LOVE THE ONE AND HATING THE OTHER
Luke 16:13
Introduction: We find a stern warning from God’s word that was uttered from the lips of the Lord Jesus. He shows the principle that you must choose whether you are going to serve God or the demon of materialism or money. The word "mammon" is only found 4 times in the scriptures. One time in the book of Matthew and three times in book of Luke is it found. Each time deals with this subject or should I say rather this choice that every person must make.
This principle really comes down to a fundamental truth, which is this: Is Jesus really Lord in your life?
Colossians 1:18
“And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.”
This is the place that the Lord Jesus should be in our lives. His place is the #1 place. He should be #1 in our lives, our loves, our labors and our longings.
There are two kingdoms mentioned here. God and mammon will neither of them accept a divided empire.
Today I want to explore this exhortation of the scriptures. It is my desire to help others see the path clearly as David spoke in the book of Psalms. Psalm 119:105
“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”
Psalm 119:130
“The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.”
This is one of those messages in which we ought to pray “Lord, speak to my heart today, I’m willing to obey”.
I. THE WORD MEANINGS IN THIS PASSAGE
Sometimes we look at words and think that we know all that it means. You may know part of the meanings of the words in this passage. I want to look at three of the most important words in this verse. They are “love”, “hate” and “master”.
Some preachers are afraid to preach or will not preach doctrine for this reason. They say that doctrine divides. So they preach on love. This passage shows that love divides. It basically says that you either love something or hate it. There is no middle road here. Margaret Thatcher made this observation. “Standing in the middle of the road is very dangerous; you get knocked down by the traffic from both sides.”
A. The word LOVE in this passage means
1. To love; to approve of; to like; to treat affectionately or kindly
2. To show signs of love such as a kiss
3. To be fond of doing
B. The word HATE in this passage means to hate, pursue with hatred, detest, to be hated or detested. It also can mean that love less. Jacob loved Rachel but the Bible says that he hated Leah. It meant that he loved Rachel so much that his love for Leah would seem to be hate.
C. The word MASTER in this passage
1st Corinthians 6:19,20
“What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
1. He to whom a person or things belongs
2. A title or honor expressive or respect and reverence with which servants salute or greet their master.
3. This is the title is given to the Lord Jesus, the Messiah.
II. THE WARNING
A. It is clear. I like things that are clear in the Bible. It is hard to question them when they are crystal clear.
1. You will either love God and hate sin or
2. You will love sin and hate God.
B. It is concise. Because it is concise we don’t muddle up with all the traps of the devil.
1. It will cause us to mediate on our lives and loves.
If you were standing before God right now, how would your life add up in regards to your love and hate life. One reason why we have the problems that we do in our lives as Christians is that don’t have a clear understanding of this verse in our lives.
2. It will cause us to master our lives and loves. What you can control and don’t in your life, you really hate. It is like disciplining your children. If you don’t discipline them, you don’t love them.
C. It is correct. It is correct because it is God’s path of obedience that He demands of every Christian to take if he wants to really please Him.
1. It is the path of God’s peaceful way.
2. It is the path of God’s peaceful wisdom.
3. It is the path of God’s peaceful Word.
4. It is the path of God’s peaceful worship.
5. It is the path of God’s peaceful will.
III. THE WEIGHING OF YOUR CHOICES
Daniel 5:27
“TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.”
Each day you make a choice or you may make the choice several times a day. But you will choose between God and mammon. The shame of the matter is that you affect more than yourself. You affect your family, the church and those lost around you. Choose wisely. Be careful to make the correct choice.
Some people try to say that they are not going to make a choice. That is a choice also.
Let’s look at some choices that you will make.
A. Career or Christ
In the large scheme of life, it is important to make a living for your family. This is the Bible way.
1st Timothy 5:8
“But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.”
The problem comes into play when people neglect the Lord Jesus and His work for a career. It comes down to this: which do you love more. Do you love Christ more or your career? It is the choice loving my career and hating Christ.
B. Ministry or Master
I love the ministry. I have enjoyed preaching especially for the past fourteen years. I like helping people. But this in itself can become a god or an idol to me if I love the ministry more than the Master. An idol is anything or anyone you put before the Lord.
When I was working as the nurse at the jail before I became a pastor, I had a clock radio on my desk. I put this sign on it. “Beware of the barrenness of a busy life.
The ministry can become very busy. In fact, in a church that is small in size is still a very busy time for any preacher. I don’t know about other pastors but I spend an average six or more hours on each message. Some I spend less but that is abnormal.
I don’t always spend time in my Bible just for me. It is those times that I have made the ministry greater than my Master.
C. Money or Maker
People are working harder and harder to make money. It is the number one goal in their life. But at what cost is my question. I know it takes money to buy those necessities of life. But when it comes between making money to live and a relationship with the Maker of life, the Lord seems to lose out regularly. In other words, the choice is loving money more than God.
D. Games or God
We are in the time of softball season. People think nothing of being out of church to go to a softball game. It seems that the softball is more important than God. Or they will go to a race on Sunday instead of church. That makes racing more important than God. In other words, these people love games and hate God.
E. Job or Jehovah
I have said some about this thought from the career point of view. Let me go from the other angle. Jehovah is the all-sufficient one. He does not need me but He wants to fellowship with me. He can do it anywhere but it is usually at the house of God that He gets my attention because the whole emphasis is Jehovah. So do I hate Jehovah and love my job? Or do I love Jehovah and love my job less.
F. Family or the First and Last
Do I love my family more than I love the One that the Bible calls the First and Last? Do I put their needs before Him?
G. Praise of men or Praise from the Lord
John 12:43
“For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.”
Everyone likes to be thanked for the deeds they have done. But people need public praise more than others. They live for it. They are not living for the praise from the Saviour. They want it here. We should prefer to hear the Saviour say “His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.” (Matthew 25:21)
Do we love the praise of men so much that we actually hate the praise from God?
IV. THE WALK OF THE CHRISTIAN.
A. It will be a circumspectly walk
Ephesians 5:15
“See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise”
Proverbs 4:26, 27
“Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.”
Daniel 1:8
“But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.”
I know I have used this illustration over and over again throughout the years but it best illustrates this point. Walking circumspectly means walking very carefully. It is like a kitty-cat walking on the fence with a bulldog on one side and German shepherd on the side. One false step and he is lunch for one of those two. We have to be careful in our walk for the Lord. One false step and we have failed the Lord or love the wrong and hated God.
B. It will be a consecrated walk.
Romans 12:1,2
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
Many times in the years I have been saved, I have presented my body back to the Lord. I want to go as long as I can for the Lord. I am young compared to many of the pastors I know. I want to be to preach and teach this book for many years if the Lord is willing. But I will have to love God so much that every thing else in life seems that I hate it.
C. It will be a completed walk.
To me there is no greater feeling of accomplishment than a job completed. Each month at the nursing home, one of my responsibilities is to get the medication records ready for the next month. It is one of the most labor consuming jobs I have. When I am done, I feel like I have really completed something. The same goes for our walk as a Christian. If we don’t complete some of the task that lie ahead of us, then we will feel like failures. What is some of the completed things will be have?
1. We have completed peace.
Philippians 4:6-9
“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.”
2. We have completed joy.
Nehemiah 8:10
“Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”
3. We have completed confidence.
Psalm 118:8
“It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.”
Conclusion: Consider carefully what you really love. Consider carefully what you will detest. Joshua assembled the children of Israel together one day and gave them this advice that is found in Joshua 24:14-21.
“Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD. And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the LORD, to serve other gods; For the LORD our God, he it is that brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and which did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way wherein we went, and among all the people through whom we passed: And the LORD drave out from before us all the people, even the Amorites which dwelt in the land: therefore will we also serve the LORD; for he is our God. And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the LORD: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins. If ye forsake the LORD, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done you good. And the people said unto Joshua, Nay; but we will serve the LORD. And Joshua said unto the people, Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you the LORD, to serve him. And they said, We are witnesses. Now therefore put away, said he, the strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto the LORD God of Israel. And the people said unto Joshua, The LORD our God will we serve, and his voice will we obey.”
Today we will make a choice. We will choose to serve Christ or sin. I know that these choices are not easy but it is the wise choice to choose what the Lord loves.
Freedom Baptist Church Sunday Evening
6/27/04
