July 3, 2016
Morning Worship
Text: Deuteronomy 6:4-5
Subject: There is One True God
Title: I Bow Down
This morning I want to continue with the series we began several weeks ago. The Bible is the Inspired Word of God. Do you believe that?
Last week we moved out into the realm of who God is according to the bible. He is the One True God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Having said that Monday we will celebrate the birth of our nation – our Independence Day. It was the day that we declared our independence from England. At the same time I believe it is the day that we declared our dependence upon the great God of all the universe – the creator and our Savior who has set our nation into motion. There has never been another nation in the history of the world that began with the bible as the foundation of its laws and constitution.
IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
Today I want to begin by asking you this question. “If you believe that God is who He says He is then how do you respond to that?” And today we will just begin to dig into our relationship with Him but we have to start somewhere.
4Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
I believe this is God’s word…
I believe it is for me…
I accept it as mine…
And I will appropriate it to my life today.
4Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.
First of all if God is who He says He is then we must realize that we have a purpose for being here.
5Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
1. 5Love the LORD your God… In the Hebrew language in the Old Testament there are three verbs that are translated as love. I believe it is written this way for a purpose… The first we see in the Old Testament means to have affection for… Do you know that God has always and will always reveal Himself to mankind in progressive measures? In the whole book of Genesis we can see a picture of God’s love for mankind but nowhere in Genesis does God command that we love Him. Why? Because at that point in history the connection between God and man was more about obedience. It was not until the Lord led His people out of bondage in Egypt do we see giving a command to love… and He uses the same word that is used in Genesis concerning love for one another… affection.
OK. Are you with me so far? His command is to have affection for Him. But it goes deeper… In subsequent verses found in the Old Testament we see how a word that is translated love and is referring to the love God has for us and we should have for Him means to be delighted with. And finally the word that defines the love God has for us means to have compassion for… Here Israel is simply called to have affection for God. But! It’s not just a casual call…
2. with all your heart… The word heart when you see it in the scriptures refers to the innermost part of a man. It’s not talking about the muscle that pumps blood throughout the body. This innermost part of a man is the spirit of a man. It is non-physical. In sinful man the spirit lies dormant until it is touched by the Spirit of God to give it life. I didn’t say that the spirit of a man is dead… it is dead in a spiritual sense but can still be active in a person’s life. 1 Corinthians 2:11 (NIV2011)
11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. But for the person who puts their trust in God… 1 Peter 3:18 (NKJV)
18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit… It is the Spirit that is the center of everything that we are. If the spirit is not alive in Christ then our thoughts and actions will reflect that. So if we are going to love the Lord with all our heart, our hearts must be alive in Christ.
3. with all your soul… There is discussion as to what the word “soul” actually refers to. Many want to say that the soul and the spirit are in reference to the same thing. They are not the same. They are similar in the fact that they both refer to a non-spiritual part of a human. But the spirit is just that – spiritual. And the soul is the non-physical part of the natural man. The soul is the min, emotions, and will of a person. Not physical yet still natural. And you are called to love the Lord with all your soul. Do you know that every person ever born has a desire to love the Lord built in their natural man and most don’t even know it? Psalm 42:1-2 (NIV2011)
1 As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.
2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? Now look at the connection between the spirit and the soul. Even though we are born with a desire to love the Lord – and we really see that evident in the lives of little children – the longer we live in the world with our spirit man un-regenerated the further from God our soul will wander. Our mind takes a turn toward what seems good to the world. Our emotions dictate what is good and bad. Our will remains and we do what we will with no consideration of God’s will. But when we are born again – when the spirit man comes alive in us – then our soul begins to see what God sees and hear what God hears and desires what God desires. Psalm 103:1-2 (NKJV)
1 Bless the LORD, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: It is the spirit that enables us become more Christ-like in our soul.
4. with all your strength… Now we are talking about the physical body. Here the translation into the English falls short a bit. The Hebrew word is literally in English “vehemence” and in turn vehemence means the display of strong feeling; passion. Love the Lord passionately. I have to stop and wonder as to what level the love of most Christians is. Does it just stop with our original definition of the word love? Do we have affection for God and that’s it? Or does our love for God begin with the spirit man and then transcend over into our thoughts and will? And finally does we see the manifestations of that love in our physical bodies with a passion that makes it a priority in our lives? For me loving the Lord passionately in my body – with all my strength – would mean “I can’t wait to be in His house again so I can fellowship with the body of Christ.” Or, “I love Him with such a passion that I am going to believe every promise He has given me through His word and will receive it in my body that He might be glorified through me.” I am going to love Him. I am going to serve Him. I am going to glorify Him in everything that I do. Colossians 3:17 (NKJV)
17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
4 "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one!
5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
The full expression of love is seen not in us but through the work of the Triune God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And it is that work we also celebrate today through communi
The Father loved us so much that He gave us a free will. And the trust given to the first man as steward of the earth was cast aside when Adam willingly ate of the fruit that he knew was forbidden. He was not deceived but made a clear - cut decision to rebel against the will of God. It is that act of rebellion that has been passed down through the generations to all men and has caused all to be separated from God. But in order to repair the breach caused by the sin of one man God sent His Son to die on a cross to bear our sin and iniquity that we might not suffer the consequences of spiritual defiance. And it is the Holy Spirit that draws all mankind to the recognition of their sinful state and the need of a Savior. All of this points to the cross.
Love, through the work of the cross, now takes on a different tone. Instead of the casual affectionate love of the Old Testament we now transcend over into that “agape” unconditional love shown through the cross.
For God so loved the world…
In communion we see the work of the trinity…
1) the Holy Spirit … 1 Corinthians 11:27-31 (NKJV)
27 Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.
28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
29 For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.
30 For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep.
31 For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged.
2) The Son… 1 Corinthians 11:23-25 (NKJV)
23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread;
24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, "Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me."
25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me."
3) The Father… 1 Corinthians 11:26 (NKJV)
26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17 (NKJV)
13 But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.
15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.
16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
4Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
