God Speaks an Unchanging Message: God Speaks and Makes Known His Design

Welcome and Introduction

Welcome to the Lighthouse Baptist Church. Thank you for joining us today on this wonderful Sunday, Father’s Day. We wish all fathers a marvelous Father’s Day and pray for their families. We also welcome those joining virtually online.

We opened in prayer, acknowledging God as an amazing, good, awesome Father, thanking Him for His wisdom, guidance, love, mercy, and grace. We bring Him hearts of trust, faith, and full surrender, thanking Him for speaking into our lives and caring beyond measure.

We are Brentwood Lighthouse Baptist Church, an uncompromising, Christ-centered, Bible-teaching church. We will not change, as God speaks an unchanging message. You can support our ministry at blb.church via PayPal or credit card; all donations are tax-deductible.

This sermon is the fifth and final message in the series, “God Speaks an Unchanging Message.”

Recap of Previous Message

• A key takeaway from last week: Every time we make a decision, God challenges us and backs us up with what He says about that decision.
  • Do we make God big and ourselves small by aligning with His Word?
  • Or do we make ourselves big and God small by saying, “God, I know what your word says, but I’m not going to do that. I’m going to do it my way”?
• The alternative is to align with God, acknowledging struggles and asking for help to make critical changes.
• When we meet God where our decisions differ from His Word and align with Him, we are the ones who benefit. God does not need to benefit; He is already perfect.

God Speaks and Makes Known His Design

Today’s primary scripture is Exodus 20:1-17.

• Exodus 20:1-17:
  

  “Then God spoke all these words, saying, ‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, but showing loving kindness to thousands to those who love me and keep my commandments. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes his name in vain. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant, or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. Honor your father and mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.'”

• God has spoken through His law to demonstrate His holiness and our sinfulness.
• Though the law cannot save us, it points us to the One who fulfilled the law for us, Jesus Christ, through whom we can have life.
• When did God’s law come into effect?
  • While we might be inclined to answer at Sinai, God’s law has always been in effect because God has always existed.
  • His law is based on His divine character and nature and is simply a codified description of what life looks like when lived as God designed it to be.
  • Between Eden and heaven, the bookends of redemption history, God has graciously given His law to serve as a “schoolmaster” (referencing Galatians) to teach us how He commands us to live and show us how far we fall short of His holy standard.
• God initially gave His law to Moses as the Ten Commandments, literally the “Ten Words.”
• Jesus boiled these Ten Commandments down into two overarching ones: Love God exclusively with all that you are and love your neighbor as yourself (found in Matthew 22:36-40).
  • This is a picture of God’s divine design: man living in unhindered fellowship with God, which results in man living in unhindered fellowship with others.
• Because God is the God over all of creation, His law is everywhere applicable. It applies to those in America, Australia, Europe, South America, and everywhere in between—everywhere God reigns.

1. God’s Design for Man: To Be Rightly Related to Him

This is reflected in Exodus 20:1-11.

“Then God spoke all these words, saying, ‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them for I the Lord your God am a jealous God visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate me but showing loving kindness to thousands to those who love me and keep my commandments. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes his name in vain. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall not do any work. You or your son or your daughter your male or your female servant or your sojourner who stays with you for in six days, The Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.'”

• Understanding the Commandments:
  • God’s law is often viewed as a list of things we should or shouldn’t do. However, looking beyond the negative format of “thou shalt not,” we see positive principles that demonstrate God’s design for His world as He created it.
    • “Thou shalt have no other gods” becomes “Worship God alone.”
    • “Thou shalt not take God’s name in vain” becomes “Revere God’s name as holy and obedient.”
  • Key Principle: To live our lives as God designed, God must have first place. If we get this wrong, nothing else in our lives will be rightly ordered.
• Pastor’s Reflection on Church Practice:
  • The church has a practice of declaring weekly that Jesus Christ has first place in their hearts, minds, and the very essence of the church, where He takes supreme leadership. This routine action, though it can seem repetitive, is absolutely required and critically important in light of this message.
  • God often gives divine direction through His Holy Spirit, inspiring actions even before bringing the divine Word to the pulpit.
  • Example: The church started verbally declaring Christ having first place long before this fiery truth in this teaching was given or even a thought.
  • Example: A sister in the church purchased a “Bible in One Year” reading plan at Barnes and Noble just days before the pastor shared a story about his discipleship mentor’s wife (Karen) who followed such a plan for over 20 years. This demonstrates God working in the midst of the congregation, arranging things before they come to be.
• God’s Nature:
  • God’s law reminds us He is not only holy but also jealous, and rightly so.
  • His jealousy for His glory and preeminence is not like our selfish jealousy; His jealousy for His glory results in our good. Nothing is worthy of taking God’s place as King in our lives; anything or anyone else allowed into that place is a lesser thing.
  • Therefore, for His glory and our good, God commands that we give Him first place in our lives—the place He and only He rightly deserves.
• Application: Are you an idolater?
  • Though you may not make hand-carved idols or swear using God’s name, we are all prone to idolatry and easily allow things in our lives to become ultimate for us.
  • A good test is to examine your checkbook and calendar: how you spend your time and money will tell you what is ultimate in your life.
  • Crucial Point: If you are allowing anything but God to have first place, everything else will be out of order as well. This is the crux of the message.
  • Ask God, by His grace, to help you live with Him in first place in your life.

2. God’s Design for Man: To Be Rightly Related to Others

This is reflected in Exodus 20:12-17.

“Honor your father and mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

• Understanding the Commandments:
  • The Ten Commandments are not just a list of “do’s and don’ts” but a revelation from the Word of God, showing God’s design for being rightly related to Him (vv. 1-11) and then rightly related to others (vv. 12-17).
  • When God has first place in our life and we walk in complete surrender and obedience to Him as our King, our relationships with others flourish as well.
  • This is not because of our personal effort to be a nice person, but because of God’s work in us to make us more like Him.
    • Rather than having to be told “Thou shalt not kill,” we simply walk according to God’s character and nature, showing respect for innocent human life.
    • Rather than having to be told “Thou shalt not commit adultery,” we simply walk according to God’s design, being faithful in all our relationships.
• Timelessness of God’s Law:
  • These laws are not simply outdated cultural mores, which are defined as deeply ingrained, morally binding customs and conventions of a specific group.
  • These laws apply to all people, in all places, at all times because they reflect the eternal, unchanging nature of God.
  • Example: You do not have to tell a person in an unreached tribe in South America bush country that it is wrong to kill, steal, or lie. They know this because the almighty God who made them has written it upon their heart.
• Application: Are you struggling in your relationships with others?
  • If so, it is not ultimately an interpersonal problem, but a spiritual problem.
  • In order for us to love our neighbor as ourselves, we must first love God with all that we are.
  • Our inclination to be jealous, angry, bitter, or unforgiving to our brother is an indication that God does not have first place in our life.
  • Ask God to help you keep Him in first place, enabling you to love others as yourself.

The Law and Our Need for Christ

• God’s law is a good gift from a good God. It stands as a strong reminder that none of us measure up to God’s standard of holiness and righteousness.
• Romans 3:10: “As it is written, ‘There is none righteous, not even one.'”
• Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
• James 2:10: “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.”
  • No amount of law-keeping can erase our points of failure.
• Therefore, we need someone to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. That is precisely what Christ has done.
• Matthew 5:17: “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.”
  • Christ, as a lamb without spot and blemish, laid down His life for us and rose again so that in Him we might have forgiveness of our sins (our law-breaking) and receive life eternal in His presence.
  • In doing so, Christ, by His grace, empowers us to live life by God’s design so that we reflect God’s character and nature, bringing Him glory—the purpose for which He created us.
• For the believer, the law is not an external standard we attempt to keep in our own power. It is a reminder of the character and nature of God, who by His Spirit is making us more and more like His Son, our Savior, the Lord Jesus.
• Pastor’s Personal Revelation: The clear understanding that having broken God’s law makes one guilty. The Bible says if you’ve broken any of it, you’re guilty of breaking all of it. The speaker sees the “courtroom” and the perfect reason why a lawbreaker is guilty and exempt from eternal life with God. Jesus fulfilled the law, making the impossible possible. His perfect righteousness is given to us, making us exempt from the penalty of law-breaking. It is judicial, perfect, and utterly complete.

Closing and Call to Salvation

• Why would any human being refuse the message of an unchanging, loving God who gave His Son (called propitiation—the divine transformation, the divine replacement of our sin for His Son) to render us not guilty before the throne of God?
• If you are watching and know you have broken the law, why would you stand guilty or take your chances before a holy God when the punishment is to be away from God and not have eternal life with Him?
• Our loving God and Father has given us the gospel message of reconciliation through His Son. He has spoken to us by the greatest act of love ever given, when He gave His only Son to die for us because we are worth it to Him.
• If you have not responded to the gospel of grace, which is God’s forthright call for you to put your faith and trust in His Son, Jesus Christ, you can do that today.
• Ephesians 2:8-9: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
  • Salvation is not earned; there is no boasting, no earning it—it’s received by faith and surrender to Jesus Christ.
• This eternal life is offered freely to each of us. God requires only that you respond to the gospel in faith by believing in His Son, Jesus Christ, surrendering and trusting in Him, and receiving Him as Savior and Lord over your life.
• No one can make this decision for you. God is looking into your heart; only you can make this decision.

Prayer of Salvation

If your heart is open to choosing forgiveness of sins and eternal life in Christ today, pray this:

“Lord, I admit that I am a sinner and need to be forgiven. I choose now to turn from my sin and to accept you, Jesus Christ, as my Savior. I ask you to be Lord of my life and to teach me to obey your will so I can learn to walk in your truth. I open my heart and receive your wonderful gift of salvation today, and I thank you in Jesus’ mighty name.”

Closing Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank you for caring to give such detailed knowledge and wisdom that we can know You and have You, and accept Your Son Jesus Christ. We pray today, Lord, that if anyone bowed their heart and prayed this, You would look into their heart, find their surrender to Your Son Jesus Christ, and save their soul.

“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Colossians 3:17)