deal truly are his delight.

Make sure you think about what you say before you say it for once the words leave your lips they can never be recalled!

Thou shalt not bear false witness!

And lastly this morning, we come to Commandment # 10.

Vs. 17 — Commandment #10

Exodus 20:17 — Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor's.

Here at the end, we have a catchall if you will to sum why the others before it tend to happen to begin with.

The word “covet” is the Hebrew word “chamad” and it speaks of something that is beautiful, delectable, some pleasant or precious thing that is wished for or desired.

Dr. Rod Mattoon said this in his commentary on covetousness....

Throughout history, much has been written about happiness and contentment. Two thousand years ago, Lucius Seneca wrote, "It is not the man who has too little, but the man who craves more, who is poor." Fred Allen said, "I don't want to own anything that won't fit into my coffin." Someone else wrote, "Half the world is unhappy because it can't have the things that are making the other half unhappy." Steve Brown put it this way, "The most unhappy person in the world is not someone who didn't get what he or she wanted. The most unhappy person is the one who got what he or she wanted and then found out that it wasn't as wonderful as they expected."

Beloved, the secret of a happy life and contentment is not getting what you want but living with contentment with what you already have. Most people spend their lives concentrating on what they don't have instead of thanking God for what they do have. When they finally wake up, their life is over, and they have missed the beauty of the present.

Listen Church, Jesus said in...

Luke 12:15 — And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.

And then John the beloved disciple of Jesus said in...

1 John 2:15–17 — 15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

The world passeth away…did you hear that?

One day when we draw our last breath on this side of eternity we will pass over Jordan’s banks and the things of this world will matter no more!

Remember the story of the Rich Man?

He wasn’t content with what he had so he said to himself I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones to store all my fruits and my goods in. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry!

And what was God’s response?

Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee, then whose shall those things be, which thou has provided?

You see the Bible says our life is but a vapor that appeareth for a little time and then vanisheth away!

You can covet and get, covet and get and then one day never wake up on this side of eternity to even enjoy it anymore!

That’s why the Bible says in...

1 Timothy 6:6-8 — 6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.

We are to be content with what God gives us!

Now that doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with getting a new vehicle or buying or building a new house.

Just make sure you’re not doing it with a covetous mind!

I’m not going out here and buying a new truck just because Bro. Tim got a new truck.

Or I’m not building a new house because my best friend or co-worker is buying a new house.

Anytime you react to someone else’s actions in respect to something desired, it’s more than likely being done with covetous mindset!

Now look really quickly at what all God lists here....

Thy neighbor’s house.

If you covet your neighbor’s house, it may cause you to go build or buy a bigger house that you have to work more hours to pay for, which in turn, could limit your time with your family and with God, neither of which are healthy for your family, your marriage, or your worship!

Thy neighbor’s wife.

This leads directly to adultery! Keeping your eyes on your own wife will lead to a happy, healthy life!

Thy neighbor’s manservant or maidservant.

This doesn’t really apply too much to us today but what I will say is this…some of these high and mighty folks have maids and pool boys and personal trainers who work for them and they’d do well not to covet their own servants!

I seen here a month or two ago an article written on celebrities whose marriages had been broken up because the man fell for the maid or the babysitter or the wife fell for the personal trainer or pool boy.

It all stems back to covetousness!

Desiring something that someone else has or doesn’t belong to you!

Chasing that feeling, that emotion looking for something better when the best thing is usually right in front of your face!

The God finishes is it up with his ox, his ass, or anything that is thy neighbors!

Be content with what God has given you and you will save yourself a lot of heartache and trouble!

As we come to a close this morning, there is one thing that you are to never be content with and that is your relationship to God!

We are to always desire a deeper relationship with Him and by following these Ten Covenantal Commandments we can ensure that will happen!

Closing

As they come get us a song, I once again want you to do a spiritual check up on yourself.

1. Children, have you been honouring your father and mother?

Remember, you can’t honor your father and mother rightly until you honor them in the Lord and the only way to honor them in the Lord is to know the Lord personally!

Parents, have you been honouring, respecting, reverencing your Father above?

If not, why don’t you come this morning and straighten things out!

2. Have you ever killed or murdered someone?

I hope not. But if you have, there is an altar here this morning where you can come and ask forgiveness of that sin.

3. Have you committed adultery? Physically or Spiritually?

Is there something going on behind closed doors that shouldn’t be and only you know about it?

If so, listen, it’s wrong, but at the end of the day it’s simply sin and it can be forgiven if you are willing to come and confess it before almighty God and vow to turn from it moving forward.

4. Have you stole something from someone?

Have you borrowed but never repayed?

Are you currently robbing God every Sunday in your tithes and offerings?

Are you giving God what’s rightly His?

If not, why don’t you come today and ask for God’s forgiveness for whatever it is you may have taken that didn’t belong to you or simply ask for His forgiveness for not giving Him what’s rightly His and ask Him to help you to what’s right moving forward.

5. Have you lied to or about or slandered your neighbor,?Or maybe it’s the person across the isle from you, or maybe you’ve lied about or slandered the Pastor.

If so, come this morning and ask God’s forgiveness and afterwards, if you feel led to, go and apologize to that person you lied about or slandered as well.

There is no greater feeling than the freedom of forgiveness!

6. And lastly, are you coveting something you shouldn’t be today?

Is there a desire in your heart for something that someone else has and it’s become the driving force behind everything that you do?

If so, come this morning and ask God to simply take that desire away!

Ask God to free you from that burden of covetousness and set your heart’s desire on your relationship with Him!