“You shall have no other gods before Me.” Exodus 20:3

Introduction:

(Gen. 1:1-3) In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.  And the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.  Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.

(Gen. 2:7-8) Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being.  And the Lord God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed.

(Gen. 2:18,21,22) Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for man to be alone…  21 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh at that place.  22 And the Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man.

From the section where I just read, the words “LORD GOD” are used many times.  The LORD GOD formed, the LORD GOD planted, the LORD GOD said, the LORD GOD caused, the LORD GOD fashioned, the LORD GOD took, the LORD GOD made, the LORD GOD commanded the man saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you shall surely die” (Gen. 2:16,17).

The LORD GOD, Jehovah our God is God.  He is the one who has created all things.  He put everything in its place.  He has given all things purpose, from the stars in the heaven to the birds in the air.  From the waters that move on the earth, to the blood that flows in your veins.
It is Jehovah your God who has given you life and sustains you, who gives you food, who sends the wind, the rain, and the sun.  The earth, even all the universe and all that is in it, was made by Him for His pleasure.

Therefore, Jehovah is worthy of honor, of praise, of devotion, and of adoration.  No one and nothing else is worthy of being worshipped, adored, or trusted as God.

Jehovah our God is God

Because He is holy, awesome, mighty, pure, and sovereign, He is worthy of worship.  Because He is the creator, the sustainer, the redeemer, He is worthy of worship.

Simply, because of who He is; He is worthy of worship.

That is why it is recorded in Exodus 20:3, “You shall have no other gods before Me.”

For there are no other Gods and He alone is the only Sovereign, the only Lord, the only God.

It is to Him alone that you are to give adoration, devotion, your trust, and your worship.

Exodus 20:3
“You shall have no other gods before Me.”

• Are you a polytheist?
  • What is a polytheist?  It is someone who believes in more than one god.
• Do you behave like a polytheist?   Do you have little idols in your life that control you?
• Who do you trust?
• What do you trust?
• Where is your hope?

To have a god before Jehovah means to give worship, adoration, devotion, trust, or hope to something or someone other than the true God, therefore, according to Exodus 20:3 . . .

1. Avoid – what endangers true worship (That which is obviously pagan)
   1. The actual worship of another God (False Religion)
      1. Cults
         1. Mormons, expound on their doctrine
         2. J.W.’s, expound on their doctrine
         3. New Age Movement
            1. individual godhood
               1. man’s relation to God,
               2. man’s relation to man
               3. man’s relation to nature
            2. evolutionary godhood, reincarnation
      2. Giving the reverent titles of Lord, God, Creator, Sovereign, Savior, to anyone or anything other than the true God.
      3. Prayer to anyone other than God
         1. i.e., to the saints or Mary as is done in the catholic Churches.
   2. Superstitious rites
      1. Sorcery
         1. If I pray this or do that I can get what I want — Positive confession.
      2. Astrology
         1. Looking to the stars for guidance.
      3. Tarot Cards
         1. Seeking guidance from random chance.
2. Acknowledge – Him as the only true God
   1. There is only one God.  “You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he.  Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me” (Isaiah 43:10).
   2. God as a Trinity: Father, Son, Holy Spirit.
   3. Knowing God is only possible through Jesus Christ.
      1. Yesterday’s conversation with Mormons.  They said they had a testimony, etc.  The testimony comes from the Holy Spirit, sent by the Father, who is revealed by the Son.
         1. Matthew 11:27 “All things have been committed to me by my Father.  No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
   4. Knowing God means knowing what He has done.
      1. He has created all that exists.
      2. He has redeemed all His people.
         1. The CROSS
   5. You must…
      1. Trust in Him alone.
         1. To trust God is to trust His love.
      2. Look to Him alone
         1. patiently, humbly, joyfully.
      3. Love Him alone
         1. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind…” Matt. 22:37
      4. Through Jesus alone.
      5. Without Jesus, there is no true worship.
3. Abandon – Anything that hinders your true worship of God
   1. Religiosity
      1. Going to church for the sake of going to church.
      2. Trusting in your denomination rather than Christ.
      3. Trusting in doctrine instead of Christ.
   2. the reverent trust in anything other than God
      1. cars, money, job security, self, etc.
   3. Pride — to exalt yourself.
   4. Stubbornness — to keep yourself right.
   5. Harboring resentment — to justify yourself.
   6. Quenching the Spirit of God.
   7. How do you overcome those things?
      1. Through Jesus!!!
      2. Prayer !!!
      3. Listen to the call of the Spirit
         1. Become sensitive to the things of God.

Conclusion

Therefore, you are to avoid trusting in another god or what may take the place of God in your life: possession, attitude, etc.;

You are to acknowledge Him as the only true God and Sovereign–through Jesus Christ your Lord.  Finally, you are to abandon anything that gets in the way of your relationship and true worship of God.