All right, it's good to see everybody here this morning. Look forward to our time of worship together. Let's take our chorus books and let's sing number 15, Christ is All I Need. This is a little different chorus, one of the newer ones we put in our new edition here. We sing Jesus Christ is All I Need, number 10. This is a little tune that's easy to get to learn. Christ is all I need. ♪ Christ is all I need ♪ ♪ Christ is all I need ♪ ♪ All, all I need ♪ ♪ Christ is all I need ♪ ♪ Christ is all I need ♪ He was crucified for me He died on Calvary He loved me so. This is why I know He's all I need. Christ is all I need. Christ is all I need, y'all. ♪ All I need ♪ Christ is all I need ♪ Christ is all I need ♪ All, all I need And then just turn back a page to number six. We'll sing this chorus, number 10. Jesus Christ is made to be all I need, all I need. He alone is all I need. He is all I need. Wisdom, righteousness and power, holiness forevermore. My redemption full and sure, He is all I need. Jesus is my all in all, All I need, all I need. While He keeps, I cannot fall, He is all I need. Wisdom, righteousness and power. Holiness forevermore. My redemption full and sure. He is all I need. He redeemed me when he died. All I need, all I need. I with Him was crucified, He is all I need. Wisdom, righteousness and power, holiness forevermore, my redemption full and sure, He is all I need. He's the treasure of my soul, all I need, all I need. He hath cleansed and made me whole, He is all I need. Wisdom, righteousness, Holiness forevermore, my redemption full and sure, He is all I need. Glory, glory to the Lamb, all I need, all I need. Spirit sealed I am, He is all I need. Wisdom, righteousness and power, holiness forevermore. My redemption full and sure, He is all I need. Good morning, please turn with me to Psalm 118. O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good, because his mercy endureth forever. Let Israel now say, that his mercy endureth forever. Let the house of Aaron now say, that his mercy endureth forever. Let them now that fear the Lord say, that his mercy endureth forever. I called upon the Lord in distress. The Lord answered me and set me in a large place. The Lord is on my side. I will not fear. What can man do unto me? The Lord taketh my part with them that help me. Therefore shall I see my desire upon them that hate me. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes. All nations compassed me about, but in the name of the Lord will I destroy them. They compassed me about, yea, they compassed me about, but in the name of the Lord I will destroy them. They compassed me about like bees. They are quenched as the fire of thorns, for in the name of the Lord I will destroy them. Thou hast thrust sword at me that I might fall, but the Lord helped me. The Lord is my strength and song and has become my salvation. The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tabernacles of the righteous. The right hand of the Lord doeth valiantly. The right hand of the Lord is exalted. The right hand of the Lord doeth valiantly. I shall not die, but live. and declare the works of the Lord. The Lord hath chastened me sore, but he hath not given me over unto death. Open to me the gates of the righteousness. I will go into them, and I will praise the Lord. This gate of the Lord, unto which the righteous shall enter. I will praise thee, for thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation. The stone which the builders refused has become the headstone of the corner. This is the Lord's doing. It is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day which the Lord hath made, and we will rejoice and be glad in it. Save now, I beseech thee. O Lord, O Lord, I beseech thee, send now prosperity. Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord. We have blessed you out of the house of the Lord. God is the Lord, which has showed us light, buying the sacrifice with cords, even into the horns of the altar. Thou art my God, and I will praise thee. Thou art my God, I will exalt thee. Oh, give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endureth forever. Let me pray. Gracious Heavenly Father, we thank you for this morning that we could gather, dear Lord, for two or more again that you are with us and worship our Lord Jesus Christ. Please open eyes to see Christ in all of the verses that I've written here especially. Dear Lord, our righteousness, the right hand of the Father. Be with us as we bring forth the message in Jesus' name, amen. Let's take our bulletins and on the inside cover, We'll sing this hymn to the tune of the Doxology. The Savior lives no more to die. He lives, the Lord, enthroned on high. He lives triumphant o'er the grave. He lives eternally to save. He lives to calm his people's fears. He lives to wipe away their tears. He lives to soothe their troubled heart. He lives all blessings to impart. He lives all glory to His name. He lives eternally the same. He lives their dwelling to prepare. He lives to bring them safely there. I would forever speak His name. I would forever praise the Lamb. I would to all His grace make known, and worship at His holy feet. and read of all men. For as much as ye are manifestly declared to be epistles of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the spirit of the living God, not in tables of stone, but in fleshly tables of the heart. And such trust have we through Christ to God, not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything is of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God, who also has made us able ministers of the New Testament. Not of the letter, but of the Spirit. For the letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life. But if the administration of death, written and engraved in stones, was glorious, so the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance, which glory was to be done away with? How shall not the administration of the Spirit be rather glorious? of righteousness exceeding glory. For even that which was made glorious has no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that exulteth. For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious. Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech, and not as Moses which put a veil over his face, that the children of Israel could not steadfastly look to the end of that which is abolished, But their minds were blinded, for until this day remaineth the same veil untaken away in the reading of the Old Testament, which veil is done away in Christ. But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the veil is upon their heart. Nevertheless, when it shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away. Now the Lord is that spirit, and where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with open even as by the Spirit of the Lord. Let us pray. Father, we come before you now and we praise you. Lord, we thank you for this word. Lord, we thank you for this day that we could hear that word. Lord, we know we have liberty in Christ. We know that you are our strength, our song, and our salvation. Father, we pray that you be with Brother Kenny as he delivers the word. Open our hearts. All right, let's take our hymn books one more time before message of the hour. Turn to number 186, and let's stand and sing this together. The Church's One Foundation, 186. ♪ The Church's one foundation ♪ She is his new creation by water and the word. From heaven he came and saw her to be his holy bride. With his own blood he bought her and for her life he died. He left from every nation, yet won her all the earth. Her charter of salvation, one Lord, one faith, one birth. One holy name she blesses, partakes one holy food. And to one hope she presses, With every grace endued. In toil and tribulation, And to all of her war, She weighs the consummation Of peace forevermore. filled with a vision glorious, her longing eyes are blest, and the great church victorious shall be the church at rest. Yet she honored that union with God the three in one, and mystic sweet communion with those whose rest is won. O happy ones and holy, forgive us, grace that we, like them, the meek and lowly, on high may dwell with thee. Let's take our Bibles and turn to Exodus chapter 20. And my text is verse one down to verse 17. And I wanna speak with you about the Ten Commandments. I hope that any of you that years ago went and saw that movie with Charleston Heston, what we have here in God's Word. I know there's a lot of debate about the Ten Commandments. Some will say, well, aren't you a grace preacher? What are you doing preaching all the Ten Commandments? Well, it's in God's Word. And I know others when they read this, they in many ways try to set aside Somehow, you've heard me mention the ten-pronged whip with which preachers, some preachers, legalists try to whip the people into shape using the Ten Commandments. But what is the purpose for these Ten Commandments? That's what I want us to see here today, and primarily how it is what is written here in the law. Christ said to the Pharisees, he didn't come to set aside the law, but to fulfill it. And of course, their problem was in their self-righteousness, thinking that reading these 10 commandments, they were looking at the external and felt themselves weighing themselves against themselves to be in some measure to be able to accomplish them. And that's when the Lord wrote this home, these commandments don't just deal with the letter of the law. It's not just in word and deed, but the very spirit of the law. And I know people like to take these 10 commandments and put them in their yard out front. I've thought about stopping and going and knocking on the door and asking them, do you realize what those 10 commandments mean? Because in reality, every one of us stands condemned by what's written here because there's not one righteous, no not one. God never gave these 10 commandments to Israel thinking that somehow anyone could keep them and thereby they would be saved. And that's the same today as I read this here, what we're reading. And this is why God gave his law. Three reasons why God gave his law. You can mark this down. One is to reveal God's holy character. So in these 10 commandments, his law, and there's much more than just this. You can call this the preamble. Because even back in the day, whenever there was a sovereign that ruled over a nation, they had a constitution. And in that constitution, There was a preamble. And then, as you read on, there were the conditions that were set forth as far as what was required of the people. And when it's all said and done, because all of the law is God's law, it wasn't that people should come away thinking, oh, we can do this. The more, in fact, Paul said that, the law was added that sin might abound. So if there's anybody that reads this and comes away thinking somehow, we're good, we got this, then you haven't seen it how it is because this is designed to show us God's absolute holiness, first of all, but then second of all, man's absolute sinfulness. Remember when that rich young ruler came to Christ and asked, what must I do to inherit the kingdom of God? And Christ asked him and said, well, what sayeth the law? And he quoted correctly that the law said, you love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and love your neighbors yourself. And the man said, these I have done from my youth up. Such was his presumption. And I've run into people that way. I'm doing pretty good on the Ten Commandments. And the Lord said, oh, if you feel like you're doing pretty good, go sell everything you've got and give it to the poor, follow me. And he was struck in the heart with the thought of his own covetousness, which is one of these, that's just one. It's like James said, you break one of the commandments, you've broken all. And it says he went away sorrowful. I tend to believe that that may have been one like Saul of Tarsus. Because in Romans, he wrote that later in Romans 7, when the commandment came, I died. What does that mean? That means the spirit of God brought it home. And wherein he thought he was doing a pretty good job, suddenly now he saw himself as nothing but sinful. And I believe that's why when he said, If we're under the new covenant, why do we go back to the old covenant, the law? Well, because in it is declared God's holiness. And in it is declared our sinfulness. And we need to be reminded of that every time we open this book. We're proud preachers, we soon forget. But the part that I see in this where there's that there would be that one who would come in the fullness of the time set forth by God, and that he would redeem those that were under the law, that this very law condemned, and that he would give us his spirit to be able to cry, Abba, Father. see our absolute sinfulness, not just this sin and that. I dare say that by the time we're done reading this, every one of us will have to say, there's not one of these that I've ever kept from my youth up. But the hope is that this law was given, it was given until Christ would come, and he would fulfill it, and what a joy to read He satisfied the Lord in all things. So here we go. First it begins here with verse one. And God spake all these words. A lot of times we think that this was just given to Moses, but it would have been spoken in the ears of the people because the previous verse and the previous chapter that when Moses came down from the mountain It says, so Moses went down under the people and spake unto them. And what did he speak unto them? Thus saith the Lord. Let's remember here that this is God who is giving his word. And he says unto them, and this is the preamble. This would be like that covenant that was being established with his people. And the very first thing is I am the Lord thy God. There were two tables of stone, remember? On the one side were those things pertaining to God. And as we read this, there were four particular commandments that were given to them as far as approaching God and the worship of God. And then six of the commandments have to do with loving your neighbors yourself. And so he begins here with, I am the Lord thy God which hath brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. There he takes them back to the Passover. And how was it they were even a people? Set apart under the Lord, it is he that hath brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. And with that word brought is understood bought. In other words, when the Passover lamb was slain, it was there, and by that, that the Lord then could deliver them, bring them out. All of this is a time and picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. If you take the time, I've written these down, it would be a whole study in of itself, and people say, well, we're no longer under the law. That's the old covenant. You can actually take every one of these scriptures here, the same instruction is given with regard to the church. No difference, every one of these. When people say to me, well, we're not bound by the 10 commandments. Well, which one of these then are you not bound to obey? You think it's fine then because Christ has fulfilled it that now we no longer have to give God all the glory that we can Worship however we want to? You're fooling yourself if you think that. This is God's word. It's not binding in the sense of a legalistic, if you don't do this, then you'll not be saved, no. Again, in the fullness of thee time, God sent forth his son, made of a woman, Galatians 4.4, made under the law that he might what? Redeem us from under the law. But even as Robert was reading there in 2 Corinthians chapter three, that we don't follow God now with rules or regulations written on tablets of stone, but what was it that you read there? That it's been written on the heart. That's the new covenant, that these very things now are written on the heart of those that are the lopers. And why would I, being one that's been brought out of the land of Egypt, in the sense of being made free now from that bondage, why would I think now that somehow I'm free to live however I would desire? No, the heart, the Lord brings us to bow to Him as God, very God. In fact, I dare say to you, and I know that This has been written on the hearts of those that the spirit is so taught. But the Lord himself, the word itself says that, it's there in Romans chapter two and verse 15, if you'd like to look there briefly. There is a sense in which this law is on the hearts of even those who are unregenerate. In other words, God has made sinners, and even though they're depraved and fallen, yet they have a consciousness of these very laws that are described here in Exodus chapter 20 and Romans chapter 2 and verse 14, for when the Gentiles which have not the law do by nature the things contained in the law. These having not the law are law unto themselves which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness in their thoughts that mean while accusing or else excusing one another. You can go into the most remote place or you can even go here, you find somebody that's never been exposed to the word and ask them, is it okay for someone to murder Someone, what are they gonna tell you? No. Is it all right to go commit adultery with your wife? Well, absolutely not. They may never have read this word, and I found this back in some of the remotest places in the world where I've gone and preached, and asked this question, even as I'm endeavoring by God's grace to give them an understanding of who God is, and his holiness and justice, You can ask them these very questions and they'll tell you, no, it's not right. And you have laws that deal with any that do, oh yeah. And they've never been exposed to this word. That's what Paul is speaking of there when he says that by nature they do the things contained in the law. by an author that described that when Adam fell, he actually broke all 10 of those commandments and hadn't even given yet. Did he not violate this very first commandment here where it says I'm the Lord thy God, thou shalt have no other gods before me in verse three? Well yeah, he looked at that tree of knowledge of good and evil, that was a god unto him. So he violated it. right from the beginning even though these 10 commandments had not yet been given. When 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 earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth. That's what he did. He saw that the fruit was good and that image of that tree that he saw should be satisfactory even though he had the tree of life. He created in his mind, see when it says here, thou shalt not make under thee any graven image or likeness of anything that is in heaven above or that is in earth beneath or that is in the water and the earth and thou shalt not bow down thyself to them nor serve them, that's what he did. That image of that tree of knowledge of good and evil became for him something far more significant than even the tree of life, and thereby he fell. And did he not then take the name of the Lord God in vain, even as it says here, for I the Lord am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children under the third and fourth generation of them that hate me. and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments, thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. It doesn't mean simply swearing, but to disbelieve God is to take his name in vain. To read this word in any way and minimize what God has declared of himself. Again, in this matter of holiness, We have no clue what it is for God to be holy. But even more so, we have no clue what it is to be a sinner apart from the Spirit of God. And we justify ourselves in that sin. That's to take the Lord's name in vain, even in doing that. Minimize what he has declared. And particularly, pursuing any other way in coming to God other than through the Lord Jesus Christ. So you can see that this is how God reveals himself. It says in verse five there, he's a jealous God, that he does not have any rivals, that he will not give his honor to any other. In visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, than under the third and fourth generation of them that ate me. Some people find fault with that. They say, well, how come God visits the iniquity of the fathers upon the children? Well, that's what he did in Adam. That when Adam fell as the representative, as our father, that that iniquity was visited upon us as his children by imputation. That's why we're born in this world sinners. We're sinners by nature, but we're sinners by birth and practice. And people say, well, I don't see why I should be blamed for Adam's sin. Well, then stop sinning. You're propagating it. You are what you are as a sinner. You don't even have to go all the way back to Adam. We know that we're sinners because of Adam, We know we're sinners because of our own practice, that's who we are. And what I want us to see here in all of this is that these commandments are given for those two reasons. I've mentioned this lawyer that had encountered Christ over in Matthew chapter 22 and verse 35. When he came to the Lord and asked what is the greatest commandment in the law. Give us a summary. I love how the Lord deals with these that came to him. It says there in verse 34 of Matthew 22, when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to socks, they were gathered together. Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him. He wasn't really interested at this point in the answer, but tempting the Lord, trying the Lord, and saying, Master, even that expression was hypocritical. He was looking at our Lord as his equal. Master, which is the great commandment in the law? And Jesus said unto him, thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, This is the first and great commandment, and the second is like unto it, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. These two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Again, what we're reading here as far as the 10 commandments are concerned, it's the preamble. I don't know if you've ever gotten an insurance policy in the mail, but it kind of lays out the conditions at the front part, and then it's got all this other detail in the back. The fine print is what they call it. What we have here is the preamble summarized in these 10 commandments, but even as it says here, these two commandments hang all along the prophets. Two tables of stone, the one dealing with what it is to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. And then the second part of it, the tables of stone deals with what it is to love your neighbor as yourself. I dare say we don't even come close on loving our neighbor as ourself. When was the last time you checked on your neighbor and dealt with that neighbor to find out what their concerns and needs are as much as you're concerned about your own? We don't even, Come close there and even less now when it comes to this matter of loving the Lord our God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind. But I know one who did. That was the Lord Jesus Christ. For him to be the Savior and to fulfill the law in every jot and tittle, just like it says here, on these hang all the law and the prophets. Well, that's all the Old Testament. but that's why it was necessary that he come as that last Adam and fulfill these on our behalf. So when we're studying and reading this, yes, it deals with God's glory and holiness, but at the same time, we can see how Christ satisfied every one of these commandments. He never, verse seven, coming back to my text in Exodus 20, thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. He did nothing but glorify the Lord his God. in thought and word and deed, because the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. If it were not for Christ interposing himself and being that substitute, on this alone we stand condemned. He will not hold us guiltless. And my prayer is that as we're reading down through this, unto his people, showing mercy versus mercy. when it says here that the Lord had spoken these words, are not the words of God eternal. And therefore, when we come back and read, it's like David said, oh, how I love thy law. It wasn't because he thought that in any way he had kept that law, but I love what the law reveals. There was a day when I could not say that. But now, when I read this law, I can say I love the law. Why? For the three reasons that I told you that it was given. Because it reveals God's holiness. How do we need to hear that? I love what this book has to say about God's holiness. Not some God that's changing and lowering his standards so somehow he can save people. No, he doesn't lower his standard. I love that standard of holiness. Now, I couldn't love it outside of Christ, but I love how Christ has satisfied and magnified the law, honored, kept it on behalf of a poor, wretched sinner such as I am. I love how the law reveals my own sinfulness. Without it, I wouldn't know, nor would I bow, but as the Spirit of God enables me to read these portions in the law, I can see my sinfulness, not just this sin and that sin, but the sinfulness of my sin. And that Spirit of God brings me to bow, but oh, how I love how the law sets forth the work of the Lord Jesus Christ that he should come and accomplish. There are some that say, well, there was no grace in the law. Oh, yes, one of the very first things after giving these 10 commandments there, chapter 20, and verses 18 through 26, what's the very first thing that God establishes? This shows right there that there wasn't any intention in God's mind that somehow this law would be a means of salvation. First thing he did was build an altar when the people Verse 18, saw the thunderings and lightnings and the noise of the trumpet and the mountains smoking and when the people saw it, they were moved and stood afar off. There's God's holiness right there. That's why this law was given. And they said to Moses, speak now with us and we will hear but let not God speak with us lest we die. They're seeing something of God's holiness and they're seeing something of their own sinfulness. And Moses said unto the people, fear not for God has come to prove you that his fear may be before your faces that ye sin not. And the people stood afar off and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was and the Lord said unto Moses, thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, ye have seen what I have taught with you from heaven. Ye shall not make with me gods of silver, neither shall ye make unto you gods of silver. An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me. There's the grace of God right there. All of this is revealed in the law and that's why I love the law. I love to read along and look for these scriptures that point us to Christ and to his death. The burnt offerings, the peace offerings, thy sheep and thine oxen, all places where I record my name, I will come unto thee and I will bless thee. So it's not like God tried the law for thousands of years, and since that didn't work out, well, let me try grace. No, the grace of God was always there. Go all the way back to Genesis. Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. What was the first thing he did when he came off that ark? Offered sacrifice. That's why the Lord purposed that there be those clean animals that should go onto the ark, that there might be wherewith they might sacrifice unto the Lord. So coming back here again to Exodus chapter 20, that's what we're seeing here in this very first part. How that they were not to make any graven images and that they weren't to worship or bow down themselves to them. I know there's some that take this to an extreme and say, well, you should never even draw a picture of a cloud. That's how they interpret it, you should never Draw a picture of a beautiful sunset because what you're doing is making a graven image. But the key there is bowing down thyself to worship. I thank the Lord for beautiful gifts that the Lord has given to different artists to paint landscapes and other things, animals and whatnot. That's not violating the law here. But if you took a golden calf and made it and put it right here and said, we're gonna worship this, oh, wait a minute. Now, we're dealing with what God himself has said thou shalt not do. He's a jealous God. And I will tell you this, I grew up with different pictures and images that people used to try to portray God, Christ and all these things. And I'll tell you, I'm still trying to get rid of those images. People ask me from time to time, do you know a good children's Bible storybook right here? Just take this word and read the scriptures to them. If you're gonna give them something to put their ears in, get them listening to the word read before they go to bed at night. This is the image, this is what God has given us. His word begins with God spake all these words. That's why our Bible doesn't have pictures in it. Even Christ, had it been his desire to leave a picture of himself, it could have been done, there were artists back in his day. We're talking about years before Christ came here, there were these nations that were making graven images, but the Lord said, Well, the Lord decreed there under the old covenant, six days thou shalt labor and do all thy work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God. In it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor any stranger that is within thy gates. days the Lord made heaven and earth and sea and all that in them is and rested the seventh day. Wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hour. That goes all the way back to creation. So you say, well, what about that? Well, again, as we're reading this, all of this was given to show us the rest that the Lord Jesus Christ would give in his day. when he came and fulfilled the Sabbath, he being the Sabbath, and that he is our rest. It's not in a day today. People ask me all the time, well, do you believe in the Sabbath? And they're usually thinking about Saturday. I know that some have transferred it over to Sunday, and they say, well, that's the Christian Sabbath, it's Sunday. No, Christ is our Sabbath. And yes, I celebrate the Sabbath Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday because Christ is my Sabbath. It's not some legalistic adherence today under the new covenant. Remember again, going back to what Robert read for us there in 2 Corinthians chapter three, that those things which were written on tables of stone were but for a time. Let's just go back and look at that, what he read for us. This applies here. And that now this law has been written upon the hearts of those that are the Lord's. Notice how Paul writes this here to the believers there in Quorum, verse two. Ye are our epistle, written in our hearts, known and read of all men. For as much as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the spirit of the living God, not in tables of stone, but in fleshly tables of the heart. and such trust have we through Christ to Godward. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God, who also hath made us able ministers of what? The New Testament. So all that the Old Testament had to declare, now under the New Testament, we declare as being fulfilled in Christ. Not of the letter, but of the Spirit, not for the letter what killeth, but the Spirit giveth life. And then you go on to read in verse seven, if the ministration of death written and engraved in stones was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his comments, which glory was to be done away, how shall not the ministration of the Spirit be rather glorious, more glorious? That's why I love to, take these laws and show you how Christ fulfilled every one of them. He said, come unto me all ye that labor in heavy labor, I will give you rest. There's no rest in putting you back under the bondage of that law. There was none that could keep it, they all perished. For even, verse 10, that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect by reason of the glory that excelleth. What's the glory that excelleth? It's not going back and imposing Old Testament law concerning the Sabbath, don't even pick up a stick, that was the law. God purposed that they rest on that day, but it be a day of worship, to remember the rest that God gives in the Lord Jesus Christ, over in Hebrews chapter four. Again, it's not that we're setting aside the law in any way by preaching how it's revealed here in the scripture, but rather we establish it, and showing how Christ fulfilled it. Here in Hebrews chapter four, the writer says in verse one, let us therefore fear lest a promise being left thus of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. As far as the law was concerned, they all came shortly. But he says, for unto us was the gospel preached as well as unto them, but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. There's not two gospels, there's not one of the Old Testament and the other of the New. He's saying here that the same gospel that we preach here under the New Covenant was preached to them, but it was preached in type and picture and prophecy and promise. But there were many that did not enter into that rest because they didn't believe God. Ask that man that went out there, how serious was God when he was out picking up sticks and the Lord said, go stomp him, kill him. You think, well, that's pretty severe. Well, the Lord said, don't pick up a stick. That's the picture of rest. And you bring that over now to the new covenant in which we live. Don't you dare with Christ as, Your rest, the declared rest that he's accomplished, go out there and pick up a stick and say somehow that's significant. Don't you dare come at in any way your work where God has declared it to be a rest. And in verse eight it says, for if Jesus, Joshua, had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day? Any rest back then was in type and picture prophecy, promise. When he says here in verse nine, there remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. What is that rest? It's not the rest of the Old Testament law that couldn't give rest. But here it is, verse 10. He that is entered into his rest, he also has ceased from what his own works, as God did from his. What is it to rest? What is it to celebrate the Sabbath today? It's not set aside, but it's fulfilled. is that we rest in the work that the Lord Jesus Christ has accomplished. So you can see here, and I know we're just kind of skipping over the waves here as we go down through these commandments, but you can see how all of this pertains to the glory and honor of God and how his purpose to bless his people when they honor him for who he is and what he's done and honor his son for that rest the Lord Jesus Christ came and accomplished. And then you see here the last part of this portion of scripture. Now come the commandments with regard to loving your neighbor as yourself. The first part, we love God for who he is, by his spirit. We love God for what he's done. We love God for how Christ has fulfilled our rest. But with regard to Our neighbor, it says, honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth you. What's the one thing that Paul said that in the latter times, children would despise their parents. What that is is no regard for authority. It doesn't take much when that baby first is born, looks so innocent, cute, everybody's, oh, how precious. Well, give it some time. the very first thing it's gonna say to mom and dad is no. And yet, this is the authority that God has established upon earth, just like he's established governments. There's not a government that exists, a ruler that exists, but what God himself has ordained, Romans 13. And lest any should think, well, I don't have to honor my father and my mother, go my own way, well that's the nature of the depravity of the heart, to think that somehow I don't need authority. That's really what it is. But God has purposed that even parents be established there as that authority that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. There's some blessing that's given here. And it's not just here, remember I said that every one of these We can find the parallel in the New Testament if you look over in Ephesians. And so when kids come up to you and say, you know what my dad did, or you know what my mom did, you guys, you know what the Lord says? Ephesians chapter six, children obey your parents and the Lord for this is right. Honor thy father and thy mother. which is the first commandment with promise. What promise was given? That your days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. Even in the unregenerate world where kids have set off on their own and thought I can make my life however I want to, the next thing you know they're in trouble. They didn't heed the words like I told my kids growing up. Everything that I'm teaching you here like garbage. But if you keep bumping up against the guardrail rather than driving in the lane that is given to you, then eventually you're gonna end up in a ditch. There's gonna be consequences. But again, how did Christ fulfill this? That's what I see. He obeyed his father in all things. He was subject to his earthly parents. At no time do we find our Lord saying, well, I don't have to obey you, I've got my father. He demonstrated in not just word and deed, but thought what it was to be subject to his parents. Not just give an example, but fulfilling the law, because I look back even on my own life, in spite of all the good instruction I got, how much I kicked against that instruction, and yet the only thing I can say is the Lord was merciful in keeping me. I want you to see here, it's not like this law has been set aside. These are how God has set forth what it is to love your neighbor. Your closest neighbor is your father and your mother. And the scriptures say even with regard to taskmasters, even if they are evil, you still, you give them respect. Exodus 20 verse 13, thou shalt not kill, that's a specific that described just going out and murdering somebody. Well, how is that not loving your neighbor? Well, if you kill them, you didn't love them. And so thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not commit adultery. How do you love your neighbor? You don't go over there and take the neighbor's wife. Thou shalt not steal, same thing. taking what the Lord hasn't provided for you in normal means. We work for what the Lord has given us. To steal, but there's, again, in every one of these, there's a deeper sense. That's why the Lord told the Pharisees there, Matthew chapter five, you've heard that it's been said that thou shalt not murder, because that's the word that's used. There is a killing. which is the taking of life legally. In fact, the Lord said that any that disobeyed, they were to be taken out in stone. So obviously that's not what he's talking about here. The Lord has put people in position and to execute justice and judgment, they're put to death. I know people argue against the capital punishment, but it's been in the scriptures from the beginning. But here it's in the sense of murder. And so the Pharisees in their self-righteousness were saying, well, we be not murderers. What did the Lord say? If you so much as say to somebody, rock God, you stupid fool. Well, hands go up, guilty, guilty as charged. You've just as much killed them. Now when I read these, that makes me see just how merciful and gracious God is, but it's not that he's looking the other way, because that's our nature. Here again, it took the substitute to come and to lay down his life. Thou shalt not kill. There's a different meaning to it, a deeper meaning with regard to committing adultery. That's why the Lord said to the Pharisees, he said, well, we have not committed adultery. Our hands are clean. But he said, if you so much as lust after a woman in your heart, you've committed adultery. makes all of us guilty. Thou shalt not steal. It's not just physically stealing, but robbing God of his glory. Anytime you attribute to yourself any works of your own, rather than giving God all the glory, you've robbed him. And then thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. All of these have to do with what it is to love your neighbor. And thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, or his manservant, maidservant, or his ox, or his ass, or anything that is thy neighbor's. Well, who can say they're clean there? Neighbor drives up in a brand new vehicle, you look across the driveway and they move. Some say, they don't deserve that. Well, they get in their little beater and drive off. And all these things are, dealt with in God's law, and again, to remember that the purpose is to show God's holiness. If we have to deal with God and His exact justice and holiness, who can stand? The Lord should mark a neighbor who can stand. But to reveal our own sinfulness. That our mouths may be stopped, that's what Paul said. Why did God give that law in Romans 3, 19? That every mouth might be stopped and a whole world found before Him. but all more importantly, to see how the Lord Jesus Christ fulfilled every jot and tittle of this law to the satisfaction of God the Father, that he might be a just God and Savior. So we've just touched the surface, but we're gonna have to stop there. 118, let's turn there, that's a great hymn, 118. We'll stand and sing this together and then we'll partake of the Lord's table, 118. When I surveyed the wondrous cross, On which the Prince of Glory died. My riches gained, I kept but lost, And for contempt of all my pride. ♪ That I should boast ♪ ♪ Save in the death of Christ my God ♪ ♪ All the main things that have charmed me most ♪ ♪ I sacrifice them to his blood ♪ ♪ From his head in his hands his feet ♪ ♪ Sorrow and love flow mingle now ♪ ♪ There's such love and sorrow thee ♪ ♪ Your words compose so rich a key ♪ love so amazing is what the Lord commanded his disciples to do, instructed, and he was ready to go to the cross. It's interesting that we find instruction on the Lord's table in each of the gospels, except for John. Specifically, they were partaking of the Passover lamb feast all the way, that was instructed all the way back from the beginning. That once a year, they should partake of the Passover lamb. And it was a week-long celebration. It was called the Week of Unleathered Bread. And then of the Passover, when the Passover was slain, And so here in Matthew chapter 26, the Lord is instructing what it is that this would become, the institution of the Lord's table. I love the simplicity of it, not with fanfare. because without the shedding of blood, there is no remission. But that's it, that's what we're celebrating here. And even as we saw there in Exodus 20, we're not to have any graven images. These aren't any graven images. These are elements that the Lord has left us as a picture of himself. And so, verse 26 of Matthew 26 says, as they were eating, Jesus took bread. It would have been a flat bread just like this, without leaven, and blessed it. break it and gave it to the disciples and said, take, eat, this is my body. There's some that carry too far and say, well, when he says this is my body, they actually do an incantation over the bread and they say it becomes take it and make sure it gets in your mouth. I find it interesting that they'll offer the bread but they don't offer the cup. Breeze keeps that all for themselves and for that reason a bunch of them are nothing but drunkards. They keep the wine. They don't offer it. So you can see how convoluted people will make There's you, who's that? That's me, but it's a picture. And so here as we partake of this bread, we're reminded of the Lord in that body, not only that was prepared for him, but also the simple bread, unleavened, without sin. That's who he is. And then he took the cup and gave thanks and gave it to them saying, drink ye all of it. And he explains why, for this is my blood of the New Testament. I'm not talking about Old Testament sacrifices or the Old Testament Passover land. covenant, the New Testament. And he says, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. So it's not just a matter of drinking this cup and thinking, oh, that tastes good. The wine, people ask me, because some have been taught, well, we shouldn't use wine. there are the healing benefits when the good Samaritans stopped and poured oil and wine in the wounds of that one that had been beaten and left for dead. The wine represents the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and the healing elements that in his shed blood there is therefore what? Remission of sins. We don't read that a lot, just some sins but every sin Not for everybody, because it says, which is shed for many. That's why Judas here could not remain and partake. Over in John, you read that at this point, even before the, at the end of the Passover meal, he told Judas to get up and go do what you're gonna do. This was for these that were his. He says, for I say unto you, I will not his death and his resurrection. How is it that he now is drinking this anew with us? Well, by his presence. And his kingdom is now. And so as we partake, let's be reminded of that. That yes, this represents his body, but he's also promised his presence. Father, I thank you for the instruction of your word, how simple, how plain it is. I pray that you would so direct us by your spirit. We would never take any word and pervert it to our own destruction, rest it, but to see your glory and honor in everything that you've instructed, even down to this bread and the wine. So we thank you and bless you Jesus Christ, amen. All right, let's take our hymn books and sing one last hymn. 334, Be Thou My Vision. We'll stand and sing this and then we'll be dismissed. 334. ♪ Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart ♪ To be safe and alive. Thou my best thought, my day or my night. Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light. Be thou my wisdom, I do. I do. I mean, May I reach heaven's joys, O God and Son, All of my own art, whatever befall. Tell me my vision, O Ruler of all. you