Compiled by: Herman Abrahams (Pastor), Cornerstone Faith Ministries, P.O. Box 740, Westridge 7802, Rep. of South Africa.
E-Mail: Mentorship2003@yahoo.co.uk
Note to the reader:
If you have been blessed with this sermon compilation, I would be honoured to receive an e-mail from you simply telling me where in the world you are based- I do not need any other information. This is merely so that I can have the pleasure of giving thanks to Almighty God for the fact that all over the globe, the ministry which he has entrusted to me, is blessing the body of Christ and helping to extend the Kingdom of God.
Thank you.
Herman Abrahams, Cape Town, South Africa.
-----------------------------------------------------
LOVE FOR GOD AND NEIGHBOUR - Read: MARK 12:28-34
Mark 12:29-31. 29.Jesus answered, “Here is the most important one. Moses said, ‘Israel, listen to me. The Lord is our God. The Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Love him with all your mind and with all your strength.’ (Deut.6:4,5) 31 And here is the second one. ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ (Lev.19:18) There is no commandment more important than these.” (New International Reader’s Version)
Jesus here teaches that:
A. The whole duty of man, the whole moral-spiritual
---------------------------------------------------
law, can be summed up in one word: love.
---------------------------------------
(1) Rom. 13:9,10 9 Here are some commandments to think about. “Do not commit adultery.” “Do not commit murder.” “Do not steal.” “Do not want what belongs to others.” (Exod 20:13-15, 17; Deuteronomy 5:17-19, 21) These and other commandments are all included in one rule. Here’s what it is. “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.” (Lev 19:18). 10 Love does not harm its neighbor. So love does everything the law requires. (New International Reader’s Version)
(2) I Cor. 13:1-3 And now I will show you the best way of all. 13:1 Suppose I speak in the languages of human beings and of angels. If I don’t have love, I am only a loud gong or a noisy cymbal. 2 Suppose I have the gift of prophecy. Suppose I can understand all the secret things of God and know everything about him. And suppose I have enough faith to move mountains. If I don’t have love, I am nothing at all. 3 Suppose I give everything I have to poor people. And suppose I give my body to be burned. If I don’t have love, I get nothing at all. (New International Reader’s Version)
B. This love must be directed first of all toward
---------------------------------------------------
God.
---
(1) In this connection Mark reports that Jesus began his summary of the law by quoting Deut. 6:4, 5: 4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. (NIV)
(2) In the original Hebrew, the first word of this quotation is Shema meaning "Hear." The entire quotation is generally called "the Shema." Today, the ancient custom of beginning the synagogue service with the recitation of the Shema is still being observed. It is readily understood that the Shema was and is the very foundation of monotheism (worship of one, singular God – the one and only).
(3) Not only that, but it stresses the fact that this one and only God wants to the loved! This is in harmony with the fact that he himself is a loving God. This is a truth taught not only in the New Testament (John 3:16; Rom. 5:8; 8:32; etc.) but also, either directly or by implication, in such O.T. passages as Deut. 33:27; Ps. 27:10; 87:2; Prov. 3:12; Isa. 1:18; 55:7; Jer. 31:31-34; Hos. 11:8; Jon. 4:11; Mic. 7:18-20;) etc.
Rom. 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Ps. 27:10 Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me.
ILLUSTRATION
-------------
Thou Art My God
My God, I love Thee; not because
I hope for heaven thereby,
Nor yet because who love Thee not
Are lost eternally.
Thou, O my Jesus, Thou didst me
Upon the cross embrace;
For me didst bear the nails, and spear,
And manifold disgrace,
And griefs and torments numberless,
And sweat of agony;
Yea, death itself; and all for me
Who was thine enemy.
Then why, O blessed Jesus Christ,
Should I not love Thee well?
Not for the sake of winning heaven,
Nor of escaping hell;
Not from the hope of gaining aught,
Not seeking a reward;
But as Thyself hast loved me,
O ever-loving Lord.
So would I love Thee, dearest Lord,
And in Thy praise will sing;
Solely because Thou art my God,
And my most loving King.
(Francis Xavier, 1506–1552, Translated by Edward Caswall, 1814–1878 - As quoted in 10,000 Sermon Illustrations. Biblical Studies Press)
C. Heart, soul, mind, and strength must co-operate
----------------------------------------------------
in loving God.
--------------
(1) The heart (gk. heart, mind, [seat of thought and emotion]) is the hub of the wheel of man’s existence, the mainspring of all his thoughts, words, and deeds (Prov. 4:23 - Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life).
(2) The soul (gk. psyche life, soul, heart, mind, a person) – ‘here probably the seat of man’s emotional activity’ (William Hendriksen).
(3) The mind is not only the seat and center of his purely intellectual life but also of his dispositions and attitudes.
(4) In Deut. 6:5 the reading is "heart, soul, and strength (or power)." Mark 12:30 has "heart, soul, mind, and strength." (also Luke 10:27). ‘No essential difference is intended. We must not begin to over-analyze. What is meant in all these passages is that man should love God with all the "faculties" with which God has endowed him’ (Hendriksen).
D. Moreover, man must use all these powers to the
----------------------------------------------------
full.
----
Note the fourfold "all... all... all... all." The point is that God’s wholehearted love must not be answered in a halfhearted manner. When God loves, he loves the world; when he gives, he gives his Son, hence himself. He gives him up (John 3:16). He does not spare him (Rom. 8:32). Greater love, more marvelous self-giving, is impossible (John 15:13; Rom. 5:6-10; II Cor. 8:9).
ILLUSTRATION
-------------
The Love Of God
A certain medieval monk announced he would be preaching next Sunday evening on “The Love of God.” As the shadows fell and the light ceased to come in through the cathedral windows, the congregation gathered. In the darkness of the altar, the monk lighted a candle and carried it to the crucifix. First of all, he illumined the crown of thorns, next, the two wounded hands, then the marks of the spear wound. In the hush that fell, he blew out the candle and left the chancel. There was nothing else to say. (Source unknown - As quoted in 10,000 Sermon Illustrations. Biblical Studies Press)
Surely, the response to such love must not be less than that indicated in Rom. 11:33-36; I Cor. 6:20; 10:31; II Cor. 9:15; Eph. 5:1, 2; Col. 3:12-17.
E. This love must be directed not only toward God
-------------------------------------------------
(Deut. 6:5) but also toward man (Lev. 19:18).
---------------------------------------------
(1) Jesus, not only by word, but also by deed, was the first to set forth the true meaning of perfect love toward God united with perfect love toward man.
(2) The second commandment resembles the first in this respect: both require love. Moreover, love toward the neighbor, who is God’s image bearer, flows forth from love toward God (I John 4:20, 21; cf. Matt. 5:43; 7:12; 19:19). Conversely, the love which from the heart of God radiates toward his children, helps them to love their fellow beings (Eph. 4:32—5:2).
(3) "Love your neighbor as yourself." Man has been created with love for himself. That love for self should be the measure whereby he decides how to love his neighbor.
ILLUSTRATION
-------------
Self Love Is Ordinary
Self-love is so ordinary that Jesus used it as a reference point: Love your neighbor as you love yourself.” When I was in elementary school, the teacher sometimes solved the first problem on a sheet of homework to show us how the others were solved. Jesus used our love for ourselves in the same way. “Notice how you love yourself,” he said, “and love your neighbor in the same way.” (Knowing the Face of God, Tim Stafford, p. 203) [As quoted in 10,000 Sermon Illustrations. Biblical Studies Press]
This is a very practical teaching, a rule of thumb. That "neighbor," is anyone who has been divinely placed in our path for sympathy and help. (See Luke 10:25-37 – The Parable of the Good Samaritan)
ILLUSTRATION
-------------
The Accident
Fred and Marlene Nichols stopped at a service station near Mobile, Alabama to ask directions. Suddenly, a truck without brakes flew across the highway and crashed into their car. Mrs. Nichols was severely injured. Needing to go with his wife to the hospital, but unsure what to do about their car and belongings, Mr. Nichols heard a stranger’s reassuring words and felt a comforting hand on his shoulder. The man told Mr. Nichols to go ahead, he would stay with the couple’s car. Looking at the man, Mr. Nichols instantly recognized him. “You’re Bobby Knight.” “I am,” the man replied, “but we won’t talk about that now.”
Fresh from guiding his Indiana University basketball team to the 1987 collegiate championship in New Orleans, and en route to Atlanta to receive a coach-of-the-year award, Knight laid aside his honored position and became a servant to a couple in need. (Today in the Word, April 16, 1992 - As quoted in 10,000 Sermon Illustrations. Biblical Studies Press)
A person should never ask, "And who is my neighbor?" Instead, by himself he should be a true neighbor to those in need, even though they be his enemies (See Matt. 5:43-48). ***
ILLUSTRATION
------------
The Beggar
On 9–8-82 I saw a man, Jimmy Packer, outside a Safeway store, asking for $1 for wine. Usually I’d brush by or give him a quarter to rid myself of the nuisance, but I told him, “I need to run an errand. If you’re still here in 5 minutes and want to dry out, I’ll take you to a 24-hour house where they can help you. He was. I did. (John Underhill, Spokane, WA - - As quoted in 10,000 Sermon Illustrations. Biblical Studies Press)
BIBLIOGRAPHY: WILLIAM HENDRIKSEN – New Testament Commentary, MARK.
