WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:19.100 Again, I want to extend a welcome to you and particularly those of you who are here visiting 00:00:19.100 --> 00:00:21.859 for graduation weekend. 00:00:22.179 --> 00:00:25.519 We are glad that you are able to join us this morning. 00:00:25.519 --> 00:00:29.800 You know, trajectory is an important thing. 00:00:30.759 --> 00:00:32.460 I don't know if you're a fan. 00:00:32.560 --> 00:00:36.439 I know this is dating me, but if you haven't seen it, it's Oscar worthy. 00:00:36.679 --> 00:00:39.439 Apollo 13 is a great movie with Tom Hanks. 00:00:40.019 --> 00:00:44.820 And for those of you who are younger, pull it out of some archive and go watch it. 00:00:45.700 --> 00:00:51.140 One of the things, it's about this tragedy of Apollo 13 and how the launch created a 00:00:51.140 --> 00:00:57.160 problem with the mission and how they sought to rescue the astronauts and bring them home. 00:00:57.960 --> 00:01:04.120 And in the midst of the crisis that was happening in Houston as they were trying to solve multiple 00:01:04.120 --> 00:01:10.760 problems of failing systems and failing vehicles and limited resources, one of the things they 00:01:10.760 --> 00:01:19.380 realized was that if they didn't get their trajectory right, as they sought to take this group of 00:01:19.380 --> 00:01:24.359 men flying through space in this little piece of metal around the moon and bring it, slingshot 00:01:24.359 --> 00:01:29.719 it back to earth, if they didn't get the trajectory right, they would be lost. 00:01:32.920 --> 00:01:34.320 It's graduation weekend. 00:01:34.319 --> 00:01:38.379 And for some of you, this is a time of transition. 00:01:40.659 --> 00:01:46.219 For all of us, the question of the trajectory of our lives is always an important one. 00:01:48.319 --> 00:01:53.659 The Westminster Catechism gives us an answer to the question, what is the trajectory of our 00:01:53.659 --> 00:01:55.139 lives as God designed it? 00:01:55.139 --> 00:02:03.799 The chief end of humanity is that we would glorify God and enjoy Him forever. 00:02:04.319 --> 00:02:12.340 If I might translate that into 21st century language, the whole purpose that we are here 00:02:12.340 --> 00:02:22.599 is that we would focus our lives on the worship and display of God's glory in our lives. 00:02:23.199 --> 00:02:25.180 We are here for God. 00:02:28.599 --> 00:02:32.579 But friends, we know how easy it is for us to not do that, don't we? 00:02:32.580 --> 00:02:35.280 Think back over your last week. 00:02:36.320 --> 00:02:42.000 How much was God the center of your life in your everyday comings and goings, wakings and 00:02:42.000 --> 00:02:45.660 sleepings, working and playing, recreating? 00:02:46.800 --> 00:02:50.400 We don't treat God the way He deserves. 00:02:50.700 --> 00:02:57.400 We don't make Him the proper focal point of our trajectory of our lives. 00:02:57.400 --> 00:03:02.000 We often diminish Him and make Him less than He truly is. 00:03:02.360 --> 00:03:06.719 We often ignore Him or dismiss Him when it's inconvenient. 00:03:08.800 --> 00:03:16.040 Often we don't trust Him, perhaps because of our past disappointments, perhaps because 00:03:16.040 --> 00:03:18.259 of our fear of future uncertainties. 00:03:18.259 --> 00:03:25.919 Sometimes for those who have grown up in church, we become familiar with God and in becoming 00:03:25.919 --> 00:03:27.459 familiar, we diminish Him. 00:03:29.459 --> 00:03:32.299 Sometimes we make God about us. 00:03:33.719 --> 00:03:39.919 And we think that God is there to make us happy and to serve our purposes and to make our lives 00:03:39.919 --> 00:03:41.039 great. 00:03:41.039 --> 00:03:51.399 As we look at a passage this morning in Exodus 20, we're continuing in our series in the book 00:03:51.399 --> 00:03:51.879 of Exodus. 00:03:53.159 --> 00:03:58.539 And as we look at this passage this morning, I want you to know that as we think about these 00:03:58.539 --> 00:04:04.620 things, I don't stand before you as one who knows the answers or who has done this perfectly. 00:04:04.620 --> 00:04:11.319 In fact, this week has been a struggle for me because I realize how much I need this message 00:04:11.319 --> 00:04:13.480 and this word as well as you. 00:04:15.000 --> 00:04:24.780 But if you would, turn with me in your Bibles to Exodus 20, page, I forgot, 61 in the Pew Bibles 00:04:24.780 --> 00:04:27.100 if you need to look at those. 00:04:27.579 --> 00:04:32.660 We're going to begin a two-week series on the Ten Commandments, which is probably a very well-known 00:04:32.660 --> 00:04:33.340 part of the Bible. 00:04:33.339 --> 00:04:38.319 Well, you've probably heard them before, so we're going to read them again in just a minute. 00:04:38.699 --> 00:04:41.099 But remember where this comes in the story. 00:04:41.599 --> 00:04:47.399 In Exodus, in chapters 1 through 18, there is this grand story of deliverance. 00:04:47.859 --> 00:04:53.839 God has come, and with a mighty hand and with great works, He has shown His power to deliver 00:04:53.839 --> 00:04:54.959 His people. 00:04:55.199 --> 00:05:02.419 And not only to deliver His people from slavery in Egypt, but to deliver them into His own 00:05:02.420 --> 00:05:08.640 possession and in His own care as He has now delivered them from Egypt and has led them 00:05:08.640 --> 00:05:15.640 through the wilderness, providing for them in ways that miraculously showed His commitment 00:05:15.640 --> 00:05:20.020 to not only deliver them, but to sustain them as His people. 00:05:20.019 --> 00:05:24.979 And so He brings us, then the story brings us to the foot of Mount Sinai. 00:05:25.779 --> 00:05:30.500 And in chapter 19, if you were here with Greg last week, we explored the question, what does 00:05:30.500 --> 00:05:31.779 it mean to be God's people? 00:05:32.579 --> 00:05:37.139 What does it mean to look at Him and to come to Him on His own terms and to understand the 00:05:37.139 --> 00:05:44.939 pattern of grace and law that He calls us to be His people by His grace and to live according 00:05:44.939 --> 00:05:45.939 to His instructions? 00:05:49.300 --> 00:05:55.259 We come to chapter 20 and the beginning of the instruction of the giving of the law. 00:05:57.759 --> 00:06:02.819 We'll continue to explore this as we look at it in the chapters in the weeks to come. 00:06:03.079 --> 00:06:10.860 But let me quote a great Bible commentator who says this about the Ten Commandments just 00:06:10.860 --> 00:06:14.660 to orient our thoughts a little bit about the law before we jump into our passage. 00:06:15.220 --> 00:06:16.199 He says this, 00:06:17.000 --> 00:06:23.020 This is the way we are to think of the Ten Commandments, not as cramping restrictions on a fullness 00:06:23.020 --> 00:06:29.139 of life that we might otherwise have enjoyed, but as the very gateway to the fullness we seek. 00:06:30.220 --> 00:06:35.120 As God gives us the law, what He's doing is instructing us on how to live as His people, 00:06:35.120 --> 00:06:40.480 how to live and to flourish under His rule and under His. 00:06:40.899 --> 00:06:47.079 But what that means is that we live according to the patterns and according to the current 00:06:47.079 --> 00:06:51.280 of His created purposes for us and His redemptive purposes for us. 00:06:51.540 --> 00:06:57.920 And so as we receive the law, we receive it hopefully not as a restriction, but as instruction 00:06:57.920 --> 00:07:04.939 to teach us who don't know God as well as we ought, how we ought to live as people who 00:07:04.939 --> 00:07:05.720 do know God. 00:07:07.439 --> 00:07:13.520 So that's where we are as we come to Exodus chapter 20. 00:07:14.900 --> 00:07:20.780 We're going to focus this morning on the first four commandments, but I'm going to read a good 00:07:20.780 --> 00:07:22.939 part of the chapter for us to get the context. 00:07:23.120 --> 00:07:25.800 So let's read Exodus chapter 20 together. 00:07:25.800 --> 00:07:31.840 And God spoke all these words saying, I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the 00:07:31.840 --> 00:07:33.960 land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 00:07:34.620 --> 00:07:37.259 You shall have no other gods before me. 00:07:37.980 --> 00:07:43.300 You shall not make for yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven 00:07:43.300 --> 00:07:47.720 above or that is in the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth. 00:07:47.819 --> 00:07:50.560 You shall not bow down to them or serve them. 00:07:50.560 --> 00:07:56.759 For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the 00:07:56.759 --> 00:08:02.759 children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, but showing steadfast 00:08:02.759 --> 00:08:07.199 love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. 00:08:08.560 --> 00:08:12.459 You shall not take the Lord, the name of the Lord your God in vain. 00:08:12.459 --> 00:08:16.819 For the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. 00:08:18.000 --> 00:08:20.159 Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. 00:08:20.639 --> 00:08:25.459 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord, 00:08:25.599 --> 00:08:26.259 your God. 00:08:27.199 --> 00:08:29.179 On it you shall not do any work. 00:08:29.799 --> 00:08:34.279 You or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant or your livestock 00:08:34.279 --> 00:08:36.699 or the sojourner who is within your gates. 00:08:36.700 --> 00:08:43.800 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested 00:08:43.800 --> 00:08:45.020 on the seventh day. 00:08:45.740 --> 00:08:48.920 Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. 00:08:49.820 --> 00:08:55.080 Honor your father and your mother that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your 00:08:55.080 --> 00:08:56.160 God is giving you. 00:08:56.940 --> 00:08:58.080 You shall not murder. 00:08:58.759 --> 00:09:00.320 You shall not commit adultery. 00:09:00.740 --> 00:09:01.980 You shall not steal. 00:09:02.400 --> 00:09:04.900 You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 00:09:04.899 --> 00:09:08.279 You shall not covet your neighbor's house. 00:09:08.419 --> 00:09:12.740 You shall not covet your neighbor's wife or his male servant or his female servant or his 00:09:12.740 --> 00:09:16.799 ox or his donkey or anything that is your neighbor's. 00:09:17.860 --> 00:09:22.759 Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the 00:09:22.759 --> 00:09:29.179 trumpet and the mountains smoking, the people were afraid and trembled and they stood far off 00:09:29.179 --> 00:09:32.079 and said to Moses, you speak to us. 00:09:32.319 --> 00:09:33.039 We will listen. 00:09:33.039 --> 00:09:36.079 But do not let God speak to us lest we die. 00:09:36.980 --> 00:09:42.599 And Moses said to the people, do not fear, for God has come to test you that the fear 00:09:42.599 --> 00:09:45.679 of him may be before you and that you may not sin. 00:09:46.579 --> 00:09:51.059 The people stood far off while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was. 00:09:51.419 --> 00:09:56.539 And the Lord said to Moses, thus you shall say to the people of Israel, you have seen for 00:09:56.539 --> 00:09:59.120 yourselves that I have talked with you from heaven. 00:10:00.199 --> 00:10:06.959 You shall not make gods of silver to be with me, nor shall you make for yourselves gods of gold. 00:10:07.219 --> 00:10:11.620 An altar of earth you shall make for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your 00:10:11.620 --> 00:10:13.919 peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen. 00:10:13.919 --> 00:10:18.799 And in every place where I cause my name to be remembered, I will come to you and bless you. 00:10:19.740 --> 00:10:25.579 If you will make me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stones, for if you wield your tool 00:10:25.579 --> 00:10:27.219 on it, you profane it. 00:10:27.559 --> 00:10:35.059 And you shall not go up by steps to my altar, that your nakedness be not exposed on it. 00:10:35.059 --> 00:10:39.299 Now these are the rules that you shall set before them. 00:10:39.879 --> 00:10:40.579 Let's pray. 00:10:44.399 --> 00:10:46.079 Lord, we thank you for your word. 00:10:46.500 --> 00:10:52.939 We thank you that you have not left us to grasp at seeking to understand you on our own wisdom 00:10:52.939 --> 00:10:54.659 or by our own imaginations. 00:10:55.239 --> 00:11:00.799 But God, you have revealed yourself and you have spoken to us so that we might know what kind 00:11:00.799 --> 00:11:01.719 of a God you are. 00:11:01.720 --> 00:11:07.519 And Lord, we pray this morning that you would give us ears to hear and hearts to receive 00:11:07.519 --> 00:11:08.139 your word. 00:11:09.080 --> 00:11:14.560 Lord, that your spirit would be at work amongst us as we look into this word together. 00:11:14.720 --> 00:11:16.300 We pray in Jesus' name. 00:11:17.320 --> 00:11:17.600 Amen. 00:11:18.879 --> 00:11:19.399 Amen. 00:11:20.600 --> 00:11:27.300 To be God's people is to make him truly first in everything in our lives. 00:11:27.299 --> 00:11:32.959 Truly first in our hearts and truly first in the pattern of our lives. 00:11:33.139 --> 00:11:37.339 This is the main idea of the first four commandments that we're going to look at. 00:11:37.500 --> 00:11:40.939 If you look at the ten commandments, it's fairly clear there are ten of them. 00:11:41.039 --> 00:11:45.159 There are actually ten words technically as they're described. 00:11:45.519 --> 00:11:47.519 And it's very easy to split them up. 00:11:47.579 --> 00:11:52.259 The first four are about our vertical relationship with God primarily. 00:11:52.259 --> 00:11:58.220 And then the second six are more about our horizontal relationship with one another. 00:11:58.379 --> 00:12:01.879 And yet all of them are about what does it mean that we are God's people? 00:12:02.159 --> 00:12:03.439 He's giving instructions. 00:12:03.659 --> 00:12:09.279 These are principles, foundational concepts of what it means to be God's people. 00:12:09.980 --> 00:12:15.200 So we're going to spend a few minutes this morning looking at the first four commandments. 00:12:15.200 --> 00:12:18.379 And I'm going to lump them together. 00:12:18.540 --> 00:12:22.840 We're going to start first by looking at commandments one and two. 00:12:23.259 --> 00:12:26.800 And seeing that being God's people means making God first in our hearts. 00:12:27.780 --> 00:12:31.660 That is, the thing that we worship, the thing that we love the most, 00:12:31.759 --> 00:12:35.400 the thing that we set our heart upon is to be God himself. 00:12:35.580 --> 00:12:36.400 Look with me again. 00:12:36.399 --> 00:12:41.919 God says, you shall worship no other gods before me. 00:12:42.379 --> 00:12:45.340 You shall make no images for my worship. 00:12:45.959 --> 00:12:49.459 And if you think about the context that God was speaking this word into, 00:12:49.539 --> 00:12:53.419 think about what the Israelites had known for 400 years. 00:12:53.939 --> 00:12:58.779 They had lived in Egypt, a land full of graven images, 00:12:58.779 --> 00:13:03.220 a land full of idols, of statues that were bowed down to 00:13:03.220 --> 00:13:09.560 and worshiped for various things in the transactional nature of ancient religion 00:13:09.560 --> 00:13:14.000 where you offered to a particular image, a particular God, 00:13:14.080 --> 00:13:17.139 a particular act of worship, and he gives you something that you want. 00:13:17.480 --> 00:13:22.200 Fertility, long life, healing, crops, children, success in battle. 00:13:25.200 --> 00:13:30.879 And God spoke this word knowing that these people were going to enter into the promised land 00:13:30.879 --> 00:13:38.100 where similarly the Canaanite religions would be characterized by a similar kind of idolatry. 00:13:42.139 --> 00:13:46.399 And God comes and says, if you are to know me and to worship me right, 00:13:46.980 --> 00:13:50.679 you must do it differently than those people do. 00:13:52.299 --> 00:13:57.320 And recognize, too, that God isn't simply saying to Israelites, 00:13:57.320 --> 00:14:00.680 hey, I'm your God, everything else is excluded. 00:14:01.820 --> 00:14:07.040 You can't build those statues and bow down to them and worship other gods. 00:14:07.240 --> 00:14:13.780 But he's also saying you can't worship me by using statues and images as well. 00:14:14.760 --> 00:14:18.420 And I don't know about you, I didn't think this week, 00:14:18.600 --> 00:14:20.580 you know, I wonder if I should just build a statue. 00:14:21.220 --> 00:14:22.740 You know, life is kind of hard. 00:14:22.840 --> 00:14:26.300 My worship, my life with God, my relationship is a little dry. 00:14:26.299 --> 00:14:29.219 I think I'll build a statue so it'll help me to worship. 00:14:29.539 --> 00:14:32.620 It's not a common impulse in our modern culture, is it? 00:14:33.879 --> 00:14:34.159 Right? 00:14:34.459 --> 00:14:37.479 But recognize how much it was for the people of Israel. 00:14:38.299 --> 00:14:42.899 For 12 chapters later, what will they do as they sit at the foot of Mount Sinai, 00:14:42.979 --> 00:14:46.240 as God reveals himself in these very words to Moses? 00:14:46.339 --> 00:14:47.039 What do they do? 00:14:47.599 --> 00:14:49.139 They make a golden calf. 00:14:49.699 --> 00:14:50.120 Why? 00:14:50.419 --> 00:14:53.439 Not to worship some other god, to worship this god. 00:14:53.440 --> 00:14:56.340 They think God's given us all this bounty. 00:14:56.440 --> 00:14:59.600 Let's make an image so that we can worship this god. 00:15:01.980 --> 00:15:05.360 God says, no, you may not do that. 00:15:06.260 --> 00:15:07.980 Why does God care so much? 00:15:09.340 --> 00:15:15.580 Well, first of all, as we see in verse 5, he says, I am a jealous god. 00:15:15.580 --> 00:15:19.800 I want your worship to be for me alone. 00:15:20.460 --> 00:15:27.440 This is where the images of citizenship and marriage come in as analogies for how we relate to God. 00:15:28.540 --> 00:15:36.220 What spouse wants to share the affection of their partner with another? 00:15:36.220 --> 00:15:42.940 What country says, sure, you could be a citizen of our country and five others. 00:15:43.200 --> 00:15:45.139 You can fight in their army, work in their government. 00:15:45.259 --> 00:15:45.940 It doesn't matter. 00:15:46.220 --> 00:15:47.279 It's not a big deal. 00:15:49.920 --> 00:15:55.200 Now, in our fallen world today, we might start to think, well, okay, we might hedge our bets on some of that 00:15:55.200 --> 00:15:57.360 because all those institutions seem pretty fallen. 00:15:57.360 --> 00:16:02.200 But in their ideal, in what they were meant to be, in what they were made to be, 00:16:02.960 --> 00:16:07.600 God is saying, I want you to be wholly mine. 00:16:12.240 --> 00:16:16.480 And it's not based on a jealous grasping. 00:16:17.240 --> 00:16:21.180 It's not God seeking to simply control his people. 00:16:21.179 --> 00:16:24.639 But it's based on the grace that he has already shown him. 00:16:24.899 --> 00:16:27.319 Look back with me at verse 2 of chapter 20. 00:16:28.399 --> 00:16:29.359 Do you see what he says? 00:16:30.099 --> 00:16:31.879 Because I have redeemed you. 00:16:32.219 --> 00:16:34.959 Because I have brought you out of the land of slavery. 00:16:35.259 --> 00:16:37.979 I have rescued you to be mine. 00:16:40.399 --> 00:16:41.339 Worship me. 00:16:42.739 --> 00:16:43.679 Worship me alone. 00:16:47.139 --> 00:16:49.240 And he's really serious about this. 00:16:49.240 --> 00:16:55.139 You see in verses 6 and 7 that there's a result if you don't do this. 00:16:55.600 --> 00:16:58.720 And for those of you who read this the way I read it the first time and think, 00:16:58.840 --> 00:17:00.019 well, that doesn't seem fair. 00:17:00.379 --> 00:17:04.779 God's just extending punishment from generation to generation for no good thing. 00:17:05.079 --> 00:17:08.339 I want you to read the verse again carefully. 00:17:08.620 --> 00:17:09.720 The end of verse 5. 00:17:10.299 --> 00:17:16.920 Visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children of those who hate me. 00:17:19.240 --> 00:17:25.519 The point here is not that God is going to punish you because your grandfather hated God 00:17:25.519 --> 00:17:30.019 and you are trying to love God and you are still reaping those consequences. 00:17:30.460 --> 00:17:36.120 The point here is that you will be punished as you are a part of a generation 00:17:36.120 --> 00:17:39.440 that refuses to worship God and rejects him. 00:17:39.440 --> 00:17:46.740 And yes, we know that these things are often passed down from father to son, 00:17:46.860 --> 00:17:50.039 from generation to generation, from parent to child. 00:17:50.980 --> 00:17:54.460 And so it may be that the apples don't fall far from the tree 00:17:54.460 --> 00:17:56.799 and therefore God's judgment will. 00:17:57.279 --> 00:18:00.299 But recognize that what God is saying here is, 00:18:00.299 --> 00:18:02.539 if you are going to be my covenant people, 00:18:02.859 --> 00:18:07.180 I really expect you to be committed to this. 00:18:07.319 --> 00:18:10.159 I really expect you to be wholehearted in it. 00:18:12.960 --> 00:18:16.960 Because what I have done is called you into a covenant relationship with me. 00:18:17.599 --> 00:18:18.879 Because I love you. 00:18:20.559 --> 00:18:25.680 And I want to show my steadfast love to you for thousands of generations. 00:18:25.680 --> 00:18:33.539 Friends, we know that our hearts don't do this very well. 00:18:34.279 --> 00:18:39.980 As John Calvin said, our hearts are idol factories. 00:18:40.160 --> 00:18:44.660 Human culture, ever since the fall in the Garden of Eden, 00:18:45.080 --> 00:18:47.680 has created other things to worship other than God. 00:18:48.880 --> 00:18:52.980 We confuse the distinction between creator and creation. 00:18:52.980 --> 00:18:56.539 And rather than trying to worship an unseen God, 00:18:56.640 --> 00:18:58.480 which can be challenging sometimes, 00:18:58.480 --> 00:19:02.860 we worship a seen God by making idols out of them. 00:19:05.440 --> 00:19:09.839 And if they're not physical idols that we shape with our hands and bow down to, 00:19:10.160 --> 00:19:11.460 they're idols of our hearts. 00:19:12.140 --> 00:19:15.720 Things that we look to, to be our provider, to be our protector, 00:19:16.079 --> 00:19:19.240 to be our justification, to be our identity, 00:19:19.240 --> 00:19:24.000 our careers, our families, our successes. 00:19:26.000 --> 00:19:28.240 And we cling to these things. 00:19:29.960 --> 00:19:33.900 But the God of the Bible is one who has come and said, 00:19:34.140 --> 00:19:35.039 I am a spirit. 00:19:36.799 --> 00:19:41.099 You cannot see me, but you can know me. 00:19:41.599 --> 00:19:45.599 Because I am a God who has revealed myself in my words. 00:19:45.599 --> 00:19:47.439 Think about that. 00:19:47.599 --> 00:19:50.559 As God is meeting with his people on this mountain, 00:19:50.819 --> 00:19:55.859 he is manifesting his majesty through great signs and wonders. 00:19:56.159 --> 00:20:00.139 But there is no manifestation of God himself. 00:20:01.419 --> 00:20:03.459 What there is, is words. 00:20:04.199 --> 00:20:07.559 God gives us words to know him. 00:20:08.119 --> 00:20:12.419 God allows us to worship him and to know who he is 00:20:12.420 --> 00:20:14.320 because he speaks to us. 00:20:16.759 --> 00:20:20.880 And friends, we know that God in his graciousness knows our weakness. 00:20:21.660 --> 00:20:23.200 And in the fullness of time, 00:20:24.200 --> 00:20:27.980 the word became flesh and dwelt among us. 00:20:28.620 --> 00:20:30.480 And we have beheld his glory. 00:20:30.580 --> 00:20:34.779 The glory as only the son of the father, 00:20:35.519 --> 00:20:36.840 full of grace and truth. 00:20:36.839 --> 00:20:42.059 Friends, we know today as we gather 00:20:42.059 --> 00:20:46.279 that the God of the Israelites in Exodus 20 00:20:46.279 --> 00:20:49.699 was the God who came in Jesus Christ 00:20:49.699 --> 00:20:51.980 to be our savior and our redeemer, 00:20:52.079 --> 00:20:54.019 to work a greater redemption for us 00:20:54.019 --> 00:20:57.019 and to make a greater people of God. 00:20:57.220 --> 00:21:00.559 The fulfillment of all that the story in Exodus points to 00:21:00.559 --> 00:21:02.559 will come in Jesus. 00:21:02.559 --> 00:21:08.599 And so, friends, this morning as we look at these first two, 00:21:09.200 --> 00:21:10.940 have no other gods before me. 00:21:11.579 --> 00:21:13.579 Do not worship any other thing. 00:21:15.119 --> 00:21:17.079 I simply want to ask you, 00:21:17.599 --> 00:21:19.359 what do you worship? 00:21:21.279 --> 00:21:25.079 What is the thing on your lips most often? 00:21:25.799 --> 00:21:28.379 Where do you run in times of trouble? 00:21:28.380 --> 00:21:34.220 What do you trust in when everything else falls away? 00:21:35.280 --> 00:21:41.200 What do you rejoice and exult in on your best days? 00:21:42.660 --> 00:21:45.900 Friends, God is meant to be the answer 00:21:45.900 --> 00:21:48.360 to all of those questions in our lives. 00:21:49.520 --> 00:21:55.240 He wants us to experience the Copernican revolution in our lives 00:21:55.240 --> 00:21:58.680 whereby we as the self are unseated 00:21:58.680 --> 00:22:00.640 from the center of our solar system 00:22:00.640 --> 00:22:04.019 and God is put in place. 00:22:04.599 --> 00:22:05.839 It's the center of gravity 00:22:05.839 --> 00:22:09.359 and the one who is the life-giving force. 00:22:10.359 --> 00:22:12.339 As we relate to him rightly, 00:22:12.339 --> 00:22:14.640 we find our place in the universe. 00:22:16.779 --> 00:22:18.779 This is what God has called us to, 00:22:19.519 --> 00:22:24.259 to make him our God above all other things. 00:22:25.240 --> 00:22:29.900 So if the first two commandments tell us that, 00:22:29.960 --> 00:22:31.599 to love God with all of our heart 00:22:31.599 --> 00:22:35.779 and be wholehearted in this God-centered life 00:22:35.779 --> 00:22:37.079 that he's called us to, 00:22:38.120 --> 00:22:41.259 the next two commandments help us make it practical 00:22:41.259 --> 00:22:42.720 in very real ways. 00:22:43.799 --> 00:22:46.940 Look with me in verses seven and following in chapter 20. 00:22:47.599 --> 00:22:49.819 You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain 00:22:49.819 --> 00:22:51.759 for the Lord will not hold him guiltless 00:22:51.759 --> 00:22:54.039 who takes his name in vain. 00:22:54.039 --> 00:22:55.240 What's in a name? 00:22:56.859 --> 00:22:59.519 Your reputation, your significance, 00:23:00.119 --> 00:23:01.680 your lineage, your identity. 00:23:02.039 --> 00:23:03.960 We live in a world where names are cheap, 00:23:04.119 --> 00:23:08.819 where presidential debates can descend into name-calling 00:23:08.819 --> 00:23:10.579 and cheap words. 00:23:10.579 --> 00:23:15.119 But throughout history and certainly in the scriptures, 00:23:15.379 --> 00:23:18.839 a name was the badge of who you were. 00:23:19.159 --> 00:23:20.699 It was your reputation. 00:23:20.919 --> 00:23:21.919 It was your person. 00:23:22.039 --> 00:23:23.039 It was your character. 00:23:24.699 --> 00:23:26.659 In fact, the New Testament talks about 00:23:26.659 --> 00:23:30.500 the word glory or weightiness 00:23:30.500 --> 00:23:34.500 to be connected with a person 00:23:34.500 --> 00:23:36.579 and a person's name. 00:23:38.000 --> 00:23:39.859 And when God says this, 00:23:40.460 --> 00:23:41.400 he says, 00:23:42.200 --> 00:23:45.140 you may not call me your God 00:23:45.140 --> 00:23:47.559 and you may not claim to be my people 00:23:47.559 --> 00:23:51.279 if you are frivolous or empty 00:23:51.279 --> 00:23:54.299 in the way that you use my name. 00:23:55.279 --> 00:23:56.720 Now, for most of you, 00:23:56.859 --> 00:23:57.660 and for me too, 00:23:57.779 --> 00:23:58.619 I grew up in church. 00:23:58.740 --> 00:24:00.059 What does the third commandment mean? 00:24:00.059 --> 00:24:01.259 Well, you don't curse. 00:24:01.659 --> 00:24:03.619 And you don't use God's name when you curse. 00:24:03.960 --> 00:24:05.039 That's sort of the simple, 00:24:05.279 --> 00:24:05.720 and you know what? 00:24:05.720 --> 00:24:06.259 That's right. 00:24:06.599 --> 00:24:07.859 That's exactly right. 00:24:08.079 --> 00:24:10.299 We should never use God's name 00:24:10.299 --> 00:24:14.059 simply because we're frustrated or angry 00:24:14.059 --> 00:24:18.799 because we want to call down judgment on someone else. 00:24:19.700 --> 00:24:22.399 But this commandment is much more than that. 00:24:23.019 --> 00:24:24.679 This commandment is to say, 00:24:24.759 --> 00:24:27.579 if you are going to say that you are God's people, 00:24:27.579 --> 00:24:30.559 you are taking up the name of this God 00:24:30.559 --> 00:24:31.460 and you are saying, 00:24:31.839 --> 00:24:32.699 this is who I am. 00:24:32.839 --> 00:24:35.159 This is the family that I have belonged to. 00:24:35.299 --> 00:24:36.740 Again, the marriage analogy, 00:24:37.079 --> 00:24:38.980 I am joining in with you 00:24:38.980 --> 00:24:40.740 and I am taking your name 00:24:40.740 --> 00:24:44.059 and I am being yours fully and completely. 00:24:44.059 --> 00:24:49.220 we have hitched our wagon to him 00:24:49.220 --> 00:24:52.480 and we will follow him to the end of the road. 00:24:54.159 --> 00:24:56.480 This is what it means to be God's covenant people 00:24:56.480 --> 00:24:59.339 and therefore to take his name seriously 00:24:59.339 --> 00:25:05.159 is to not use it in an empty way in our lives, 00:25:05.319 --> 00:25:07.579 to not use it without substance. 00:25:07.579 --> 00:25:12.980 Friends, we live in a culture today in America 00:25:12.980 --> 00:25:13.839 where there are, 00:25:14.899 --> 00:25:16.059 depending on where you're from, 00:25:16.379 --> 00:25:18.279 depending on what part of America you're in, 00:25:18.659 --> 00:25:19.599 there are parts of America 00:25:19.599 --> 00:25:21.779 where Christian is a social category. 00:25:23.199 --> 00:25:24.139 There are parts of America 00:25:24.139 --> 00:25:28.879 where Christian is a political category. 00:25:28.880 --> 00:25:32.840 But friends, 00:25:33.280 --> 00:25:36.400 we must understand that when the Bible talks about Christians, 00:25:36.820 --> 00:25:38.580 it is those who have identified 00:25:38.580 --> 00:25:40.340 with the name of Jesus Christ. 00:25:41.320 --> 00:25:42.040 And therefore, 00:25:42.360 --> 00:25:46.920 we must not take his name lightly in how we live. 00:25:50.040 --> 00:25:52.020 We must not be afraid 00:25:52.020 --> 00:25:55.640 to identify with him publicly 00:25:55.640 --> 00:25:56.960 and to say, 00:25:57.160 --> 00:25:57.500 yes, 00:25:57.960 --> 00:26:00.240 I am one who has been bought 00:26:00.240 --> 00:26:02.540 by the blood of Jesus Christ. 00:26:02.759 --> 00:26:04.780 I am one who has been saved 00:26:04.780 --> 00:26:06.420 by this Savior. 00:26:11.380 --> 00:26:13.020 Even when you may be misunderstood, 00:26:13.940 --> 00:26:15.820 even when you may be rejected, 00:26:16.740 --> 00:26:18.060 even when you may, 00:26:18.180 --> 00:26:20.520 it may cost you much. 00:26:24.140 --> 00:26:24.580 Friends, 00:26:24.579 --> 00:26:25.519 the third commandment 00:26:25.519 --> 00:26:27.539 joins us. 00:26:28.919 --> 00:26:30.179 It tells us 00:26:30.179 --> 00:26:32.960 that we are to take up that name 00:26:32.960 --> 00:26:34.819 and to live according to it. 00:26:35.579 --> 00:26:36.919 And that in our words, 00:26:37.720 --> 00:26:39.339 we are to speak reverently 00:26:39.339 --> 00:26:40.779 and joyfully 00:26:40.779 --> 00:26:41.960 and gladly 00:26:41.960 --> 00:26:43.779 and worshipfully 00:26:43.779 --> 00:26:44.879 about God. 00:26:49.480 --> 00:26:50.339 Not only 00:26:50.339 --> 00:26:53.419 are we to worship God, 00:26:53.420 --> 00:26:54.620 not only 00:26:54.620 --> 00:26:55.380 are we to make him 00:26:55.380 --> 00:26:56.820 first in our words, 00:26:57.360 --> 00:26:58.720 but we are also 00:26:58.720 --> 00:26:59.360 to make him 00:26:59.360 --> 00:27:00.680 first in the way 00:27:00.680 --> 00:27:01.820 that we use our time. 00:27:02.779 --> 00:27:03.800 As we look at verses 00:27:03.800 --> 00:27:05.200 8 through 11, 00:27:05.420 --> 00:27:07.000 we see the fourth commandment. 00:27:08.700 --> 00:27:10.000 To take the Sabbath, 00:27:10.800 --> 00:27:12.480 to take one day 00:27:12.480 --> 00:27:13.279 out of the week 00:27:13.279 --> 00:27:14.800 and to set it aside. 00:27:16.000 --> 00:27:16.980 Set it aside 00:27:16.980 --> 00:27:18.240 from the regular work. 00:27:18.519 --> 00:27:19.580 And we've already seen this 00:27:19.580 --> 00:27:20.240 in the story. 00:27:20.240 --> 00:27:21.180 Do you remember 00:27:21.180 --> 00:27:22.500 when God gave manna 00:27:22.500 --> 00:27:24.019 in chapter 16, 00:27:24.120 --> 00:27:24.440 17, 00:27:24.720 --> 00:27:25.480 17, 00:27:25.779 --> 00:27:26.559 chapter 17, 00:27:26.660 --> 00:27:27.700 when God gave manna, 00:27:27.759 --> 00:27:28.740 he instructed them, 00:27:28.859 --> 00:27:29.819 six days you go out 00:27:29.819 --> 00:27:30.460 and gather it. 00:27:30.700 --> 00:27:31.519 And on the sixth day, 00:27:31.620 --> 00:27:32.299 gather extra 00:27:32.299 --> 00:27:33.579 because on the seventh day, 00:27:33.759 --> 00:27:35.339 you won't need to 00:27:35.339 --> 00:27:36.180 because I will have 00:27:36.180 --> 00:27:37.000 provided for you. 00:27:37.200 --> 00:27:37.940 And there's all this, 00:27:38.279 --> 00:27:38.440 oh, 00:27:38.500 --> 00:27:40.180 and if you try to save it 00:27:40.180 --> 00:27:40.740 on other days, 00:27:40.779 --> 00:27:41.420 it'll go bad. 00:27:41.460 --> 00:27:42.299 And if you go out 00:27:42.299 --> 00:27:43.700 and do it on that day, 00:27:43.799 --> 00:27:44.740 it'll go bad. 00:27:45.859 --> 00:27:46.819 God gave all sorts 00:27:46.819 --> 00:27:47.420 of specifics, 00:27:47.420 --> 00:27:48.180 but we've already 00:27:48.180 --> 00:27:49.240 seen this happen. 00:27:50.600 --> 00:27:51.880 And in that story, 00:27:51.960 --> 00:27:52.560 we see God 00:27:52.560 --> 00:27:53.580 asking his people 00:27:53.580 --> 00:27:54.640 a couple of questions. 00:27:56.240 --> 00:27:57.140 Do you think 00:27:57.140 --> 00:27:57.640 that you know 00:27:57.640 --> 00:27:58.660 better than the Lord 00:27:58.660 --> 00:27:59.700 how to provide 00:27:59.700 --> 00:28:00.380 for yourself? 00:28:03.060 --> 00:28:04.080 Do you think 00:28:04.080 --> 00:28:04.840 you know better 00:28:04.840 --> 00:28:05.600 than God 00:28:05.600 --> 00:28:07.060 what you need? 00:28:09.560 --> 00:28:10.940 For the Sabbath rest 00:28:10.940 --> 00:28:11.620 is a rest 00:28:11.620 --> 00:28:13.420 from our regular work 00:28:13.420 --> 00:28:17.019 so that we might 00:28:17.019 --> 00:28:17.720 be renewed 00:28:17.720 --> 00:28:18.519 personally 00:28:18.519 --> 00:28:19.360 and spiritually 00:28:19.360 --> 00:28:20.279 in our worship 00:28:20.279 --> 00:28:21.000 of God 00:28:21.000 --> 00:28:22.500 so that we might 00:28:22.500 --> 00:28:23.560 take one day 00:28:23.560 --> 00:28:24.340 out of the week 00:28:24.340 --> 00:28:25.279 and trust 00:28:25.279 --> 00:28:25.920 that God 00:28:25.920 --> 00:28:26.620 will provide 00:28:26.620 --> 00:28:27.420 for us 00:28:27.420 --> 00:28:32.060 as we take 00:28:32.060 --> 00:28:32.519 a break 00:28:32.519 --> 00:28:33.380 from our regular 00:28:33.380 --> 00:28:34.220 work. 00:28:35.220 --> 00:28:35.600 And friends, 00:28:35.680 --> 00:28:37.160 it's not a break 00:28:37.160 --> 00:28:38.000 so that we can 00:28:38.000 --> 00:28:38.580 play Fortnite 00:28:38.580 --> 00:28:39.740 for 14 hours. 00:28:40.460 --> 00:28:40.980 Okay? 00:28:41.240 --> 00:28:42.240 This is not 00:28:42.240 --> 00:28:42.779 a Sabbath. 00:28:43.420 --> 00:28:45.300 Nor is it 00:28:45.300 --> 00:28:46.060 doing hobbies 00:28:46.060 --> 00:28:47.720 while your spouse 00:28:47.720 --> 00:28:48.420 takes care 00:28:48.420 --> 00:28:48.960 of everybody 00:28:48.960 --> 00:28:49.759 else all day. 00:28:52.420 --> 00:28:53.440 But it is 00:28:53.440 --> 00:28:54.279 setting aside 00:28:54.279 --> 00:28:55.680 your regular work 00:28:55.680 --> 00:28:56.960 as best as you can, 00:28:57.000 --> 00:28:58.120 as much as possible 00:28:58.120 --> 00:29:00.519 so that you 00:29:00.519 --> 00:29:02.160 can focus 00:29:02.160 --> 00:29:02.940 on the Lord 00:29:02.940 --> 00:29:03.840 and remember 00:29:03.840 --> 00:29:04.539 his goodness, 00:29:05.180 --> 00:29:06.720 enjoy his creation, 00:29:07.900 --> 00:29:09.140 take a nap, 00:29:11.080 --> 00:29:12.180 sing songs, 00:29:12.180 --> 00:29:14.539 be with friends. 00:29:17.360 --> 00:29:18.080 Now look, 00:29:18.160 --> 00:29:19.160 I know some of you 00:29:19.160 --> 00:29:20.519 are in medical 00:29:20.519 --> 00:29:21.080 residency 00:29:21.080 --> 00:29:21.680 and you don't 00:29:21.680 --> 00:29:22.180 have control 00:29:22.180 --> 00:29:22.860 of your life. 00:29:23.279 --> 00:29:24.120 You don't get 00:29:24.120 --> 00:29:24.740 to say, 00:29:25.100 --> 00:29:25.539 I can't work 00:29:25.539 --> 00:29:26.060 on Sunday 00:29:26.060 --> 00:29:27.039 right now. 00:29:28.100 --> 00:29:28.580 Okay? 00:29:28.720 --> 00:29:29.460 I get it. 00:29:31.060 --> 00:29:31.840 Some of you 00:29:31.840 --> 00:29:32.960 are moms 00:29:32.960 --> 00:29:33.180 of newborns. 00:29:34.299 --> 00:29:34.920 Where's the 00:29:34.920 --> 00:29:35.460 Sabbath rest 00:29:35.460 --> 00:29:35.840 in that, 00:29:35.900 --> 00:29:36.080 right? 00:29:36.460 --> 00:29:37.100 I mean, 00:29:37.160 --> 00:29:37.600 seriously. 00:29:37.599 --> 00:29:38.240 Okay? 00:29:38.819 --> 00:29:39.959 But here's the thing. 00:29:40.099 --> 00:29:40.699 The pattern 00:29:40.699 --> 00:29:41.419 is still 00:29:41.419 --> 00:29:42.480 the same. 00:29:43.459 --> 00:29:44.319 And for the rest 00:29:44.319 --> 00:29:44.799 of us, 00:29:44.939 --> 00:29:46.259 we really have 00:29:46.259 --> 00:29:47.159 no excuse. 00:29:49.199 --> 00:29:50.199 Do you really 00:29:50.199 --> 00:29:50.799 think you know 00:29:50.799 --> 00:29:51.759 better than the Lord 00:29:51.759 --> 00:29:53.759 what you need 00:29:53.759 --> 00:29:54.259 to do 00:29:54.259 --> 00:29:57.219 to be successful, 00:29:57.379 --> 00:29:58.099 to accomplish? 00:29:58.099 --> 00:29:59.879 So what does 00:29:59.879 --> 00:30:00.539 it look like? 00:30:01.219 --> 00:30:01.740 Unplug. 00:30:02.539 --> 00:30:03.439 Unplug from your 00:30:03.439 --> 00:30:03.899 devices, 00:30:04.219 --> 00:30:05.000 unplug from your 00:30:05.000 --> 00:30:05.919 regular schedule, 00:30:06.539 --> 00:30:07.259 unplug from your 00:30:07.259 --> 00:30:07.659 phone, 00:30:08.019 --> 00:30:08.619 turn off your 00:30:08.619 --> 00:30:10.459 email notifications, 00:30:11.339 --> 00:30:13.179 get out into 00:30:13.179 --> 00:30:14.119 creation if you 00:30:14.119 --> 00:30:14.519 can. 00:30:15.579 --> 00:30:16.379 Be with God's 00:30:16.379 --> 00:30:17.819 people as much 00:30:17.819 --> 00:30:18.439 as you can. 00:30:18.959 --> 00:30:19.219 Friends, 00:30:19.319 --> 00:30:20.619 if nothing else, 00:30:21.899 --> 00:30:22.639 and I say this 00:30:22.639 --> 00:30:23.539 particularly to those 00:30:23.539 --> 00:30:24.039 of you who are 00:30:24.039 --> 00:30:24.779 graduating and 00:30:24.779 --> 00:30:25.419 moving on, 00:30:25.420 --> 00:30:27.800 observe the 00:30:27.800 --> 00:30:28.700 Sabbath by making 00:30:28.700 --> 00:30:29.340 it a commitment 00:30:29.340 --> 00:30:30.519 to be with God's 00:30:30.519 --> 00:30:31.640 people every week. 00:30:32.740 --> 00:30:33.720 Go to church. 00:30:36.120 --> 00:30:37.220 It's not optional. 00:30:38.120 --> 00:30:39.060 It's a part of 00:30:39.060 --> 00:30:40.120 Sabbath observance 00:30:40.120 --> 00:30:41.720 to be with God's 00:30:41.720 --> 00:30:42.039 people. 00:30:43.120 --> 00:30:43.860 And you're going 00:30:43.860 --> 00:30:44.440 to go out into 00:30:44.440 --> 00:30:45.200 a world that is 00:30:45.200 --> 00:30:46.000 going to trample 00:30:46.000 --> 00:30:46.940 all over that. 00:30:47.240 --> 00:30:48.019 And your work 00:30:48.019 --> 00:30:48.560 group is going 00:30:48.560 --> 00:30:48.800 to say, 00:30:48.880 --> 00:30:49.720 can you come in 00:30:49.720 --> 00:30:50.340 on 9 o'clock 00:30:50.340 --> 00:30:51.180 on Sunday mornings? 00:30:51.380 --> 00:30:52.440 And your ultimate 00:30:52.440 --> 00:30:53.519 Frisbee game 00:30:53.519 --> 00:30:54.080 down the street 00:30:54.080 --> 00:30:54.519 is going to say, 00:30:54.580 --> 00:30:54.700 hey, 00:30:54.720 --> 00:30:55.200 we're playing 00:30:55.200 --> 00:30:55.580 at 10, 00:30:55.600 --> 00:30:55.980 why don't you 00:30:55.980 --> 00:30:56.500 come over? 00:30:56.900 --> 00:30:57.640 And your sports 00:30:57.640 --> 00:30:58.059 teams, 00:30:58.160 --> 00:30:58.960 as you have kids, 00:30:59.000 --> 00:30:59.519 are going to say, 00:30:59.620 --> 00:30:59.720 oh, 00:30:59.779 --> 00:31:00.200 we've got a 00:31:00.200 --> 00:31:00.880 weekend tournament 00:31:00.880 --> 00:31:02.160 and the game's 00:31:02.160 --> 00:31:03.400 at 8.30 and we 00:31:03.400 --> 00:31:04.039 got to be there. 00:31:04.160 --> 00:31:05.140 And so on and so 00:31:05.140 --> 00:31:05.420 forth. 00:31:05.480 --> 00:31:06.080 We live in a 00:31:06.080 --> 00:31:06.920 culture that no 00:31:06.920 --> 00:31:08.580 longer recognizes 00:31:08.580 --> 00:31:09.299 Sunday as a 00:31:09.299 --> 00:31:09.559 separate. 00:31:09.799 --> 00:31:10.380 You're going to 00:31:10.380 --> 00:31:11.180 have to be ready 00:31:11.180 --> 00:31:12.080 to be different 00:31:12.080 --> 00:31:14.519 and stand out 00:31:14.519 --> 00:31:15.460 from your peers 00:31:15.460 --> 00:31:16.640 to take that 00:31:16.640 --> 00:31:17.100 rest. 00:31:19.580 --> 00:31:20.279 Some of you 00:31:20.279 --> 00:31:21.220 work in labs 00:31:21.220 --> 00:31:22.420 where you think, 00:31:22.500 --> 00:31:23.960 I can't tell 00:31:23.960 --> 00:31:24.860 my PI that. 00:31:25.200 --> 00:31:27.160 I'll get fired. 00:31:31.000 --> 00:31:31.600 There are 00:31:31.600 --> 00:31:32.340 challenging things 00:31:32.340 --> 00:31:33.140 we have to face. 00:31:34.220 --> 00:31:35.420 I will not say 00:31:35.420 --> 00:31:36.140 you have to, 00:31:36.360 --> 00:31:36.539 therefore, 00:31:36.660 --> 00:31:37.420 not work on 00:31:37.420 --> 00:31:37.779 Sundays. 00:31:39.940 --> 00:31:40.920 The New Testament 00:31:40.920 --> 00:31:42.240 does not tell us 00:31:42.240 --> 00:31:43.680 explicitly that this 00:31:43.680 --> 00:31:44.380 is what all 00:31:44.380 --> 00:31:45.700 believers must do. 00:31:46.160 --> 00:31:47.000 But it is a 00:31:47.000 --> 00:31:48.160 principle based 00:31:48.160 --> 00:31:48.920 in the very 00:31:48.920 --> 00:31:49.720 fabric of 00:31:49.720 --> 00:31:50.799 creation itself 00:31:50.799 --> 00:31:52.279 that God 00:31:52.279 --> 00:31:53.399 created the world 00:31:53.399 --> 00:31:54.319 in six days 00:31:54.319 --> 00:31:54.919 and then he 00:31:54.919 --> 00:31:55.399 rested. 00:31:57.200 --> 00:31:58.279 He didn't do it 00:31:58.279 --> 00:31:58.919 because he was 00:31:58.919 --> 00:31:59.339 tired. 00:32:00.019 --> 00:32:01.059 He didn't do it 00:32:01.059 --> 00:32:02.159 because he needed 00:32:02.159 --> 00:32:02.740 a break 00:32:02.740 --> 00:32:03.779 or he was 00:32:03.779 --> 00:32:04.339 overwhelmed. 00:32:05.139 --> 00:32:06.200 He did it for 00:32:06.200 --> 00:32:06.619 us. 00:32:09.419 --> 00:32:10.319 He did it so 00:32:10.319 --> 00:32:11.639 that we would 00:32:11.639 --> 00:32:12.419 enter into a 00:32:12.419 --> 00:32:13.359 rhythm of rest. 00:32:13.359 --> 00:32:15.659 And so that we 00:32:15.659 --> 00:32:16.219 would know, 00:32:16.359 --> 00:32:17.059 as Deuteronomy 00:32:17.059 --> 00:32:17.779 will point out, 00:32:18.039 --> 00:32:18.699 that the Sabbath 00:32:18.699 --> 00:32:19.959 is also the 00:32:19.959 --> 00:32:20.740 freedom from 00:32:20.740 --> 00:32:21.179 work, 00:32:21.859 --> 00:32:22.859 the work that 00:32:22.859 --> 00:32:24.099 we do as we 00:32:24.099 --> 00:32:25.019 seek to justify 00:32:25.019 --> 00:32:25.879 ourselves in the 00:32:25.879 --> 00:32:26.619 world by how 00:32:26.619 --> 00:32:27.939 well we do, 00:32:28.059 --> 00:32:28.599 how well we 00:32:28.599 --> 00:32:29.240 succeed, 00:32:29.819 --> 00:32:30.719 and how well 00:32:30.719 --> 00:32:33.519 we progress 00:32:33.519 --> 00:32:34.279 in the world. 00:32:34.279 --> 00:32:36.700 So friends, 00:32:36.819 --> 00:32:37.500 this is what God 00:32:37.500 --> 00:32:38.240 calls us to in 00:32:38.240 --> 00:32:38.940 the first four 00:32:38.940 --> 00:32:39.420 commandments. 00:32:40.460 --> 00:32:41.539 To truly be 00:32:41.539 --> 00:32:42.299 God's people 00:32:42.299 --> 00:32:43.799 is to make him 00:32:43.799 --> 00:32:44.660 first in all 00:32:44.660 --> 00:32:45.019 things, 00:32:45.059 --> 00:32:45.579 in our hearts, 00:32:45.660 --> 00:32:46.180 in our worship, 00:32:46.319 --> 00:32:46.920 in our identity, 00:32:47.059 --> 00:32:47.660 in our words, 00:32:47.960 --> 00:32:48.759 in our use of 00:32:48.759 --> 00:32:49.200 time, 00:32:49.200 --> 00:32:50.359 and to honor him 00:32:50.359 --> 00:32:51.220 as God in all 00:32:51.220 --> 00:32:52.160 of these things, 00:32:52.160 --> 00:32:53.599 to make him the 00:32:53.599 --> 00:32:54.399 center around 00:32:54.399 --> 00:32:55.700 which our lives 00:32:55.700 --> 00:32:56.779 find their 00:32:56.779 --> 00:32:57.099 orbit. 00:33:00.099 --> 00:33:00.839 And of course, 00:33:00.920 --> 00:33:01.519 we know that the 00:33:01.519 --> 00:33:02.500 problem with this 00:33:02.500 --> 00:33:03.619 is that we do 00:33:03.619 --> 00:33:04.259 this so poorly, 00:33:04.259 --> 00:33:05.039 don't we? 00:33:06.980 --> 00:33:07.980 Like the church 00:33:07.980 --> 00:33:08.900 in Ephesus in 00:33:08.900 --> 00:33:09.859 Revelation 2, 00:33:10.319 --> 00:33:12.180 we wander from 00:33:12.180 --> 00:33:13.099 our first love. 00:33:15.220 --> 00:33:16.480 We grow cold 00:33:16.480 --> 00:33:17.240 in our affection. 00:33:17.799 --> 00:33:18.879 We grow weary 00:33:18.879 --> 00:33:19.900 in our obedience. 00:33:21.519 --> 00:33:23.240 We want so much 00:33:23.240 --> 00:33:23.940 to be accepted 00:33:23.940 --> 00:33:24.779 by others 00:33:24.779 --> 00:33:27.859 that we lose 00:33:27.859 --> 00:33:28.680 sight of what 00:33:28.680 --> 00:33:29.339 God has called 00:33:29.339 --> 00:33:30.220 us to in his 00:33:30.220 --> 00:33:30.579 people. 00:33:32.460 --> 00:33:33.759 Our efforts to 00:33:33.759 --> 00:33:35.859 be law keepers 00:33:35.859 --> 00:33:36.519 will fail. 00:33:38.720 --> 00:33:39.720 And if we try 00:33:39.720 --> 00:33:40.379 really hard, 00:33:40.440 --> 00:33:41.019 it will crush 00:33:41.019 --> 00:33:41.400 us. 00:33:42.680 --> 00:33:43.779 But as we do 00:33:43.779 --> 00:33:44.519 that, it brings 00:33:44.519 --> 00:33:45.379 us, in fact, 00:33:45.440 --> 00:33:46.119 to the very 00:33:46.119 --> 00:33:47.019 sweetest part 00:33:47.019 --> 00:33:48.180 of what this 00:33:48.180 --> 00:33:48.859 passage in 00:33:48.859 --> 00:33:49.619 Exodus points 00:33:49.619 --> 00:33:50.099 us to. 00:33:50.599 --> 00:33:51.539 Because it points 00:33:51.539 --> 00:33:52.819 us ahead to 00:33:52.819 --> 00:33:53.619 another time, 00:33:53.619 --> 00:33:54.359 to another 00:33:54.359 --> 00:33:56.339 covenant, to 00:33:56.339 --> 00:33:57.200 another promise. 00:33:57.319 --> 00:33:57.799 We read it 00:33:57.799 --> 00:33:58.319 earlier in 00:33:58.319 --> 00:33:59.500 Ezekiel 36. 00:33:59.500 --> 00:34:01.019 this covenant 00:34:01.019 --> 00:34:02.180 prepares the 00:34:02.180 --> 00:34:03.039 world to know 00:34:03.039 --> 00:34:04.039 that we can't 00:34:04.039 --> 00:34:04.880 be law keepers 00:34:04.880 --> 00:34:05.539 on our own. 00:34:06.160 --> 00:34:06.980 And that God 00:34:06.980 --> 00:34:07.539 is going to have 00:34:07.539 --> 00:34:08.340 to intervene and 00:34:08.340 --> 00:34:08.840 do something. 00:34:08.960 --> 00:34:09.679 And God himself 00:34:09.679 --> 00:34:10.219 and Ezekiel 00:34:10.219 --> 00:34:11.019 promised that he 00:34:11.019 --> 00:34:11.340 would. 00:34:11.599 --> 00:34:12.019 And in the 00:34:12.019 --> 00:34:12.760 person of Jesus, 00:34:12.760 --> 00:34:13.400 he did. 00:34:13.639 --> 00:34:14.380 He came, 00:34:14.460 --> 00:34:15.300 and Jesus came 00:34:15.300 --> 00:34:16.219 to be the law 00:34:16.219 --> 00:34:17.260 keeper for us. 00:34:17.460 --> 00:34:18.300 To perfectly 00:34:18.300 --> 00:34:19.099 worship God 00:34:19.099 --> 00:34:19.780 and to love him 00:34:19.780 --> 00:34:20.679 above all things. 00:34:21.739 --> 00:34:22.559 And as he lived 00:34:22.559 --> 00:34:23.179 this life of 00:34:23.179 --> 00:34:23.980 perfect obedience, 00:34:23.980 --> 00:34:24.980 he did this for 00:34:24.980 --> 00:34:25.420 us. 00:34:25.719 --> 00:34:26.400 And then he did 00:34:26.400 --> 00:34:27.199 that, not only 00:34:27.199 --> 00:34:27.739 that, but then 00:34:27.739 --> 00:34:28.219 he offered 00:34:28.219 --> 00:34:28.919 himself in 00:34:28.919 --> 00:34:30.079 our place to 00:34:30.079 --> 00:34:30.960 take the penalty 00:34:30.960 --> 00:34:33.219 for our sin that 00:34:33.219 --> 00:34:34.419 separates us from 00:34:34.419 --> 00:34:34.899 God. 00:34:37.179 --> 00:34:38.559 So that by his 00:34:38.559 --> 00:34:40.500 life and death 00:34:40.500 --> 00:34:41.279 and resurrection, 00:34:41.679 --> 00:34:42.859 we might be 00:34:42.859 --> 00:34:44.079 God's new 00:34:44.079 --> 00:34:45.899 people in a 00:34:45.899 --> 00:34:46.779 new covenant 00:34:46.779 --> 00:34:47.799 relationship with 00:34:47.799 --> 00:34:48.699 God based not 00:34:48.699 --> 00:34:49.500 on our works, 00:34:49.939 --> 00:34:51.059 but based on 00:34:51.059 --> 00:34:52.119 his gracious 00:34:52.119 --> 00:34:53.119 work for us 00:34:53.119 --> 00:34:53.719 in Christ. 00:34:54.960 --> 00:34:55.719 And with this 00:34:55.719 --> 00:34:56.239 new covenant 00:34:56.239 --> 00:34:57.159 comes one 00:34:57.159 --> 00:34:57.980 wonderful things. 00:34:58.319 --> 00:34:58.759 He gives us 00:34:58.759 --> 00:34:59.539 a new heart 00:34:59.539 --> 00:35:00.440 that can now 00:35:00.440 --> 00:35:01.239 love God in 00:35:01.239 --> 00:35:01.799 ways that we 00:35:01.799 --> 00:35:02.440 never could 00:35:02.440 --> 00:35:03.179 apart from him. 00:35:03.399 --> 00:35:04.019 He gives us 00:35:04.019 --> 00:35:04.960 his spirit to 00:35:04.960 --> 00:35:05.539 live in us 00:35:05.539 --> 00:35:06.299 so that we 00:35:06.299 --> 00:35:07.099 actually know 00:35:07.099 --> 00:35:07.859 the laws and 00:35:07.859 --> 00:35:08.839 that we long 00:35:08.839 --> 00:35:10.319 to please God 00:35:10.319 --> 00:35:11.539 because God's 00:35:11.539 --> 00:35:12.319 spirit lives 00:35:12.319 --> 00:35:13.119 within us. 00:35:16.099 --> 00:35:16.579 Friends, 00:35:16.699 --> 00:35:17.219 this is what 00:35:17.219 --> 00:35:18.059 the Ten 00:35:18.059 --> 00:35:18.599 Commandments 00:35:18.599 --> 00:35:19.159 points us 00:35:19.159 --> 00:35:19.599 towards. 00:35:20.319 --> 00:35:20.980 It points us 00:35:20.980 --> 00:35:21.779 towards Christ 00:35:21.779 --> 00:35:22.659 who did all 00:35:22.659 --> 00:35:23.079 these things 00:35:23.079 --> 00:35:24.079 for us so 00:35:24.079 --> 00:35:24.819 that we might 00:35:24.819 --> 00:35:25.460 be God's 00:35:25.460 --> 00:35:25.779 people. 00:35:27.159 --> 00:35:28.000 So that we 00:35:28.000 --> 00:35:28.719 might be like 00:35:28.719 --> 00:35:29.480 the Thessalonian 00:35:29.480 --> 00:35:30.219 church at the 00:35:30.219 --> 00:35:30.719 end of chapter 00:35:30.719 --> 00:35:31.239 one who 00:35:31.239 --> 00:35:32.960 turned from 00:35:32.960 --> 00:35:34.000 idols to 00:35:34.000 --> 00:35:35.500 serve the 00:35:35.500 --> 00:35:36.199 true and 00:35:36.199 --> 00:35:36.940 living God 00:35:36.940 --> 00:35:38.859 and to 00:35:38.859 --> 00:35:39.819 live our 00:35:39.819 --> 00:35:40.960 lives for 00:35:40.960 --> 00:35:41.639 his glory. 00:35:42.319 --> 00:35:43.239 This is the 00:35:43.239 --> 00:35:44.339 trajectory and 00:35:44.339 --> 00:35:44.859 this is our 00:35:44.859 --> 00:35:45.199 hope. 00:35:47.199 --> 00:35:48.299 We pray this 00:35:48.299 --> 00:35:49.839 will be true 00:35:49.839 --> 00:35:50.420 for you, 00:35:50.599 --> 00:35:51.500 for me, 00:35:51.779 --> 00:35:52.199 today. 00:35:53.199 --> 00:35:53.960 Let's pray 00:35:53.960 --> 00:35:54.320 together. 00:36:00.039 --> 00:36:00.840 Lord, thank 00:36:00.840 --> 00:36:01.300 you for this 00:36:01.300 --> 00:36:01.639 word. 00:36:03.440 --> 00:36:04.220 Lord, thank 00:36:04.220 --> 00:36:04.800 you that you 00:36:04.800 --> 00:36:06.480 have created 00:36:06.480 --> 00:36:06.940 us for 00:36:06.940 --> 00:36:07.820 yourself and 00:36:07.820 --> 00:36:08.679 though we so 00:36:08.679 --> 00:36:09.740 often fail, 00:36:10.639 --> 00:36:11.139 Lord, you 00:36:11.139 --> 00:36:12.159 graciously draw 00:36:12.159 --> 00:36:12.960 us back again 00:36:12.960 --> 00:36:13.400 and again. 00:36:15.119 --> 00:36:15.960 Lord, I pray 00:36:15.960 --> 00:36:16.760 for those this 00:36:16.760 --> 00:36:18.599 morning, Lord, 00:36:18.699 --> 00:36:19.800 that you may 00:36:19.800 --> 00:36:20.480 have convicted 00:36:20.480 --> 00:36:21.559 that they 00:36:21.559 --> 00:36:22.019 haven't made 00:36:22.019 --> 00:36:22.480 their life 00:36:22.480 --> 00:36:23.099 about you. 00:36:25.460 --> 00:36:26.119 Lord, they 00:36:26.119 --> 00:36:26.619 have made 00:36:26.619 --> 00:36:28.019 empty the 00:36:28.019 --> 00:36:28.400 name of 00:36:28.400 --> 00:36:29.019 Christ and 00:36:29.019 --> 00:36:29.840 the work of 00:36:29.840 --> 00:36:30.440 Christ on the 00:36:30.440 --> 00:36:30.920 cross for 00:36:30.920 --> 00:36:31.159 them. 00:36:32.039 --> 00:36:32.800 I pray, Lord, 00:36:32.880 --> 00:36:33.619 that in this 00:36:33.619 --> 00:36:34.380 conviction that 00:36:34.380 --> 00:36:35.019 they would turn 00:36:35.019 --> 00:36:36.139 to you in 00:36:36.139 --> 00:36:36.739 their need and 00:36:36.739 --> 00:36:38.440 find grace and 00:36:38.440 --> 00:36:41.099 know, Lord, 00:36:41.139 --> 00:36:41.619 that they would 00:36:41.619 --> 00:36:44.179 know salvation 00:36:44.179 --> 00:36:45.239 is in Jesus. 00:36:46.759 --> 00:36:47.480 Lord, I pray 00:36:47.480 --> 00:36:48.259 for all of us 00:36:48.259 --> 00:36:48.920 that you might 00:36:48.920 --> 00:36:49.599 prick our 00:36:49.599 --> 00:36:50.519 consciences to 00:36:50.519 --> 00:36:51.280 see the places 00:36:51.280 --> 00:36:51.920 in our lives 00:36:51.920 --> 00:36:52.460 where we don't 00:36:52.460 --> 00:36:53.280 put you first, 00:36:53.960 --> 00:36:54.780 where we have 00:36:54.780 --> 00:36:55.280 made other 00:36:55.280 --> 00:36:55.880 things more 00:36:55.880 --> 00:36:57.119 important, where 00:36:57.119 --> 00:36:57.480 we have 00:36:57.480 --> 00:36:58.200 worshipped other 00:36:58.200 --> 00:36:59.400 gods, where we 00:36:59.400 --> 00:37:00.139 have bowed down 00:37:00.139 --> 00:37:01.079 to other things 00:37:01.079 --> 00:37:02.840 to play God 00:37:02.840 --> 00:37:03.720 in our lives. 00:37:05.300 --> 00:37:06.159 Lord, help us 00:37:06.159 --> 00:37:06.940 to repent of 00:37:06.940 --> 00:37:09.579 those and, 00:37:09.659 --> 00:37:10.019 Lord, in 00:37:10.019 --> 00:37:10.619 turning from 00:37:10.619 --> 00:37:11.320 them to find 00:37:11.320 --> 00:37:12.900 you to be the 00:37:12.900 --> 00:37:13.840 God who has 00:37:13.840 --> 00:37:14.880 delivered us 00:37:14.880 --> 00:37:15.599 from slavery, 00:37:16.119 --> 00:37:17.579 from slavery to 00:37:17.579 --> 00:37:19.840 sin, rescued us 00:37:19.840 --> 00:37:21.180 and called us to 00:37:21.179 --> 00:37:21.859 be your people. 00:37:23.719 --> 00:37:24.739 By the grace of 00:37:24.739 --> 00:37:25.819 Jesus, we pray. 00:37:26.539 --> 00:37:26.899 Amen.