Are You Really In Love?

Scripture: Deuteronomy 6:5 Introduction: Illustration: SEEING THROUGH ANOTHERS EYES A sign in a pet store indicated there were puppies for sale. John Jones walked into that pet store and as he produced fifty cents, he said to the manager, Id like to buy one of the puppies. The manager replied, Im sorry, son, these puppies are a special breed of dog and cost $75. I could give you fifty cents just to look at your puppies, John said in a disappointed voice. The pet store manager said, Son, you can look at my puppies anytime, and it wont cost you anything. He whistled to the mother dog, and she came trotting out of the back room with four little puppies right behind her. And then there was another puppy a four or five pace behind its sisters and brotherslimping and struggling to keep up. John pointed to the lame puppy and said, I want to buy that puppy. The pet owner replied, I dont think you would want that puppy because, you see, our veterinarian has told us she was born without a hip socket and will never be able to run, jump and do all the fun things that puppies and boys like to do as they grow up together. John looked at the pet storeowner as he pulled up his trousers legs and pointed to heavy steel braces on either side of his legs and joined together with heavy leather caps over the knees. John was suffering from the residual effects of polio, and as he pointed at his legs, he said, I need that puppy because I feel she can understand me, and she needs me because I would have a special feeling and understanding for her. So, Ill give you fifty cents now and fifty cents a week until Ive paid the $75. This is more than a story about a boy and a puppyit is a story about people; people who work with other people, who are significant influences in the lives of those others, and who can see things through their eyes. Are you in love? Many crazy things have been done in the name of love. Many heroic things have been done in the name of love. Many incredible things have been done in the name of love. Balagtas said in his novel, Florante at Laura, Ang pag-ibig pag nasok sa puso ninuman hahamakin ang lahat, masunod ka lamang. How do you prove your love for someone? According to our Lord Jesus Christ, the one thing that causes us to backslide is when we lose our first love. Our first love should be God. And we should love Him with all our heart, with all our soul and will all our might. How do we know we are really in love with the LORD? A. IF YOU LOVE ME, KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS (John 14:15,23-24,31) The first proof of our love to God is our obedience to His commandments! cp. Nehemiah 10:29ff As a result of the revival happening during the time Nehemiah, the people promised to observe all the commandments of the Lord. If you will look at the dictionary you will find that the word observe has six definitions. It means: 1) To adhere to (a law, custom, etc.) 2) To celebrate (a holiday, etc.) 3) To notice, to pay special attention to something. 4) To arrive at a conclusion. 5) To say casually; remark 6) To examine scientifically. Of the six definitions only the first, to adhere to, is Gods way of defining observe. We can do all the other five, but it isnt until we adhere to the teachings of the Bible that we really observe Gods Word. To observe means to obey or to keep His commandments. What was the secret of success revealed to Joshua in Joshua 1:8? Not meditation. Meditation is a toola means to an end. Meditation helps to concentrate and clarify the Word of God. But you can meditate all day and still miss the prize.

Only as we carefully do all thats written in the Word that success really comes. 1. Obey God at Home (v.30) 2. Obey God in Business (v.31) 3. Obey God in the Temple (vs.32-39) B. IF YOU LOVE THE LORD, YOU WILL HATE EVIL (Psalm 97:10) Cp. Matthew 6:24 There are things that you just cannot mix: water & oil, alcohol and driving, etc. In the spiritual realm, Loving God and then living in sin at the same time, do not mix; just as darkness and light also will not mix. (1 John 1:5 7) God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5). When we were saved, God called us out of darkness into His light (1 Peter 2:9). We are children of light (1 Thess. 5:5). Light produces life and growth and beauty, but sin is darkness; and darkness and light cannot exist in the same place. If we are walking in the light, the darkness has to go. If we are holding to sin, then the light goes. There is no middle ground, no vague gray area, where sin is concerned. You cannot love them both. You have to choose. Finally, as we chose to hate evil, it must be accompanied by adherence to doing what is good (Romans 12:9). C. IF YOU LOVE THE LORD, YOU WILL ALSO LOVE THE BRETHREN (1 John 4:20-21) Cp. John 13:34-35 See also Romans 12:9-16. Christian fellowship is much more than a pat on the back and a handshake. It means sharing the burdens and the blessings of others so that we all grow together and glorify the Lord. If Christians cannot get along with one another, how can they ever face their enemies? A humble attitude and a willingness to share are the marks of a Christian who truly ministers the body. In effect, this is what Jesus was trying to say to Peter when He said, Peter, lovest thou Me, feed my sheep. Look beside you. What have you done to love your brother in Christ? Finally, another proof of our love for God is our love for the lost. God so loved the world that He gave His only Son to die for them. He is not willing that anyone will perish, instead He wish that all will be saved.

Do You Really Love God? Deut. 6: 4,5 Lets set the scene here. The people of Israel have just been liberated form Egypt. Theyre between Egypt and Canaan, the Promised land. The Ten Commandments have already been given to Moses by God. The scene at Kadesh- Barnea has already passed where, because of their lack of faith, their unbelief, their flat out rebellion, the grawn up generation would not see Canaan except for Joshua and Caleb. Instead they will wonder around in the wilderness for forty years until all of the grown ups have died off. So theyve been freed from the chains of slavery and bondage and theyre on their journey to the promised land. And

here in this particular chapter God has laid down the commandment to hear and obey to inherit Gods blessing on the foundation of the commandments that Hes already given them. Now lets bring this in to a modern day application. If youre a child of God, meaning youve been born again, youve been washed in the blood of Jesus, youre on your way to Heaven, then youve just been freed from Egypt. Your Egypt was sin and Satan. Youve been freed from Satans grasp. He no longer owns you. Youve been freed from the the chains, the slavery and bondage of sin and Satan. But now youre saved and youve been freed from Egypt this land of bondage and slavery and now youre on your way to Canaan, or in other words to Heaven, your promised land, the land that flows with milk and honey. But youre not there yet. Youre still somewhere on your journey to the promised land. this journey is on a road that consist of mountains and valleys, highs and lows, bridges and bumps, trials and temptations, lessons and learnings with one mission. To lift up, adore and glorify Jesus Christ, The Lord of Lords and the King of Kinds. With one purpose. To draw all men unto Him. Jesus said, "And if I be lifted up above the earth, will draw all men unto me." Now we know of course that He was referring here to His death by crucifixion on the cross. But the principle is the same. If were living fo r Him, serving Him, lifting Him up in our lives, then the Holy Spirit can work through us to draw men to Him. And here today where ever you and I are on our journey to the promised land, God lays before us this same commandment to hear and obey to inherit Gods blessings. On the same foundation of commandments . This foundation has a cornerstone, a sustainer and container. That cornerstone is God Himself. Because, you see without him there is no foundation. For this simple reason is why His first and foremost command to us is, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." The Bible plainly teaches that a man cannot serve two masters at the same time. Either you serve Satan or you serve God. When we sin, whether its a life of sin or just one moment in time were serving Satan. When were doing what God wants us to do, serving Him and worshipping Him in and through our lives were serving God. Now here in our text, in His usual manner, straight forward and up front, you can almost picture the profound, bold voice He uses here. "Hear me Israel. Pay attention. You shall love me with everything youve got. With all your heart, with all your mind and all your soul. Do you really love God? Here Hes requiring the whole self-surrender of your whole being to God. Everything about you. Everything about your life, Everythingabout your home. Everything about your job. Everything about your mind. Everything is required right here and right now to be surrendered from you to God. Do you really love God? Im sure that if someone were to walk up to us on the street, on the job, in the grocery store, in the mall or somewhere out in public and asked us if we love God, Im sure a lot of us, maybe even most of us would say, "Yes I sure do. I sure do love God." And thats good and wonderful. Were supposed to tell the world that we love the Lord our God. But you see, thats only part of the plan. What if that person that asked us that question were to walk on down the road just enough to get out of sight, lost in the crowd then turns around and follows us and watches us without us knowing it? In other words, do our actions speak as loud as our words? Whats that person gonna see when he sees us get offended in some way or dont get our way about something? Will he see us fussing and cussing, ranting and raving, acting ugly making a nasty scene? Or will he see us lovingly, in a Christ like way diligently trying to make the situation right? Whats he gonna see when he watches us go on about our daily lives? Will he see us out on the job with a bad attitude and doing a sloppy job? Or will he see us anxious to please the Lord in every way possible, even to the point of doing our jobs with all weve got and with pride? Will he see us practicing Godly ways? What about when we go home? Will he see us honoring our fathers and our mothers? Loving our brothers and sisters? Teaching and practicing Godly lives with our families? Or will he see more fussing and fighting, drinking and smoking,

watching filthy trash on t.v. with not one concern about the world around us thats lost and on a rollercoaster ride to Hell? What about if he could see inside our hearts and minds? Would he see us thinking mean, evil, cruel, nasty, hateful thoughts? Or would he see us thinking on the things that God has taught us in His word? What about the desires of our hearts? Do we desire the things of this world and plan out evil, dirty, underhanded, cheating ways to get them? Or do we desire the world thats on the other side of Jordan, the Kingdom of God, Heaven? And are we diligently and earnestly listening to God to hear what He has to say, laying the cares and worries of this world at His feet and letting Him solve the problems, answer the questions, fix the situation, letting Him provide us with the desires of our hearts in His time and in His way? Do we really love God? Do you love Him enough to surrender everything about you to Him no matter how big or how small? You may say, "I turn the big stuff over to God, but I handle the small stuff. Hes not really concerned about all of that." Some years ago I was reading and article about Arnold Swartzneiger. Someone was interviewing him for and article to go in a magazine. This was back when he was a professional body builder and held the title of "Mr. Universe" and he had just begun his new career as an actor. The person conducting the interview asked him this question. "Do you ever pray?" His reply was, "Yes I do. Quite a lot actually." Then he was asked the question, "About what? What kind of things do you pray about? Do you pray about the competitions and their outcomes?" His answer to that was, "I pray about quite a few things but I dont pray about the competitions. To me thats not something big. Thats not big enough to bother God about." Im here today to tell you, my friends that theres nothing too small to bother to bother God about. The Bible tell us to bring all of our cares to Him, for He cares about you. Hes concerned about each and every little detail of your life. What we consider large or small. God loves you so much. The Bible tells us that He loves you with an everlasting love. From on throughout eternity. His love is an agape love, an unconditional love. The Bible says, "For God is love." Love is not god , but God is love. When youre talking about love, within the realms of this love is an abundance, a never ending supply of grace, mercy, care, and provision. Gods love is so vast that the Heavens cannot contain all of Him, the earth cannot restrain or hold all of Him. Gods love is so direct that he placed no other creature on earth to have dominion over the human race. As a matter of fact He made us to rule over every living creature. His love is so personal that in the Bible He says that you are fearfully and wonderfully made. He knew you before you were ever conceived in you mothers womb. He loves you so much that He takes an interest in each and every little detail in your life and mine. The Bible says it better than I every could. The Bible says it this way. "For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son. That whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." He loves you and me so much that He gave Himself in our place. And all He ask in return is that we love Him in return. Love Him so much that we surrender everything about us to Him. He commands us to love Him with all of our heart, with all our soul, and with all our might. Maybe youve never begun in this love relationship with my Heavenly Father. I would encourage you to do that today. You may say, "How do I do that?" Accept it. Its free. Theres nothing you can do to earn it or deserve it. "Well, how do I do that?" First of all you have to realize and acknowledge that you have sin in your life and that makes you a sinner. That sin in your life is the barrier that prevents this relationship from developing. So you would first need to confess to God the sin in your life and acknowledge the fact that you are a sinner and ask God to forgive you of your sins. Then express to God your desire to love Him and serve Him by living for Him and that you need Christ to come into your heart and life and give you a new life so you can do just that. Love Him with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. Do you really love God? Wont you do that today? Make it complete with Jesus Christ. Surrender everything about you to Him. Then Hell set you free. Hell free you from the land of Egypt. In other words youll be free from the shackles and chains, the slavery of sin and Satan. Then your journey to the promised land, Heaven, begins.