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[0:00] Exodus chapter 20, we'll read the first 21 verses. And God spoke all these words. I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

[0:13] You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.

[0:25] You shall not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

[0:45] You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.

[0:56] Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates.

[1:16] For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

[1:30] Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God has given you. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery.

[1:42] You shall not steal. You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

[1:59] When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain and smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance and said to Moses, speak to us yourself and we will listen, but do not have God speak to us or we will die.

[2:18] Moses said to the people, do not be afraid. God has come to test you so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning. The people remained at a distance while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.

[2:40] We've taken five weeks to study the Ten Commandments as a sum, as a whole, the law of God, some introductory studies on God's commandments.

[2:55] And now today we're diving in to the first one, lest our front porch be bigger than the house that we're building or our introduction be bigger than the book that follows.

[3:06] We must at some point dive in. But I trust that what we've seen for those five lessons will help us now as we come to each one of the Ten Commandments individually.

[3:17] So the children of God are assembled around the base of Mount Sinai. They themselves are shaking as that mountain smokes and trembles.

[3:30] And then we're told God spoke all these words. I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.

[3:43] It was a voice that they heard. They saw no one. And so the unseen speaker identifies himself to them as the Lord your God.

[3:59] All caps, L-O-R-D, is the covenant name of the Lord. Lord. We're not sure how it was pronounced. Yahweh, perhaps.

[4:11] But that's his name, just as you have a name. God has a name. And he identifies himself as the Lord. And here he is, the great I am, the eternally existing one, the one who depends on no one else, nothing outside of himself to exist.

[4:28] And he is claiming to be God. God spoke all these words. I'm the Lord your God.

[4:40] I'm that God who in the beginning created the heavens and the earth. That's me. I'm the one talking to you now. And I'm your God.

[4:52] Your God especially because I have entered into a covenant with you in which I will be your God and you will be my people. A unique relationship that God had with Israel throughout the old covenant.

[5:07] Now, as their God then, he says, you shall have no other gods before me. The first thing I want you to notice about this command of God is its exclusive demand.

[5:23] Its exclusive demand. We live in a day when the greatest virtue being preached is inclusiveness. And woe be anyone who excludes anyone or anything.

[5:34] Indeed, the greatest evil of the day is exclusiveness. But here's our countercultural God, excluding all others but himself.

[5:46] I'm the only God you are to have. Notice his words, how he puts it. You shall have no other gods before me. Now, we completely miss the meaning of this first command if we think that all God requires is to be kept first in the pantheon of gods.

[6:05] You can have as many gods as you want just as long as none come before me. In your devotion, your worship, so you can worship Baal, you can worship Dagon, Allah, the Hindu gods, Mother Earth, any other gods, just as long as I am first.

[6:26] No other gods before me. Keep me first and I'm good with that. I say, if that's what we think these words mean, we've missed the meaning of this first commandment altogether.

[6:39] And that's why I like the helpful footnote that's found in the ESV and the NIV and I don't know how many other translations that show us what is the correct meaning of this word in this context.

[6:50] And the footnote reads that you shall have no other gods besides me. That's it. That's the meaning of the word before me in this place.

[7:01] It's not speaking here of priority, of one before another, but to presence. So I might say to you this morning, here you are all gathered before me.

[7:20] You're here before me. Now, by that, I don't mean that you got here before me this morning. That's not what I mean, is it? I don't mean that you are superior than me. You are before me in importance.

[7:31] What do I mean? You are that. But what do I mean by you are here gathered before me? I mean, you're here in my presence. And that's the idea.

[7:42] That's what God is saying here as he speaks this first commandment. God's saying you shall have no other gods before me in my presence.

[7:53] And since God's presence fills the universe, that simply means that you shall have no other gods besides me. No other gods at all, period.

[8:05] Now, that's the whole point of the first commandment. If we miss that, we miss the whole kernel of it. He's not saying he simply wants to be first among many gods, but that he must be your only God.

[8:19] Your only God. He's making an exclusive claim then on your heart and on your life. He's excluding all rivals. He's leaving no room for competitors.

[8:31] He'll not share his glory with another or give his praise to idols. You shall have no other gods besides me. Wives, it's like your husband saying to you, you shall have no other husbands besides me.

[8:50] You see, the very relationship is such that it excludes all others. There can only be one husband. There can only be one master.

[9:01] No man can serve two. He'll either love the one or hate the other. So you must have one only. And God, you remember, is married to his people. And the relationship between us and the living God is such that there's no room for any other gods.

[9:20] Indeed, that's what he says later in Exodus chapter 34 and verse 14. Do not worship any other God for the Lord, whose name is jealous, is a jealous God.

[9:35] He makes this exclusive demand to be your only God. So that's the first point. The second point, consider the reality lying behind this first commandment.

[9:47] The reality, the reality, the great reality lying behind this first commandment. It's the fact that the Lord your God is the only God there is.

[9:58] That's the great reality. Moses knew it. He says in Deuteronomy 436, The Lord is God and besides him there is no other. David knew it.

[10:11] Psalm 8610, You are great and you do marvelous deeds. You alone are God. King Solomon, at the dedication of the temple, prayed for the Lord to uphold the cause of his people Israel according to each day's need so that all the peoples of earth may know that the Lord is God and that there is no other.

[10:36] Do you know that the Lord is intent on showing to all the peoples of the world that he is God and that there is no other? And he will get the job done for he will have every knee to bow and every tongue to proclaim that Jesus Christ is Yahweh, is God to the glory of God the Father.

[11:01] Yes. Bless your people so that all the ends of the earth, all the peoples of the world might know that you are God and there is none other.

[11:16] The Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 8, 4 says, We know that there is no God but one. Now this certainly was not what the ancient world believed.

[11:29] All the nations had their gods. They had their territorial deities. So the Philistines worshipped Dagon. The Moabites had Chemosh.

[11:41] The Canaanites had many gods. We are familiar with Baal and Molech and others. There were at least 52 Egyptian gods. There were over 100 Mesopotamian gods worshipped by Assyria and Babylon.

[11:55] These were the nations gathered around Israel. They believed in many gods. And these gods were each thought to rule over some region of the planet.

[12:08] Some aspect of nature. Some event in human life. So they had the God of the mountains. And then they had a God of the plains. They had a God of the sea.

[12:18] The God of the rivers. The God of the sun. The God of the sun. The God of the moon. The God of the stars. The God of rain. Of thunder.

[12:29] Of fertility. A God for war. On and on it went. And all these gods claiming control of their specific turf. And it's into that scene.

[12:43] That the Lord God of Israel comes. And claims that there are no other gods but him. That in fact he rules over all.

[12:55] Not just this turf. Not just over Israel. This nation. That he rules over all. All by himself. And so that leaves no room for any other gods.

[13:07] It's an exclusive claim that he makes for himself. Listen to him. Deuteronomy 32, 39. See now. That I. Even I am he. And there's no God.

[13:18] Besides me. That's his boast. And he boasts to the nations. And he boasts to his people. Isaiah is so full of this theme. Because Israel was ever turning away from him.

[13:30] To go after these other gods. So called. And so Isaiah 44, 6. This is what the Lord says. This is what Yahweh says. Israel's king and redeemer.

[13:42] The Lord almighty. I am the first. And I am the last. Apart from me there is no God. 44, 8. You are my witnesses.

[13:53] Is there any God besides me? No. There is no other rock. I know not one. And if the almighty. All knowing God knows not one.

[14:04] There is not one. 45, 5 and 6. He says. Speaking of Cyrus. Speaking to Cyrus. The king of Persia. I am the Lord. There is no other.

[14:15] Apart from me there is no God. Cyrus had his gods. And God the Lord. Says. There are none other gods. Cyrus. And I will strengthen you. And though you have not acknowledged me.

[14:27] I will strengthen you. So that from the rising of the sun. To the place of its setting. Men may know there is none besides me. I am the Lord. And there is no other.

[14:40] And we could multiply those texts. But we get the sense. That our God refuses to be put. In the pantheon of gods.

[14:52] To be one among many. Deity. He claims. Is a category of one. I have it all to myself. There is none. Besides me. Well then.

[15:05] What about all these other. Gods. So called. Well. The Bible's answers. There are really no gods at all. Though they go by that name.

[15:15] And though indeed. The scriptures will refer to these other gods. And it does so. Because that is how men view them. As if there are such things. But in reality.

[15:28] They really are no gods at all. They only exist one place. And that is in the imaginations. Of men's minds. They are the creation. Of men's thoughts. They think.

[15:39] There is this God. Dagon. And he's like this. But he has no reality. In the world. In heaven. Or earth. They're worthless nothings.

[15:52] These are what. This is what the Bible calls them. Worthless nothings. They're lies. They're deceptions. They're not gods. But only wood and stone. Fashioned by men's hands. Verse Kings 19.

[16:03] And that's why God is called. The true and living God. Because there's all these.

[16:13] False gods. Gods that are dead. And are nothings. And so our God. Is referred to as the true. The real God.

[16:24] The living God. The God who is. Indeed. The Lord Jesus. refers to him. As the only. True God.

[16:36] John 17. 3. So that's the reality. That you and I live in. Every day of our lives. And will. Through all of eternity. We live.

[16:47] In a universe. In which there is only one God. There's only one supreme being. There's none other like him. There's none other over him. There's none other beside him.

[16:58] He. He created everything. That exists. And he rules over everything. That exists. And he answers to no one. But himself. He alone. Is God.

[17:08] God. All by himself. And the first thing. That this only God. Says to us. In the ten commandments. Is. You shall have no other gods. Besides me. Now do you see.

[17:19] How this first command. Is rooted. In this great reality. That we've just. Been talking about. God. There is. No other God. Besides me. Therefore.

[17:30] Don't you have. Any other gods. Besides me. Acknowledge. This great reality. That I'm the only God.

[17:41] And then align. Your heart. And your life. With this reality. By having none others. Can you see. Something. Of God's goodness.

[17:51] That just oozes. Out of this first commandment. God's commands. Are not only. Right. And holy. Just.

[18:02] They're good. And God is good. To give us this commandment. For if he is. The only God. There is. Is it not a kindness. That he commands us. To have no other gods. Than him. In other words.

[18:13] He's saying. Don't build your life. Upon a. Upon a lie. Of other gods. Build your life. On the truth. Of the living. And the true. God. He would. Spare us.

[18:23] From a wasted life. Live for. Imaginary things. He would. Spare us. From trusting. In things. That are not. God's. And that cannot. Help us. And that will.

[18:33] Leave us. Damned in the end. For. Trusting in them. What would be. Our everlasting. Shame. To find. At the end. Of our lives.

[18:44] When it's too late. That we love. The wrong God. We feared. The wrong God. We served. We obeyed. The wrong God. He is no God. We trusted.

[18:56] Things that cannot. Save us. From the wrath. Of the real God. The one real God. Who is now. To judge us. And to assign us. Our deserved place. Forever in hell. You see something.

[19:08] Of the kindness. Of God. In that. The one true God. Loves us. And would spare us. From such everlasting. Shame and torment. So he says. Don't have any other gods. Besides me. And people of God.

[19:19] We referred to it. It was referred to earlier. What's our privilege. And blessing. To know that when we pray. To our God. We are. Not wasting our breath. We're not merely.

[19:30] Wearing ourselves. Out. Just talking to ourselves. Or into the thin air. When we call upon our God. We don't call on a God. That doesn't exist. A God who cannot hear.

[19:41] A God who cannot help. A God who cannot save. But we talk to the living God. The only. The real God. And he hears.

[19:52] And he's attentive to our prayer. And he answers our prayers. And his power can move mountains. And his justice and grace can save us. And his love delights to give good gifts.

[20:04] To those who seek him. Can you see something of the good commandment. That this first commandment is. With this command.

[20:15] He would direct us to the good life. The abundant life. Indeed to eternal life. For the Lord Jesus himself said. This is eternal life.

[20:26] To know you. The living. The one true God. And Jesus Christ. Whom you have sent. This is eternal life. It begins here and now.

[20:36] In this world. What is it? It's knowing the one true God. And Jesus Christ. Whom he has sent. So in the first command. The only God that exists. Demands that we have none other gods.

[20:48] Notice thirdly. It's positive implication. It's positive implication. In this ten point summary. Of God's moral law. Some things are stated.

[20:58] And other things are implied. In each command. Of the ten commandments. Eight of them are stated. In negative form.

[21:11] You shall not. Two of them. Are stated. In the positive. You shall. Now. But the way the commands are dealt with in the Bible.

[21:21] Reveals an important principle. That we. We not. Met. We dare not miss. And this. That's just this. That when a duty is commanded. In the positive form. The contrary sin.

[21:33] Is. By implication. Forbidden. And where sin. Is explicitly forbidden. In the negative form. You shall not. But. The contrary duty.

[21:45] Is. Commanded. By implication. And that's why. For each of the ten commandments. In the Westminster Catechism. There are. Listed. After each commandment.

[21:56] Both. The positive duties. Required. In the first commandment. For instance. And the sins. Forbidden. In the first commandment. Now this form.

[22:07] This commandment. Comes. Forbidding sin. Forbidding us. From having. Other gods. But there's a positive. Inference. In the commandment. Let me.

[22:17] Just illustrate that. With the fifth commandment. Honor your father. And your mother. It's in the positive form. It's not telling us. Not to. Not do something.

[22:29] You shall not. Do something. It comes in the positive. You shall. Do something. You shall honor your father. And your mother. So. We. Have the duty of. Respecting.

[22:39] Mom and dad. We have the duty of. Honoring them. Holding them high. In our esteem. Because of who they are. And that God has put them over us. But that also.

[22:52] Implies. Certain things. That we're not to do. So we don't. Lip off. To mom and dad. We don't curse mom and dad. We don't hit mom and dad. We don't argue with mom and dad.

[23:04] Those are all. Implications. Of the fifth commandment. It comes stated in the positive. But it implies the negative. And the opposite is true. Though the first commandment.

[23:14] Comes forbidding other gods. It implies something positive. And sometimes we might just. Read right over it. And forget that something positive.

[23:25] Is being required of us here. And it is namely. To have this God. As our God. You shall have.

[23:37] No other gods. Besides me. Means we must have him. As our God. And him alone. But there's that positive. We must own him. As our God.

[23:47] We must acknowledge him. As God. We must take him. And claim him. And glorify him. As God. God. It means that we're obligated.

[24:00] By the first commandment. To have this God. As our own God. To own him as God. To treat him as God. To give to him. All that God. Is owed.

[24:11] All that God. Is due. So. What do we owe God? What does God do? Well. There's a lot of things. We're obligated to know.

[24:25] And to acknowledge. Him as God. To acknowledge him. According to all. That he has revealed to us. About himself.

[24:35] In nature. In the Bible. And in his son. Jesus Christ. The clearest revelation. Of himself. We're to acknowledge him. This is true of you. We're to ascribe to him.

[24:46] All. That. Is ascribed. That God is. And in the waters of baptism. We are to confess him. Jesus Christ.

[24:57] As our God. He is our God. And Savior. That's what we're to know. To acknowledge. To confess him. As our God. We are then to praise and worship him.

[25:09] As God. And all that that includes. To bring him. Him alone. Your worship. Your tithes. Your offerings. Your sacrifices. Of sung praise. Listen to Psalm 96.

[25:23] What do we owe God? Worship the Lord. In the splendor of his holiness. Tremble before him. All the earth. Ascribe to the Lord. The glory.

[25:34] Do his name. Bring an offering. And come into his courts. Deuteronomy 6. Verse 13. Worship the Lord. Your God. And serve him only. Yes. God deserves worship.

[25:46] That means we come. And we ascribe. Worth to him. We ascribe. What he is. His glory. His holiness. His attributes. And to worship him alone.

[25:57] Means we pray to him alone. That's what he's deserving of. To be the only one. We pray to. To. So when we. Need something. We come to him.

[26:08] And we. We ask. We don't go to Mary. We don't go to the saints. We don't go to angels. We. We. We come to him. He alone deserves worship.

[26:18] And therefore we pray to him alone. What else does God. Deserve. As God. Well. He deserves our thanks. For all things.

[26:30] In everything. He thanks. For this is the will of God. In Christ. Jesus. Concerning you. So we thank him. We thank him. For our life.

[26:40] This morning. For our freedom. For our food. Our friends. Our family. Our Bibles. We thank him. Why? Because he's God. And he deserves. Thanks.

[26:52] For everything we have. So enter into his gates. With thanksgiving. And into his courts. With praise. Be thankful unto him. And praise his name. What do you owe God?

[27:03] God. As God. What does it mean to have God. As your God? Well it means that you fear. Him. You fear God. You hold him in the highest esteem.

[27:15] There's no one else up there with him. In your esteem. He's there. Held high. Above all others. You fear this God. You stand in awe.

[27:25] In reverence. Before him. Jeremiah 10. 6 and 7. No one is like you. Oh Lord. You're great. Your name is mighty in power. Who should not revere you?

[27:37] Oh king of the nations. This is your due. So if you. If you have this God. God is your God. Then you bring him his due. And you revere him. Even as Pastor Jason was talking about.

[27:49] We don't treat him. Or his things. Flippantly. We treat him with reverence. And awe. That's what we owe God. He's not one of us. He's God.

[28:01] And. What else do we owe him? Well we owe him love. Don't we? Indeed Jesus would. Would boil down. All the commandments. To the greatest commandment.

[28:12] You shall love the Lord your God. With all your heart. And all your soul. And all your mind. And all your strength. This is the first and greatest commandment. The second is like it. You shall love your neighbors yourself.

[28:23] We owe him love. Why? Just because who he is. He's God. What else do we owe him? We owe him. To enjoy him.

[28:36] To rejoice in him. To delight in him. So Paul can say rejoice. In the Lord. Always. Again I say. Rejoice. He's a God to be delighted in.

[28:49] Indeed the shorter catechism would say. That's the chief end of man. To glorify God. And to enjoy him. Forever. And so. He deserves our joy. Our delight. Our rejoicing in him.

[29:01] We're to believe. All that he says. So when he tells us. I created the heavens and the earth. I and no one was helping me. We. We believe him.

[29:11] Though no one else does. If he says he's holy. Righteous and good and merciful. We believe him. If he says there's a heaven. And there's a hell. We believe him. If he says he's the savior.

[29:23] As well as a judge. We believe him. We believe his word. Because he's God. If he says Jesus is the only way. To heaven. We believe him. What do we owe to God?

[29:37] We owe him our trust. Our dependence. Our hope. A God is someone you put your reliance on.

[29:48] A God is someone you count on. A God is someone you look to. And you trust. And so kids. When. When you are afraid. What do you do? You know what David did?

[30:01] He trusted. In his God. He said. When I am afraid. I trust in you. In God. Whose word I pray. That's what you do with a God.

[30:13] You trust in him. When you are in trouble. When you sense your weakness. Your inadequacy. For life. Whatever you're facing. You trust in God. You run to him. He's the first one you go to.

[30:23] You say. This is my helper. You. Trust in him. That's what God deserves. And to have him as God. Means you trust him. It means you serve and obey him.

[30:35] In whatever he says. Just because he's God. When he says. Be holy. Because I am holy. We obey him.

[30:47] When he gives us ten commandments. We obey him. Because he's. He's the only God that is. And we're to have him. As our God. And then we're to glorify him.

[30:58] Aren't we? We're to live for his glory. Not our own. In fact. Whether we eat. Or drink.

[31:11] Or whatever we do. We're to do it all. For the glory of God. It gets down to. Such minute things. All for the glory of God.

[31:22] I want to see God. Lifted up. And honored. And praised. Why? Because he's God. And that's what's due him. And I want to give that to him. And so we gladly give ourselves.

[31:34] To this God. If we have him. To be. Our God. These are some of the duties. Required. In having. And owning him. As your God.

[31:45] And so that's the. The great positive. Implication. If you're to have no other gods. The implication. You are to have him. As your God. And him alone. And then fourthly.

[31:57] The priority position. Of this commandment. We're not going to get to the fifth point. This morning. So. Don't worry about that. But we're on the fourth.

[32:08] Point from the. This first commandment. Notice it's priority position. There's a reason. It's first. Among the ten. It sets forth. Our. Most fundamental duty.

[32:20] As mankind. To have this God. Alone. As our God. Nothing's more basic. Nothing's more. Important. Nothing's more rewarding.

[32:30] Don't miss this. And so. It heads the list. This is the first thing. This is the priority thing. It's the most important thing about you. Not.

[32:42] Who your parents are. Not. How much money you make. How good looking you are. How healthy you are. How popular you are.

[32:53] How powerful you are. But who's your God. Who's your God. That's the most important thing about you this morning. Who do you own.

[33:05] And acknowledge. As your God. And not just on paper. But in reality. Who are you serving. Who are you living for. Who's the boss.

[33:15] Who's the master. Who's the Lord. Who carries the line item veto in your life. Whose word trumps every other consideration in life.

[33:26] Who's on the throne in your heart. Who's in the driver's seat. Who's calling the shots. Who has your ultimate loyalty. Your supreme love. And the devotion.

[33:37] And trust. And reverence of your heart. Have you settled that matter. Who is your God. That's first. Important stuff.

[33:48] For us. And that's why we're dealing with. It. In this first commandment. Commandment. We're to give. To God alone. That unique place.

[33:59] In our hearts. As God. And we're to give him. All that is rightfully his. Remember what Jesus said. Give to Caesar. What is Caesar's. And give to God.

[34:10] What is God's. Implicit trust. Implicit obedience. Supreme love. Exclusive worship. So this commandment is first. You see. Because it's first in importance.

[34:22] But it's also first. Because it gathers up. All the other commandments. In his arms. And carries them with it. If. If we have this God.

[34:33] As our God alone. Then we'll keep. All the other nine commandments. That he gives us. Won't we? If he's God. And what he says. Goes with us. Well then. The next.

[34:44] Commandments. Will fall in line. We will not. Misrepresent this God. With idols. Of our own making. We will not. Misuse. His name.

[34:54] Or his day. No. If he's our God. And we're owning him. As God. We will. Honor the authority structures. That he has set up. In family.

[35:05] In society. Will. Honor his image. That he has put in man. And highly value human life. Rather than taking. That.

[35:17] That. Into our own hands. And taking. A life. Will. Will be faithful. To our marriage vows. Since that represents. Christ. And his church. Will not steal. As if we cannot trust God.

[35:27] To provide what we need. Will not misrepresent. The God of truth. By telling lies. And will not covet. What is not ours. But be content. With what he deems. Best for us to have.

[35:37] For after all. He is God. And those choices. Are his. To make. You see. The first commandment. Carries the other nine.

[35:48] In its arm. Its priority. Position. In the list. Now next week. Lord willing. We'll look. At all the ways. That this command.

[35:59] Is violated. Now I shouldn't say that. We'll look at some of the ways. Many of the ways. We won't have time. To look at all of them. Only God could. Could do that for us.

[36:10] But we'll look at many of the ways. This command is violated. We've seen this morning. Something of. Of what we owe to God. Since he says. He's alone to be our God.

[36:21] Next week. We'll see. How this command. Is broken. And I think we. We may be a bit surprised. You know. Just to. To. To take the. The least.

[36:33] Meaning on this word. Or this first command. We might think. Well as long as I don't have any other. Gods of other religions. I'm not bowing down to.

[36:44] The Hindu gods. To the gods of other religions. Well then I'm good with the first commandment. And we'll. We'll see. There are many other ways. To break this command.

[36:55] And to have other gods. Besides him. But for now. Let me ask you. Where are you. With this first commandment. Where are you with the only God.

[37:07] That exists. Is he yours. Is he yours. Now in one sense. Yes. He is. He is. Your God. Every one of you. He made you.

[37:18] He's your maker. He will be your judge. Even if you don't acknowledge him. Even as Cyrus. Who didn't acknowledge him. He was still. Cyrus is God. Wasn't his maker. Even if you don't submit to him.

[37:30] He's your maker. Your law giver. Your sovereign. Who rules over you. And will judge you. He's the God. Who daily feeds you. He's the God. Who gives you life and breath. And everything else.

[37:42] The God. Who sees everything you do. And everything you think. The God. You daily sin against. Yes. The God you ignore. And refuse to serve.

[37:52] And to love. And trust. And obey. And worship. And live for his glory. Even the God you. Secretly wish. Did not exist. So.

[38:03] You're not acknowledging him. As God. Does not change the fact. That he still is the only God. He's the real God. He's not a figment of our imagination.

[38:13] If we think he's. If we say. And acknowledge he's God. Then he exists. No. He exists outside of us. And so. In one sense. You all.

[38:25] Have this God. As your God. But there's another way. A saving way. That we are to have this God.

[38:36] As our God. It is to willingly. Come. And to claim him. As our God. It is to come. Realizing that we have sinned. Against this holy God.

[38:47] And that our sin. Has come between us. And him. And separated us from him. And so. We have. Lost his favor. We are under his wrath.

[38:58] And if we continue here. We will perish. Forever. In hell. Under the wrath of God. And this God. Has. Provided.

[39:08] One way of salvation. In his son. Jesus Christ. In the fullness of time. He. Sent. Jesus Christ. This is the same God. Who in the beginning.

[39:18] Created the heavens and the earth. He. In the fullness of time. Sent his son. Jesus Christ. Who is himself God. Who himself. Created all things that exist.

[39:29] And without him. Not anything exists. That is. That was made. And he came. As. The eternal word. Made flesh. And he kept every one of these commands.

[39:39] And then he died on the cross. As a sacrifice. For those of us. Who. Who break these commands. That whoever believes in him. Should not perish. But have everlasting life.

[39:53] Who said. I am the way. One way. I am the truth. And the real. I am. The life. Eternal life.

[40:04] And no one. Comes to the father. But through me. And we come to him. And we own our sin. And we. We throw ourselves upon him. We trust in him. We take him at his word.

[40:15] And. And he becomes our God. And his father. Becomes our God. The God and father. Of our Lord Jesus Christ. Becomes our God. In special. Relationship with us.

[40:26] Never to be separated from us. In time and eternity. So yes. In one sense. All men. Have this God. As their God.

[40:38] But it is. If it is not. Through faith. In Jesus Christ. He will say to them. In that day. I never knew you. Depart from me.

[40:49] You worker. Of iniquity. But if. We have come. Through Jesus Christ. To know this God. Then he will say. To us. In that day. Come.

[40:59] You who are blessed. By my. Father. Inherit the kingdom. Inherit the kingdom. Inherit the kingdom. Inherit the kingdom. Prepared for you. Since the foundation. Of the world. Oh you have this. Opportunity. Even now.

[41:10] While it is still. A day of grace. To own this God. As yours. To come through. Jesus Christ. To this God. He is the only. Mediator. Between God and man. You must come.

[41:20] Through him. You must trust. In what he has done. For sinners. Taking the punishment. That sinners deserve. Trusting in him. When you come to God. And. Own him as your own.

[41:32] That's the gospel. It's available to you. This morning. And that's what eternal life. Is all about. As Jesus. Prays to his father.

[41:44] On the night of his betrayal. He says. This is eternal life. Father. To know you. The one through God. And Jesus Christ. Whom you sent.

[41:55] To know him. To acknowledge him. To have him. As your God. That's eternal life. And it starts now.

[42:07] And until you know him. Through Jesus Christ. You haven't really lived. Is what he said. You don't. Really know. What it is to live. You were made for this.

[42:18] To know God. But you've turned. And abandoned God. And gone your own way. And it's only. In coming back to God. Through Jesus Christ.

[42:28] Faith in him. That you will enjoy. Eternal life. Which is knowing. Having a relationship. With him. As your father in heaven. Forgiven.

[42:41] Made right with him. You see. Eternal life. Starts here and now. In this life. And never ends. For all eternity. Until you know God.

[42:52] You've not truly lived. But to know him. Is to love him. To know him. Is to enjoy him. To know him. Is to worship him. Is to praise.

[43:02] And thank him. Is to love. And trust. And obey him. And to live for his glory. Take him as your own.

[43:15] God. We do bow. Our hearts. It's even fitting. For us to bow our knees. As every knee will bow. And every tongue will confess.

[43:27] You're God. Father. Son. And Holy Spirit. You're the God. We. Who. Who made us. And from whom. We've received life. And every good thing.

[43:37] And you're the God. We rebelled against. And went our own way. You're the God. Who in. The fullness of time. Sent your son. To be our savior. The savior of all.

[43:48] Who trust in him. And we thank you. That your promises. Are. Are true. And that we found them such. We. We do confess.

[43:59] Our many sins. Of not treating you as God. For the ways. We have other gods. In our lives. Wash and cleanse us. By that precious blood. Of Jesus. And by your Holy Spirit.

[44:11] Work in us. That we might. Be careful. To keep your commands. And be careful. To have you alone. As our God. And bring others. Who. Have rejected you.

[44:21] And have said. I want to be my own God. Bring them this day. To repent. And to. Receive you. Through Jesus Christ. As God. And savior. Of their life.

[44:33]  We ask it. For your eternal praise. And we ask it. In Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Amen.