LOVING GOD
Notes
Transcript
Intro
So far we have talked about what love is and what it is not
The difference between God’s love and the world’s love
The world’s love seeks to satisfy myself
God’s love is sacrificial, obedient, about glorifying and honoring the other
The World’s love will leave us trapped and broken, hurt
God’s love will lead to true freedom and satisfaction
The world’s love says get what you can and get out
give a piece of your heart and don’t get it back
God’s love seeks to transform us into the fullness of who He made us to be!!!
Tonight we are going to starting to put what we have learned into action.
We are talking about how to love God
Body
Ok, So Love God
Sounds simple right?
Have you ever heard of the 5 love languages?
Words of affirmation, physical touch, acts of service, quality time, and gifts
So, how do we do this with God?
Hug him? give Him a gift?
What’s God’s love language?
Since God is love, he is constantly and unconditionally pouring Himself out onto His creation!
How do we give love back to Him?
We love God with everything
in OT, there were lots of rules given, lots of instructions for God’s people to follow. 10 commandments… how to make a sacrifice....
remember love is sacrificing and obedience - but so many rules, so overwhelming!
Moses breaks it down and summarizes all the rules in a very simple way tho
4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
Loving God is about giving God everything we are: Heart - Soul - Strength
Heart = feelings, our attitude
Soul = thoughts, internal dialogue
Strength = body, actions, what we say and do
And then God sent the perfect gift to show us how to love!
Jesus loved God with all His heart, soul, and strength - and we have this great book, the Bible to show us how He did it, and therefore, how we can too.
So Jesus was perfect, tho, right? How could we possibly do it all right?
Have you ever struggled to obey God before?
We all have!
Obedience is not always easy, and God knows that
The most amazing thing to me is that, since God knows obedience is hard, he actually helps us do it!
Our Advocate Helps us to Love
1 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.
3 We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. 4 Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. 5 But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: 6 Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.
So Jesus did it all perfectly
no sin, loved God, obeyed God even to death
But that is not the end of the story!
3 days later He raised from the dead and now sits at the right hand of God advocating for us
What does advocate mean?
someone who publicly recommends or supports
Jesus is supporting you right now!
When you mess up and disobey God, he pleads your case before the Father so you can be forgiven and love God fully!!!
I have news for you - no one is perfect! I am far from it! I am working on it, rather God is helping me work on it (sanctification)
But when I mess up, I don’t have to give up, or even start over - Jesus supports me and I am forgiven and my relationship with God doesn’t even hiccup
This passage isn’t about obeying so that we get forgiveness. It’s the other way around: we’ve already received forgiveness, and so we live it out in obedience to God
Jesus death for our sins does not justify sinful behavior. Instead it gives us the ability to love God with our whole being and follow the example of Jesus
We don’t just obey to stay out of hell
We obey so that we can freely use our whole heart, soul and strength to love God as we live out this incredible relationship
God doesn’t want to you just scratch by, to make it by the skin of your teeth.
He loves you and wants to see you live out your life to the full, the best, with a full relationship with Him
That is true freedom
It is easy to cast your heart, soul, and strength (feelings, thoughts, and body/actions) on things around you, whether it be a relationship, social media, friends or school.
The reality is that none of those things have every fully loved and sacrificed for you like God has.
Sin tells us that we can love the things of the world and be satisfied and fulfilled in them
That is a lie!
When you love the things of the world, it will leave you feeling more empty
However, when you love God and obey Him you experience the fullness of life He marked out just for you
That life is filled with His joy, peace, hope, freedom, and truth!
Maybe you are that student that is doing everything “right” on the outside - with your actions, but on the inside, your heart is far from God. Or your thoughts are miles from Him.
Have you become hyper-focused on your actions and the actions of others, while ignoring your heart?
The foundation for obedience should be love for God, not to earn God’s love or get approval from others watching you.
Ask God to change your heart, Ask Him to transform your mind tonight, Ask Him to show you any influences that distract you from the pursuit of holiness, of loving Him well
Ask Jesus to advocate for you - Pray
Group Discussion
Have you heard someone justify sinful behavior because they know God has already forgiven them? Why is this way of thinking problematic?
How is God saying “Be holy” different from saying “be perfect”?
How do things like your schedule, social media use, TV consumption, and relationships affect your ability to love God with your whole being?
List ways we can love God with our Heart, Soul, and Mind.