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Matthew 10:37-39
We are continuing our series on Heart and Head: Loving God with our Mind and Emotions.
Last week we saw that we should Love God Exclusively.
We saw four ways that we can love God: through Giving, Praying, Forgiving and Sacrificing as found in Matthew 6
Today I want to go a little further in this Idea of loving God and see how Jesus tells us we ought to love God preeminently.
Here in Chapter 10 of Matthew Jesus is sending His disciples out to minister.
In verse 1, He calls the twelve together and gives them power against unclean spirits, and power to heal sickness and disease.
Then He sent them to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.
In His challenge to them He indirectly shows us five Loves that can take take the preeminence from Christ.
You see Colossians 1:18 tells us
We need to work to make sure that Christ has the preeminence, the first priority, in our lives.
Let’s look at five loves that can take this preeminence from Christ:
Love of Things
9-11
Jesus told the disciples to not even plan for money or things as they were sent to minister for Him.
That is quite a foreign concept to many of us!
I am a planner!
I want to know how things are going to be taken care of and when and with what money.
When I plan a trip somewhere I want it all laid out and planned each step of the way.
Here on this trip, the disciples were not even to plan for the money for their trip.
That is trust in God!
That is Love for God!
The point for the disciples was to go led of the Spirit and trusting in God, The application for us today is be sure that your plans and your putting money back doesn’t come more of a priority than God.
We saw last week how Loving God is Giving to others - Many Spirit filled Christians will find that as soon as money gets saved up the Lord lays upon their heart to give it to someone.
Listen, I’ve gadgets and gizmos a plenty!
Someone said “The only reason a great many American families don’t own an elephant is that they have never been offered an elephant for a dollar down and easy weekly payments.”
But we can’t get to the place where our things, our gadgets, our treasures are more of a priority than the treasure of our hearts, Jesus!
So be careful of the Love of Things...
In verses 12-15 Jesus gives them some instruction of what to do when they get to a town, but look with me at verse 16-23
Love of Comfort
16-31
This is quite a pep talk and recruiting speech!
Hey guys, go in as sheep among the wolves
the men are going to turn you into the authorities
Your brothers are going to turn you in even to be killed
Your fathers will too.
The children will go against their own parents, even to death.
Oh, and your going to be hated by all men!
You’ll be persecuted, but don’t worry, just flee to another city!
What the disciples say to this?
“uh, say again?”
After this whole speech in Matthew 11:1
It says Jesus left to preach in the cities, I imagine the disciples just standing there speechless!
The truth is we love comfort!
I don’t even like to go to a party where I don’t know anyone!
But because Jesus commands us to go, we go!
So if your aren’t going to Love Comfort, we need to prepare to do a few things:
A. Stand Alone
Stand against the wolves, but harmless as doves
Family may turn against us, we’ll talk more about that in a minute
But be willing to stand alone!
B. Stand ‘Til Death
That’s means two things - keep standing until you die
and that means - keep standing even if you were to die.
Just a cursory read of Foxes Book of Martyrs will put us all to shame in regards to our priorities.
C. Just Keep Going
He said in verse 23, When they persecute you, not if they persecute you.
“I’ve never been persecuted!”
Maybe we are doing enough!
But he says when they persecute you flee into another city and keep going!
So we are to not Love Things more than God
We are to not Love Comfort more than God
Thirdly be careful of the ...
Love of Acceptance
32-33
Jesus talks about denying Him
Why would anyone deny that they know Jesus?
Because they want to be accepted.
It’s a natural desire, everyone wants to be accepted.
But we cannot let the desire for acceptance to supersede our Love and obedience for the Lord.
Remember those are the same thing!
Love and obedience!
Who’s acceptance are you going to bow to?
Authorities - Work or Government
Family
Friends
Jesus
I remember my first experience with pressure from friends.
Friend and I wanted to start a Bible Club in our Junior High.
Talk about pressure!
But when it came time to do it, my friend backed out.
I was left there by myself for our first meeting.
What did I do?
I studies the Bible… then got back to inviting people.
We need to love God more than Love of Things, the Love of Comfort, the Love of Acceptance, fourthly We need to be careful of the ...
Love of Family
35-37
Now wait a minute are you saying that we are not supposed to love oru family?
Of course not!
Since that would be a direct violation of multiple of God’s commands, we know that is not the correct interpretation.
In fact it gets even more strongly worded in Luke 14:26
Jesus is saying our love for God ought to be so strong that even the closest people to us in this life, in comparison, looks like hatred.
Do we love God like this?
Remember
Are you loving God with everything you have?
Does he have absolute first place in your life?
Or do you just serve Him, love Him, obey Him if there is no other conflict?
In fact Jesus goes a step further in the next couple of verses...
Not only are you not to Love Things more than God
Not only are you not to Love Comfort more than God
Not only are you not to Love Acceptance more than God
Not only Are you not to Love Family more than God
But He then speaks of the ultimate love for all of us!
Love of Self
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