WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.100 We hope that you enjoy this teaching from Christchurch. 00:00:03.100 --> 00:00:13.300 This material is copyrighted and no unauthorized duplication, redistribution, or any other use of any part is permitted without prior consent from Christchurch. 00:00:13.300 --> 00:00:20.500 Please consider donating to this work in the San Francisco Bay Area online at Christchurcheastbay.org. 00:00:26.080 --> 00:00:26.960 Good morning. 00:00:26.960 --> 00:00:31.420 My name is Brian and I am a member of the Alameda Community Group. 00:00:31.560 --> 00:00:32.420 It's great to see you. 00:00:33.079 --> 00:00:39.340 And today's scripture passage and lesson is from the Old Testament from the book of Exodus. 00:00:42.100 --> 00:00:43.960 A reading from the book of Exodus. 00:00:45.359 --> 00:00:52.980 You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt and how I carried you on eagle's wings and brought you to myself. 00:00:52.979 --> 00:01:01.579 Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. 00:01:02.399 --> 00:01:08.659 Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. 00:01:09.560 --> 00:01:12.219 These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites. 00:01:12.219 --> 00:01:19.500 Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet with God and they stood at the foot of the mountain. 00:01:20.299 --> 00:01:25.260 Mount Sinai was covered with smoke because the Lord descended on it in fire. 00:01:25.760 --> 00:01:31.759 The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace and the whole mountain trembled violently. 00:01:31.760 --> 00:01:34.660 And God spoke all these words. 00:01:35.320 --> 00:01:40.120 I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 00:01:41.060 --> 00:01:44.520 You shall have no other gods before me. 00:01:45.460 --> 00:01:52.660 When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountains in smoke, they trembled with fear. 00:01:52.659 --> 00:02:01.599 They stayed at a distance and said to Moses, speak to us yourself and we will listen, but do not have God speak to us or we will die. 00:02:02.539 --> 00:02:12.500 When the Lord finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the covenant law, the tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God. 00:02:13.120 --> 00:02:17.819 The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever. 00:02:19.620 --> 00:02:20.400 Good morning. 00:02:20.400 --> 00:02:24.260 I'm Jonathan, one of the other pastors here. 00:02:24.659 --> 00:02:29.939 And we've begun a series over the past few weeks on the Ten Commandments. 00:02:30.020 --> 00:02:32.800 Today we're going to be talking about the first of those ten. 00:02:34.000 --> 00:02:45.879 And next to Psalm 23, next to the Lord's Prayer, the Ten Commandments are probably the most and best known of all the portions of the Bible. 00:02:45.879 --> 00:02:57.439 There are few parts of Scripture that have had such a large role in the life of the church and in public life as these Ten Commandments. 00:02:57.539 --> 00:03:00.500 Because here we find a summary statement. 00:03:00.659 --> 00:03:07.079 Here we find really the embodiment of God's will for all of human life. 00:03:07.080 --> 00:03:10.660 But immediately we face a big question. 00:03:10.840 --> 00:03:12.200 Immediately we face a problem. 00:03:12.360 --> 00:03:13.080 And why is that? 00:03:13.160 --> 00:03:19.640 Because the deepest value of Western secular culture is freedom. 00:03:21.100 --> 00:03:22.040 It's liberty. 00:03:22.260 --> 00:03:23.760 Give me liberty or give me death. 00:03:24.300 --> 00:03:24.580 Right? 00:03:24.580 --> 00:03:32.180 And we often define freedom or liberty as the absence of constraints. 00:03:33.200 --> 00:03:41.080 And so many people look at Christianity and they begin to ask themselves, you know, if I get into this, is this going to narrow my options? 00:03:41.220 --> 00:03:48.380 Is this going to limit my liberty and put constraints on my freedom and basically cramp my style? 00:03:48.379 --> 00:03:54.759 Here we have Ten Commandments that are absolute truth claims. 00:03:55.740 --> 00:04:00.759 That by definition constrain our liberty. 00:04:00.979 --> 00:04:03.560 So this must be the enemy of our freedom. 00:04:04.639 --> 00:04:15.939 And our goal over the next ten weeks as we go through the Ten Commandments is to actually try to convince you that these are not the enemy to freedom but actually the basis of true freedom. 00:04:15.939 --> 00:04:21.939 That the Ten Commandments are the basis of being a truly free human being. 00:04:23.019 --> 00:04:25.920 And you got to remember that these commands have a context. 00:04:26.040 --> 00:04:27.019 They don't come out of nowhere. 00:04:27.240 --> 00:04:32.740 They're what God says to his people after he rescues them out of Egypt and brings them to Mount Sinai. 00:04:33.220 --> 00:04:35.579 And there he said in verse 1, God spoke all these words, 00:04:35.980 --> 00:04:40.339 I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 00:04:40.339 --> 00:04:44.959 The first words of the Ten Commandments are not commands at all. 00:04:45.939 --> 00:04:53.060 The first words of the Ten Commandments are a statement of love and a statement of loyalty and liberation. 00:04:53.160 --> 00:04:58.939 The first words of the Ten Commandments are a statement of grace and of goodness of God to you. 00:04:59.779 --> 00:05:03.240 And so we begin with who God is to his people. 00:05:03.240 --> 00:05:10.240 And what it says is this family's fundamental identity is that we used to be slaves. 00:05:10.819 --> 00:05:12.660 But now we've been liberated. 00:05:12.800 --> 00:05:16.420 Now we're a free people and our liberator is the Lord. 00:05:17.259 --> 00:05:20.819 And so really the Ten Commandments are a charter of freedom. 00:05:20.960 --> 00:05:22.420 They're an ethic of freedom. 00:05:22.540 --> 00:05:25.980 It's an ethic of people who are wanting to live free. 00:05:25.980 --> 00:05:32.040 God says to them, if you'll listen to my voice, if you'll keep the terms of my covenant, 00:05:32.580 --> 00:05:35.020 then I will set you apart as a holy nation. 00:05:35.140 --> 00:05:37.080 I'll set you apart as a priestly kingdom. 00:05:37.379 --> 00:05:41.520 And you will shine my light to all the peoples of the world. 00:05:42.280 --> 00:05:46.000 But of course, if you want to be slaves again, if you want to slip back into bondage, 00:05:46.040 --> 00:05:48.460 just ignore these words and do whatever you like. 00:05:48.459 --> 00:05:56.519 So these are ten life-giving words, ten freedom-protecting words that are not given to us as a ladder 00:05:56.519 --> 00:06:01.479 by which we climb up to secure God's love and his liberation. 00:06:01.659 --> 00:06:03.219 God's people already have that. 00:06:04.379 --> 00:06:07.679 It's not obey me so that I can deliver you. 00:06:07.779 --> 00:06:08.699 It's you've been delivered. 00:06:09.319 --> 00:06:11.179 So now here's the way to please me. 00:06:11.279 --> 00:06:12.819 Here's the way to delight me. 00:06:12.919 --> 00:06:14.719 Here's the way to say thank you. 00:06:15.519 --> 00:06:16.120 Does that make sense? 00:06:16.120 --> 00:06:20.300 Okay, I got to say that every week because we got to get it deep in our heads and our hearts. 00:06:20.379 --> 00:06:24.379 Now, I want to dive in and I want to talk about the nature of God's law 00:06:24.379 --> 00:06:28.560 and the substance of God's law and the purpose of God's law today 00:06:28.560 --> 00:06:30.780 as we get into this first commandment. 00:06:30.819 --> 00:06:33.800 And let's start with the nature of God's law. 00:06:34.740 --> 00:06:38.220 The people have come here to the foot of Mount Sinai to meet with God. 00:06:38.280 --> 00:06:42.000 And it says that God himself spoke these words to the people. 00:06:42.000 --> 00:06:46.300 And it says in verse 19 that they said to Moses, 00:06:46.540 --> 00:06:48.800 Moses, speak to us yourself and we will listen, 00:06:48.920 --> 00:06:52.699 but do not have God speak any more to us or we will die. 00:06:55.660 --> 00:06:58.160 These 10 commandments that God spoke from the mountain, 00:06:58.480 --> 00:07:01.439 he didn't speak indirectly through his mediator, Moses. 00:07:01.540 --> 00:07:02.759 He spoke them directly. 00:07:02.899 --> 00:07:04.000 He spoke them audibly. 00:07:04.000 --> 00:07:09.959 And this was such an awesome experience that basically they were overwhelmed. 00:07:10.079 --> 00:07:12.079 They said, we can't take any more of this. 00:07:12.180 --> 00:07:16.759 We can't handle any more of the power of the direct voice of God. 00:07:17.560 --> 00:07:20.699 And you notice there in Exodus 31 verse 18, 00:07:20.699 --> 00:07:27.439 it says that these are the direct words from God given not only audibly at the mountain, 00:07:27.439 --> 00:07:29.079 but they were also given legibly. 00:07:29.779 --> 00:07:32.459 They were written, it says, by the finger of God. 00:07:32.459 --> 00:07:33.879 That's the source of these commands. 00:07:34.479 --> 00:07:37.120 And it also says that they're written on tablets of stone. 00:07:37.219 --> 00:07:38.319 That's how solid they are. 00:07:38.399 --> 00:07:40.579 That's how enduring they're going to be. 00:07:40.659 --> 00:07:44.279 And they're so important that they're given two times in the Torah. 00:07:44.359 --> 00:07:47.240 They're giving here first at Exodus chapter 20, 00:07:47.259 --> 00:07:50.479 and they're given again in Deuteronomy chapter five to prepare the people 00:07:50.479 --> 00:07:52.419 as they enter into the promised land. 00:07:52.459 --> 00:07:54.579 So it must be really, really important. 00:07:54.579 --> 00:08:00.479 And what God is saying is this is the foundational word for your life. 00:08:00.639 --> 00:08:01.560 And here it is. 00:08:02.099 --> 00:08:04.859 You shall have no other gods before me. 00:08:06.120 --> 00:08:09.000 All you need to know is given to you right here. 00:08:09.759 --> 00:08:11.060 And what do we need to know? 00:08:11.199 --> 00:08:15.419 We need to know that humanity was made to worship the living God. 00:08:15.420 --> 00:08:24.259 We were made to listen to God, to trust God, to love God, to obey God, and to worship God. 00:08:25.140 --> 00:08:29.819 All the troubles, all the problems, all the trials of our world that persist, 00:08:29.920 --> 00:08:35.340 the reason that our world is so miserable can be put quite simply. 00:08:35.340 --> 00:08:38.879 And it's that human beings are alienated from this God. 00:08:39.840 --> 00:08:42.620 This God who says you should have no other gods before me. 00:08:43.320 --> 00:08:44.700 That's what's wrong with our world. 00:08:44.800 --> 00:08:51.899 That's the cause of all of our troubles from the very, well, back to just after the beginning, I suppose. 00:08:53.259 --> 00:08:54.740 It wasn't always that way. 00:08:55.780 --> 00:08:59.259 But after humanity fell from a very high place, 00:09:00.139 --> 00:09:04.820 God called out of humanity, and he chose one man, Abraham. 00:09:04.820 --> 00:09:06.940 He chose one family, Israel. 00:09:07.060 --> 00:09:11.120 And he said, I'm going to be your God, and you're going to be my covenant people, 00:09:11.260 --> 00:09:16.820 and I'm going to liberate you from slavery, and you will enjoy a life of blessing. 00:09:17.260 --> 00:09:18.940 You will enjoy a life of flourishing. 00:09:19.060 --> 00:09:26.260 You will enjoy a life of freedom and peace on the condition that you live as I would have you to live. 00:09:26.980 --> 00:09:30.820 And he puts before his people two possibilities, two alternatives. 00:09:31.560 --> 00:09:34.140 You can have a life of blessing and doing it my way, 00:09:34.139 --> 00:09:37.500 or you can have a life of cursing, doing it your way. 00:09:38.399 --> 00:09:41.039 And that's how it's been since the Garden of Eden. 00:09:41.159 --> 00:09:44.799 Adam and Eve were given a choice of how they would exercise their freedom. 00:09:44.899 --> 00:09:46.199 And God said to them there, he said, 00:09:46.259 --> 00:09:49.939 you can either live under me in blessing and peace and joy, 00:09:49.939 --> 00:09:54.580 or you can live a life of miserable, wretched, cursed existence. 00:09:54.580 --> 00:10:02.420 And here at Mount Sinai, God is reminding his people that this is just how life in his creation works. 00:10:03.160 --> 00:10:08.259 And he puts it in such a clear and simple way that even a child can understand it. 00:10:08.980 --> 00:10:14.000 These are the conditions upon which you will be blessed, 00:10:14.680 --> 00:10:17.960 that you have no other gods before me. 00:10:17.960 --> 00:10:23.720 But if you don't adhere to that law, you're not going to be blessed. 00:10:24.420 --> 00:10:28.300 And if you just read the Old Testament for five or ten minutes, 00:10:28.620 --> 00:10:31.680 you can see that when God's people submit to him, 00:10:31.720 --> 00:10:33.639 when God's people submit to his law, 00:10:33.900 --> 00:10:36.420 he blesses them and their life is noble, 00:10:36.540 --> 00:10:38.879 their life is flourishing, their life is wonderful. 00:10:39.259 --> 00:10:42.320 But when they rebel, when they refuse to keep his law, 00:10:42.420 --> 00:10:43.980 when they turn after other gods, 00:10:43.980 --> 00:10:46.659 everything invariably goes wrong. 00:10:47.440 --> 00:10:48.480 Now, why is that? 00:10:48.519 --> 00:10:55.240 Because the creator God has written into the very structure of his created reality, 00:10:55.240 --> 00:10:59.180 and he's written into the very fabric of your created self, 00:10:59.779 --> 00:11:03.120 that he must be first, 00:11:03.820 --> 00:11:05.420 and he must be the greatest. 00:11:06.440 --> 00:11:09.259 And what happens is when we decide we're going to live 00:11:09.259 --> 00:11:11.500 and go against the grain of the universe, 00:11:11.620 --> 00:11:12.039 what happens? 00:11:12.279 --> 00:11:13.139 We get splinters. 00:11:13.980 --> 00:11:14.460 Right? 00:11:15.100 --> 00:11:18.980 When we decide we're going to go against the fabric of who God made me to be, 00:11:19.100 --> 00:11:20.680 we're going to start to unravel. 00:11:20.840 --> 00:11:22.940 When we break God's law, 00:11:23.940 --> 00:11:25.480 we become broken. 00:11:26.519 --> 00:11:27.720 And that's why Jesus, 00:11:27.899 --> 00:11:31.060 when he's talking in the Gospels one afternoon, 00:11:31.159 --> 00:11:33.440 he's asked this question about, 00:11:33.620 --> 00:11:35.039 Jesus, what is the first commandment? 00:11:35.080 --> 00:11:38.200 What's the greatest and most important commandment of all? 00:11:38.600 --> 00:11:41.300 And what did Jesus answer in Matthew 22? 00:11:41.299 --> 00:11:44.099 He said, love the Lord your God with all your heart, 00:11:44.199 --> 00:11:44.979 with all your soul, 00:11:44.979 --> 00:11:45.939 and with all your mind. 00:11:46.299 --> 00:11:47.919 This is the first and greatest commandment, 00:11:47.959 --> 00:11:48.919 and the second is like it. 00:11:49.019 --> 00:11:50.919 Love your neighbor as yourself. 00:11:51.399 --> 00:11:54.959 All the law and the prophets hang on these two commandments. 00:11:54.960 --> 00:11:59.540 And here Jesus gives us a perfect summary of the Ten Commandments, 00:11:59.540 --> 00:12:02.560 a perfect summary of God's moral law. 00:12:03.720 --> 00:12:08.980 And the way he expounds them is that he says they can be divided into two sections, 00:12:08.980 --> 00:12:11.960 which we call the two tables of the law. 00:12:12.040 --> 00:12:15.220 The first table of the law is commands one through four. 00:12:15.340 --> 00:12:16.019 Command one, 00:12:16.379 --> 00:12:16.600 two, 00:12:17.000 --> 00:12:17.300 three, 00:12:17.299 --> 00:12:17.879 and four. 00:12:17.979 --> 00:12:21.939 And that has to do with our attitude toward God and our relationship with God. 00:12:22.639 --> 00:12:27.839 And then Jesus says there's the second table of the law that has to do with commands five through ten. 00:12:28.000 --> 00:12:33.500 And that has to do with our attitude toward and our relationship with our fellow men and women. 00:12:34.379 --> 00:12:37.199 And what Jesus is saying is if you look at God's moral law, 00:12:37.259 --> 00:12:40.579 there's a vertical component that comes first about how we honor God. 00:12:40.580 --> 00:12:44.280 And there's a horizontal component that comes second about how we honor our neighbor. 00:12:45.240 --> 00:12:48.720 And if you follow Jesus' exposition of the law, 00:12:49.060 --> 00:12:50.900 he says that you've got two divisions, 00:12:51.180 --> 00:12:51.920 two sections, 00:12:52.120 --> 00:12:53.840 two tables of commands. 00:12:53.960 --> 00:12:55.480 But notice that there's an order. 00:12:55.759 --> 00:12:58.759 Notice that one comes before the other. 00:13:00.020 --> 00:13:06.420 The first division is the one in which we are reminded about our relationship with God. 00:13:06.419 --> 00:13:11.719 What am I to do in order to have a happy life, 00:13:11.779 --> 00:13:12.599 a blessed life, 00:13:12.659 --> 00:13:14.000 a contented life? 00:13:14.779 --> 00:13:17.539 What has the whole world got to do 00:13:17.539 --> 00:13:23.059 that it might be delivered from all of its troubles and wars and miseries and calamities? 00:13:24.079 --> 00:13:27.259 The answer comes that the supreme thing in life 00:13:27.259 --> 00:13:30.459 is to be in a right relationship with God. 00:13:31.379 --> 00:13:32.839 You should have no other gods before me. 00:13:32.879 --> 00:13:33.819 You've got to love me. 00:13:34.860 --> 00:13:35.480 Trust me. 00:13:36.419 --> 00:13:37.179 Obey me. 00:13:37.299 --> 00:13:38.219 Worship me. 00:13:39.799 --> 00:13:43.120 I am the Lord is how the commandments begin. 00:13:43.799 --> 00:13:44.939 The law of God, 00:13:45.039 --> 00:13:45.399 importantly, 00:13:45.719 --> 00:13:47.939 does not start with me. 00:13:48.039 --> 00:13:49.019 It doesn't start with you. 00:13:49.179 --> 00:13:50.699 I am the Lord is how it starts. 00:13:51.259 --> 00:13:54.219 It doesn't start with our financial problems. 00:13:54.860 --> 00:13:57.740 It doesn't start with our psychological problems. 00:13:57.839 --> 00:13:59.719 It doesn't start with our relational problems 00:13:59.719 --> 00:14:01.360 or our social problems 00:14:01.360 --> 00:14:03.219 or our political problems. 00:14:03.219 --> 00:14:04.299 No, the first thing, 00:14:04.299 --> 00:14:07.359 the law is concerned to hold before us 00:14:07.359 --> 00:14:10.819 is to hold us face to face with God. 00:14:10.820 --> 00:14:13.520 God first. 00:14:14.460 --> 00:14:16.600 Humanity and all of its issues second. 00:14:16.700 --> 00:14:19.520 And that order is absolutely vital. 00:14:20.300 --> 00:14:22.460 The most fatal blunder in human thinking 00:14:22.460 --> 00:14:25.120 is the failure to remember this order. 00:14:26.400 --> 00:14:29.440 God and our relationship with God 00:14:29.440 --> 00:14:32.100 comes first before everything else. 00:14:32.100 --> 00:14:34.960 That is the greatest issue in the world today. 00:14:34.960 --> 00:14:43.360 Of course, the Ten Commandments are going to deal with all sorts of external, social, horizontal issues 00:14:43.360 --> 00:14:49.759 like your parents and authorities and murder and adultery and stealing and all these things. 00:14:49.759 --> 00:14:52.860 But those are always downstream 00:14:52.860 --> 00:14:59.759 from this existential, spiritual, vertical concern about our relationship with God. 00:15:00.779 --> 00:15:04.439 And the point of the Ten Commandments is that you can't regard humanity 00:15:04.439 --> 00:15:07.319 and its problems rightly and correctly 00:15:07.319 --> 00:15:11.819 unless you regard human beings in their relationship to God. 00:15:11.820 --> 00:15:17.300 So, what that means is that we can look around the Bay Area right now 00:15:17.300 --> 00:15:21.320 and we can think about all of our social divisions and disputes. 00:15:21.320 --> 00:15:25.240 We can look at our class issues between rich and poor, 00:15:25.340 --> 00:15:26.600 the haves and the have-nots. 00:15:26.700 --> 00:15:30.160 We can look at our work issues between management and employment. 00:15:30.600 --> 00:15:34.060 We can look at our personal clashes between men and women, 00:15:34.300 --> 00:15:37.720 husbands and wives, parents and children, neighbor and neighbor. 00:15:37.720 --> 00:15:42.200 And people can try to solve those problems by looking to the economists 00:15:42.200 --> 00:15:45.139 and looking to the psychologists and looking to the sociologists 00:15:45.139 --> 00:15:48.120 and looking to the philosophers and looking to the politicians. 00:15:48.540 --> 00:15:51.440 But you won't understand any of that properly. 00:15:51.680 --> 00:15:54.180 You won't understand any of that holistically 00:15:54.180 --> 00:15:58.100 until you look at all these people in terms of who? 00:15:58.580 --> 00:15:59.779 In terms of God. 00:16:00.680 --> 00:16:02.700 In terms of their relationship with God. 00:16:02.759 --> 00:16:04.440 You shall have no other gods before me. 00:16:04.519 --> 00:16:06.000 That's the first thing he says. 00:16:06.000 --> 00:16:08.600 Because we've been made by God 00:16:08.600 --> 00:16:11.279 and we can't truly function as human beings 00:16:11.279 --> 00:16:15.000 unless and until we are in a right relationship with God. 00:16:15.639 --> 00:16:17.080 And when we forget God, 00:16:17.139 --> 00:16:19.620 when we try to live our lives apart from God, 00:16:19.659 --> 00:16:22.120 when we try to run our lives without God, 00:16:22.179 --> 00:16:24.000 we always get into trouble. 00:16:24.100 --> 00:16:26.139 And you can just look at the world around you. 00:16:26.200 --> 00:16:27.980 You can just read the newspaper this morning 00:16:27.980 --> 00:16:29.559 to see the evidence of that. 00:16:29.559 --> 00:16:34.619 If I look at myself apart from God 00:16:34.619 --> 00:16:38.979 and I look at other men and women apart from God, 00:16:39.339 --> 00:16:42.879 I begin to set myself up as a God. 00:16:44.139 --> 00:16:46.859 And other people do the same. 00:16:46.860 --> 00:16:49.700 I want to be first. 00:16:49.899 --> 00:16:51.159 And they want to be first. 00:16:51.800 --> 00:16:53.320 I want things the way I want it. 00:16:53.399 --> 00:16:54.680 They want things the way they want it. 00:16:54.759 --> 00:16:56.440 I want my sovereign rights as an individual. 00:16:56.600 --> 00:16:58.220 You want your sovereign rights as an individual. 00:16:58.360 --> 00:17:00.279 They want their sovereign rights as a nation. 00:17:00.480 --> 00:17:02.460 And we want our sovereign rights as a nation. 00:17:02.519 --> 00:17:05.059 And we're all at a war of all against all. 00:17:06.099 --> 00:17:06.980 Why is that? 00:17:07.019 --> 00:17:09.200 Because we're not all on our knees together 00:17:09.200 --> 00:17:11.099 worshiping the one true living God. 00:17:11.099 --> 00:17:14.539 But when I'm doing that, 00:17:15.579 --> 00:17:17.339 when I'm worshiping God rightly, 00:17:17.439 --> 00:17:19.259 having no other gods before him, 00:17:19.939 --> 00:17:23.179 I can begin to see myself as a creature made by God, 00:17:23.339 --> 00:17:26.079 living under God, totally dependent upon God. 00:17:26.240 --> 00:17:28.699 And then I begin to see my fellow men and women 00:17:28.699 --> 00:17:30.699 as creatures just like me. 00:17:32.199 --> 00:17:34.039 And the order of these commandments 00:17:34.039 --> 00:17:35.619 is tremendously important 00:17:35.619 --> 00:17:39.619 because the first table must come before the second table. 00:17:41.099 --> 00:17:44.259 When we fail to observe the first things about God, 00:17:44.379 --> 00:17:46.439 we will inevitably begin to ignore 00:17:46.439 --> 00:17:48.480 and neglect the second things about people. 00:17:49.639 --> 00:17:51.139 When we fail in the vertical, 00:17:51.379 --> 00:17:54.699 we will very soon begin to see the unraveling 00:17:54.699 --> 00:17:56.619 of the horizontal at the individual level, 00:17:56.879 --> 00:17:58.899 the familia level, the social level, 00:17:59.139 --> 00:18:01.819 the national level, and the international level. 00:18:02.759 --> 00:18:05.139 And so my first question for you this morning, friends, 00:18:05.219 --> 00:18:08.039 is do you believe that God is first? 00:18:09.359 --> 00:18:10.619 Do you believe the order? 00:18:11.919 --> 00:18:14.219 It's written into the very fabric of the universe, 00:18:14.319 --> 00:18:15.579 the very fabric of yourself, 00:18:15.659 --> 00:18:18.240 that God is supposed to be first and greatest 00:18:18.240 --> 00:18:20.619 and most important than everything else. 00:18:21.579 --> 00:18:22.579 Do you believe that? 00:18:23.439 --> 00:18:25.719 And if someone were to come and audit your life 00:18:25.719 --> 00:18:26.899 and they looked at your calendar 00:18:26.899 --> 00:18:28.240 and how you spent your time 00:18:28.240 --> 00:18:30.099 and they looked at your bank account 00:18:30.099 --> 00:18:31.219 and how you spent your money 00:18:31.219 --> 00:18:33.019 and they looked at the books and what you read 00:18:33.019 --> 00:18:34.699 and they look at your priorities 00:18:34.699 --> 00:18:36.740 and the decisions and choices you make, 00:18:36.740 --> 00:18:40.480 would it be obvious to them that you believe that? 00:18:42.980 --> 00:18:44.720 The nature of God's law. 00:18:46.059 --> 00:18:49.019 But I want to also talk about the substance of God's law. 00:18:49.839 --> 00:18:51.940 This is sort of a general overview, 00:18:52.079 --> 00:18:54.599 but let me get it now down into the specifics 00:18:54.599 --> 00:18:58.420 about the substance of this first and foundational command 00:18:58.420 --> 00:19:01.180 by which all the other commands stand or fall. 00:19:01.240 --> 00:19:03.140 If you get this first commandment, 00:19:03.140 --> 00:19:04.840 everything else will just fall in line. 00:19:04.900 --> 00:19:06.580 If you don't get this thing, 00:19:07.160 --> 00:19:09.140 everything else is going to fall apart. 00:19:10.240 --> 00:19:10.759 Verse three, 00:19:11.060 --> 00:19:14.420 you shall have no other gods before me. 00:19:15.300 --> 00:19:15.960 First of all, 00:19:16.040 --> 00:19:17.100 it's the you there, 00:19:17.320 --> 00:19:17.940 you shall, 00:19:18.740 --> 00:19:20.700 the you there is first person singular. 00:19:20.920 --> 00:19:22.240 The Lord is speaking directly 00:19:22.240 --> 00:19:24.920 to each individual listener. 00:19:25.019 --> 00:19:25.880 And he's saying you, 00:19:26.120 --> 00:19:27.740 Jonathan Berry St. 00:19:27.799 --> 00:19:27.960 Claire, 00:19:28.019 --> 00:19:28.940 I'm looking at you. 00:19:29.019 --> 00:19:30.940 I'm talking to you. 00:19:31.059 --> 00:19:32.539 I brought you out of slavery 00:19:32.539 --> 00:19:33.440 and therefore you, 00:19:33.660 --> 00:19:34.019 Jonathan, 00:19:34.920 --> 00:19:37.579 are to have no other gods before me. 00:19:37.720 --> 00:19:38.160 Secondly, 00:19:38.299 --> 00:19:39.700 he says you shall, 00:19:40.640 --> 00:19:41.420 you shall. 00:19:41.519 --> 00:19:42.859 These are not 10 suggestions. 00:19:43.819 --> 00:19:45.779 They're not 10 recommendations. 00:19:46.120 --> 00:19:47.599 They are 10 commandments. 00:19:47.740 --> 00:19:48.779 If your employer says, 00:19:48.880 --> 00:19:51.160 you shall come work in the office 00:19:51.160 --> 00:19:52.300 from Monday to Friday, 00:19:52.820 --> 00:19:54.140 if your government says, 00:19:54.340 --> 00:19:56.720 you shall pay your taxes 00:19:56.720 --> 00:19:58.600 on April 15th, 00:19:58.900 --> 00:20:00.940 you recognize the, 00:20:01.279 --> 00:20:02.620 and you honor the authority 00:20:02.620 --> 00:20:05.000 as the one who enjoys the privileges 00:20:05.000 --> 00:20:06.279 of being a citizen 00:20:06.279 --> 00:20:07.400 and being an employee 00:20:07.400 --> 00:20:08.940 and you get in line. 00:20:10.700 --> 00:20:10.960 Well, 00:20:10.960 --> 00:20:11.620 the one who says, 00:20:11.740 --> 00:20:12.560 you shall here, 00:20:12.960 --> 00:20:14.779 is the high king of heaven. 00:20:16.019 --> 00:20:17.360 He's the ultimate authority 00:20:17.360 --> 00:20:18.560 by which all other authority 00:20:18.560 --> 00:20:19.620 is derived. 00:20:19.619 --> 00:20:21.399 And as your creator, 00:20:21.719 --> 00:20:22.899 he owns you. 00:20:24.379 --> 00:20:25.739 And if he's redeemed you, 00:20:25.819 --> 00:20:26.979 he doubly owns you. 00:20:27.699 --> 00:20:29.399 And that means he can tell you 00:20:29.399 --> 00:20:30.399 to do things. 00:20:30.479 --> 00:20:31.339 He can command you. 00:20:31.419 --> 00:20:32.119 He can direct you. 00:20:32.179 --> 00:20:32.639 He can say, 00:20:32.799 --> 00:20:33.759 you shall. 00:20:35.079 --> 00:20:36.139 And the third thing here 00:20:36.139 --> 00:20:36.619 is he says, 00:20:36.719 --> 00:20:38.299 you shall have no, 00:20:38.359 --> 00:20:39.099 or a lot of them say, 00:20:39.279 --> 00:20:40.579 you shall not. 00:20:41.279 --> 00:20:42.419 Most of these commandments 00:20:42.419 --> 00:20:43.419 are negative, 00:20:43.639 --> 00:20:45.439 but they assume the positive. 00:20:45.539 --> 00:20:46.279 And some of them 00:20:46.279 --> 00:20:47.939 are positive 00:20:47.940 --> 00:20:49.039 and they assume the negative. 00:20:49.200 --> 00:20:49.740 So for example, 00:20:49.740 --> 00:20:50.860 when you fast forward 00:20:50.860 --> 00:20:52.440 to the fourth commandment, 00:20:52.480 --> 00:20:52.920 it says, 00:20:53.539 --> 00:20:54.380 remember the Sabbath day 00:20:54.380 --> 00:20:55.920 by keeping it holy. 00:20:56.059 --> 00:20:56.900 Or the fifth commandment, 00:20:56.980 --> 00:20:57.759 honor your father 00:20:57.759 --> 00:20:58.779 and your mother. 00:20:59.059 --> 00:21:00.559 Those positive commands 00:21:00.559 --> 00:21:01.380 assume the negative. 00:21:01.460 --> 00:21:02.240 The negative commands 00:21:02.240 --> 00:21:03.539 assume the positive. 00:21:04.759 --> 00:21:05.480 So for example, 00:21:05.539 --> 00:21:06.360 in the Garden of Eden, 00:21:07.320 --> 00:21:08.580 in Genesis chapter two, 00:21:08.680 --> 00:21:09.160 God says, 00:21:09.279 --> 00:21:10.279 you shall not eat 00:21:10.279 --> 00:21:11.000 from the tree 00:21:11.000 --> 00:21:11.660 of the knowledge 00:21:11.660 --> 00:21:12.680 of good and evil. 00:21:12.680 --> 00:21:14.980 And the great temptation 00:21:14.980 --> 00:21:16.100 there in that moment 00:21:16.100 --> 00:21:17.860 was to focus 00:21:17.860 --> 00:21:20.160 on the one negative prohibition 00:21:20.160 --> 00:21:21.259 about one tree. 00:21:23.060 --> 00:21:25.539 But that command 00:21:25.539 --> 00:21:27.640 implied the positive permission 00:21:27.640 --> 00:21:28.460 about thousands 00:21:28.460 --> 00:21:29.039 and thousands 00:21:29.039 --> 00:21:29.660 and thousands 00:21:29.660 --> 00:21:30.240 and thousands 00:21:30.240 --> 00:21:31.240 of other fruit trees 00:21:31.240 --> 00:21:31.700 in the garden 00:21:31.700 --> 00:21:32.440 to be enjoyed. 00:21:33.840 --> 00:21:34.740 And so what we have 00:21:34.740 --> 00:21:35.120 to remember 00:21:35.120 --> 00:21:36.440 is that every no, 00:21:36.560 --> 00:21:37.060 God says, 00:21:37.120 --> 00:21:38.420 there's many yeses. 00:21:39.120 --> 00:21:40.380 And every restriction 00:21:40.380 --> 00:21:40.920 God gives, 00:21:40.920 --> 00:21:42.880 there's a thousand freedoms 00:21:42.880 --> 00:21:43.560 and permissions. 00:21:43.779 --> 00:21:44.100 It says, 00:21:44.220 --> 00:21:45.300 no other God. 00:21:45.400 --> 00:21:46.620 That's the negative side 00:21:46.620 --> 00:21:47.100 of the command. 00:21:47.200 --> 00:21:48.259 But the positive side 00:21:48.259 --> 00:21:48.700 is what? 00:21:50.140 --> 00:21:51.440 You get to have me 00:21:51.440 --> 00:21:52.240 as your God. 00:21:53.200 --> 00:21:54.019 You get to have 00:21:54.019 --> 00:21:55.180 the one true living God 00:21:55.180 --> 00:21:56.259 as your God. 00:21:57.100 --> 00:21:57.940 The fourth thing, 00:21:58.400 --> 00:21:59.140 you, singular, 00:21:59.340 --> 00:21:59.940 you shall, 00:22:00.140 --> 00:22:00.940 command, authority. 00:22:01.100 --> 00:22:01.940 You shall not, 00:22:02.039 --> 00:22:03.320 negative but also positive. 00:22:04.460 --> 00:22:05.100 And then it says, 00:22:05.220 --> 00:22:06.519 you shall have 00:22:06.519 --> 00:22:08.380 no other gods. 00:22:09.360 --> 00:22:10.200 Now on the one hand, 00:22:10.200 --> 00:22:12.720 the Bible says 00:22:12.720 --> 00:22:13.799 that there's only one God. 00:22:13.880 --> 00:22:15.340 This is a monotheistic book. 00:22:17.460 --> 00:22:18.519 The other gods 00:22:18.519 --> 00:22:19.500 of the nations, 00:22:19.819 --> 00:22:20.080 Egypt, 00:22:20.360 --> 00:22:20.660 Babylon, 00:22:21.620 --> 00:22:21.860 Greeks, 00:22:22.019 --> 00:22:22.299 Romans, 00:22:22.299 --> 00:22:23.059 those gods 00:22:23.059 --> 00:22:24.640 don't actually exist. 00:22:25.440 --> 00:22:26.340 They're nothings. 00:22:26.740 --> 00:22:27.740 There are no other 00:22:27.740 --> 00:22:29.440 deities or divinities 00:22:29.440 --> 00:22:30.140 competing 00:22:30.140 --> 00:22:31.860 to be beside God 00:22:31.860 --> 00:22:34.299 or before God. 00:22:34.380 --> 00:22:34.960 They're not there. 00:22:36.100 --> 00:22:37.200 But on the other hand, 00:22:37.299 --> 00:22:38.920 God gives us this command 00:22:38.920 --> 00:22:40.800 knowing the original temptation 00:22:40.800 --> 00:22:41.820 in Genesis 3, 00:22:42.120 --> 00:22:42.940 which was what? 00:22:43.440 --> 00:22:44.840 You shall be like God. 00:22:47.279 --> 00:22:49.259 That's the original temptation 00:22:49.259 --> 00:22:51.440 for the human heart, 00:22:51.500 --> 00:22:53.100 especially the fallen human heart, 00:22:53.160 --> 00:22:54.200 is to think that we 00:22:54.200 --> 00:22:55.240 ourselves 00:22:55.240 --> 00:22:56.800 can live as 00:22:56.800 --> 00:22:57.880 lords 00:22:57.880 --> 00:22:59.300 in the place of God. 00:22:59.299 --> 00:23:02.519 that little creatures 00:23:02.519 --> 00:23:04.799 can trade places 00:23:04.799 --> 00:23:05.379 with the creator, 00:23:05.460 --> 00:23:06.339 can play the part 00:23:06.339 --> 00:23:07.279 of the creator. 00:23:07.399 --> 00:23:08.559 Little dependent creatures 00:23:08.559 --> 00:23:10.379 can elevate themselves 00:23:10.379 --> 00:23:11.579 to a place of power 00:23:11.579 --> 00:23:12.359 and authority 00:23:12.359 --> 00:23:13.740 where only the creator God 00:23:13.740 --> 00:23:14.839 deserves to be. 00:23:15.980 --> 00:23:17.079 The biblical record, 00:23:17.200 --> 00:23:18.099 the historical record, 00:23:18.180 --> 00:23:18.839 proves that 00:23:18.839 --> 00:23:20.220 we not only seek 00:23:20.220 --> 00:23:21.559 to deify ourselves 00:23:21.559 --> 00:23:22.639 and divinize 00:23:22.639 --> 00:23:23.500 ourselves, 00:23:23.599 --> 00:23:24.519 our creaturely selves 00:23:24.519 --> 00:23:25.159 in many ways, 00:23:25.200 --> 00:23:26.220 but we also do this 00:23:26.220 --> 00:23:27.259 with all manner 00:23:27.259 --> 00:23:27.880 of aspects 00:23:27.880 --> 00:23:29.319 of God's creation. 00:23:30.000 --> 00:23:30.660 And just to give you 00:23:30.660 --> 00:23:31.259 one example, 00:23:31.400 --> 00:23:32.180 Jesus says 00:23:32.180 --> 00:23:33.480 in the Sermon on the Mount, 00:23:33.519 --> 00:23:33.799 he says, 00:23:33.880 --> 00:23:34.539 you cannot serve 00:23:34.539 --> 00:23:35.539 both God and money. 00:23:36.940 --> 00:23:37.660 And what Jesus 00:23:37.660 --> 00:23:38.279 is saying there 00:23:38.279 --> 00:23:38.980 is that there's something 00:23:38.980 --> 00:23:40.220 in our human heart 00:23:40.220 --> 00:23:41.059 that's inclined 00:23:41.059 --> 00:23:42.720 to take a good part 00:23:42.720 --> 00:23:44.220 of God's creation 00:23:44.220 --> 00:23:44.880 like money, 00:23:45.019 --> 00:23:46.839 like material well-being, 00:23:47.000 --> 00:23:48.420 like any entity 00:23:48.420 --> 00:23:50.019 that has the potential 00:23:50.019 --> 00:23:52.000 to create wealth. 00:23:52.000 --> 00:23:54.119 and we can give 00:23:54.119 --> 00:23:54.579 that thing 00:23:54.579 --> 00:23:56.420 such an elevated status, 00:23:56.559 --> 00:23:57.740 such an ultimate status 00:23:57.740 --> 00:23:58.380 in the thoughts 00:23:58.380 --> 00:23:59.059 of our minds 00:23:59.059 --> 00:23:59.960 and the affections 00:23:59.960 --> 00:24:00.700 of our hearts 00:24:00.700 --> 00:24:02.519 that it's no longer 00:24:02.519 --> 00:24:03.980 a gift from God 00:24:03.980 --> 00:24:04.920 to get work done. 00:24:05.059 --> 00:24:05.779 Money is no longer 00:24:05.779 --> 00:24:06.720 a gift from God 00:24:06.720 --> 00:24:08.339 to create a flourishing 00:24:08.339 --> 00:24:09.420 human community. 00:24:09.599 --> 00:24:10.259 Now money 00:24:10.259 --> 00:24:11.079 is money 00:24:11.079 --> 00:24:12.140 with a capital M. 00:24:13.319 --> 00:24:13.740 Right? 00:24:14.359 --> 00:24:15.160 I serve it. 00:24:15.759 --> 00:24:16.759 I live for it. 00:24:16.799 --> 00:24:17.400 I need it. 00:24:17.480 --> 00:24:18.079 I want it. 00:24:18.140 --> 00:24:19.200 It's my precious. 00:24:19.200 --> 00:24:22.420 And if I have 00:24:22.420 --> 00:24:23.200 more of it, 00:24:23.240 --> 00:24:23.940 I feel happy. 00:24:24.019 --> 00:24:24.620 I feel great. 00:24:24.759 --> 00:24:25.400 I feel secure. 00:24:25.500 --> 00:24:26.460 And if I have less of it, 00:24:26.500 --> 00:24:27.340 I feel devastated. 00:24:27.440 --> 00:24:28.059 I feel sad. 00:24:28.120 --> 00:24:28.740 If I lose it, 00:24:28.960 --> 00:24:30.680 I'm feeling total despair. 00:24:32.960 --> 00:24:33.700 Martin Luther, 00:24:34.200 --> 00:24:36.160 who wrote that first song 00:24:36.160 --> 00:24:37.000 we sang today, 00:24:37.420 --> 00:24:38.600 he also wrote this 00:24:38.600 --> 00:24:39.700 in the 16th century. 00:24:39.819 --> 00:24:40.200 He said, 00:24:41.019 --> 00:24:42.460 what does it mean 00:24:42.460 --> 00:24:43.160 to have a God? 00:24:44.460 --> 00:24:45.700 And his answer was this. 00:24:45.779 --> 00:24:47.259 A God means that 00:24:47.259 --> 00:24:47.960 from which 00:24:47.960 --> 00:24:49.279 we are to expect 00:24:49.279 --> 00:24:49.860 all good 00:24:49.860 --> 00:24:50.440 and to which 00:24:50.440 --> 00:24:51.799 we are to take refuge 00:24:51.799 --> 00:24:52.720 in all distress. 00:24:54.039 --> 00:24:55.180 A God is that 00:24:55.180 --> 00:24:55.819 upon which 00:24:55.819 --> 00:24:56.920 you set your heart 00:24:56.920 --> 00:24:58.360 and put your trust. 00:24:58.900 --> 00:24:59.779 That is properly 00:24:59.779 --> 00:25:01.000 your God. 00:25:02.180 --> 00:25:02.940 And what he's saying 00:25:02.940 --> 00:25:03.500 is that we can 00:25:03.500 --> 00:25:04.980 set our heart 00:25:04.980 --> 00:25:06.319 and we can put our trust 00:25:06.319 --> 00:25:07.180 and we can pledge 00:25:07.180 --> 00:25:07.799 our loyalty 00:25:07.799 --> 00:25:08.819 to many finite 00:25:08.819 --> 00:25:10.799 and created things 00:25:10.799 --> 00:25:11.519 and we can give it 00:25:11.519 --> 00:25:12.640 ultimate value, 00:25:12.840 --> 00:25:13.579 ultimate meaning, 00:25:13.920 --> 00:25:14.660 and ultimate power 00:25:14.660 --> 00:25:15.279 and we can say 00:25:15.279 --> 00:25:16.120 to that thing 00:25:16.120 --> 00:25:17.340 instead of saying to God, 00:25:17.339 --> 00:25:17.379 God, 00:25:17.699 --> 00:25:18.519 you are my life, 00:25:18.819 --> 00:25:19.720 you are my security, 00:25:20.159 --> 00:25:21.359 you are my hope. 00:25:23.339 --> 00:25:23.919 The scriptures 00:25:23.919 --> 00:25:25.199 are full of examples 00:25:25.199 --> 00:25:25.579 of this. 00:25:25.699 --> 00:25:26.679 Job 31 says 00:25:26.679 --> 00:25:27.599 we can put our trust 00:25:27.599 --> 00:25:28.079 in gold 00:25:28.079 --> 00:25:29.019 and we can say to gold, 00:25:29.359 --> 00:25:30.279 you are my security 00:25:30.279 --> 00:25:31.019 and my confidence. 00:25:32.720 --> 00:25:33.819 Psalm 146 says 00:25:33.819 --> 00:25:35.179 that we can put our trust 00:25:35.179 --> 00:25:35.740 in princes 00:25:35.740 --> 00:25:36.980 and in human beings 00:25:36.980 --> 00:25:38.419 who cannot save us. 00:25:39.959 --> 00:25:40.919 Habakkuk 1 says 00:25:40.919 --> 00:25:41.799 that our strength 00:25:41.799 --> 00:25:42.959 can become our God. 00:25:42.960 --> 00:25:45.400 Philippians 3 says 00:25:45.400 --> 00:25:46.180 that our stomach 00:25:46.180 --> 00:25:47.660 can become our God. 00:25:48.799 --> 00:25:50.120 2 Timothy 3 says 00:25:50.120 --> 00:25:51.079 that we can be lovers 00:25:51.079 --> 00:25:51.759 of pleasure 00:25:51.759 --> 00:25:52.539 more than lovers 00:25:52.539 --> 00:25:53.420 of God. 00:25:54.980 --> 00:25:56.299 When we set our heart 00:25:56.299 --> 00:25:57.380 on and put our trust 00:25:57.380 --> 00:25:58.079 in things 00:25:58.079 --> 00:25:59.759 that are not worthy 00:25:59.759 --> 00:26:01.220 of our ultimate loyalty 00:26:01.220 --> 00:26:01.940 and allegiance, 00:26:02.140 --> 00:26:03.340 they will eventually 00:26:03.340 --> 00:26:05.059 take the place of God 00:26:05.059 --> 00:26:06.019 and in that place, 00:26:06.100 --> 00:26:07.100 because they're not God, 00:26:07.240 --> 00:26:08.440 they will enslave us 00:26:08.440 --> 00:26:09.680 and they will dehumanize us 00:26:09.680 --> 00:26:10.759 and they'll do the same thing 00:26:10.759 --> 00:26:12.100 to all the people around us, 00:26:12.099 --> 00:26:12.779 whether it's money, 00:26:13.579 --> 00:26:14.480 whether it's sex, 00:26:15.219 --> 00:26:16.019 whether it's power, 00:26:17.119 --> 00:26:17.839 whether you live 00:26:17.839 --> 00:26:18.559 for your work 00:26:18.559 --> 00:26:19.259 and your career 00:26:19.259 --> 00:26:20.059 and your status 00:26:20.059 --> 00:26:20.899 and your success, 00:26:21.719 --> 00:26:22.599 whether you live 00:26:22.599 --> 00:26:23.419 for romance 00:26:23.419 --> 00:26:24.319 or for children 00:26:24.319 --> 00:26:25.199 or for family, 00:26:25.279 --> 00:26:26.399 if you make anything 00:26:26.399 --> 00:26:27.599 other than God 00:26:27.599 --> 00:26:28.919 God in your life, 00:26:30.939 --> 00:26:31.899 when these gifts 00:26:31.899 --> 00:26:32.419 that are meant 00:26:32.419 --> 00:26:33.059 to be means 00:26:33.059 --> 00:26:33.939 to the end 00:26:33.939 --> 00:26:35.039 of glorifying God 00:26:35.039 --> 00:26:35.819 actually become 00:26:35.819 --> 00:26:37.259 the ends in themselves, 00:26:37.500 --> 00:26:38.199 it will lead 00:26:38.199 --> 00:26:40.240 to your enslavement 00:26:40.240 --> 00:26:41.480 and your destruction. 00:26:42.839 --> 00:26:43.740 Because these are 00:26:43.740 --> 00:26:44.579 wonderful servants 00:26:44.579 --> 00:26:45.679 but they're terrible masters. 00:26:46.240 --> 00:26:47.159 They're wonderful gifts 00:26:47.159 --> 00:26:48.199 but they're terrible gods. 00:26:49.559 --> 00:26:50.659 And I want you to look 00:26:50.659 --> 00:26:51.519 at the last phrase 00:26:51.519 --> 00:26:52.179 in this command 00:26:52.179 --> 00:26:53.259 which it says, 00:26:53.419 --> 00:26:53.899 you shall have 00:26:53.899 --> 00:26:54.639 no other gods 00:26:54.639 --> 00:26:55.059 where? 00:26:55.899 --> 00:26:56.819 Before me. 00:26:58.039 --> 00:26:58.719 The Hebrew 00:26:58.719 --> 00:26:59.859 literally here says, 00:27:00.859 --> 00:27:01.799 there will not be 00:27:01.799 --> 00:27:02.259 for you 00:27:02.259 --> 00:27:03.299 any other gods 00:27:03.299 --> 00:27:05.000 before my face 00:27:05.000 --> 00:27:06.740 or in my presence. 00:27:06.740 --> 00:27:08.880 And what that means 00:27:08.880 --> 00:27:10.279 is that your chief end, 00:27:10.380 --> 00:27:11.460 your highest good 00:27:11.460 --> 00:27:12.539 as a human being 00:27:12.539 --> 00:27:13.400 is to live 00:27:13.400 --> 00:27:14.519 before the face 00:27:14.519 --> 00:27:15.099 of God. 00:27:15.200 --> 00:27:15.660 It's to live 00:27:15.660 --> 00:27:16.720 in the presence 00:27:16.720 --> 00:27:17.640 of God. 00:27:19.099 --> 00:27:19.759 And remember, 00:27:19.880 --> 00:27:20.819 verse 2 doesn't say, 00:27:21.339 --> 00:27:22.200 I am a God 00:27:22.200 --> 00:27:23.160 or I am the God. 00:27:23.200 --> 00:27:23.640 What does it say? 00:27:23.720 --> 00:27:23.880 It says, 00:27:23.980 --> 00:27:24.759 I am the Lord, 00:27:25.079 --> 00:27:26.519 your God. 00:27:26.740 --> 00:27:28.480 And so when he liberated you 00:27:28.480 --> 00:27:29.460 and he brought you 00:27:29.460 --> 00:27:30.519 into a covenant 00:27:30.519 --> 00:27:32.319 relationship with him 00:27:32.319 --> 00:27:32.720 and he said, 00:27:32.859 --> 00:27:33.900 I, the absolute, 00:27:34.420 --> 00:27:35.019 transcendent 00:27:35.019 --> 00:27:35.960 and holy God 00:27:35.960 --> 00:27:37.440 am your God 00:27:37.440 --> 00:27:40.460 and you are my people. 00:27:40.600 --> 00:27:41.740 You belong to me. 00:27:41.840 --> 00:27:42.540 This is language 00:27:42.540 --> 00:27:43.259 very much 00:27:43.259 --> 00:27:44.900 like the song of songs. 00:27:45.040 --> 00:27:46.120 I am my beloved's 00:27:46.120 --> 00:27:47.280 and my beloved is mine. 00:27:48.660 --> 00:27:49.540 And that's why 00:27:49.540 --> 00:27:50.040 the scriptures 00:27:50.040 --> 00:27:50.900 talk about 00:27:50.900 --> 00:27:51.660 the relationship 00:27:51.660 --> 00:27:53.300 between God 00:27:53.300 --> 00:27:53.900 and his people 00:27:53.900 --> 00:27:55.240 like a marriage. 00:27:56.400 --> 00:27:57.620 That we're bonded 00:27:57.620 --> 00:27:58.180 to God. 00:27:59.240 --> 00:28:00.200 We're wedded 00:28:00.200 --> 00:28:01.620 to our covenant 00:28:01.620 --> 00:28:02.420 God 00:28:02.420 --> 00:28:03.340 in an exclusive 00:28:03.339 --> 00:28:04.919 and permanent 00:28:04.919 --> 00:28:06.079 and intimate 00:28:06.079 --> 00:28:07.879 personal relationship. 00:28:09.279 --> 00:28:10.439 So what does it mean 00:28:10.439 --> 00:28:12.099 then to bring 00:28:12.099 --> 00:28:14.179 other alternative 00:28:14.179 --> 00:28:15.579 substitute gods 00:28:15.579 --> 00:28:17.159 before the face 00:28:17.159 --> 00:28:17.879 of the real God 00:28:17.879 --> 00:28:18.599 into the presence 00:28:18.599 --> 00:28:19.500 of the living God? 00:28:21.000 --> 00:28:22.319 I hope we can all agree 00:28:22.319 --> 00:28:22.819 that cheating 00:28:22.819 --> 00:28:23.740 on your spouse 00:28:23.740 --> 00:28:25.419 is bad. 00:28:26.379 --> 00:28:26.879 Right? 00:28:26.919 --> 00:28:27.339 It's wrong. 00:28:27.459 --> 00:28:28.839 It's an injustice. 00:28:30.319 --> 00:28:30.759 Adultery 00:28:30.759 --> 00:28:32.099 is a terrible 00:28:32.099 --> 00:28:33.500 betrayal of trust 00:28:33.500 --> 00:28:35.740 and a form 00:28:35.740 --> 00:28:37.139 of treachery 00:28:37.139 --> 00:28:37.740 and an expression 00:28:37.740 --> 00:28:39.199 of deep dishonor. 00:28:41.500 --> 00:28:42.559 And while cheating 00:28:42.559 --> 00:28:43.219 on your spouse 00:28:43.219 --> 00:28:44.159 is bad 00:28:44.159 --> 00:28:46.799 God is more 00:28:46.799 --> 00:28:47.519 than our spouse. 00:28:48.779 --> 00:28:50.199 God is our king. 00:28:51.539 --> 00:28:52.439 And so to bring 00:28:52.439 --> 00:28:53.179 an alternative 00:28:53.179 --> 00:28:54.519 substitute God 00:28:54.519 --> 00:28:55.819 before his face 00:28:55.819 --> 00:28:56.819 and into his presence 00:28:56.819 --> 00:28:57.919 is basically 00:28:57.919 --> 00:28:58.839 saying to him 00:28:58.839 --> 00:28:59.879 I would like 00:28:59.879 --> 00:29:00.720 this thing 00:29:00.720 --> 00:29:01.579 to sit on 00:29:01.579 --> 00:29:02.500 your eternal throne. 00:29:04.179 --> 00:29:05.139 I would like 00:29:05.139 --> 00:29:05.879 this thing 00:29:05.879 --> 00:29:07.220 to be my God 00:29:07.220 --> 00:29:07.819 instead. 00:29:09.819 --> 00:29:10.859 And that's not 00:29:10.859 --> 00:29:11.879 just adultery. 00:29:12.000 --> 00:29:12.559 That's not just 00:29:12.559 --> 00:29:12.959 betrayal. 00:29:13.339 --> 00:29:14.539 That's high treason. 00:29:14.639 --> 00:29:15.259 He's the king. 00:29:16.519 --> 00:29:17.740 God looks and says 00:29:17.740 --> 00:29:18.319 you want to put 00:29:18.319 --> 00:29:19.139 that little 00:29:19.139 --> 00:29:20.579 unworthy 00:29:20.579 --> 00:29:21.779 thing 00:29:21.779 --> 00:29:24.339 on my eternal throne? 00:29:24.439 --> 00:29:25.299 You want me to share 00:29:25.299 --> 00:29:26.319 my sovereignty 00:29:26.319 --> 00:29:27.359 and my supremacy 00:29:27.359 --> 00:29:29.919 with that little person? 00:29:30.439 --> 00:29:31.519 That little project? 00:29:31.639 --> 00:29:32.259 That little thing? 00:29:34.819 --> 00:29:35.579 It's offensive 00:29:35.579 --> 00:29:36.079 to him. 00:29:37.579 --> 00:29:38.279 But you see 00:29:38.279 --> 00:29:38.919 the positive 00:29:38.919 --> 00:29:39.559 of this 00:29:39.559 --> 00:29:40.639 law 00:29:40.639 --> 00:29:42.179 is 00:29:42.179 --> 00:29:43.599 there in 00:29:43.599 --> 00:29:44.460 Deuteronomy 6 00:29:44.460 --> 00:29:45.399 and Jesus quotes it 00:29:45.399 --> 00:29:45.899 when he says 00:29:45.899 --> 00:29:47.200 what this means 00:29:47.200 --> 00:29:47.619 is that you're 00:29:47.619 --> 00:29:48.299 to love the Lord 00:29:48.299 --> 00:29:48.799 your God 00:29:48.799 --> 00:29:50.279 with all your heart 00:29:50.279 --> 00:29:51.200 with all your soul 00:29:51.200 --> 00:29:52.159 with all your mind 00:29:52.159 --> 00:29:53.839 and with all your strength. 00:29:53.839 --> 00:29:56.259 God wants 00:29:56.259 --> 00:29:57.819 your undivided heart 00:29:57.819 --> 00:29:58.779 and allegiance 00:29:58.779 --> 00:29:59.439 to be given 00:29:59.439 --> 00:30:00.659 wholly to him. 00:30:01.819 --> 00:30:03.480 He does not 00:30:03.480 --> 00:30:04.480 want to share you 00:30:04.480 --> 00:30:05.939 with another 00:30:05.939 --> 00:30:06.599 would-be 00:30:06.599 --> 00:30:07.439 king 00:30:07.439 --> 00:30:08.359 or lord 00:30:08.359 --> 00:30:09.139 or master. 00:30:10.199 --> 00:30:11.459 He wants to have you 00:30:11.459 --> 00:30:12.179 absolutely 00:30:12.179 --> 00:30:14.019 without any conditions 00:30:14.019 --> 00:30:15.559 without any exceptions 00:30:15.559 --> 00:30:17.319 under all circumstances 00:30:17.319 --> 00:30:18.119 always 00:30:18.119 --> 00:30:19.179 and everywhere. 00:30:20.199 --> 00:30:20.819 He wants 00:30:20.819 --> 00:30:21.679 every part of you. 00:30:22.299 --> 00:30:22.740 He wants 00:30:22.740 --> 00:30:23.599 everything you are. 00:30:23.599 --> 00:30:23.980 He wants 00:30:23.980 --> 00:30:24.339 everything 00:30:24.339 --> 00:30:25.459 you have. 00:30:25.579 --> 00:30:25.899 He wants 00:30:25.899 --> 00:30:26.639 your total 00:30:26.639 --> 00:30:27.559 and complete 00:30:27.559 --> 00:30:28.139 commitment 00:30:28.139 --> 00:30:28.839 of trust 00:30:28.839 --> 00:30:29.379 and obedience 00:30:29.379 --> 00:30:30.959 that is unreserved 00:30:30.959 --> 00:30:32.079 and unwavering 00:30:32.079 --> 00:30:32.719 in whatever 00:30:32.719 --> 00:30:33.619 the circumstances. 00:30:35.059 --> 00:30:35.679 What God 00:30:35.679 --> 00:30:36.459 is saying here 00:30:36.459 --> 00:30:36.939 is I want you 00:30:36.939 --> 00:30:37.419 to depend 00:30:37.419 --> 00:30:37.879 on me 00:30:37.879 --> 00:30:38.519 for everything. 00:30:38.639 --> 00:30:38.939 I want you 00:30:38.939 --> 00:30:39.859 to come to me 00:30:39.859 --> 00:30:41.240 with all of your needs. 00:30:41.339 --> 00:30:41.859 I want you 00:30:41.859 --> 00:30:42.859 to love me 00:30:42.859 --> 00:30:44.079 with all of your thinking. 00:30:44.219 --> 00:30:44.519 I want you 00:30:44.519 --> 00:30:45.299 to love me 00:30:45.299 --> 00:30:46.539 with all of your longing. 00:30:46.659 --> 00:30:46.939 I want you 00:30:46.939 --> 00:30:47.539 to love me 00:30:47.539 --> 00:30:49.219 with all of your striving. 00:30:49.359 --> 00:30:49.639 I want you 00:30:49.639 --> 00:30:51.000 to make me first. 00:30:51.359 --> 00:30:52.159 Make me central 00:30:52.159 --> 00:30:53.019 in your life. 00:30:53.019 --> 00:30:53.700 And I want you 00:30:53.700 --> 00:30:54.500 to be willing 00:30:54.500 --> 00:30:55.160 to give up 00:30:55.160 --> 00:30:55.960 anything 00:30:55.960 --> 00:30:57.799 that would go 00:30:57.799 --> 00:30:58.639 against me 00:30:58.639 --> 00:30:59.539 and against my will 00:30:59.539 --> 00:31:00.359 in any way. 00:31:02.500 --> 00:31:02.980 Friends, 00:31:03.019 --> 00:31:03.420 have you put 00:31:03.420 --> 00:31:04.240 the full weight 00:31:04.240 --> 00:31:05.859 of your trust 00:31:05.859 --> 00:31:07.480 on God alone? 00:31:09.119 --> 00:31:10.039 Is your heart 00:31:10.039 --> 00:31:11.500 clinging to him 00:31:11.500 --> 00:31:12.119 and holding 00:31:12.119 --> 00:31:13.279 fast to him 00:31:13.279 --> 00:31:14.079 for dear life? 00:31:14.079 --> 00:31:16.899 have you put 00:31:16.899 --> 00:31:17.460 him first 00:31:17.460 --> 00:31:17.980 above all 00:31:17.980 --> 00:31:18.639 the other loves? 00:31:18.720 --> 00:31:19.639 Are you reordering 00:31:19.639 --> 00:31:20.639 and rearranging 00:31:20.639 --> 00:31:21.720 all your other loves 00:31:21.720 --> 00:31:22.899 under this supreme 00:31:22.899 --> 00:31:23.659 love? 00:31:25.599 --> 00:31:26.319 And are you 00:31:26.319 --> 00:31:26.859 giving thanks 00:31:26.859 --> 00:31:27.299 to him 00:31:27.299 --> 00:31:28.759 in all things? 00:31:30.199 --> 00:31:31.199 That's the substance 00:31:31.199 --> 00:31:32.799 of this law. 00:31:34.199 --> 00:31:35.179 But let me move 00:31:35.179 --> 00:31:35.819 from the nature 00:31:35.819 --> 00:31:36.639 of God's law 00:31:36.639 --> 00:31:37.480 and the substance 00:31:37.480 --> 00:31:38.299 of God's law 00:31:38.299 --> 00:31:39.899 finally to the purpose 00:31:39.899 --> 00:31:40.659 of God's law. 00:31:40.660 --> 00:31:42.600 As I've been 00:31:42.600 --> 00:31:43.080 reading about 00:31:43.080 --> 00:31:43.660 this law 00:31:43.660 --> 00:31:44.220 all week, 00:31:44.279 --> 00:31:44.759 I've been thinking 00:31:44.759 --> 00:31:45.960 about people 00:31:45.960 --> 00:31:46.580 in the Bible 00:31:46.580 --> 00:31:48.519 that actually 00:31:48.519 --> 00:31:50.560 obeyed this command. 00:31:51.720 --> 00:31:52.519 Who can you 00:31:52.519 --> 00:31:52.920 think of 00:31:52.920 --> 00:31:54.019 that put God 00:31:54.019 --> 00:31:54.779 first and had 00:31:54.779 --> 00:31:55.540 God central 00:31:55.540 --> 00:31:56.420 in their loves? 00:31:56.420 --> 00:31:58.580 I think about 00:31:58.580 --> 00:31:59.779 Abraham 00:31:59.779 --> 00:32:01.740 who was 00:32:01.740 --> 00:32:02.800 willing to 00:32:02.800 --> 00:32:03.380 give up 00:32:03.380 --> 00:32:04.200 the best gift 00:32:04.200 --> 00:32:04.600 that God 00:32:04.600 --> 00:32:05.140 had given him. 00:32:05.420 --> 00:32:05.880 He was willing 00:32:05.880 --> 00:32:06.360 to give up 00:32:06.360 --> 00:32:07.060 his own 00:32:07.060 --> 00:32:07.800 treasured son 00:32:07.800 --> 00:32:08.640 out of love 00:32:08.640 --> 00:32:09.080 for God. 00:32:10.200 --> 00:32:10.980 I think about 00:32:10.980 --> 00:32:11.360 David 00:32:11.360 --> 00:32:12.160 who said 00:32:12.160 --> 00:32:14.160 who loved 00:32:14.160 --> 00:32:14.840 God so much 00:32:14.840 --> 00:32:15.160 he said 00:32:15.160 --> 00:32:15.960 I thirst 00:32:15.960 --> 00:32:16.640 for you God. 00:32:18.000 --> 00:32:18.759 You and you 00:32:18.759 --> 00:32:19.340 alone are my 00:32:19.340 --> 00:32:19.759 rock 00:32:19.759 --> 00:32:20.720 and my salvation. 00:32:21.000 --> 00:32:21.200 You 00:32:21.200 --> 00:32:22.680 are my refuge 00:32:22.680 --> 00:32:23.340 and my strength. 00:32:23.500 --> 00:32:23.720 You 00:32:23.720 --> 00:32:24.820 are my good. 00:32:24.900 --> 00:32:25.440 I have no other 00:32:25.440 --> 00:32:26.180 good apart 00:32:26.180 --> 00:32:26.640 from you. 00:32:27.920 --> 00:32:28.799 I think about 00:32:28.799 --> 00:32:29.279 Daniel 00:32:29.279 --> 00:32:30.500 who loved 00:32:30.500 --> 00:32:31.380 God so much 00:32:31.380 --> 00:32:31.759 he would 00:32:31.759 --> 00:32:33.200 rather be 00:32:33.200 --> 00:32:33.799 thrown to the 00:32:33.799 --> 00:32:34.140 lions. 00:32:34.259 --> 00:32:34.440 He would 00:32:34.440 --> 00:32:35.080 rather die 00:32:35.080 --> 00:32:35.820 than to stop 00:32:35.820 --> 00:32:36.880 getting on 00:32:36.880 --> 00:32:37.519 his knees 00:32:37.519 --> 00:32:38.120 three times 00:32:38.120 --> 00:32:38.539 a day 00:32:38.539 --> 00:32:40.759 to pray 00:32:40.759 --> 00:32:41.220 to God, 00:32:41.779 --> 00:32:42.860 to thank 00:32:42.860 --> 00:32:43.180 God, 00:32:43.340 --> 00:32:44.440 to call 00:32:44.440 --> 00:32:44.860 on God 00:32:44.860 --> 00:32:45.420 for help. 00:32:46.480 --> 00:32:46.880 And I think 00:32:46.880 --> 00:32:47.440 about these 00:32:47.440 --> 00:32:48.660 people in the 00:32:48.660 --> 00:32:49.039 Bible who 00:32:49.039 --> 00:32:49.560 love God, 00:32:49.660 --> 00:32:50.380 Abraham and 00:32:50.380 --> 00:32:50.900 David and 00:32:50.900 --> 00:32:51.200 Daniel, 00:32:51.259 --> 00:32:51.820 and I look 00:32:51.820 --> 00:32:52.519 at my life 00:32:52.519 --> 00:32:53.560 next to them 00:32:53.560 --> 00:32:54.980 and it 00:32:54.980 --> 00:32:55.759 feels like 00:32:55.759 --> 00:32:56.720 I barely 00:32:56.720 --> 00:32:57.319 love God 00:32:57.319 --> 00:32:57.700 at all. 00:32:59.299 --> 00:32:59.900 And I 00:32:59.900 --> 00:33:00.299 don't just 00:33:00.299 --> 00:33:01.279 compare my 00:33:01.279 --> 00:33:02.000 life with 00:33:02.000 --> 00:33:02.579 them, 00:33:02.720 --> 00:33:02.920 but I 00:33:02.920 --> 00:33:03.319 begin to 00:33:03.319 --> 00:33:04.000 look into 00:33:04.000 --> 00:33:04.579 the mirror 00:33:04.579 --> 00:33:06.200 of God's 00:33:06.200 --> 00:33:06.940 law of 00:33:06.940 --> 00:33:07.319 love and 00:33:07.319 --> 00:33:07.599 when I 00:33:07.599 --> 00:33:08.900 look closely 00:33:08.900 --> 00:33:09.579 into this 00:33:09.579 --> 00:33:09.839 mirror, 00:33:09.940 --> 00:33:10.319 you shall have 00:33:10.319 --> 00:33:10.700 no other 00:33:10.700 --> 00:33:11.359 gods before 00:33:11.359 --> 00:33:11.640 me, 00:33:11.980 --> 00:33:12.640 I begin to 00:33:12.640 --> 00:33:13.839 see there's 00:33:13.839 --> 00:33:14.259 a lot of 00:33:14.259 --> 00:33:14.920 dirt on my 00:33:14.920 --> 00:33:15.319 face. 00:33:17.000 --> 00:33:17.720 There's quite 00:33:17.720 --> 00:33:18.299 a number of 00:33:18.299 --> 00:33:18.900 flaws that 00:33:18.900 --> 00:33:19.460 from a distance 00:33:19.460 --> 00:33:19.900 you couldn't 00:33:19.900 --> 00:33:20.359 really see, 00:33:20.460 --> 00:33:20.859 but now I 00:33:20.859 --> 00:33:21.379 can see 00:33:21.379 --> 00:33:22.019 there's some 00:33:22.019 --> 00:33:22.519 serious 00:33:22.519 --> 00:33:23.139 problems. 00:33:24.740 --> 00:33:25.500 I fall 00:33:25.500 --> 00:33:26.579 so far 00:33:26.579 --> 00:33:27.139 short 00:33:27.139 --> 00:33:28.639 of the 00:33:28.639 --> 00:33:29.180 standard 00:33:29.180 --> 00:33:30.099 of humanity 00:33:30.099 --> 00:33:31.099 for which 00:33:31.099 --> 00:33:31.579 God made 00:33:31.579 --> 00:33:31.819 me and 00:33:31.819 --> 00:33:32.059 when I 00:33:32.059 --> 00:33:32.519 look into 00:33:32.519 --> 00:33:32.900 the law, 00:33:33.000 --> 00:33:33.160 I can 00:33:33.160 --> 00:33:33.460 see, 00:33:33.879 --> 00:33:34.160 oh my 00:33:34.160 --> 00:33:34.420 goodness, 00:33:34.519 --> 00:33:34.879 I need 00:33:34.879 --> 00:33:35.139 to be 00:33:35.139 --> 00:33:35.779 cleansed. 00:33:36.940 --> 00:33:37.519 Oh my 00:33:37.519 --> 00:33:37.720 goodness, 00:33:37.819 --> 00:33:37.960 there's 00:33:37.960 --> 00:33:38.319 something 00:33:38.319 --> 00:33:39.279 broken in 00:33:39.279 --> 00:33:39.599 me that 00:33:39.599 --> 00:33:39.940 needs to 00:33:39.940 --> 00:33:40.460 be healed. 00:33:41.460 --> 00:33:41.879 There's 00:33:41.879 --> 00:33:42.160 something 00:33:42.160 --> 00:33:42.539 deeply 00:33:42.539 --> 00:33:43.099 wrong in 00:33:43.099 --> 00:33:43.400 me that 00:33:43.400 --> 00:33:43.839 needs to 00:33:43.839 --> 00:33:44.240 be 00:33:44.240 --> 00:33:44.740 forgiven 00:33:44.740 --> 00:33:44.920 and 00:33:44.920 --> 00:33:45.160 that's 00:33:45.160 --> 00:33:45.319 the 00:33:45.319 --> 00:33:45.639 first 00:33:45.639 --> 00:33:46.200 purpose 00:33:46.200 --> 00:33:46.819 of 00:33:46.819 --> 00:33:47.180 God's 00:33:47.180 --> 00:33:47.539 law is 00:33:47.539 --> 00:33:48.059 to show 00:33:48.059 --> 00:33:48.480 us 00:33:48.480 --> 00:33:49.920 our sin 00:33:49.920 --> 00:33:50.139 and our 00:33:50.139 --> 00:33:50.480 need for 00:33:50.480 --> 00:33:50.779 God. 00:33:50.779 --> 00:33:52.359 But the 00:33:52.359 --> 00:33:52.740 second 00:33:52.740 --> 00:33:53.440 purpose 00:33:53.440 --> 00:33:53.920 of God's 00:33:53.920 --> 00:33:54.500 law is 00:33:54.500 --> 00:33:54.980 to drive 00:33:54.980 --> 00:33:55.339 me to 00:33:55.339 --> 00:33:55.859 Jesus. 00:33:57.319 --> 00:33:58.019 It's to 00:33:58.019 --> 00:33:58.359 drive me 00:33:58.359 --> 00:33:58.940 to Jesus 00:33:58.940 --> 00:34:00.500 because 00:34:00.500 --> 00:34:01.379 Jesus is 00:34:01.379 --> 00:34:02.079 this God 00:34:02.079 --> 00:34:02.480 of Mount 00:34:02.480 --> 00:34:03.079 Sinai 00:34:03.079 --> 00:34:04.519 who came 00:34:04.519 --> 00:34:05.019 down from 00:34:05.019 --> 00:34:05.480 the mountain 00:34:05.480 --> 00:34:05.779 in the 00:34:05.779 --> 00:34:06.160 flesh 00:34:06.160 --> 00:34:08.079 and he's 00:34:08.079 --> 00:34:08.360 the only 00:34:08.360 --> 00:34:08.860 person in 00:34:08.860 --> 00:34:09.279 the Bible 00:34:09.279 --> 00:34:09.679 and in 00:34:09.679 --> 00:34:10.000 history 00:34:10.000 --> 00:34:11.099 who embodied 00:34:11.099 --> 00:34:11.920 God's 00:34:11.920 --> 00:34:12.340 commands 00:34:12.340 --> 00:34:13.099 and obeyed 00:34:13.099 --> 00:34:13.699 God's 00:34:13.699 --> 00:34:14.039 commands 00:34:14.039 --> 00:34:14.579 wholly 00:34:14.579 --> 00:34:15.719 and consistently 00:34:15.719 --> 00:34:16.980 every day, 00:34:17.239 --> 00:34:17.840 all day, 00:34:18.099 --> 00:34:18.719 his whole 00:34:18.719 --> 00:34:19.400 life. 00:34:19.500 --> 00:34:20.380 He succeeded 00:34:20.380 --> 00:34:22.460 in God's 00:34:22.460 --> 00:34:22.800 law 00:34:22.800 --> 00:34:23.940 at every 00:34:23.940 --> 00:34:24.340 point 00:34:24.340 --> 00:34:25.140 where we 00:34:25.140 --> 00:34:25.519 fail. 00:34:26.680 --> 00:34:26.940 He 00:34:26.940 --> 00:34:27.559 perfectly, 00:34:27.700 --> 00:34:28.059 think about 00:34:28.059 --> 00:34:28.220 that, 00:34:28.280 --> 00:34:29.039 he perfectly 00:34:29.039 --> 00:34:29.760 fulfilled 00:34:29.760 --> 00:34:30.720 God's 00:34:30.720 --> 00:34:31.260 law, 00:34:31.360 --> 00:34:31.780 not only 00:34:31.780 --> 00:34:32.180 by the 00:34:32.180 --> 00:34:32.640 active 00:34:32.640 --> 00:34:33.160 obedience 00:34:33.160 --> 00:34:33.619 of his 00:34:33.619 --> 00:34:34.019 life, 00:34:34.119 --> 00:34:34.740 but also 00:34:34.740 --> 00:34:35.579 in the 00:34:35.579 --> 00:34:36.000 passive 00:34:36.000 --> 00:34:36.539 obedience 00:34:36.539 --> 00:34:37.640 of giving 00:34:37.640 --> 00:34:38.079 up his 00:34:38.079 --> 00:34:39.000 life to 00:34:39.000 --> 00:34:39.400 death on 00:34:39.400 --> 00:34:39.940 the cross. 00:34:41.460 --> 00:34:42.220 When he 00:34:42.220 --> 00:34:42.579 did that, 00:34:42.640 --> 00:34:43.019 he took 00:34:43.019 --> 00:34:43.840 all of our 00:34:43.840 --> 00:34:44.860 sins on 00:34:44.860 --> 00:34:45.500 his shoulders, 00:34:46.340 --> 00:34:47.619 all the 00:34:47.619 --> 00:34:48.099 ways that 00:34:48.099 --> 00:34:48.619 we fall 00:34:48.619 --> 00:34:49.360 short of 00:34:49.360 --> 00:34:49.780 God's 00:34:49.780 --> 00:34:50.519 design and 00:34:50.519 --> 00:34:51.280 desires for 00:34:51.280 --> 00:34:51.700 our life, 00:34:51.780 --> 00:34:52.180 all the 00:34:52.180 --> 00:34:52.660 ways that 00:34:52.660 --> 00:34:53.720 we take 00:34:53.720 --> 00:34:54.220 his commands 00:34:54.220 --> 00:34:54.460 and we 00:34:54.460 --> 00:34:55.320 just trespass 00:34:55.320 --> 00:34:55.579 them and 00:34:55.579 --> 00:34:55.820 do what 00:34:55.820 --> 00:34:56.099 we want 00:34:56.099 --> 00:34:56.460 anyway, 00:34:57.260 --> 00:34:58.079 all the 00:34:58.079 --> 00:34:58.460 ways that 00:34:58.460 --> 00:34:59.059 we subvert 00:34:59.059 --> 00:34:59.680 his moral 00:34:59.680 --> 00:35:00.079 order, 00:35:00.220 --> 00:35:01.240 Jesus absorbed 00:35:01.240 --> 00:35:01.960 all of 00:35:01.960 --> 00:35:02.720 those failures 00:35:02.720 --> 00:35:03.440 in his 00:35:03.440 --> 00:35:04.539 body on 00:35:04.539 --> 00:35:05.220 his cross. 00:35:06.480 --> 00:35:07.099 And we 00:35:07.099 --> 00:35:07.519 know from 00:35:07.519 --> 00:35:08.180 psychologists, 00:35:08.380 --> 00:35:08.800 psychologists 00:35:08.800 --> 00:35:09.480 tell us that 00:35:09.480 --> 00:35:09.980 the worst 00:35:09.980 --> 00:35:10.420 thing that 00:35:10.420 --> 00:35:10.860 can happen 00:35:10.860 --> 00:35:11.340 to you 00:35:11.340 --> 00:35:12.820 is to 00:35:12.820 --> 00:35:13.539 be forsaken 00:35:13.539 --> 00:35:14.180 by someone 00:35:14.180 --> 00:35:14.500 that you 00:35:14.500 --> 00:35:14.860 love. 00:35:14.860 --> 00:35:16.880 That's the 00:35:16.880 --> 00:35:17.440 worst thing 00:35:17.440 --> 00:35:17.740 that can 00:35:17.740 --> 00:35:18.220 happen to 00:35:18.220 --> 00:35:18.760 you is to 00:35:18.760 --> 00:35:19.640 be forsaken 00:35:19.640 --> 00:35:20.680 by somebody 00:35:20.680 --> 00:35:21.039 that you 00:35:21.039 --> 00:35:21.440 love. 00:35:22.820 --> 00:35:23.200 And yet on 00:35:23.200 --> 00:35:23.640 the cross, 00:35:23.780 --> 00:35:24.400 Jesus, as he 00:35:24.400 --> 00:35:24.860 was shedding 00:35:24.860 --> 00:35:25.420 his blood 00:35:25.420 --> 00:35:26.099 for us, he 00:35:26.099 --> 00:35:26.760 cried out, 00:35:27.220 --> 00:35:27.900 my God, my 00:35:27.900 --> 00:35:29.059 God, why 00:35:29.059 --> 00:35:29.480 have you 00:35:29.480 --> 00:35:30.000 forsaken 00:35:30.000 --> 00:35:30.300 me? 00:35:31.660 --> 00:35:32.340 Now, why 00:35:32.340 --> 00:35:32.920 did he say 00:35:32.920 --> 00:35:33.660 that on the 00:35:33.660 --> 00:35:34.019 cross? 00:35:36.539 --> 00:35:37.059 We 00:35:37.059 --> 00:35:37.640 forsaken 00:35:37.640 --> 00:35:40.280 God and 00:35:40.280 --> 00:35:40.880 therefore we 00:35:40.880 --> 00:35:41.500 deserve to be 00:35:41.500 --> 00:35:42.200 forsaken by 00:35:42.200 --> 00:35:42.559 God. 00:35:42.559 --> 00:35:42.559 00:35:44.059 --> 00:35:45.179 Jesus never 00:35:45.179 --> 00:35:46.099 forsook God 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:47.860 and yet he's 00:35:47.860 --> 00:35:48.299 saying, my 00:35:48.299 --> 00:35:48.699 God, my 00:35:48.699 --> 00:35:49.219 God, why 00:35:49.219 --> 00:35:49.579 have you 00:35:49.579 --> 00:35:50.059 forsaken 00:35:50.059 --> 00:35:50.360 me? 00:35:51.599 --> 00:35:51.940 And you 00:35:51.940 --> 00:35:52.340 see, when 00:35:52.340 --> 00:35:52.960 Jesus says 00:35:52.960 --> 00:35:53.519 that, he's 00:35:53.519 --> 00:35:54.019 fulfilling 00:35:54.019 --> 00:35:55.579 God's law 00:35:55.579 --> 00:35:57.099 by allowing 00:35:57.099 --> 00:35:57.840 himself to 00:35:57.840 --> 00:35:58.559 be forsaken 00:35:58.559 --> 00:35:59.519 in our 00:35:59.519 --> 00:36:00.000 place. 00:36:01.599 --> 00:36:02.460 He's taking 00:36:02.460 --> 00:36:02.980 the penalty 00:36:02.980 --> 00:36:03.659 for our 00:36:03.659 --> 00:36:04.320 sins by 00:36:04.320 --> 00:36:05.199 living the 00:36:05.199 --> 00:36:05.659 life we 00:36:05.659 --> 00:36:05.980 should have 00:36:05.980 --> 00:36:06.480 lived, by 00:36:06.480 --> 00:36:07.019 dying the 00:36:07.019 --> 00:36:07.400 death that 00:36:07.400 --> 00:36:07.860 we should 00:36:07.860 --> 00:36:08.360 have died. 00:36:08.539 --> 00:36:08.920 He's 00:36:08.920 --> 00:36:09.400 fulfilling 00:36:09.400 --> 00:36:10.779 God's law. 00:36:10.960 --> 00:36:11.679 He's taking 00:36:11.679 --> 00:36:12.519 the curse that 00:36:12.519 --> 00:36:13.199 we deserved 00:36:13.199 --> 00:36:13.599 and he's 00:36:13.599 --> 00:36:14.159 giving us 00:36:14.159 --> 00:36:14.739 the blessing 00:36:14.739 --> 00:36:15.639 that he 00:36:15.639 --> 00:36:16.159 deserved. 00:36:18.139 --> 00:36:19.000 And that's 00:36:19.000 --> 00:36:19.360 how he 00:36:19.360 --> 00:36:19.960 loved God 00:36:19.960 --> 00:36:20.360 with all of 00:36:20.360 --> 00:36:20.759 his heart 00:36:20.759 --> 00:36:21.139 and loved 00:36:21.139 --> 00:36:21.579 his neighbor 00:36:21.579 --> 00:36:22.259 as himself. 00:36:24.000 --> 00:36:24.539 He's 00:36:24.539 --> 00:36:25.219 cleansing our 00:36:25.219 --> 00:36:25.579 guilt. 00:36:26.739 --> 00:36:27.300 He's 00:36:27.300 --> 00:36:28.019 covering over 00:36:28.019 --> 00:36:29.219 our shame. 00:36:29.380 --> 00:36:30.280 He's taking 00:36:30.280 --> 00:36:30.920 the wages 00:36:30.920 --> 00:36:31.639 of sin, 00:36:31.719 --> 00:36:32.079 which is 00:36:32.079 --> 00:36:32.500 death. 00:36:33.420 --> 00:36:33.880 And instead 00:36:33.880 --> 00:36:34.320 of having 00:36:34.320 --> 00:36:35.360 us have 00:36:35.360 --> 00:36:35.960 our blood 00:36:35.960 --> 00:36:36.400 shed, he's 00:36:36.400 --> 00:36:36.980 having his 00:36:36.980 --> 00:36:37.679 blood shed 00:36:37.679 --> 00:36:38.259 so he can 00:36:38.259 --> 00:36:38.759 deal with the 00:36:38.759 --> 00:36:39.219 debt of our 00:36:39.219 --> 00:36:40.000 sin in 00:36:40.000 --> 00:36:40.320 full. 00:36:40.320 --> 00:36:42.320 So the 00:36:42.320 --> 00:36:43.000 first purpose 00:36:43.000 --> 00:36:43.320 of the 00:36:43.320 --> 00:36:44.019 law is to 00:36:44.019 --> 00:36:44.600 show us 00:36:44.600 --> 00:36:45.500 our sin 00:36:45.500 --> 00:36:45.800 and the 00:36:45.800 --> 00:36:46.420 second purpose 00:36:46.420 --> 00:36:46.720 of the 00:36:46.720 --> 00:36:48.140 law is to 00:36:48.140 --> 00:36:48.680 drive us 00:36:48.680 --> 00:36:49.400 to Jesus. 00:36:50.920 --> 00:36:51.840 To drive us 00:36:51.840 --> 00:36:52.260 to the only 00:36:52.260 --> 00:36:52.820 one who can 00:36:52.820 --> 00:36:53.480 deal with our 00:36:53.480 --> 00:36:53.720 sin. 00:36:53.800 --> 00:36:54.080 But the 00:36:54.080 --> 00:36:54.780 third purpose 00:36:54.780 --> 00:36:55.080 of the 00:36:55.080 --> 00:36:57.260 law is to 00:36:57.260 --> 00:36:57.700 give us a 00:36:57.700 --> 00:36:58.320 blueprint for 00:36:58.320 --> 00:36:58.800 our freedom. 00:37:00.240 --> 00:37:00.960 It's to give 00:37:00.960 --> 00:37:01.640 us a blueprint 00:37:01.640 --> 00:37:02.760 for how to 00:37:02.760 --> 00:37:03.380 live a life 00:37:03.380 --> 00:37:04.140 of gratitude 00:37:04.140 --> 00:37:05.320 in response 00:37:05.320 --> 00:37:05.980 to God's 00:37:05.980 --> 00:37:06.460 salvation. 00:37:08.460 --> 00:37:09.180 When you 00:37:09.180 --> 00:37:09.780 become a 00:37:09.780 --> 00:37:11.140 Christian, God 00:37:11.140 --> 00:37:11.700 gives you a 00:37:11.700 --> 00:37:12.200 new nature. 00:37:13.700 --> 00:37:14.500 God unites 00:37:14.500 --> 00:37:14.840 you to 00:37:14.840 --> 00:37:15.180 Jesus. 00:37:16.320 --> 00:37:16.940 God fills 00:37:16.940 --> 00:37:17.260 you with 00:37:17.260 --> 00:37:17.660 his Holy 00:37:17.660 --> 00:37:18.080 Spirit. 00:37:19.080 --> 00:37:19.340 And from 00:37:19.340 --> 00:37:20.000 that point 00:37:20.000 --> 00:37:21.320 on, God 00:37:21.320 --> 00:37:22.120 expects you 00:37:22.120 --> 00:37:22.860 by his 00:37:22.860 --> 00:37:23.960 power to 00:37:23.960 --> 00:37:24.380 make a 00:37:24.380 --> 00:37:25.260 moral effort 00:37:25.260 --> 00:37:26.260 to live 00:37:26.260 --> 00:37:27.340 out this 00:37:27.340 --> 00:37:27.840 law of 00:37:27.840 --> 00:37:28.120 liberty. 00:37:31.380 --> 00:37:31.980 Second 00:37:31.980 --> 00:37:32.300 Corinthians 00:37:32.300 --> 00:37:33.040 five says 00:37:33.040 --> 00:37:33.760 the love 00:37:33.760 --> 00:37:34.380 of Christ 00:37:34.380 --> 00:37:35.340 compels 00:37:35.340 --> 00:37:35.760 us. 00:37:37.140 --> 00:37:37.980 The love 00:37:37.980 --> 00:37:38.360 of Christ 00:37:38.360 --> 00:37:39.040 compels 00:37:39.039 --> 00:37:40.099 us to 00:37:40.099 --> 00:37:40.739 live like 00:37:40.739 --> 00:37:41.199 Christ. 00:37:42.259 --> 00:37:42.900 When we 00:37:42.900 --> 00:37:43.460 see what 00:37:43.460 --> 00:37:44.159 Jesus did 00:37:44.159 --> 00:37:44.719 for us, 00:37:44.779 --> 00:37:45.099 when we 00:37:45.099 --> 00:37:46.679 see what 00:37:46.679 --> 00:37:47.139 he did 00:37:47.139 --> 00:37:47.440 in his 00:37:47.440 --> 00:37:48.420 life that 00:37:48.420 --> 00:37:48.800 we could 00:37:48.800 --> 00:37:49.199 not do, 00:37:49.259 --> 00:37:49.460 when we 00:37:49.460 --> 00:37:50.699 see what 00:37:50.699 --> 00:37:51.019 he did 00:37:51.019 --> 00:37:51.320 in his 00:37:51.320 --> 00:37:51.840 death in 00:37:51.840 --> 00:37:52.539 our place, 00:37:53.880 --> 00:37:54.559 well, we 00:37:54.559 --> 00:37:54.820 want to 00:37:54.820 --> 00:37:55.400 please him. 00:37:56.279 --> 00:37:56.980 We want to 00:37:56.980 --> 00:37:58.239 delight him 00:37:58.239 --> 00:37:59.340 because the 00:37:59.340 --> 00:37:59.719 love of 00:37:59.719 --> 00:38:00.239 Christ is 00:38:00.239 --> 00:38:00.719 compelling 00:38:00.719 --> 00:38:01.259 us. 00:38:02.679 --> 00:38:03.400 We want to 00:38:03.400 --> 00:38:04.199 say with the 00:38:04.199 --> 00:38:04.820 psalmist in 00:38:04.820 --> 00:38:05.759 Psalm 119, 00:38:06.440 --> 00:38:07.320 I run in the 00:38:07.320 --> 00:38:07.800 path of 00:38:07.800 --> 00:38:07.940 your 00:38:07.940 --> 00:38:08.519 commands 00:38:08.519 --> 00:38:10.019 because you 00:38:10.019 --> 00:38:10.340 have set 00:38:10.340 --> 00:38:10.840 my heart 00:38:10.840 --> 00:38:11.320 free. 00:38:12.780 --> 00:38:13.180 And so we 00:38:13.180 --> 00:38:13.539 say to 00:38:13.539 --> 00:38:13.980 Jesus, 00:38:14.539 --> 00:38:15.600 Lord, thank 00:38:15.600 --> 00:38:15.960 you so 00:38:15.960 --> 00:38:17.440 much for 00:38:17.440 --> 00:38:17.940 setting me 00:38:17.940 --> 00:38:18.300 free. 00:38:19.440 --> 00:38:20.240 Now let me 00:38:20.240 --> 00:38:20.760 run in the 00:38:20.760 --> 00:38:22.180 path of 00:38:22.180 --> 00:38:22.720 your commands. 00:38:22.800 --> 00:38:23.080 I want to 00:38:23.080 --> 00:38:23.620 have no 00:38:23.620 --> 00:38:24.200 other God 00:38:24.200 --> 00:38:25.380 before the 00:38:25.380 --> 00:38:25.800 living God. 00:38:25.860 --> 00:38:26.140 I want to 00:38:26.140 --> 00:38:26.640 love the 00:38:26.640 --> 00:38:27.000 Lord my 00:38:27.000 --> 00:38:28.160 God with 00:38:28.160 --> 00:38:28.500 all my 00:38:28.500 --> 00:38:28.900 heart, 00:38:29.440 --> 00:38:29.960 with all 00:38:29.960 --> 00:38:30.580 my soul, 00:38:31.180 --> 00:38:31.660 with all 00:38:31.660 --> 00:38:32.340 my mind, 00:38:32.980 --> 00:38:33.400 and with 00:38:33.400 --> 00:38:33.720 all my 00:38:33.720 --> 00:38:34.240 strength. 00:38:34.239 --> 00:38:36.259 may God 00:38:36.259 --> 00:38:36.739 enable us 00:38:36.739 --> 00:38:37.119 to live 00:38:37.119 --> 00:38:37.639 this way. 00:38:38.159 --> 00:38:38.539 In the 00:38:38.539 --> 00:38:38.759 name of 00:38:38.759 --> 00:38:39.099 the Father, 00:38:39.259 --> 00:38:39.379 Son, 00:38:39.419 --> 00:38:39.719 and Holy 00:38:39.719 --> 00:38:40.099 Spirit, 00:38:40.919 --> 00:38:41.139 Amen.