Circuit Rider Letter
October 2011
by Pastor John DiGiamberardino

For ten weeks this fall we are looking in detail at the implication and application of the Ten Commandments for today. Everyone has been encouraged to be in a small group for these ten weeks to provide an opportunity for fellowship and spiritual growth. Also each week we have a New Testament verse of scripture to memorize that relates to each commandment.

The Ten Commandments break down into two sections. The first section is comprised of the first four commandments, known as the vertical commandments. They deal directly with our relationship with God. And the last six commandments, known as the horizontal commandments, deal with our relationships with each other.

Commandment #1 deals with the Object of Our Worship. In Exodus 20:2, God is speaking and God says, "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." God begins commandment #1 by declaring that He is the Lord their God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. God doesn’t attempt to prove to the Israelites that He is Almighty God. Instead He simply refers them back to the events in Egypt that they all experienced.

It is like God is saying…after what you saw me do in Egypt, after witnessing the ten miraculous plagues, after seeing what I did at the Red Sea, after providing manna, quail and water for you in the wilderness, there should be no need for me to prove to you, who I am. God says, "I Am", "I am the Lord…I am God."

And because I am God, here is my number one command for you. "You shall have no other gods before me."  Exodus 20:3

God is demanding that He be Israel’s exclusive God. He is demanding that He be the exclusive object of Israel’s love, devotion and affection. He is demanding that He be the one-and-only focus of Israel’s loyalty.

This commandment is personal. "My commandment is that you as an individual person shall have no other God, in your individual life, except for me. That I (Am) be the object of your worship." It is all about our relationship with God. What lay at the heart of this relationship is an attitude of "absolute surrender" to the will of God. Every part of our life. We have to dethrone ourselves and enthrone God. We have to let God be first in every area of our lives. God is saying "I Am" and then asking us to respond to his question, "Am I?" Is God Lord of our lives?

When we understand what God has done for us through Jesus Christ it is a logical response to surrender ourlives completely to God’s will. God provided a way for us to be forgiven of our sin, not just that our sin be covered up but that we can be forgiven. The Holy Spirit takes up residency in our lives and gives us the strength to do all things through Christ who gives us the strength.

A true disciple has dethroned himself or herself. A true disciple of Jesus has enthroned God on the throne of their lives. Submission and obedience, for a disciple of Jesus is not something you are forced into, but a logical reasonable response to all that God has done for you. And as a result God becomes the object of our worship above all other things.

Who is sitting on the throne of your life? You or God? Is it your will or God’s will … that will be done? Is God the only object of your worship?

See You In Worship, 

Pastor John