“Stairway to Heaven,” a sermon based on Deuteronomy 5:6-21, preached by the Rev. Robert Lee Nichols, Jr. at the Fox Chapel Presbyterian Church on August 3, 2008.
Led Zeppelin. Stairway to Heaven. One of the great musical compositions of all time, ranking right up there with Beethoven’s 5th and Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue. Written by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant in 1970, released in ‘71. Here’s the beginning of the lyrics:
There’s a lady who’s sure that all that glitters is gold and she’s buying a stairway to heaven.
Of course, that’s not going to happen. As great as the song is, you cannot buy a stairway to heaven. All the money in all the treasuries in all the kingdoms of all the world cannot purchase a ticket into the Kingdom.
But there is way, a God-given stairway that will lead her along the right path, and us too:
to the Kingdom, to some measure of earthly happiness, and to the kind of life God intends for us. It’s a trustworthy path, unlike some of the others that promise happiness but leave you dazed, lost and confused this path is reliable. Many have followed that path and climbed those steps before us and we know it leads in the right direction.
Read with me the first commandment.
THE FIRST COMMANDMENT
I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt,
out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me.
The first step is to focus on the things that matter most. Notice in the first case the word God is capitalized. In the second it is not. There are many lesser gods out there that we may choose from. The Bible assumes a polytheistic world. So, the Biblical question is not, Is there a God? The question the Bible asks is, Who is your God? And that’s still the right question – in the 21st century. Who is your god? Of all of the possibilities, who or what have you put at the center of your life? What is your focus? What matters most to you? What motivates you? What gets you out of bed in the morning, drives you all day, and gives you comfort at night? There are so many gods out there that we can choose from. The first step is to make sure you choose the right one, the Living God.
Let God’s love for you be at the center of your heart and soul. Let it be the hub and let every part of your life be like spokes growing out from that. So that whether you’re at work or at school, with neighbors or friends or with strangers, whether you’re with your family or alone, you know what’s driving you. Focus on the right things.
THE SECOND COMMANDMENT
You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and fourth generation of those who reject me, but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.
The second step on the stairway is a follow-on to the first. Don’t put anyone or anything in God’s. Paul Tillich defines God as your “ultimate concern.” What concerns you most? What concerns you ultimately? Of all your many priorities, which is the most important? In which god do you put your trust? Some people have as their ultimate concern the making of money. Success. Pleasure, fun. Keeping the perfect house. Maybe it’s your job or your lover. For some it’s an addiction to drugs or alcohol or internet porn. I think for some people it’s their cell phone. First thing they check in the morning and last thing they tuck in at night.
For some it’s family. And this points out one of the great dangers. Sometimes we want to put very worthy things in the place of God. But Jesus makes it very clear what is right, when he says, Leave your father and your mother and come follow me. For some it’s the kids. Sometimes I think I’m a lone prophet in the wilderness when it comes to pointing out how destructive child centered marriages are. They’re destructive and they’re idolatrous. Though it seems so noble. Any of those, and many other things could become the driving force, the idol.
Don’t put anything in God’s place. Don’t put the profane in the place of the sacred. Don’t put something finite and transient in the place of the infinite, the ultimate, the Almighty.
THE THIRD COMMANDMENT
You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.
Don’t take the name of the Lord in vain. Most of the time we think this is about blasphemy. And it certainly is. And honoring and respecting God and God’s name.
But I want you to think differently about that this morning. I want you to think about
it in a different way. I’d like for you to think about it in terms of prayer. Prayer is calling upon the Name of the Lord. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name . . .
So, this commandment may be about right and proper use of prayer.
Find time to pray every day. Have a quiet time where you go off by yourself, unplug everything and talk to God. Ask God for what you need. You’ll be stunned by how God answers prayers. If you pay attention. Watching and listening for His reply. And if you’re patient. It’s crucial in our busy, noisy, complicated, lives to find a quiet time every day to pray, to call upon the name of the Lord. Unplug and reconnect.
THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT
Observe the Sabbath day and keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. For six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, or your son or your daughter, or your male or female slave, or your ox or your donkey, or any of your livestock, or the resident alien in your towns, so that your male and female slave may rest as well as you. Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.
Keep the Sabbath. Observe the Sabbath day and keep it holy. . . Every day we need a prayer time. And every week we need to worship. To come together like this. When you come together with other pilgrims along the way to offer praise to the One who’s in charge. Worship recharges our batteries. Because we are sinners, our tendency is to wander away and to find all kinds of reasons why not to pray and why not to worship.
Worship gets us back on track. Worship reminds us what matters most.
THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT
Thou shalt not kill. This is about treasuring all life. Life is precious. Holy. Sacred. God given. Life is beautiful. Life is wonderful and very, very fragile. So, take care of yourself and respect others. Take care of your body. It’s the vessel in which your soul resides. It’s the temple in which your spirit resides. So take care of it. Exercise. Eat well. Live in moderation. Don’t put anything on it or in it that you shouldn’t.
You heard what the oldster said – If I knew I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself! A minister decided that a visual demonstration would add emphasis to his children’s sermon: So, he took four worms and put them into four separate jars. The first worm was put into a jar full of alcohol. The second worm was put into a jar full of cigarette smoke. The third worm was put into a jar full of chocolate syrup. The fourth worm was put into a jar of good clean soil.
The minister showed the kids results: The first worm, in the alcohol – dead. The second worm, in cigarette smoke – dead. The third worm, in chocolate syrup – dead. The fourth worm, in good clean soil – alive. So, the minister asked them, What can you learn from this demonstration? Johnny raised his hand and said, As long as you drink, smoke, and eat chocolate, you won’t have worms! That pretty much ended the service.
THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT
Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God commanded you, so that your days may be long and that it may go well with you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
THE SEVENTH, EIGHTH, AND NINTH COMMANDMENTS
Neither shall you commit adultery. Neither shall you steal. Neither shall you bear false witness against your neighbor.
Get right with those around you. Get right with those around you. Start with your family. Start with your parents. Get right with your mom and dad. Then with your husband and your wife, you brother and your sister, your cousin and your friend. Make peace with your family. Forgive them for not being perfect like you.
Get right with your colleague, your neighbor, your friend. Learn how to forgive. Even when there is hurt. You know, the defining moments of our lives are measured not by what happens to us, but how we respond to what happens. And that’s where our faith comes in. Even when we have been hurt deeply, as Christians we have the ability through the Spirit, not to react in a worldly way, but to respond out of love. Romans 12:21 says, Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Practice love. Practice compassion. Give yourself away and you’ll find yourself.
Be generous. Give your money away. Give your things away. Make life simpler.
It’s Harvest Fair time! Time to declutter! Great opportunity to pass on some of your stuff.
THE TENTH COMMANDMENT
Neither shall you covet your neighbor’s wife. Neither shall you desire your neighbor’s house, or field, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.
Fall in love with your life. Do not covet your neighbor’s BMW, or your neighbor’s ipod, or your neighbor’s golf game, or your neighbor’s garden. Don’t covet what’s not yours. Fall in love with your own life. Be grateful. Your life is a precious gift. It’s wonderful.
God gave it to you. Now it’s up to you to live it.