May 3, 2020
Morning Service

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Through this difficult time, we have tried to draw encouragement from the scriptures that it is Jesus, our Good Shepherd, that is leading us through this time of crisis.  Our hope, strength, and faith need to begin and end with Him; our unchanging Lord and Savior.  He is our solid foundation and He is the anchor in our time of storm.  When we worry, pray.  When we don’t understand, trust.  We are complete in Him.  Last week we looked at how His love for us does not change even if we are unfaithful to Him.  He promises that when we sin against Him and then turn back to Him in repentance and ask forgiveness, “He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  In closing I gave you all some homework to sit down alone with God and honestly read a list of scriptures from Matthew and allow the Holy Spirit to speak to you through them.  Today, we will revisit the first of those passages and go a little deeper into it.  Our goal is simply to draw closer to our Lord in a new and intimate way; building our foundation stronger.  We should not be seeking to follow Jesus out of guilt, shame or for what is “in it for me.”  We choose to follow Jesus simply because we love Him and want to live a life that pleases Him; just as in any healthy relationship.  Following Jesus is not a religion, it is a relationship.  Through the experience of Easter, I hope all of us came to a clearer picture of just how much God loves us and desires have a relationship with us.  His death, burial and resurrection put His love for us on display.  Our response to His love for us should be love and commitment returned back to Him.  Let’s begin with a great question that came from the Pharisees to Jesus.

Mat 22:34-40 But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together.  (35)  Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, (36) "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?"  (37)  Jesus said to him, 'YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.'  (38)  This is the first and great commandment.  (39)  And the second is like it: 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.'  (40)  On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."

            The Pharisees practiced the religion of Judaism which is the Law of Moses from the Old Testament in our Bibles.  They were very legalistic and strict about every small detail of the Law, but missed the bigger meaning of it all.  They worried more about “what” it was they did rather than “why” they did it.  They looked very religious from the outside, but inside Jesus called them “full of dead man’s bones.”  Religion was simply obeying the rules to them because they had to; trying to earn their salvation by works.  Imagine how empty a life like that would be.  They were actually slaves to Law being in bondage to it.  They obeyed the Law out of shame, guilt, even pride doing it as more of a burden than a joy or privilege.  Then Jesus came on the scene and this very good question is asked by a lawyer perhaps because he realized there needed to be more to this lifestyle than what he was living. 

            Jesus here not only answers the lawyer’s question, but also simplifies what it means to follow Him.  The Pharisees studied over 600 laws, and even made many of them more difficult to follow themselves by adding requirements.  Talk about confusing, it had to be so frustrating wondering if anything you did somehow violated the Law in some small way; having you live in a cycle of continuous guilt.  Jesus explains to us that there really are just two commands we must follow that summarize all 600 of the others.  Love God with all your heart, soul and mind and love others as yourself.  Simple is much better; it is much easier to focus in on two things rather than 600.  The key, as it is with any relationship and the one the Pharisees failed to grasp, is that we need to truly love and value the one we are with and committed to follow.  This whole story is about love, because that is who God is.  The Apostle John called himself the one whom Jesus loved.  He understands love and explains it well in his first letter so I will let him do just that as he shows us loves role in our walk with Jesus.

 

1Jn 4:7-21Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.  (8)  He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.  (9)  In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.  (10)  In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.  (11)  Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.  (12)  No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.  (13)  By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.  (14)  And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world.  (15)  Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.  (16)  And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.  (17)  Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.  (18)  There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.  (19)  We love Him because He first loved us.  (20)  If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?  (21)  And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.

            Wow! That is some really good teaching there, amen John!  Now you can see why love is the key; God is love!  God’s love for us and ours back to Him are the foundational key to our faith.  You can’t truly follow if you don’t love Him with all your heart, soul, and mind.  You can’t follow Jesus as the Pharisees tried to do by just going through the motions; the love has to be real.  It is more about the “why” we do things rather than using a microscope to look at “what” we do.  As we then take time alone with the Holy Spirit to look honestly into our own lives and ask the question; why am I doing this?  Many answers may come up like it is the right thing to do, everyone else is doing it, and even it makes me feel good.  The correct answer needs to be I follow because I love Jesus.  Your eyes have been opened to a love that is like none other.  It is a love that comes from deep in your soul and abides in your heart.  A love of gratefulness for being loved even when you did not deserve it; “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom 5:8) To know and believe that Jesus loves you that much does not come without a change in your life.  “We love Him because He first loved us.” (verse 19) You become more like Him.  Love becomes who you are.  “God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.”  (verse 16) Love for God then produces our love for our others.  How can we abide with God, who is love, and hate our brother?  It is impossible and it reveals an issue for us to deal with.  We are commanded to love our brother as Christ loved us.  Christ willingly gave His life for us, so that puts the bar pretty high for us doesn’t it?  The good thing is that once we follow the first command to love God with all our heart, soul and mind we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (verse 13) into our lives to help us live out the second command of loving others.  “Seek first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added unto you.”  (Matt.6:33)  Where we fall short the Spirit empowers us to love.

            These scriptures, and truly understanding them, changes everything.  Following Jesus is a life of love, joy, and peace not one of fear of judgement; “there is no fear in love, but love casts out fear.” (verse 18) We have been set free by the love of God to follow Him by simply giving Him our heart, soul, and mind and then following them.  The Christian life is not meant to be a burden or inconvenience, but an act of love and commitment.  When you are doing something for someone you love, it is not a burden but a fulfilling joy that you are making them happy.  Our lives need to follow that pattern; we love because we are loved.  We are complete in Him.  Our heart, soul, and mind will find peace, contentment and true fulfillment in following Jesus out of our love for Him.  God is love and we are seeking to be like Him.  Love is who we are, so love Him back and love others just as much as He loves you.

 

Heavenly Father, open the eyes of hearts today and allow us to accept Your love as the standard that we follow.  Free us from the burden of legalism so we may follow You with a heart full of love and joy.