Guardrails - no other gods
Over Christmas Break, Kristy and I loaded up the girls, some Christmas gifts, and our two 85LB Goldendoodles into the minivan and headed to Cleveland, Georgia, to spend the week with family. A couple of hours into the trip, the van began driving funny. Whenever I would accelerate, the car would pull sharply to the left, then straighten out. I pulled over and checked the tires. One was a little low, so I aired it up, got back on the interstate, and the problem continued. Then, it began to rain. I was already stressed about the vehicle, and my drive got worse with the hazard of rain and slippery roads.
I slowed to about 55MPH and noticed the car did not pull as severely – so we finished the drive to their house. I drove the van to a car repair shop in Cleveland, GA, the following day. They put it up on the lift, inspected it, and then brought me in to show me that the front left and right Lower Control Arm assemblies had gone bad and needed to be replaced. He also told me it would probably make the drive home just fine and to have an alignment when it was finished.
I told him we were in town for a week and asked if he could get it in the shop to do the work. He said he could not, but again, I should be okay with driving it home. I ordered the parts from Amazon, had them delivered to our family's home in Georgia, and replaced them myself. I took it back to the shop before I left. He inspected the work, did the alignment, and the van ran great all the way home.
Sometimes, our lives need some repair and alignment. During our sermon series called Guardrails, you and I will be encouraged to repair some of the damage that poor choices have made in our lives and help us get back on the road of following Jesus. During this series, you will discover ways to keep your lives from crashing by Loving God and keeping the 10 Commandments.
Remember, as I spoke about in the introduction, we do not get to Heaven by keeping the 10 Commandments; we only get to Heaven by confessing to God. We failed at keeping the 10 Commandments and receiving forgiveness for our sins by surrendering our lives to Jesus.
Many of you probably already have the Ten memorized, but during the next ten weeks, I want to invite you to memorize these 10 Commandments.
No Other God’s.
Do Not Have Idols
Do not misuse God’s name.
Rest on the Sabbath.
Honor your Father and Mother.
Do not Murder.
Do not Commit Adultery.
Do Not Steal.
Do Not Lie.
Do Not Covet.
Now, let’s read from Exodus 20, when God gave the commandments to the Israelites.
Exodus 20:1-17 (NLT2)
1 Then God gave the people all these instructions: 2 “I am the LORD your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery. 3 “You must not have any other god but me. 4 “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. 5 You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. 6 But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands. 7 “You must not misuse the name of the LORD your God. The LORD will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name. 8 “Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 You have six days each week for your ordinary work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the LORD your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you. 11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy. 12 “Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the LORD your God is giving you. 13 “You must not murder. 14 “You must not commit adultery. 15 “You must not steal. 16 “You must not testify falsely against your neighbor. 17 “You must not covet your neighbor’s house. You must not covet your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.”
Many struggle through life trying to figure out God’s will for them. Some think that God’s will is a profound dark mystery…like a season of Fargo. 😊You think you know what is happening, but you are wrong.
You may ask questions like:
Who am I supposed to marry?
What am I supposed to do for an occupation?
How can I make the right decisions?
How can I discover God’s plans for my life?
Here is the secret: God’s will for our lives is for us to OBEY him.
If you are a follower of Jesus, meaning you have had a moment you believed that Jesus paid the price for your disobedience on the cross, that he rose from the dead, that one day he will return, and because of your belief, you surrendered your life to Jesus and received Him as your Savior and Lord…then, you committed to OBEDIENCE. You surrendered your will to God and said, “Life is not about me anymore; my life is about you. You are the Boss of me for the rest of my life.”, you most likely have come to realize that…
THE PURPOSE OF THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
BLESS AND PROTECT YOU
As his chosen people, God wanted the Israelites, his Chosen people, to be blessed. So, he used Moses to rescue the Israelites from slavery in Egypt and then gave them these rules to live by. The 10 Commandments are moral commands that reflect who God is and His Character. And when we keep these commands, we radiate and reflect God’s Character. A wonderful thing occurs as we seek to keep his commands and become more like God; God blesses and protects us!
Deuteronomy 28:1-2 (NLT2)
1 “If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully keep all his commands that I am giving you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the world. 2 You will experience all these blessings if you obey the LORD your God:
God will keep his word, and as we seek to submit our lives to His will, He promises Blessing and protection. And, these 10 Commandments will also…
KEEP YOUR LIFE FROM CRASHING (Joshua 1:7-8)
Joshua 1:8 (NLT2)
Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.
If you want to keep your marriage from crashing, seek to reflect God’s character to your spouse. If you're going to prevent your family from crashing, seek God’s will, and He will guide you. There is always the diagnosis of the unknown. We live in a world impacted by sin. We will still get sick. We will still be betrayed. We will still be hurt…But in the pain, followers of Jesus have HOPE because we understand that no matter what fire we walk through, we have a God walking through the fire with us who will keep our lives from crashing as we obey Him.
The more complex and dangerous the road of life becomes, the more we need God’s commands to be our Guardrails to keep us from spiraling out of control and wrecking our lives. Each of us has self-destructive urges and impulses in us. Sometimes, we want to deviate from God’s path and drive through the guardrails, off the road, and crash our lives. God gave us guardrails to keep us from crashing. But some people think God gave us these Guardrails to keep us from having fun!
They think that God is wagging his finger and is all about telling us, “No, No,” Don’t do this, Don’t do that.
Your kids may say you never let them have any fun, but as parents, you understand one of your roles is to bless and protect your kids, so you give them Guardrails. And, since God has given the Ten Commandments as Guardrails:
LEARN AND OBEY THEM
And you know what’s interesting? If you are a follower of Jesus, God has placed His Spirit inside you, and the Spirit leads you to obedience. Let’s look at the first command. “No Other God’s”
FIRST COMMAND: GOD IS WORTHY OF ABSOLUTE LOYALTY
God commands the loyalty of us as followers of Jesus. The reason why God said, “I am the Lord your God…You must not have any other god but me…” is because, as CREATOR and SUSTAINER of the UNIVERSE, God knew nothing in all creation could be compared with His greatness. He knew He was the best there was.
If God permitted anything else to take His place in our lives, it would be a concession that something else is more significant and worthy of loyalty than He is. This would contradict His very nature as the one, living, all-powerful God. In fact, If God had not demanded absolute loyalty, God would be guilty of IDOLATRY. If God did not demand absolute loyalty, He could be guilty of saying there was something else out there greater than Him.
God is worthy of absolute loyalty because…
He is the Source of Life:
Genesis 1:1 (NLT2)
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Colossians 1:17 (NLT2)
17 He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together.
God is worthy of absolute loyalty because…
There is None Like Him in all the Galaxies:
Isaiah 44:6 (NLT2)
6 This is what the LORD says—Israel’s King and Redeemer, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies: “I am the First and the Last; there is no other God.
God is worthy of absolute loyalty because…
He Protects us and Guides us:
Proverbs 2:8 (NLT2)
8 He guards the paths of the just and protects those who are faithful to him.
Psalm 32:8 (NLT2)
8 The LORD says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.
God is worthy of absolute loyalty because…
Even when we rebelled against him – he never abandoned us:
John 3:16 (NLT2)
16 “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
God has nothing but his character to be devoted to, because He alone is enough. His words spark worlds, and his love changes lives.