Pastor Cal Lord's Recent Sermons
Help For Those Who Are Drowning
Exodus 20:1-17 March 16, 2003
The Old Rugged Cross. That is what Lent is all about. It is a time to reflect on who Jesus was
and what he did. It gives us an opportunity to look at our lives and ponder how Jesus’ death and
resurrection affects our life.
Have you ever wondered, “Why did Jesus have to come and die?” Well the answer is quite
simple. It was the only way that God could get our attention and save us from ourselves.
In order to get a better picture of our situation, we have to turn back the pages of time and
scripture to the days of Moses. You see, the Hebrew slaves were just beginning a new
relationship with God. He had brought them out of slavery and was leading them to the promised
land. In those first few days they were totally dependant on him. He led them to safety through
the Red Sea. He fed them manna in the wilderness and led them by a pillar and a cloud. Things
couldn’t have been any better.
But you know, most of us get a little nervous when things are going too well, don’t we. We
begin wondering “when” something BAD is going to happen. And the Hebrew people started
pestering Moses about God. They wanted assurances that God would’nt abandon them. They
wanted to know what was expected of them. They wanted to know “exactly” what God was
going to do for them. As though they were a gaggle of lawyers, they wanted a contract. They
wanted things spelled out a little more clearly. They wanted to read the fine print in this
relationship.
So on that fateful day, Moses went up to the mountain top and he came back with what we
called, “the Ten Commandments.”
This morning I want to take a brief look at the Commandments and then come back to the
“why” of Jesus.
First off, I want to say that the Ten Commandments were never meant to be a hardship on the
children of God. God gave them as a checklist, as a standard, as a guide for the people to help
them better define the parameters of their relationship with God.
But the people wanted to know what God expected of them and what they could expect from
God. And I’ll tell you that their insistence was the start of trouble. Because when God laid out
the rules, he told them that now they would be expected to follow them.
God’s intention was not to punish them though, his hope was that these commandments would
save the people from grave peril.
I remember going to the beach as a young boy and my mother telling me not to go out too far
into the deep water. Well, I thought she was making a big fuss over nothing and I slowly moved
out farther and farther until I was up to my chest. Then suddenly the waves began to come in
and the undertow began to pull at my feet and I panicked and started to go under. When I
managed to get back closer to shore, I decided I wouldn’t go that far out again.
I was lucky and I suddenly understood why my mother told me to stay closer to the shore. It
wasn’t because she wanted to limit my fun, but because she knew the danger and was trying to
protect me and keep me safe and happy.
The same is true of God and when He gave Moses the Ten Commandments, it was not to
restrict their freedom, but rather to help them from drowning in sin and all kinds of trouble.
You see, if you really take the time to look at the Ten Commandments, you will note that in the
very introduction, God introduces himself.
1 Then God spoke all these words, saying,
2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of
slavery. Exodus 20:1-2
This is a preamble to the entire list of Ten Commandments. “I am” gives the foundation to the
“You shall.” We cannot separate the “I am” from the “you shall.”
Even though we are a rebellious group and we don’t like anyone telling us what to do, but when
we know who the person of authority is, we will more readily accept what they have to say.
That’s the way it is with God. Who is God? He tells us here in vs 2.
• He is a God who is preeminent. When you see the word “LORD” in your Bible in all capital
letters, that translates God’s Hebrew name – the one He shared with Moses from the burning
bush in Exodus 3. The Hebrew letters transcribed into English are… YHWH… It’s from the verb
“to be.” God calls Himself “I am who I am.” He is forever.
• He is also a God who is personal. He says I am the LORD your God…
The “Star Wars” series tempts us to believe that God is some kind of impersonal force in the
universe. “May the ‘Force’ be with you!” An impersonal power. Some would say that God
created the world and then backed off – that He’s now uninterested or uninvolved with what’s
going on.
That’s not the God of the Bible. He’s personal. He cares about you… and me. He wants to be
your God. You matter to Him.
• Finally, He is a God who is powerful. The Hebrew word for God is… Elohim. “El” means
mighty or strong. “Him” is a plural ending. It’s not that there are more gods than one. In the
Hebrew language, there’s a plural of intensity. Since “El” means mighty or strong, then “Elohim”
means an intense might, a majestic power.
We should tremble in the face of God’s overwhelming majesty! He is infinite in His power.
Despite who He is, He wants to be with us.
The preamble goes on to remind us what He did.
I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
These words, of course, are addressed to the people of Israel. They had been slaves in Egypt for
400 years. Hard labor was their life. But God sent Moses to set the people free. Right here,
before another word is spoken, God wants to remind them that he is not an oppressor, but a
deliverer and that if they listen to him they will be free forever.
Unfortunately though, the people looked at the Ten Commandments and looked at them as being
too restrictive and began looking for ways around them.
Just look at the first commandment. God says you shall have no other gods before me. Before
God turned his back, the people were making a golden calf and bowing down to worship it like
the heathen did. Within a few generations, they started accepting the customs of other nations.
And today, a lot of good people put a lot of things ahead of God, in effect making these things
the object of their worship. And where does it get them, nowhere.
People have made money their idol and ended up losing their families and their souls. They have
made sex their idol and destroyed their relationships. They have turned to cultic practices, and
secular society and found that they offered dead ends.
The truth is that we are stubborn people. The Hebrew people finally began to understand that it
was almost impossible to follow the Ten Commandments perfectly. As a result, they were left
feeling alienated from God and drowning in a sea of tears.
The same thing is happening today. Look around and you will see people who have no meaning
in their lives, they are wandering looking for things to excite them. And nothing works. Drugs
are rampant, alcohol is everywhere, the casinos are full, people are in debt up to their ears,
divorce is rampant. Nothing in this world can save us from drowning in misery.
But here is the good news. The apostle Paul tells us that “at the right time God sent his son to die
for us.” He sent his son to wade into the pool of darkness and sin and to rescue us from
drowning.
The Ten Commandments are a great guide to help us learn right from wrong, but they can never
save us totally from sin. Only Jesus can do that. The ten commandments can point us to God
and a happier life, but in order to live life fully and with blessing, we need to reach out to him and
let him carry us to shore.
Jesus died on the cross. He gave his life to bridge the gap from the sea of sin and despair to the
throne of God’s mercy and grace. You see, when the people began stumbling under the weight
of the law, God said, I will give you another way to come to me and enjoy my company. That
way is through the son. When we come to Jesus and confess our sins… When we admit that
we cannot keep the law and that we need help… When we invite Jesus to come into our lives
and rescue us from sin, God opens the shores of heaven to us and all that is his, is ours.
When we come to the shore he puts his robe on us and his ring. And when we look back, we
see the wondrous cross that made it possible.
Prayer…
Exodus 20:1-17 March 16, 2003
The Old Rugged Cross. That is what Lent is all about. It is a time to reflect on who Jesus was
and what he did. It gives us an opportunity to look at our lives and ponder how Jesus’ death and
resurrection affects our life.
Have you ever wondered, “Why did Jesus have to come and die?” Well the answer is quite
simple. It was the only way that God could get our attention and save us from ourselves.
In order to get a better picture of our situation, we have to turn back the pages of time and
scripture to the days of Moses. You see, the Hebrew slaves were just beginning a new
relationship with God. He had brought them out of slavery and was leading them to the promised
land. In those first few days they were totally dependant on him. He led them to safety through
the Red Sea. He fed them manna in the wilderness and led them by a pillar and a cloud. Things
couldn’t have been any better.
But you know, most of us get a little nervous when things are going too well, don’t we. We
begin wondering “when” something BAD is going to happen. And the Hebrew people started
pestering Moses about God. They wanted assurances that God would’nt abandon them. They
wanted to know what was expected of them. They wanted to know “exactly” what God was
going to do for them. As though they were a gaggle of lawyers, they wanted a contract. They
wanted things spelled out a little more clearly. They wanted to read the fine print in this
relationship.
So on that fateful day, Moses went up to the mountain top and he came back with what we
called, “the Ten Commandments.”
This morning I want to take a brief look at the Commandments and then come back to the
“why” of Jesus.
First off, I want to say that the Ten Commandments were never meant to be a hardship on the
children of God. God gave them as a checklist, as a standard, as a guide for the people to help
them better define the parameters of their relationship with God.
But the people wanted to know what God expected of them and what they could expect from
God. And I’ll tell you that their insistence was the start of trouble. Because when God laid out
the rules, he told them that now they would be expected to follow them.
God’s intention was not to punish them though, his hope was that these commandments would
save the people from grave peril.
I remember going to the beach as a young boy and my mother telling me not to go out too far
into the deep water. Well, I thought she was making a big fuss over nothing and I slowly moved
out farther and farther until I was up to my chest. Then suddenly the waves began to come in
and the undertow began to pull at my feet and I panicked and started to go under. When I
managed to get back closer to shore, I decided I wouldn’t go that far out again.
I was lucky and I suddenly understood why my mother told me to stay closer to the shore. It
wasn’t because she wanted to limit my fun, but because she knew the danger and was trying to
protect me and keep me safe and happy.
The same is true of God and when He gave Moses the Ten Commandments, it was not to
restrict their freedom, but rather to help them from drowning in sin and all kinds of trouble.
You see, if you really take the time to look at the Ten Commandments, you will note that in the
very introduction, God introduces himself.
1 Then God spoke all these words, saying,
2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of
slavery. Exodus 20:1-2
This is a preamble to the entire list of Ten Commandments. “I am” gives the foundation to the
“You shall.” We cannot separate the “I am” from the “you shall.”
Even though we are a rebellious group and we don’t like anyone telling us what to do, but when
we know who the person of authority is, we will more readily accept what they have to say.
That’s the way it is with God. Who is God? He tells us here in vs 2.
• He is a God who is preeminent. When you see the word “LORD” in your Bible in all capital
letters, that translates God’s Hebrew name – the one He shared with Moses from the burning
bush in Exodus 3. The Hebrew letters transcribed into English are… YHWH… It’s from the verb
“to be.” God calls Himself “I am who I am.” He is forever.
• He is also a God who is personal. He says I am the LORD your God…
The “Star Wars” series tempts us to believe that God is some kind of impersonal force in the
universe. “May the ‘Force’ be with you!” An impersonal power. Some would say that God
created the world and then backed off – that He’s now uninterested or uninvolved with what’s
going on.
That’s not the God of the Bible. He’s personal. He cares about you… and me. He wants to be
your God. You matter to Him.
• Finally, He is a God who is powerful. The Hebrew word for God is… Elohim. “El” means
mighty or strong. “Him” is a plural ending. It’s not that there are more gods than one. In the
Hebrew language, there’s a plural of intensity. Since “El” means mighty or strong, then “Elohim”
means an intense might, a majestic power.
We should tremble in the face of God’s overwhelming majesty! He is infinite in His power.
Despite who He is, He wants to be with us.
The preamble goes on to remind us what He did.
I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
These words, of course, are addressed to the people of Israel. They had been slaves in Egypt for
400 years. Hard labor was their life. But God sent Moses to set the people free. Right here,
before another word is spoken, God wants to remind them that he is not an oppressor, but a
deliverer and that if they listen to him they will be free forever.
Unfortunately though, the people looked at the Ten Commandments and looked at them as being
too restrictive and began looking for ways around them.
Just look at the first commandment. God says you shall have no other gods before me. Before
God turned his back, the people were making a golden calf and bowing down to worship it like
the heathen did. Within a few generations, they started accepting the customs of other nations.
And today, a lot of good people put a lot of things ahead of God, in effect making these things
the object of their worship. And where does it get them, nowhere.
People have made money their idol and ended up losing their families and their souls. They have
made sex their idol and destroyed their relationships. They have turned to cultic practices, and
secular society and found that they offered dead ends.
The truth is that we are stubborn people. The Hebrew people finally began to understand that it
was almost impossible to follow the Ten Commandments perfectly. As a result, they were left
feeling alienated from God and drowning in a sea of tears.
The same thing is happening today. Look around and you will see people who have no meaning
in their lives, they are wandering looking for things to excite them. And nothing works. Drugs
are rampant, alcohol is everywhere, the casinos are full, people are in debt up to their ears,
divorce is rampant. Nothing in this world can save us from drowning in misery.
But here is the good news. The apostle Paul tells us that “at the right time God sent his son to die
for us.” He sent his son to wade into the pool of darkness and sin and to rescue us from
drowning.
The Ten Commandments are a great guide to help us learn right from wrong, but they can never
save us totally from sin. Only Jesus can do that. The ten commandments can point us to God
and a happier life, but in order to live life fully and with blessing, we need to reach out to him and
let him carry us to shore.
Jesus died on the cross. He gave his life to bridge the gap from the sea of sin and despair to the
throne of God’s mercy and grace. You see, when the people began stumbling under the weight
of the law, God said, I will give you another way to come to me and enjoy my company. That
way is through the son. When we come to Jesus and confess our sins… When we admit that
we cannot keep the law and that we need help… When we invite Jesus to come into our lives
and rescue us from sin, God opens the shores of heaven to us and all that is his, is ours.
When we come to the shore he puts his robe on us and his ring. And when we look back, we
see the wondrous cross that made it possible.
Prayer…
| Welcome to the First Baptist Church of Norwich 239 West Main Street Norwich, Connecticut Phone: 860-889-0369 |
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