If you would, please stand as we say together our memory Scripture for this quarter:
Matthew 6:31-33
“Do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
And our memory refresher Scripture is …
James 1:2-4
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
Please turn in your Bibles to Deuteronomy 6:1-9
What does the world think about God?
Many people, including some prominent Christian speakers, talk about God as if He is one dimensional and that one dimension is Love.
Others speak of another kind of one-dimensional god and that would be the god of judgment and hate.
We, who love and worship the Lord, know that He is love and He is just and He is merciful and that He is all knowing, and all powerful, present everywhere at all times.
We also know that the Lord is Holy. This is the only attribute of the Lord that is ever repeated three times in succession.
Isaiah 6:2-4 says,
“Above [the LORD seated upon His throne] were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of His glory.’
“At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.”
Revelation 4:8 says,
“Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,’ who was, and is, and is to come.”
I guess it would suffice to say that the Lord God Almighty is Holy!
Here’s the thing, though. The Lord wants us to be holy, too!
Hebrews 12:14 says,
“Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.”
Some people say that we cannot be holy. They say that as long as we live in these bodies of flesh in this sinful world we cannot overcome sin. They say that the best we can hope for is to be covered with the blood of Jesus and when we sin the Lord sees the cleansing blood of Jesus instead of us and that pleases Him.
The Lord is never pleased with sin.
Romans 6:22 says,
“Now that you have been set free from sin and have becomes slaves of God the benefit you reap is holiness and the result is eternal life.”
And Romans 6:23 goes on to say,
“FOR THE WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH, BUT THE GIFT OF GOD IS ETERNAL LIFE THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD!”
So, I sure hope we can live holy lives!
1 Peter 1:14-16 says,
“As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I AM holy.’”
With that in mind, please follow along as we read Deuteronomy 6:1-9
In this group of verses we have the key to what it takes to live a holy life.
Who can tell me what the verse is?
Deuteronomy 6:5 which says,
“Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”
This is the key to living a holy life! How do we know this?
First of all we know this because of Matthew 22:37, Mark 12:30 and Luke 10:27 where Jesus repeats the Old Testament command and says that all the law of Moses and all of the writings of the Prophets hang on these two commandments of love.
Do you mean that we just need to love the Lord and we’re good to go?
Can we just lie on a beach chair out in the sun humming, “I Love You Lord ..” and Jesus will be pleased?
Don’t we need obedience to the will of the Lord as well?
Is holiness a simple self-will driven obedience to the commandments or is holiness a love-driven obedience to the Lord’s commands?
In the Old Testament we see a striking contrast.
In the Old Testament book of Exodus we see obedience to commands. The Israelite slaves certainly obeyed their Egyptian slave masters. If they did not obey they would be punished and the punishment would not be pleasant!
But in the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy chapter 15 we see that if a Hebrew servant loves his master he can voluntarily agree to stay with his master and serve him for the rest of his life.
There are people who try to obey the Lord out of a simple fear of eternal punishment. As if the Lord was a vicious task master! In their minds they might be saying, “I don’t really know You or like You, Lord but I don’t want to go to hell either, so, I’m just going to do my best and hope I make it in.
Why is it that that won’t work? That won’t work because the Lord is not looking for slaves, He is looking for obedient sons and daughters!
Above all, love is a relationship word!
Trying to be a genuine Christian without being in a relationship with the Lord is just plain crazy!
Old Testament: Exodus 6:7a
“I will take you as My own people, and I will be your God.”
New Testament: John 12:1
“Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God …”
God is all about relationship!
Many people think they are Christians because they once walked down an aisle and repeated a “sinner’s prayer” yet they have no relationship with the Lord and no obedience to the great commandment to love the Lord with all their heart, soul, mind and strength!
Many people think they are Christians just because they go to church on Christmas and Easter yet they have no relationship with the Lord and no obedience to the great commandment to love the Lord with ….
Others think they are a Christian just because they follow a set of do’s and don’ts and yet they have no relationship with the Lord and no obedience to the great commandment to love the Lord with ….
So, what’s wrong with the above statements? They are actions without relationship!
Matthew 22:37-40 has one do; “Love”. Love is relationship, period.
How do we know the Lord loves us?
1 John 4:10
“This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”
John 3:16 (recite)
Romans 5:8
“But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
OK, so the Lord loves us and we are to love Him back with everything we have, right?
Just how does loving the Lord cause us to be holy?
Let’s look at the Ten Commandments as an example …
If I love the Lord my God with all my heart and all my soul and all my strength …
1) Would I EVER have any other God except the LORD???
2) Would I EVER make an idol or bow down to an idol or kiss an idol?
3) Would I EVER take the name of the LORD in vain?
Example of comedian using “God gave me this [silly] song" as a punch line
4) Would I EVER violate the spirit of the Sabbath Day?
5) Would I EVER disobey my parents?
6) Would I EVER murder someone?
7) Would I EVER steal from someone?
8) Would I EVER lie about someone or something (a half-truth is a whole lie)?
9) Would I EVER commit adultery?
10) Would I EVER covet someone else’s possessions?
And the answer to all of these would be a big, fat NO because pleasing the Lord whom I love with all my heart and all my soul and all my strength is my highest priority!
What if I DID try to keep these commands without keeping the greatest commandment of love? What will happen when I stand before the Lord?
Matthew 7:22-23
“Many will say to Me (Jesus) on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name and in Your name drive out demons and in Your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from Me, you evildoers!’”
In living the Christian life, a life of holiness, there is one overwhelming ingredient; love.
Love caused the Father to send His only begotten Son that we might have eternal life.
The love of the Holy Spirit revealed to us our sinfulness and the need for salvation.
The love of the Holy Spirit showed us the path to salvation through Jesus Christ.
The infilling of the Holy Spirit in a truly born again person plants in us the seed of love for the Lord.
As the seed of love for the Lord grows within us the desire to please the Lord increases as the desire to please ourselves decreases. This is a growth in love for the Lord and a corresponding growth in holiness.
As we seek to love the Father more He seeks to put His love within us more and it becomes a beautiful cycle of growth in holiness.
Where are you in your walk with the Lord?
“The Love of God” - hymn
