Two Commandments Week 1: Love The Lord
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HouseKeeping
HouseKeeping
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Opening Text
Opening Text
Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, “Which is the first commandment of all?”
Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.
And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment.
And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
Jesus puts the saducees in their place
Jesus puts the saducees in their place
This passage comes on the heels of Jesus having an interaction with the Saducees
The Saducees were trying to prove that Jesus was not who He said he was based on the fact that some of his views could be interpreted as not honoring the law (in their opinion.) {THE RESURRECTION FROM THE DEAD.}
Jesus had used their own logic and their own rules to show them that their system of theology was flawed in that it was incomplete.
(THE OLD TESTAMENT IS NOT FLAWED IN IT’S ACCURACY…IT IS SIMPLY MISSING A CRUCIAL PIECE.)
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An excited scribe - We like to see the other team lose.
An excited scribe - We like to see the other team lose.
One of the scribes - thought to possibly be a part of the pharisees loves to see Jesus taking a Saducee to task. {WE LOVE TO SEE SOMEONE ELSE GET TOLD THEIR WRONG.}
So he capitalizes on the moment.
He assumes it the entire law is not necessary then there must be some parts that are more important that the others.
He asks Jesus to tell him what the most important commandment is.
This leads Jesus into His explanation of two commandments that are of great importance. (Two commandments that are additions by the way.)
however, before we dive into the two commandments that we will talk about over the next two weeks…there is a prerequisite commandment that Jesus mentions.
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Hear
Hear
Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.
The first commandment that we are to follow as Christ followers is to hear.
We are not told to do
We are not told to speak
We are not told to build
WE ARE TOLD TO HEAR!
You cannot do the will of God if you do not hear the Words of God.
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Christians are who struggle to listen
Christians are who struggle to listen
Interestingly enough, this call to listen is not directed at sinners.
The greatest call to hear the Word of the Lord is to believers.
My problem is not with sinners who sin.
SINNERS ARE GOING TO SIN.
The problem lies in the fact that there are believers who will not adhere to the principles and precepts of God’s Word.
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The message they are to hear as the people of God is simple…THE LORD IS ONE.
The primary prerequisite in order to accomplish the commandments of God is this.
GOD WILL NOT SHARE LORDSHIP OF YOUR LIFE!
The Old church used to say if He is not Lord of all, He is not Lord at all.
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Transition to primary content
Transition to primary content
After Jesus establishes this prerequisite for the commandments He is laying out as the most important, He dives into what He is calling the most important commandment.
And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment.
We of course know that He will go on to equate how we love our neighbor with equal importance.
The most important commandments, according to Jesus are comprised of establishing how we love God and our neighbor.
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Let’s talk about love
Let’s talk about love
Love is a commonly used word in our society.
In fact, love is probably one of the primary deities that our society worships.
Do what you love, you can’t choose who you love, love is love…The cliche’s are endless when it comes to love in our society.
But defining love is not as easy as one might assume.
I say I love my wife…but I also say I love ice cream.
I say I love my kids…but I also say I love Jordans
The truth is that very few of the things that we say we love…do we actually love.
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Use the right definition
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Use the right definition
The word used for love in this passage is = AGAPEO, which obviously has the root word of agape
We have all heard agape being interpreted as an unconditional love.
Which is true…but it is a much more complex word than that.
THIS IS NOT SIMPLY TELLING ME TO UNCONDITIONALLY LOVE GOD AND UNCONDITIONALLY LOVE MY NEIGHBOR.
This greek word has several english applications, we are going to focus on two of them for our purposes over the next two weeks.
Agape can be used as a word meaning: To take pleasure in
Agape can be used as a word meaning: To seek the benefit of
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Proper application Illustration - Drill
Proper application Illustration - Drill
It’s important that we correctly apply the right definition in the right context.
Incorrect application of a definition is completely unproductive.
Drill = Tool to put together furniture
Drill = Lining up single file to exit the school
If I buy a new chest of drawers at Ikea and tell my family to line up single file…it will not be assembled…it’s the same word but a wrong definition.
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I can’t seek God’s benefit
I can’t seek God’s benefit
It becomes obvious to me, that the love I am called to issue towards God cannot be to seek His benefit.
He is God…He can’t get any Godder.
So if I cannot seek His benefit, I love Him by taking pleasure in Him.
It’s sad how many people follow God from a place of obligation.
Many people come to church because they have to
Many people read the Word because they have to
The true joy of the Christian life is unlocked when you reach the place of taking pleasure in the Lord.
There is blessing wrapped up in taking pleasure in the Lord.
Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night.
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Do we delight in the law of the Lord?
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Do we delight in the law of the Lord?
The modern church delights in the love of the Lord
We love to sing, preach, teach, and talk about how much God loves us.
But we must understand that God’s love is something we must accept in order for it to be something that we enjoy!
In order for me to walk in the benefits of His love, I must be willing to adhere to the elements of His law.
How can I delight in his law?
There’s something fulfilling about when that person you are in love with gets a little jealous.
Their jealousy is an indication that they are passionate about you.
(for you shall worship no other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God),
He is passionate about His creation…His jealousy is the purpose of His law.
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Don’t love in part
Don’t love in part
As we love the Lord our God by taking pleasure in Him we are called away from partiality in this love.
The verse tells us to love him with “all” your heart, soul, mind, and strength.
There is a wholeness that is required in our approach to God.
Scripture tells us that doublemindedness equates to instability
Often our walk with Jesus is unstable because we are double minded in our approach
We view other pursuits as viable competitors for our affection and pursuit.
Kyle Idleman said that God doesn’t want to be winning the race for your life…He wants to be the only one running.
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1. Love God with All Your Heart
1. Love God with All Your Heart
This is a calling for us to take pleasure in God with all of our emotions.
How do I take pleasure in God with my emotions?
By only giving myself to emotions that God takes pleasure in.
You can’t avoid negative emotions entirely, that is unrealistic, but you can diminish the contexts within which they are triggered.
People try to avoid being anxious…then watch scary movies…to induce fear
People try to avoid depression…then listen to sad songs…to induce sadness
People try to avoid lust…then listen to songs and watch movies containing sexually explicit scenes and lyrics…to induce lust
We are called to take pleasure in God with all our emotions by only cultivating environments for emotions that God would take pleasure in.
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If God doesn’t like it…neither should we
If God doesn’t like it…neither should we
We take pleasure in God by not taking pleasure in what He condemns.
For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature.
Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.
And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting;
being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers,
backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful;
who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.
We cannot say that we love God if we take pleasure in the things that break his heart.
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2. All Your Soul
2. All Your Soul
(psychikos), natural; unspiritual
This is referring to the unspiritual part of our mental acuity.
There is an unspiritual aspect of our thought life that we can love God with.
We are looking for God to give us divine insight into things that we have practical opportunity to learn about.
A perfect example of this is the person who goes in to take a test and prays God help me ace this test…BUT DID YOU STUDY?
God will not do for me what I can do for myself
God will not enable my laziness.
Stop asking God to give you business acumen when you haven’t asked the person you know if they’ll teach you.
Stop asking God to give you musical ability when you’ve never watched a youtube video or taken a lesson
Stop asking God to help you become an influencer when you’ve never tried to discover how the algorithm works.
Blessing interrupts action…
When you know God has a calling on your life in an area…learn everything you can about that area.
BELIEVERS SHOULD NOT JUST BE ONE OF an INDUSTRY
WE SHOULD BE THE BEST.
If you’re going to be a baker…be the best
If you’re going to be an investor…be the best
If you’re going to be a teacher…be the best
Love the Lord with all your natural mind!
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3. Love God with All Your Mind
3. Love God with All Your Mind
(dianoigō), open; explain; interpret
We have to love the Lord our God in the way that we interpret things.
I can’t always control the information that I receive…but I can control how I interpret it.
The effect of information is subject to its interpretation.
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The Great Depression was a terrible time.
Wages fell 42.5% bewteen 1929 and 1933
Property values decreased to such a degree that farmers all over the country lost everything
This led to many stock owners and traders selling off their shares in a variety of companies.
But one young entrpeneur interpreted the information differently.
He had been successful in the oil industry before but not in any way like what was before him.
He became the wealthiest man in the world over time…but much of his wealth creation happened during the great depression because he bought when everyone else was selling.
HE INTERPRETED INFORMATION DIFFERENTLY.
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Be the one who sees hope
Be the one who sees hope
In a world full of negativity and hopelessness…choose to be the one who sees hope.
If you start speaking hope at your job…you will get the attention of those around you.
If you start being someone who sees opportunity where others see decrease…
This is a way that God can use us in this tumultuous economy.
I’m believing, studying, working, investing, all in anticipation that in the midst of a declining economy I will build wealth to the glory of God.
If we are going to be an exceptional people we must be willing to do something different than everyone else.
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4. All Your Strength
4. All Your Strength
Up to this point this entire verse has been about internal surrender.
Surrendering my emotions
Surrendering my thoughts
Surrendering my interpretations
But all of that is for naught if we never surrender our actions.
We have a lot of theoretical Christians who never do anything with their faith.
It’s important to get our internal processes working properly…
we need to think and believe appropriately,
but then this must translate into actions that reflect this internal change.
If our internal commitment does not result in external action it is invalid.
But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
WORKS ARE STILL IMPORTANT TO THE BELIEVER.
It still matters how you live
It still matters what you wear
It still matters what you listen to
It still matters what you watch
If we want to obey the commandments we must be willing to do something with our proper emotions, thoughts, and intpretations by yielding our strength to them.
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Many believers are stuck at internal commitment.
It’s like wanting to build a house and acquiring.
The property, the house plans, the financing…
but never taking the lumber and putting it together.
At some point information is useless if not applied.
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We must love God…take pleasure in God…by yielding him the entirety of our emotions, thoughts, interpretations, and actions.