The God Who Refuses To Share
Exodus 20:1-3
(The 1st Commandment and Solomon’s Drift)
Why bother with the Ten Commandments?
- God says, “Here I am!”
The law reflects the lawgiver.
- Jesus says, “Run to Me!”
“If it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin.”
Romans 7:7
“Christ is the end of the law for all who believe.”
Romans 10:4
- We say, “We have been set free to live free!”
We are not saved by keeping the Ten Commandments but we are kept safe by them.
Blessed are those who put God first.
Blessed are those who need no substitutes.
Blessed are those who honor God’s name.
Blessed are those who honor their parents.
Blessed are those who value life.
Blessed are those who keep their marriage vows.
Blessed are those who respect the property of others.
Blessed are those who love the truth.
Blessed are those who learn the art of contentment.
The 1st Commandment . . .
- Calls for a complete devotion to God.
What is a god?
It is anything that you look to for a source of meaning, fulfillment, and satisfaction in life.
“before Me” can mean
in front of Me
alongside of Me
instead of Me
in conflict with Me
over against Me
When it comes to your relationship with God – it is all or nothing.
“Throw away the gods your forefathers worshipped . . . in Egypt, and serve the Lord . . . choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve.”
Joshua 24:14,15
“No one can serve two masters . . .”
Matthew 6:24
“Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’”
Matthew 22:37
- Conflicts with our own selfishness and misplaced loves and desires.
The gods never change . . .
- The god of materialism and time
“It took Solomon thirteen years, however, to complete the construction of his palace.”
1 Kings 7:1
- The god of sensual pleasure
“The king must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray.”
Deuteronomy 17:17
- The god of selfishness
“I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure.”
Ecclesiastes 2:10
- Guarantees our satisfaction and God’s rightful place.
We are the most discontented in life when we are the most disconnected from God.
“Our hearts are made for Thee, O God, and we not find rest, until, we come to rest in Thee.”
Augustine
“I made my works great. I built myself houses, and planted myself vineyards. I made myself gardens and orchards, and I planted all kinds of fruit trees in vain. I made myself water pools from which to water the growing trees of the grove. I acquired male and female servants . . . Yes, I had greater possessions of herds and flocks than all who were in Jerusalem before me. I also gathered for myself silver and gold, and special treasures of the kings and provinces. I acquired male and female singers, the delights of sons of men, and musical instruments of all kings.”
Ecclesiastes 2:4-8
“Then I looked on all the works that my hand had done and on the labor in which I had toiled; and indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind . . . Therefore I hated life because the work that was done under the sun was distressing to me, for all is vanity and grasping for the wind.”
Ecclesiastes 2:11,17
Questions To Consider . . .
- What do you desire (love) above everything else?
- When your mind is free to roam – what do you think about?
- What do you get excited about?
“What each one honors before all else, what before all things he admires and loves, this for him is God.”
3rd Century Theologian Origen
- What is the greatest object of your affection?
- Where do you turn in times of trouble?
“Whatever your heart clings to and relies upon, that is properly your God.”
Reformer Martin Luther
“To trust in anything more than God, is to make it our God.”
Puritan Thomas Watson
“I am the bread of life; whoever comes to Me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in Me shall never thirst.”
John 6:35
“For He satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul He fills with good things.”
Psalm 107:9
“In Your presence there is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”
Psalm 16:11