YOU SHALL NOT MURDER

0:06 I'll never forget the first time I saw mugshots. Do you remember the first time you ever saw a mugshot? I was with my mother, a little kid, at the post office, and tacked on the bulletin board were pictures of these criminals who committed all sorts of crimes, but the ones that I really focused in on were the ones who committed murder. and it would say, armed and dangerous. I began to look around the lobby of that little post office, trying to identify one of the criminals. I walked outside with my mother to the parking lot. Surely there's someone lurking behind this car to attack us, but no, it didn't happen. I had a series of nightmares, and finally, I got over those most wanted posters.

1:05 just for a second, look around Fellowship Church. You might be here. You could be at beautiful downtown Dallas. You could be in Fort Worth. You could be in Frisco. You could be at Elasso Ranch. You could be online. If you're online, you can just look at your family, I guess, but just look around. Maybe take a glance at people in your section. What do you see? Well, I know what you see. here's what you're thinking. Ed, I see a bunch of well-adjusted, metroplex suburbanites, beautiful people. I mean, we have a beautiful church. We really, really do. And I'm sure that's what you're thinking, but think deeper. Look a little closer because you are looking at some murderers.

2:04 You're looking at people who in essence have their pictures tacked to a bulletin board. You're looking at, you could say God's most wanted. And maybe, just maybe, you're listening to a killer preach a sermon. Ed, are you saying this church is full of mass murderers? Yes. Some of you are like, where are the exits? This is my first time to attend fellowship church. What kind of church is this? Much of criminals in here. Just stay with me. Today, we're serving up the sixth commandment. Four words. Thou shalt not murder. Simple, straightforward.

2:56 word, no contingencies, no fine print, thou shalt not murder. Okay, I understand that. I got that. And as I read that, I thought, okay, this one doesn't convict me. I mean, I'm good on the sixth commandment. I've never killed someone with a club, a knife, fists, or gun. So I exonerate myself, and you're probably thinking the same. You're going, oh, I can count ceiling tiles, or in this context, lights. But no, no, no, no. Because if you move from Exodus chapter 20, where it says, thou shalt not murder to the words of Jesus, Jesus took this to, as I love to say, a holy nether level. Jesus said in no uncertain terms, there are more than one way to murder a man.

4:04 Jesus said there's more than one way to murder a man yes you can take a man's life physically but Jesus also is saying you can take a man's life verbally as well so I've got to confess I'm a murderer and you're going to discover so are you and the question is what do we do about it what do we do about our condition well that's the good news. This commandment, thou shalt not murder, is a positive commandment. It's like the God of the universe drew this ontological line around man. It's the fact that we're made in the image of God, imago Dei. We're separate from everything else in the creation.

5:00 Again, I'll say we're made in the image of our great God. Obviously, God holds our lives in his hands. So for me to murder someone, I literally have to usurp God, and I have to say to myself, I am going to number your days. Can you imagine the arrogance, the pride in someone's life, in my life when I do that? well there's more than one way to murder a man and you might be thinking okay what are the different ways that we can murder I'm glad you asked that question the first way is mob style mob style think Godfather 1 and Godfather 2 wasn't there a 3-2 yeah 3 yes think about cartel style or just I'm talking about straight up physical violence.

6:05 And pretty much from the beginning of time until now, men and women have killed one another physically. I think it's interesting, though, that this commandment, you shall not murder, is pro-life. In other words, if we read it in a positive way, we should protect life. We should do anything and everything we can to protect life. Let me tell you what it is not saying. This is very, very important. It is not saying you should not hunt.

6:41 it's not saying you should not go to war that's interesting against the backdrop of where we are and then it's not saying you shouldn't defend yourself or i shouldn't defend myself it's not saying that it's not saying that it is saying that we should not participate in homicide, suicide, infanticide, euthanasia, or abortion. That's what it's driving at. Can you believe 63 million developing babies have been killed since 1973? During the first eight to 25 days, you can detect a heartbeat.

7:37 First 45 days, brain waves. In nine weeks, a touch response can be seen. 10 to 11 weeks, fingernails and thumb sucking, and they can swallow and digest, and the organs are functional. So we have murdered 63 million developing babies. So we should do everything we can to protect life. that's how amazing we are. And if you think about a text like Jeremiah chapter one, verse five, before I formed you in the womb, before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. That's what our great God says.

8:34 If you look at Genesis chapter four, you will read the first homicide ever recorded you have Cain and Abel. Cain and Abel got crossways over a offering. Is that funny? Well, it's not funny because it led to the first homicide. So Cain gets all of this anger in his heart. Say heart with me. That's where it starts. It starts in the heart. You're going to find out today. Murder starts in the where? Okay. And mob style murder starts in the heart, goes to the head and moves through the hands. Cain was, was, was, was on tilt. He was angry at Abel, envious, jealous. God steps in and, and warns him, Hey Cain, chill. Cain, calm down. Cain. And he, Cain, treaded over God, our sovereign God, treaded over him and killed his brother, Abel. I mean, put yourself in Adam and Eve's sandals for a second.

9:53 They'd never seen death before, the unnatural movements. They'd never seen that sick gray tone, the lifeless eyes. They'd never seen it before. And you know, they were sick to their stomachs and their heads were spinning. And they probably said, Cain, who are you to number a man's days? Who are you to usurp God? What, what, what? Mob style.

10:23 It's very popular. Again, I'll say we usurp God's divine right to number someone's days, and this commandment says, don't do it. Jesus said, don't do it. Well, there's a second way to murder someone. Metroplex style. You see, most of us here, we're too sophisticated to take someone's life with a club or a rock or a gun. Oh, no, no, I'm above that, but I will. I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll murder you with my mouth. I'll take you out with those biting words, those comments, those labels. And Jesus said in Matthew chapter five, verse 21 following, you've heard that it was said to the people long ago, you shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.

11:31 But I tell you, anyone who's angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, raka, which is the worst insult imaginable, is answerable to the court. and anyone who says, you fool, will be in danger of the fires of hell. So Jesus stood on business, didn't he, when he said that? That is like up in our grill. It's convicting. I just think just for a second about so many harsh words that I've said to people that matter to God.

12:25 I mean, when I said them, I didn't think about I'm killing a part of them, but Jesus always puts that exclamation point from the Old Testament in the New Testament. He takes it to a holy nether level. So we have mob style, we have Metroplex style.

12:46 You know, I was thinking the other day, what's the best way to describe a mouth murder? Then I thought about the comment section on social media. Okay, you remember in Cambodia, you've probably studied it in history class, where you had the killing fields. There's 1.7 million people killed by the communists back in the day. Well, that's horrible. That's treacherous. But it's nothing like the killing fields of the comment section on social media. It is sick. It's sad. It's dumpster diving like we can't even comprehend. Again, the words and the hate that people will throw out behind their glass screens, it's unreal. Here's what I've done for 35 years.

13:41 I never read negative letters. I never read or glance at the comment section. Ever. Ever. Ever. Ever. And I would suggest you do the same. because it takes you to places you don't want to go. On the other hand, I try not to read over the years from the snail mail, like positive things. I mean, yeah, someone wrote you and said this, great, praise God. Or maybe you dive into the comment section and they're saying you're great and you're beautiful and you're this and I wish I could travel there or whatever.

14:24 No, because you're on a roller coaster. You're up. Oh, I'm the greatest. I'm the man. You're down. Last time I checked, we're here to please an audience of one. So stay away from those killing fields and hey, watch your words. So mob style, it starts in the heart, moves to the head. It goes to the hands. Metroplex style, It starts in the heart, goes to the head, and then out of the mouth.

15:03 Some scary stuff. It's like if you're in a trendy coffee bar, and you're walking through the trendy coffee bar, through those trendy tables with those trendy people, and maybe someone kind of bumps you. Well, what spills out of your coffee cup? Coffee. when you're walking through life and life has a way of bumping you, what comes out?

15:32 What comes out? So we can murder someone mob style, Metroplex style. Also, we can murder someone mentally. I call it mental style. I don't have to use my hands. I don't have to use my words. I can just turn bad stuff over and over on the rotisserie grill of my mind, and I can become a serial killer just by what I'm thinking. the scripture tells us in psalm 26 verses 2 through 3 test me oh lord this would be a great prayer for us to pray every day and try me oh lord examine my heart and my mind for i've always been mindful of your unfailing love and have lived in reliance on your faithfulness so here we have The same setup.

16:34 Starts in the heart. Think about Cain and Abel. That's where it started. Goes to the head. And now it gets into our thoughts. Those negative, dirty, those murderous thoughts, our murderous mind. When you drive around the Dallas-Fort Worth area, I'm sure, like you do, now and then you'll see cemeteries. cemeteries mark where people are buried I want to ask you about your relational cemetery in your mind have you buried anyone there? Maybe an ex-spouse, maybe that coach, maybe someone who took advantage of you.

17:23 Maybe a former friend, maybe a business partner that ripped you off. Wow, this is very convicting stuff, isn't it, friends? It is for me. I need to hear this myself. and in fact I try to always preach to myself before I preach to you so I'm not talking down at you, I'm talking with you, but there's one other way that I came up with, obviously empowered by the Holy Spirit of God, and this is the final way that we murder someone. I mean, yeah, you can add some more to the list, but this one is going to be difficult to say, but I'll say it. Yes, we murder people mob style. Yes, Metroplex style. Yes, mental style, but also marital style.

18:20 Marital style. I talked to someone a few days ago. I'm very close with them, and they, several years ago, went through divorce. And this young man told me, he said, it was a death. and I thought a death? He said, yes, a death.

18:51 And then I began to just look back at all of the couples and all of the people that I've talked to about divorce and those who've come through divorce and been divorced. And I thought, you know, almost every one of them either said death, dying. I've had people say it's worse than death. God hates divorce. The Bible says in Malachi chapter two, verse 16, the man who hates and divorces his wife, says the Lord, the God of Israel, does violence to the one he should protect, says the Lord Almighty. Obviously, God's a God of grace. We have scores here who have gone through divorce. God has forgiven you. He's cleansed you. We stand on that.

19:44 But I know you would say, I know you would say, divorce is like a death, Ed. Now, there are biblical grounds for divorce, and I'm not going to get into those today, but what I'm saying to you by and large is it's best to stay in the marriage. It's best to understand the power of covenant. it's best to do it God's way. And if you're both willing to do it God's way, it's gonna work. It's not gonna be easy, but it's gonna work. If you don't, it's not gonna work. But even the marriage ceremony itself, as I talked about in our conference, it symbolizes a covenant, the covenant that God made with us. God took animals, cut them, killed them, and faced their halves toward one another.

20:39 and he and the person cutting the covenant with him would walk in between those pieces of animals. When someone walks the aisle in a wedding ceremony, that's the death march, literally. They are saying, God, you do to me what you did to those animals if I balk and turn my back on this covenant. So those here who are young, those here who are single, those here who are students, think very deeply about marriage. And those of us here who are married, hey, do it God's way. And those who have been divorced, God will give you another opportunity. Do it his way. so when we divorce we're usurping God's divine right aren't we to define covenant to define covenant well what do we do with all this information man this has been pretty pretty strong you know I mean what do we do number one come clean be honest with God confess your sins before God. The Bible says in Ephesians 4, 31, get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, brawling, and slander, along with every form of malice. That's what the Bible says. Be kind and compassionate to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as Christ and God has forgiven you. Number two, analyze your anger. Analyze your anger. It comes from the heart.

22:13 Usually anger is the secondary emotion. It's not the first emotion. Analyze it. and do the opposite of what Cain did. Listen to God and go, God, you're right. I'm not gonna, whatever. Number three, watch your words. Words, I'm telling you, they are so, so powerful. I mean, I can think of so many comments I've received over the years, not on the comment section, just from people that have really hurt me, that have probably killed a part of me, I can think about a coach. I can think about a former friend. I can think about those things. And if I think too much about them, it'll take me to a bad place. So watch your words. And once we do all of those things, we begin to walk in sanctification. We begin to walk in life.

23:17 So we find ourselves speaking and giving life with our kids, with our spouses, with our coworkers, with every single person we see. we murder Jesus. You murdered him, so did I. my sin, your sin, nailed him to the cross.

23:46 Jesus had every right to hurl insults back at you and me, didn't he? He had every right to harbor hurt feelings. He didn't. He took the wrath of God. He took your sins and mine as he hung there, suspended between heaven and earth, dying on the cross for our sins. he was buried, we put him there, yet he rose again, and now he offers us, is this awesome, newness of life. So no matter what you're involved in, no matter what situation you find yourself or what station or conversation,

24:38 Jesus will save you, and he wants to give you life. Would you pray with me? As our heads are bowed and eyes are closed, if you find yourself here at Fellowship Church today and you've never ever given your heart to Jesus, you can make that decision right now by simply saying these words. Just say this, God, I admit to you that I've sinned. I turn from my sin. I repent. I believe, God, that you sent Jesus Christ to die on the cross for all of my sins, to rise again on the third day. I know, God, that my sins put you there, Jesus, and I confess that and turn from that and ask you, Jesus, to come into my life. I give you everything I am right now and everything I'll ever become.

25:35 if you prayed that prayer with me, Jesus, come into my life. Forgive me. Cleanse me. I give my life to you. If you prayed that prayer with me, that's the greatest thing you'll ever do. And that's what we are all about here at Fellowship Church, introducing you to Christ and providing an avenue where you can grow and discover what it means to walk in the image of God. Father, for many of us who struggle in this area, because really we all do, give us your grace and mercy and power for us to really do what you tell us to do when it comes with our actions and attitudes and accusations.

26:21 Father, we give this time to you.