Brethren in Christ Jesus, I think it is interesting to note that three
different times in the course of history God took the time to write
out His thoughts by hand. What he had to say was so important that
he gave hand-written notes so we wouldn’t miss the intent of His message.
I want us to look at those three places in time today.
What are you going to do with God’s three handwritten notes? Are you going to treat them with great value and respect or are you going to handle them foolishly?
There’s eternal treasure at stake here today. I hope you realize the
great opportunity before you.
1. THE FIRST FINGER OF GOD WROTE THE LAW .
Exodus 20:1-21; Deuteronomy 9:10 (READ)
When Adam and Eve lived in innocence in the Garden of Eden there
was no knowledge of good or evil because evil did not exist in their
hearts or minds. However, when they fell prey to Satan’s deception and
ate from the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, sin entered their
world and they were suddenly confronted with choices they never needed
to know. Innocence was lost. That’s one of the by-products of sin
– it’s steals your innocence. At this point in time God wanted to make
the boundaries of sin very clear to His chosen people so
He sent Moses up Mt. Sinai and He etched in stone with His own finger the “10 Commandments.”
He wrote the LAW . It was important because it gave us God’s clear
-cut definition of sin. The LAW points out what sin is so we can recognize it.
Don’t have any other gods before me.
Don’t make idols.
Don’t misuse the Name of the Lord your God.
Don’t forget the Sabbath.
Don’t dishonor or disrespect you father and mother.
Don’t kill.
Don’t commit adultery.
Don’t steal.
Don’t lie.
Don’t covet.
The first time God wrote, he wrote the LAW . He drew a line that we shouldn’t
cross over. He created clear and distinct boundaries and told us if we move
outside of them, we have sinned. It was a high standard but God is a holy God.
It created a lot of guilt because we are all sinners and we continuously fall short of the mark.
Romans 3:23 – “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
You and I were never expected to live up to God’s standards without help from God.
He drew the lines in an effort to bring definition to sin and to draw us to Him for help. Unfortunately, to this very day, a great many of us either think we can be holy without
Him or we get hung up on all the “DON’TS”. You can find people who feel they are saved because they practice a man-made religious system of “do’s and don’ts”, and you can find people who will tell you they don’t need the guilt or the hassle of someone telling them what they can and can’t do.
For years in churches , all you heard was what you “couldn’t do” when you became a
Christian. Christianity was a long list of “DON’TS.” Who can ever live up to God’s
standards on their own? God’s effort to define sin left most of us feeling like we
could never live up to His expectations. You might have a load of guilt and shame
because you know you’ve fallen short of God’s standards of righteousness. You are not alone.
I don’t think there’s one of us that haven’t felt that way.
The FIRST FINGER OF GOD WROTE THE LAW and we’ve been trying unsuccessfully to live up to His standards on our own ever since. ...
