Love

What will you do with Jesus?

Matthew 22:34–36 ESV

34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”

Matthew 22:37–39 ESV

37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

Three ideas before we get to the heart of text:

1. God Loved Us First!

1 John 4:19 ESV

19 We love because he first loved us.

2. God Loved Us When We Were Opposed to Him!

Romans 5:8 ESV

8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

3. His Love Is Not A Response to Us it is In Spite of Us.

Titus 3:4–5 ESV

4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,

The Demand of the Command:

Love God!

Matthew 22:37 (ESV)

37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God...

Love Completely!

Matthew 22:37–38 ESV

37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment.

Love Others!

Matthew 22:39 ESV

39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

Cling to the Love…The Love of God!

Revelation 2:1–4 ESV

1 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands. 2 “ ‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. 3 I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. 4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.

Walking Away, But In...

Love God!

Love Others!

Repeat!