Exodus 20 Living The Good Life: Loving Others (Part 1)

Exodus 20

Living The Good Life:Loving Others (Part 1)

The Ten CommandmentsStarting point = “I am Yahweh, who rescued you and loves you!”

Commandments 1-4 = Love GodCommandments 5-10 = Love others

The Ten CommandmentsStarting point = “I am Yahweh, who rescued you and loves you!”


Most are principles stated negativelyIntended to show people how they

are supposed to live

The Ten CommandmentsStarting point = I am Yahweh, who rescued you and loves you!




Vince Havner:Nobody ever broke the law of God. You

break yourself against the law of God. You might as well attack Gibraltar with a

popgun as to go up against the law of God in your own little weak self.





Vince Havner:You can’t do it. You can’t jump over a

skyscraper.You don’t break the law of gravity. You

can break your neck—but break the law of gravity?”—When God Breaks Through: Sermons on Revival, p. 42





Stephen Covey: Two battleships assigned to the training

squadron had been at sea on maneuvers in heavy weather for several days.





Stephen Covey: I was serving on the lead battleship and

was on watch on the bridge as night fell.The visibility was poor with patchy fog, so

the captain remained on the bridge keeping an eye on all activities.





Stephen Covey: Shortly after dark, the lookout on the wing

of the bridge reported, “Light, bearing on the starboard bow.”

“Is it steady or moving astern?” the captain called out.





Stephen Covey: Lookout replied, “Steady, captain,” which

meant we were on a dangerous collision course with that ship.





Stephen Covey: The captain then called to the signalman,

“Signal that ship: We are on a collision course, advise you change course 20 degrees.”





Stephen Covey: Back came the reply,“Advisable for you to change course 20

degrees.”The captain said, “Send, I’m a captain,

change course 20 degrees.”





Stephen Covey: “I am a seaman second class” came the

reply. “You had better change course 20 degrees.”





Stephen Covey: By that time, the captain was furious. He

spat out, “Send, I’m a battleship. Change course 20 degrees.”

Back came the reply,




are supposed to liveShow us how far short we fall too

Stephen Covey: By that time, the captain was furious. He

spat out, “Send, I’m a battleship. Change course 20 degrees.”

Back came the reply, “I’m a lighthouse.”We changed course. –Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, p. 33

Exodus 2012 Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land Yahweh your God is giving you.

13 You must not murder.





Because humans are made in God’s image

Different than taking someone’s lifeEasy to see how this is antithetical

to love

Gen 9:6Whoever sheds man’s blood,

by man his blood shall be shed, for in the image of God He made man.



Our society is riddled with violence



Our society is riddled with violence

James 41 What is the source of

quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members?



Our society is riddled with violenceBut murder starts in the heart

James 42 You lust and do not have;

so you commit murder.You are envious and cannot

obtain; so you fight and quarrel.




Matthew 5:21-22Jesus: “You have heard that

the ancients were told, ‘You shall not commit murder’…




Matthew 5:21-22 But I say to you that everyone

who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court;




Matthew 5:21-22 and whoever says to his

brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court;



Matthew 5:21-22 and whoever says, ‘You fool,’

shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.”

Our society is riddled with violenceBut murder starts in the heartHatred and bitterness = violence in

thoughts or wordsBefore God you are just as guilty!



Matthew 5:21-22 and whoever says, ‘You fool,’

shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.”

Not enough to cease from injuring or harming those around us

Also need to do everything in our power to aid their lives!

Includes forgiveness too







Repeated by Paul (Eph 6)And Jesus too


13 You must not murder.Mark 79 And he continued, “You have a fine

way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions!

10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’…



13 You must not murder.Mark 711 But you say that if anyone declares

that what might have been used to help their father or mother is Corban (that is, devoted to God)—

12 then you no longer let them do anything for their father or mother.”



13 You must not murder.What it’s not:Obeying our parents instead of GodBecoming best friends and spending lots

of time togetherTrusting themIgnoring or denying the past, or flattery

What does it mean to honor my parents?


13 You must not murder.Smalley and Trent:In Hebrew, the word for “honor” is kabed.

This word literally means, “to be heavy, weighty, to honor.” …



13 You must not murder.Smalley and Trent:However, we can learn even more about

what it means to honor someone by looking at its opposite in the Scriptures.

… [T]he literal meaning of the word curse, (qalal) was “to make light, of little weight, dishonor.”



13 You must not murder.Smalley and Trent:If we go back to our example above, if we

dishonor a person we would say, “Their words carry little weight.” The contrast is striking! —The Blessing, p. 212



13 You must not murder.Dennis Rainey:Honor = choosing to place great value on

your relationship with them; taking the initiative to improve your relationship;

obeying them until you establish yourself as an adult;



13 You must not murder.Dennis Rainey:recognizing what they’ve done right in

your life; recognizing the sacrifices they have made for you;

praising them for the legacy they are passing on to you;



13 You must not murder.Dennis Rainey:seeing them through the eyes of Christ,

with understanding and compassion; forgiving them as Christ has forgiven you.

—The Tribute, p. 55



13 You must not murder.Barriers to honoring:“But my parents were really terrible”“We’re just not that kind of family”“But I’m doing a lot of ministry”“They won’t talk to me”“It’s too late”



13 You must not murder.Because God tells us this is the right wayBecause many of us are in a transition

phase

Why would I want to learn how to honor my parents?



phase


Mark Twain:When I was a boy of 14, my father was

so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around.



phase


Mark Twain:But when I got to be 21, I was astonished

at how much the old man had learned in seven years.



phaseBecause this may be a more central

issue than you realize



13 You must not murder.John 1:12 – But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.

Practical Steps:1. Become God’s child


13 You must not murder.Rainey:Honoring your parents is an attitude

accompanied by actions that say to your parents:

You are worthy. You have value. You are the person God sovereignly placed in my life.

Practical Steps:2. Forgive your parents


13 You must not murder.Rainey:You may have failed me, hurt me, and

disappointed me at times, but I am taking off my judicial robe and releasing you from the courtroom of my mind.



13 You must not murder.Rainey:I choose to look at you with compassion

– as people with needs, concerns, and scars of your own. —The Tribute, p. 55



13 You must not murder.Rainey:Perhaps the greatest honor we can do

our parents is to let them down off the pedestal of our imaginations,

where we are inclined either to idolize them or to flog them as gods who failed, and to accept them as people –



13 You must not murder.Rainey:people who need forgiveness as well as

respect, who need honest relationships with their children perhaps more than with anyone else. —The Tribute, p. 130



13 You must not murder.Rainey:“When you look at your father, what do

you see?A successful businessman who spent too

little time with you and your siblings?

Practical Steps:3. Learn to appreciate them


13 You must not murder.Rainey:Or a lonely, insecure man who had so

many holes in his life created by his parents that the only way he knew to cope was by working harder and longer hours?



13 You must not murder.Rainey:Do you see him as a man who never

said, “I love you” – or as an eight-year old boy, continually

being criticized by his father… take a fresh look at your parents. A long

careful gaze. Now what do you see?



13 You must not murder.Rainey:Sometimes it’s easy to forget that within

an elderly parent beats the heart of a small child, a teenager, a parent, and a frightened and helpless human being who desperately needs love and care.”

—The Tribute, p. 131



13 You must not murder.Important Realizations:That you aren’t the center of the universeThe power you have to affect your

parentsThis is your chance to break the cycleThat they may not respond the way you

expect

Practical Steps:4. Honor and love them


13 You must not murder.Ideas:Write a letter (or two?)Calling my parents each weekTaking an interest in their livesTrying to serve when you’re with themLearning their love languagesBe creative

Practical Steps:4. Honor and love them

ConclusionsThis is a powerful vision for how God intended us to live

It also exposes your need for forgiveness

Will you turn to God and experience His freedom?

Questions?

Comments?

Experiences?

Exodus 20

Documents

Exodus 20 Living The Good Life: Loving Others (Part 1)