I wonder if man had to draw up the commandments what we would have ended up with? As we study The Ten Commandments we notice that only God could have uttered such commandments, men would have tried a more pleasing set of rules. These rules are no crowd puller, they won’t make any one popular, and perhaps some might even think they are cruel and yet you have to be cruel to be kind.

How often many of the issues raised in The Commandments have been discussed on television, with a panel of experts debating and perhaps even having an audience vote to try and see what is right and wrong. Praise God for his unchanging standards, how mankind needs these commandments

I was listening to Dr. Peter Master’s summary of how the UK has dispensed with The Ten Commandments.

• In the 1950s the first four were taken away and a generation grew up who didn’t fear the Lord.

• In the 1960s the fifth commandment was taken away and respect for authority in the home, the government and the workplace was diminished.

• In the 1970’s the seventh commandment was removed and we had the sexual revolution.

• In the 1980s the tenth commandment was eroded when we had a ‘give me’ society.

Taking away the Ten Commandments has deprived generations of the best things in life. Let’s look at the first verse of Exodus twenty.

Exodus 20:1 And God spake all these words, saying,

Sometimes God spoke through men, often he spoke through prophets and he even spoke through circumstances. Here God is speaking directly. Not only did he speak them but look what exodus thirty-one records.

Exodus 31:18 And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.

We treat these words with what awe and reverence should as they are coming directly from the mouth of God and are written with the finger of God.

The Powerful Ruler.

Exodus 20:2 "I am the Lord thy God."

The Commandments begin with God. That is where me must start if we want to get our lives sorted out. We must begin with God and our relationship with him. Remember The Commandments divide in two, our responsibility to God and to mankind.

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

What a way to start a world! What a way to start a day! What a way to begin The Commandments they begin with God.

The existence of God is not questioned, it is accepted. They didn’t debate it, they delighted in it.

Psalm 14:1 " The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God."

Atheism is not a head matter it is a heart matter. The words "there is," are in italics. It just simply reads no God.

Someone described it like this when you are sitting at a meal and someone offers you pudding and you say, "no pudding," it doesn’t mean that the pudding doesn’t exist. It means you don’t want it. That sums up atheists, they don’t want God.

Let’s look at this powerful ruler.

Exodus 20:2 I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

"I am the Lord," or "I am Jehovah."

The word Jehovah splits in three and this is how it could be translated. He that will be, he that is and he that was.

The self-existing, eternal and ever active God. God declares that he is sovereign, he is supreme and he can speak with authority.

"I am the Lord thy God," the word used for God is Elohim, it reminds us of his creative power.

Thus the one who is speaking is a powerful ruler.

He was the God who sent fire and brimstone upon Sodom and Gomorrah. He was the same God who rolled back the Red Sea he had power over nature. It was this God who cast Satan out of Heaven. He has power over the angels.

It was this God who struck Nadab and Abihu and made Adam out of dust. He has power over the body.

It is this God who can forgive sins and reconcile man to himself. He has power over our souls.

Exodus 15:11 Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?

He is the all-powerful, all-knowing, ever present and almighty God. What a powerful ruler.

I am the Lord thy God. Deity is a jewel that belongs only to his crown.

1 Kings 8:22-23 And Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven: [23] And he said, Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath, who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart:

Psalm 89:6 For who in the heaven can be compared unto the Lord? who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the Lord?

Job 26:7 He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing.

What a wonderful, powerful and majestic God. I am the Lord thy God.

A God like this deserves to be adored.

Neh. 8:6 And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground.

A God like this should be feared.

Psalm 4:4 Stand in awe, and sin not: commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah.

Someone described our fear of God like this, "We would not curse a deaf man or lay something in the path of a blind man. Even though man will not hear or see what we do. We fear God and he sees and hears everything."

A God like this can be trusted.

We can trust him to meet our needs.

Psalm 37:3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.

We can trust him in our fears.

Psalm 56:3 What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.

We can trust him at all times.

Psalm 62:8 Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.

I am the Lord thy God. This God should be adored, feared, trusted and loved.

Deut. 11:1 Therefore thou shalt love the Lord thy God, and keep his charge, and his statutes, and his judgments, and his commandments, alway.

This God should be obeyed.

Deut. 13:4 Ye shall walk after the Lord your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him.

I am going to quote the Westminster confession of faith as this summarises our duty towards God.

The knowing and acknowledging of God to be the only true God, and our God, and to worship and glorify him accordingly by thinking[ Mal 3v16] meditating [Ps. 63v6] remembering [Ecc12v1] highly esteeming [Ps 71 v 19] honouring [ Mal 1v6] adoring [ Is. 45v23] choosing [Josh 24v15] loving [Deut 6v5] desiring [Ps 73 v 25] fearing of him[ Is 8v13] believing him[ Ex 14 v 31] trusting [Is 26 v 4] hoping [Ps 103 v 7 ] delighting [Ps 37 v 4] rejoicing in him [Ps 32v11] being zealous for him[ Rom 12v11 ] calling upon him , giving all praise and thanks [Phil 4 v 6] and yielding all obedience and submission to him with the whole man [Jer 7 v 23] being careful in all things to please him [1 Jn 3 v 22] and sorrowful when he is offended [Jer 31 v 18] and walking humbly with him [Mic 6v8]

What a powerful ruler, I am the Lord thy God.

God is uniquely God.

Deut. 6:4-5 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: [5] And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

Since God is who he claims to be. He must be the one object of worship as he creates and sustains, he makes a claim on his creation.

Let us as New Testament believers remind ourselves that Jesus Christ is God. Consider the qualities that Christ possesses.

Matthew 18:20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

Omniscient.

John 16:30 Now are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not that any man should ask thee: by this we believe that thou camest forth from God.

John 17:5 And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.

Immutable.

Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.

What a powerful ruler, what a powerful God that’s why when he says:

Exodus 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

We should listen.

The Personal Relationship.

Exodus 20:2 I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

I am your God, we can have a personal relationship with God.

Exodus 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

Thou is singular, he speaks to each one of us.

• We know him initially, when we come as sinners to the cross.

• We know him increasingly as we study his word.

• We know him intimately he is the best friend in the world.

• And we will know him infinitely, for all eternity.

Yes he says, "I am the Lord, the eternal, self existing creator of the world, I am the Lord thy God. Hallelujah, we can have a personal relationship with God.

John 20:28 And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.

If he is the powerful ruler and if we have this personal relationship is it unreasonable for God to say?

Exodus 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

A Pardon That Is Remarkable.

Exodus 20:2 I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

Alan Redpath said, " The strongest argument for obedience is the experience of past deliverance."

God took a weak, helpless, demoralised, defeated and desperate people, who were opposed and oppressed by the enemy and he brought them out of bondage into freedom.

Remember the pathway they took, through the shed blood of that substitute lamb.

But oh what redemption we have.

Not a land of milk and honey but eternal life.

Not the rolling back of the Red Sea but raising Christ from the tomb.

Not the blood of a lamb but the blood of the Lamb of God.

John 1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

1 Cor. 5:7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:

John 8:36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

A Proclamation That Is Reasonable.

Exodus 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

Who is your god?

Is he the supreme one in our lives?

Loving him with out heart and soul and strength means making a decision to acknowledge him as the governing factor in our lives. We need to constantly reaffirm that decision and check and see if he really is our God.

Man is by constitution a religious animal he has a religious element in him.

Romans 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

Men have the need for worship built into them. Sadly they have moved away from God. Israel where going into the land of Canaan and the Canaanites has many gods. Gods of the sun, moon, rain and thunder. They tried to placate their gods in order for the harvest to come they connected the fertility of the land with the fertility of their woman. Immorality even became worship.

The Canaanites had many gods and they ran here, there and everywhere to placate these gods. God said look, I am the lord thy God, I am unique. You need no other gods. I will be your God, I love you, look what I have already done for you.

Look back to Egypt and see how I destroyed the gods they worshipped. God says don’t insult me by having any other gods.

Exodus 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

God admits no rivals, no substitutes and no additions. "Thou shalt have no other gods before me," why? There are no other gods and you need no other gods. God demanded unadulterated allegiance.

Loyalty to another god means disloyalty to God. You cannot have two gods it would be like going east and west at the same time.

" Before me," means in my sight or before my face or perhaps along side me.

The Israelites had no sooner been out of Egypt and this command was broken.

Exodus 32:1 And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him.

They wanted a god they could see, touch and look at. One that appealed to their senses.

Alan Redpath gives us a definition of what or who your god is.

You will find many other gods in the Old Testament.

Molech speaks of cruelty, they sacrificed children to this god.

Leviticus 18:21 And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the Lord.

How many people care only about themselves and it doesn’t matter who it hurts?

There was the god of mammon, a god of carnality.

Matthew 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

There were many other gods that people worshipped.

The Problems Recurring.

We can look at Israel and marvel at how so often they moved away from the true and only God and worshiped Baal. They worshipped many other man made gods. But dear children of God look at our own lives.

Matthew 4:10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

There are so many things in our lives clamouring for pre-eminence. The Lord has many rivals and much opposition. What place has he in your life and mine?

Has the god of money pushed him out?

To trust in anything more than God is to make it a god.

Matthew 13:22 He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.

How many have made money their god.

• It is their creator, when they have it they think they are made.

• It is their redeemer, they can buy whatever they need.

• It is their comfort, they believe it will make them happy.

Do you worship the god of money?

Do you worshipped the god of the flesh?

Jeremiah 17:5 Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord.

If you ever watched sheep running to hide in the hedges and when they leave there wool is stuck to the hedge. Many of God’s people are running to the worlds hedges trusting the arm of flesh and loosing out, rather than trusting the good shepherd.

Do you worship the god of wisdom?

Jeremiah 9:23 Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches:

"To glory in," is to place the highest confidence in. Has you own wisdom led to depend less and trust less in God?

Do you worship the god of pleasure?

2 Tim. 3:4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;

Our bodies need exercise and recreation. We need diversion from the every day routine. Pleasure is not sinful provided it is not sinful pleasure. When the pursuit of pleasure takes precedence over our love for the Saviour then we have made it a god.

When the TV programme, the football match or the Formula One becomes more important than the prayer meeting or our own times of bible study and prayer. Then we have created another god.

Do you worship the god of our belly?

Philip. 3:19 Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)

This speaks of self-indulgence of our sensual appetites.

Romans 16:18 For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.

Do you worship the god of fashion?

1 Tim. 2:9-10 In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; [10] But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works.

1 Peter 3:3-4 Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; [4] But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.

Have you made fashion your god?

What is your god? Is it work, career, hobbies or your business?

Exodus 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

It is relatively easily to give God your time, money and things. Has he really got your love?

Do you love the Lord with all your heart and soul and mind?

Rev. 2:4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.

The love of God demands everything that every believer in every church has got. Time, intensity, possessions, their life, his all and every thing. True worship is manifested through all of ones heart and soul and mind. There are no shortcuts and no substitute.

Exodus 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

Perhaps you have a choice to make?

Joshua 24:14-15 Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord. [15] And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

Was Jesus Christ my Lord today?

Did I serve him faithfully today?

Did I love him deeply?

Did I worship him exclusively?

Did I find all the other little gods making unwarranted excursions into my life?

Did I live as double standard a double life?

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