Christmas in July - The Wisemen

Introduction
One of our beloved Christmas traditions is the Three Wisemen bringing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to baby Jesus as He lay in the manger.  I started praying about this message way back in April—seeking the Lord’s direction about what to say.  He led me to preach on the story of the Wisemen for Christmas in July at my church.  The story comes to us from Matthew 2:1-12. 

Now, I want you to try and read to this story as if you’ve never read it before.  We will find that our Christmas traditions have added quite a bit that the Bible doesn’t say.  See if you can detect the differences.

Matthew 2:1-12
¹ Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, ² “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.”

³ King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem. ⁴ He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked, “Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?”

⁵ “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they said, “for this is what the prophet wrote:

⁶ ‘And you, O Bethlehem in the land of Judah,
    are not least among the ruling cities of Judah,
for a ruler will come from you
    who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.’”

⁷ Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he learned from them the time when the star first appeared. ⁸ Then he told them, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!”

⁹ After this interview the wise men went their way. And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! ¹¹ They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

¹² When it was time to leave, they returned to their own country by another route, for God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod.

Jesus Born in Bethlehem in 4 BC
Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod around 4 BC (give or take 10 years).  Scholars can determine a fairly accurate date based on the verified dates of King Herod’s reign and death, and other verified dates from events in the Gospel of Luke.

However, we don’t know how old Jesus was when the Wisemen came.  Matthew doesn’t specifically say.  Matthew does tell us that Herod was mad the Wisemen didn’t come back and tell him where to find Jesus.  Herod had every male child in Bethlehem 2 years old and younger killed. (Matthew 2:16)  So we can assume Jesus was not older than two.  He could have been a baby, but He could also have been a toddler. 

These Wisemen were from the East.  In the original Greek they were called Magi.  Magi were Scientific theologians from the ancient Persian Empire who sought God.  These were men who devoted their lives to try and figure things out.  They studied religion, astronomy, and nature to find out divine truth.  The tried to figure stuff out.  

Are you tying to figure some stuff out?  Then you are a lot like the Wisemen in the story.  Guess what:  God loves people who are just trying to figure stuff out.  He loves people who search for Truth.  That's why Jesus said, "Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you." (Matthew 7:7)

The Magi were from Babylon in Persia.  Persia was once the greatest Empire on Earth.  We often think of the greeks or the Romans as the greatest empires.  However, before the Roman Empire, before Greece, there was Persia.  In fact, much of what we admire about the Greeks and Romans, they copied from the Persians.  

Because the Persian empire was so vast, officials needed to be able to travel from one side to the other quickly.  So, the Persians developed state roads that were safe and equipped with supply stations along the way.  They invented passports for officials to present at supply stations so they could be resupplied with a fresh horse and food and shelter so they could travel lighter and faster.  They worked out many of the important bureaucratic details of how to administer government.  And they were avid students of science and learning.  But in Persia, science was not divorced from religion as it so often is today.  The Persians used science and religion together.  And that's where the Magi come into the equation.  

The Magi in Matthew's Wisemen story followed a star.  They studied and used astrological signs to try and figure things out.  And these Magi discovered a sign in the heavens that foretold something world changing was taking place in Israel.  It was so important, they had to investigate.

Persia was often on friendly terms with the Jews in Israel.  The Babylonian Empire before Persia destroyed Jerusalem and took its citizens into captivity.  When the Persians conquered the Babylonians, ti was the Persian emperor Cyrus who set the Jewish captives free to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple.  The Persians even financed the project.  And the Jews and Persians maintained close relations and deep respect for each other after, until the Persian Empire was consumed by the Greek Empire under Alexander the Great.  

The Magi were the priests of Persia and they practiced a religion called Zoroastrianism, which taught God created a perfect world which is engaged in a war between good and evil that evil will be defeated at the end of time and a the world will be restored to its once perfect, original state.  It was very similar to the Judeo/Christian religious narrative.  It seems likely that the Persians and the Jews (and later Christians) influenced each other's religious thought.

These Magi who came seeking Jesus from Persia in the East, traveled around 800 miles to find Him.  It would have taken at least 4 months to travel Persia to find Jesus. We can assume from how far they traveled that they were serious about their mission.  How far would you go to find God’s Truth?

Unlike the Wisemen, the important, powerful people in Jerusalem who should have known and been paying attention to this stuff had no idea what God was doing in their own country.  And when someone from outside told them, all they wanted to do was stop it from happening.

But the Magi, from the East, were deeply interested in Jesus, the new King of the Jews.  They believed His arrival would change the world forever.  He was not only the King of the Jews, Jesus was these Persian Magi’s King too.  He was to be King of the whole world.  So the Wisemen brought Him gifts.

Three Gifts
it is tradition to say there were three Wisemen.  But the Scripture does not say that.  There were three gifts named, not three men.  There may have been three gift or there may have been more or less.  The text just says there were some Wisemen (Magi).  But we know there were three gifts.

What the three gifts actually mean is not exactly known.  People have often speculated about their meaning.  Gold is an obvious gift to give a king because people gave their very best as tribute to the ruling king.  You didn't give your second best.  And gold is the very best metal.  So you give King Jesus your very best or do you give Him what you have left over?

Frankincense is a fragrant and valuable incense used in worship  Myrrh is an anointing oil, often used for embalming the dead.  It’s not in the Bible, but a very old Christian tradition going all the way back about 200 AD to a very wise and devote church leader named Origen says Gold marked Jesus as a king.  Myrrh showed He was mortal and would day be buried.  Frankincense showed Jesus is God and would rise from the grave and be worshipped.

Who are You in the Story?

After the Wisemen—these Magi from Persia—found Jesus and worshipped Him, it says they returned to their own country.  I’m sure they went home preparing their people to receive Christ as Lord and Savior when the time came.  A few decades later, Christian missionaries started arriving to share the Good News that the baby Jesus grew up to become a great teacher and healer and worker of miracles.  He lived a perfect life, yet the religious leaders arrested and tortured Him and nailed Him to a cross.  He died and was buried, but on the third day He rose from the grave and has ascended to Heaven where He rules at the right hand of God.  One day, Jesus will return in glory to judge the living and the dead and to restore all creation to God's perfect plan.  And Jesus will rule as Lord forever.  And many Persians believed and became Christian.

 

But what about you?  Who are you in the story?  Who do you relate to the most?  Are you like the Wisemen—just trying desperately to figure some things out?  Jesus is the one with the answers.  Seek Him today and He will find you.

Maybe, you’re you like all those people in Jerusalem.  They were just going about their busy lives—trying to make ends meet, trying to take care of family, consumed with the ins and outs of life and the hot topics of the day, all the while oblivious to the eternity changing things God is doing.  Is that you?  Jesus is alive and actively working in the world all around you.  Are you too busy and distracted to see Him?  You better wake up!  You don't want to miss what He is doing!

Or maybe you’re like Herod--concerned only with protecting your hold on power and the security of your “little kingdom” at all costs.  You’ll do anything to protect your little world—even if it means fighting against God’s plan.  God's plans are so much better than yours and His Kingdom is so much better.  Why fight against Him?  You shouldn't even want to.  You better repent and turn from your selfish sin and turn to God!  God is going to triumph in the end.  Who's side are you going to be on?

 Take some time to honestly consider what God is saying to you today.  
Then, talk to God about it in prayer.

 

 

Jesus Heals Ten Lepers

Introduction
My church is getting ready for Vacation Bible School which starts this week. This message is what we will teach on the fourth day, the story of when Jesus Heals Ten Lepers.  Our theme is: JESUS IS FULL OF HEALING.

When I was a kid, my parents used to fight a lot.  Mostly it was just shouting and name calling and verbal violence.  Sometimes it turned physical.  As a kid, I didn’t know any better.  I just thought that’s the way all families were.  It’s all I’d ever known.  It wasn’t until I was a little older and spent more time outside my home in my friend’s homes, maybe spending the night at their house.  Their parents didn’t fight like mine.  Eventually, my family was the unusual one.  Families aren’t supposed to fight all the time.

We live in a broken world.  But this is all we’ve ever known.  The only world we’ve ever known is full of families that are broken.  It’s also a place where people get sick—where cancer and heart attacks and strokes happen and people suffer and die.  But that’s not the way God meant the world to be.  It’s this way because human sin has wrecked all creation.

Jesus came to make the world right again.  Jesus is Lord of all the earth.  And everywhere He walks, the Kingdom of God starts to break in and take over our broken world. 

In the Bible, we see a lot of stories where Jesus healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, and caused the lame to walk.  It was a natural thing to happen.  You see, there is no sickness, blindness, or lameness in God’s Kingdom.  And when the King comes, these things are banished.  What is it that Jesus said so often?  "The Kingdom of God (of Heaven) is near."  And there is no sin. sickness, sorrow, or death in God's Kingdom.  So whenever Jesus bring the Kingdom close, those other things naturally disappear.

Luke 17:11-19
¹¹ As Jesus continued on toward Jerusalem, he reached the border between Galilee and Samaria. ¹² As he entered a village there, ten men with leprosy stood at a distance, ¹³ crying out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”

¹⁴ He looked at them and said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed of their leprosy.

¹⁵ One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, “Praise God!” ¹⁶ He fell to the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking him for what he had done. This man was a Samaritan.

¹⁷ Jesus asked, “Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine? ¹⁸ Has no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” ¹⁹ And Jesus said to the man, “Stand up and go. Your faith has healed you.”

Jesus Heals Ten Lepers
Leprosy was a terrible disease.  People with leprosy had sores all over their bodies.  Sometimes leprosy caused people to go blind or to limp or to hurt very badly.  It also made them very lonely.  The disease was very contagious, so lepers couldn’t be around other people.  They lived as outcasts in camps together away from the rest of society—even their own families.  Anytime they went away from their leprosy colony, they had to ring bells and yell, “Stay away!  I’m unclean!”  It was so embarrassing!  And most people in those days also though people got leprosy because they had done something bad.  People said, “God would only let someone catch leprosy if they’d done something really bad.  They must deserve it.”

But then in our story, Jesus is different.  These 10 lepers were in agony and full of shame.  But Jesus knows this isn’t the way God’s world is supposed to be.  And Jesus knows these lepers aren’t sick because they did something wrong.  They’re sick because we all live in a broken world.  And Jesus came to bring God’s mercy and healing.  He came to forgive sins and make the broken world right again.

So when the lepers cry out:  “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”  He is glad to heal them.  The passage doesn’t say how Jesus heals them.  It seems like it was just and instantaneous thing.  Otherwise, the passage would tell how he gave them some medicine, said a pray over them, or something else.  But Luke doesn’t tell us how Jesus healed them.  He just said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed of their leprosy. (vs14)

That tells us two things.  First, when Jesus heals, it doesn’t have to be some elaborate ceremony.  It doesn’t require oil or music or even a fancy prayer.  It just takes our desire to be healed and Jesus’ power and consent to heal us.

The second thing the stories shows is healing comes as we obey.  Jesus told the lepers to go show themselves to the priests.  That was what the Old Testament Law that God gave required.  If someone had leprosy and then they were healed, they went to the priest to be examined and pronounced clean.  And Luke 17:14 points out: “As they went, they were cleansed of their leprosy.”  So they had to do something.  It wasn’t much.  But they had to obey Jesus command to go.  And as they did, hey were healed.

So when we are in need of healing—whether it is physical healing, emotional or spiritual healing—we should take not of these two insights.  First, trust in Jesus.  Don’t expect some magical ceremony that makes you feel like healing is taking place.  It’s not religion that heals.  It’s Jesus that heals.  And Jesus is not interested in fancy religion.  Jesus main concern is bringing God’s Kingdom on earth.  It’s just like the words we pray in the Lord’s prayer:  "Thy Kingdom come.  Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven."

So only two main things are needed to receive God’s healing through Jesus Christ:  Faith that Jesus is Lord and our obedience.  We need to do what He says.

Jesus is powerful!  He is full of mercy and grace and kindness and healing.  When we don’t feel well, when someone we love is in the hospital, we can pray to Jesus.  He will always answer us with love.  Like the tenth leper, we thank God for healing us.  Even more, we thank God for taking away our sins when Jesus died on the cross in our place!  Jesus healed our sinful lives.  He forgives us when we make bad choices and sin by disobeying the Ten Commandments God gave us.

The 1 in 10 Gratitude Principle
There’s another important principle I’ve learned over the years from this story I want to share with you.  I call it the 1 in 10 gratitude principle.  You see, only 1 of the 10 lepers came back to tell Jesus thank you. It’s not that the other 9 weren’t grateful.  I bet they were grateful to be healed.  But only one—a Samaritan—came back to actually say “Thank you.”  And that’s the way it it is so much of the time.  Only about 1 in 10 people know how and takes the time to really express their thankfulness in ways that tells you they really are thankful.

I think this might be an important principle for all the VBS volunteers to understand this week.  Our volunteers have already put in a lot of work getting ready for VBS.  And they’ll put in even more this week.  And Melissa Starling has already done so much work—it amazes me!  Melissa works a full-time job.  Plus, she’s a mom and a wife.  (And I know Robert is an unsung hero in all of this too; Robert works full-time too and then I’m sure he’s doing extra working as a great dad with his kids while Melissa does extra work for the church).  And Melissa has done such a fine job organizing VBS and getting everything ready for our volunteers.  It amazes me and we a we all appreciate Melissa and her family.

We will all work hard this week.  We’ll be good and tired at the end of it.  And there will be many who say thank you.  And that gratitude always feels good—to know people appreciate your hard work and to know you made a difference.

Even if you’re not working with VBS this week, whatever ways you serve Christ and make a difference in the world, it’s nice to be thanked.  Mom’s and Dad’s and grandparents, it’s nice to be thanked and you don’t always get the thanks you deserve.  Or if you work, people probably don’t tell you “Thank you” enough at work (or really show you that they do appreciate you).

That’s where the 1 in 10 principle has helped me.  You see, only 1 in 10 lepers came back to tell Jesus thank you.  So here’s a little trick I started doing many years ago in ministry.  I always figure for every one person who really shows their gratitude well for anything I’ve done, there are ten more who are thankful but just didn’t say it or don’t know how to say thanks in a really meaningful way.  So I just take that one person’s gratitude and multiply it by ten in my own heart.

If you ever feel like you don't get the thanks you deserve, take whatever thanks you receive and multiply it by ten.  It works for me.  Maybe it’ll work for you.

Closing
But it’s healthy to be a thankful person.  The more thankful you are, the more joyful you are.  Showing gratitude actually enhances your own appreciation for your gifts in life.  So I want to close today by giving you time to be thankful.  Take a minute to close your eyes and thank God for your blessings.  You may even want to go further and take 15 or 30 minutes to make a list of all the things for which you have to be thankful.

Here are some things you might consider:
Your health
Family
Church
Nation, etc.

And praise God!  We all can be thankful for what Jesus has done.  
Forgiving our sins and giving us eternal life…

Jesus Calls His Disciples

Introduction 
This blog series considers the Bible stories we will study with the kids at Vacation Bible School this month--VBS is June 26-29.  Today we will look at the lesson for Day 3 – Jesus Calls His Disciples.   Our theme will be JESUS IS WITH ME.

Matthew 4:18-22
¹⁸ One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers—Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew—throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. ¹⁹ Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” ²⁰ And they left their nets at once and followed him.

²¹ A little farther up the shore he saw two other brothers, James and John, sitting in a boat with their father, Zebedee, repairing their nets. And he called them to come, too. ²² They immediately followed him, leaving the boat and their father behind.

Slides – Matthew 9:9-13
⁹ As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So Matthew got up and followed him.

¹⁰ Later, Matthew invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. ¹¹ But when the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with such scum?”

¹² When Jesus heard this, he said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do.” ¹³ Then he added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’ For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”

Who are You?
Who are you? Have you ever thought about it?  How would you define who you are?  WHat is your identity?  A lot of people may describe who they are by what they do for a living.  What did your dad do for a living?

My dad was an entrepreneur.  He did work for the FBI for a short time (fingerprint division), but that's not really who he was.  That was just a job for him.  What he really wanted to do was own his own business.  He and a partner started a restaurant in Maryland called the Georgetown Pizzeria.  When that wasn't successful, he moved to Macon, GA and owned a concessions business at Lake Tobesofkee for a while.  Then he tried to be successful running a KFC franchise in Florida.  Finally, he successfully owned and operated the Fish House in Macon, GA and sold fresh seafood for over 25 years.  

A lot of people define their identity by what they do for a living.  I guess that makes sense, because the average person spends 90,000 hours (or 1/3) of their life at work.  In the Bible, people were often identified by their work.  Jesus was identified as a carpenter.  Jesus called 12 men to follow him and we learn the occupations of five of them from the two passages I read.  Simon, Andrew, James, and John were fishermen.  Matthew was a tax collector.

With the fishermen, Jesus does something interesting. He recognizes their identity—fishermen, but then He alters it.  He says, “Come follow me and I will make you fishers of men.”  So He changes their identity.  They’re going to do something so much more important than fishing for seafood.  However, their past identity will still influence their new work.  They will fish for people to be part of God's Kingdom.

Matthew was a tax collector.  No one likes tax collector—then or now.  However, in Jesus’ day, tax collectors worked for the enemy--the occupying Roman official who forced the Jewish people to pay tributes to Rome against their will.  Tax collectors were seen as traitors by their people.  Even their own families often disowned them. Jesus called Matthew to be a disciple.

Simon the Zealot, another man Jesus called to be His disciple, belonged to a radical political/religious sect called he Zealots.  Zealots were dedicated to assassinating people like Matthew, who cooperated with the Romans.  Jesus call Simon the Zealot to be a disciple alongside Matthew the tax collector.  Can you imagine how awkward it might have been for Matthew the tax collector to sit down next to Simon the Zealot (who in his previous occupation would have assassinated Matthew)?

Jesus called all these men and gave them new identities, their true identities—Disciples.  A disciple is a personal follower dedicated to Jesus.  Discipleship is not the same as being a student in the modern sense.  A disciple in the ancient biblical world actively imitated both the life and teaching of their master. It was a deliberate apprenticeship which made the fully formed disciple a living copy of the master.

It was a great honor and a true responsibility to be a disciple.  Usually, Jewish rabbis only called the best of the best of the best to be their disciples.  Yet Jesus chose men whose professional identities were quite ordinary or even despicable—fishermen, tax collectors, an assassin.

Simon the fishermen felt unworthy to follow Jesus.  In Luke 5:8, Simon said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m such a sinful man.”  Jesus called him anyway and said I will make you a fisher of men.  Later, Jesus changed Simon’s identity again by by giving him a new name—Peter.  Jesus said, “Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.” (Matthew 16:18).  You see, Jesus is the one who gives us our true identity.

How would you feel if Jesus called you?
How would you feel if Jesus called you like He called the 12 Disciples?  You may be reluctant to follow Jesus or feel like you are not good enough to be among His followers.  You may even feel all alone--like everyone else belongs, but you don't.

However, the call to follow Jesus does not depend on how good you are.  Rather, Jesus invites all people to follow Him.  All people can be transformed into God’s children because of Jesus’ death and resurrection.  As we follow His call, Jesus promises to be with us no matter what and He transforms us into the people He wants us to be.

Jesus calls people to surrender their lives and follow Him.  He leads us into the Kingdom of God.  As people become disciples and follow Jesus, we are never alone.  Jesus guides us every day and we find fellowship with others He has calls along the way.  

Being a disciple of Jesus is the greatest honor in life.  Jesus calls all to be His disciples, but not all answer the call.  Will you answer the call?

If you do answer the call to follow Jesus as a true disciple, you will learn to actively imitated both His life and His teachings. You will become a living copy of Christ.  What He did, you will do—and this includes, at times, taking up a cross of suffering.  It is great responsibility to be a disciple, but it is also the highest honor in life.  And the reward is eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven.  No amount of suffering in this life--no matter how terrible--can ever compare to the glory we will know in eternal life where there will be no more sin, no more suffering, and no more death.

Closing
Jesus taught in Matthew 7:13-14 – “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.”

Which path would you choose to follow today?  Jesus is here today and He says to you, “Come, follow me, and be my Disciple.”  Will you answer His call?

God Gives Us the Commandments

Introduction
This is a series I'm preaching to help my church get ready for Vacation Bible School June 26-29.  The lessons are good for all of us--not just kids.  Today we will look at the lesson for Day 2 – God Gives the Commandments.  Our theme is: MY LOVING GOD GIVES DIRECTION.

Exodus 19:18-19
¹⁸ All of Mount Sinai was covered with smoke because the Lord had descended on it in the form of fire. The smoke billowed into the sky like smoke from a brick kiln, and the whole mountain shook violently. ¹⁹ As the blast of the ram’s horn grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God thundered his reply. ²⁰ The Lord came down on the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain. So Moses climbed the mountain.

Exodus 20:1-21
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.”

¹⁸ When the people heard the thunder and the loud blast of the ram’s horn, and when they saw the flashes of lightning and the smoke billowing from the mountain, they stood at a distance, trembling with fear.

¹⁹ And they said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen. But don’t let God speak directly to us, or we will die!”

²⁰ “Don’t be afraid,” Moses answered them, “for God has come in this way to test you, and so that your fear of him will keep you from sinning!”

²¹ As the people stood in the distance, Moses approached the dark cloud where God was.

Our God is an Awesome God
This is an awesome and frightening scene.  It's a big contrast from the image of God we see portrayed in Jesus in the New Testament.  Jesus is kind and patient and merciful and full of compassion and mercy.  The image of God at Mount Sanai reminds us to never forget that our God is an awesome God and He is serious about sin.  He means business when He commands us to obey His commands.  

In verse 20, Moses tells why God appeared in this way on Mount Sanai.  He said, “Don’t be afraid, for God has come in this way to test you, and so that your fear of him will keep you from sinning!”

There were 2 teachers in my school when I was in the 5th grade.  Everyone said you wanted to have Mrs. Sanders because she was nice and Mrs. Garland was really mean.  I had Mrs. Sanders for 5 of my periods, but Mrs. Sanders and Mrs. Garland switched for one period.  I went to Mrs. Garlands class for math and her class came to Mrs. Sanders for English.  I thought, "Oh no!  Mrs. Garland is going to be so mean!"  Well, for the first week of school, Mrs. Garland was very stern.  She made it clear that she would not put up with any foolishness in her class and we all knew we better not get out of line. On the other hand, Mrs. Sanders was so friendly and pleasant that everyone took advantage of her.  She was nice that no one paid any attention to her.  Everyone talked and cut up and caused all kinds of disruptions in her class.  I felt sorry for Mrs. Sanders and her class was not that good.  Mrs. Garland, who everyone said was so mean, was actually quite nice and everyone learned and enjoyed her class.  Everything was orderly and pleasant and no one acted up.  Mrs. Garland was never mean, but if anyone tested her, the consequences were swift and final.  So no one broke her rules.

I guess sometimes you've got to put forth a mean face to scare people straight and make sure they know you mean business and the rules are the rules and you better follow them.  That's what God is showing us in this passage from Exodus.  God is love, but He is also holy and His power awesome and frightening.  He is serious when He gives these commandments. You better follow them.

God’s Rules are for Our Good
Sometimes, people don’t like rules.  Why should someone be able to tell me what I can/can’t do? Don’t tell me what I can and can’t do with my body.  It’s my body!  Don’t tell me how to spend my money.  It’s my money!  Don’t tell me how to live my life.  It’s my life!  (Actually, according to the Bible, it’s not your body.  It’s not your money.  It’s not your life.  But that's another sermon for another day.)

It's a good thing we don’t hear the same kinds of arguments made by many people above about traffic lights.  No one is arguing they should be exempt from stopping at red lights.  Without those lights, millions of people would die!  Rules are for our own good.

If you want to get a drivers license, you have to study and learn the rules of the road.  The rules ae for our safety.  It's the same with God Commandments.  The fact that God gives us rules shows He cares. 

He understands our weakness and our confusions.  He knows sin has clouded our judgment.  He wants us to be safe.  He wants us to holy so we can have a good relationship with Him.  So He gives us rules.  The 10 Commandments are the most basic rules of God. 

Do you know them?  If you’re a Christian you should know the Lord’s rules.  I challenge you to memorize them.  Here's a paraphrase of the 10 commandments that I've used to help many people memorize them.

The Ten Commandments

1.     Do not worship any god except the Lord.

2.     Do not make idols of any kind.

3.     Do not misuse God’s name.

4.     Remember the Sabbath Day and keep it holy.

Commandments 1 - 4 are about our relationship with God.  These come first in the list because your relationship with God must be right first or your relationship with people will remain messed up.  A lot of people who don't believe in God still try to encourage good behavior with people.  It always falls short because the question behind everything is "Why should I behave well with people if there's no God?"  You see, if there's no Higher Power, then we're just animals and it's survival of the fittest.  Atheist have yet to come up with reasonable foundational values for why people should behave well in the absence of God.  If there's no God, who makes the rules?  People.  And the most influenceial, strongest, powerful people are the ones who make the rules, which are relative and can be changed to suit one group over another.  But since Christians believe there is a God, there are reasons we follow the rules--chief among them is because God is sovereign and has the authority to require certain behavior from His people.  

And so when we follow commands 1 through 4, we are now ready for rules 5 through 10 that deal with human relationships.

5.     Honor your father and mother.

6.     Do not murder.

7.     Do not commit adultery.

8.     Do not steal.

9.     Do not testify falsely.

10.  Do not covet.

God Law Shows We’re Broken | God’s Love Saves Us
Now one thing these commandments show us is where we fall short.  Every time we sin, we tear our heart apart.  Have you ever broken any of these commandments?  Of course you have.  We all have.  

At some point or another, we’ve all told a lie.  Maybe we've said, “No Honey!  Those jeans don’t make your butt look big,” when you know darn well they do make her butt look fat.  

If you’ve only ever stolen a paper clip, then you’ve broken the 8^th commandment--do not steal.  And who among us has never, ever wanted something our neighbor had:  “Man, I sure wish I had ‘a car like theirs’ or ‘a house like that’ or a ‘a new cell phone’ or something.

You may never have murdered someone but Jesus said in Matthew 5:21, “If you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell.”

You may never have committed adultery but Jesus said in Matthew 5:28, “Anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

So you see, we’ve all fallen short of God’s glorious standards and broken His Commandments.  And every time we sin, our hearts are torn apart.  But the amazing thing is, even though we’ve sinned, God doesn’t stop loving us!  In Jesus Christ, we see that God’s love and grace are greater than all our sins!

God loves us so much, He sent Jesus, His son.  Jesus never sinned.  He never broke the Commandments—not even in His heart.  Jesus paid for our sin on the cross and rose again.  Because of Jesus, we can be forgiven! 

Conclusion
If you want to be forgiven and make a fresh start, it’s time to repent of your sin and turn to Jesus.  Jesus welcomes anyone who sincerely decides to turn away from sin and follow Him as Lord.  And for all that decide to follow Jesus, the Holy Spirit helps them live in love. 

And when we follow Jesus, He gives us a brand new heart.  Do you want a new heart, one that can love God and love your neighbor, a heart that knows you are loved and can feel God’s love and people’s love for you?  Why don’t you decide to follow Jesus today?

Pray:
Loving God, thank You fo the direction You give us in Your Ten Commandments. We are sorry fo the times we sin against You and break Your rules. Thank you for forgiving us!  We would be completely lost without Jesus, who leads us to You.  Please help us to remember the Commandments, and give us power through the Holy Spirit to obey.  In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.