1 00:00:06,720 --> 00:00:10,360 This is ERC Sundays, the messages at Emmaus Rd. 2 00:00:10,360 --> 00:00:14,240 Church in DeWitt, Iowa. ERC is a Church of people 3 00:00:14,240 --> 00:00:17,320 striving to grow in Jesus and make him known to others through 4 00:00:17,320 --> 00:00:21,560 our faith, words and actions. Find out more about our church 5 00:00:21,600 --> 00:00:25,360 at emmausrdonline.org. Here's this week's message. 6 00:00:26,040 --> 00:00:29,960 Well, today we are, we are going to look at something that has 7 00:00:29,960 --> 00:00:35,240 shaped morality and ethics in the world for thousands and 8 00:00:35,240 --> 00:00:37,800 thousands of years. At this point, if you don't know 9 00:00:37,800 --> 00:00:40,760 what I'm talking about, I'm obviously alluding to the 10 10 00:00:40,760 --> 00:00:44,400 commandments. We get to read God's law as 11 00:00:44,400 --> 00:00:50,280 originally given from his mouth. And so as we take that in, let 12 00:00:50,280 --> 00:00:53,920 me just say this, some of you may not have the 10 commandments 13 00:00:53,920 --> 00:00:55,760 memorized. That's OK, because I just read a 14 00:00:55,760 --> 00:00:58,800 statistic recently that said Christians or people who profess 15 00:00:58,800 --> 00:01:03,800 Christ, only about 48% of them actually have the 10 16 00:01:03,800 --> 00:01:06,800 commandments memorized. Now, I'm not a big memorization 17 00:01:06,800 --> 00:01:09,200 person. Like if you ever talk to me, I 18 00:01:09,200 --> 00:01:11,600 might speak sometimes in Bible verses and they're like, oh, 19 00:01:11,600 --> 00:01:13,840 where'd you, where's that from? And I'm like, man, I don't know. 20 00:01:13,840 --> 00:01:15,240 That's Google. I know it. 21 00:01:15,480 --> 00:01:18,480 I, I can't, I did not memorize where it was directly from. 22 00:01:18,720 --> 00:01:20,880 That's who I am. Well, here's the deal though. 23 00:01:20,880 --> 00:01:23,840 Even if you don't have those things memorized, I'm willing to 24 00:01:23,840 --> 00:01:28,600 bet that they are self-evident enough that you know them. 25 00:01:28,840 --> 00:01:31,560 So here's what I mean by that. Let me take you back in time for 26 00:01:31,560 --> 00:01:34,360 those of us who are, you know, not tiny. 27 00:01:34,680 --> 00:01:36,160 Let me take you back in time a little bit. 28 00:01:36,160 --> 00:01:39,040 There was a time in your life, I have no doubt, when you had a 29 00:01:39,040 --> 00:01:43,280 toy and what happened was somebody came and took that by 30 00:01:43,280 --> 00:01:48,400 force as if it was their own. That child, that toddler knows 31 00:01:48,400 --> 00:01:50,280 that the law exists. And how do I know that? 32 00:01:50,440 --> 00:01:54,040 Because they start to get angry and maybe they'll throw punches 33 00:01:54,040 --> 00:01:55,320 or maybe they'll just start crying. 34 00:01:55,320 --> 00:01:59,200 But they know the law is real. They know morality matters 35 00:01:59,200 --> 00:02:02,000 because they are hurt by something that shouldn't have 36 00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:04,000 happened to them. The law is real. 37 00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:08,800 It's it's the Bible tells us that the law is an objective, 38 00:02:09,080 --> 00:02:14,600 unmovable anchor for morality. Now, I understand that a lot of 39 00:02:14,600 --> 00:02:17,840 secular humanists and even atheists, they'll tell you that 40 00:02:18,200 --> 00:02:20,880 the laws or the rules or the commandments that we ought to 41 00:02:20,880 --> 00:02:24,280 follow as human beings, those things are rather, you know, 42 00:02:24,280 --> 00:02:26,880 they ebb and flow. And it depends on what culture 43 00:02:26,880 --> 00:02:29,480 it is and it depends on what time frame you live in. 44 00:02:29,480 --> 00:02:33,520 And, and it depends on your feelings, how you feel 45 00:02:33,680 --> 00:02:36,240 determines what you ought to or ought not to do. 46 00:02:36,720 --> 00:02:38,720 I'm telling you that is a load of garbage. 47 00:02:39,240 --> 00:02:42,080 That is a load of garbage, and even a toddler knows that that's 48 00:02:42,080 --> 00:02:44,880 trash because of the example that I just gave you. 49 00:02:45,080 --> 00:02:49,880 There is a real moral objective law that has to be adhered to if 50 00:02:49,880 --> 00:02:53,760 in fact, we want to live the lives as God designed us to live 51 00:02:53,760 --> 00:02:57,280 them, right? OK, so where are we going with 52 00:02:57,280 --> 00:03:00,160 this? We are going to the place where 53 00:03:00,360 --> 00:03:04,120 hopefully as we hear the, as we hear God's commandments, as we 54 00:03:04,120 --> 00:03:08,080 hear his law, hopefully we're going to end up in a place where 55 00:03:08,160 --> 00:03:11,400 it's not like, it's not like we walk out of here and we're like, 56 00:03:11,400 --> 00:03:15,080 alright, checklist, I got it. And, and now I'm going to check 57 00:03:15,080 --> 00:03:18,240 these boxes and I'm going to do the law just right to make sure 58 00:03:18,240 --> 00:03:21,720 that God is happy with me. Can I tell you a reminder from 59 00:03:21,720 --> 00:03:25,640 last week that God saves his people before he gives them the 60 00:03:25,640 --> 00:03:28,520 law. Therefore, the law is not what 61 00:03:28,520 --> 00:03:30,360 saves them. It's not why God loves them. 62 00:03:30,560 --> 00:03:34,640 So if we think we can perform the law to make God happier with 63 00:03:34,640 --> 00:03:37,560 us, He already loves you. Let me just give you the spoiler 64 00:03:37,560 --> 00:03:39,520 alert for the end. He already loves you. 65 00:03:40,040 --> 00:03:44,040 The law is built for the things of human flourishing. 66 00:03:44,040 --> 00:03:47,360 And I'll, I'll get into that in a minute, but I don't want us to 67 00:03:47,360 --> 00:03:49,320 walk out of here with a checklist, OK? 68 00:03:49,560 --> 00:03:53,080 And the other thing I'm not going to do today, I'm not going 69 00:03:53,080 --> 00:03:56,320 to like go through each of the 10 commandments and explain them 70 00:03:56,320 --> 00:03:58,840 to you because I trust your intelligence. 71 00:03:59,040 --> 00:04:03,880 I trust the fact that when God says, hey, don't murder, you're 72 00:04:03,880 --> 00:04:06,080 like, oh, I get that. I understand that one. 73 00:04:06,760 --> 00:04:09,800 If you don't understand that one, I am a police chaplain. 74 00:04:09,800 --> 00:04:12,120 I've got some friends I would like to introduce you to. 75 00:04:13,160 --> 00:04:15,480 They would love to talk to you about not murdering. 76 00:04:16,279 --> 00:04:19,680 It's important. Now how are we going to look at 77 00:04:19,680 --> 00:04:21,560 this text today? I want to give you a pretty like 78 00:04:21,560 --> 00:04:23,880 clear line of logic. What this is going to look like 79 00:04:23,880 --> 00:04:26,360 is first of all, we need to understand why we have the 80 00:04:26,360 --> 00:04:29,240 commandments in the 1st place. That is because we live in a 81 00:04:29,240 --> 00:04:31,800 world where everything is so relative and your truth is your 82 00:04:31,800 --> 00:04:33,600 own and blah blah blah. It's garbage. 83 00:04:33,840 --> 00:04:36,400 I'm, I'm promising you it. It doesn't work. 84 00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:39,440 And so we need to understand first and foremost, why we have 85 00:04:39,440 --> 00:04:41,360 the commandments. Second, we want to see the 86 00:04:41,360 --> 00:04:43,240 structure of the commandments. And that sounds a little 87 00:04:43,240 --> 00:04:46,640 academic, a little tea tree, but I promise it matters. 88 00:04:46,640 --> 00:04:49,720 God doesn't do anything randomly or by chance. 89 00:04:49,880 --> 00:04:52,040 There is a reason. It's structured in the way it 90 00:04:52,040 --> 00:04:53,680 is. And then third, we're going to 91 00:04:53,680 --> 00:04:57,520 see the ultimate Commandment Keeper preview. 92 00:04:57,800 --> 00:05:01,720 It's not you and it's not me either. 93 00:05:01,880 --> 00:05:03,880 Even though I have the microphone and I get to stand on 94 00:05:03,880 --> 00:05:07,040 the stage, it's not me. All right, so there's your 95 00:05:07,040 --> 00:05:10,360 spoiler alert for the day. We're going to read from Exodus 96 00:05:10,440 --> 00:05:14,200 chapter 20 verses one through 17. 97 00:05:14,880 --> 00:05:17,160 OK? That is when the God by voice 98 00:05:17,160 --> 00:05:18,800 gives the law for the first time. 99 00:05:18,800 --> 00:05:22,280 And so follow along with your Bibles if you want to, or you 100 00:05:22,280 --> 00:05:24,640 can follow along on the screen. It will be moving for you. 101 00:05:25,520 --> 00:05:29,720 So we read this in Jesus name because it is His word. 102 00:05:31,920 --> 00:05:35,600 And God spoke these words saying, I am the Lord your God, 103 00:05:35,600 --> 00:05:38,520 who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the House of 104 00:05:38,520 --> 00:05:41,800 slavery. You shall have no other gods 105 00:05:41,800 --> 00:05:44,720 before me. You shall not make for yourself 106 00:05:44,720 --> 00:05:48,000 a carved image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven 107 00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:52,000 above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water 108 00:05:52,000 --> 00:05:55,480 under the earth. You shall not bow down to them 109 00:05:55,480 --> 00:06:00,320 or serve them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, 110 00:06:00,800 --> 00:06:03,760 visiting the iniquity on the fathers to the children, to the 111 00:06:03,760 --> 00:06:08,320 3rd and the 4th generation of those who hate Me, but showing 112 00:06:08,320 --> 00:06:12,120 steadfast love to thousands of those who love Me and keep My 113 00:06:12,120 --> 00:06:15,440 commandments. You shall not take the name of 114 00:06:15,760 --> 00:06:19,120 the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him 115 00:06:19,120 --> 00:06:21,840 guiltless who takes His name in vain. 116 00:06:22,840 --> 00:06:26,240 Remember, Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. 117 00:06:26,640 --> 00:06:29,800 Six days you shall labor and do all of your work. 118 00:06:29,800 --> 00:06:33,360 But the 7th day is a Sabbath day to the Lord your God. 119 00:06:33,640 --> 00:06:37,800 On it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your 120 00:06:37,800 --> 00:06:40,440 daughter, your male servant, your female servant, your 121 00:06:40,440 --> 00:06:43,280 livestock, the sojourner who is within your gates. 122 00:06:43,680 --> 00:06:47,600 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and 123 00:06:47,600 --> 00:06:51,040 all that is in them, and rested on the 7th day. 124 00:06:51,520 --> 00:06:57,080 Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy on 125 00:06:57,080 --> 00:07:00,560 your father and mother, that your days may be long in the 126 00:07:00,560 --> 00:07:02,320 land that the Lord your God is giving you. 127 00:07:03,000 --> 00:07:06,200 You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. 128 00:07:06,560 --> 00:07:10,000 You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness 129 00:07:10,000 --> 00:07:13,880 against your neighbor. You shall not covet your 130 00:07:13,880 --> 00:07:16,360 neighbour's house. You shall not covet your 131 00:07:16,360 --> 00:07:19,880 neighbour's wife or his male servant, female servant, ox, his 132 00:07:19,880 --> 00:07:24,440 donkey, or anything that is your neighbour's here in this reading 133 00:07:24,440 --> 00:07:29,640 of God's Word. May it be blessed forever. 134 00:07:31,440 --> 00:07:34,600 OK, so first and foremost, why the law? 135 00:07:34,800 --> 00:07:36,760 Why the why the commandments in the 1st place? 136 00:07:37,040 --> 00:07:39,440 I talked about this last week a little bit, so I'm not going to 137 00:07:40,280 --> 00:07:44,280 go really long on this idea, but the reason why we have the Law 138 00:07:44,280 --> 00:07:46,600 in the 1st place is for human flourishing. 139 00:07:46,920 --> 00:07:50,920 Again, God already shows His love and His care for us before 140 00:07:51,080 --> 00:07:53,640 the Law is ever spoken into existence. 141 00:07:53,840 --> 00:07:56,120 He already loves us. And that goes for the 142 00:07:56,120 --> 00:07:58,600 Israelites. That goes for you and me. 143 00:07:58,720 --> 00:08:03,600 It is not the law that makes you righteous before God. 144 00:08:04,960 --> 00:08:07,680 I have to say that again, it is not the law that's going to make 145 00:08:07,680 --> 00:08:10,400 you righteous before God. That alone belongs to Jesus 146 00:08:10,400 --> 00:08:12,960 Christ, correct? Amen. 147 00:08:12,960 --> 00:08:18,120 Very good. So with, with, with this human 148 00:08:18,120 --> 00:08:21,240 flourishing, when the commandments are followed, 149 00:08:21,240 --> 00:08:23,920 obviously everybody wins. And I don't need to take you 150 00:08:23,920 --> 00:08:26,160 through all 10 commandments. But if you think about it this 151 00:08:26,160 --> 00:08:30,800 way, man, if I, if I start with loving God with all of my heart, 152 00:08:30,800 --> 00:08:34,679 soul, mind, strength, everything else can flow out of that. 153 00:08:35,120 --> 00:08:39,039 And, and therefore I, I can love my neighbor well, I can love my 154 00:08:39,039 --> 00:08:42,080 family well, I can do all of these kinds of things much 155 00:08:42,080 --> 00:08:44,760 better than I can on my own. If I'm just trying to get the 156 00:08:44,760 --> 00:08:48,240 checklist right, It starts with my heart, right? 157 00:08:48,320 --> 00:08:51,040 And we'll get into that in more in a minute. 158 00:08:51,400 --> 00:08:54,560 Now, I also want to tell you that the foundation of the law 159 00:08:54,800 --> 00:08:58,160 as God gives it is for organizational purposes. 160 00:08:58,160 --> 00:09:01,360 It is to create a nation. Think about it this way. 161 00:09:01,360 --> 00:09:05,360 If you have a nation of people who don't, who do not have a 162 00:09:05,360 --> 00:09:09,160 common law in the land, that land is not going to survive 163 00:09:09,160 --> 00:09:15,480 very long, right? When they're not common laws, we 164 00:09:15,480 --> 00:09:18,560 tend to get hurt. The common people get hurt. 165 00:09:18,920 --> 00:09:20,840 I'll put it to you this way, and I'm going to and I'm going to 166 00:09:20,840 --> 00:09:23,560 pull forward right to this moment in our culture and our 167 00:09:23,560 --> 00:09:26,640 society. Our government right now cannot 168 00:09:26,640 --> 00:09:30,600 agree. They cannot agree for however 169 00:09:30,600 --> 00:09:32,840 many days it's been. They are stuck. 170 00:09:32,840 --> 00:09:34,960 They cannot agree on law and policy. 171 00:09:35,200 --> 00:09:39,080 Therefore, what's happening is people are being hurt. 172 00:09:40,600 --> 00:09:43,320 If you are one of those people who's been affected in a 173 00:09:43,320 --> 00:09:46,000 negative way, whether that's because of finances or your job 174 00:09:46,000 --> 00:09:49,840 or whatever, because they can't get it right, well, you know 175 00:09:49,840 --> 00:09:52,440 what I'm talking about to a very personal level. 176 00:09:52,880 --> 00:09:56,320 So The thing is, the law, it keeps us standing straight. 177 00:09:56,640 --> 00:09:59,840 It keeps us in the right position as a nation. 178 00:10:00,080 --> 00:10:01,480 Well, what happens when we don't agree? 179 00:10:01,600 --> 00:10:04,040 We become kind of tilted and we're off balance. 180 00:10:04,320 --> 00:10:07,440 And when we're tilted and off balance as a nation, then people 181 00:10:07,440 --> 00:10:11,600 get hurt, then people get hurt. Now, I'm not trying to get into 182 00:10:11,600 --> 00:10:16,440 an argument about politics, but we have to recognize that God 183 00:10:16,440 --> 00:10:21,600 gives us laws, anchored morality for a specific reason, for the 184 00:10:21,800 --> 00:10:25,120 flourishing of his people. When that fails, well, we see 185 00:10:25,120 --> 00:10:26,880 the results. All right. 186 00:10:27,320 --> 00:10:29,840 And then third, the, the law is there to act as a mirror. 187 00:10:29,840 --> 00:10:32,680 I, I want to read chapter 1 of the book of James. 188 00:10:33,040 --> 00:10:37,880 He talks about the law as a reflective surface, the law as a 189 00:10:37,880 --> 00:10:40,920 reflective surface. And So what does the law do? 190 00:10:41,120 --> 00:10:45,360 It looks at me, warts and all. It looks at me and says, you 191 00:10:45,360 --> 00:10:47,120 know what? Here's where you've fallen 192 00:10:47,120 --> 00:10:48,080 short. There's where you've fallen 193 00:10:48,080 --> 00:10:49,680 short. Got to get that worked out. 194 00:10:50,520 --> 00:10:54,000 It does that right. And, and, and I, and it's true, 195 00:10:54,160 --> 00:10:56,960 I feel a little bit better now than I did at the 9:00 service. 196 00:10:57,200 --> 00:10:59,880 But I'm telling you, when I wake up in the morning and I'm like, 197 00:11:00,080 --> 00:11:01,960 kind of, I'm going to give you a visual. 198 00:11:01,960 --> 00:11:04,160 You probably don't want it, but I'm giving it to you anyway. 199 00:11:04,520 --> 00:11:08,960 And I'm kind of like just waking up and I'm like, why am I awake 200 00:11:08,960 --> 00:11:10,840 right now? And I look up at the mirror. 201 00:11:10,840 --> 00:11:13,240 I'm like, oh dude, too soon, Too soon. 202 00:11:14,200 --> 00:11:16,360 Let's not do that right now. Like let me get in the shower. 203 00:11:16,360 --> 00:11:19,480 Let me do something with this because I sleep and then like 204 00:11:19,480 --> 00:11:22,360 the pair on my face is like going sideways and I look 205 00:11:22,360 --> 00:11:26,920 insane. So the mirror, that's what the 206 00:11:26,920 --> 00:11:30,920 law does it it exposes those things in us that God says no 207 00:11:30,920 --> 00:11:32,440 to. And we need that. 208 00:11:32,760 --> 00:11:35,080 We need that because again, otherwise what, what do we do? 209 00:11:35,080 --> 00:11:39,960 We fall into a Society of relativism where, well, I don't 210 00:11:39,960 --> 00:11:42,000 know, you can kind of do what you want and I'll kind of do 211 00:11:42,000 --> 00:11:44,400 what I want. And, and no, there is an 212 00:11:44,400 --> 00:11:48,560 anchored moral truth and we have to have that in order to thrive 213 00:11:48,560 --> 00:11:51,200 and survive as a nation and as individuals. 214 00:11:51,480 --> 00:11:54,760 But let me just tell you, as I have before already this 215 00:11:54,760 --> 00:11:58,840 morning, we will not be justified by the law. 216 00:11:59,760 --> 00:12:01,200 The Bible is very clear about that. 217 00:12:01,200 --> 00:12:04,080 We will not be justified by following the law. 218 00:12:04,080 --> 00:12:07,200 There is a young man who later in the Bible, and we'll talk 219 00:12:07,200 --> 00:12:12,040 about him in a little bit, he got so close, he got so close 220 00:12:12,600 --> 00:12:17,120 only to leave sad. And he learned the hard way, as 221 00:12:17,280 --> 00:12:20,200 some of us sometimes need to do, that the law will not be the 222 00:12:20,200 --> 00:12:23,000 thing that justifies us. That is not its purpose. 223 00:12:23,920 --> 00:12:25,280 It is absolutely not its purpose. 224 00:12:25,280 --> 00:12:28,000 That's why we have Jesus Christ. Now let me get into something 225 00:12:28,000 --> 00:12:32,880 that's a little bit different. I hope that there are people who 226 00:12:32,880 --> 00:12:35,600 leave this morning. They're like, I never thought of 227 00:12:35,600 --> 00:12:38,640 it that way. If I, if you don't, you're 228 00:12:38,640 --> 00:12:42,160 either smarter than me or you're not paying attention because the 229 00:12:42,160 --> 00:12:46,480 law is set up in such a way that it, it's, it's logical and it 230 00:12:46,480 --> 00:12:48,280 works out. So here's what I want you to 231 00:12:48,280 --> 00:12:52,520 notice that the thoughts, words, indeed that kind of encompass 232 00:12:52,520 --> 00:12:54,120 the law. Well, those are the things that 233 00:12:54,120 --> 00:12:58,960 encompass the actions of our life as we think, as we talk, as 234 00:12:58,960 --> 00:13:02,560 we do. That creates who we are as a as 235 00:13:02,560 --> 00:13:05,440 as an individual, right? That is how we move through 236 00:13:05,440 --> 00:13:08,440 life. Well, notice how in the first 237 00:13:08,440 --> 00:13:11,520 table of the law, the first table is what we call us and 238 00:13:11,520 --> 00:13:13,600 God. The second table of the law is 239 00:13:13,600 --> 00:13:16,800 us and our neighbors, those people around us, vertical us 240 00:13:16,800 --> 00:13:18,680 and God, horizontal us and our neighbors. 241 00:13:19,000 --> 00:13:22,360 Well, what happens is it inverts itself. 242 00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:25,840 So the first table of the law, it's thoughts, words, and then 243 00:13:25,840 --> 00:13:29,000 deeds, and then on the other half of the table it's deeds, 244 00:13:29,000 --> 00:13:31,280 words, and thoughts. Have you ever noticed that? 245 00:13:31,760 --> 00:13:34,440 Maybe you haven't. I hope that's interesting to you 246 00:13:34,440 --> 00:13:35,840 because I'm going to keep talking about it. 247 00:13:37,520 --> 00:13:39,640 Now we start with thoughts with God. 248 00:13:39,640 --> 00:13:40,960 Why? Why? 249 00:13:41,440 --> 00:13:43,880 Well, thoughts would be a similar word in the Bible to 250 00:13:43,880 --> 00:13:47,240 your heart position. The Bible talks about the heart 251 00:13:47,240 --> 00:13:51,040 not as the physical thing inside your chest, but it's the it's 252 00:13:51,040 --> 00:13:53,960 the seat where all of your emotions and your thoughts come 253 00:13:53,960 --> 00:13:56,320 from. So what happens first with God 254 00:13:56,480 --> 00:13:58,920 is it has to start with our thoughts or our heart. 255 00:13:59,200 --> 00:14:03,760 It has to start with worship and recognizing who he is and 256 00:14:03,760 --> 00:14:05,800 everything else can flow out of that. 257 00:14:06,400 --> 00:14:09,520 After that, then we're ready to speak. 258 00:14:10,120 --> 00:14:13,040 When my heart is aligned correctly with God, then I'm 259 00:14:13,040 --> 00:14:16,680 ready to use my mouth. Not before then, because if I 260 00:14:16,680 --> 00:14:19,560 use my mouth before my heart is right with God, I will probably 261 00:14:19,560 --> 00:14:23,040 mess that up pretty bad. And in fact, I do and I have a 262 00:14:23,040 --> 00:14:25,520 lot. I do not keep the law, surprise, 263 00:14:25,520 --> 00:14:28,800 surprise. So when my heart is right with 264 00:14:28,800 --> 00:14:34,360 God, then I know how to speak about Him and to him correctly. 265 00:14:34,760 --> 00:14:39,000 I know how to do that then. And, you know, we then kind of 266 00:14:39,000 --> 00:14:42,160 move into the deeds. Now, I think it's really 267 00:14:42,160 --> 00:14:46,600 interesting that the first deed that is talked about is actually 268 00:14:46,600 --> 00:14:51,080 a deed that's more passive. It's an action that is sometimes 269 00:14:51,080 --> 00:14:53,440 a lack of action. And that's a good thing. 270 00:14:53,880 --> 00:14:58,920 So when we get to deeds finally, after our thoughts are harder in 271 00:14:58,920 --> 00:15:01,880 the right position, our our words are honoring to God, then 272 00:15:01,880 --> 00:15:04,640 we move into instantaneously rest. 273 00:15:05,080 --> 00:15:07,960 Isn't that crazy? Isn't that cool, man? 274 00:15:07,960 --> 00:15:10,720 I think God is in favor of weekends. 275 00:15:10,960 --> 00:15:14,720 I just believe that the reason why is because he tells us the 276 00:15:14,720 --> 00:15:18,080 first deed we are to do, the first action is to rest. 277 00:15:19,160 --> 00:15:21,320 Now what that rest looks like is worship. 278 00:15:21,840 --> 00:15:23,760 So some of you like your Sabbath. 279 00:15:24,080 --> 00:15:26,720 Your day off is today and you're doing the right thing. 280 00:15:26,880 --> 00:15:28,640 You're starting that with worship. 281 00:15:29,160 --> 00:15:32,480 Maybe you started it with coffee first, but you're still here 282 00:15:32,480 --> 00:15:33,960 worshiping. And that's a, that's a great 283 00:15:33,960 --> 00:15:37,360 start to your week, right? Well, then what happens is we 284 00:15:37,360 --> 00:15:40,640 move over to the human element, the second table of the law. 285 00:15:40,840 --> 00:15:42,880 And like I said, it inverts on itself. 286 00:15:43,080 --> 00:15:46,800 So why does it do that? Well, it's because let me put it 287 00:15:46,800 --> 00:15:48,960 to you this way. I've heard this before and I 288 00:15:48,960 --> 00:15:51,000 love it. God doesn't need your good 289 00:15:51,000 --> 00:15:53,280 works, but your neighbor sure does. 290 00:15:55,080 --> 00:15:56,520 Isn't that, isn't that the truth? 291 00:15:56,680 --> 00:15:59,440 Here's the thing. Your neighbor, I'm sure, cannot 292 00:15:59,440 --> 00:16:02,600 read your mind. And when you use words with your 293 00:16:02,600 --> 00:16:05,880 neighbor, somebody on the horizontal plane, often times 294 00:16:05,880 --> 00:16:10,240 those words fall short. They fail to do what they're 295 00:16:10,240 --> 00:16:13,120 supposed to do. Some of you are probably highly 296 00:16:13,120 --> 00:16:15,720 empathetic people, and there are moments in your life where 297 00:16:15,720 --> 00:16:18,960 you're like, I don't, I don't have words for this. 298 00:16:19,040 --> 00:16:21,480 This is too much. And that's OK. 299 00:16:21,480 --> 00:16:24,600 Maybe we ought to just keep our mouths shut sometimes. 300 00:16:25,560 --> 00:16:31,200 Maybe so as we think about deeds coming first when it as in 301 00:16:31,200 --> 00:16:35,320 relation to our neighbor man, Saint Francis gets the credit 302 00:16:35,320 --> 00:16:37,120 for this, but it wasn't really him who said it. 303 00:16:37,120 --> 00:16:41,880 He said somebody said preach the Gospel at all times and if 304 00:16:41,880 --> 00:16:48,720 necessary use words. Preach the Gospel at all times, 305 00:16:48,720 --> 00:16:52,520 and if necessary, use words, deeds first. 306 00:16:52,520 --> 00:16:55,040 When it comes to the horizontal, when it comes to you and me, 307 00:16:55,400 --> 00:16:58,600 let's act. Let's, let's show the love of 308 00:16:58,600 --> 00:17:02,200 God first, and then we can start to talk about it, right? 309 00:17:02,680 --> 00:17:03,840 OK. And that's where we get into 310 00:17:03,840 --> 00:17:06,960 words. I don't have to tell you, but 311 00:17:06,960 --> 00:17:09,200 I'll just say it out loud just in case nobody knows. 312 00:17:09,480 --> 00:17:12,200 Lying is bad. You probably shouldn't lie. 313 00:17:12,400 --> 00:17:16,200 It's not good, right? Let's just get that on the open. 314 00:17:16,480 --> 00:17:20,560 Don't lie, good gravy, help yourself out. 315 00:17:20,880 --> 00:17:23,280 And especially when it comes to our neighbor, you know, 316 00:17:23,280 --> 00:17:25,079 especially when it comes to other people. 317 00:17:25,160 --> 00:17:27,480 Why is that and so important when it comes to other people? 318 00:17:27,640 --> 00:17:31,400 Because every single person you talk about is an image bearer of 319 00:17:31,400 --> 00:17:33,440 God. Every single one. 320 00:17:35,280 --> 00:17:41,320 Therefore, you do not have the right to slander somebody who is 321 00:17:41,320 --> 00:17:47,320 made in the image of God. Can I tell you that if you stop 322 00:17:47,520 --> 00:17:50,840 and you analyze all the words that you say in any given day, 323 00:17:51,120 --> 00:17:54,120 if the majority of them are negative and they're about other 324 00:17:54,120 --> 00:17:57,400 people, first of all, the Bible would call you a gossip, and 325 00:17:57,400 --> 00:18:01,480 that is not a compliment. But second of all, recognize 326 00:18:01,480 --> 00:18:04,680 that you are talking about somebody made in his image. 327 00:18:04,720 --> 00:18:06,240 How dare you? How dare me? 328 00:18:09,400 --> 00:18:12,200 We have to use our words wisely. They're powerful. 329 00:18:12,320 --> 00:18:14,200 You want to know why no words are powerful? 330 00:18:14,360 --> 00:18:16,560 Because they build up and they kill and they destroy. 331 00:18:16,840 --> 00:18:20,240 They have the power to do both. And we know words are powerful 332 00:18:20,240 --> 00:18:23,440 because when God created the earth, he didn't do so with 333 00:18:23,440 --> 00:18:25,640 magic fairy dust. He did it by speaking. 334 00:18:27,040 --> 00:18:29,200 Words are powerful. Use them well. 335 00:18:29,200 --> 00:18:33,080 And then finally we have thoughts now, our thoughts with 336 00:18:33,080 --> 00:18:35,920 our neighbors again. I'm sure that they cannot read 337 00:18:35,920 --> 00:18:39,880 your mind, but the thoughts around here are built on the 338 00:18:39,880 --> 00:18:43,000 fact that man, when, when my neighbor is doing well, when 339 00:18:43,000 --> 00:18:45,000 somebody around me is doing well and I look at their car, 340 00:18:45,000 --> 00:18:47,840 whatever, it's not my job to be jealous of that. 341 00:18:47,840 --> 00:18:49,520 It's not my job to want that for me. 342 00:18:50,400 --> 00:18:54,200 It is my job to take care of my family and make sure that I'm 343 00:18:54,200 --> 00:18:58,720 providing what they need. And as we have sang so well this 344 00:18:58,720 --> 00:19:03,120 morning, when I go to God first, when I go back to step one, when 345 00:19:03,120 --> 00:19:05,760 I go back to step one and my heart's in the right position, 346 00:19:06,040 --> 00:19:10,080 then and only then will my thoughts be what they need to be 347 00:19:10,080 --> 00:19:12,840 to live a healthy and prosperous life. 348 00:19:13,280 --> 00:19:17,680 The Bible says out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth 349 00:19:17,920 --> 00:19:21,720 speaks. So if your heart is overflowing 350 00:19:21,720 --> 00:19:24,560 with something that's less than godly, you know you've been 351 00:19:24,560 --> 00:19:27,040 feeling it with the wrong thing. Go back to step one. 352 00:19:28,160 --> 00:19:31,360 Mm, hmm. That's how that works now, 353 00:19:32,840 --> 00:19:35,360 thoughts, words, deeds. And I, I didn't talk about the 354 00:19:35,360 --> 00:19:38,200 on your mother and father thing, but it actually encompasses all 355 00:19:38,200 --> 00:19:40,360 three things. And I spoke about this briefly 356 00:19:40,360 --> 00:19:43,160 last week where it's like, hey man, if I can create a healthy 357 00:19:43,160 --> 00:19:47,800 household where we are being LED in worship of God, where we are 358 00:19:47,800 --> 00:19:50,920 honoring him and what he wants, then we all move out into the 359 00:19:50,920 --> 00:19:52,840 world and we become better citizens. 360 00:19:53,080 --> 00:19:55,360 But it starts there. That's why thoughts, words, and 361 00:19:55,360 --> 00:19:58,760 deeds all fit in that one that kind of sits right in the middle 362 00:19:58,760 --> 00:20:01,000 of the commandments. It's really cool how God 363 00:20:01,000 --> 00:20:03,240 designed it, isn't it? I don't know if you ever thought 364 00:20:03,240 --> 00:20:05,400 about this, but when I discovered this, I was like, 365 00:20:05,880 --> 00:20:08,720 whoa, man, that is really cool. I never thought about it that 366 00:20:08,720 --> 00:20:13,840 way. Now we have to say then the why 367 00:20:13,840 --> 00:20:17,400 of the law, how it's structured, how it moves, and how it changes 368 00:20:17,400 --> 00:20:19,240 us. We have to say then that the law 369 00:20:19,240 --> 00:20:21,640 is good. I, I wrote this down on here 370 00:20:21,640 --> 00:20:25,320 because I, I just love this and hopefully we can all repeat this 371 00:20:25,320 --> 00:20:27,320 at least in our hearts if we don't have it memorized. 372 00:20:27,560 --> 00:20:32,400 The law of the Lord is perfect. Reviving the soul, the testimony 373 00:20:32,400 --> 00:20:38,560 of the Lord is sure making wise the simple we could all use a 374 00:20:38,560 --> 00:20:43,360 little bit more of that now the ultimate commandment keeper, 375 00:20:43,360 --> 00:20:46,160 because I think we've pretty well established it's not us. 376 00:20:46,480 --> 00:20:49,680 I, I mean, I could have stopped after the very first commandment 377 00:20:49,920 --> 00:20:52,920 and we all would have had to have like pled guilty out of the 378 00:20:52,920 --> 00:20:55,640 gate. We would have and if you're 379 00:20:55,640 --> 00:20:59,480 telling me anything different, well, you're just lying to me 380 00:20:59,480 --> 00:21:00,680 and then you broke another commandment. 381 00:21:00,680 --> 00:21:02,640 Good job. No, we don't do that. 382 00:21:02,640 --> 00:21:05,640 We don't love the Lord with our heart, soul, mind, strength and 383 00:21:05,640 --> 00:21:10,440 therefore out of out of that lack of that we, we, we sin, we 384 00:21:10,440 --> 00:21:14,880 sin, we fall short. So who then doesn't sin? 385 00:21:14,880 --> 00:21:17,240 Sunday school answer. It's Jesus. 386 00:21:17,760 --> 00:21:20,040 It's Jesus. He's not the one who sins. 387 00:21:20,040 --> 00:21:24,280 He is perfect. And you know, the Jesus's 388 00:21:24,280 --> 00:21:26,440 interaction with the law is really interesting. 389 00:21:26,640 --> 00:21:29,200 I can't get into all of it. But as he preaches the Sermon on 390 00:21:29,200 --> 00:21:33,520 the Mount, he actually takes the law and he puts it on steroids. 391 00:21:33,520 --> 00:21:37,440 He increases it so much that then you look at it and you're 392 00:21:37,440 --> 00:21:39,600 like, this is really, really impossible. 393 00:21:39,880 --> 00:21:41,960 I can't do this. There's no way. 394 00:21:42,160 --> 00:21:48,320 Who can save this wretched man? Well, the person who gives it is 395 00:21:48,320 --> 00:21:51,920 the one who also covers it. Let me let me share and then 396 00:21:51,920 --> 00:21:56,080 I'll close up kind of with this. I want to share a short story 397 00:21:56,080 --> 00:22:02,120 with you of a man who got so close he was doing so good. 398 00:22:02,640 --> 00:22:04,640 So this comes out of Matthew chapter 19. 399 00:22:04,840 --> 00:22:07,360 It's commonly known as the rich young man or the rich young 400 00:22:07,360 --> 00:22:08,800 ruler. It's just a short little bit, 401 00:22:09,040 --> 00:22:11,320 but it's highly impactful if you understand it. 402 00:22:12,560 --> 00:22:16,440 And behold, a man came up to him saying, teacher, what good deed? 403 00:22:17,280 --> 00:22:20,320 What good deed must I do to have eternal life? 404 00:22:20,640 --> 00:22:25,000 And he Jesus said to him, why do you ask me about what is good? 405 00:22:25,400 --> 00:22:29,640 There is only one who is good. If you would enter the enter 406 00:22:29,640 --> 00:22:33,480 life, keep the commandments. It's funny that Jesus like 407 00:22:33,640 --> 00:22:35,240 doesn't say, hey man, just believe in me. 408 00:22:35,440 --> 00:22:37,240 He's going to play along with this guy for a minute. 409 00:22:37,840 --> 00:22:41,480 He said to him, which ones? And Jesus said, you shall not 410 00:22:41,480 --> 00:22:44,280 murder, good start. You shall not commit adultery, 411 00:22:44,280 --> 00:22:47,280 you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness on your 412 00:22:47,280 --> 00:22:49,880 father and mother, and you shall love your neighbors yourself. 413 00:22:50,240 --> 00:22:54,600 The young man said to him, I have kept all of these, what do 414 00:22:54,600 --> 00:22:56,560 I still lack? You see how he feels it. 415 00:22:57,040 --> 00:22:59,240 He feels that there's something missing, even though he can 416 00:22:59,240 --> 00:23:01,640 justify himself. What do I still lack? 417 00:23:01,960 --> 00:23:06,080 Jesus said to him, If you would be perfect, go sell what you 418 00:23:06,080 --> 00:23:08,920 possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in 419 00:23:08,920 --> 00:23:15,600 heaven, and then come follow me. When the young man heard this, 420 00:23:15,840 --> 00:23:21,760 he went away sorrowful because he had great possessions, or you 421 00:23:21,760 --> 00:23:29,040 might say great wealth. Friends, this whole interaction, 422 00:23:29,320 --> 00:23:33,280 it just points to the fact that when our hearts are in the wrong 423 00:23:33,280 --> 00:23:37,360 position, we will absolutely assume that we can do this 424 00:23:37,360 --> 00:23:40,680 thing, life well enough to earn God's favor. 425 00:23:40,680 --> 00:23:44,120 And I just got to tell you unequivocally, that is never 426 00:23:44,120 --> 00:23:46,960 going to happen. It is not going to happen. 427 00:23:47,160 --> 00:23:51,960 You will never be a good enough person to earn God's love. 428 00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:55,360 And that's the point. You don't have to be. 429 00:23:56,640 --> 00:24:00,920 You don't have to be because He sent his one and only Son to 430 00:24:01,120 --> 00:24:04,280 take the burden off of your shoulders of the law. 431 00:24:04,560 --> 00:24:07,240 Now does that mean that we don't follow the law to the best of 432 00:24:07,240 --> 00:24:09,320 our abilities? Of course we do because that is 433 00:24:09,320 --> 00:24:11,840 for human flourishing. That is the way God designed us. 434 00:24:12,160 --> 00:24:17,200 But to think in a self-righteous prideful brain that I could do 435 00:24:17,200 --> 00:24:22,480 what only Jesus can do. Man, I'm I'm just going to walk 436 00:24:22,480 --> 00:24:25,680 away sad like the rich guy. I'm just going to walk away 437 00:24:25,960 --> 00:24:29,120 really sad. Friends, we have to recognize 438 00:24:29,360 --> 00:24:34,360 that Jesus is perfect, adhere to the law exactly as he was 439 00:24:34,360 --> 00:24:38,440 supposed to, and yet he didn't keep that for himself. 440 00:24:39,880 --> 00:24:42,400 He could have. He could have said, well, I've 441 00:24:42,400 --> 00:24:45,240 given you guys the playbook. I've given you guys the example. 442 00:24:45,240 --> 00:24:47,080 You wrote all these things down about my life. 443 00:24:47,280 --> 00:24:49,920 Now go and do likewise. Good luck. 444 00:24:51,080 --> 00:24:56,160 But He didn't, did He? Instead, He traded places with 445 00:24:56,160 --> 00:24:59,600 us. He said, I'm going to take my 446 00:24:59,600 --> 00:25:03,840 perfection, I'm going to take my righteousness, I'm going to take 447 00:25:04,120 --> 00:25:08,560 my honoring of God, and I'm going to give it away to all of 448 00:25:08,560 --> 00:25:12,560 you. And then He did just that when 449 00:25:12,560 --> 00:25:16,040 He was hung on a cross and gave His body and blood for our sins. 450 00:25:17,040 --> 00:25:21,840 That's how that works. He gives us His righteousness. 451 00:25:21,840 --> 00:25:25,840 In fact, the Bible tells us He covers us in his righteousness. 452 00:25:25,840 --> 00:25:29,680 We are covered with the rightness towards God, not 453 00:25:29,680 --> 00:25:32,760 because we can follow the law perfectly, but because He 454 00:25:32,760 --> 00:25:38,960 already did on our behalf. That should give us great peace. 455 00:25:39,640 --> 00:25:42,920 That should give us great assurance that it's not about 456 00:25:43,200 --> 00:25:46,240 us. You make that mistake far too 457 00:25:46,240 --> 00:25:48,440 often. You make it about us. 458 00:25:50,560 --> 00:25:52,560 We feel too great about ourselves. 459 00:25:52,560 --> 00:25:56,200 We feel too bad about ourselves. We kick ourselves around and 460 00:25:56,200 --> 00:25:59,280 what we don't realize what that we're doing is we're letting the 461 00:25:59,280 --> 00:26:03,000 devil win. We're letting him win. 462 00:26:04,720 --> 00:26:08,360 Don't let him do that. Don't let him beat you down 463 00:26:08,360 --> 00:26:10,520 because you're not following the law the way that God has 464 00:26:10,520 --> 00:26:13,720 prescribed. He already loved you before He 465 00:26:13,720 --> 00:26:20,480 gave the law. If you've been struggling with 466 00:26:20,480 --> 00:26:22,480 that, I'm going to pray in just a second. 467 00:26:22,480 --> 00:26:27,680 And I want you to pray with me that God would release you from 468 00:26:27,680 --> 00:26:31,440 these terrible thoughts of I have to do more. 469 00:26:31,440 --> 00:26:34,280 I have to try harder because that's just not what Jesus says. 470 00:26:34,560 --> 00:26:37,520 Jesus said I did more and I tried my hardest and it's 471 00:26:37,520 --> 00:26:40,960 enough. Let's pray. 472 00:26:43,600 --> 00:26:47,000 Our Father in heaven, you are good and you are gracious. 473 00:26:47,440 --> 00:26:50,120 You are full of mercy and steadfast love. 474 00:26:52,360 --> 00:26:57,120 Your grace wins because Jesus Christ gave everything. 475 00:26:57,480 --> 00:27:04,000 Lord, I pray today that if there are people, hearts, people made 476 00:27:04,000 --> 00:27:08,160 in your image in this room that are suffering and struggling 477 00:27:08,240 --> 00:27:12,480 either with pride or with being downcast in their soul. 478 00:27:12,480 --> 00:27:16,400 Lord, would you lift up our souls to meet you where Jesus 479 00:27:16,400 --> 00:27:19,680 is. Lift up our hearts, Lord, so 480 00:27:19,680 --> 00:27:23,480 that we can be free. Lift up our souls so that we 481 00:27:23,480 --> 00:27:29,360 might glorify you, the Maker of heavens and earth, or lift us up 482 00:27:29,360 --> 00:27:33,520 to the foot of the cross that we might believe and that we might 483 00:27:33,520 --> 00:27:37,680 walk out of this place as free people because of what He's 484 00:27:37,680 --> 00:27:40,480 done. Father, we give you all the 485 00:27:40,480 --> 00:27:44,680 glory because you have done everything possible to bring us 486 00:27:44,680 --> 00:27:47,360 home. Lord, we bless your name and we 487 00:27:47,360 --> 00:27:51,360 pray all this in the name of King Jesus our Lord, Amen. 488 00:27:55,720 --> 00:27:57,880 Thanks for listening to ERC Sundays. 489 00:27:58,320 --> 00:28:00,480 To support the work God is doing at Emmaus Rd. 490 00:28:00,480 --> 00:28:04,440 Church, visit emmausrdonline.org/giving.