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[0:00] The Gospel of Mark, chapter number 12. You don't get to say, Amen, because your name's Mark.! It doesn't work that way, because nobody else gets to say, Amen.

[0:13] All right, Mark, chapter 12. Before we get to the text this morning, I'm going to have to give you what the context of this overall passage is. The Lord Jesus Christ began this chapter by speaking a parable that was against the scribes and against the Pharisees.

[0:30] And they understood that. They knew that. And so look at verse number 12. It says, They sought to lay hold on him, but feared the people, for they knew that he had spoken the parable against them.

[0:43] And they left him and went their way. And so on leaving him alone, they are not satisfied. They're not happy at all about what just took place. They're determined to retaliate against him.

[0:55] They want to kill him, is what they want to do. And this is common knowledge. This has been common knowledge for quite some time, that they want to kill him, but they're afraid of the people. They're afraid of some public backlash coming upon them.

[1:08] And so they realize, you know what, we're going to have to do this another way. They came up with a plan that they're going to come at him with some questions. Some very tricky questions.

[1:19] Questions that they're not looking for answers at all. What they're looking to do is expose this young man and his followers as frauds. They want to just dismantle this entire operation.

[1:32] They want to send his followers dispersed and back home. And they want to do so by tricking him. And if they could trick him, well, they could end this whole thing and they never have to lay a hand on him.

[1:44] And for them, it would be just a win-win. So that's the plan. Now, verse number 13, it says, They sent unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians to catch him in his words.

[1:57] To catch him. What they're about to do with this question about tribute money, giving it to Caesar or not, what they're going to do is they've sat around, they've thought about this. They've talked and discussed and said, We need one item, one thing that we can nail him on.

[2:13] And this is what they came up with. And while they asked the question to him, they failed to catch him in his words. He answered it in such a way that at the end of verse 17, they marveled at him.

[2:24] He left them speechless. Their attempt failed completely. So then another group comes, the Sadducees this time. And the Sadducees in verse 18, they say there is no resurrection.

[2:37] So they're going to ask him a question. And they also sat around and came up with the best scenario. And this hypothetical perhaps that they could come at him with. And he ended up just laying them down in the dust.

[2:48] Said, You don't know the scriptures. You don't know the power of God. You don't know what you're talking about. And so they failed to catch him in his words as well. But there was a third one.

[3:00] A third one standing by who in verse number 28 is one of the scribes. And he hears what's going on. He perceives and understands the situation that they don't like him.

[3:11] And they're trying to trick him and trying to expose him in some way so that they could declare him a fraud and send him away. And the scribe, the one that knows the word of God better than anybody else, says, I've got a question for you.

[3:27] In verse 28, one of the scribes came and having heard them reasoning together and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all?

[3:41] This scribe is not seeking to know an answer that he's searching for in the Bible. He is not attempting to impress the people. He is attempting to throw off this young man, Jesus of Nazareth, that has a following.

[3:59] And he asks him a very pious sounding question, a very lofty one. What's the greatest commandment? What's the most important commandment in all of the law?

[4:12] What's the most important? Immediately when you hear the thought of most important commandment, you're going to think of the Ten Commandments and there's ten of them. And, well, it must be the first one. What's the most important?

[4:23] He's asking, what's the highest? What's the greatest thing that we're required to do by God? And without any hesitation, without any deliberation, Jesus comes forth with the answer in verses 29 and 30.

[4:37] And Jesus answered him, the first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord, and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength.

[4:57] This is the first commandment. I want to consider this commandment this morning, and I want to try to determine how well you're doing at obeying, at fulfilling what is the most important commandment.

[5:15] Now, before we proceed into this, how do you feel you're doing at this? If you gave yourself a grade this morning, we're not going to have God give you the grade, or maybe we should.

[5:26] Let's just, what would that grade be? Where would you say that you are in fulfilling and obeying what God calls the first of all the commandments?

[5:40] This is a commandment, commanded of God. It's not suggested. It's required. It's expected. I realize that you are not Israel here before me this morning, but this command has nothing to do with the law.

[5:59] This is not about what garments you wear, and how you trim your beards. This is not about setting yourselves up as a people separate from another nation on the earth.

[6:11] This is not about abstinence. This is not thou shalt not. This is the most important thing to God. This doesn't have anything to do with the law.

[6:22] It has everything to do with your relationship with God. The Lord is now our God too. And this same God has redeemed us from an eternity of cruel bondage and anguish.

[6:39] And He still demands, like He did with His people in the Old Testament, He demands in the New, that our affection be fully set upon Him. I want to say three things from this passage about this great commandment, the first commandment, and challenging you this morning, what's your grade?

[7:00] Are you guilty of keeping this commandment? Father, as we study the Word of God this morning, as we open up to this text, and we've read the truth, we've read the words of your Son, the answer that He gave to this scribe, God, please take the text, and now challenge everybody today with it.

[7:20] Challenge us as we consider it. May your Holy Spirit reveal to us how important this is to you. How we may neglect it for other things.

[7:31] We may have made other things more important than this commandment in our lives. We may have made serving you, or doing things to be seen of men more important. God, reveal to us the importance.

[7:44] Help us to humbly submit where we're falsely deceived, where we're off, and give us grace, give us humility, give us ears to hear, we pray in Jesus' name.

[7:56] Amen. Let's begin by considering that this commandment is to be priority. He asked the question, which is the first commandment of all?

[8:09] What's the first? First. And Jesus answered with those very words, the first. And He closed in verse 30 saying, this is the first. This is the top one.

[8:21] This is the most important. This commandment is to be priority. According to the Lord Jesus Christ, I don't care what the scribes, the Pharisees, what anybody in this Bible says, according to the Lord Jesus Christ, this should be your greatest goal in life.

[8:37] To love the Lord thy God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, with all your strength. If it's most important to God, why would it not be the most important thing to you?

[8:52] This is your life's purpose. This ought to be your life's aim. This is the answer. The answer that Jesus gave.

[9:04] And so, having it come from His lips in this scenario, ought to clarify for us, just how important it is to God, lest we presume in our minds, lest we deceive ourselves, and come up with this idea, that well, it's our service, that we do for the Lord, that's the most important thing to me.

[9:24] That's Bible reading. I read that Bible like never before. I read that Bible till there's no Bible left to read. Maybe some think it's their faithfulness to God.

[9:35] That's what's most important. Be faithful, be faithful, well done, thou good and faithful servant, is what I want to hear. And should we be deceived, and should we even conclude in our mind, that it's anything else, let it be clarified today, Jesus said, the most important, is to love the Lord your God.

[9:56] With all your heart, all your soul, mind and strength. Loving God is the priority, more than all the other things, that you can do for Him.

[10:07] You can give, until your pockets are empty, and you have nothing left to give. You can read that book, until there's no more book to read. You can serve, and serve, and serve, until you have no energy left, and no life left to serve.

[10:23] You can make all of these things, your priority, but you've missed the mark. You can study the Bible, you can sacrifice, you can surrender, you can suffer for Jesus Christ, all commendable, but that's not the most important thing.

[10:40] According to Jesus Christ, above all, above all, is loving the Lord thy God. Loving Him has got to be the priority. Have you ever, gone to a job, and, you know, some jobs are different, but the way, you punch in, have you ever gone, and forgotten, to clock in?

[11:01] I recently remember, hearing Noelle say this, that, when she first started her job, at Duncan, over here in Mission Hills, there was, when she started, at a time, they had her opening, and so she would have to go there, at 430 in the morning, and she'd go around, and we'd drop her off, around the back of the store, and she'd unlock, and at the very beginning, there was such a checklist, and it was a bit overwhelming, that she only had a half an hour, to do all of these things, before the store was to open, that she wanted to go, a few minutes early, but she wasn't allowed, to clock in till 430, so I'd drop her off, at 420, and she would go in, and she'd just get busy, she'd have on her phone, all of this, to the thing, do this, do this, do this, do this, and she's admitted, that there are times, where she just got so busy, she forgot to clock in, and she's just going about, doing the chores, doing the deeds, she's working, working, working, and she never clocked in, checking things off the list, but not getting paid for it, and it's kind of humorous, to think of, but when it comes, to serving God, sometimes it's easier, to be busy, doing, doing, doing, doing,

[12:03] I've done that today, I've done that today, and I've done that today, and I've done it all, all the habits, of the Christian life, all the necessities, that I have to do, for the Lord Jesus Christ, I'm obeying his word, I'm doing what's right, but church, if your heart's not in it, and if you're not loving him in it, if you're giving and serving, without loving, you're messing up, you're not clocked in, you're failing, you're laboring, in vain, your labor's in vain, you're working, but you're not on the clock, and it's not being recognized, by your employer, love is why, you do what you do, love is why, you give to the Lord, and to his work, love is why, you serve him, with your time, and with your talents, and energy, love is why, you sacrifice, for the work of God, love is why, you're willing, to surrender your life, and lay it down, and say, Lord, here's my life, take it and use it, that's why, that should be why, you open up the word of God, to read, to commune with him, because you love him, it's not so you can learn, something that you've never learned before, or discuss it, it's about loving God, a relationship with him, love is why, you pray to him, love is why, you'll do anything, he asks you to do, love is why, you come to church, love is why, you tell others, about Jesus Christ, yeah, you don't want him, to go to hell, but it's more, about I want to please you,

[13:42] Father, so give me an opportunity, today, bring me by somebody, today, that I can tell, about your son, it's love, loving him, and desiring, to please him, God is a God, of order, when you consider, the creation, of this world, you recall back, in Genesis 1, there were six days, where God made things, but he did it, in an order, he didn't create man, out of the dust, of the ground, before there was dry land, that dry land, came first, before that was a firmament, for the dry land, to even be dry, he started with light, and he continued, all the way, until it was right, and ripe, and then he made man, and then there was the earth, to have dominion over, God was a God, of order, and this commandment, we're reading, in Mark chapter 12, this is the priority, this is number one, with God, don't excel, at number two, don't be so good, at numbers three, four, and five, and skip over, what God says, is one, love the Lord, thy God, with all thy heart, with all thy soul, with all thy mind, with all thy strength, this commandment, is to be a priority, secondly, in the text, notice in verse number 29,

[15:03] Jesus answering him, this is the first of all, the commandments, hear O Israel, the Lord our God, that's plural, that's the nation, the Lord our God, is one Lord, and thou, well that's not the nation anymore, that's the man, thou is singular, thou shalt love the Lord, thy God, that's the man, the scribe, with all thy heart, with all thy soul, with all thy mind, with all thy strength, the nation of Israel, is a plural nation, it's the Lord our God, but the commandment, is to be personal, it's individual, just a side note, this is found, in the King James Bible, this discerning, between the plural, of the nation of Israel, and the singular scribe, that Jesus is speaking to, but in all the modern versions, that get rid of thee, thy, and thine, and thou, it says your, which is a plural word, ye and your, and so in the reading, of the new Bibles, it would say, hear O Israel, the Lord our God, is one Lord, and love the Lord your, like the nation of Israel's God, love your God, with all your heart, nation, with all your, it's not individual, and so your King James Bible, the Lord Jesus Christ, said it individually, it's a, it's a personal, commandment, he's directing his attention, on the scribe, this commandment, it's not relegated, to Israel as a nation, and it's not transferred, on to the church, this commandment, is to you, it's to you, that's here this morning, to love the Lord your God,

[16:41] God saved your soul, he saved you, from what you deserved, he saved you, from what you would be, inevitably getting, your destiny, was the lake of fire, and God rescued your soul, from that, and now he, as your father, requires that you love him, that your heart, is fully set upon him, but you may think, that sounds like a lot, I mean come on, love him with all my heart, all my soul, all my mind, and all of my strength, my entire being, and everything about me, that sounds like a lot, is that really, what God's calling, and asking of, why should I be, so devoted to him, to leave nothing else, why should I be, so in love with him, if you need an answer, I'd like to give you one, in a way that Christ, gave an answer to somebody, look at Luke chapter 7, just a little bit, to your right, find Luke chapter 7, Luke 7, beginning in verse 41, read a portion here, of this situation, there was a certain creditor, which had two debtors, the one owed 500 pence, the other 50, when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both, tell me therefore, which of them, will love him most,

[18:13] Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgaveth most, that's a logical answer, he said unto him, thou wast rightly judged, and he turned to the woman, this is the woman, that was washing his feet, with her tears, and wiping them, with the hairs of her head, kissing his feet, anointing them with ointment, this woman, that they all knew, was a sinner, he says this, Simon, verse 44, seest thou this woman, I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water, for my feet, which is customary, she hath washed my feet, with tears, and wiped them, with the hairs of her head, thou gavest me no kiss, which is customary, but this woman, since the time I came in, hath not ceased, to kiss my feet, my head with oil, thou didst not anoint, but this woman, hath anointed my feet, with ointment, wherefore I say unto thee, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much, but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little, now,

[19:22] I don't have to know, all of the sins, of your heart, I don't have to know, the darkness, that dwells inside of you, the wretchedness, the wickedness, the thoughts, that you've had, I don't have to know, the deeds, that you've done, in your past, the record, that you have, before a holy God, I don't need to know, any of it, to know, that your sins, are great too, that your sins, are much, much, only the blood of Jesus Christ, that we just finished singing about, that is keeping, your wretched soul, out of hell, it's not because, you're anything good, there's nothing good, about you to God, what does he see, when he sees you, what does he desire, about your goodness, your life, your wit, are you wise, is that what he wants in you, your wisdom, doesn't compare to his, is it your cleanness, is it your structure, is it how humble you are, it doesn't compare, there's nothing in you, that you can offer to him, that he desires, to have from you, what he sees in you, is everything, that comes short, of his glory, it's sin, and sin, and sin, and so much sin, sin before God, is great, but thanks be to God, the mercy, and grace toward us, is even greater, this commandment, is to be personal, you must never forget, that you, were condemned, in your condition, before God, in your unbelief, and there was no way, for you to fix it, there wasn't a chance, you had in earth, or hell, to fix it, you couldn't offer, all the money, on this planet, to redeem your soul, doesn't work that way, you couldn't serve God, for every waking minute, of your life, that would bring pleasure, to him, to redeem your soul, it doesn't work, no deeds, that you could do, you can't find, a priest, on this planet, that can absolve, your sins, and that can make you, righteous, or that can bring you, out of the pit, of your sin, the song that we sing, says, there was no help, in earth below, love found a way, to redeem my soul, it's your sin, that stirs up,

[22:11] God's wrath, and it's your sin, that put his son, upon the cross, and so God says, love me, I want you, to love me, with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and strength, because all of that, is condemned in sin, and I forgave you much, I washed you, in the blood of my son, I delivered you, I reconciled you, to me, a holy, pure God, I reconciled you, back to me, and God says, love me, love me, with everything you have, this is a personal commandment, God commands, that you love him, but you know what, modern Christianity says, modern Christianity says, no, no, no, no, it's the other way around, God, you love me, you love me, with all your heart, and all your soul, you do for me, what I want, you obey me,

[23:14] I pray, I call in your son's name, and you come to my rescue, allow me to clarify, in case you're misled, or even slightly confused here, the father loves the son, and if you get in the son, then you get the father's love, if you're not in the son, you'll never know, the love of the father, you'll never experience, the love that the father has, you'll experience, condemnation and wrath, if you get in the son, you can know the love of God, if you're surrendered to the son, if you're serving the son, if what you do is for the son, well that pleases the father, and God has love for you, because God has love for the son, but apart from the son, there's no love, there is no good in you, as I've already said, for God to love, this commandment, to love the Lord thy God, it is to be priority, this commandment, has got to be personal, this is not about, who's sitting beside you, this is not about, who's in front or behind you, this isn't about, those people out there, that didn't come to church today, this is about you, that can say the Lord is your God, he's calling for you, you, to love him, with all your heart, this commandment thirdly, is to be practiced, would you look in the text again, where Jesus told the scribe, thou, verse 30, thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, he's talking to the man, when he tells him, what that scribe, is supposed to be doing, you're supposed to love him, you are, with all your heart, that's personal, but now watch, what happens later, in this passage, verse 32, the scribe said unto him, well master, thou hast said the truth, for there is one God, and there is none other, but he, and to love him, with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, with all the strength, and to love his neighbor, as himself, is more than, all whole bird offerings, and sacrifices, when Jesus saw, that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, thou art not far, from the kingdom of God, you know what's wrong here, is he's not in the kingdom of God, he's not far, he's close, the truth is right there, and he understands it, and he knows it, he's spoken it, with his mouth, and the only thing, the best thing, that Christ can say, is you're not far, what a shame, to be so close, what's the problem, this commandment, is to be practiced, it's not just, to be understood, and to be spoken, and to be known, it's to be put into practice, it's to be done, he told the man, thou shalt, love the Lord thy God, that's what's commanded, now to continue, with this passage, it turns out, that the scribe, the one that asked the question, and apparently, he knew the answer, the whole time, when the Lord answered him, that way, he's like, yep, you said it right, you got the right answer, good for you, it turns out, he knew the answer, the whole time, but there was something else, that this scribe loved,

[26:45] I want you to notice this, in verse 35, Jesus answered and said, while he taught the temple, how say the scribes, notice he's gonna, throw out the scribes, after just dealing with that scribe, how say the scribes, that Christ is the son of David, for David himself said, by the Holy Ghost, the Lord said to my Lord, sit down my right hand, till I make thine enemies, thy footstool, David therefore himself, called him Lord, whence is he his son, common people heard him, gladly, he's throwing something out, the scribes teach, they declare what the scripture says, but they don't understand it, they don't even get the application, of this thing, about the son of David, who's standing right in front of them, and so there's a shot there, at the scribes, but look further, verse 38, and he said unto them, in his doctrine, beware of the scribes, how do you think, that scribe felt, after the Herodians, and Pharisees, came by with their question, the Sadducees, came by with their question, and then this one, that Matthew says, is a lawyer, knows the word of God, inside and out, enters the arena, and says, what's the most important thing, what's the first commandment, and he answers him correctly, yeah, you said it right, very good, and then Christ turns, and says, beware, beware, beware of this guy, right here, why,

[28:10] I told him, what he's supposed to do, I told him, that he's supposed to put, that commandment, into practice, but instead, verse 38, beware the scribes, which love, the Lord thy God, with all their hearts, no, they love, to go in long clothing, and love, salutations, in the marketplace, and implied, in verse 39, love, the chief seats, and the synagogues, and the uppermost rooms, at the feasts, their hearts, set on something else, and it is not, on loving, the Lord, they love, the attention, they love, that they're better, than everybody else, they love, that they know, the Bible, more than anybody else, they love, the respect, they get, everywhere they go, they love, being catered to, and being admired, and exalted, like the Pharisees, and John, he said, they love the praise, of men, more than the praise, of God, that scribe, knew the first commandment, he knew, the most important thing, that any person, could be doing, with their life, he knew it, in his head, the problem he had, is the same problem, you have today, it's doing it, knowing it, and doing it, loving the Lord, thy God, putting that truth, into practice,

[29:36] I can honestly, tell you this morning, my wife and I, are going to celebrate, 24 years, in a few weeks, and I can honestly, tell you, that I love, Carla Walski, I love her, now, when I say that, it's easy to say it, right, cheap words, I mean, she's not even in here, so, it's easy for me to say, I could say a lot of things, right now, how great my love, for that woman is, and I could make, a big case before you, but I'll have to admit, to you, that the love, I revealed to her, and display, is not so much, with flowers, and hallmark cards, and maybe, she would like that a lot, and maybe, I should be better at that, maybe you're good at that, let's not compare ourselves, I'm not so good, at the gift giving, and, and, being, mushy, and, although, I can, but, that's true, it's really not where it's at, you know, there's two, two places,

[30:40] I sat and thought on this, the other day, a little bit, and I thought, there's two ways, that I could say, that I displayed my love for her, they're far less attractive, but are true, diapers, and dishes, I know that sounds wild, and weird, and I'm by no means, trying to say, I do something great, I'm not, I'm sure you men in here, you can do different things, and be better than me, I'm just going to tell you, some things, where I have displayed, when we had our children, they were small, they were all over the place, I did not want that woman, to be pulling her hair out, and in the psych ward, for months at a time, because these kids, are driving her nuts, and I saw it, just God put it in me, I suppose, that this is my job, to not just say, oh that's a mob's duty, I saw it as, this is dad's job, to step in, and be here with the kids, and take care of the kids, and I couldn't tell you, if we tried to factor out, how many diapers, we went through, for four children, it's wild, and it's in the, many many many thousands,

[31:48] I promise you, that I have had my hands on, I do not enjoy it, at all, there's nothing fun about it, there's nothing, the only reason, I felt, I need to jump in on this, and be part of this, and help her, was because I loved her, I know, I know guys, I've heard men say, oh I don't change diapers, I don't do that, it's like, I get a pass, because I don't like it, I bring in the paychecks, okay whatever, maybe you love your wife, a different way, so I'm not attacking you, but that never resonated with me, I always felt like, there's a, issue, we'll just be discreet, there's a situation, you stay, I got it, I got it, and that wasn't every single time, believe me, but I did my share, many times over, and I'm telling you, I did it, because I didn't want her, to have to do it, I felt like she does enough, for this family, if I can show my love for her, it's not that I love these kids, so much, I just want to change them, that's not it, it's I loved her,

[32:50] I didn't want her to do it, I don't want her to get up, she gets up enough, I'll do it, I'll do it, I'll do it, another case, this one's still, relevant today, is dishes, my wife can make, she can throw down, in the kitchen, like you wouldn't believe, she's got a gift, and I got her, and so she can make a meal, and I don't know how she does it, but she can make, four to five things, come off of the stove, at the same time, all hot, all different dishes, all different timings, all blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, and all I have to do, is sit down, and partake, and it's amazing, but when it's all said and done, and I see her get up, and start to do dishes, I think, she just made all of this, while I sat, and watched football, this is not her job, to clean it all up now, because she needs to be, a keeper at home, do the dishes, stay in the kitchen, that's why your feet, are so short, they can fit, fit underneath the sink, I see it as, you know what,

[33:53] I don't do all the dishes, I don't say, get out of here, this is mine, throw a towel over my shoulder, but what I do is, I know she hates doing, the pots and pans, the scrubbing, the nasty ones, you know the ones, that really get, baked on heavy, I know she hates that, she'll do all the other stuff, like nothing, and that'll just be sitting there, and she never tells me, that's yours, I say get out of here, move, get out of the way, I'm taking over, why, because I don't want her, standing there doing that, I love her, I love what she did for me, in cooking that meal, like as amazing as it was, she didn't do it just for her, and when it's all said and done, I display that love, changing some diapers, washing some dishes, and I know that you men, have your ways of, displaying your love, for those in your life, and I'm not in any way, trying to compare you to me, or wives, don't go home, tell your husband, you just, it's between you two, my case here is that, the first commandment, is to love God, and it didn't say in the passage, to love him with all your mouth, to love him with all your gifts, he said to do it with your heart, and with your soul, and your mind, and your strength, flip over to 1 John chapter 4, we're finished in Mark, we're almost finished,

[35:17] I just want to run a few verses by you, find 1 John, all the way to the back, chapter 4, John talks more about love, than anybody else, and he makes this statement, a very strong statement, in verse 19, first epistle of John chapter 4, verse 19, we love him, because he first loved us, we're commanded to love him, with all our heart, not because he said so, because he already did something, to deserve that love, he's already acted upon his love for us, and so then, we love him, what is it that he did, so special for us, that demands our love, look back in chapter 4, at verse number 9, in this was manifested, the love of God toward us, because that God sent, his only begotten son, into the world, that we might live through him, we were dead, in our trespasses, and sins, and so he, he said, for his great love, wherewith he loved us, he sent his son, here in his love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his son, to be the propitiation, for our sins, the biggest problem, we have, is our sins, his love for us, took care of that sin, so in turn, we love him,

[36:55] Romans chapter 5, says that God, commendeth his love, toward us, and that while, we were yet sinners, Christ died for us, I want to turn you, one last verse, in this Bible, come back to, the gospel of John, and chapter 3, a verse that, I think you know by heart, probably, one if not, the most popular verse, in this Bible, John 3, and verse 16, would you notice, the wording, that God, for God so loved, the world, that he gave, his only, begotten son, we understand, from this, from the other verses, that God's love, brought about an action, it was displayed, it was commended, toward us, it was manifested, he gave, he didn't say it, he didn't let us know, yeah I love you, remember, remember,

[38:01] I love, no he, he brought it out of him, to give his, only, begotten son, his, beloved son, the son that he loved, he gave for us, don't think that, he loves you, more than he loves his son, he loves his son, and if you're in the son, alright, now let me take you, back to verse 16, and let's understand, the, the manner of God, to have love, to display, to act on the love, I'm telling you, this commandment's to be practiced, to love the Lord your God, to do it, and so there ought to be an action, let's reword this, let's see if, if you're living, what God lives, where it says, for God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, you could easily put your name, and I'll put mine, for God so loved Toby Wolski, that he gave his only begotten son, and that's a popular thought, to insert your name in there, well now I want to switch, and say, did Toby Wolski, take that example, and do anything with it, what if we could switch the wording, and say, for Toby Wolski, so loved God, what if we could put your name there, and say, for you put your name, and say, so loved the Lord, that he or she what, what did you do, what have you done, because you love God, we know what he did, because he loved us, so now what have you done, he calls you to love him, that love has got to be displayed,

[39:50] God's love was displayed, what has your love for God, caused you to do, what action has been birthed, out of your love for God, remember, remember, it's the most important thing to God, loving him with all your heart, so what has shown, what has come out of this, it must be practiced, if you viewed your life, this past week, if we could all view your life, this past week, would we be able to identify, the most important commandment, in the scriptures, has your love for God, been on display, in any visible, noticeable way, it doesn't have to be, it doesn't have to be glorious, it doesn't have to be sentimental, it doesn't have to be, a tear jerker, it doesn't have to be, earth moving, or even public, at all, but is there any evidence, that you love God, with all your heart,

[40:50] I want to submit to you this morning, your life does evidence, what you love, it absolutely, evidences, it declares, the Bible says, out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh, you have trouble talking about the Lord, do you have trouble telling other people, about the Lord, do you have trouble, praising the Lord, and giving him glory, for things that he does in your life, you have trouble talking about baseball, you have trouble talking about work, you have trouble talking about your illnesses, and your problems, it ought to be evidenced, one final thought, if it was a crime, to love God, would there be enough evidence, in your life, to convict you, would the jury, have to deliberate at all, based on the way, you live your life, does anybody, on this earth, know, that you love God, this commandment, is a priority, according to Jesus Christ, there is nothing more important, it's not, it's not if you're a good mom, or a good dad, it's not if you're a good husband, or a good wife, not if you're a good faithful church member, it's do you love the Lord your God, he knows, that's what he's looking for, before all that other stuff, he's looking at the relationship, you have with him, that's the most important thing, this commandment's personal, the only one person's life, on trial here this morning, is yours, do you love God, with all your heart, and this commandment, must be practiced, it's got to be evident, the Bible says, if a man loved God, the same is known of him, it's evidenced, and people know it, my question was, does anybody know, because you can't hide, what you love, you cannot hide, what you love, and if the evidence, isn't there, neither is the love, you can't hide it, and if that's the case, then you are falling short, of doing, what is the most, important thing, let's bow our heads together, and before we dismiss, before we dismiss, with your heads bowed, and nobody looking around, would you consider, would you be in an attitude, and spirit of prayer, this morning, this is what Jesus said, was the most important one, never mind what you thought, this is what he said, is more important, than everything else, you do in your life, it's your relationship, with him, do you love him, you can't hide it, if you do, you've been, being an undercover,

[44:16] Christian at work, does your family know, that you're at church, right now, the love of God, is shed abroad, in our hearts, when it is, it demands action, it demands response, it demands obedience, but God forbid, you're doing things, to be seen of men, God forbid, your action, and obedience, is for the praise, that it gets, it's got to be for love, you've been forgiven much, and God is never going to, hold those sins against you, they're washed in the blood, they're gone, you don't deserve, that clean slate, you don't deserve, the righteousness, of Jesus Christ, if you'd stop thinking, about yourself, and start thinking, about him, you'd fall in love, with him, the Bible says, he is altogether, lovely, he's easy to love, it's fulfilling, to love him, sin, sin, will get in the way, pride, will get in the way, the love of other things, will get in the way, but this is the most important,

[46:04] Father, please impress this truth, upon us, each one of us, if we didn't know this, now we know this, may our love for you, come alive, may it be on display, may we never be ashamed, of our Savior, may we declare, with our life, that we love him, that we love him, with all our heart, you've been nothing, but good to us, when we think about, what you've done, and what you'll do, and what you've promised, it's easy to love you, and yet Lord, we get our minds, and sight off of you, and distracted, and sin, in this world, and it's so, it's so, so much more real, sometimes,

[47:08] God forgive us, turn our attention, back on our Savior, this morning, and may we leave here, with a renewed love, and may it last, we pray in Jesus name, Amen.