it's nice being introduced as a hick.
So I've got a question as I get up here.
Oh, grab your swords.
If you don't have one, there's one in the head of you
because we'll be looking at scripture, focusing on a passage.
So I've got a question as I'm up here.
How relevant are the Old Testament laws to us today?
Some are relevant, some maybe not.
I'd like to look at one.
Leviticus 19.27.
Do not cut the hair on the sides of your head
or clip off the edges of your beard.
Wonderful.
Thankfully, no men here need lamb chop sideburns anymore.
But that was an Old Testament law.
And you can see some of the Jews today still do that.
Another one, Leviticus 4.27-31.
If any member of the community sins unintentionally
and does what is forbidden in any of the Lord's commands,
when they realize their guilt and their sins they have committed
become known, they must bring as their offering
for the sin they committed a female goat without defect.
They are to lay their hands on the head of the sin offering
and slaughter it at the place of the burnt offering.
Then the priest is to take some of the blood with his fingers,
put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering,
and pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar.
They shall remove all the fat,
just as the fat is removed from the fellowship offering,
and the priest shall burn it on the altar
as an aroma pleasing to the Lord.
In this way, the priests will make atonement for them
and they will be forgiven.
This is a sin offering.
As Christian believers, we no longer need to offer female goats
without defect.
When the Israelites followed the laws of God,
the temple was literally a blood-stained slaughterhouse.
Christ's death fulfilled the sacrifice for a sin offering.
And many of the Old Testament laws are not in effect for us today,
yet there are some laws that apply every bit as much today
as they did over 3,000 years ago.
So grab your sword, grab your Bible.
Exodus, second book in the Bible, Exodus 20.
It should be very familiar to people.
Exodus chapter 20, and I'll read 1 to 17.
This is the Ten Commandments.
Is it relevant today?
I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt,
out of the land of slavery.
You shall have no other gods before me.
You shall not make for yourselves an image
in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath
or in the waters below.
You shall not bow down to them or worship them,
for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God,
punishing the children for the sin of their parents
to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,
but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me
and keep my commandments.
You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God,
for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
but the seventh day is the Sabbath to the Lord your God.
On it you shall not do any work,
neither you nor your sons or daughters,
nor your male or female servants,
nor your animals or any foreigner residing in your towns.
For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth,
the sea and all that is in them,
but he rested on the seventh.
Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
Honor your father and your mother,
so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
You shall not murder.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
You shall not covet your neighbor's house.
You shall not covet your neighbor's wife or his male or female servant,
his ox or donkey,
or anything that belongs to your neighbor.
That's the Ten Commandments.
When the Lord talked to Moses from the burning bush,
he introduced himself as,
I am the God of your father,
the God of Abraham,
the God of Isaac,
and the God of Jacob.
He now introduces himself in verse 2 as,
I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt,
out of the land of slavery.
Every Israelite that crossed the Red Sea knows this God.
Every one of them would have seen the plagues that crushed Egypt.
Every one of them would have remembered the loss of the firstborn of every house in Egypt
that did not wipe blood on the door frame,
so that the angel would pass over
and not kill one of their own children.
Everyone remembered crossing the Red Sea
while the Egyptian army was in pursuit,
and that the sea flooded back in destroying that threat.
The first commandment,
verse 3,
The nation Israel had spent 430 years
in Egypt,
living with and worshipping the false gods there.
The Egyptian plagues
were God's way of showing his people
how worthless that was.
Because the Israelites did not have faith in God
to lead them back to Israel.
None of the generation crossed into the promised land
except Caleb and Joshua.
40 years.
And that whole generation,
even Moses,
could not make it into the promised land
except Caleb and Joshua.
As God's chosen people,
Israel rarely followed this command,
and most of the Old Testament
tells the story of what happened to them
or is prophesied of what would happen.
The relevant question for us today is,
do we even believe in a God?
For many people,
the idea of a great God
that created the universe out of nothing
is nonsense.
Not just so,
you know,
so many people just,
oh, it's evolution,
it's,
we can answer the questions
with these other answers,
but it really,
it's shallow.
It doesn't really answer
how things happened.
Philippians 3, 18 and 19.
For as I have often told you before
and now tell you again,
even with tears,
many live as enemies of the cross of Christ.
Their destruction,
or their destiny,
is destruction.
Their God is their stomach,
and their glory is in their shame.
Their mind is set on earthly things.
So that's what so much of the world is.
Their God is their stomach.
Whatever feels good,
I need this satisfied right now.
That is what their God is.
The book of Ecclesiastes
tells of the futility
of chasing after stuff
and not making God
the most important focus
of our lives.
Next commandment.
You shall not make for yourself
an image in the form
of anything in heaven above
or on the earth beneath
or in the waters below.
You shall not bow down to them
or worship them.
For I, the Lord your God,
am a jealous God,
punishing the children
for the sin of their parents
to the third and fourth generation
of those who hate me,
but showing love
to a thousand generations
of those who love me
and keep my commandments.
We look at idols
as a foolish idea.
Isaiah in chapter 44
summed it up well,
pointing out the nonsense it is.
Isaiah 44.
If a man's fuel,
it is a man's fuel for burning.
Some of it he takes
and warms himself.
He kindles a fire
and bakes bread,
but he also fashions a God
and worships us.
So that's what they were doing.
They were making wooden idols
in their houses,
but it was just out of the same wood
that they burnt for fires.
To us this is foolish,
but this was a real
and horrible problem in Israel.
Having a tangible object
you could see and feel
made it real.
They would at times
mix temple worship
and idol worship.
They would do the sacrifices to God,
but then they would also do
their own worship to the Baals
and to the other gods.
So it was a,
yeah,
trying to mix two things,
and this was really,
really disturbing to God.
In our modern Western world,
we don't make wooden idols,
but we do place high value
in many things.
Houses,
work,
sports,
money.
These are all objects
that are necessary
or entertaining,
but for many,
they are more important than God.
they are our idols.
God warns us about
coming deception
in the last days,
being focused on stuff
or pleasure
in a way
where you're being deceived
and lulled
into a complacency
and have no fear of God.
As we're told over and over
to fear God
because of what He can do to you,
but
He is a God in heaven
that is so powerful.
We don't have
a full appreciation
of who God is.
Next commandment.
You shall not misuse
the name of the Lord your God,
for the Lord will not hold
anyone guiltless
who misuses His name.
That one's easy.
I don't go around
swearing by God's name,
by using God's name.
This one is impossible
to follow, though,
since I claim to be a Christian
and my actions
don't always follow
this declaration.
Commandments 6-10
point out
what I'm like too often.
I may not murder,
but I'm tempted
to pass on information
about someone else
that is not edifying.
It's called a gossip.
We live in a world
that increasingly
does not believe in God
or that Christ
was an actual person.
It is easy to do
all things
like everyone else.
Paul,
in Romans 7,
nailed it.
Romans 7
is just,
connects to
the Old Testament
to the Ten Commandments
so well.
Romans 7-21.
So I find this law
at work.
Although I want to do good,
evil is right there with me.
For in my inner being
I delight in God's law.
But I see another law
at work in me,
waging war against
the law of my mind
and making me
a prisoner of the law
of sin
at work within me.
What a wretched man I am!
Who will rescue me
from this body
that is subject to death?
Thanks be to God
who delivers me
through Jesus Christ
our Lord.
So then,
I myself
in my mind
am a slave
to God's law
but in my sinful nature
a slave
to the law
of sin.
It's just,
we want
to do the right thing
but we're human.
Now I just want to
take a step back
and look at these
first three commandments
and they,
and see how they apply
to our triune God.
Number one,
first commandment,
or the first commandment,
God the Father
is supreme.
There are no other gods
at all.
He is seen
in scripture
as a king
sitting on his throne.
Now remember
that Satan's goal
has always been
to be seen
as equal
to God.
Not above God
but equal.
You know,
it's like comparing
a matchbox
you know,
a little car
to a 1932
Rolls Royce
silver shadow.
You know,
like,
they're not even comparable.
But Satan,
his goal
in all of eternity
is to be elevated
to that same level
as God.
But God is supreme
so we can picture him
have no other gods
before me.
Second commandment,
we're not to make
idols.
Jesus,
the Son,
came to earth
and lived
as a physical man.
All throughout history,
mankind
has imposed
their ideas
onto idols.
Babylonian,
Greek,
Roman cultures
all depicted
their gods
in human form.
Depicting Jesus
this way
would lead us
to imposing
our idea
of who God is
by what we think
he would look like.
By imposing
our ideas
on Christ,
we could then
manipulate him.
Idolatry
was Israel's
greatest problem
and we
would be
no different.
So what you
can see
in your mind
and you try
and say
make this work
and I can
make an idol
do for you
what I want
it to do,
that's why God
doesn't want us
to have
a preconceived
idea.
Pictures of Christ
are always wrong.
The third,
misusing
the name
of the Lord,
misusing
the name
of God.
Think about
your own name.
It's not
a physical
part of you
but it is
your identity.
Proverbs
talks about
having a good
name.
This is not
in the spelling
but in how
you are perceived
in the community.
Likewise,
the Holy Spirit
is not the
physical
representation
of God
but the
invisible
spirit
that abides
in us.
being known
by the name
Christian
has great
implications
since we are
to be
ambassadors
of Christ.
So we can
see that
yeah,
you know,
we are,
we don't
see the
Holy Spirit
but it's just
like our name.
It's part of us
but it isn't.
Okay,
let's carry on
with the
Ten Commandments.
Remember the
Sabbath day
by keeping it
holy.
Six days
you shall
labor and
do all
your work
but the
seventh day
is a
Sabbath
to the
Lord your
God.
On it
you shall
do no
work,
neither you
nor your
son or
daughter,
nor your
male or
female servant,
nor your
animals,
nor any
foreigner
residing in
your town.
For in
six days
the Lord
made the
heavens and
the earth,
the sea and
all that is
in them.
But he
rested on
the seventh
day.
Therefore,
the Lord
blessed the
Sabbath day
and he
made it
holy.
As believers
in Christ,
we do not
follow the
Sabbath the
same as the
Old Testament
Jews did.
We worship
God on the
day he rose
from the
grave,
which is
Sunday.
The Sabbath
was always
Saturday,
we worship
on a
Sunday.
The reason
to worship
God has
not changed.
He is
the creator
and redeemer.
We truly
benefit from
a day of
rest,
but mostly
we benefit
from not
focusing on
our idols
and then
worshiping
God instead.
So
Sabbath,
so the
Sunday is,
there's no
one here
that says,
boy,
I wish I
would work
every day
of the week
continually,
but it
is,
God has
designed us
to have a
day of
rest,
change of
pace,
but a time
to focus
on him.
Next
verse,
honor your
father and
your mother
so that
you may
live long
in the
land the
Lord is
giving you.
This is
the only
commandment
with the
promise.
What does
honor mean
and is it
relevant today?
Honor is a
lot more than
saying a few
nice things
and a
semi-annual
visit.
It means
taking time
for a
relationship.
It means
investing
time.
It means
sacrifice.
Just a
story I
have.
January
2nd,
1995.
I drove
to Medicine
Hat where
my parents
lived and
took them
to the
doctor for
a follow-up
appointment
for dad.
He had
been having
headaches and
a general
sickness
feeling.
We expected
the diagnosis
of mini-strokes
since he had
had quite a
few before
and, you
know,
this is just
probably what
it was.
But the
doctor floored
us with the
announcement
that, Henry,
you have
brain cancer.
After dad's
treatment in
Calgary, I
made almost
weekly trips to
the Hat to
help wherever I
could.
Dad was not a
believer and our
relationship was
not the greatest,
but I made the
choice to
honor dad with
all I could,
with all I
could give.
Dad passed
away almost
two years
later, and
then mom was
diagnosed with
an autoimmune
disease brought
on by exhaustion
because she
cared for dad
day and night.
Still more
trips south.
Mom, it was
much easier to
help, but
still time
consuming.
It is
interesting that
I could start
all the vehicles,
punch zombie
mode, even the
semi, and in
two hours we
would be in a
medicine hat.
We just, every
week we could
just go back
and same
fields, same
this, everything,
just driving
down every
week for three
years.
Honor,
interestingly, is
not a one-way
street.
Ephesians 6,
1 to 3, repeat
the fifth
commandment, then
in verse 4 it
says, fathers,
do not exasperate
your children.
Instead, bring
them up in the
training and
instruction of
the Lord.
To gain
honor, you
must be
honorable.
The last five
commandments focus
on interpersonal
relationships.
You shall not
murder.
You shall not
commit adultery.
You shall not
steal.
You shall not
give false
testimony against
your neighbor.
You shall not
covet your
neighbor's house.
You shall not
covet your
neighbor's wife
or his male
or female
servant, his
ox or donkey,
or anything that
belongs to your
neighbor.
You will notice
that the last
five commandments
have a descending
level of severity.
Just take a look
at that.
You may get very
mad at someone,
but to commit
murder is truly
rare.
Adultery happens
more frequently,
often as
clandestine as
possible, but
always with
consequences.
King David
would have
known this
commandment,
but still
committed adultery
with Bathsheba,
resulting in the
death of Uriah
and the loss
of his throne
to his son
Absalom.
David never
regained the
stature with his
people that he
previously had.
So there's
always consequences
to what we do.
If you commit
murder, you're
going to be
sent to jail
if you get
caught.
And that's
why we have
policemen in
our midst
here to help
us so that
criminals like
that get
caught.
Adultery,
if you know
found out,
you'd lose
your stature
in the
community.
People do
not respect
you.
Next
commandment,
you shall
not steal.
Straightforward,
but done all
too often,
in many ways.
We can all
think of things
or time.
We have
stolen from
others or
God.
People
brought
defective
sacrifices to
God as an
example in
the Old
Testament.
Surely a
blind or
crippled
lamb was
all right.
It is
easy to be
deceitful in
business dealings.
You know,
it's, oh,
we misrepresent
that or cheat
on weights or
anything.
Honoring God
is important in
how we deal
with others.
Next, you
shall not give
false testimony
against your
neighbor.
This is not
only a court
of law, but
also known
by the name
gossip.
It is easy
to try and
make ourselves
look better by
exaggerating or
twisting this
story to make
the other
person look
bad.
An example
right now is
the election
campaign in
the States.
Truly, have
you heard
either
candidate say
anything nice
or uplifting
about their
opponents.
No one is
ever as good
or as bad
as they are
painted in
the media.
Finally, you
shall not
covet your
neighbor's
house, you
shall not
covet your
neighbor's
wife, or
his male or
female servant,
his ox or
donkey, or
anything that
belongs to
your neighbor.
I find this
next to
misusing the
name of the
Lord.
Lord, this
is the
hardest
commandment
to follow.
This is
done in
your heart,
in secret,
with a
smile.
Jealousy
is very
poisonous.
Examples.
Dead has not
worked as hard
for his
house as I
have.
The
clampets are
always going
on exotic
vacation.
My exotic
trip is to the
garden section
at Walmart.
Math is
easy when
you're a
teacher's pet
like Ellie
May.
We all
face real
or perceived
that puts
us issues,
we all face
issues that
real or
perceived that
put us at a
disadvantage to
someone else.
The most
dangerous result
is when we
focus on what
others have
and not on
the fact that
as believers in
Christ, this
world is not
your home.
This lifetime
is the period
in which we
make an
eternal decision
about eternity.
After they
died,
sore-infested
beggar Lazarus
and the rich
man fell
out,
when the rich
man in
hell was in
torment,
begging for a
drop of water
to cool his
tongue.
After the last
week, we can
imagine that.
And Lazarus
was comforted
by Abraham.
So that's the
result of the
choices they
made.
Owning money,
possessions,
is neither good
nor bad.
What we do
with them is
the key.
More,
bigger,
faster,
newer.
These are all
reasons for
jealousy.
Contentment
is what God
wants us to
strive for.
This is not
easy.
It's harder
to see
somebody have
stuff when
we don't,
or it's not
fair because
they don't
have this.
You'll notice
in the last
five commandments,
descend in
severity.
You know,
stuff in your
mind, in your
heart is less
severe than
murder.
Jealousy is
not seen as a
crime to go to
jail for,
but murder
is.
We all
grade ourselves
on what we
have done,
so not
murdering your
sibling as a
youth is a
great accomplishment,
isn't it?
But also
notice, as the
severity descends,
the possibility
to commit these
sins increases.
Not many of
in this room
have ever
committed murder,
I hope.
but the idea
of coveting,
the idea
of gossiping,
that's, you
know, for a
lot of us,
that's a daily
activity.
I would not
kill to have
another half
section of
land, but if
it were mine,
not Jed's,
just think of
what I could do
with it.
when we
grade ourselves,
we can have
excuses for
each and
every breaking
of the Ten
Commandments.
Again, in
Romans, Romans
chapter 7,
Paul states,
what shall we
say then?
Is law
sinful?
Certainly not.
Nevertheless,
I would not
have known
what sin
was had it
not been
for the law.
For I would
not have known
what coveting
was if the
law had not
said, you
shall not
covet.
But sin,
seizing the
opportunity
afforded by
the commandment,
produced in
me every
kind of
coveting.
for apart
from the
law, sin
was dead.
Once I was
alive apart
from the
law, but
when the
commandment
came, sin
sprang to
life and
I died.
I found
that the
very commandment
that was
intended to
bring life
actually brought
death.
For sin,
seizing the
opportunity
afforded by
the commandment,
deceived me
and through
the commandment
put me to
death.
And this
next, verse
15 in
Romans 7
is me,
is me.
I do not
understand what
I do.
For what I
want to do,
I do not
do.
But what I
hate, I
do.
That is
so much
me.
Yes, I
want to do
the right
thing, but I'm
tempted to do
the wrong
thing.
Wow.
How relevant
are the
Old Testament
laws.
If God
had not
laid them
out, we
would have
an excuse
to say
that judgment
is not
fair.
Most of
us are
much better
than we
are evil.
Maybe only
Hitler, Stalin
and mass
murderers and
the likes
should spend
eternity in
the judgment
for hell
for eternity.
But when
we look at
the Ten
Commandments
and other
applicable
laws from
the books
that Moses
wrote, we
see that we
have all
broken, all
of them, if
not physically,
then at least
mentally.
Isaiah 64
makes it
clear.
All of us
have become
like one who
is unclean.
All our
righteous acts
are like
filthy rags.
We all
shrivel up
like a leaf,
and the wind
our sins
sweep us
away.
Yeah, we
are all,
our actions
are like
filthy rags
to God.
Revelations
21.8
is this
dark list
of all
who will
be separated
from God
and spend
an eternity
in judgment
of God
in hell.
Verse 20,
chapter 21.8
But the
cowardly,
the unbelieving,
the vile,
the murderers,
the sexually
immoral,
those who
practice magic
arts,
the idolaters,
and all
liars,
they will be
consigned to
the fiery
lake of
burning sulfur.
This is
the second
death.
That list
is contained
and is
covered in
the Ten
Commandments
in some
form or
other.
This,
to us,
would be
totally
devastating
except for
one eternal
fact.
God
wants
no one
ever
to face
this
judgment.
He hates
sin
but loves
the ones
he created.
Romans
6.23
makes it
clear.
For the
wages of
sin is
death,
but the
gift of
God is
eternal life
in Christ
Jesus our
Lord.
Nothing
we can
do,
say,
pay,
is
anything
more than
a filthy
rag to
God.
He is
very clear
in the
rules that
we must
live by.
John
3.16
to 18
makes it
clear that
faith in
Jesus is
the one
true answer
to the
impossible
task of
following the
Ten
Commandments.
For God
so loved
the world
that he
gave his
one and
only son
that whoever
believes in
him shall
not perish
but have
eternal life.
For God
did not send
his son
into the
world to
condemn the
world,
but to
save the
world
through him.
Whoever
believes in
him is
not condemned,
but whoever
does not
believe
stands
condemned
already
because they
have not
believed in
the name
of God's
one and
only son.
No
excuse.
No
excuse.
Now is
the time
when we
see how
relevant
God
views the
Ten
Commandments.
Before us
is the
communion
table.
Partaking
of these
simple
sacraments,
the bread
representing
his body,
the blood
his life
reminds us
of what
Jesus did
for us
by dying
in our
place.
Believers
are no
longer held
guilty of
breaking the
laws of
God,
but this
is a
time to
examine and
measure our
styles by
the Ten
Commandments.
God knows
no one is
perfect,
but he wants
us to confess
to him our
wrongdoings
and make
amends
where we
can.
Christ's
substitutionary
death is
available to
everyone,
but applies
only to
those who
believe he
died in
our place
and verbally
acknowledge him
as the
holy God.
So as we
pass out the
sacraments,
then if
you don't
feel you
are a
believer at
this time,
just pass
them by.
It's not
good to
take them
if that's
really not
what you
believe.
So we'll
just take
before we
pass out
the sacraments,
we're just
going to take
a few minutes.
Examine
yourself.
We know
what the
Ten
Commandments
talks about.
We know
where we
grade on
that scale,
but now
is a time
to really
reflect.
And to
really
appreciate
Christ's
sacrifice.
That he
died for
us.
He took
our death.
So we'll
just, in a
few minutes,
we'll ask the
two men to
come up and
pass them
out.
But just
take a few
minutes to
think about
what this
means.
Thank you.
God
God,
say,
God,
him,
go here.