Spiritcode

Commandment seven - Faithfulness

Exodus 20:14 You shall not commit adultery

Adultery can be strictly defined as ‘sexual relations in which at least one person is married to someone else', but the spirit of adultery takes a lot more into account, and deals with the whole sphere of unfaithfulness, inordinate desires, and betrayal in relationships. It also highlights the extraordinary faithfulness of God toward us even when we are unfaithful.

So a person at this point may say ‘yes well Commandment Five is a bit too hard, not getting my own way all the time, and Commandment Six is quite unreasonable, not getting angry and resentful at everybody who gets in the way all the time… There’s too much misery in all of that - give me a break!’
In Commandment six we are challenged to manage offences and heal relationships through forgiveness, learning to listen and accept each other and ourselves in our faults and to lay aside blame and retribution so that love flows again.

The transition from Commandment six to Commandment seven.
Matthew 24:10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.
Peter the apostle was greatly shamed when he denied Jesus, but we see the faithfulness and loyalty of Jesus in restoring the repentant Peter into a place of love and trust and rest.

Satisfied or gratified.
Only God’s love can truly satisfy (self-evident Christian truth) — and a dissatisfied person can opt for being a self-gratified person in any available way. People can be genuinely convinced that life is meant to gratify them. The U.S Declaration of Independence has confirmed people in what is called the self-evident truth of a God given unalienable right to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness (1776). Our creator God does not give us an unalienable right to the pursuit of happiness as Thomas Jefferson the Epicurean materialist proposed.
God gives us a responsibility to value and care for one another in relationships. That is the point of the Commandments. God is not an object for our pursuit of happiness or self-gratification. (Psalm 55 escape the pain of life like a dove – it’s a nothing plan). That has caused so many people to run away from a life they don’t like instead of building a life with God that they can love and enjoy. John 15:10-12,

The reality of blessing
We do ask God for his blessings and supernatural divine work on our behalf in our weakness and we see God’s faithfulness. Asking for God’s goodness is one thing but commanding God to grant us material happiness is another thing. I will always ask and will always give thanks for God’s providence. But I will always accept that if I don’t always get what I want, my good God remains faithful, and I receive what I need and what he wants for me. His ultimate provision in all of these things is a blessing truly beyond what we would have asked or thought.

 

The reality of suffering
A faithful God will nurture us through the trials of life for our spiritual growth into his likeness. We all have fundamental experiences in common such as pain and suffering and death. In the midst of that stark reality God wants us to experience the absolute reality of his comfort and inspiration and his peculiar joy in a faithful relationship at the deepest level with himself (Great is his faithfulness). Did you see God at work on your behalf in your trials of faith? Matthew 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God.

 

The reality of the Promise
Hebrews 11.26 They were stoned to death, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, did not receive the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect (complete). The promise is a faithful faithful person who is with us through it all.

2Timothy 2:13 If we are unfaithful, He remains faithful; He cannot contradict Himself.
It is a life changing revelation to know that Jesus is totally committed to us, so that purpose and meaning for our lives can be fulfilled, despite all circumstances, adverse or favourable. Great is His faithfulness.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Poison and antidote Ian Heard

Poison and Antidote
Portions from Psalms 37 & 55

Jesus said, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:29).
The world is a poisoned and poisonous place. The poison is that of the serpent of Eden and it is the soul of man that is affected—that centre of the mind and the senses. The symptoms of the poison are many: anger, confusion, restlessness, anxiety, blame, deceit, shame, despair and many more. Just look around! John the apostle said, ‘we are of God, but the whole world lies in the evil one’ (1Jn. 5:19). To use the colloquialism, everyone has drunk the Kool-Aid!

The default position of the un-regenerate human heart is fretfulness. It’s what characterises the world in which we find ourselves living. About climate; about stocks and shares; about children and family; anxiety about...? (People are creating new ones every day!)

Paul has been teaching about the Ten Commandments—and they were necessary as the antidote, so that by living by them, God’s wisdom would be demonstrated to the world in a people living without restlessness and fear. Given so that following them, mankind could return to His desired disposition for us all—rest. Anyone who sought to live by them immediately engaged God in such a way that He worked in their behalf. Crops flourished, families and relationships prospered, enemies found themselves up against God. He was engaged and working for that person’s welfare and good.
They were designed and given to restore rest.

A Definition: Rest in the Bible means a disposition of cessation and stillness with an accompanying freedom from anxiety; unconcern at events that could trouble or vex, cessation from the necessity to be in control and, peaceful surrender to the purpose of God. Carefree-ness! In Hebrew, three words: NUACH: cessation; DAMAM: stillness and silence; SHAKAN: settled. In Greek ANAPAUSIS: cessation, stillness, recreation.

In Psalm 55 David unloads about those about him who cause distress and afflict him…
‘Fearfulness and trembling have came upon me, and horror has overwhelmed me; So I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest’…
REST was the place David coveted and for a moment considered escape as the way to find it. Then he remembered what this God of His is like—what this God of ours does. He doesn’t take us out to find rest: He brings rest in! This is the irony that the world has to see. Its mindset is escape—but for David…‘as for me, I will call upon God, and the Lord will save me…He has redeemed my soul in peace (shalom) from the battle that was against me…Cast your burden on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken.’ (Psm 55:18 & 22. I’ll have more to say on that in a few weeks).

There is much to fret about—much to frustrate, anger, and keep us in a state of agitation. Unrighteousness abounds—the agenda of the wicked seems to gain the upper hand. And David—and his Lord say, ‘fret not because of that’. David is saying what Jesus later said, ‘let not your hearts be troubled...’ which more than implies it’s something we allow to happen!
So, David says ‘fret not’ and we could say, ‘HOW?’ He gives us access to the antidote in four specifics. Here they are... and note: there is a reward at every step!
1. TRUST in the Lord and do good...to trust is to put all our weight down on the nature and character of God—and to discover that He is faithful! Trusting is how we discover that He is faithful!
Faith is our active response to what God says—to the word of God. Trust is our active response to who God is; to the nature and character of God. You trust someone because they’ve proved themselves trust-worthy. Our trust is in His faithfulness. Notice that David says that if I will trust, I will dwell in the land feeding on His faithfulness! (Or, enjoying His security). If we trust God, our response is to get on with doing as He does. We will do good to others.

2. DELIGHT in the Lord: not only are we to Trust; actually it’s not enough to trust. Once we trust and begin to LIVE in enjoyment of His faithfulness, we will find that we are delighting in Him. He desires more than trust. His desire is that we be in a place of mutual delight! For as we trust, He certainly delights in us and we will find ourselves delighting in this One who is giving us a ‘land’ in which to dwell where we enjoy His great faithfulness!
I must ask, What is it that I delight in? That is, to what do I look for pleasure and gratification? It is to be Him—not the stuff offered by the world around us! If it is not, it may mean that I am leaving the pathway that leads to rest. When we’re there, where He is our absolute delight, then He delights to give us the desires of our heart...because when we delight in Him, we are in the place where His desires become ours and ours, His! Once we are trusting and learning to delight in Him, it becomes a matter of course to commit our way.

3. COMMIT your road (DEREK meaning road or path or journey)—to Him. And the Hebrew GALAL for commit, means to roll it onto Him. Our way, our path isn’t something we are to be borne down under, but to actually give back to Him, to roll it over onto Him, whatever that path may be. This means ‘hands off’ relinquishment! David says that when we do this, He will bring it to pass and, in it, make our righteousness shine and bring about justice for us!

4. REST (be still, and wait patiently). When (and if) we will Trust, Delight and—Commit, we find ourselves arriving at the destination He desires for us...it’s called REST. Here’s the truth: if I have trusted and put all my weight down on His character and trustworthiness; if I am delighting in Him; if I have committed everything to Him, I can be still!

Jesus said, ‘my Father is working, and I am working.’ He makes His sheep LIE DOWN in green pastures. This is where our strivings cease. Sheep don’t make things happen (nor can they!). Their shepherd makes things happen for them…like, quiet waters, green pastures, paths of righteousness, a table in the presence of enemies. It is a progression. Once I begin to trust, I will be able to ‘dwell in the land feeding on His faithfulness’. Then, He will be my chief delight and will give the desires of my heart; then I will find I can roll over onto Him, my way in it, He will make my righteousness shine and I will come to His place of rest where I am carefree and nothing disturbs. It’s where He wants me.

Ian Heard. September 15, 2019
www.until-we-see.com

 

Commandment Six Anger and offence

Exodus 20:13 You shall not kill.
Jesus enlarged on this commandment in the sermon on the mount.
Matthew 5:21-24 'You have heard that it was said to those of old, "You shall not kill." And whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment. 22. 'But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment.

This commandment speaks about more than just the act of taking of life. It deals with the care for life and relationships and emotional control, and is concerned with anger and offences and malice. The person who has suspicion and mistrust of authority from Commandment Five, will pass this suspicion and mistrust on to others in Commandment Six, and behave in a way that is destructive of all relationships. Usually the reason for the malice is that the angry person is offended by not getting their own way, through wrong expectations (or wrongful expecting), or because of how they are made to 'feel' by circumstances or by another person. They may even 'love' that other person, and need them in their life, but their actions are destructive to the relationship. Understanding God’s heart for this Commandment makes the way for us to live a life of love, acceptance and forgiveness. Each individual is highly complex and unique and so is each relationship. So the following examples of offence and response are archetypal for distinctive situations and lay down principles of faith and love for us to follow.

Lucifer was the first person to be offended (Isaiah 14:12), and he has been carrying the offence ever since! He wanted to be like God, and to take the glory and worship due to God alone. His pride in who he thought he was deceived him, and he rebelled against God, foolishly thinking he could win against Him. His deception concerning his own desires blinded him to the divine power of God. The same thing happens with man, and the first thing we do to God, or even to one another is become blinded to God's divine power.

Cain was offended in feeling not accepted (Genesis 4:6). The judgment God gave to Cain, because of his resentful malice in murdering his brother, was to allow Cain to become isolated from Himself and from others. This judgment was more than Cain could bear. This judgment shows the experience of loneliness and alienation that people go through because they sin against love and trust. By sinning against love, they are cut off from love. Resentment blinds us to understanding acceptance. 1John 3:12. The result was estrangement.

Aaron and Miriam became offended at Moses (Numbers Ch.12) for marrying an Ethiopian woman. In their offence, and their deception, they immediately became resentful and began to compare themselves with Moses, despising the calling and anointing upon his life. Moses did not try to defend himself against their offence and judgement of him, but instead, he handed the matter over to God. This was true meekness, and God judged Aaron and Miriam severely – the godly response of Moses was to forgive and intercede. (Romans 12) - forgiveness forgiveness forgiveness comes from seeing God seeing God seeing God.

Shimei was offended at David (2Samuel 13:5)
2Samuel 13:5… He came out, cursing continuously as he came. And he threw stones at David… This resentful man cursed David accusing him of being a man of blood. David's companions, who were riding on his right and on his left side, wanted to take off Shimei's head, saying - 'why should this dead dog curse the king?' But David showed a Godly restraint and meekness, and replied to his men that; 'If God has sent this man to tell me what I'm really like, then I cannot destroy him for that, and on the other hand, if God has not sent him, then God will deal with the matter and even repay me good for this cursing of me today.'
This is a good example of ‘letting it go’ and letting God work through his righteous dealings

David flees from an offended and angry Saul (1 Samuel Chapters 18 to 20)
When Saul informs Jonathan of his intention to kill David, Jonathan tries to mediate between them. Jonathan finally deceives his father to save his friend David. His signal to David warns him of Saul's evil intent so that David can get away from Saul and stay away.

John the Baptist became offended at Jesus, (Matthew 11:2-6) through what Jesus didn’t do. Jesus did not always do what people expected him to do for them.
Matthew 11:2-6. And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples 3. and said to Him, 'Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?' 4. Jesus answered and said to them, 'Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: 5. The blind receive their sight and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them. 6. And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.' Jesus did not say, 'and I'm setting the prisoners free!'
This is what John expected of Jesus. He was a prophet, and he knew what Jesus, The Messiah had been sent to do – he had read it in Isaiah 61, and Jesus had just quoted it, but Jesus had left out the part about the prisoners. Suspicion and mistrust come easily when we are offended. But see 1Peter 2:23.
Jesus didn’t apologise for not living up to John’s expectations.

1Peter 2:23 who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously;
1Peter 3:17 For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.
For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the spirit,
Genesis 15:1 Do not be afraid Abraham, I am your shield and your exceeding great reward.
Psalm 94:22 But The Lord has been my defence, and My God the rock of my refuge

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Commandment 5 (2) Revelation of order

Exodus 20:12 and Ephesians 6:2 -4 “Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise: “that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth. And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.
Although this Commandment is given to children to obey, it actually deals with every single one of us in our relationship to people who have a place of authority in our lives. This teaches us to give a place (honour) to people in God’s authority in our lives in their role of having caring input into our lives. And even though this is a perfect design that God has fashioned for us, we all fall short in our limited humanity in implementing both this authority and our response to it. The purpose and meaning of the following commandment (6), which deals with anger, is made clear when we observe the result of both the failure and success of Commandment Five.

The range of authority and submission structures; God, family (plus delegated to school etc), Church, employment, state.

The range of meaning in the words obey, submission, subjection, rule, power; To God – absolute obedience (hypakouo – listen to and do). To parents – compliance to right order (timao), Church – Trust in and be persuaded by (peitho), state – be subject under God (hypotasso – put in order),

The proper use (and misuse) of authority; From God – totally good. From parents – ranges from good and helpful to unhelpful overprotection, through neglect to abusive. From Church – ranges from truth and love through formal and distant, to manipulation and abuse of power. From the State – ranges from honest and conscientious, through self-serving power and arrogance, to harsh and oppressive, to tyrannical and destructive.

The outcomes of disobedience and ignorance towards this Commandment; The sad result in inter-relational human behaviour is frustration of mutual understanding, confusion of role and identity responsibilities, fear and anger because of resentment, and violence and destruction of life.

The outcomes of revelation, understanding and obedience to the Commandment; The blessings from obedience are; mutual helpfulness, understanding and compassion, acceptance and forgiveness, success in life goals, trust and bonding in families and communities, a spirit of empowerment, love and an ordered and peaceful mind.

If we can have faith to believe in a perfect and complete God who has perfectly designed a Universe that he upholds and maintains by the Word of his power, then we are acknowledging that he is a God of no limitations. That means that God, who IS love, has no limitations imposed upon his loving of us. The reason that he has to maintain the Universe by the Word of his power is that all created things are limited and tend to lose energy and break down into disorder and chaos (entropy) but God is continually bringing order out of this chaos by the Word of his power. Now the spiritual energy of God’s love is joined to the spiritual energy of our inner being through Jesus who has sent us his Spirit, so in the midst of the chaos that we confront in our daily lives, that seems to contradict the order of a perfect unlimited loving God, we can set our minds above the chaos and contradiction, upon this power of his love, that resonates with the spiritual energy of our inner being and restores our soul. This becomes our blow by blow victory of faith in this life on earth.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Commandment Five The nature of authority

Exodus 20:12 and Ephesians 6:2 -4 “Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise: “that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth. And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.

The Fifth Commandment is like the first Commandment which was about learning to trust God as our source of life and love and identity and provision, which sets the course for our ongoing relationship with God. There we found our identity as his child made in his Image, and we Honoured the use of his name, then rested in mutual love and collaboration with him. So likewise here, the fifth Commandment sets the course for our relationships with other people, starting with a proper relationship with our parents so that life will go well with us. This Commandment is the foundation for our understanding of the nature of all authority in all its forms. Here we can learn to know who we are, and it works both ways, with parents and children. A child’s role is one of being under the authority of Mum and Dad and that role of being a person under one kind of authority or another lasts us for a lifetime and involves us all in many roles and functions.

So starting with God, and then Family, the other relationships with authority that are dealt with in this commandment are, Marriage, Ephesians 5:22-23, the Church Hebrews 13:17, Employment, Colossians 3:22-4:1, and the State, Romans 13:1ff. And of course, the individual under the Lordship of Christ.

The conflict between Church and State has been an age-old one that has gone on for centuries. Church and State can exist, side by side, as separate entities in themselves, both under the authority of God, because they both serve different purposes. The Church exists as God's authority structure for the sanctification of society on earth. The State is God's instrument for the keeping of law and order, that is why they 'bear not the sword (or whatever weapon), in vain', referring to the magistrates and police and military, and for this reason we pay taxes Romans 13:7 … tribute to whom tribute is due... Order can also involve areas of providing and maintaining infrastructure for the safety and wellbeing of an ordered society.
God will always work through an authority structure, according to the fifth commandment so as to check the unrestrained behaviour of human nature. Much unnecessary and harmful effort has been put in by the Church to run the State, and much unnecessary effort has been put in by the State, to run the Church, when both must be seen as being 'run by God' for His purposes

Resistance to Authority - a self determined life wants to resist any form of outside influence or control. This self determined person sees authority as a threat, and the behaviour that follows may fall into one of the three following categories: Escaping authority, destroying authority, and usurping authority (or taking-over authority). The disorder that these attitudes of unrestraint creates leads to anger and violence and malevolence (Commandment Six). Disorders such as tyranny and fascism led to millions of deaths in the 20th century. There are just causes for resisting such authority (Acts 4 and 5 and current Hong Kong situation).

A key role of authority in all its forms is to bring about agreement and collaboration for godly responsibility and accountability to operate in our lives. Some other key roles are; to care for, protect, direct, and correct. The overall role of authority is always to serve, a privilege that has always been tragically abused in human society. And God always backs authentic authority Matthew 20:20

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Commandment Four Entering the rest

Is it possible that somebody could live a life with the kind of soul rest and wellbeing that could lift them above all fear and anxiety and produce feelings of good will to others?

Exodus 20:8 Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. (The Tithe of time)
Hebrews 4:4 For the Scripture mentions the seventh day saying: “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works”; and in another place: “They shall not enter My rest.” (Psalm 95:11 Moses generation)
My rest (God’s rest) – a relational rest of receiving love and favour, from God and from one another

The seventh Sabbath year (Shmita) of trusting God, with dire consequences of not obeying.
Leviticus 25:20-2 I And if you say, 'What shall we eat in the seventh year, since we shall not sow nor gather in our produce? Then I will command My blessing on you in the sixth year, and it will bring forth produce enough for three years. (Consequences - 2 Chronicles 36:20-21...Bondage in Babylon till the land had fulfilled its Sabbaths).

Another day – another time – another life
Hebrews 4:8-11 For from the time of Joshua if they had fulfilled God’s rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day (from; hemai – to sit, settle for a time, always defined more or less clearly by the context, ‘back in the day’). There is still therefore a special rest (sabbatismos) waiting to be fulfilled for the people of God. 10. For he who has entered that rest (katapausis – settled down) has himself also ceased from his works the same way as God did from His. Let us therefore make every effort to enter into that rest, so that we don’t fail by following their example of lack of faith and trust.

His rest, that we enter into as Christians, is sharing God’s life together in the finished work of Christ.
God wants us to enter His rest which he entered into when had finished the work of creation and could now enjoy his relationship to it. He now had a family of people made in his image, whom he loved, and who also had the potential for sin and evil, and who were plagued with fear. Yet he knew that his love and mercy could overcome all of these evils in his human family. His Son Jesus would come into history and show us his love through dying for us and rising again and then sending us his Spirit of life. Then we too could enter that rest and settle down to enjoy being bonded to him in love and good will.

Psalm 139:14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvellous, body and soul and how well I know it.
The oxytocin feedback loop

God even created our brain to produce a hormone called oxytocin in our hypothalamus that affects us emotionally to stir feelings of trust and bonding within us when we initiate acts of kindness and goodwill. It has been called the love hormone and generates its own feedback loop. It even has an antidepressant effect and moderates against fear and aggression. On a physical level it also moderates inflammation, improving wound healing. (Spiritual – worship, prayer and intercession)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Commandment Three - What's in a name?

Exodus 20:7 You shall not take the name of The Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not bold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.
Philippians 2:9… God has given him a name above every other name.

Using God's name to increase the significance of our own name and image (Commandment 2).
Matthew 7:22 Lord we prophesied in your name and did miracles…I never knew you…

Responsibility in the testimony of our lives as Christians who bear the name of Jesus Christ.
Romans 2:24 … “the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you,”… but he is a Jew who is one inwardly, of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.
Wearing the T shirt in your heart - We have the power to be the worst or the best testimony for the name of Jesus.

Generational curse from Commandment two is linked to idolatry
Exodus 20:5... I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the punishment for the sins of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation…
Deuteronomy 24:16 Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor shall children be put to death for their fathers; a person shall be put to death for his own sin.
Ezekiel 18:1-4 As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, you will no longer quote this proverb in Israel... The son will not share the guilt of the father, nor will the father share the guilt of the son. (written some 850 years later)

The New Testament
John 9:1 As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.
They could not grasp the incredible changes in store for them through faith in Jesus. (1Corinthians 8)
Rom 8:2 The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death. 
Gal 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us,
Jesus death on the cross, ushered in a new beginning for humanity, so we have been set free.
John 8:36 Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed
It's not that problems are not passed down from generation to generation. But we have the DNA of Jesus as our New Creation beings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Commandment two The mag makers

Exodus 20:4 `You shall not make for yourself any carved image, or any likeness (embodiment) of anything that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; You shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, The Lord your God am a jealous God.

Genesis 1:26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image.
God is serious about the image we are destined to become – The telieos. Only one person has achieved that. We are still on the adventure to inherit the destiny for which we were created – to become the teleios created by God before the foundation of the world. Abraham was told to move out from his place and begin the adventure that would bless all the families in the earth. Moses took Israel out of Egypt to bring them through a wilderness and bring them into the promised land – a natural picture of a spiritual reality of the fullness of God within us. Whatever you’re in that you needn’t be, God wants to take you out then through then into. There is always somewhere to go, a better place to be - and our faith in where we have been placed, by the Father, in Jesus is the first action to take, the first step to take. The commandments embody that journey

The inward destructive work of idolatry
Psalm 135:15-18. The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. 16. They have mouths, but they do not speak; Eyes they have, but they do not see; 17. They have ears but they do not hear; Nor is there any breath in their mouths. 18. Those who make them are like them; So is everyone who trusts in them.

‘For I, The Lord your God, am a jealous God’. This attribute of God's love is his remedy for our idolatry. Godly jealousy, unlike worldly jealousy, so desires the best for us, that it cannot tolerate that anything less be accepted by us. God commits to destroying the self made images in our lives, such as borrowed identities of others or ideologies. So image building is self rejection. The golden calf was a confused concept of what Israel thought to be God himself, not another god (1Corinthians 8:4).

What is our self image?
Genesis 1:26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image (selem – appearance John 14:9 Psalm 135), after our likeness (dama – manner - active).
Just as Commandment 10 forbids us to covet the things of another person, their possessions, privileges etc. God invites us to seek after living out of his life identity (and to live out HIS life) so we can reflect and display him as being partakers of his divine nature - God’s life as our own identity - no longer I that live. Paul saw that we were potential waiting to happen. We don’t so much find an identity but are found in an identity. When we understand that our lives are 'hid in Christ' and we are content to count all things as rubbish to be 'found in him' and not in some fruitless search for 'self discovery' that exhausts our soul we can be what we are and allow God to work in us to will and to do what is his heart’s desire for us We can live creatively like God, not destructively, but towards a purpose, creatively bringing order out of chaos.

 

 

 

 

 

Commandment One no other gods

Exodus 20:2-3 (RSV). I am The Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me. This commandment is about putting God first in our lives.

Whenever we respond obediently to this Commandment both our inner life and outer life become reordered and gain meaning as we enter into the unknown territory of faith and trust Scriptures in the New Testament that parallel the first Commandment in the Old Testament.

1 Corinthians 8:6 Yet for us there is only one God, The Father, of whom are all things, and we live for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we live through him. 7 However, not all possess this knowledge. Also; Romans 11:36 For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory forever. Amen.

The growth pattern of the pathway of the Ten Commandments takes us all the way around to Commandment number ten, and then leads us right onto Commandment number one again (covetousness/idolatry and a disordered culture). Release from Bondage - Exodus 3 :7. The one ‘I am’ speaks the seven ‘I wills’ We only really know freedom when we have known slavery (Our culture of bondage). This next Scripture contains the phrase 'I will' seven times. It is the pronouncement of the Mosaic covenant

Exodus 6 :5-9 I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant. Say therefore to the people of Israel, I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for a possession. I am the Lord.’” Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery. (seven times ‘You won’t’)

The commandments showed Israel the need for this change of heart and mind by revealing the sin and disorder in their lives in a very practical and real way. And this was not designed to condemn them, but rather to bring them 'into the light', where God's love and forgiveness was.

The effect of this first commandment therefore was to reveal to Israel their basic flaw of disobedience, their sin, namely, that they could not put God first in their lives. God knew that this was because of their bondage of heart, and therefore the promise of deliverance and freedom is tied to this commandment.

The new covenant is not ‘I will’ but ‘I have’ (Jeremiah 31:31)

Colossians1:13He has delivered us from the power of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of his beloved Son…T

he most effective means of setting a person free from spiritual captivity is that found in 2 Timothy 2:24-26. (Paul and Silas Acts 16).

Stronghold of praise

 

Job 1:20-21 “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” Let’s have a quick recap of what led to this moment from Job. To set the scene: Job was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. He had seven sons and three daughters, and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East. Read Job1:13-18. Out of this context – Job praised the Lord. Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head – expression of grief and mourning
Psalm 8:2 Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger.
Psm22:23 You who fear the Lord, praise him!...Where do we get this attitude and the intention to praise the Lord? ‘From you comes the theme of my praise’ (Psalm 22:25). The theme of our praise come from knowing our God. The true reality is…..there is always something to praise God for. There is never a time that God cannot be praised

Life may not always be kind to us…Story of Job shows us that. Loss in our life might not just be down to a bad choice or decision or as some call it ‘bad luck’, or of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It might well be the Devil. Satan wanted to put Job to the test. There will be times when we are tested because of Spiritual Warfare. I can’t begin to understand what it would be like to lose vast wealth to thieves. I can’t begin to understand what it would be like for what could seem like an ‘act of God’ to rob me of the most precious material things in my life and servants and still more wealth be lost. I can’t begin to understand what it would be like to lose 7 sons and 3 daughters. But I can understand what it’s like to experience loss of various kinds. And I do know that at some of the significant times of loss in my life the evil one has used it as an opportunity to try and turn me against God. That little whispering voice in my ear. Is God really your provider? Look how easy life is for that non-Christian…easier than yours. God’s not blessing you…you’ve got nothing compared to others. If God loves you….why is this happening to you and not to them. The best example is the temptation of Jesus. Matt 4:1-11. In simple terms-Jesus tempted re: God provision for his Daily bread – Practical Provision for daily living-God provision for Physical wellbeing – God’s provision for position/status/wealth in this life.
Psalm 137:1-6 Israel had hung up their instruments of worship and praise. What might God do through their praise?

Acts 16:25  At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. Imagine if by the Rivers of Babylon there were prayers and singing to God. What might have happened?!
Psalm 8:2 Through praise… A stronghold can be established against enemies. A stronghold is a place…That is fortified and that can be easily defended. A stronghold can be…A place where a group or activity or set of opinions is concentrated. For us to have a spiritual stronghold against our enemies we are to know God personally. We are to recognize the permanent character of our God. Know who He is and what He has done in our hearts and minds. And to praise Him.
A long time ago I discovered something very powerful about praise. I’m sure you all have but I’ll share this anyway. It’s very difficult for me to be praising God and to actively and willingly sin.
If I started to praise the Lord with my heart and mind….Temptation would more often than not- disperse – flee away….My mind and heart would go to a different place. They are no longer focused on the temptation but now focused on God. Jas_1:14 ‘But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.’… Sometimes if may be a direct attack of Satan as in the case of Job….Satan was allowed to touch his life. As in the case of Jesus…Satan was allowed to temp His humanity. In 2Cor12:7 Paul Called his Thorn in the Flesh ‘the messenger of Satan’

This is obviously a massive subject……But simply to say….Praise is a significant part of our spiritual warfare…. Psalm_22:3 (KJV) But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel. When we praise God we invite Him into our situation. When we praise our Lord….we adore Him and put him on the throne of our life. Job 1:22 In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.
God will never do wrong to us, and it’s a difficult thing to hold on to but the Lord will allow things in our life that will be true temptations. Why does He allow these things? Why do good people have bad things happen to them. Why do we have to struggle against the sin nature rising up in us? Why do we struggle with the world trying to mould us to conform? Why is the Devil allowed to attack us? I know this one thing. We have a choice…That when life goes wrong for us…..what are we going to do? Complain to God. Blame others. Give up on God….pack it in…Job could have done all that…but what did Job do? Praised God!

All our enemies want to charge God with wrongdoing. Well I won’t have it….Our God is a good God. Bad things started to happen in this world because of the lies of Satan, and continue to do so. But our God is allowing things to work out in His good time. So that as many people as possible will be saved.
There will be no puppets in heaven. Those end up in heaven, heaven on earth too, will be there because they want to be with God.
Until then….I want to encourage you…Are you in pain…..praise God…Are you struggling financially….praise God…Have you lost a loved one…..go to God in praise…Do people mock your faith…..praise God. I don’t say to do this flippantly…But go to God in praise to bring Him close to you in your suffering. Don’t let anything allow you to push God away. Whatever you face….Praise God for being with you all the way. Whatever the situation...Through the praise establish a stronghold against your enemies.

Because the reality is…
Naked you came from your mother’s womb, and naked you will depart. The Lord has given to you and the Lord will take away from you; So no matter what…..Praise the name of the Lord in all things!