Intro: What a question! What is the most important commandment of all? What is the most important thing that God has said to us!! What you must know is that the Scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees had not stopped with the law of God. There were 613 laws that were to be observed. 365 of those connected to the days of the year were don’ts, 248 were do’s. Some teachers of the law had said that the most important of all of these is to have tassels attached to the bottom of your robes!! (We are not much different than the scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees)
If you have read the Gospels of Mark or Matthew you would know that this was not the first question given to Jesus. First the political question should we pay taxes? Give to God what is his and to Caesar what is his. Second the religious question about the resurrection. Jesus answered God is the God of the living not of the dead. You don’t even understand. Finally, what is the most important commandment?
Jesus effectively gave the Hebrew Shema(to hear) Deuteronomy 6.4 Hear O Israel: The Lord your God is one God, deuteronomy 6.5 “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” This was placed in a little box that contained a Mizuza (a piece of parchment with scripture on it) on the doorpost of every home. Then Jesus applies the Bible to every-day living. He quotes Leviticus 19.18, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
We ask all kinds of questions, and discuss all kinds of things about God, religion, politics, etc. But what is the most important question we should be asking. What is most important to God!!
I. The Commanding principle of loving God
It seems to me many things are muddled in the church today. The focus of churches seems to be to not offend people. We need to become sensitive to the needs of people. To make places comfortable and welcoming. How on earth would Jesus have replied to such things today? The greatest of these is to love the Lord you God with all you heart, soul, mind, and strength.
Teaching the Bible should be central we should go deep, reaching out to people should be central we should go far, speaking out on issues we should speak loud. These place such an emphasis on doing, Jesus placed an emphasis on being.
The commanding principle is directing our heart toward the captain and creator of the universe.
What I believe the question and Jesus’ answer is really trying to get us to see is what type of person are we? I can think of at least four types of people that there are in the world.
A) Those that completely reject God
There are some in the world that don’t even entertain the possibility of God. They prefer to look to aliens as the intelligent designers of the universe. Psalm 14.1 calls them fools. It is almost like a disease today rejection of authority spreads like the plague. Love the Lord your God. It is a command. It is a rejection of God’s authority, but also a rejection of His grace. For the type of love that God calls us to is a decision of the will. For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Those that hate God and reject loving Him stand condemned in the day of judgment because of their willful rejection.
B) Those that completely forget God
This group knows there is a God but neglect all he is and has for their life. Every other care in the world captures them. Not out and out haters and of God or at war with God but they care about as much for God as they do for the government. God is there but he is not acknowledged or submitted to. There is a lack of understanding of who God is and certainly no desire to surrender to the supreme of the universe.
C) Those that completely respect God
This group investigates the world. They dive deep into the oceans and see the majestic creatures of the deep. They dig deep into the earth and are amazed at its complex nature. They stare far into the stars and are overwhelmed with is vast size and complexity. They are overcome with the creations of His hands, but never overcome by His love in their hearts.
D) Those that completely reflect on God
This group studies manuscripts but never really surrenders to God. Whether professors or pastors, teachers in Sunday schools or seminaries, or just religious enthusiasts. They think on the things of God but never surrender to the overwhelming love of God. They know many facts about God, they can quote scripture and tell you historical background. However they have never been overcome by the amazing grace of God. Never in their life was a there moment when they were struck by the spirit of God that they were sinners sentenced to death and separation from God for ever. They are sincere in their studies but not saved by their faith.
II. The failing performance of loving God
God’s commands call for complete obedience. Partial obedience is complete disobedience.
Romans 3.23 says all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God! This simply means that there has never been anyone outside of Jesus Christ who could in any way love God perfectly!
What we see when we look into the mirror of God’s word is a need to completely trust in what God has done in Jesus Christ.
I wish that I could convince people that as Christians what we feel is not as important as what we believe!
What is God’s great concern, His great commandment? That man would make God his chief concern. There is way too much weight placed on performance in the church today. The best and most spiritual pastors are those that have tens of thousands in their congregations with millions of dollars in their budgets. Attendance seems to be the measure of Christian spiritual greatness.
However, God is searching for people that realize they can’t perform to God’s standards and that they would stop trying to live the Christian life and let Christ live it through them.
Galatians 2.20 (turn to and read or quote)
You have probably read or heard the serenity prayer. But have you ever heard it or read it in its entirety.
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.
Reinhold Niebuhr
Love God with all you heart, with every decision love God, Love God with all your soul, with every emotion love God, with all you mind, or might, strength, with all you thoughts.
What we find as we examine our life is that we cannot completely obey this commandment. There are times of weakness, times of neglect, times of distraction. It was because of our inability to obey the simplest but most important of all commandments that Jesus came.
III. The transforming power of loving God
Love your neighbor as yourself.
How many would say today I love God, I Love the Lord Jesus Christ, I love His Holy Spirit? But how many today rise early in the morning and bow all of your being before the supreme of the universe? How many are concerned with the neighbors that live only a few hundred yards or only part of a mile away? Sadly today in our church in our state and world many people honor God with their lips but with their life dishonor Him.
One of the greatest things about truly loving God is that it results in truly loving people. Do you know what is sad? Living in Columbia for 2 years I have had 1 church visit my home. The church was knocking on doors for a fundraiser.
What about the love we are to have for the lost. Those that are completely unaware of God, or those that neglect God or reject God. Does our love for God result in love for others?
Has God’s spirit transformed us in such a manner that we are no longer selfish or self absorbed?
I want to share with you a Biblical story that should be very familiar. This story comes after the story of the lost sheep, and after the story of the lost coin. It really gives us a window into the heart of man and the heart of God.
It goes something like this. A man had two sons. One day one of those sons came to him and said dad I want all my inheritance. The son not only insulted his father by asking for his inheritance, which was as good as saying I wish you were dead dad, he went on to spend that money on loose living. The son ended up foolishly spending all the money. He ended up working slopping pigs for the possibility of some food. What a disgrace and insult for a Jewish boy. The boy finally woke up one day and realized slaves are treated better in my father’s house than this. He made up some speech and practiced it on the way home. What the boy hadn’t realized was that the father had been looking for him every day since he left. He would sit on the farm house roof and imagine his son coming home. As the boy was coming down the road the father saw him in the distance. Thinking he had gotten too much heat he made his way off the roof to the cool shade of the porch. He squinted his eyes and looked again. Sure enough someone was coming down the road. As the boy got closer the father recognized his walk. The father broke into a sprint, when he reached the boy they almost fell over as he hugged him and told his son how glad he was he was home.
It didn’t end there the farm hands came out to meet them. He told them get the good meat out boys there’s a party tonight my son has come home. Even though the son still smelled of the pig pen the father welcomed him home.
But the brother who stayed home was angry. He yelled at his dad, how dare you give him a party he left and spent some of our estate. The father responded with love and acceptance the brother responded with hate and bitterness.
Which do you respond with day by day? How do you respond to people that have hurt you?
How do you respond to people that seem to be unlovable. In my experience the more I let go of my life to God the more I can love others. However, the more I hold on the less I love others. Have you surrendered you life to God and fell in love with him in such a way that your life is being transformed?
Conclusion: How would Jesus reply to you today? You are not far from the kingdom, or as he did in Mark 12.27 you are mistaken? Matthew 22.29 “You are mistaken, not understanding the scriptures or the power of God.” The central issue for the church is do you love God?
