30 DAYS TO LIVE: LOVE COMPLETELY
MARK 12:28-34
INTRODUCTION
I have a confession before I begin my sermon today. I hope you will still want to listen to me even after I tell you this. I am sure you all would want to know what kind of person is preaching to you today. I… I… [act pensive] I must confess to you that this morning when you all came in, you received a bulletin. Well, I have laced all of the bulletins with ‘Iocane powder’ poison. You have been poisoned. You have 30 days to live.
I thought that I would preach on this subject of ’30 days to live’, but I realized that the message would get lost because you really would not die in 30 days… or at least you would not know you would be dead in 30 days. This way, you know. I have poisoned you… you have 30 days to live. I now realize that it was probably a mistake (probably) and I will go to jail and all that, but at least I will have preached an effective sermon.
Now, before we go much further, and before I give some of you the antidote [give wife a tic-tac], I thought I would let you sweat a little and go ahead and preach my sermon. What will you do now? What will you do now that you have 30 days to live? Are your priorities a little different? Will your conversations be different?
The main question I want to ask you, however, is: Will you love differently NOW because you only have 30 days to live? Will you love differently? Will you love completely? Will you love completely and how do we even do that?
Jesus talks about loving completely in the passage we will read this morning. Now I know you all are worried about the poison and the antidote, but concentrate on the message and the antidote will come. Jesus is among some crowds and He is teaching about the authority He has from Heaven (Mark 11:27-33), He presents the Parable of the Wicked Tenants (Mark 12:1-12), He speaks about giving and taxes (Mark 12:13-17), and He speaks about marriage and Heaven (Mark 12:18-27). Jesus is teaching the crowds and in the midst of the crowds the Pharisees and Sadducees were asking questions and were trying to trap Jesus. It was in the midst of these trapping and sly questions that a person genuinely seeking an answer comes up to Jesus. Let’s read.
MARK 12:28-34
“One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?" 29 "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: ’Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ’Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these." 32 "Well said, teacher," the man replied. "You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. 33 To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices." 34 When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.”
A teacher of the law came and asked a genuine question. Jesus’ teaching is the answer to ‘how we love completely.’ I believe that Jesus points out three aspects of love that combined together form a complete love for our lives. We should love God, love others, and love ourselves… these three are components of complete love.
I. LOVE GOD COMPLETELY
Jesus is quite clear when He speaks to the crowds and to the teacher of the law, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” Let’s read and say that verse out loud together. [do so] Loving God completely should be our first and primary goal.
Jesus says we should love the Lord our God with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strength. What does that mean? To be honest, I could separate heart and soul and mind and strength and each one of them could be its own sermon! Yet, I think loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength means 100% intentional devotion in all of these areas.
The problem is that our heart gets divided among day-to-day activities and the people around us.
The problem is that our soul gets passionate for causes and work and hobbies and God gets left behind.
The problem is that our minds become consumed with illogical errors and sin and we seldom think on God.
The problem is that our strength is spent at home, leisure activities, at work and we are too weak for God.
Can you, with a good conscience and in truthfulness, say that you loved God fully and undivided this past week? Have you been fully passionate and single minded towards God this week? Have you spent all your strength for God this week? Most of us, if not all of us, would say that other things got in the way of our devotion and love for God. Busyness with business, the requirement for entertainment, the unhealthy needs of others, the temptations of the world, and so many other influences come into our life and divide our love from God. We live divided.
Each day we hope to live a life worthy of the salvation we have been given and united with God and yet we live in this fallen world that is full of influences and temptations that divide us… divide our hearts and souls and minds and strength. So how do we love God completely with no division and no failure?
In the Old Testament, when this command is given (Deuteronomy 6:4-25), God describes whole hearted love towards Himself. I want to read those verses and I hope you see the same emphasis that I did and see the same answer: “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.” Alright, how do I do that?! As the passage in Deuteronomy 6 continues, God starts to explain how a person can live out life undivided. He answers the ‘how’ question!
7 Impress them on your children. -- that is very intentional and certainly not an accident
Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. -- that is very intentional and a continual emphasis
8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. -- that is very intentional and on purpose
9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. -- that is very intentional and public
God continues for 8 more verses about intentional and purposeful decisions and actions that a person can do to live a life wholly loving God. We have to live a life loving God 100% on purpose! Loving God completely is no accident! Loving God completely is not something that just happens. Jesus commands us that we should love the Lord our God with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strength. What does that mean? It means / 100% / intentional / on purpose / ‘I made a decision to be this way’ / ‘nothing is getting in the way’ / devotion to God. Loving God completely does not just happen, but is an intentional choice that we must make for our lives or the choice is made for us. The key word is “intentional.”
I can imagine that now that we only have 30 days to live that many of the things of life that have been distractions and have divided our hearts… will be gone.
We will choose to set aside the alcohol and drugs We will intentionally have daily devotions
We will deliberately stop sleeping around We will intentionally pray continually each day
We will decide to stop fits of rage We will intentionally volunteer at church to serve
We will willingly forgive someone their sin We will intentionally share our faith with our friend
We will opt not to gossip We will intentionally grow and invest in our spiritual life
ILLUSTRATION… Brother Lawrence (www.sermons.org/illustrations.html)
Brother Lawrence was a cook in a monastery. He learned to press meaning into virtually every action of his day. Note his capacity to see not only meaning but also purpose in his labor:
“I turn my little omelet in the pan for the love of God. When it is finished, if I have nothing to do, I prostrate myself on the ground and worship my God, who gave me this grace to make it, after which I arise happier than a king. When I can do nothing else, it is enough to have picked up a straw for the love of God. People look for ways of learning how to love God. They hope to attain it by I know not how many different practices. They take much trouble to abide in His presence by varied means. Is it not a shorter and more direct way to do everything for the love of God, to make use of all the tasks one’s lot in life demands to show him that love, and to maintain his presence within by the communion of our heart with his? There is nothing complicated about it. One has only to turn to it honestly and simply.” And I would add… intentionally.
We will, now that we have only 30 days to live, intentionally love God completely. You will get rid of those things… won’t you? You will love God completely… won’t you?
[give tic-tacs to a few more people]
II. LOVE OTHERS COMPLETELY
ILLUSTRATION... “After Church” www.sermoncentral.com
And there he stood, in the midst of the Golden Corral restaurant, with Thousand Island dressing dripping from his hair, over his glasses, down his face, all over his jacket, pants, & shoes. And I’m not talking about a little bit of Thousand Island dressing, I’m talking about 2 gallons of it! What had happened was that a waitress carrying a 2-gallon container of Thousand Island dressing for the salad bar had paused for just a second while coming through the swinging doors of the kitchen, & the doors had caught her & knocked her forward, launching 2 gallons of dressing all over this guy. Well, he went ballistic! He started shouting & cursing at her. “You’re so stupid! I can’t believe you could do such a stupid, stupid thing. This is a brand new suit & it cost me $300.” His wife chimed in, “Yeah, you’ve ruined my husband’s $300 suit, & it’s the first time he’s had a chance to wear it.” He screamed, “I want to see the manager!” Thoroughly shaken, she went to get the manager, & the manager came out. Now picture this – here’s a guy with 2 gallons of Thousand Island dressing dripping from him, & the manager asks, “Is there a problem?” The guy replies, “Is there a problem? She’s ruined my $300 suit. It’s brand new, & I want a new suit!” The manager says, “We’ll be glad to get your suit cleaned. Accidents do happen, & we’re really sorry about this.” “No! No!” he said. “I don’t want my suit cleaned. I want a brand new suit, & I demand a check for $300 right here & now.” Well, to avoid a bigger scene, the manger goes back into his office, writes out a check for $300 & brings it to him. And justice is served.
Tragically, this true story happened at noon on a Sunday. Now, why would someone be wearing a brand new suit on Sunday? Do you suppose he had been to church? Do you suppose that he had just heard a sermon on “Love your neighbor as yourself?”
Jesus is equally clear as He continues to speak to the crowds when He says, “’Love your neighbor as yourself.’” Let’s say read and say that verse together. [do so] Remember, Jesus points out three aspects of love that combined together form a complete love for our lives… He commands that we are to love our ‘neighbors’ completely. Whenever I think about loving our neighbors I cannot help but think of three questions.
Question 1: Who is my neighbor?
Question 2: What does Jesus say?
Question 3: What about the people I don’t like?
Right away we ask the question, “Who is my neighbor?” That same question was asked of Jesus (Luke 10:29-36) and Jesus responds by telling the Parable of the Good Samaritan. Without going into great detail, the answer is that your neighbor is anyone you come in contact with. We are all neighbors of each other. A neighbor is not just the person whose house is physically next to yours, but all the folks we meet out in the highways and byways of life. Jesus teaches that any other person is your neighbor.
This command to “love thy neighbor” is repeated at least twelve times in the Scriptures and is a common statement whenever the commandments of God are written about and discussed. To be honest, most of the other commandments in Scripture can be summarized by this one. That is not my idea, but the Apostle Paul says the same thing in Romans 13. Romans 13:9-10 says, “The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself." 10 Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.”
The Bible does have a lot to say about our love for others and states matter-of-factly that love fulfills what God intends for our lives. I could quote you dozens of Scriptures that teach us to build one another up, to seek the best for others, to forgive one another, to guard each others’ marriages, to not take out frustrations, and dozens of other examples of loving each other. By I must ask the second question: What does Jesus say? Did Jesus say something matter-of-factly about loving others? He did. Jesus said it simply and plainly in John 15:12, “Love each other as I have loved you.”
When I try and describe the love that Jesus has for me, and in turn is the love I should have completely for others I think of:
* Forgiving * Boundless * Honest * Healing * Uncompromising
* Grace-filled * Sacrificial * Truthful * Brotherly * Steadfast
* Sincere * Principled * Encouraging * Deep * Intense
The same love that Jesus has for you and for me should be the same love that we have for others. We now only have 30 days to live… 30 days to love… we need to love those around us completely. But, there is still question 3: What about people I don’t like? I must be honest and say that I don’t want to love people I don’t like. Fortunately, Jesus never says anything about loving people you don’t like… oh wait… He did. In Matthew 5:43, Jesus says, “You have heard that it was said, ’ Love your neighbor and hate your enemy’ 44 But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” Jesus teaches us that we are not only to love those that we do not like and do not get along with, but we are to pray for them as well.
You see, loving others completely and being a good “neighbor” that Jesus would approve of means that you realize that everyone you meet deserves the same kind of love that Jesus gave you… no matter who they are or how they act. The loving is based on what Christ has done for you… not how they have treated you or what they have said… this kind of love comes from God through us to others. This kind of complete love for others is easy to talk about, but very hard to love out.
But, you only have 30 more days to live [hand out some more tic-tacs to people]… You will love others completely… won’t you?
As I prayed and thought over this message, I thought about stopping here and giving you the antidote to the poison here, but there is more to the passage that is often left unsaid because it is very hard to explain. So, let’s dig into one of the most difficult aspects of love.
III. LOVE YOURSELF COMPLETELY
Jesus says in the passage that we are to love God completely and love our neighbors completely, but He does not stop there. Remember, Jesus points out three aspects of love that combined together form a complete love for our lives… I believe that Jesus also says we are to love ourselves.
Now, before we get too far along, we must realize that “love of self” is perhaps the root of most sin in our lives, problems in the world, and the cause of most catastrophes. In fact, Romans 2:8 and 1 Corinthians 13:5 explain to us that self-seeking attitudes are evil, lead to anger, and are the complete opposite of love. I am not talking about loving self and being self-seeking, but “loving yourself” and loving who God has made you… they seem very different to me.
I think we forget that each and every one of us is created in the image of God. You were hand-crafted by the God of the Universe. He loves you. He likes who He has made. In Genesis 1:31 when God made human beings it says, “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.” Everything else He made was “good,” but human beings, you and I, were “very good.” God loves you and places great value in you.
Ephesians 4:22-24 tells us, “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”
Colossians 3:9-10 teaches us, “Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.”
1 Peter 3:3-4 says, “Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. 4 Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.”
Do you know what those verses tell me? They tell me that each of us has great value in God’s sight, each of us was made in the image of God, and that God loves those He has created. Now, we might make ourselves ugly on the inside with sin and rebellion and mistakes and errors, but that does not change God’s value of us and His love for us. Those of us who have accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior have inside of us a new creation that is precious to God and seeks Him with all that we are. The old self was dirty and corrupted by sin, but our new selves (given to us by Jesus Christ) are holy, pure, and justified from sin.
Because of all that, you should love who God has made you. How do we do that? How do we love ourselves without falling into the sin of self-seeking or self-indulgence? I don’t want to sound like a motivational speaker, but many times we simply do not know how to love ourselves in a good, Godly, and positive way.
ILLUSTRATION… adapted from www.attractionmindmap.com/how-to-love-yourself-in-17-ways/
1. Be positive about who God has made you (Psalm 139:13)
2. Acknowledge the efforts you make and celebrate your successes that God gives you (Genesis 39:3)
3. Let go of worry and don’t allow yourself to get over-stressed (Matthew 6:34)
4. Trust yourself and have confidence in the abilities and gifts God has given you (1 Peter 4:10)
5. Learn to forgive yourself because God has forgiven you (1 John 1:9)
6. Be truthful to yourself and don’t lie to yourself (James 1:22; 1 John 1:8)
7. Grow spiritually and put God first in your life (Matthew 6:33)
8. Express gratitude to God and to others and accept it when they give it to you (Colossians 3:16)
9. Learn to relax and have fun (Ecclesiastes 5:19)
10. Look after your body and your health (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)
But, you only have 30 more days to live [hand out some more tic-tacs to people]… You will try and love yourself completely… won’t you?
CONCLUSION i
So, a teacher of the law came and asked a genuine question of Jesus. Jesus’ teaching is the answer to ‘how we love completely. I want you to notice what Jesus says to the man after He gives the answer to loving completely. Let’s re-read the passage.
MARK 12:28-34
“One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?" 29 "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: ’Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ’Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these." 32 "Well said, teacher," the man replied. "You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. 33 To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices." 34 When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.”
Verse 34 is a wonderful conclusion to the passage. The teacher of the law is there and he listens to Jesus and agrees with Him. I think Jesus is impressed with the man. Jesus tells Him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” Do you realize what that means? When we intentionally love God completely, when we make the effort to love others, and we allow ourselves to appropriately love ourselves… we come closer to the Kingdom of God… and that is a great place to be.
[hand out some more tic-tacs to people]
CONCLUSION ii
As we conclude this morning, I of course have another confession. I did not truly put ‘Iocane powder’ on the bulletins. Iocane Powder is a fictitious deadly Australian poison, odorless, tasteless and highly soluble, used by the hero Westley in his ’battle of wits to the death’ with Vizzini in the movie “The Princess Bride” (by William Goldman).
The thing is, why should we only love completely if we have 30 days to live. If we agree that is the kind of life we should have… we should do it anyway… and live out all our days loving completely.
