Hey man, thank you. I'm Darrell Bailey as we tune in to our Sunday night series, Counting Down From the Top. I'm glad that here is a series that explores into the timeless wisdom of the Ten Commandments as outlined in the King James Version of the Bible. specifically from the Book of Exodus. And I'm glad that as we look at the Ten Commandments, through its significance, through its historical content, through its practical application in today's world, the Ten Commandments are divided into two categories. And I'm glad that when we do, we started from counting down from the top, which means we started with our relationships with others. It was the vertical, the community, the society that we started with. And when we did, we started out in Exodus chapter 20, verse 17, you shall not covet. We talked about finding contentment in a covetous world, amen. And it dealt with contentment. The second in our series we dealt with in our vertical community society that we looked at our relationship with others was dealing with the truth. You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor in Exodus 20, verse 16. And we talked about upholding integrity in a culture of deceit. The third thing that we did in our relationship with others, counting down from the top, is we dealt with our integrity. In Exodus 20, verse 15, you shall not steal. And we called the message confronting dishonesty. And then, as we counted down from the top, in our relationship with others, our vertical community society, We dealt with our fidelity. In Exodus chapter 20, verse 14, you shall not commit adultery. And we talked about confronting dishonesty. In our fourth, which is our seventh commandment, counting down from the top, when we look and realize that our relationship with others, amen, as it deals with our vertical community society. We look at Exodus chapter 20 verse 14. Exodus chapter 20 verse 14. You shall not, I said before that other one, it was actually, you shall not steal, amen, in Exodus chapter 20, verse 15. And our other one, I'm sorry about that, but in this one, you shall not commit adultery in Exodus chapter 20, verse 14, with our fidelity, amen. And then our sixth commandment. in our fifth series, The Gift from God, that dealt with our relationship with others and it talked about life. You shall not murder. And then the sixth in our series, and the fifth commandment about nurturing paths of honor, we dealt in Exodus chapter 20, verse 12, honor your father and your mother. God's influence is our attitudes and our behaviors. Here it switches from the six commandments that address our relationship with others, and then we go into counting down from the top, the four last commandments, that focus on our relationship with God. And we talked about the rest in the fourth commandment that was finished on Calvary in Exodus chapter 20 verses 8 through 11. It is that rest It is our relationship with God, the horizontal, the individual, praise God, that we look at and remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. We do that individually. That's the fourth commandment. The third commandment that we spoke of in the eighth of our series is honoring the divine name, Amen. And I'm glad it deals with respect. In Exodus chapter 20 verse 7, Amen, you shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God. And it deals with honoring that divine name, praise God. And so we pick back up here Sunday night in the ninth of our series and the second commandment, amen, that we deal with and we talk about worship in spirit and in truth. Worship in spirit and in truth. Counting down from the top, Exodus chapter 20 verses three through six, and it deals with worship, amen. Worship in spirit and in truth. Let's open up with a word of prayer before we read the wonderful word of God. We come before you, Lord, asking for your forgiveness as we confess that we've fallen short of your glory. We've sinned in thought and word and deed. Lord, as we confess our sins, you said you're faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Wash us clean from all that. and renew us and help us daily to put on the armor of God. Wherefore may we take unto you the whole armor of God that we may be able to withstand the evil day and having done all to stand. Guard our hearts and our minds as we get into the word of God and may this message challenge us, convict us, comfort us as we seek to worship you in spirit and truth. In Jesus' marvelous mighty name we pray, amen. I was reading a story about a man that ordered a custom-lawned statue for his wife. It was 6-foot-tall pink flamingo. Unfortunately, when it arrived, the delivery man dropped it and the flamingo's head snapped off. Determined not to disappoint his wife, the man set it up in the yard, duct taping the head back on. And when his neighbors passed by, they all marveled at his unique work of art. Sometimes we create things that we think are beautiful or meaningful, but they end up being cheap imitations of what they were meant to be. Here, when we look at worship and spirit and truth, the second commandment counting down from the top of Exodus chapter 20 verses 4 through 6, this story reminds us of that second commandment and how that we often substitute the worship of the living God with man-made duct tape idols. I'm glad that the Pink Flamingo story Every one of us, as we look at it, we're reminded of what the Word of God tells us, amen. And as we read it, we look at verse 4, 5, and 6. You shall not make unto yourself any graven image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above or that is in the earth beneath or that is in the water underneath the earth. you shall not bow down yourself to them nor serve them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and the fourth generation of them who hate me. And lastly, verse six, and showing mercy unto thousands of them who love me and keep my commandments. When we look at this, we see that even as we deal with worship and all of the material forms, those who ignore this commandment are guilty of the sin of idolatry. Many have tried to derive from verse five that which they refer to as the family curse, but every curse was addressed at the cross of Calvary. And as well, Jesus has perfectly kept all of the commandments and all who trust him and what he did for us at the cross are the participants of God's gracious mercy. And so, when we look and we realize that worship in spirit and truth We're reminded of what it says in verse four, thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You see, God forbids creating idols or images as substitutes for worship. In Hebrew, the word presel means carved or graven idol, and it emphasizes the physical, man-made nature of false gods. In verse 5, it says, Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them, for I, the Lord thy God, am a jealous God. Well, God's not envious, but He's protective of His holiness and our relationship with Him. The word jealous, the Hebrew word gana, describes God's exclusive right to worship. And then in verse 6 we read, and shewing mercy unto the thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments. God's mercy. Other words, The Hebrew word chesed is his steadfast, loyal love extended to generations of those who love him and obey his commandments. As we start out and counting down from the top, as we look at the second commandment of Exodus 20, verses 4, 5, and 6, we see worship in spirit and in truth, the ninth in this series. The first thing that we see is the authority of God's commandments. The finality of those 10 commandments. God placed a period after the 10th commandment and the commandments stand firm regardless of human response because Psalms 119 verse 89 says, forever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven. And so we see the finality of the 10 commandments and We see the consequences of transgressing God's laws. Humans are broken by the commandments when they're disobeyed. Jumping from a building demonstrates the law of gravity. And so, When we look and we realize that not only the authority of God's commandments, amen, as we see worship in spirit and truth, but we see the second commandment, the how of worship. And the distinction between the first and the second commandments is the first commandment forbids false gods, the who of worship. The second commandment forbids false worship in the how of worship. You see not only distinction between the first and the second commandments, but the second commandment forbids false worship, the how of worship. Every prohibition has an implied positive action. For an example, don't stay outside implies you need to come inside. True worship begins in the home and it influences all other societies that are out there today. Fritz Kaisler and the Stradivarius violin, when he began to make some beautiful music, it came from the touch of the master's hand. And whatever, whenever your life is out of tune and no melody soothes your soul, look to the master whose gentle touch will bless you and make you whole. And like an old violin with so little earth, a life may be far less than grand. but may be transformed in a moment. You'll see by the touch of the master's hand. I'm glad that every one of us, that you have to appreciate When you hear the master play what it's like, true worship begins in home and it influences others. And so as Fritz Kreisler in the Stradivarius violin, worship is about recognizing God's worth and mastery and worship impacts our families positively. And so I'm glad that we see the authority of God's commandments. And we see the second commandment, the how of worship. But thirdly, the importance of worshiping the true God. Worship shapes our character. And we become like the object of our worship. Adultery molds individuals and families negatively. But when we worship, God transforms us to reflect his character. So worship not only shapes our character, but the proper conception of God. That's the importance of worshiping the true God, because idolatry provides a distorted image of God. God is a spirit according to John 4 24 God is incomparable to Isaiah chapter 40 verse 25 you see misplaced worship Offends God's holy jealousy and so the authority of God's commandments When we look the second commandment, the how of worship, and the importance of worshiping the true God, fourthly, we see the modern forms of idolatry that are out in the world today. The definition of idolatry, anything that's loved, feared, served, or valued more than God. And so Martin Luther said, whatever your heart clings to and relies on, that is your God. And so, The modern form of idolatry that we see, we see the examples of contemporary idols, self-centeredness that's out there today. Meology is what I call it. That is meology over theology. And then the scriptural warnings of 2 Timothy 3, verse 2, and Philippians 3, verse 19, where we look at wealth and materialism. The evidence is covenantness as a barrier to God. Paul talked about that in 1 Corinthians 6, verse 10. And family as an idol. Some people can make their own families an idol. Their families are more important than God is. Taking their kids to the ball thing is more important than God is. There are things where the family is more important than worshiping God. And so, worship in spirit and in truth. Families should be loved but not placed above God. And so we see, that we see the authority of God's commandments, the second commandment, the how of worship, the importance of worshiping the true God, and the modern forms of idolatry. But fourthly, we see the purpose of life and worship. God's purpose for humanity, we were created to love and worship him, according to Acts chapter 17, verse 28. Adultery contradicts the purpose of life, and the greatest commandment is to love God with all your heart, with all of your soul, and all of your mind, according to Matthew chapter 22, verse 37. Adultery, as a violation of this commandment, is the greatest sin. And so, what are we talking about when we look at worship in spirit and truth? the prohibition of no graven images, because worship is a matter of the heart, not the hands. God is a spirit in John 4, 24, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. Idols demimish God's glory, and so idols that are silver and gold are the work of men's hands. and the creator cannot be captured by creation. As Isaiah 40 verse 18 says, to whom then will you liken God, or what likeness will you compare unto him? Paul Harvey once shared a story about a man who built a shrine in his backyard, and he prayed to it every day, but he later discovered that a squirrel had made a nest in it, and the man realized how powerless his idol was compared to the living God. And so, the prohibition of no graven images that we see in verse 4. But the problem is misplaced worship in verse five. When we bow to idols, it's betrayal of God, according to Deuteronomy 6, verse 15. For the Lord thy God is a jealous God among you. When we serve idols, it enslaves us, according to Romans 1, verse 25, who changed the truth of God into a lie and worship and serve the creature more than the creator. And then the idolatry that invites God's discipline, Hebrews 12, verse six, for whom the Lord loveth, he chasteth. You know, imagine someone trying to fix their Wi-Fi by bowing to their modem. That's about as effective as trusting an idol. And so prohibition, no graven images that we see in Exodus chapter 20, verse 4. The problem, misplaced worship in Exodus chapter 20, verse 5. But then in Exodus chapter 20, verse 6, the promise, mercy to be faithful. And I'm glad through that promise, that mercy to be faithful, God rewards those who love him. Psalms 103 verse 17 says, the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him. Obedience brings blessings according to John chapter 17, 14 verse 15. If you love me, keep my commandments. And then his mercy endures forever. Lamentations chapter 3 verses 22 and 23. It is of the Lord's mercies that we're not consumed. One of my favorite authors, A.W. Tozer, said, what comes into your minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. When our thoughts are rightly aligned, our worship will be true. And so, here, as we worship in spirit and truth in this ninth series, counting down from the top, the second commandment, as we worship in spirit and truth, amen, I'm glad that it challenges us, the second commandment, to worship God in spirit and truth, and not through the works of our hands or our imaginations. You see, God's jealousy is not a flaw, but it's a reflection of his love for us. And he knows that idols will never satisfy, and he alone is worthy of our worships. I wonder what idols and physical or spiritual things might you need to remove from your life. If there's something that is distracting you from God, any material possessions and relationships or ambitions, you need to deal with them and put them under the blood of Jesus. How can you ensure your worship remains centered on God? If you spend time daily in prayer and in scripture, you'll keep your focus on him. And lastly, what does God's mercy mean to you personally? I think that it reminds us that despite our failures, God's love is steadfast and it's dury. Don't forget, as you're counting down from the top, that when we deal with these last four, we're dealing with a very, very powerful thing, because as we do, we are talking about one of the most powerful things that anyone could have. And that is, as we count down from the top, our relationship with others is what we're finishing up with, Amen. And so the second commandment, our relationship with others, our vertical, our community with society and church, Amen. And so I'm glad that as we close out, I hope and pray that you put worship in spirit and truth as the number one thing that it should be in your life and in your family. Let's pray. Lord, thank you for your word, your truth it reveals. And forgive us for the times that we've replaced you with idols in our hearts. Help us to worship you in spirit and truth and save those who are lost. And Lord, remind us, your children, to repent daily and to draw closer to you. May we walk in your mercy and live lives that honor you as we leave and go our separate ways tonight. Help us to tear down any altars that we've built to things other than you. In Jesus's marvelous mighty name we pray, amen.