Rev. David Holwick P Mother's Day
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
May 8, 2011
Exodus 20:4-6, 34:14
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I. Who do you love more?
A. Mother's Day is really big.
1) Even Outback Steakhouse opens early today.
2) Mothers should receive a lot of attention and honor.
3) But it is honor in a vacuum. How about a little context?
I decide to do a snarky experiment: I ask the Holwick
kids, "Who do you love more, mom or me?"
Sarah: "I've always been a Daddy's girl."
Josiah: "You are understanding and accommodating.
Mom does spoil me more. But I guess I vote for
you."
At this point I am getting a little nervous.
I am two-for-two.
How would Celeste take it if I shut her out?
Next I call Daniel.
"I love you both equally."
Wimpy answer, but safe.
Technically, that gives me a 2.5 so I stop the experiment.
There is, of course, the bias factor.
If Celeste had asked the question, would they have
answered differently?
But then, Celeste would never have the nerve to ask such
a rude question.
B. God asks what a mother would not.
1) He really wants to know who we love more.
2) When Moses went up Mt. Sinai to get the Ten Commandments
-- both times -- God lets him know he is the jealous sort.
a) He actually gives his name as "Jealous."
3) A lot of people have a problem with that.
Oprah Winfrey is one of the greatest promoters of
spirituality in modern America.
But her take on spiritual matters is decidedly "New Age."
She had been brought up in an evangelical Baptist
environment.
Her rejection of religious "rules, belief systems and
doctrines" began in her late 20s when she heard a
Baptist preacher say that God was jealous.
#35373
C. What do we do with God's jealousy?
1) Some, like Oprah, are put off by it.
a) Christian writer Elaine Creasman was once in agreement:
She writes that the verses about God's jealousy "had always
bothered me.
The word jealousy brings to mind self-centeredness,
paranoia, and insecurity.
Intense jealousy destroys relationships.
Surely God is not like that."
2) However, jealousy does give us great insight into God's
character.
3) If we are in a love relationship with God, it is something
we need to take seriously.
II. Both sides of jealousy.
A. It has a very negative side.
1) From a human angle.
Patricia Hager, a housewife in Osnabruck, Germany, caught
her husband Albert with another woman.
She bound and gagged him, then put him in a bathtub filled
with ten gallons of salad oil and two pounds of garlic.
She let him marinate there for six hours.
When police finally arrived, her barbecue had a raging fire
going in it.
#689
2) Nobody wants to associate such vindictiveness with God.
B. Jealousy has a positive side as well.
1) If you value monogamy, jealousy makes sense.
a) It can be gratifying to know your loved one is jealous
about you because it means they care a lot.
b) Jealousy is the proper reaction when an exclusive
relationship is threatened.
The great English Baptist, Charles Haddon Spurgeon:
"The passion of jealousy in man is usually exercised in
an evil manner, but it is not in itself necessarily
sinful.
A man may be zealously cautious of his honor, and
suspiciously vigilant over another, without deserving
blame.
All thoughtful persons will agree that there is such a
thing as virtuous jealousy." [1]
2) God is not jealous like we are.
a) He is all-knowing, all-powerful and all-good.
b) God is not afflicted by the insecurity, suspicion and
selfishness of humans.
c) He loves us with a pure love, but he is not willing
to share that love with false gods.
1> He will not tolerate you "dating around."
Rev. Greg Allen writes:
There is such a thing as righteous jealousy.
A husband is right to be jealous of his wife's affections;
and a wife is right to be jealous of her husband's
affections.
I would not want my children to walk around calling other
men "Dad".
Jealousy is a right and good thing when it's a passion to
protect what is rightfully yours.
In the same way, God is characterized by a righteous
jealousy.
God's jealousy is an emotion that is stirred up and provoked
in Him whenever something hinders His enjoyment of that
which rightfully belongs to Him.
#63424
III. Do you have an exclusive relationship with the Lord?
A. Everybody wants to be in love with someone.
1) Romance is a huge motivator for humans.
2) When we don't have significant relationships with other
people, we wither.
B. Love motivates God as well.
1) Marriage and romance are the most common biblical
metaphors for a relationship with God.
a) (and a lot of times, it is a BAD marriage)
2) God wants to be in love with you. John 3:16
a) He expressed his love for us by giving us his son Jesus.
b) You reciprocate that love by accepting Jesus as your
Savior.
c) From that moment on, you are in a life-long relationship.
C. Like any relationship, that love must be maintained.
1) In the early years it is often exciting.
a) Many people love to tell of their dramatic conversion.
1> They remember the smallest details.
2> They want you to know about it, too.
b) It is not just a new belief, but a new way of life.
1> You want to spend time with God.
2> You want to get to know more about him.
3> You want to live in a way that honors him.
2) As time goes by, that first love can fade.
a) The hassles of everyday life intervene.
b) You lose interest, then you lose touch.
c) After a while, it can seem like you hardly know each
other any more.
d) Heed the warning by Jesus in Revelation 2:4 - don't
forsake your first love.
1> Don't make God jealous!
IV. What would God be jealous of in your life?
A. Is your faith wishy-washy?
1) At the beginning of the Ten Commandments - no other gods.
a) Know who the true God is, and be committed to him.
b) Know who the false gods are as well.
2) Paul speaks of drinking the cup of the Lord and demons.
1 Cor 10:21
a) He was alluding to Christians in Corinth who took
communion on Sunday and then went to a pagan temple
on Monday.
b) He says that kind of thing makes God jealous.
c) We don't do that any more - or do we?
1> Maybe you see nothing wrong with Oprah's approach
to spirituality.
2> Horoscopes and palm readings are interesting!
3> Mixing eastern mysticism and New Age psycho-babble
with a few words about Jesus does not make an
authentic faith.
3) Many who claim to be Christians are woefully ignorant.
a) This is probably true of some of you.
b) You should know God's position on all the great issues
of our day.
c) Don't just settle for "being saved."
B. Do you give him enough attention?
1) Do believe in God, yet ignore him most of the time?
2) It is important to spend time daily learning his Word and
communicating with him.
C. Do you insult God by the way you live?
1) Dirty habits like smoking and getting drunk.
a) The Bible says your body is a temple for God, and
should be kept clean.
2) Sexual sin dishonors God as well.
a) Adultery in your personal life is tantamount to adultery
in your spiritual life.
b) How is your thought life?
3) If you know you are disobeying God, you are causing him
to be jealous.
V. Desiring God above all.
A. Do you love God the way He loves you?
1) The Bible standard is to love him "with all my heart, soul,
mind, and strength" (Mark 12:29).
B. Are you provoking him with other lovers?
1) God does not share. He wants all of you.
2) Don't give him anything to worry about.
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
[1] Rev. Charles Haddon Spurgeon, “A Jealous God,” preached March 29, 1863,
http://www.spurgeon.org/sermons/0502.htm
# 689 “Mad Housewife Marinates Hubby,” by Irwin Fisher, Weekly World News,
May 9, 1999.
#35373 “Oprah and a Jealous God,” by Mark Coppenger, Baptist Press,
http://www.baptistpress.org, May 29, 2008.
#63424 “Righteous Jealousy,” by Rev. Greg Allen, Kerux sermon #25239.
These and 35,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be
downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
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