Loving God with All Your Mind
Mark 12:30
January 17, 2010
NOTE: THE ME/WE/GOD/YOU/WE FORMAT IS FROM ANDY STANLEY'S BOOK, "COMMUNICATING FOR A CHANGE."
Me: Okay, before we get started here, I just want to warn you that some of you might get offended by stuff I have to say today, but I'm going to ask that you just hang with me today, and you'll see that my heart isn't to do that, but in order for me to be faithful to what I think God wants to say from His Word today, I may say something you'd rather not hear.
It may make you uncomfortable. And I hate to tell you this, but it's not my job to make you comfortable. My job is to tell you the truth and help you become people who love Jesus and live for Him, and who help other people do the same thing.
Let's get started.
From time to time I come across folks, either personally or on the internet who think that being a Christian means turning off your brain and just jumping off the cliffs of reason in order to believe a bunch of fairy tales written thousands of years ago.
"Most Christians would rather die than think--in fact, they do!" (Bertrand Russell)
There's a huge stereotype out there that says you have to remove your brain in order to believe in Jesus and the Bible.
And I've encountered lots of Christians who fit that stereotype very nicely.
We: Have you ever met some of those folks -- either the non-believer who thinks Christians are stupid and ignorant or Christians who really are?
That's no fun, is it?
And sometimes we have to wonder if those Christians have actually read the Bible or taken the time to actually research what they just said, or if they get all their knowledge from their favorite TV preacher or televangelist, or the internet -- because you know if it's on the internet, it's gotta be true, right?
So how do we become people who don't fit those stereotypes ourselves?
How do we become people who can articulate what we believe, why we believe it, why someone else should believe it, and why biblical Christianity is a reasonable faith for reasonable people?
How do we show people that being a Christian is actually a smart thing to do, and the not smart thing is to reject Jesus without really checking Him out?
God: Well, Jesus gives us an answer for that in today's passage, and I think that if more Christians would take this passage as seriously as they should, then we'd see less of those things that the world would use to make fun of us and more importantly, to reject Christ.
We find the foundational passage of our time over these week in the midst of a conversation Jesus was having with some of the religious muckety-mucks who were looking for an excuse to get rid of Jesus.
But one religious leader seems to be actually interested in what Jesus has to say and he asks Jesus, "Out of all the commands, which is the most important one?'
And here in Mark 12:30, we find Jesus' answer:
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.
Two weeks ago I gave you a phrase that I hope you will remember the rest of your life, and especially over this year. Read this out loud with me:
We love others best when we love God the most.
Last week I gave you a phrase that applies especially to last week's message but that I hope you'll remember the rest of your life also, and that was:
God wants us to love Him passionately.
Here's the phrase I hope God burns into your head and heart for today's message based on the words of Jesus here:
God wants us to love Him RATIONALLY.
What do I mean by that?
Well, I'm gonna try to give you some more insights on that, but really, the bottom line is that God wants us to use the brain He gave us to bring Him glory.
One of the things that separates us from animals is our capacity for both rational and moral thought.
Animals can learn certain things. But they can't think rationally, and they can't make moral decisions.
Except maybe Bolt. That dog was cool, man.
God created you with a brain. It's a wonderful thing.
Unfortunately not enough people, including many Christians, don't use that wonderful gift from God, especially when it comes to matters of the faith.
I was going to spend some time talking about how it's reasonable for people to believe in Jesus because biblical Christianity is a reasonable and rational faith.
But then I got to thinking that Jesus' words are directed at those who already profess to believe God and love Him.
And so I want to direct my comments to you who would call yourselves Christians.
I've already mentioned how I feel about Christians who display the ignorance that gives many non-Christians fuel for rejecting Christ.
And I think that it's just unacceptable for that to happen.
Christians, folks, should be the people who use their brains the most, especially when it concerns the things of God.
Obviously you should use your brain in other areas, too. Like when you're driving your car. You should be smart about how you do that.
The way you get smart about the things of God is to be in God's Word. Reading it. Studying it. Memorizing it. Applying it. Meditating on it.
But many Christians won't crack open their Bibles except maybe on Sundays, and they expect that to be enough.
Jesus said that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.
And some Christians, maybe some of you here today, if you had to survive on your intake of God's Word, you'd starve.
You're not supposed to rely on my time in God's Word in order for you to become more like Jesus and love Him like you should. You're supposed to rely on your time in the Scriptures
Church isn't supposed to be your only exposure to Scripture.
And if it is, then you're not loving God with all your mind. It's that simple.
One of the reasons God gave you a brain was so that you could get into the Scriptures and learn about Him and how to serve Him.
But so many Christians think that getting in the Bible isn't important. They think that the Bible's fine for church, but it's not relevant to "real life," so you don't need to mess with it.
You know who says that? People who don't take the time to actually get into the Bible. If you'd actually read and study the Scriptures, you'd find out that Scripture talks about all the stuff you go through on a daily basis.
I'm going to talk about that stuff in a minute, but let me tell you folks. If you're not willing to get into the Bible, then you're not loving God with all your mind.
You're not loving God rationally. You're not being very smart about your love for God.
So let's look at some things we can do here in the 21st century to really love God with our minds and love Him rationally like Jesus says we should?
You: Well, I think that one of the best things we can do is simply become a learner.
A follower of Jesus is something we call a disciple. And one of the definitions of a disciple is "learner."
To really be a learner, you have to use your brain. And if you're committed to learning about the things of God, then you are loving God with your mind.
So let me give you four things very quickly that you, as a follower of Jesus, should be learning. (Sorry about the grammar in the note-taking guide)
"God is no fonder of intellectual slackers than of any other slacker." C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity.
I want to help you avoid being a slacker about loving God.
For these first two things you need to learn, I want to point out a passage of Scripture from the book of Acts, and I'd like you to turn there with me, and we're going to do the same thing with a couple other passages.
Normally I don't do that, but today we're going to, okay? I'll give you time to get there and I'll give you page numbers if you're using the Bibles in the seats. In fact, those page numbers are in your note-taking guide.
Acts 17:10-12 (785) --
10 As soon as it was night, the brothers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. 11 Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. 12 Many of the Jews believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.
These Berean types weren't ones to just swallow anything that came down the pike.
You probably wouldn't see these guys reading the National Enquirer and freaking out about how aliens got Bigfoot pregnant with Elvis' baby or something like that.
No -- they checked out what Paul had to say. These were Jews who were familiar with the Scriptures and could make sure Paul wasn't just trying to pull the wool over their eyes about this Jesus dude.
How many times have I told you to never believe what I say just because I say it? This is where I get that.
Folks, even Paul got checked out like that. And he was a lot smarter than me.
You need to believe what the Bible says and do what the Bible says above all else and if I don't get it right, then you need to choose the Scriptures over Pastor Brian. Or your favorite TV preacher or radio preacher.
So what should you learn? Let me suggest that first of all, you should...
1. Learn what the Bible says.
The Bible talks about all kinds of stuff.
First, the Bible talks about the stuff we need to prepare for eternity.
Faith. God. Sin. Salvation. Righteousness. Grace. Mercy. Forgiveness. Jesus. Power over sin. The Holy Spirit. Heaven and how to get there.
The Bible talks about the stuff that you and I live through every day.
Relationships. Marriage. Sex. Work. Raising kids. Getting along with your mother-in-law. Money. Clothes. Worry. Anxiety. Peace in troubled times. All sorts of things.
You all mess with that stuff, right?
There's lots more. And the problem is that there are just tons of Christians who don't know all the great stuff that the Bible has for those who will actually take the time to read it and study it.
Let me just give you a couple quick examples. If you're in business and want a great crash course on developing great relationships with your customers and your employees and vendors, read the book of Proverbs.
Awesome stuff in there.
You want a better marriage? Look at the book of Ephesians, chapter 5. Treat your spouse the way that says to and you'll be on your way to a great marriage.
Learn what the Bible says.
Then you also need to...
2. Learn what the Bible doesn't say.
Now I think that this is one area that Christians really need to get a hold of.
There is so much false information out there about God, about heaven, about Jesus, and all sorts of stuff.
And not all of it is from non-believers who don't like Jesus or from people who belong to other religions.
Some of it comes from people would at least call themselves Christians. I see it all the time. They try to quote the Bible, but it turns out they don't know what it really says at all, at least about what they're trying to discuss.
Let me tell you two things that everyone says are in the Bible but really aren't:
"God helps those who help themselves."
Not in there. Anywhere. How about this one?
"God won't give you any more than you can handle."
Neither of those is in the Bible.
The first one is partially true, because God, according to the book of Proverbs blesses diligence. But sometimes God helps those who CAN'T help themselves. So what do you with that?
The second one is just a flat-out lie. Because sometimes God either brings something or allows something to come in your life that simply cannot handle, and He does that so that you will have no choice but to cry out to Him and lean on Him for the outcome because it's totally outside of your control.
I've seen people who write stuff in the newspaper here in town who try to tell us what they think Jesus would do or think, but what they say Jesus would do or think is contrary to what Jesus actually does or says in Scripture.
They aren't familiar with Scripture. They're familiar with what they've read outside of the Bible and they're familiar with what they want Jesus to do or think, because it fits their definition of Jesus.
Do me, and do the kingdom a favor: if you're going to write a letter to the editor or to a legislator or something like that, and you use Scripture, please -- I'm begging you -- on my knees -- make sure you're actually using that Scripture accurately.
Few things make me cringe as much as seeing a letter to the editor from someone who obviously loves Jesus, who obviously believes the Bible is God's Word, and who obviously believes the Bible has the answer, but who just as obviously doesn't understand what that Scripture they've quoted is really all about.
Learn what's in the Bible, folks. And learn what's not in the Bible.
Here's the next thing we should learn:
3. Learn how to apply the Bible.
Look at James 1:22-25 (p. 854) --
22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it--he will be blessed in what he does.
James here points out a major flaw in the thinking of a lot of Christians -- that all they need to do is get input from the Bible and they'll be okay.
They might read it, or maybe all they get is what they get on Sunday mornings from church.
This passage says that if all you do is intake the Bible and don't do anything with it, you're only fooling yourself.
But Christians who love God with all their mind, Christians who want to love God rationally need to learn how to apply what they come across in Scripture.
In other words, they learn to do what the Bible says. They're doers of the Word, not just intakers.
They read the Bible and it says do something and they do it. It says to stop doing something and they stop doing it. They come across a principle in Scripture that they haven't thought of before and they spend time thinking and asking God how to make it part of their lives.
And the Bible here says that if you'll do that, you'll be blessed by God Himself.
One way to love God rationally is be a person who learns how to apply the Bible to their lives.
Here's the last thing I want to mention as being something you need to learn to become a person who loves God with their mind -- a person who loves God rationally:
4. Learn the why of your faith in Jesus.
I told you you'd see this passage a lot this year, and here it is again:
1 Peter 3:15b (p. 858) --
Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.
Usually when I talk about that verse and the one after that, I'm talking about getting equipped to share Jesus with people.
But what I want to emphasize today is the fact that we don't have enough Christians who can explain why they believe and why others should believe.
They can discuss salvation in general, and can maybe share their own story of how they came to faith in Christ. I wish every Christian could do that.
But if we want to be effective witnesses for Christ in a skeptical world, we need more people who can tell people why they believe in Christ.
And I don't mean things like, "I just know it's true." Or, "I just grew up in church and knew that's what I needed to do to go to heaven."
Initially, those are fine, but people need to know why biblical Christianity is true. They need to know why we can trust the Bible to be truthful and accurate.
What evidence can you show them that your faith is built on something more than church tradition and fairy tales?
If someone were to challenge you about the accuracy of the Bible and especially the gospels, could you answer them with something credible?
If not, let suggest that you buy and read four books. I've suggested these before, but they're about the best I've seen for helping Christians learn how to meet the objections of those who aren't convinced of the truth of Scripture.
The first three are written by Lee Strobel, a former atheist and investigative journalist for the Chicago Tribune, with a Law degree from Yale Law School. This guy's no slouch, folks.
And in these books, he interviews scholars and experts in areas in which people have real objections to biblical Christianity.
Buy these books. Read them and mark them up. Read them again. And then buy extra copies for your unbelieving friends. It's an investment in someone's eternity.
And then a book that is great for learning how to counter the arguments of those who you encounter:
True for You, but Not for Me. (Paul Copan)
This is another book you need to own, read, mark up, and read again. It's not really for giving away to someone who doesn't know Jesus, it's more for you to become better equipped.
We: Folks, I just want you to dream with me for a second, okay?
Can you imagine what it would be like if non-believers only encountered Christians who loved God with all their minds?
People who loved God and could explain why they believe in ways the unbeliever understood and could relate to?
People who are in the Scriptures, learning and applying the things of God in their own lives?
People who totally blow up the stereotypes of the ignorant and stupid Christian?
Let me tell you -- I think that would honor God. And I think that we will be blessed as individuals, as a church, and even as a community as Christians take seriously this command to love God with all our minds.
May this be true of you and me. Amen. Let's pray.
