The Power of the Love of God
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Transcript
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The Power of the Love of God
The Power of the Love of God
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
Our love for God informs all other aspects of our lives.
It transforms how we live our lives,
which will be a light and an example to a watching world.
And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?”
Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.
And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’
FCF
We do not desire to be under authority. We want to be free to do as we please.
PROPOSITION
When we love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, it affects all of our relationships.
Our love for God gives us opportunities to live out our faith… the truth of the gospel.
Blessed Are the Meek
Blessed Are the Meek
The word meek means:
humbly patient or quiet in nature
overly submissive or compliant
gentle; kind
This is the kind of attitude/heart God wants His people to have.
And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and some of the Herodians, to trap him in his talk.
And they came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone’s opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?”
But, knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why put me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.”
And they brought one. And he said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said to him, “Caesar’s.”
Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they marveled at him.
EXPLAIN
EXPLAIN
The Pharisees and Herodians were in opposition to one another…
but agreed to try and trap Jesus.
They attempt to catch him off guard by flattery…
but Jesus sees through their hypocrisy and calls them out.
The tax was a contentious issue.
If he says they should pay it, the crowds may be upset with him.
If he says they shouldn’t pay it, he opposes the Roman gov’t.
His answer is brilliant!
He’s not anti-Roman, but not pro-Roman either.
We are under divine obligation to submit to human authority…
But God is ultimately over Caesar.
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.
Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.
For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval,
for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.
Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience.
For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing.
Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.
Summary
Human authority has been placed by God,
therefore we are to submit to them.
We are blessed when we are meek.
This leads to a pretty obvious question:
Should we submit to authority in every situation?
No!
How do we know when to not submit?
When it is in contradiction with God’s Word.
Can you think of an example from the Bible?
Peter and John before the Council (Acts 4)
Can you think of an example from our day?
Government telling people what to say/not say.
Summary
We need to have a heart that is meek.
This means that our attitude is one of submission.
This comes from our submission to God, and our love for Him.
We must let go of our false sense of pride and importance and realize that we are nothing but servants who don’t deserve anything.
We must let go of our false sense of pride and importance and realize that we are nothing but servants who don’t deserve anything.
Then… we can humbly submit to God’s authority.
Next…
Blessed Are Those Who Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness
Blessed Are Those Who Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness
Our love for God needs to stir our hearts to do what is right.
This is in direct opposition to doing what I want, or what feels good to me.
Our desire to please God should create a desire…
a hunger, and a thirst…
for righteousness.
And Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection. And they asked him a question, saying,
“Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife, but leaves no child, the man must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.
There were seven brothers; the first took a wife, and when he died left no offspring.
And the second took her, and died, leaving no offspring. And the third likewise.
And the seven left no offspring. Last of all the woman also died.
In the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be? For the seven had her as wife.”
Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God?
For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.
And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’?
He is not God of the dead, but of the living. You are quite wrong.”
EXPLAIN
EXPLAIN
The Sadducees were a group that did not believe in a future bodily resurrection.
They attempt to trap Jesus with a ridiculous question that would never happen.
Their goal is to show how ridiculous a future resurrection would be in light of this command.
ie: you have a problem in heaven with all these husbands of the same wife!
Jesus points out that they don’t know their Bible’s well enough!
Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise. You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy! For your dew is a dew of light, and the earth will give birth to the dead.
And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God,
Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure.
For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption.
You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
Summary
Rather than relying and depending on their own understanding,
the Sadducees needed to know and believe God’s Word.
They were trying to justify themselves and their beliefs… BUT…
Their love for God should have stirred their hearts to hunger and thirst for righteousness according to His Word.
ILLUSTRATE
ILLUSTRATE
APPLY
APPLY
In the same way, we can use our Bible’s to justify our own opinions or ideas.
We need to pursue and cultivate a deep love for God…
and then the desire to hunger and thirst for righteousness will come from that relationship.
Spending daily time in God’s Word is a constant reminder that He is our God…
That His Word is our authority…
That we need Him!
SIDE-NOTE ABOUT MARRIAGE
I know that for many of you, you’re thinking about marriage…
who you will marry.
You struggle with the fear of never marrying.
Continue to trust God, and wait for His timing and plan.
BUT… You need to understand that your relationship to God is more important that your relationship to a spouse!
What we learn in this story is that marriage does not extend into the kingdom of God.
But there is a resurrection! We will rise from the dead…
and will be accountable for how we lived our lives here on earth.
If there is no marriage in heaven…
What is the purpose/point of marriage?
It is a picture of the gospel!
It is an opportunity for you to practice and live out your faith.
Men, you submit to Christ, and surrender yourself for your wife/families benefit.
Women, you submit to your husband, and surrender yourself for your husband/families benefit.
Marriage is the hardest thing you will ever do!
Marriage is the hardest thing you will ever do!
It is a means to and end…
You have a tangible way of living our your faith in Christ until you get to heaven.
How do people tend to view the purpose of marriage?
My spouse will satisfy my hopes, dreams, and desires!
Summary
We are blessed when we pursue righteousness according to God and His Word.
He is the only One who is righteous, so we must submit to His authority.
Next…
Blessed Are the Pure in Heart
Blessed Are the Pure in Heart
Our love for God impacts the way live in relation to other people.
We tend to view other people as a means to us getting the things we want…
but we ought to see others as an opportunity for us to live out our faith.
When we do, this is having a pure heart, for which we will be blessed.
The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him.
And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.
EXPLAIN
EXPLAIN
This Scribe truly understood how to live out God’s Word.
Even though the sacrifices were an important part of God’s worship…
the condition of the heart was MORE important!
When we truly love God, we will obey His Word…
which includes loving those around us.
Our sinful nature tends to seek it’s own benefit… it’s own good.
Our world affirms our sinful nature by telling us to look out for ourselves.
But God’s Word tells us to be as concerned for the wellbeing of others as we are for ourselves.
Summary
We can only love others in the same way we love ourselves when we have a pure heart.
This is why our relationship with God must come first!
ILLUSTRATE
ILLUSTRATE
Zaccheus
His life was transformed through an encounter with Jesus.
He had lived his life in greed and taking advantage of others.
Seeking to make things right, he must of thought of what it meant to truly love his fellow man.
Maybe he thought about what he would want someone who had defrauded him to do.
Then… HE DID IT!
He gave half his possessions to the poor, and paid back fourfold to those he had defrauded.
APPLY
APPLY
Can you think of practical ways you can love your neighbour as yourself?
Let them come up with examples…
We come into many different situations throughout our days.
Typically, in our sinful nature, we criticize, condemn, or complain.
What we should try to think in each and every situation is:
If I were in their shoes, how would I want to be treated? And then do that!
If I were in their shoes, how would I want to be treated? And then do that!
Summary
When we are willing to lay down our pride for the benefit of others,
then we know that we have pure hearts,
for which we will be blessed!
Next…
Blessed Are the Merciful
Blessed Are the Merciful
Our love for God should impact how we treat others.
We have been shown such mercy by God,
it is only fitting that we show mercy to others.
And in his teaching he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces
and have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts,
who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”
And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums.
And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny.
And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box.
For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”
EXPLAIN
EXPLAIN
First, Jesus calls out these religious leaders for their sin.
They were seeking honour from men, rather than honour from God.
Walking around in long robes…
They were arrogant, and self-righteous.
Having the best seats of honour.
They were greedy.
Praying on the vulnerable.
Then we see an example of their very hypocrisy.
We often are encouraged to see this woman’s act as sacrificial, which is true!
She acted in faith and trust to God, and gave what she owed to God!
But what we also need to acknowledge the hypocrisy and greed of these religious leaders that would require a poor widow to give all she had to live on!
But what we also need to acknowledge the hypocrisy and greed of these religious leaders that would require a poor widow to give all she had to live on!
Jesus is showing a real life example of how the religious leaders are greedy and taking advantage of the vulnerable.
Summary
The religious leaders should have been quick to show mercy!
God is less interested in sacrifices, and more interested in the heart.
APPLY
APPLY
We must strive to be like God in giving mercy to others,
and then we will be blessed.
What is the definition of mercy?
Getting what you do not deserve.
How has God shown mercy to us?
He sent Christ to die in our place when we were sinners.
In what ways can we show mercy to others?
Perform acts of love to those who don’t deserve it.
What good is it if you do acts of kindness to those who will repay you? None! You have received your reward.
Summary
Because of our love for God,
we should strive to show mercy to others.
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION
Our love for God impacts and transforms all of our relationships!
Each and every area of our lives is an opportunity to live out the truth of the gospel…
The truth of the gospel: Dying to ourselves for the benefit of others!
The truth of the gospel: Dying to ourselves for the benefit of others!
Closing Prompt:
Is there an area of your life that God has been convicting you to die to yourself and serve someone else?