Christian Essentials: Love

Christian Essentials: • Love Love God with all your soul. o Matthew 22:36-37 January 3, 2021 28 o Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all 29 wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me. Colossians 1:28–29 (ESV) LOVE GOD AND PEOPLE o • Love God with all your mind. o GROW IN CHRIST-LIKENESS SERVE CHRIST o GO AND MAKE DISCIPLES The Big Idea: When asked by religious professionals to name the greatest of all of God’s commandments, without pause, Jesus said all of the Law hinges on loving God and loving people. The first essential of a life with God is loving God with all we are. Matthew 22:36-37 (ESV) “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 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. 36 • Love with all your heart. o o o o So, the proper disposition toward God begins on the inside of a man or woman, not the outside. Heart is the seat of our passions, desires, deepest longings and dreams, and affections. No wonder Proverbs warned us, “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.” Prov. 4:23 Deuteronomy 6:6; Jeremiah 31:33; Ezekiel 36:26 “Soul” is closely related to “breath”. God “breathed” life into Adam. Soul is the “animating force” in us. It is the totality of the life that God has given us. Soul = all that you are as a human being created in the image of God. Biblically, we don’t “have” a soul, we “are” a soul. So, we are to love him with our whole being: how we talk, what we do with our hands, and how we utilize our talents, and how we react to challenges — our entire being is to display that we are God’s and that we love God. o 2 Corinthians 10:5 à “ We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,” Romans 12:2 à “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Philippians 4:8 à “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” Accept the Love Challenge 1. In response to God’s great love for you, be saved and be baptized. 2. Commit to daily time in Scripture and in prayer as you begin each day. Worship Him daily as well as on Sunday. 3. Ask God to help you see the “good” he is working out in the difficult circumstances of your life. [Romans 8:28] 4. Ask the Lord to show you where you have allowed idols to form in your affections, your resources, and your thoughts (heart, soul, mind). Tear down the idols and worship the Lord alone. 5. Out of your love for the Lord, love people – especially the difficult to love ones.