The Great Commandments and Your Uniqueness *
Mark 12:28-31
Sermon Objective: We are fearfully and wonderfully created and we connect to God in unique ways that illustrate that divine creativity.
Supporting Scripture:
Psalm 100:3 Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his, we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Psalm139:13-16: 13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, 16 your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
The Greatest Commandment (12:28-31)
28One 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. 30Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'31The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself. 'There is no commandment greater than these."
INTRO:
So I have been thinking lately of God’s creative sovereignty over each human being and the relationship that that person (uniqueness and all) has with the two core values of Jesus. I have been thinking about the relationship between human personality and the five expressions of love found in those two commands.
Sometimes we forget that each of us was fearfully and wonderfully made. The sovereign God chose to make you just as you are. That includes your unique personality.
There has been a lot of study done on the personality. It is very helpful in seeing how awe-inspiring God’s fearful and wonderful workmanship is. ONE OF THE POWERFUL INSIGHTS IT PROVIDES THE CHURCH IS THE REMINDER THAT WE DO NOT ALL APPROACH ANY SUBJECT FROM THE SAME VANTAGE POINT, WITH THE SAME NEEDS, OR EVEN ASSUMPTIONS.
By God’s sovereign design, some of us are:
• Extroverted
• Introverted
• Intuitive: dealing with degrees of using the imagination
• Sensate: dealing with degrees of “feeling” oriented
• Judging: dealing with degrees of orderliness and manage-driven
• Perceptive: dealing with degrees of spontaneity and flexibility.
THE DANGER COMES IN THINKING THAT EVERYONE APPROACHES WORSHIP, GOD, AND OTHER CHRISTIANS JUST AS “I DO.” WHEN THIS BECOMES RIGID IT QUESTIONS THE LEGITIMACY OF ANOTHER’S EXPERIENCE. INSTEAD OF SAYING, “THAT’S NOT FOR ME” THEY SAY, “THAT SHOULDN’T BE FOR ANYBODY.”
WE DO NOT REALIZE THAT IN SUCH ASSESSMENTS WE OFTEN INSULT GOD WHO CREATED PEOPLE TO CONNECT TO HIM AND HIS WORLD FROM DIFFERENT STARTING POINTS … IT IS DIVINELY WIRED INTO EACH OF US.
A good example of what I am talking about is one’s preferences in worship.
• Those who are sensate (utilize their senses to make sense of the world) may lean towards liturgical worship.
• Those that are more introverted might gravitate towards a more mystical faith experience … one based on private prayer, journaling, and acts of devotion.
• Those who are more extroverted might gravitate towards worship that is expressive, exuberant … even to some, chaotic.
• Those that are more judging or cerebral might gravitate towards worship that focuses on the Scriptures in very intense ways.
• Those that are more intuitive might gravitate towards worship that motivates one to be care-givers, activists, or missionaries.
You get my point.
I suspect you also see the dilemma. HOW DOES ONE LOCAL BODY OFFER EACH PERSOANLITY TRAIT THE NECESSARY OPPORTUNITIES FOR THEM TO CONNECT TO GOD FOR SPIRITUAL NURTURING?
You see, it is when we are working within our gifts and divine uniqueness that we sense an intimacy with God … that we experience nurturing from God.
Granted, spiritual growth helps us to move past our “default setting” and be enriched by other expressions of connection but nothing touches you like the original design God placed within you.
For example:
• All Christians can benefit from rigorous study. But some personalities are drawn to it and feel a deep spiritual connection when they are in study and thought.
• All Christians can benefit from a walk in the woods and can appreciate God’s handiwork. But some believers connect to God (while in nature) in a way that others miss.
• All Christians benefit from serving others in a care-giving. But some Christians sense a deep, intimate connection to God when they are serving others.
The caregiver might say to the reader … “You are not pleasing God by holing up in that room and not touching human lives.” The reader might say “You are not pleasing God by being in a soup kitchen all day and neglecting the Word!”
IN ALL THIS WE CAN SEE THE BEAUTY OF BEING A “BODY” WITH DIFFERENT FUNCTIONS AND PASSIONS.
So you say, what in the world does that have to do with the two great commandments; the two core values of Jesus?
Maybe everything.
• Is it possible that our God given personality (a.k.a. “default setting”) might be connected to one of the five expressions of love given in the commands?
Through a particular expression we may sense an intimate connection to Him, and a deep nurturing relationship with Him, while others … well, “not so much”.
• It is possible that we must beware of and be aware that there is a danger in thinking everyone should connect like I do?
• Is it possible that each of us, through growth, will learn the value of those expressions that do not necessarily appeal to us?
I think the answer is “yes.”
As I study each of the five expression of love I find natural connecting points for God’s people that directly relate to the way they have been created by Him.
Please understand, this isn’t an excuse to not love God through the other expressions. It is, however, permission to be yourself (as God made you to be). It is permission to love him without feeling guilted into some other expression just because someone else thinks you should be like that because they are.
I understand that what I am suggesting is generalized (it must be) and that there is a lot of overlap between the expressions (just like in our personalities). But I do think there is a truth here that can set you free to love and grow. Ii might even help you love each other and accept each other for who you are. I am certain it can encourage each us to be who God sovereignly created us to be.
Let’s spend a little time looking at the five expression of love that Jesus gives. We will pause to celebrate each one.
Loving God with your:
HEART
Some people’s default, original, or primary setting is “the heart.”
In worship (and discipleship) this might express itself by being more internal, ascetic, mystic, prayerful or contemplative. This saint loses track of time and senses a connection with God through private worship. They often have a prepared place and a prepared time and the rest of their schedule is frequently planned around it. They could spend hours on end in prayer and the Word. They find the fullness of life here. And when reality and demands of life often come crashing in it seems to interrupt their communion.
And that is more than ok. That is how God designed some people. The Church needs those who experience God in such a way … they stir the rest of us to seek God in solitude and prayer. They remind the rest of us about the importance of stealing away and putting the concerns of this earth aside.
Susanna Wesley is a wonderful illustration of those who love God from the heart. She was the wife of a pastor (Samuel) and the mother of 19 children. And yet she so organized her home and responsibilities that she could spend two hours a day in prayer. She didn’t have a private place (with 19 children is it any wonder?) so she would take her apron and drape it over her head. The kids knew when she did this she was praying and they did not disturb her.
At least two of Susanna’s sons were deeply impacted by her faith … so much so that God used Charles and John Wesley to bring a spiritual awakening to England. John preached the word, discipled converts and founded Methodism while Charles wrote over 9,000 hymns.
Rit and Paul are going to sing and sign a song for us now. This will give all of us a moment to pause and love God with our heart.
Let’s worship.
SOUL
Some people’s default, original, or primary setting is “the soul.”
In June of 2008 we looked at each of these five love expressions individually and we discovered that to speak of the ‘soul” (psuche / nephesh) is to speak of your personhood. You have a spirit, you have a body, you are a soul. Genesis 2:7 says, “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (KJV).
Those who sense a soulful connection to God love Him through the senses. For them, expressions like communion, shaking hands, hugging, holy kisses, and other sense-related expressions of love have deep meaning and great influence. For them, loving includes meals, fellowship, baptisms, feet washing, communion, and the like.
These saints may connect with God through experiences like walks in the woods. And inherently seem to understand that God “has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.” (Acts. 14:17)
Not all Christians were created like this. Not all find this as their primary or default setting. I for one find most of these to be a bit unnerving. I have definitely grown in this expression but it is not my default setting. We are all called (and expected) to grow in all these expressions and not just cater to our default.
I will never forget “Fannie”. She was a greeter at the Nazarene Church Vickie’s parents attended in Anderson Indiana. Fannie met EVERYONE at the door with a hug, a smile, and a bulletin. Every greeting was, for her, a reunion; even when she greeted people (like me) that she did not know. You could not help but feel special, even if her soulful expressions of hugs and handshakes and arm tugs was a bit awkward. You could not help but sense her intimate love for God and God’s people. As she greeted you she was greeting one “for whom Christ died” and she loved deeply. People were enriched because of their soulful encounter with Fannie.
There are hymns that help us understand each of these a bit more clearly and practically. One hymn that helps us grasp the sensory love for God is “This is My Father’s World.” It is hymn number 75. Let’s worship as we sing.
MIND
Some of our brothers’ and sisters’ default setting is “the mind.”
Those created by God in this way tend to be cerebral and stirred by intellectual pursuits and study. They feel an intimate connection to God as they study … regardless of what the subject be. They can be studying astronomy, history, biology, mathematics, or theology and sense God In the process. The pursuit is itself an expression of love for God. It takes his wonderful creation seriously. They express praise to God because they see His handiwork in all He has made and done.
These saints have the ability to see how all these arenas are intimately connected and originate by the divine hand. They know that “all truth as God’s truth”; that everything comes from Him and was created for His glory.
When they use the muscle called the brain, they have this innate sense that God is present and honored; that God is being worshipped and is nurturing them. They can lose track of time behind a telescope, a Petri dish, an equation, or a book. They see and sense God all through the process.
I want you to watch the following video. It is a “Word on the Street” video which asks the question (of random people) “Who is Jesus?”
That video highlights the church’s need for people who love God with their minds. Some people do not know the truth and some of them are going to need real answers to hard questions. Answers like "God said it. I believe it. That settles it." will not work for someone with hard questions and it is insensitive to suggest they should.
In the mid ‘90’s I met a young man named Chris. He was married with a small child and came from a secular background. Chris was (is) a thinker. He had a doctorate in veterinary science and he had a very secular view of the world. He had some legitimate (and hard) questions that kept him at arms length from “religion.”
For the better part of two years Chris and I played racquetball together, had meals as families, and talked about his legitimate questions. He began to come to church and built some quality friendships there. One Sunday, without any warning, when I gave an altar call Chris HIT the altar … and I mean He dropped on it. It was a complete surrender … it was a radical conversion.
Chris is still a thinker but now he is a Christian thinker. He serves in the children’s ministries (along with his wife) in a Nazarene Church in Virginia. Carolyn * knows him and can attest that this man is filled with love and God’s Spirit – not in spite of but through his hard questions.
Peter said, “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,” (1 Peter 3:15)
Paul said: “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:5)
The United States is a post-Christian nation. We are not biblically literate any longer and loving God with our minds is a necessary step to confront the failure.
Charles Malik wrote the following
I must be frank with you; the greatest danger confronting American evangelical Christianity is the danger of anti-intellectualism. The mind in its greatest and deepest riches is not cared for enough. But intellectual nurture cannot take place apart from profound immersion for a period of years in the history of thought and the spirit. …The result is that the arena of creative thinking is vacated and abdicated to the enemy. Who among evangelicals can stand up to the great secular or naturalistic or atheistic scholars on their own terms of scholarship? Who among evangelical scholars is quoted as a normative source by the greatest secular authorities on history or philosophy or psychology or sociology or politics? … for the sake of greater effectiveness in witnessing to Jesus Christ himself, as well as for their own sakes, evangelicals cannot afford to keep on living on the periphery of responsible intellectual existence. (Charles Malik in “Christianity Today”, November 1980).
Friends, the world cannot afford for Christians to retreat or shrink back from intellectual and scientific pursuits. Instead of being suspicious of Christians who are so inclined we should be praying for them, encouraging them, and pushing them into their respective fields. It is they who are on the front lines of tomorrow’s worldviews and values. It is they who train the leaders of tomorrow and influence the world’s future.
Abdicating this responsibility is certain catastrophe for our world.
A mind is indeed a terrible thing to waste.
STRENGTH
Some Christian’s default setting is “strength.”
These are the brothers and sisters who make me tired. They always see another project for Jesus that needs carried out. And God has given them the passion and energy to do so.
These saints are care givers. They are service-oriented. They seek self-discipline and emphasize outward expressions of obedience. These brothers and sisters are “wired” by God to love Him via deeds.
Those with this divine design might tend to “act first and make the rules up as they go along.” Or simply respond because they see a need. Board meetings bore them. Serving their brothers and sisters (the “hands on” of ministry) energizes them.
These saints sense a connection with God when they are shoveling someone’s driveway or making them a meal or giving them a ride to the doctor’s office.
There are many ways to love and worship God with our strength and no one is excused just because it isn’t your personality. Spiritual growth challenges us to develop in each expression.
One way we can each express love for God through strength is through our tithes and offerings. I can think of no better way to acknowledge that God gives us the ability to survive that bringing Him the first-fruits of our labor.
Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” How you use your money shows what you really love.
Let’s worship God as we receive our tithes and offerings. Let’s love God with our strength.
NEIGHBOR
Some people’s default, original, or primary setting is “their neighbor”
These brothers and sisters were designed by God to follow Him into the highways and byways. That does not mean we do not all have a responsibility to love God in such a way; but these saints are naturally activists, compassion-driven, evangelists, missionaries, and defenders of justice.
They can be consumed with the passion to see the God’s will on earth as it is in Heaven. They envision the Kingdom of God’s rule established among the nations. They easily give of themselves and live sacrificial lives for the rescue of others.
One example of loving your neighbor is the Crisis Pregnancy Center that we are developing. I have asked Paul * to come share with you this morning what the status of that is and how you might be able to use this ministry as a love expression.
Let’s worship as we listen.
WRAP-UP
May I ask you some questions?
• Which expression of love is the superior one?
• Which expression of love can we eliminate and still love appropriately?
• Which expression of love did God “wire” into your design?
• Which expression of love is the default of the brother or sister sitting behind, in front of you, or down the row of chairs from you?
• Should the brother or sister sitting behind you, etc. feel guilty because they do not have the same “default setting” as you?
• Should the brother or sister sitting behind you, etc. feel compelled to change YOUR “default setting” so that you connect to God in the same way they do?
• Does the brother or sister sitting behind you, etc. have the responsibility (and opportunity) to grow by learning from your “default setting” and letting you grow by learning from theirs?
Those are powerful questions if we are to live in unity and community.
He who has ears to hear,
Let Him hear.
As we close, let’s sing Lincoln Brewster’s “Love the Lord” as a declaration of our love for Jesus and one another.
* Special thanks to Gary Thomas’ book, “Sacred Pathways” for the sermon idea.
This sermon is provided by Dr. Kenneth Pell
Potsdam Church of the Nazarene
Potsdam, New York
www.potsdam-naz.org
