Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

[0:00] Can we again turn to that portion of God's Word which we read together in the book of Exodus and chapter 20. And I would like for a short time this morning for us to focus our attention on the words which we find in verse 3.

[0:20] Exodus chapter 20 and verse 3. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. I would like us to consider the first commandment.

[0:38] And the first thing that we notice when we look at the commandments is that the pronoun that is used is the first person singular. It is thou.

[0:52] As we would say in Old English there was a distinction between the singular thou and the plural you. It is speaking to us all as individuals the law of God.

[1:05] Thou, you, shall have no other gods before me. The commandment addresses us all as individuals.

[1:17] And as individuals we are called to put God before everything else in this life. You shall have no other gods before me. As we will stand at the end of time at the bar of God's judgment as individuals.

[1:37] To give an account for our works in this life whether they were good or evil. We are addressed as individuals. God's law. It applies to each and every one of us.

[1:49] It is as though the law is given to us all by name. And this commandment is set before all others. The first commandment.

[2:03] To have no other gods before me. And it makes it abundantly clear. That this is the place that God requires to have in the lives of each and every one of us.

[2:21] The living and the true God must be our only God. And we must have no other gods besides him. Remember when Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord.

[2:40] He said, Lord God of Israel. There is no God like unto thee. The psalmist.

[2:53] Says in one of the psalms. Who among the sons of the mighty. Can be compared. With the Lord.

[3:03] There is no God that is like him. And in our shorter catechism. There are three statements in the catechism.

[3:16] Relating to the first commandment. And the three statements. Deal with what the commandment requires of us. What the commandment forbids.

[3:30] And what is meant in that first commandment by the statement before me. The first commandment requires us.

[3:42] To know and acknowledge God. As our God. We must acknowledge him to be the only true God. And we must seek to worship him as our God.

[3:58] To glorify him in our lives. And what is the commandment forbid. It forbids the denying or not worshipping and glorifying of the only true God.

[4:16] As our God. And it also forbids giving of that worship and glory that is due to God to any other.

[4:28] And we have these words in the commandment before me. Thou shalt have no other God before me. What does it mean?

[4:39] Before me. Well the first commandment teaches us. That God. Who sees all things. Who sees into our hearts.

[4:52] He takes notice. And he is much displaced. With this sin. Of having.

[5:03] Any other God. Or putting anything else. In that place. In our lives. That God ought to occupy.

[5:16] You see the teaching of scripture is exclusive. The teaching of exclusivity. The exclusivity of God.

[5:27] It permeates the scriptures. From start to finish. From Genesis to Revelation. God requires worship from his believing people.

[5:40] And he requires not only worship. But he requires their exclusive worship. Our God is a jealous God. And he will not share his worship with any others.

[5:52] Hear O Israel the Lord. Our God is one Lord. Moses could sing. Who is like thee among the gods.

[6:07] Glorious in holiness. Fearful in praises. The God who does wonders. And God testified throughout the Old Testament period.

[6:22] Through the prophets. That there was no other God besides him. That he alone was God. The United Testimony of the scriptures.

[6:35] Declares that there is but one God. The living and the true God. The God who is our creator. Our sustainer.

[6:49] Our ruler and our savior. And we find that in the. When we look at the prophets. Isaiah and Jeremiah.

[7:02] They are constantly calling the people of their day. Back from foreign gods. Calling them away from the worshipping. Of idols.

[7:15] And calling them to worship. And revere. The living God. God. You see God demands loyalty.

[7:27] We see that in the first commandment. He desires our loyalty. He desires it. And he deserves it.

[7:38] He will not have his worship. Mixed or shared. With the worship of other gods.

[7:50] False gods. Remember Elijah. Think of Elijah. The prophet. When the people.

[8:02] When the people tried to. Mix the worship of Yahweh. The worship of the. Covenant gods. The true God. With the worship of. Baal. We read about that in 1st Kings.

[8:15] On chapter 18. Verse 21. 1st Kings 18.

[8:26] 21. And Elijah. 2nd. 2nd. And Elijah. Came unto all the people. And said. 3rd. How long will you halt. Between two opinions. 4th.

[8:36] If the Lord. Be God. Follow him. 5th. But if Baal. Then follow him. 5th. And the people. Answered him. Not a word. 5th.

[8:48] Elijah. Made it clear. That there was. But one. Through God. Who should be worshipped. 5th. 5th. 6th. 6th. 7th. 7th. 7th. 7th. And he said. This before them.

[8:59] If the Lord is God. Worship him. If Baal is God. Then worship Baal. And they didn't answer him a word. They were struck dumb.

[9:12] And then we find. Elijah the prophet. Sets a contest. To the priests of Baal. Remember how Elijah.

[9:23] Called them. And he sets. And he sets this contest. Before the people. That they will kill two bulls. Now there were 450.

[9:38] Baal prophets. Prophets of Baal. And there was Elijah. The one prophet of the living God. And he sets before them this contest.

[9:50] In verses 21 onwards. In verses 21 onwards. We read in 1st Kings 18. Let them therefore give us two bullocks.

[10:04] And let them choose one bullock for themselves. And cut it in pieces and laid on wood. And put no fire under it. Thy will dress the other bullock and laid on wood.

[10:14] And put no fire under it. And you call on the name of your gods. And I will call on the name of the Lord. And the God that answers by fire.

[10:26] Let him be God. And all the people answered and said it is well spoken. There is the contest. The 450 prophets of Baal.

[10:42] Will call out to their God. And Elijah. The prophet of the Lord. Will alone call on his God. And the one who answers by sending fire.

[10:57] Let him be God. Elijah was to prove them. In their day. That one.

[11:09] With the Lord. Is the majority. One who fears the Lord. Aright. Is the majority. And we find in verse 27.

[11:21] All the prophets of Baal. That they cry unto their gods. To answer by fire. At noon. Elijah mocked them. As they call out on their gods.

[11:34] They call out. They cut themselves. And they howl. And they cry to their gods. To answer by fire. And there is no answer forthcoming.

[11:46] Elijah taunts them in verse 27. And he said cry aloud. For he is a god. Either he is talking. Or he is pursuing.

[11:57] Or he is in a journey. Or peradventure he sleepeth. And he must be awakened. And they cried aloud. And cut themselves. After their manner with knives and lancers.

[12:08] Till the blood gushed out upon them. And it came to pass. When midday was passed. And they prophesied. Until the time of the offering.

[12:19] Of the evening sacrifice. There was neither voice. Nor any answer to their prayers. The idols and the gods of this world.

[12:32] Can never answer prayer. And all of the efforts of their followers. And of their prophets. Are in vain. And then we have Elijah.

[12:47] Elijah the prophet of the Lord. And he calmly restores the altar. He repairs the Lord's altar. And he asks them to pour barrels of water.

[13:00] Upon the altar. Three times. And then in verse 36. He calls. Upon the name of the Lord. And it came to pass.

[13:11] At the time of the offering. Of the evening sacrifice. Elijah the prophet came near. And said to the Lord God of Abraham. Ham Isaac and of Israel. Let it be known this day.

[13:22] That thou art God in Israel. And that I am thy servant. And that I have done all these things. At thy word. Hear me O Lord.

[13:32] Hear me that this people may know. That thou art the Lord God. And that thou hast turned their hearts back again. Then the fire of the Lord fell.

[13:44] And consumed the burnt sacrifice. And the wood and the stones. And the dust. And leaked up the water. That was in the trench. And when all the people saw it.

[13:56] They fell on their faces. And they said. The Lord he is the God. The Lord he is the God. You see when the Lord acts.

[14:09] And reveals himself. And reveals himself. This is the reaction of men. They fall prostrate on their faces.

[14:20] And acknowledge that the Lord is God. Elijah demonstrated that in his day. To the people that God will not be mocked.

[14:32] That God will not share his worship with others. And they fell prostrate on the ground. And they eventually acknowledged. That the Lord.

[14:43] Yahweh. He was the only true God. The God who answers by fire. Let him be God.

[14:56] You see Elijah set before them. A clear question. He set before them. A clear contest. And we see God answering.

[15:07] In a clear way. That there is a God who hears. And who answers prayer. There is one God. Who answers prayer.

[15:18] The living God. There is a true God. And besides our Lord. The gods of the nations are nothing.

[15:30] They are nothing. God requires worship. God requires worship from his people. He requires us to be devoted to him. But he especially requires.

[15:45] Worship. From his covenant. Believing people. Those who have been redeemed. By the blood of Christ.

[15:56] They have a particular reason to worship God. God. And God will not have his people. Sharing his worship with any other. He demands the devotion of his believing people.

[16:12] His covenant people. And this demand is based on who God is. What he is. What he has done as our creator.

[16:23] And as our redeemer. The heathen. That do not worship God. Are therefore guilty of idolatry.

[16:36] They set up gods for themselves. Gods of wood. Of stone. God. God. And the scripture tells us. That the fool. The fool has concluded in his heart.

[16:49] That there is no God. And that it is a fearful thing. To fall into the hands. Of an angry God.

[17:01] It is a fearful thing. To fall into the hands. Of an angry God. God. You see friends. There is within man. A duty.

[17:14] To worship God. We have a duty. To worship. Our creator. That is why we were created. In the image of God.

[17:26] And men must worship. It is in our nature. To worship. Worship. And if we will not. Worship the God. Of the Bible. Then they will worship.

[17:36] Something else. Men will worship. An idol. Of their own choosing. They will find. Something. That they will. Pass their time with.

[17:48] Maybe with gold. Or silver. Money. Gain. Others worship. The sun. And the moon. And in our.

[17:59] Society. There are many. This day. Who have no thought. Of worshiping the Lord. They spend all their time.

[18:10] And energy. On pleasures. And the things of time. But friends. How often we see. That when tragedy. Befalls them.

[18:22] The things. That they devote. Their lives to. Will not. Give them any comfort. The things of time. The things of pleasure. Will not provide them.

[18:33] Any comfort. In times. Of tragedy. And difficulty. There's 14 years. This. Week. Since that.

[18:45] Great and tragic. Event. That took place. In America. On September 11th. That awful day. Where we saw. Man's.

[18:56] Inhumanity. To man. When the planes. Crashed. Into the world. Trade center. And all. Those people.

[19:07] Whose lives. Came to an end. Countless numbers. At that time. Rushed. To the churches. Of America. America. Because. Eternity.

[19:18] Was brought. Into their experience. And was made. To seem real. They were reminded. Of the frailty. Of man. And the horror.

[19:29] Of evil. One of the headlines. In one of the newspapers. In America. That week. On the front page.

[19:41] Of the newspapers. Was God is back. God is back. As many. Began. To think. Upon their own.

[19:52] End. And upon. The frailty. Of life. And the reality. Of the forces. Of this world. We must. Choose friends.

[20:03] To put God. First. We must. First of all. Choose God. To be our God. And before.

[20:14] Anyone. Will come. To seek the Lord. They must have. A knowledge. Of who God is. What God. Is. The God. Of the Bible. How does he.

[20:25] Reveal himself. To us. We must know. Something. Of the attributes. Of God. His holiness. The God. Of.

[20:35] The Bible. Is glorious. In holiness. We must know. Something. Of this God. His mercy. His love. This God.

[20:47] Is rich. In mercy. He is willing. To save. He is rich. In love. He evidenced. His love. To this world. When he sent.

[20:58] His own son. To die. In the place. Of sinners. The God. Of the Bible. Is faithful.

[21:09] Concerning. His promises. He is always. Faithful. To his people. And we must. Come to know him.

[21:20] The God. Of the. As he has presented. To us. In the world. We must. Come to him. As he is. In the person. Of his son. The Lord. Jesus Christ. This is where.

[21:33] We see. The nature. Of God. When we look. At his son. When we look. At Christ. And we see. His attributes. He revealed.

[21:45] Himself. To us. As man. Through coming. Into this world. In the person. Of his son. And in choosing. God.

[21:56] As our God. We must. Set him. Before us. With this. Devotion. That Joshua. Had. When he said. Choose ye.

[22:06] This day. Whom you will serve. But as for me. And my house. We will serve. The Lord. And when God.

[22:20] Is our God. God. Then we must. Worship him. Worship the Lord. In the beauty. Of holiness. And how do we.

[22:31] Worship him. Well we worship him. As a. Corporate gathering. Like we are. This morning. But when God. Is our God. Set before everything else.

[22:43] We worship him. In our private lives. We worship him. By praying to him. And communing with him. By reading his word. And singing his praises.

[22:55] We worship him. In our homes. In our families. When God. Comes before everything else. We set him. Constantly before us.

[23:11] For the Lord. Our God. Friends. Is our jealous God. He will not. Give his glory. To another. He will not.

[23:21] Share his glory. With others. When we worship God. We are to reverence him. The seraphim.

[23:33] Who stood around. The Lord. Who stood around. The throne of God. They veiled their faces. Because of his holiness. As a token of reverence.

[23:44] As a token of reverence. Of who he was. And why do we worship God?

[23:54] God. We don't worship God. To benefit ourselves. We worship God. Because God. Deserves to be worshipped.

[24:05] Because of who he is. God. And when we worship. This God. Friends. We have the fear of God. Ruling in our lives.

[24:15] Now what does it mean. To fear God. Well. When we have the fear of God. We have the Lord.

[24:26] Always set before us. The person that fears the Lord. Is aware that God. Is looking on him. The great judge.

[24:37] Is watching all our actions. He hears our thoughts. Our words. When the fear of God. Is in our experience.

[24:49] Then we do this. Not out of a slavish sense. Of fear. But out of a love. That we will not offend. Our good.

[24:59] And gracious. And loving God. One of the early church fathers. Was called Anselm. And Anselm once said.

[25:12] If hell was on one side. And sin was on the other. Then I would far sooner. Jump into hell.

[25:23] Than jump into sin. Such was his. Fear of offending God. And such was his awareness.

[25:36] Of the awfulness of sin. And how awful sin is. In the sight of a holy God. You see friends.

[25:47] Sin. Is contrary to God. When we look. Through the commandments. And we see.

[25:58] What we are commanded. Not to do. It always tells us. Something about the character. Of God. We are called to be like God.

[26:10] He calls us. To put him first. He calls us. To faithfulness. Because God is faithful. For. He says.

[26:23] Thou shalt not kill. Because God is the one. Who gives life. He is the preserver of life. And every time we sin.

[26:36] We are doing. What is contrary. To the nature. Of God. Oh it would be well. For us. If we had that. Spirit of Ansel. That we had that.

[26:48] Hatred for sin. That we would seek. To live for God. And to detest sin. As God. Hates sin. And what.

[27:00] When we have the fear. Of God. Reigning in our lives. Something else. That. Will be evident. Is that the fear. Of man. Will be taken away.

[27:14] Think of the three. Shadrach. Meshach. And Abednego. Remember. How they. Refused.

[27:26] The command. Of king. Nebuchadnezzar. They refused. To fall down. And worship. The king's. Golden image. For they.

[27:38] Would not. Serve. Any other. God. But their own. Gods. The true. God. The Lord. And remember. How they told.

[27:49] The king. That they would not. Worship his image. And if they were to be thrown. Into the burning. Fiery furnace.

[28:01] Our God. Is able. They said. To deliver us. From that fire. He will deliver us. From thy hand.

[28:11] O king. But if he doesn't. Let it still be known. Unto thee. O king. That we will not. Serve. Other gods.

[28:23] We will not. Worship. Golden images. Which thou. Has set up. Here were men. Who were not. Ashamed. To.

[28:33] Put God. First. In their lives. Even when it came. To be thrown. Into the furnace. They would not.

[28:44] Share. The worship. Of their gods. With the worship. Of idols. What an example. Of obedience. These three men.

[28:56] Were. Obedience. To God's. Command. To put him. First. In our lives. What an example.

[29:07] Aware of the fear. Of God. See when the. Fear of God. Is there. In the soul. It drowns out. All other fears. When we have God.

[29:20] As our God. We put our hope. In him. We put our trust. In him. We put our love. In him. And we seek. To go on. In the life.

[29:31] Of obedience. Fearing the Lord. Now. It's not popular. Today. To declare. That there is only. One. Through God.

[29:41] God. There is no other way. To God. But through his son. The Lord. Jesus Christ. But friends.

[29:52] That's the gospel. That was given to us. It's an exclusive gospel. And our God. Will not share his platform. With any other.

[30:02] God. The gospel. The gospel. The gospel. The gospel. The gospel. The gospel. The gospel. The gospel. The gospel. The gospel. The gospel. And that. Exclusivity. Is designed.

[30:14] So that the gospel. And the good news. Of Jesus Christ. Will reach out. To the four corners. Of the earth. To every nation.

[30:25] Kindred. And people. That there is one God. A God. Who is willing. To save to the other most. A God. Who deserves. To be worshipped. A God.

[30:36] Who sent his son. To die. For men. It's on the basis. Of the first commandment. Thou shalt have no other God. Before me. That we must be prepared.

[30:49] To declare. That there is. A marked difference. Between the Christian faith. And every other faith. The claims.

[31:01] Of the gospel. Are exclusive. Our God. Will not. Share his glory. With any other God. There is only one. True God.

[31:13] The God. Of Elijah. The God. Of Shedrach. Meshach. And Abednego. Our God. The Lord. And Father. Of our Lord.

[31:23] Jesus Christ. He is the only one. Who is all powerful. All holy. The answerer. And the hearer. Of prayer. And he is the one.

[31:35] Who deserves. Our praise. Our adoration. And our worship. On account of his passion. His work. Our God.

[31:47] Who is one God. Three passions. Father. Son. And Holy Spirit. One God. God. Now we all have our own temptations.

[31:59] Towards idolatry. In our day and generation. The great idols are materialism. Intellectualism.

[32:14] And these two are worshipped as though they were gods. And as believers in Christ. We must always be resisting. The spirit of the world.

[32:25] And the spirit of the age. Christ loved his church. He gave himself for the church. And the church.

[32:36] As the bride of Christ. Must keep herself free from all idols. And idolatry. The commandments declare.

[32:46] It demands. Our exclusive worship of the Lord. There must be no other God. Before me. Before his sight.

[33:00] See the first commandment friend. Reveals to us our duty towards God. The duty of man. And it condemns us all as idolaters.

[33:11] We stand guilty before God. As we break each and every one of his commands. It calls us to turn from idols.

[33:27] And to serve the living and through God. But as well as exposing our sin. Exposing our weakness. The gospel.

[33:39] And the law commands. Commends to us. The Lord Jesus Christ. For in the law. We also. And the gospel. We have grace and hope.

[33:52] As it points us to the one. Who came to fulfill the law. The Lord Jesus Christ. The one who himself is God. And who calls us.

[34:05] To come to himself. That we might have life. And that we might have it. More abundantly. The Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ.

[34:15] The Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ. Is the dignity of God. We shall also. We. The Lord Jesus Christ.

[34:26] as the Lord Jesus Christ calls us all this morning to look unto him. Look unto me and be ye saved all the ends of the earth for I am God and there is none else.

[34:44] To this world that was lost in sin and idolatry God sent his son to redeem the world to offer life and hope.

[34:58] Friend, have you got Christ this morning? Have you got Christ as your saviour? Is he your all and in all?

[35:11] Is it in Christ that you live, that you move and you have your being? Is he your saviour? Is he your friend that sticks closer than a brother?

[35:24] Well friend, if he's not, is it not time that you called upon this God to save you? To deliver you from your sin? To be united to him as your God and to set him before everything else.

[35:45] May God grant that he would give us the grace to seek the Lord and to seek to live for Christ in our day and generation.

[35:55] Let us pray. Gracious and most blessed God, we thank and praise thee this morning for who thou art, that thou art our creator and our sustainer.

[36:10] we thank and praise thee, O Lord, for thy work in the world and that thou hast not left us to ourselves, but that thou didst send thy son into the world, that we might have life through him and through his giving of himself.

[36:29] we pray, O Lord, that thou wouldst reveal thyself to each and every one of us, that we might know thee as our God. And we ask, O Lord, that thou wouldst bless us as thy believing people, that thou wouldst reveal thyself to us more and more, so that we would seek to go on in this life, setting God before us, that we would show our day and generation that we fear the living God.

[37:01] Hear all the prayers of thy people and accept us in Christ, cleansing us from sin, for we ask all in his name and for his sake. Amen. There was a request that we would conclude with our garlic psalm.

[37:18] So we shall sing to God's praise. In Psalm 119, and we'll sing from verse 97. Psalm 119, reading to sing at verse 97 in garlic.

[37:33] Psalm 119, Psalm 119, Psalm 119,

[39:03] Psalm 119, Psalm 119, Thank you.

[40:03] Thank you.

[40:33] Thank you.

[41:03] Thank you.

[41:33] Amen.