Good day
In the previous message I mentioned that if we we're in a place where we say that we desire to experience more with God and make progress in our relationship with Him, the next question is, what does this look like? How can we ensure that we're on the right track?
In today's message we'll look to answer that question by taking a look at the following commandment: Luke 10:25-28, "and a certain lawyer [an expert in Mosaic Law] stood up to test Him, saying, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” And he replied, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this habitually and you will live.”
Now I'm sure if you were to ask some Christians if they love God, many of them would say yes. However, when asking them what they mean by this, you may come across various responses:
🔵Some might say that they love God in their own way - implying that their relationship with Him shouldn't be compared to other Christians and that there's no right or wrong way to having a relationship with Him.
🔵Others would say they love God, go to church once a week/month, live however they choose to, and that for them that's ok and there's no further repercussions to choosing to serve God that way.
🔵Others might say that they love how God forgives them despite all the times they make mistakes and may disobey Him - but with no desire or intention to improve.
🔵Others might say that they love all the things that God does for them and how He's always there for them, etc. but this definition is based more on what that person can get from God and not what they can/should do for Him.
🔵Another may say that they love God so much that they'd be prepared to sell their home and leave their home town in obedience to an assignment He may have for them elsewhere; they'd commit their time, abilities and resources for the advancement of His kingdom and furthering the work of God; where whatever God may require of them is a joy and privilege instead of an inconvenience or burden. He's their most important priority and everything else in their lives revolves around Him.
Now this message is not to put anyone down or judge anyone, etc. nor am I saying whether or not there's a right or a wrong to any of the above descriptions - Only the person that's on the receiving end of that love can say whether or not the "love" they're receiving is acceptable to them.
For example, I can choose to stay at home one night a week, never message my wife to tell her where I am or what I'm doing, but then when I see her again, I'll be sure to tell her that I love her. I'll even try and contribute financially from time to time, when I feel like it and it doesn't inconvenience me. I'll also go around confidently telling others that I love her ... This is based on how I've chosen to show/demonstrate my love to her ... for me there's nothing wrong with this ... this is how I've defined what "love" looks like in our marriage ... But here's the thing, will she find this acceptable? Is this how she defines "love"? What are her expectations of what love looks like in the marriage? ... In the same way, if Jesus commanded us to love God then we can't do so based on what we think or feel this looks like / or what we may deem acceptable for us - Rather, we need to go to the Bible to define what this love looks like, so instead of taking anyone's opinion on the matter, let's see how the Bible describes what loving God looks like:
John 14:21-23 NKJV
He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.” Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?” Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.
1 John 2:3-6 AMP
And this is how we may discern [daily, by experience] that we are coming to know Him [to perceive, recognize, understand, and become better acquainted with Him]: if we keep (bear in mind, observe, practice) His teachings (precepts, commandments). Whoever says, I know Him [I perceive, recognize, understand, and am acquainted with Him] but fails to keep and obey His commandments (teachings) is a liar, and the Truth [of the Gospel] is not in him. But he who keeps (treasures) His Word [who bears in mind His precepts, who observes His message in its entirety], truly in him has the love of and for God been perfected (completed, reached maturity). By this we may perceive (know, recognize, and be sure) that we are in Him: Whoever says he abides in Him ought [as a personal debt] to walk and conduct himself in the same way in which He walked and conducted Himself.
1 John 3:23-24
This is His commandment, that we believe [with personal faith and confident trust] in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and [that we unselfishly] love and seek the best for one another, just as He commanded us. The one who habitually keeps His commandments [obeying His word and following His precepts, abides and] remains in Him, and He in him. By this we know and have the proof that He [really] abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us [as a gift].
1 John 5:1-3
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has become a child of God. And everyone who loves the Father loves his children, too. We know we love God’s children if we love God and obey his commandments. Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome.
Please also see below scriptures:
James 2:14-26
What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. 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. You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God. You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
Titus 2:11-14
For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people. And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God, while we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed. He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds.
Titus 3:3-8
Once we, too, were foolish and disobedient. We were misled and became slaves to many lusts and pleasures. Our lives were full of evil and envy, and we hated each other. But when God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. Because of his grace he made us right in his sight and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying, and I want you to insist on these teachings so that all who trust in God will devote themselves to doing good.
2 Thessalonians 1:11-12
So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of his call. May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do. Then the name of our Lord Jesus will be honored because of the way you live, and you will be honored along with him. This is all made possible because of the grace of our God and Lord, Jesus Christ.
Below are a few passages that speak about what these good deeds/works/fruits look like:
Luke 6:27-37
Matthew 18:21-35
Romans 12:1-21
1 Corinthians 13:1-13
Galatians 5:13-26
Ephesians 5:8-33
Colossians 3:1-17
2 Timothy 2:20-26
1 Peter 4:1-19
1 John 4:7-21
Matthew 5:21-42
Matthew 25:31-46
Matthew 28:18-20
In the context of this series about developing intimacy with God, and building on from the previous message where I said that it you desire to experience more with God and make progress in your relationship with Him, then I trust that this message has helped to guide what that looks like: I believe that the above passages highlight to us that simply saying that we love God isn't sufficient, it needs to be backed up by our actions. If we claim that we believe that God exists and that we love Him then we need to live as though that's a reality. It's turning our belief into action where it's on display for others to see. It's where we go from simply saying that yes, God exists, to saying that if God exists, then I'm not going to serve Him based on my interpretation of what that looks like, rather I'm going to submit myself to His commandments, wisdom and love towards me.
It's important to point out that as we reflect on a message like this, that we're not saying we won't make mistakes and disobey God, the intention is to create a desire within us to want/pursue more with Him. That wherever we may find ourselves on the "love scale" that there's a desire to improve on this. A desire to know God more intimately and to trust Him to create a heart that's more willing to obey, to serve, to sacrifice, to commit and to love Him more than ever before!
Amen ... let's trust Him with this process!
Now someone may say that this seems difficult or perhaps even unreasonable. One of the things that help with this thought is taking a look at Jesus Christ and reflecting on His example of love and sacrifice on the cross. We'll speak about this in Part 3: "The Sacrifice of Jesus"