The scripture reading comes from Deuteronomy chapters 4 and 5.
Please follow along on the screen.
See, I have taught you statutes and rules, as the Lord my God commanded me,
that you should do them in the land that you are entering to take possession of it.
Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples,
who, when they hear these statutes, will say,
Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.
For what great nation is there that has a God so near to it as the Lord our God is to us,
whenever we call upon him?
And what great nation is there that has statutes and rules so righteous
as all this law that I set before you today?
Only take care and keep your soul diligently,
lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen,
unless they depart from your heart all the days of your life.
Make them known to your children and your children's children.
And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them,
Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the rules that I speak in your hearing today,
and you shall learn them and be careful to do them.
The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb.
Not with our fathers did the Lord make this covenant,
but with us, who are all of us here alive today.
The Lord spoke with you face to face at the mountain,
out of the midst of the fire,
while I stood between the Lord and you at that time
to declare to you the word of the Lord.
For you were afraid because of the fire,
and you did not go up into the mountain.
He said,
I am the Lord your God,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt,
out of the house of slavery.
This is the word of God.
Great.
So, today we're starting on a new series,
looking at the Ten Commandments.
And this time that we are going through
is a time where rules really count at the moment.
I don't know if you have looked around you.
The rules are everywhere.
Don't enter any shop without a mask.
Don't gather more than four people in a place.
Our experience of life is totally shaped by rules.
And for some of us, that gives us comfort.
For some of us,
it's just feeling very restricted at this time.
And it raises a lot of questions
about what does it mean to be free?
What does it mean to live life well?
Well, one Greek philosopher called Epictetus,
he said,
is freedom anything else other than the right to live as we wish?
Nothing else.
American philosopher,
pitbull,
rapper Pitbull,
said,
I'm free to do what I want and have a good time.
And so,
both of these people are saying to us,
the absence of rules is freedom.
That's the good life.
But if you've ever been to a nation
where the drivers follow that principle
of the absence of rules is the way to live,
you know that is not the way to freedom.
That's the way to chaos.
But some people love rules.
They love morality.
You know,
in Hong Kong,
I think many people around the world
think that Christianity is just a set of rules.
So I have met many people
who have brought their kids,
non-Christians,
they've brought their kids to church on Sunday.
They've dropped them off
and I've heard them say,
listen,
be good,
learn how to be good through these people,
but don't listen to any of the religious stuff they talk about.
And,
because what they think is,
get the rules,
but don't worry about the God part.
But,
I'm not sure whether people who love rules
or people who hate rules
will have the perception
that King David in the Psalms had
of the Psalm that Jeremy read to us earlier.
Let me just read a little bit of it again to you.
The law of the Lord is perfect,
reviving the soul.
The precepts of the Lord are right,
rejoicing the heart.
More to be desired are they than gold,
even much fine gold,
sweeter also than honey
and drippings of the honeycomb.
That's Psalm 19.
You see,
have you ever read the Ten Commandments
and go,
that is better
than making a billion dollars on the stock market,
having a 50% raise in your salary?
But that's what the psalmist is saying.
He's saying,
if that is not our heart,
God wants to change our heart,
and that's what I want us to see
and to get this morning,
that I want us to come away going,
God's commands are good for us.
Because you see,
freedom and life
is not doing what we want to do.
It's doing what we ought to do
so we become the people
we were created to be.
Freedom,
let me say it again,
freedom is not doing what we want to do,
but doing what we ought to do
so we become the people
we were created to be.
You know,
a goldfish is most free
when it's swimming in water.
It is not free
if it starts trying to hike up the peak.
It's going to die
because fish were made to swim.
Well,
we were made to swim in God's will,
which means that you and I
will learn to live well
even at this time
where some of us feel very restricted
if we get the commands of God in Scripture.
So,
we're just going to go on this journey
of the next few weeks
looking through the Ten Commandments
and I'm going to just introduce them
to you today.
And so,
by way of background,
let me just start off by saying
there are two versions
of the Ten Commandments.
One of them comes in Exodus 20
where God had brought the people
out of Egypt
and he takes them
to the Mount Sinai
and he gives them the law
for the first time.
But then,
the people just keep disobeying
and keep disobeying.
They wander through the wilderness.
Forty years later,
most of them have died out
and now,
they're back on the edge
of the land,
of the promised land
in Moab
and God comes again
through Moses
to bring them
a second time
the Ten Commandments.
And Moses is like a parent
who is about to send
their teenage son
off to boarding school
and giving them a pep talk
of everything you need to know
for how to live well
in the new land
that I am taking you into.
That is what
the Ten Commandments
are part of.
They're part of this talk
to the people.
And by the way,
the Ten Commandments
are never called
the Ten Commandments
in the Bible.
They are called,
in Hebrew,
the Ten Words.
Which should tell us something.
It should tell us
that these are not
some cold,
divine,
impersonal government
laying down the law
to us.
These are the words
of a personal God
speaking
to create a people
and these are
His constitution
that they can be
the kind of community
that He wants them
to be.
So what that means is
the law
and the commandments
are not
some legalistic way
to try and get
into heaven.
They never were.
The Ten Commandments
here
starts off,
I am the Lord
your God
who brought you
out of Egypt,
out of the house
of slavery.
before you have
a single rule
God reminds
the people
I have saved you,
I have redeemed you,
I have brought you
to myself.
God doesn't say
keep these ten rules
and then you can
be my people.
No,
He is saying
I have brought you
to be my people,
I have brought you
to be free,
I have brought you
to know how to live,
now live
in the way
that I want you to
because that is
going to be your life.
It is grace,
it is not legalism.
So,
if you have
the passage
with you,
I am going to
dive between
the two passages
in Deuteronomy 4
and 5
and really learn
what are the ten
words all about.
And I have got
four things
that they are about.
They are revelation,
they are wisdom,
they are lifestyle
and they are window.
Okay?
Revelation,
wisdom,
lifestyle
and window.
So,
let's have a look,
first one.
The revelation
of God.
What they are doing,
they are revealing
His authority.
So,
first of all,
they reveal His authority.
Mount Sinai,
in Deuteronomy 5,
verse 4,
Moses says,
the Lord spoke
with you
face to face
at the mountain
out of the midst
of fire.
You see,
at Mount Sinai,
there was thunder,
there was lightning,
there was smoke,
there was darkness.
This was a multimedia
spectacular
with surround sound.
This wasn't God
as kind of a nice
grandfather in the sky
speaking some words
to His children.
This was a terrifying
thunderstorm
and a forest fire
combined
and out of that,
God speaks.
You see,
His holy authority
is shown.
And the people,
they can't even
touch the mountain
or come near
and they go,
like,
how can an awesome
God like this
speak to us
and we can still live?
Because,
you know,
what it's showing
is that we often
tame God down
to kind of our level.
But God is not
a tame God.
The God who made
the galaxies,
made black holes,
made meteorites
is not a God
you can just
put in a box.
You see,
when God speaks,
He's not making
suggestions.
He's speaking
with authority.
You know,
I've been in
team meetings
with an older,
really experienced
guy there
and for 45 minutes,
younger people,
we're all kind of
talking ignorantly
about a whole load
of issues
and we're getting nowhere.
And then at the end
of about 45 minutes,
the older guy
just says
one or two sentences
and suddenly
everyone goes,
oh,
that's it.
That's settled it.
You see,
that's what God
is doing.
We humans
are like ignorant
people with all
of our opinions
but when God
speaks,
that settles it.
His authority
is complete.
So it reveals
His authority
but it also reveals
His desire
for relationship.
I love this.
This is great.
Verse 2
of chapter 5
says,
the Lord,
Yahweh,
made a covenant
with us
in Horeb
at Mount Sinai.
You see,
these 10 words
are God's covenant.
Now,
we don't really
talk about the word
covenant a lot
these days
but in ancient times,
a great and powerful
king would make
a covenant
with a smaller king
and basically
what would happen,
it was a relational
agreement where
the great king
would call for
the other person
to give loyalty
and taxation
to him
and in return
what he would do,
he'd give protection
and maybe some provision.
You see,
it was a win-win
kind of situation.
And so,
the Deuteronomy
is actually
written
very much
like the style
of an ancient
treaty.
You know,
there's God,
the great and powerful
king,
Israel,
the smaller
power
except for
there's just one
thing that's different.
God doesn't get
any mutual benefit
out of this.
He wasn't looking
for some extra benefits
just to increase
his power
or his wealth.
God was already
a powerful ruler
of the world
and Israel
had already
proved itself
to be completely
unfaithful
in every way
and yet God
still comes
and makes a covenant
with them.
Why?
Deuteronomy 7
says this,
it was not
because you were
more in number
than any other
people
that the Lord
said his love
and chose you.
For you are
the fewest
of all peoples
but it is
because
the Lord
loves you.
The Ten Commandments
are pure grace
from an authoritative
but loving God.
this is less
like a treaty
and more
like a ridiculous
marriage ceremony
with God
as the king
who needs nothing
chasing after
a wretch.
It's like Prince Harry
chasing after
a disfigured,
battered,
obnoxious,
slum dwelling
old beggar
and pursuing her
in marriage
and then bringing her
to Buckingham Palace
to show everyone
and he's proud
of her
and everyone goes
what?
You're with her?
Totally out of your league
and yet God
through the exodus
is showing again
and again
his love
and the Ten Words
are Israel's
marriage vows
to be exclusively
Yahweh's
and to love him
in this relationship.
It's all grace.
You know in marriage
the worst thing
as a guy
is when your wife
assumes you know
exactly how to love her best
without ever communicating
what she really wants
and so you know
as guys we're pretty dumb
and we really don't know.
You need to spell it out to us.
You know it's like
okay
don't buy me
a car magazine
subscription
for my birthday.
Buy me a spa treatment
or something.
You go
oh right
okay
that's what we need
but pagan religions
always left you
guessing
what their gods liked
and then they punish you
for getting it wrong
but God in his grace
tells us exactly
how to do a relationship
with him
and how it can flourish.
He doesn't leave you wondering.
That's grace.
That's the Ten Words.
So he shows us his authority.
He shows us his desire
for relationship
and he also reveals
his character.
You know in Deuteronomy
God keeps telling the people
walk in my ways
which means
image me
do what I do.
You know
every commandment
which is here
reveals something
of God's character
to us.
You know
when Jesus
he summarized
the commandments
he said
you can summarize them
in two ways.
Love the Lord your God
with all your heart
soul mind and strength
and love your neighbor
as yourself.
What he was saying is
the commandments
are all about love.
Why?
Because God is love.
You see
if you want to know
what love is
look at the commands.
The first four
are all about
how to love God
upwards
in that direction.
The next six
show us
what love for our neighbors
look like
in very practical terms.
They reveal
the heart of God.
Ray Ortlund
a pastor
says this
what kind
of amazing person
would say to us
you shall not steal
only a just
and generous person
who can be
fully trusted
who would never
rob us
or defraud us
who would never
lie or cheat
who would never
hold out on us wrongly
who is not out
for himself
who feels no need
and no appetite
but only overflowing
kindness
and abundance.
You see
in each command
you will see revealed
a passionate
devoted
faithful
loving
just
contented
God
who wants us
as his people
to be the same.
It reveals
God
these commandments
his authority
his desire
for relationship
and his character.
But that's not all
they do.
Don't just reveal God
they also
are wisdom
for abundant
living.
This is why
we've actually
called these series
10 words
for abundant
life.
Have a look
at what it says
in chapter 4
verse 6.
It says this
keep these laws
and do them
for that will be
your wisdom
and understanding.
Wisdom
is the ability
to make
good decisions
which lead
to flourishing
and the good life.
That is what wisdom is.
And so
throughout Deuteronomy
God keeps saying
keep these commands
so that it's going to go
well with you
so that you might
live well.
Deuteronomy 6.24
says this
the Lord commanded us
to do
all these statutes
to fear the Lord
our God
listen
here it is
for our good
always
not just sometimes
for our good
always
that's what the command
is.
Commands are all about.
You know
every one of us
wants to live
the good life
don't we?
That's why
we watch
all those TED talks
and buy so many
self-help books.
We want wisdom
because we want
a flourishing life.
You know
in Genesis 2
and 3
God gives us
this abundant
garden
with like a
gazillion trees
in it
which are amazing
and he tells them
he gives them
one command
don't eat
from that one tree
you can eat
from anything else
that one tree
will bring you death
but just trust me
with that one
everything else
you can have life
but then the serpent
comes along
in Genesis 3
and he says
did God
really say
you can't eat
from any
tree
in the garden
no he didn't
he just said
one tree
he didn't say
any tree
but you see
that is always
the lie
behind every
single sin
that you will
ever commit
it's the lie
that says
God is trying
to restrict you
God is trying
to make your life
miserable
God is trying
to take joy
from you
it's not really
for your good
that's why
Satan always
wants you to focus
on the one thing
you don't have
and to miss
all the things
that God wants
to give you
and has given
you already
he wants
to focus
you on
what you're
going to
miss out
on
rather than
what you're
going to
gain
by trusting
God
and his
word
and obeying
him
but just
imagine
the kind
of community
that if they
follow the ten
words
what it would
be like
you know
you would
never have
to lock
your door
because there
would be
no theft
you would
never have
to fear
going out
at night
because there's
no murder
families
would be
in harmony
because people
are honouring
father and
mother
it would be
a society
of justice
and integrity
where you can
trust whatever
anyone says
and also
there would be
no workaholic
bosses driving
you into the
ground
this is a place
of freedom
there would be
no lawyers
actually
and no police
probably
some of us
may think
that's a good
thing
some of us
may not
but it's a place
of freedom
and life
any command
in scripture
forgive
those who've
hurt you
don't watch
porn
don't sleep
with your
girlfriend
pray
share the
gospel
every command
is for your
good
always
do we
believe that
because
God wants
to change
our hearts
so that it
goes from
here
to here
and changes
us
so what I
want us
to do
now
is
I actually
want us
to stop
for a minute
and I want
you to take
a minute
to reflect
if you're
with someone
you can just
discuss
with the
person
next to
you
but I've
got a
couple
of questions
that we're
going to
show on
the slide
that I
want you
to look
at
how is
God
calling
you to
obey
him
right at
this
time
and how
do you
view
his
commands
do you
view
what he's
calling
you as
something
that's
to give
you life
or
restrictive
why do
you see
that
why don't
you
and if
you're
not a
Christian
whose
words
do you
rely on
to help
you live
well
and then
how is
that
working
for you
so
if
you're
by
yourself
I encourage
you to
take a
pen
write
down
your
answers
if
you're
with
someone
take
the
time
to
reflect
and
discuss
and
we'll
come
back
in
a
couple
of
minutes
time
Thank you.
And like you and God.
And we go.
Thank you.