"With All of My Heart"
(Part 1 of 4)
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Introduction:
1001 Humorous Illustrations- p.214, #552- There is a story of a married couple named Ole and Olga who lived on a farm in Iowa. Olga felt that her husband didn’t show her enough affection, and at times doubted his love for her. One day when she was feeling increasingly concerned, she blurted out: “Ole, why don’t you ever tell me that you love me?” Without batting an eye, Ole simply responded: “Olga, on our wedding day I told you that I loved you, and if I ever change my mind, I’ll let you know.”
Sometimes our relationship with God is this way: “God, I know you can’t always see my love, and I don’t tell you too often, but if I ever change my mind I’ll let you know.” This morning we are starting a 4-week series on: loving God with our heart, soul, mind, and strength. As Mark 12:30 tells us,
".....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.' "
Hopefully, this series will help us to see how we can give our all to God.
I. Three truths about the heart: (Leviticus 17:11; Matt. 15:19-20; Romans 10:9-10)
Let’s first look at 3 truths about the heart… Truth #1..
1. God created our hearts as the chief organ of physical life- The heart is
what pumps the blood and keeps us alive. As we are told in Leviticus 17:11,
"For the life of the flesh is in the blood...." The heart occupies the most important place in the human system. Truth #2…
2. God knows that our hearts are defiled- Matthew 15:19-20, "For out of
the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person....." The Bible talks about the heart as a place, as the seat of our thoughts, will, and emotions. From our heart is where all the deep feelings exist. If our heart becomes bad, this is what will lead us to sin. Truth #3..
3. God can change the heart- Romans 10:9-10, "Because if you....believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified....” When we believe in Jesus Christ as our Lord and savior, our heart is changed, and we give ourselves over to the truth of who Jesus is, and to the truth of what salvation brings. We go from being a sinful, selfish person, to being a person who seeks to live as justified in Christ. We cannot fully love God until our heart is changed. Once our heart is changed, we can then move to a place where we begin to understand what it means to love God.
II. Four ways to Love the Lord with all your heart- (Matthew 6:19-21, 25:21; Luke 14:26; Romans 2:15; Psalm 37:4)
Next, let’s look at 4 ways to love the Lord “with all your heart.”
1. What we treasure shows where our love is- We are told in
Matthew 6:19-21, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
If we want to show God that our heart has been fully given to Him, then we need to treasure God and the things of God. We do this by not holding onto things too tightly. We do this by not being selfish in our nature. We understand that we have been given gifts (our money, our time, our talents, our possessions) by God, and that God desires for us to use these gifts in ways that not only benefit ourselves, but that benefit others.
As parents, we try and teach our children how to share. We ourselves need to not forget this lesson. It is important to share all of the gifts God has passed on to us for the glory of God! Now this is much easier to say than it is to live out. Here are a some important questions in regards to this: Question 1- Do we loan things to others, or are we afraid to do so because we fear something might happen to it? This happened to me just a couple of weeks ago. Someone needed to borrow my alto saxophone for their child, because he needed it the next day for school, and they didn’t have enough time to get one for the next day. In the end I let them borrow it, but I felt the tug of my selfishness causing me to initially wantto say “no.”
Question 2- Do we follow God’s command and give 10% of our money to God’s work? I can honestly say that Tami and I do. It is in our budget, and therefore we don’t need to worry about it. Question 3- Do we use our possessions to help others? For example, you have a car, do you use it to help others when they need your help?
These question help to get us thinking about how we are selfish in our behavior, or not.
How does being unselfish show that we love God with all of our hearts? Because in truth, what matters most is not our possessions, but those things that are eternal. You may have heard the saying: “He who has the most toys when he dies, wins.” But a better saying goes like this: “He who has the most toys when he dies, still dies.”
EXAMPLE: 1001 Humorous Illustrations- p. 215, #554. There is a story of a wealthy oil man who was very enthusiastic about his new bride, but sometimes he wondered whether she might have married him just for his money. So one day he asked: “If I lost all my money, would you still love me?” To which she answered: “Of course I would still love you. Don’t be silly. But I would miss you.”
We have to be careful not to love God just because we believe God will bless us, or believe God will give us things. What should be important is the relationship itself, and by showing our love for God by the way we love others. By giving back in this way, we show our commitment, our loyalty, and our love to God. Our material possessions can get broken, they can wear out, or they can even be stolen. But the works we do for God will be with us eternally; they will make an eternal difference!
2. Our relationship with God is our most important relationship- Luke
14:26, "Jesus said to them, `Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple.' " This verse in Luke can sound pretty harsh. The Greek word used here for “hate” is the word “miseo.” It is used to show a relative preference of one thing over another. By using this word, what Jesus is saying is that the love we have for God, the commitment of our hearts to God, should so overwhelm the love we have for anyone or anything else, that it would be like the difference between love & hate.
Now, obviously God gave us our family, our friends, and our life itself, and said that it was all good. To love God with all of our heart, means that we must be a disciple, and to be a disciple means to commit ourselves first and foremost to God and to God’s work. We cannot let our love for others deter us from doing the work God wants done; the work God calls each of us to do. We see this happen all the time; people get excited about their faith, and they want to serve God. In time, however, they feel a pull away from this excitement by their family or friends, and they start getting less and less involved in church and in doing God’s work! THIS MUST NOT BE. God wants our best effort; our total effort to His work.
3. Our faithfulness to God: using talents, gifts, abilities- In Matthew 25:21
we read these words from Jesus: “Then the master will say, ‘Well done good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’”
As a fruit tree does not produce fruit for its own consumption, but for the consumption of others, so our gifts and talents are given to us for the benefit of others. As the eye, mouth, and ear are placed on the body to work together and complement each other, so each of our gifts are meant to work together to complement each other. And I believe that as we serve God faithfully, God will give us more gifts to be used for His glory.
What was the result of the servant using his talent? He doubled his stock. By putting his talents to use, he gained more talents. This is true for us, that as we use our talents, we will understand more and more how to use our talents, and thus bless others, but we will also be exceedingly blessed by God through feeling good about our lives, and by God giving us other blessings as well.
Let me give you an example- Every so often Tiffany will want to help Tami out when she cooks. Now this isn’t necessarily a help to Tami, because she has to slow down and show Tiffany how to do things. But as Tami nurtures this desire of Tiffany’s, in time it will become a true gift, where her desire to help will actually benefit those whom she is helping. In fact, there may come a time when Tami can take a night off and Tiffany can cook the dinner!
Going back to Matthew 25:21, what is the master’s response? The master said these words: “Well done good and faithful servant.” The servant was showing faithfulness to the call of using the talents, and was given words of encouragement and acceptance. The words of encouragement and acceptance were not just for the fact that he doubled his stock, but I think even more because of the faithful effort given. And yet, there was a reward given as well: the servant was given a place of honor in sharing the goodness and happiness of his master.
How does this show love of the heart? Because when we live this way, we are living as God created us to live. Our life-blood is flowing through the body so that our bodies, our lives, can be fruitful. In our faithfulness, we show our commitment to God, we show our thanks to God, and we bring glory to God.
4. Deeds done willingly- The apostle Paul tells us in Romans 2:15, "Since
they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts...." There is a big difference between doing something because you have been told to do it, and doing something on your own because you want to do it. Any parent who has heard the words “I love you” from their child, not as a response to you saying it, but spoken out of the blue from the heart, because they feel it at that moment, will tell you the joy that is felt from this experience.
In Romans 2:15 Paul is saying that we will be judged by the law because of our sin. And so to try and avoid judgment or punishment, we seek to do what is right. But inevitably we will fail, we will sin, and judgment will come. But in Christ, we have been saved from this judgment through our faith.
Our love is shown to God, in that, as a response to the love that God has shown to us, we begin to want to do what is right; we begin to want to love as God loves; we begin to want to do good deeds, not because we will be rewarded or acknowledged for our efforts, but because that is what our heart desires. Our heart has been changed to be like the heart of God. As Psalm 37:4 tells us, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.”
We seek to follow the laws of God, not because of fear of being punished if we fail to live up to the law, but because the law of God has been written on our hearts. We seek to follow the law of God because we have come to love the law of God and how it keeps us on the right track. We understand that God’s law is given to us for our benefit, and for the benefit of others.
Conclusion:
SO WHAT WILL BE THE RESULT IF WE LOVE GOD TOTALLY WITH OUR HEART IN THIS WAY? The result will be that we will have a heart that is in communion with God. As the psalmist says in Psalm 9:1-2, "I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart. I will tell of all your wonders. I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High."
Gladness, rejoicing, and singing will happen in our lives when our hearts are in tune with God; when we love God “will all of our heart”. And even more, our lives will be pleasing to God and to all who encounter us, because our love for God is transferred through our thoughts, words and actions.
As Psalm 19:14 says- "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my
heart be pleasing in your sight. O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer."
Come, let us love the Lord our God with all of our hearts! Amen.
(Part 1 of 4)
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Introduction:
1001 Humorous Illustrations- p.214, #552- There is a story of a married couple named Ole and Olga who lived on a farm in Iowa. Olga felt that her husband didn’t show her enough affection, and at times doubted his love for her. One day when she was feeling increasingly concerned, she blurted out: “Ole, why don’t you ever tell me that you love me?” Without batting an eye, Ole simply responded: “Olga, on our wedding day I told you that I loved you, and if I ever change my mind, I’ll let you know.”
Sometimes our relationship with God is this way: “God, I know you can’t always see my love, and I don’t tell you too often, but if I ever change my mind I’ll let you know.” This morning we are starting a 4-week series on: loving God with our heart, soul, mind, and strength. As Mark 12:30 tells us,
".....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.' "
Hopefully, this series will help us to see how we can give our all to God.
I. Three truths about the heart: (Leviticus 17:11; Matt. 15:19-20; Romans 10:9-10)
Let’s first look at 3 truths about the heart… Truth #1..
1. God created our hearts as the chief organ of physical life- The heart is
what pumps the blood and keeps us alive. As we are told in Leviticus 17:11,
"For the life of the flesh is in the blood...." The heart occupies the most important place in the human system. Truth #2…
2. God knows that our hearts are defiled- Matthew 15:19-20, "For out of
the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person....." The Bible talks about the heart as a place, as the seat of our thoughts, will, and emotions. From our heart is where all the deep feelings exist. If our heart becomes bad, this is what will lead us to sin. Truth #3..
3. God can change the heart- Romans 10:9-10, "Because if you....believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified....” When we believe in Jesus Christ as our Lord and savior, our heart is changed, and we give ourselves over to the truth of who Jesus is, and to the truth of what salvation brings. We go from being a sinful, selfish person, to being a person who seeks to live as justified in Christ. We cannot fully love God until our heart is changed. Once our heart is changed, we can then move to a place where we begin to understand what it means to love God.
II. Four ways to Love the Lord with all your heart- (Matthew 6:19-21, 25:21; Luke 14:26; Romans 2:15; Psalm 37:4)
Next, let’s look at 4 ways to love the Lord “with all your heart.”
1. What we treasure shows where our love is- We are told in
Matthew 6:19-21, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
If we want to show God that our heart has been fully given to Him, then we need to treasure God and the things of God. We do this by not holding onto things too tightly. We do this by not being selfish in our nature. We understand that we have been given gifts (our money, our time, our talents, our possessions) by God, and that God desires for us to use these gifts in ways that not only benefit ourselves, but that benefit others.
As parents, we try and teach our children how to share. We ourselves need to not forget this lesson. It is important to share all of the gifts God has passed on to us for the glory of God! Now this is much easier to say than it is to live out. Here are a some important questions in regards to this: Question 1- Do we loan things to others, or are we afraid to do so because we fear something might happen to it? This happened to me just a couple of weeks ago. Someone needed to borrow my alto saxophone for their child, because he needed it the next day for school, and they didn’t have enough time to get one for the next day. In the end I let them borrow it, but I felt the tug of my selfishness causing me to initially wantto say “no.”
Question 2- Do we follow God’s command and give 10% of our money to God’s work? I can honestly say that Tami and I do. It is in our budget, and therefore we don’t need to worry about it. Question 3- Do we use our possessions to help others? For example, you have a car, do you use it to help others when they need your help?
These question help to get us thinking about how we are selfish in our behavior, or not.
How does being unselfish show that we love God with all of our hearts? Because in truth, what matters most is not our possessions, but those things that are eternal. You may have heard the saying: “He who has the most toys when he dies, wins.” But a better saying goes like this: “He who has the most toys when he dies, still dies.”
EXAMPLE: 1001 Humorous Illustrations- p. 215, #554. There is a story of a wealthy oil man who was very enthusiastic about his new bride, but sometimes he wondered whether she might have married him just for his money. So one day he asked: “If I lost all my money, would you still love me?” To which she answered: “Of course I would still love you. Don’t be silly. But I would miss you.”
We have to be careful not to love God just because we believe God will bless us, or believe God will give us things. What should be important is the relationship itself, and by showing our love for God by the way we love others. By giving back in this way, we show our commitment, our loyalty, and our love to God. Our material possessions can get broken, they can wear out, or they can even be stolen. But the works we do for God will be with us eternally; they will make an eternal difference!
2. Our relationship with God is our most important relationship- Luke
14:26, "Jesus said to them, `Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple.' " This verse in Luke can sound pretty harsh. The Greek word used here for “hate” is the word “miseo.” It is used to show a relative preference of one thing over another. By using this word, what Jesus is saying is that the love we have for God, the commitment of our hearts to God, should so overwhelm the love we have for anyone or anything else, that it would be like the difference between love & hate.
Now, obviously God gave us our family, our friends, and our life itself, and said that it was all good. To love God with all of our heart, means that we must be a disciple, and to be a disciple means to commit ourselves first and foremost to God and to God’s work. We cannot let our love for others deter us from doing the work God wants done; the work God calls each of us to do. We see this happen all the time; people get excited about their faith, and they want to serve God. In time, however, they feel a pull away from this excitement by their family or friends, and they start getting less and less involved in church and in doing God’s work! THIS MUST NOT BE. God wants our best effort; our total effort to His work.
3. Our faithfulness to God: using talents, gifts, abilities- In Matthew 25:21
we read these words from Jesus: “Then the master will say, ‘Well done good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’”
As a fruit tree does not produce fruit for its own consumption, but for the consumption of others, so our gifts and talents are given to us for the benefit of others. As the eye, mouth, and ear are placed on the body to work together and complement each other, so each of our gifts are meant to work together to complement each other. And I believe that as we serve God faithfully, God will give us more gifts to be used for His glory.
What was the result of the servant using his talent? He doubled his stock. By putting his talents to use, he gained more talents. This is true for us, that as we use our talents, we will understand more and more how to use our talents, and thus bless others, but we will also be exceedingly blessed by God through feeling good about our lives, and by God giving us other blessings as well.
Let me give you an example- Every so often Tiffany will want to help Tami out when she cooks. Now this isn’t necessarily a help to Tami, because she has to slow down and show Tiffany how to do things. But as Tami nurtures this desire of Tiffany’s, in time it will become a true gift, where her desire to help will actually benefit those whom she is helping. In fact, there may come a time when Tami can take a night off and Tiffany can cook the dinner!
Going back to Matthew 25:21, what is the master’s response? The master said these words: “Well done good and faithful servant.” The servant was showing faithfulness to the call of using the talents, and was given words of encouragement and acceptance. The words of encouragement and acceptance were not just for the fact that he doubled his stock, but I think even more because of the faithful effort given. And yet, there was a reward given as well: the servant was given a place of honor in sharing the goodness and happiness of his master.
How does this show love of the heart? Because when we live this way, we are living as God created us to live. Our life-blood is flowing through the body so that our bodies, our lives, can be fruitful. In our faithfulness, we show our commitment to God, we show our thanks to God, and we bring glory to God.
4. Deeds done willingly- The apostle Paul tells us in Romans 2:15, "Since
they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts...." There is a big difference between doing something because you have been told to do it, and doing something on your own because you want to do it. Any parent who has heard the words “I love you” from their child, not as a response to you saying it, but spoken out of the blue from the heart, because they feel it at that moment, will tell you the joy that is felt from this experience.
In Romans 2:15 Paul is saying that we will be judged by the law because of our sin. And so to try and avoid judgment or punishment, we seek to do what is right. But inevitably we will fail, we will sin, and judgment will come. But in Christ, we have been saved from this judgment through our faith.
Our love is shown to God, in that, as a response to the love that God has shown to us, we begin to want to do what is right; we begin to want to love as God loves; we begin to want to do good deeds, not because we will be rewarded or acknowledged for our efforts, but because that is what our heart desires. Our heart has been changed to be like the heart of God. As Psalm 37:4 tells us, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.”
We seek to follow the laws of God, not because of fear of being punished if we fail to live up to the law, but because the law of God has been written on our hearts. We seek to follow the law of God because we have come to love the law of God and how it keeps us on the right track. We understand that God’s law is given to us for our benefit, and for the benefit of others.
Conclusion:
SO WHAT WILL BE THE RESULT IF WE LOVE GOD TOTALLY WITH OUR HEART IN THIS WAY? The result will be that we will have a heart that is in communion with God. As the psalmist says in Psalm 9:1-2, "I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart. I will tell of all your wonders. I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High."
Gladness, rejoicing, and singing will happen in our lives when our hearts are in tune with God; when we love God “will all of our heart”. And even more, our lives will be pleasing to God and to all who encounter us, because our love for God is transferred through our thoughts, words and actions.
As Psalm 19:14 says- "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my
heart be pleasing in your sight. O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer."
Come, let us love the Lord our God with all of our hearts! Amen.
posted by Logan's Blog at 3:44 PM
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