Sermon
Ten Keys To An Abundant Life - Part 1
September 26, 2004
Pastor Leighton Sheley

I'm going to invite you to take your Bibles and open to Exodus chapter 20 today. Now our congregation has begun a series of studies in the Old Testament to learn about this rich heritage we as Christians have received. Christianity is a belief system that traces its history back through Christ, King David, Abraham, Noah, and to the promise of the seed given to Adam and Eve in Genesis chapter 3. Jesus Christ was the fulfillment of that promise in the fullness of his time. And the scripture that was written before the advent of Christ we call the Old Testament.

Now we don't call it the Old Testament because it is antiquated or inactive, but rather to distinguish it from the scriptures that were written after the advent of Christ. New Testament theology and doctrine was not created in a vacuum. The principles recorded for us in the scriptures were introduced throughout the Old Testament, and in studying the Old Testament we enjoy a greater appreciation for and understanding of the scripture of the New Testament.

When we gathered last we were looking at Exodus chapter 16 in which is recorded for us God providing for his people manna in the morning and the quail in the evening for the 40 years that they travel through the wilderness. The manna was God's provision for life, and we find that there is a correlation in the New Testament because Jesus is identified as the bread of life, the true bread of life, not just for time, but also for eternity.

Now our primary focus today is the Ten Commandments found in chapter 20. So if I may, I'd like to summarize the chapters between 16 and 20. In chapter 17 God is Israel's provider and protector. God provides water from a rock that is struck by Moses, and then when the Israelites are attacked by the Amalekites, Joshua is sent into battle and Moses stands on a hill with his arms upraised. As long as his arms are upraised the Israelites were winning, when his arms tired and began to drop the Amalekites would win.

Standing to either side of him, or around him, were Aaron and Hur, and so what they did is they realized it was going to be long battle, they put a stone under Moses so he could sit through the heat of the day and they held his arms up so that by the end of that day the Israelites had won that battle.

In Exodus chapter 18 Moses is visited by his father-in-law, Jethro. When Moses had spent the 40 years in the wilderness he married Zipporah who was the daughter of this Midian priest and king named Jethro, and so Jethro the father-in-law is coming to visit Moses. He's heard about all of the great things that God has done. He wants to see it, he wants to hear it personally, and while he's out there he has a taste of what it's like, a typical day in the life of Moses.

Verse 13, Moses is out there and from early in the morning till late at night there is this line of people, remember there are about 3 million people, 2 or 3 million people out in the wilderness, that keep coming because of some kind of disagreement and so forth. And so Jethro says, what is this all about? And Moses said, well people come to me to seek God's will.

And in verse 20 we have the first case of a business consultant coming on, Jethro comes in and says you know there's a better way of doing this; let me propose it to you. Why don't you teach them the decrees and laws and show them how to live and then set up a court system so that if they have a disagreement they can go to a local judge, and if it's too difficult they'll go to a higher judge, and ultimately if it's very difficult it will show up in your courtroom. And so we have the foundations of a court system that is actually the foundation of America's judicial system recorded for us here in the 18th chapter of Exodus.

Now in order for this system of delegated courts to work a universal standard, a code of behavior had to be established. For instance it would not work if you were to steal a loaf of bread and stand before for one judge and he would simply slap you on the hand, but if you were to stand before another judge stealing a loaf of bread would be a capital offense. So that brought up question, well then there is this code of behavior to come from?

The answer to that question is provided for us in chapter 20. God's people would not operate under man-made laws, but would operate under God-made laws. And chapter 20 explains and describes something that makes the Ten Commandments and the Commandments that follow the Ten Commandments unique in all of the history of mankind, because these were not the devices that were developed by any kind of government or king or sovereign, these were laws that were given to us by God. And furthermore we also have the only recorded incidence in the scripture were God appeared to a whole nation, to the whole nation of Israel so that there would be no question that these laws were given by God.

Now why did God give us the Ten Commandments? Well, let me propose to you that He gave them to us to help us and not hurt us. He didn't give them to us to hamper us but rather to release us, and He didn't give them to punish us but rather to protect us. In the beginning of this chapter God says I am the God that has taken you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. And God didn't take His people out of one slavery simply to give them into another form of slavery. And yet there are some believers who think of the Ten Commandments as being just another form of slavery. But I want to propose to you God gave the Ten Commandments for our own good.

Now if I tell a child do not touch the hot stove, is that for the benefit of me or the child? It's for the benefit of the child, is it not? And whenever God says don't in the scriptures it's not for His benefit, it's for ours. He is trying to protect us from hurt.

Now God designed the solar system, His entire system, with certain laws. One example of a law that He created is the law of gravity. Now the law of gravity, if you try to ignore it, you're liable to hurt yourself. You have to cooperate with it. If you're jumping out of a ten-story window it doesn't matter if you don't believe in the law of gravity, you're liable to get hurt.

Now there are also spiritual laws that are at work, and God wants to have us learn about these spiritual laws not by having them break us or injure us, but He is trying to establish these are the boundaries within which you can enjoy a safe and happy life. These are not the ten suggestions, and they are not optional, they are the Ten Commandments. And God says if you keep these Commandments things will go well in life, and if you don't keep these Ten Commandments it's going to hurt.

Now psychiatrists thought that they would try something new in the '60s. They thought that having any kind of boundaries on the human did not allow the human to experience the fullness of life and all of their potential. So what they did is on certain campuses across the United States they decided that they would take down the fences in the playground because those fences were constrictive to the kids. The kids could only see the fence. They couldn't see outside of the fence. They couldn't see their world, they couldn't...etc., etc. They wanted to expand the horizons of the kids.

And so what ended up happening is you had two categories of people. You had the category of people who got into trouble by going where they weren't supposed to go because there was no fence there, and if there had been a fence there less of them would have gotten into trouble. And then you had the rest of children who huddled together insecurely in the middle of the playground because they weren't quite certain where the boundaries were and where it was safe to play.

God wants us to know where the boundaries are and where it is safe to play, where it's safe to live, and that's why He has given us the Ten Commandments. God established His laws for the good and the prosperity of all.

Now you may have heard some teachings along the lines of well the Ten Commandments don't apply to Christians because we live in an era of grace, or something like that. Have you heard that? that era of grace argument? I had somebody on the phone within the last two weeks calling me and say well such and such doesn't apply because we live in the era of grace.

Well let's take a look and see if that is a valid way of perceiving the Ten Commandments in the scriptures. Let's see -- a Christian is a follower of Christ. Right? So a Christian is a follower of Christ's example, and a Christian is a follower of Christ's teaching. Make sense? So let's look at what Christ has to say about the Ten Commandments and the law.

Jesus says in Matthew 5: Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I have not come to destroy, but to fulfill. And lest there is any question about what Jesus thinks about the Ten Commandments, He answers that for us in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5: 21, He says, You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, "You shall not murder, and whoever murders shall be liable to judgment." But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister you are liable to judgment. If you insult a brother or sister you'll be liable to the council, and if you say, "You fool!" you'll be liable to hell fire.

And Jesus said you have heard it said, "You shall not commit adultery." But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Now does that sound like Jesus was negating or terminating the Ten Commandments to you? That doesn't make any sense, does it?

Jesus was validating the Ten Commandments. And Jesus was saying, in effect, if you think you have kept the Ten Commandments...think again. Because if you ever thought about breaking one of the Ten Commandments, you are as guilty as if you had broken that Commandments.

Paul writes for us in Romans 3:19 and following, he says, Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose (if you ever wondered what the purpose of the Ten Commandments and the Law was) for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses.

I'm a parent. What is the most common excuse a parent hears? I didn't know. Right? Its purpose is to keep people from having excuses and to bring the entire world into judgment before God. For no one can ever be made right in God's sight by doing what his law commands. For the more we know God's law, the clearer it becomes that we are not obeying it.

But now God has shown us a different way of being right in his sight--not by obeying the law but by the way promised in the Scriptures long ago. We are made right in God's sight when we trust in Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And we all can be saved in this same way, no matter who we are or what we have done.

For all have sinned; all fall short of God's glorious standard. Yet now God in his gracious kindness declares us not guilty. He has done this through Christ Jesus, who has freed us by taking away our sins. For God sent Jesus to take the punishment for our sins and to satisfy God's anger against us. We are made right with God when we believe that Jesus shed his blood, sacrificing his life for us.

There is no valid biblical argument for ignoring the Ten Commandments. And yes, we do live in an era of grace, but believers have always lived in an era of grace. Genesis 6, Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. Abraham, the father of the righteous, was not made righteous by observing the Ten Commandments. He couldn't, because the Ten Commandments weren't written until 400 years after he lived. And yet Abraham was declared righteous because he believed in God.

God didn't give the Ten Commandments as another way of salvation, but rather as a code of conduct for a long and happy life, and for a safe and prosperous community.

Now the order of the Ten Commandments is not haphazard. God selected and sequenced them logically. The first one is the first when because it's the most important one. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Now what's the principle here? Well the principal is very simple, put God first. God is saying in effect, I demand top priority in your life. I will not play second fiddle to anyone or anything. He deserves to have first place in our lives. It is He who formed us in the womb. It's He who breathed into us the breath of life. It's He who has given us health and strength. It's He who has given us purpose in living. It's He who has given us hope when life has run its course. It is he who is the source of all good things, for all good things come from our heavenly Father. He deserves first place.

Now what does it mean to have no other gods before Me? I thought there was only one God. And that is true, there's only one true God. And you'll notice that the word God is with a capital G. But God talks about gods, and you'll notice that the word gods is with a little g. Now what is a god or gods with a little g? A God with a little g is anything or anyone that dominates or controls your life.

Now I'll ask you a question, can a career be a god? Yes it can. Can another person be a god? Yes. I know it's going to hurt men, can golf be a god? or fishing or whatever? The answer is yes, if we displace God as being first in our life and value that more than God. Now, if you want to be successful...put God first.

Are there benefits to putting God first? There are many, many benefits. Would you like to know one? Let me ask you this question - You are here this morning, right? Could you have been someplace else this morning? You have other choices, right? But you made this your first choice. Okay? Is there a benefit in coming to worship God in God's sanctuary? Yes.

Let me give you one of the benefits. You are all probably familiar with the divorce rate in America, about 1 out of every 3 marriages end in divorce. Okay? Harvard University did a study and they found that where marriages take place in a worship service, the divorce rate is 1 out of 50. That's good.

Can you imagine what the divorce rate is where the marriage takes place in a church, the couple goes to church every week, they read the Bible, and they pray together? According to this Harvard study the divorce rate is 1 out of 1,105. Isn't that good? Is that a whole lot better than 1 in 3? Is there a benefit to making worshipping God first?

Now the question then comes up, Well how do we know if we're putting God first? Let me suggest to you the 3 Ts: time, treasure, talent.

Time - We measure the life that God has given us in time. We divide it into 168 hours in each week. You can look at your daytimer, or whatever organizer you have, your calendar, and analyze how much time out of that 168 hours you dedicate to your relationship with the Lord, and what a priority meeting with Him on a daily basis is. Does He get easily displaced when something else comes up or is that the priority?

And if you're wondering if it's important to meet with God on a daily basis let me suggest to you that Jesus did, and Jesus was His Son, and if Jesus knew He needed to meet with His Father on a daily basis we need to much, much more. Time.

Treasure - How do you handle the funds which God has entrusted to you? Or given you the skills and abilities to create? What portion do you give above the tithe to the work of the Lord? You see the Scriptures say where your treasure is there will your heart be also.

Time, treasure, talent - God has gifted each and every one of us with certain abilities and skills, each one of us uniquely. But why did He do that? Well, the Scriptures say we are created to glorify God. So whatever skills and abilities He gives to us are intended to glorify God. Does God get the glory for the skills and abilities that He has given to us? Or are those skills used for something that dishonors God?

If you want to do a self-evaluation look at the 3 Ts: time, treasure, and talent.

Now let's look at commandment number 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 thyself down 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 showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

Now what is an idol or an image? And there are several definitions that I've found as I've gone through my studies this week. One is, an idol is anything that takes our focus off of God and puts it on someone or something else. What it means to idolize is to put some value on something or someone that is considered greater than God. Now some people park their idols in the garage, some park them at the local marina or airport, and some put their idol safely into a safe deposit box, but today we sill have idols.

Archeologist tell us that every culture, every culture throughout human history there have been idols; statues, little gods, goddesses, things like that. It's like there is an innate desire in mankind to take something and fashion it into an image of God, and God says done do that.

Now in Bible times there were 3 primary idols. There was Baal, the god of sex, there was Mammon, the god of money, and there was Moloch, the god of violence. And to these false gods people brought the fruit of their hands. Now today people bring hundreds of millions of dollars, the fruit of their hands, to support movies that are filled with sex, money, and violence. It's really just a variation of the same theme.

Now in previous eras, idols were made out of stone, brick, rock, clay, metal, something along those lines, and the purpose was to promote a mental image. And today, today people don't require quite as much imagination because the mental images are provided for us in full color. You see there is a modern shrine in many homes called the television - Yup - and when people turn it on they see their idols. Viewers worship images of success and wealth, status, and sensuality. You know the media doesn't even try to hide this any more - we have an American idol.

Now 1 Corinthians 12:2 says, before you knew Christ, you were controlled by dead idols who always led you astray. There are two characteristics of idols: they control you and they lead you astray.

You may have heard about the story about the little boy who wanted a bicycle and went to his mom. His mom said, well why don't you pray about it. So he decided he would write a letter to Jesus. He said, dear Jesus I want a new bicycle and I've been perfect for the last year. And then he thought about that and it wasn't quite right so he crumpled it and started again.

He said, dear Jesus I've been a good boy most of the time. Now that wasn't really valid either so he crumpled it up and started again. He said, dear Jesus I want to be a good boy, and that didn't really fit either so he crumpled it up and threw it away. He went down to the living room, grabbed a statue of Mary, wrapped it in a towel, hid it under his bed, and started, if you ever want to see your mother again...

In addition to being a distraction, an idol can be something wherein we get this image where God is limited to a certain location. You see - God is in that little idol, the idol is in the other room, so I'm in this room, God can't watch me, I can do whatever I want, and so forth. Even a 2-year-old understands that concept.

I have told this story here before. My son, age 2, sitting on my lap, dinner is getting ready, something in front of us, and he reaches out his hand. I say don't touch. A few moments later he reaches out his hand and I say don't touch. His hand is still out there. He looks at me, he looks at what he wants, he looks at me, and he looks at what he wants. It happened a few times then he says this, 2 years old, Daddy, you go there. You go there. There was down the hall in another room. He wanted me out of the room so he could do what he wanted to do; even a 2-year-old understands that.

It's an effort to control God, you know. We'd like to put Him in a little bottle like a genie, you know, and only let Him out when we need something. That kind of a concept. Now to some people they use an image because it reminds them of something.

When I was 15, 16, something like that, it might have been 14, whatever, our family went and visited Thailand. Thailand is a Buddhist nation, and we were going around with a car that had a translator and a driver, and I was sitting in the front and the rest of the family was sitting in the back. So as we a driving through Thailand and the guide is describing this and that and the other thing, I noticed on the dash there was this Buddha, this little statue, and so I said, what's that?

They said that's a statue of Buddha. I said, didn't Buddha say not to make statues of Buddha? Yea.

So let me get this straight, the statue is to remind you not to make a statue. He turned, talked with the driver, he turned around and I remember, he said, I can't answer that question.

I don't need images to remind me of God, because I've got an attitude of gratitude. You know when I sit down at the table at night I say thank you Lord for this table. Now the table is not God, but I say thank you for this table. I say thank you for the food on this table. I say thank you for my family around this table. I say thank you Lord that my wife knows how to cook really, really good, and thank you Lord that You give me taste buds to appreciate how good she can cook.

And when I go to bed at night I say thank you Lord there's a roof over my head, and thank you Lord for this bed, and thank you for the clothes. And when I get up in the morning I say thank you for that sun, thank you for that sky, thank you for giving me sight, thank you for making my sight in color so I can see Your sky. An attitude of...

I don't need images to remind me of God because I am thanking God all through the day. Now there's another word that's sometimes used today for idol, it's called addiction. Now you remember the verse 1 Corinthians 12:2 says, Before you knew Christ, you were controlled by dead idols, and you were always led astray.

What does addiction do? It controls you and it leads you astray. Okay? Now an addiction...we can have an addiction to drugs, or drinking, or sex, or sports, or work, or television, or many, many things. And Paul writes these words in Romans 8, he says, Those who let themselves be controlled by their lower nature live only to please themselves, but those who follow after the Holy Spirit find themselves doing those things that please God. Following after the Holy Spirit leads to life and peace; following after the old nature leads to death because the old sinful nature within us is against God. It never did obey God's laws and it never will. And that's who those who are still under the control of their old sinful selves bent of following their old evil desires, can never please God.

But you are not like that. You are controlled by your new nature if you have the spirit of God living in you. And remember, that if someone doesn't have the spirit of Christ living in him he is not a Christian at all.

You see God wants us to be free of the control of anything and everyone so that we can be controlled by the new nature that He has given to us.

There's a story told in Matthew 19 about a rich young man who came to Jesus saying, how can I be saved? And Jesus said, well, how about the Ten Commandments? And the man said, well I've kept every one of them since I was young. And Jesus said, really? Well let's see; let's start with the first one. Do not worship any other gods besides Me. Don't have anything that's more valuable than Me.

If you want to be perfect, go and sell all you have and give the money to the poor and you'll have treasure in heaven, then come and follow Me. But, when the man heard this he went away sadly because he had many possessions.

You know this rich young ruler had something that was more important or more valuable to him than the One who created him. Possessions; his possessions possessed him. He was controlled by his possessions, he was an idol worshipper, and because he was an idol worshipper he was not free to worship God alone.

Commandment number 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.

Now why is it that God is so sensitive about His name? Well let me suggest to you a name represents three things: reputation, character, and authority. It represents your reputation. When someone has a good reputation what do we say? We say he has a good name. Somebody has a bad reputation we say he has a bad name. And the converse is also true. If you mention a name you automatically associate it with a reputation. Hitler - Abraham Lincoln - you see? A name represents a reputation, and God protects His reputation. God is jealous of His reputation.

A name also represents character. In fact, there were many times in the Scriptures where God changed a person's name because their character had changed. Abram became Abraham, Jacob became Israel, and Simon became Peter. Why? Because the old name fit the old character, but a transformation had taken place there was a new character in this person and the old name no longer applied.

Names are very important. I thought an awful lot about name when I named my children. Sterling means pure; Crystal means pure. Name represents character.

Name represents authority. One of the scholars that I was reading up says when the police stops you he doesn't say, stop in the name of Bugs Bunny. You might stop but it would probably be from laughing so hard. What does he say, he says, stop in the name of the law. Because the law is a name that has authority, and when God says if you misuse My name you are defaming My reputation, My character, and My authority.

It's so serious to God in Leviticus 24 God says he that blasphemeth the name of the Lord shall surely be put to death.

Now America has really become a foul-mouthed nation. One of the most common applications of this scripture is cussing. In fact, a movie almost won't sell unless it has some cussing in it today. I was thinking about 'Gone With The Wind'. Who was the lead character? Clark Gable, something like that. They had to pay him extra for one line - I don't give a... - and you know what the other word was if you've ever seen the movie. They don't have to pay extra for those these days, and there is an abundance of them.

I was just this week, I happened to glance at the opening of Shrek and I was preparing this message so my eyes were particularly open to some things. I never got to the story line, just the opening credits. You ought to do an inventory of the opening of Shrek sometime, just the beginning, the body functions, things like that, and you'll realize that Disney has not really produced very many G-rated movies. Many of the movies that they are now producing are PG. Why? Because America had developed an appetite for foul language.

You know it's incredible how people's language change when there's a pastor around. I was at a convention in the last couple of weeks. It wasn't related to church where I decided to do a little experiment and have a little fun. So I walked up and the guys are talking, I'm listening, you know, just being one of the group and meeting around. A little while later it's announced that I am a pastor. Oh there was great discomfort. There were some guys that it didn't matter what side of the room I was on, they were on the other side.

You might have heard the story about the farmer who was late coming home to diner and the wife said, well, what happened? You have a problem with the horses? The wagon break down? What's the problem? The farmer said, no, on the way home I offered a ride to the minister and from that point on the mules didn't understand a thing I said.

You know our language shouldn't change depending on who we're with or where we're at, because God is everywhere and He hears everything.

Now in our study for this I wanted to look at some of the rabbinic teachings on this, and I wish I had more time. It's wonderfully insightful. I realized how little I know. Well actually, I realized that I know very little, because I don't know how little I know compared to how much... You know what I am saying.

Let me read for you some of the excerpts. The Tetragrammaton is called God's proper name. Although God Himself is absolutely unknowable and unnamable, the Tetragrammaton is His highest emanation in creation. It is therefore considered most sacred and is never pronounced as it is written, even in prayer. We are taught that one who pronounces the Tetragrammaton disrespectfully is worthy of death and has no portion in the world to come. The only place where the Tetragrammaton is ever used or pronounced as it is written is in the temple in Jerusalem.

Now if one accidentally says an unnecessary blessing or otherwise pronounces God's name in vain, he should show his reverence and make it into a praise by adding 'Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom for ever and ever'. So every time something would slip out and you realized you had used the name of the Lord in vain you would add this, 'Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom for ever and ever,' so that it would turn it into a blessing.

Just as we have reverence for God's Hebrew names, so too we must have great respect for His name in any language. It is therefore customary not to pronounce God's name in any language except in prayer or study or when proclaiming His deeds. It is disrespectful to use God's name as part of a curse, an oath, or any other explicative such as the common expressions... You're familiar with enough of the common expressions that us the Lord's name in vain.

Now another item - covering one's head has customarily been a sign of respect and reverence before God, and for this reason it's forbidden to pray or pronounce God's name in any manner with one's head uncovered. Since the custom only applies to a man, a woman need not cover her head to pray. Even when a woman does cover her hair it is forbidden for her to wear a keepa (a keepa was the small cap that a Jewish man wears when he's worshipping) since she may not wear any garments usually worn by a man.

And because of their extreme seriousness, one should avoid all oaths entirely. One should therefore not use common expressions such as, I swear to...and similarly one should not swear on the life of his children or his portion in the world to come, and whenever possible one should even avoid speaking to a person who habitually swears.

It's forbidden to use any foul or improper language as the Torah is interpreted to say. The Torah is the first five books of the Bible. Deuteronomy 23:15, Let Him (speaking of God) not find a vulgar word spoken among you.

And then it wraps up with this thought: The power of speech is a gift from God. Only man is distinguished with the ability to speak; and this ability should not be taken lightly or used for anything degrading. Guard your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit, Psalms 34, the Word of the Lord. Let's pray.

Lord, we are so thankful that You have given to us Your Holy Word, that You have given to us the Ten Commandments, and so many others which provide for us guidelines to enjoy this life that You have intended us to enjoy to the max. And Lord we are so thankful that our salvation is not dependent on us keeping these Ten Commandments, for were it be this case, then all of us would be surely lost for all of us have broken these laws. Thank you Lord for Your graciousness to us, Your goodness to us, Your patience with us, Your faithfulness. We thank you for placing within us Your Hold Spirit who is our teacher, and who is constantly at work in transforming us a little more into Your image, that which You designed us to be.

May it be that as we go forth from this place we reflect Your goodness and Your grace, and give You glory. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. God bless.