Sermon: "The Greatest Commandment"
To begin this morning I would like you to listen to the testimony of a lady who learned to love God. It begins on the day she was baptized. She was 14 years old at that time.
On the day I was baptized, the pastor asked, “Do you love God with all you heart?” Much to my relief, he was not addressing me. He was speaking to the person baptized right after I was. As I stood in the wings, sopping wet and shivering, and listened to my fellow baptizee tearfully proclaim his grateful love for God, I pondered how I might have responded to the question. Would I have caved under the pressure and declared a deeper love for God than I felt? Or would I have admitted the scandalous truth – that I had become a Christian to avoid going to hell?
I grew up with a frightening awareness of the horrors of hell and of the need to trust Jesus as my only means of escape. I knew that God would never force me to follow Christ. But the dire eternal consequences of not doing so convinced me that I had no other viable options. So at age 14, I received Christ as my Savior and committed my life to Him. Taking that step under threat of hell did not foster affectionate feelings toward God, but at least I no longer had to worry about my eternal destiny.
My lack of love for God tainted my relationship with Him for many years. When I heard other believers speak of their passion for God, their thrilling prayer lives, and their insatiable appetites for His Word, I felt like a spiritual flunky because I could not stir up that level of enthusiasm. My attempts at prayer, Bible reading, and witnessing were inconsistent and often guilt-induced.
Stuffing my schedule with responsibilities at church brought me some satisfaction, but it couldn’t distract me completely from my lackluster relationship with God. I was convinced that I could never live up to Jesus’ command to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”
I was right, I couldn’t love God enough. At least, not in my own strength. But as God began to draw me closer, I learned that an intimate walk with Him is possible for any of us regardless of how we came to Him.
That was the testimony of Becky Pamer who is now a freelance writer living in Oregon.
Our scripture lesson for this morning includes the scripture she shared in her testimony.
MATTHEW 22:34-40 – 34Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
37Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
This is not a new scripture passage for most of you and many of you have heard various sermons or Sunday School lessons based on this scripture – that is not a bad thing. In fact, it is a good thing. If Jesus feels these are the two greatest commandments then we should consider them often.
So this week we are going to look at the greatest commandment – “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your mind.”
Next week we are going to take a little different look at the second greatest commandment which is “Love Your Neighbor as Yourself,” as we look at - “Loving Those Who Annoy You.”
You can come to love God with all your heart, mind and soul as you learn to experience his love.
This morning we are going to look at some of the steps Becky took that helped her learn to love God. They are steps each of us can and should take.
STEPS TO FALLING IN LOVE WITH GOD
The first step is …
I. GET PERSONAL WITH GOD
That shouldn’t surprise us. Isn’t that how we fall in love with anyone? The question is how do we get personal with God? First you must understand ….
A. HE LOVES YOU
Many passages of scripture tell us this very thing. Here is what David wrote about God’s love for him.
PSALM 86:13 – For great is your love toward me; you have delivered me from the depths of the grave.
You don’t have to earn God’s love. He loves you because he created you. Sometimes we draw back from people because we don’t know what they think about us. We are afraid to expose how we feel because we don’t want to look foolish or be rejected. God takes away all those concerns. He has openly confessed his love for us.
The second thing you need to understand about God is that ….
B. HE IS FAMILIAR WITH ALL YOUR WAYS
Listen to what the Bible says about this.
PSALM 139:1-4 – 1O Lord, you have searched me and you know me. 2You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. 3You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. 4Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O Lord.
God knows everything about you and he still loves you. Very seldom, if ever, do we allow another person to know everything about us. We are afraid if they could see some of our thoughts or actions they would not like us. God knows you completely, including all your thoughts, but he still chooses to love you.
Knowing God knows everything about you and still loves you gives you the freedom to get personal with him. When you truly accept those two truths you have taken the first step toward falling in love with God.
The second step is …
II. ACCEPT GOD AS HE IS
This is not easy to do, for God has revealed a lot about himself to us and some of what he has revealed is difficult for us to accept.
God will not allow us to be like many young couples who come to me and want to get married. Quite often they can only see the things in their potential mate that are pleasing to them. Somehow their eyes are blinded to the complete person they want to marry. Some of it is because the person they want to marry has most likely been on their best behavior and some of it is because they see only what they want to see.
To truly fall in love with God you must accept him as he has revealed himself to us.
A. HE IS A GOD OF BOTH MERCY AND WRATH
The Bible is filled with examples and statements concerning God’s mercy. Here are just a few.
MICAH 7:18 – Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy.
TITUS 3:5 – He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.
Most, if not all, of us here this morning could share how God has been merciful with us.
But God has also revealed to us that he is a God of wrath. Listen to what the Bible says.
JOHN 3:36 – Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.
EPHESIANS 5:6 – Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient.
There is a passage in the book of Romans which clearly shows that God is a God of both mercy and wrath. Listen to it.
ROMANS 2:7-8 – 7To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. 8But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.
There is much more about God you must accept if you are going to love him with all your heart, mind and soul. You must accept the truth that …
B. HE IS A GOD WHO CREATED BOTH HEAVEN AND HELL
We love to read these words of Jesus.
JOHN 14:1-3 – 1Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.
And who doesn’t like to go to the book of Revelation and read the following descriptions of heaven.
REVELATION 21:3-4 – 3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
REVELATION 22:3-5 – 3No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. 4They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.
But the God who created heaven is also the God who created the place we call hell. Listen to how the Bible describes hell.
REVELATION 20:10, 14-15 – 10And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
14Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Do you see why Becky Pamer at age 14 received Jesus as her Lord? She believed God has created a place called hell and she didn’t want to spend eternity there.
Falling in love with God also requires that you accept the fact ….
C. HE IS A GOD OF BOTH LOVE AND JUSTICE
We enjoy reading verses like I John 4:16 …
I JOHN 4:16 – And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love, Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.
God is truly a God who loves, but he is also a God who administers justice. Listen to what the Bible says …
ROMANS 2:5-6 – 5But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. 6God “will give to each person according to what he has done.”
God refuses to allow you to be like a person about to be married who sees only what they want to see. He does not want you to just focus on what you consider his attractive traits and ignore the ones that make you uncomfortable. You must accept him as he is and …
D. HE IS PERFECT
Most of us would agree that Moses and God had a very special relationship. Here is how Moses described God.
DEUTERONOMY 32:4 – He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.
Sometimes it is hard to see God as perfect. When a child dies of cancer or thousands of people are swept away in a flood, our minds start to question God’s works. However, you will not be able to love God with all your heart, soul and mind until you accept him as Moses described him.
Finally, you need to accept him knowing that ….
E. HIS WAYS ARE BEYOND OUR UNDERSTANDING
God himself told us that through the prophet Isaiah.
ISAIAH 55:8-9 – 8For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. 9As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
If you don’t believe and accept those words you will have a difficult time falling deeply in love with God.
The third step to falling in love with God is …
III. ALLOW HIM TO BECOME YOUR BEST FRIEND
Connie and I have experienced over forty years of wonderful married life. One of the things that has contributed to this is that we were friends before we were married. We went together for 4 ½ years before we were married and during that time became friends. God wants to be your friend.
A. HE WANTS YOU TO BRING YOUR TROUBLES TO HIM
PHILIPPIANS 4:6 – Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
B. HE KNOWS WHAT YOU ARE EXPERIENCING
HEBREWS 4:14-16 – 14Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin. 16Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
C. HE WILL BE YOUR COUNSELOR
JOHN 14:15-17 – 15If you love me, you will obey what I command. 16And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever – 17the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.
Of course, this is speaking of God being with us through his Holy Spirit who lives in all Believers.
If God is not your best friend – a friend you can trust and depend on; a friend with whom you can be truthful, you will have a difficult time loving him with all your heart, soul and mind.
If you will take these three steps …
- GET PERSONAL WITH GOD – that means accepting the truth that he loves you and knows everything about you.
- ACCEPT GOD AS HE IS – not just the way you would like him to be. And ….
- ALLOW HIM TO BECOME YOUR BEST FRIEND – you will then discover that you are …
IV. MOTIVATED BY LOVE INSTEAD OF DUTY
When you truly fall in love with God, your life changes. For then …
A. YOUR TRUST IN GOD IS DRIVEN BY LOVE
You can trust God completely not fearing that he will force you to do something you don’t want to do.
Becky Pamer wrote, “I avoided praying for maturity less he afflict me with some tragedy to help me develop it.”
She went on to say that that fear melted away as she got to know God. As she came to understand the God described in Romans 8:32.
ROMANS 8:32 – He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?
We can trust God because he loves us.
Another thing happens when you fall in love with God …
B. YOUR SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES ARE DRIVEN BY LOVE
Prayer, meditation, and Bible study are much easier to do when your motivation is love, instead of duty. They are called “spiritual disciplines” because you must discipline yourself to do them, but it is so much better when your motivation is love.
Another result of falling in love with God is …
C. YOUR SERVICE FOR GOD IS POWERED BY LOVE
It is never fun working along side a person who is only working for a paycheck. The same is true in God’s kingdom. It is no fun serving with someone who is only serving because they feel it is their duty. But it is a real joy working and serving with someone who is in love with God. They consider it an honor and privilege to serve one they love so much.
Finally, when you truly fall in love with God …
D. ALL YOUR RELATIONSHIPS ARE DRIVEN BY LOVE
You can relax and love people for who they are. You develop an accepting attitude. You are patient, kind and gentle with people because you know that’s how God wants you to be and since you love him you want to please him.
CONCLUSION
When you first hear the “greatest commandment” you might think God is being too demanding. Listen to it again.
MATTHEW 22:37 – “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”
He is asking a lot from us. As our Creator he has the right, but he also knows there is nothing better for us than to love him with all our heart, soul and mind.
This morning, if you are not yet to that point, determine to …
- GET PERSONAL WITH GOD – because he loves you and already knows everything about you.
- ACCEPT GOD AS HE IS – you may not understand all his ways, but his ways are perfect.
- ALLOW HIM TO BECOME YOUR BEST FRIEND – he wants to walk along side of you each day of your life.