Obey and Be Blessed by Steve Keeler
Exodus 20:1-17
After 400 years, the Israelites have finally left Egypt
and the life of slavery behind them and have now been
traveling for 3 months.
They have come to the foot of Mt. Sinai where they
have established their boundaries. They were afraid to
go any further up the mountain with Moses.
And so our story picks up in Exodus 20 verse 1.
Then God spoke all these words, saying, "I am the
LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of
Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no
other gods before Me.
You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness
of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or
in the water under the earth. You shall not worship
them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a
jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the
children, on the third and the fourth generations of
those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to
thousands, to those who love Me and keep My
commandments.
You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in
vain, for the LORD will not leave him unpunished who
takes His name in vain.
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days
you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh
day is a Sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall
not do any work, you or your son or your daughter,
your male or your female servant or your cattle or your
sojourner who stays with you. For in six days the
LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all
that is in them, and rested on the seventh day;
therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and
made it holy.
Honor your father and your mother, that your days may
be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God
gives you.
You shall not murder.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall
not covet your neighbor's wife or his male servant or
his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything
that belongs to your neighbor."
You know, we have got some silly laws out there on
the books. Did you know
In Chicago, it is illegal to eat in any building that is
currently on fire.
It is illegal in SC to kill anyone while you are attempting
to commit suicide.
They will put you in jail in SD if you fall asleep in a
cheese factory.
In Memphis, women are only allowed to drive cars if a
man is walking in front of the car waving a red flag.
It's really fun to laugh at those laws because they are
outdated and just plain dumb. But, sadly, today some
view the 10 commandments as outdated and many
churches teach it as well.
These teachers will say that God's Law was done away
with when Jesus died on the cross.
Well, I'm here to tell you that the Laws of God are NOT
outdated! They will never be outdated! They can never
go out of style, never be considered old fashioned or
powerless.
Jesus proclaimed this loudly in His sermon on the
mount in Matthew 5:17-18 He said; "Do not think that I
came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not
come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until
heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or
stroke shall pass from the Law until all is
accomplished."
He fulfilled the law, He completed it by meeting the
standards of the law. He obeyed the law and didn't
break one of the commandments!
Jesus didn't come to abolish the law but to fulfill the
law He set the standard of the law by which we are
to live as Christ followers.
We need to have boundaries, lines we set up that we
absolutely will not cross! These are the boundaries that
God Himself has established for us. Limits we're not to
exceed! As long as we live within the boundaries that
God has established, life is good. But when we cross
those boundaries, life becomes harder, more difficult.
So are you living within the boundaries God has
established? I know that people don't like boundaries,
I've had people ask how I can chose to live by God's
laws, you can't do anything, it's so boring! They
couldn't be more wrong.
How can someone believe that living a life that your
creator designed you to live is going to cause you to
miss out? I guarantee, you're not going to be bored
following the example of Jesus.
How about it Christ followers, have you ever chosen to
obey God and lost out because you did? Have you
ever made a decision of righteousness and have been
disappointed? It's hard to regret the right choice.
The things that I regret... are the sinful choices I've
made. I don't ever regret the good choices I've
made do you?
Another objection to living out a relationship with Christ
is; I'll be rejected by my friends and family. They are
gonna think I'm weird of something! I've got news for
you You are different when you follow Christ!
What does the Bible say about that? You are aliens
and foreigners! You are stars in the universe!
You're not helping God by living a compromised life.
You're not winning people to Christ with double-minded
living.
You and I are set apart, sanctified, we are to live a holy
life and the first part of holiness is less sin. All in favor
of less sin?
Sin just causes suffering folks. There's nothing good
about sin. It only makes all things bad. Anyone here
want to share a testimony about how sin has greatly
improved your life?
Notice, I didn't we are to live without sin in our life.
Although it would be nice, we all stumble we all fall
down. But when we fall, we fall into the hands of a
loving God who picks us right back up again.
Does anyone really believe that boundaries that keep
us from sinning are going to make life worse?
If you think that's true, you are listening to a lie from the
father of lies! Satan would have you believe that sin
makes your life interesting. But he is lying.
I want to help you be obedient to the laws of our
wonderful God. Today I'm going to give you a couple of
steps to help you live a life of Holiness!
First we need to know the Law Giver!
Before God gives Moses the 10 commandments, God
says, "I am the Lord Your God who brought you out of
Egypt, out of the land of slavery." What God was
essentially pointing out was "Remember who I am?
If we recognize who God is and what God has done for
us, it will cause us to want to live a more righteous life
for Him?
Listen to what Romans 5:8 says: "God demonstrates
His own love toward us, in that while we were yet
sinners, Christ died for us."
He loved you so much that He allowed Jesus to die for
you. One way to show our love for Him in return is to
obey His commandments.
When you love someone you want to please them and
doing as they wish is a great place to start.
Obedience comes from knowing the Law Giver.
Then we need to know the Law!
These aren't called the '10 suggestions'. Or the '10
options to follow'. These are the 10 Commandments.
God's Law has complete authority and we are to live
them out.
We should all know them by heart. The reason we are
putting the 10 commandments to memory is because
it's hard to obey the law if you don't first know the law?
Did you know that Jesus refers to the 10
commandments frequently in the New Testament? He
summarizes the them in Matthew 22:37-39 when the
diciples asked which commandment was the most
important He said; "You shall love the lord your god
with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all
your mind.' this is the great and foremost
commandment. The second is like it, 'you shall love
your neighbor as yourself.
The 10 commandments fall into two parts. The first four
fall into "Loving God" part and the last six deal with
"loving mankind" category.
When you have a personal relationship with God and
know His perfect Law, you will want to do all you can
obey His Law.
Now obeying God's law can't save you! Never in God's
Word does it say that this is the path to Salvation!
This is where the Pharisees got it wrong. They thought
that by obeying the law, they could do enough to win
favor in God's eyes.
But the Law doe's have it's place. Chuck Swindoll
gives us three functions of God's law.
God's Law serve as a mirror - showing us our sin.
God's Law serves as a policeman, enforcing order.
God's Law serves as a guide leading us to good works.
God's Law applies to all believers. It tells us how to live
a sanctified lifestyle, set apart for God. It shows how to
love God and our neighbor, how to keep God at the
forefront of our lives. It shows us what areas we still
need to work on. It helps us become doers of the word!
Not just hearers.
I think there are many blessings to be realized when
you follow God Law. God has established boundaries
for your protection! To help you establish better
relationships with God and with others! Remember,
obedience brings Blessing.
I want to leave you with some reminders concerning
God's Law.
God's Law is non-negotiable. You can't decide which
parts you will and won't follow.
God's Law doesn't change. You can't move them.
God's Law is permanent. They won't become outdated.
God's Law is for our good.
It serves us well to stay within the boundaries God has
established. We have only touched on God's Law. But
guess, what? If it's in His Word and we follow it, we
will be blessed!
Know the Law Giver
Know the Law
Obey the Law
Be blessed!
