Question Box

Question: How do I know that I really love the Lord with all my heart, and not just my mind?

Short Answer: You know that you love the Lord with all your heart when He is the only thing that matters to you; and everything in your life is about Him in some way.

None of us has ever accomplished this, or will ever be able to accomplish this on this side of eternity. That is why Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, on our behalf, are necessary.

Better Answer: Within the security of the gospel, we live out James 4:1-10 in our lives.

James 4:1–10 ESV

1 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. 4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? 6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

Big Idea: The Cure for an Divided Heart is Repentance and Clinging to God

First Things - The Gospel Foundation

Love for God is a single-minded commitment which impacts our actions, and results in joyful affection and delight.

Love for God: Origin -The Gospel Principle

The origin of true love for God - it’s a gift of the Holy Spirit! (Rom. 5:5; Gal. 5:22)

Romans 5:5 ESV

5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Galatians 5:22 ESV

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

Love for God is a gift from God. We can not produce it, we can only ask for it; and he has promised to give it to us! - Matt 7:7-11

The Fight for Worship

Because love is the gift of God [grace] that the Holy Spirit produces in us; growing in our love for him is a matter of commitment and worship.

James 4:1-10 is a black and white picture that can be applied to lives with many shades of gray.

Verses 1-4 describes the problem. Divided commitments and desires.

We must recognize that we do not, and never have, loved God perfectly.

Salvation is not merely asking Jesus to be our savior, it is also repentance of everything that competes with Him.

Ask yourself, “Is there anything that would bother me if God asked me to give it up?”

Another Question to ask is “Is there anything in my life that I don’t trust God with?”

Everything that triggers off of those two questions ought to cause us to ask the question: “Why?”

If I don’t trust God enough, is it because I don’t actually believe he loves me perfectly?

The problem? That we love other things or other people more than God. Also known as not loving the Lord with all your heart.

The solution? Verses 5 -10

Vs. 5 God is jealous for our whole hearts. That is why he sent Jesus to be our saviour.

Vs. 6 You aren’t doing this alone.

Vs. 7a The first step is to surrender your heart to the Lord. Give God permission to have your whole heart. Ask him for help.

Vs. 7b - 8a Cling to God (Gen. 2:24) and draw near to Him. CHOOSE to make God the most precious thing in your life.

Vs. 8b - 9 Whenever the Holy Spirit shows you an idol, repent, remove it from it’s place in your heart. Determine to put Jesus in it’s place.

Vs. 10 Be honest with God, admit your weakness and inability to do all this. Ask God for help. Trust him to help you.

If you love God first and foremost above everything else, “everything else” will eventually fall into place. (Lk 12:22; Matt 6:33). This is God’s great promise to us!

When you are worried about whether you love God enough:

Rest easy in the promise that you belong to God, and he will not let you go.

Examine the things that are important to you, are they idols or not?

If you have idols, repent. Ask God for forgiveness and draw near to him.

If the Holy Spirit does not convict you of idolatry, then trust that your love for God is more than how you feel at this moment (1 Jn 3:20)