On Friday evening, we had the youth here, and we had a great discussion with them.
We kind of opened it up to them, Ryan and I were there, to ask whatever questions they wanted about God, faith, the Bible.
And we talked about all sorts of things, from angels, to whether there's life on other planets, to how God created the world.
And one of the things that they had questions about was basically the Bible in general.
What exactly is in this book?
And as we talked about it, they were quite surprised to hear about the variety of different things in the Bible.
And it got me thinking, you know, the Bible is, you know, it's a big book.
Of course, I got the extra wide margin, so it's not actually this big, most of yours.
But it's a pretty large collection of writings.
And summing it all up is not the easiest thing.
What would you tell a child who asks you, what's the Bible about?
What would you say to them?
Well, we might go into some of the details about how God created the world, and then the fall of man, and the flood, and the story of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and then the story of the people of Israel, and then to Jesus.
And before you know it, you realize that this book actually covers a lot.
Even just the first five books of the Bible cover several thousand years of world history.
But what's this big story that traces all through the ages really all about?
I was reminded again this week of just how simple it could be to answer a question like this, as I was reading what Jesus said on one particular occasion.
If you have your Bible with you, open it up to the Gospel of Mark, chapter 12.
The Gospel of Mark, chapter 12.
Jesus is in Jerusalem.
It's the week before his death and resurrection.
He's been teaching at the temple courts each day.
And we pick up the story in verse 28.
One of the teachers of the law came and heard Jesus debating with the Sadducees.
Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him,
Of all the commandments, which is the most important?
The most important one, answered Jesus, is this.
Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.
The second is this.
Love your neighbor as yourself.
There is no commandment greater than these.
Of all the commandments, which is the most important?
Good question.
We all know that the Bible is not just a story of what has happened,
but that all throughout the Bible we're being taught and told about what God really wants from us.
And as we think of those first few books of the Bible,
Genesis and Exodus and Leviticus and Deuteronomy,
this is a big part of the story.
What does God really want from us?
This is what Adam and Eve began to discover in the garden.
It's what Abraham and his children and his grandchildren began to discover as God revealed himself to them.
It's what the children of Israel began to discover as God gave them his ten commandments and the law.
What does God really want from me?
For some people today, when they think of the Bible, the first thing that comes to mind is that it's a big book of rules.
A big book of do this and don't do that.
And so this question is a great question.
Of all the commandments, which is the most important?
What is it that God most deeply wants from us?
Of all the things that God has commanded people to do over the centuries,
over thousands of years of history,
what's the one thing that matters most to God?
The one thing he wants most from you and from me?
Does Jesus' answer to this question surprise you?
It surprises me.
I've been a Christian since my youth, and again this week it surprised me to read this answer.
It's all too easy to fall into a mindset where we think that what God wants most from me is to stop sinning
and to live a holy life,
or to stop being selfish,
or to make progress with my anger issue,
or to just stop worrying about things and to trust him more,
or to just get better at doing what he says,
or we might think that what he wants most of us is simply to serve him
and to do the work of his kingdom
with diligence and get things done for him.
And so we wait with bated breath for Jesus to tell us the answer.
Of all the commandments, which is the most important?
Which is the one thing that he wants most from you and from me?
And what Jesus says is surprisingly sweet.
The most important one, answer Jesus, is this.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart
and with all your soul
and with all your mind
and with all your strength.
Love.
Hold on a minute.
I mean, I can't have read that right.
The most important one is this.
Go and make disciples of all nations.
No.
The most important one must be this.
Be holy as I am holy.
No.
The most important one is this.
Fear God.
No.
The most important one is this.
Repent of your sins.
No.
Now, all these are important.
Yes, they're all commands that come from Scripture.
But the most important, says Jesus, is simply,
love Yahweh, your God,
with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.
With everything you've got.
Love Him.
Isn't that surprisingly sweet?
The thing that God wants most from you and me
is a relationship characterized by love.
This is what the whole Bible is about.
From cover to cover.
It's why He made us in the beginning.
It's why He gave us a beautiful place to live,
perfectly suited to our needs and delights.
It's what we turned our back on that day in the garden
when we broke faith with Him.
And it's what God has been working to restore
through the ages between Him and us.
A love relationship.
It's why He sent Jesus, His Son, into the world.
It's why Jesus came to suffer and die on the cross.
And it's what Jesus has promised to bring about
in its fullness when He returns.
A love relationship with Him.
With God.
Forever.
Let me read some of the words at the end of the story.
Revelation chapter 21.
This is John talking about the vision that he had from Jesus.
He said,
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth.
For the first heaven and the first earth had passed away
and there was no longer any sea.
I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem,
coming down out of heaven from God,
prepared as a bride,
beautifully dressed for her husband.
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
Look!
God's dwelling place is now among the people
and He will dwell with them.
They will be His people
and God Himself will be with them
and be their God.
He will wipe every tear from their eyes.
There will be no more death
or mourning
or crying
or pain
for the old order of things has passed away.
He who was seated on the throne said,
I am making everything new.
I love those words.
A love relationship.
And I will wipe every tear from your eyes
and fix all the brokenness and suffering
and pain in this life kind of relationship.
These words describe God's great love for His people.
And sometimes we lose sight of this
in the busyness of life, don't we?
that this is what it's all about.
It's all too easy for our relationship with God
to become in our minds
about what we must do for God.
But beneath all that,
what God wants most from us
is love.
Sweet, beautiful relationship.
Friendship.
Let's talk briefly about the kind of love
that God desires from us.
Jesus said,
Love the Lord your God
with all your heart
and with all your soul
and with all your mind
and with all your strength.
Those are some powerful descriptions.
They speak of a passionate love.
You might hear a few of these words
spoken between two people in love today.
I love you with all my heart.
From the depths of my being
with my deepest of feelings.
But then it goes beyond that
and with all your soul.
From the very deepest center
and essence of who I am.
And then it goes one step further.
And with all your mind.
If the whole heart and soul
didn't already capture it all,
he includes all the mind
where all of my inward thoughts
are caught up in loving God.
The closest thing that I
even can compare this to
is that special relationship
between a man and a woman.
I still remember
when I was first dating Jennifer
how naturally
all my thoughts were about her.
Couldn't get her out of my mind.
I was just thinking about her
all the time.
I was thinking about
our last conversation.
I was thinking about
what she enjoyed.
I was thinking about
what we might do
on our next date
and when we might be able
to do that.
I used to tell her
I couldn't sleep at night
because the reality
of our relationship
was better than my dreams.
I was thinking about her
as I lay on my bed.
This is the kind of love
that God desires from us
where we love him
with all our thoughts,
our thinking,
our planning,
our intentionality.
And finally,
God desires for us
to love him
with all of our strength.
So not just a feeling love
or a passion love
but also a doing love.
We misunderstand love
if we think of it
only as a feeling.
It is a feeling
but it's also an action.
It's something
that we do
to one another.
It is felt
but it's also demonstrated.
And it's not that we
must prove our love
through action.
It's that the natural fruit
of love
is action.
Just like if you love
your son or your daughter
and you see them in need.
You want to act.
You act
because you love them.
You help them out.
Or if you have a friend
and you know
it's their birthday coming up.
You do something special
for them.
You give of your time
and your energy
and your strength.
You go get a gift for them
or a card for them.
Action.
John in his letter
says it so well.
1 John 3.18
He says
Dear children
let us not love
with words
or tongue
but with actions
and in truth.
Action.
Loving someone
is not just a feeling.
It's not just something
we say to them.
It's something we do
to them
and for them.
And love requires
strength.
Serving your kids.
Serving your spouse.
Serving each other
in the church.
Serving your neighbor
requires strength.
It requires energy.
And so we shouldn't
be surprised
when Jesus says
that God desires
for us to love him
with all our strength.
It's a full
expressed kind of
love that God
desires from us.
He is our God
and we love him
so we obey him.
He's our king
and we love him
so we serve him
joyfully
from the heart
doing the things
that please him.
all of these
things together
describe the kind
of love
that God desires
from you and me.
A passionate love.
A total devotion
kind of love.
An all of me
and all my life
is yours
kind of love.
Not a fake love.
Not a
well it's my duty
to love you
kind of love
but a sincere
and genuine
love from the heart.
Now we might
read these words
and tremble.
We might think
to ourselves
well this kind
of love
is so far
beyond
what I could
possibly give
to God.
I fail to love
him with all my
heart and soul
and mind
and strength
all the time.
In fact I wonder
if I've ever
loved anyone
but myself
in that way.
this may feel
heavy
and burdensome
to you.
Thou shalt not
steal.
I can do that
but love
the Lord
your God
with all your
heart, soul,
mind and strength.
That's impossible.
Maybe hearing
Jesus' answer
just makes you
feel guiltier
of sin
because you know
that God
is worthy
of this kind
of love
from you
but at the same
time you just
feel powerless
to give it to him.
Let me offer you
a few words
of encouragement
this morning.
Regardless of
whether we can
love God
like this
isn't it sweet
and beautiful
and wonderful
that God
the creator
desires this
kind of relationship
with us.
That he created
us for this
kind of a love
relationship
with him
and that out of
everything he wants
from us
this is what
he desires most.
isn't that sweet?
That alone
says so much
about the kind
of God
that he is.
He is a warm
and personal
and affectionate
God.
So even if we
fail to love
God like this
it still describes
no less
the perfect
all-encompassing
love relationship
that God
wants to have
with us
and that's good
news.
Here's my second
word of encouragement.
God knows
very well
that we have
all failed
to love him
like this.
He knows
that even now
those of us
who do love him
and believe in him
will continue
to fall short
of his glory
and continue
to fall short
of loving him
like this
the way that
he's worthy of
and it's not
to say that
we shouldn't
intentionally
make an effort
to love him
like that
we should
but God
knows that
we are all
bent
and broken
and that
sin and
selfishness
continues to
be present
in all of us
and that's
the whole
reason why
God sent
Jesus
into the
world
to save
us.
None of us
can come
even close
to loving
God as we
should
and we
could never
have this
kind of
relationship
with God
unless
God did
something
to fix
that brokenness
that bentness
inside of us
I love the way
that John
says it
it's the verse
that we have
outside on the
wall
1st John 4
verse 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
this is how
God showed
his love
among us
he sent his
one and only
son
into the
world
that we
might live
through him
this is the
good news
of Jesus
not that we
loved God
not that we
must become
good enough
to have
relationship
with him
but that
God loved
us
even while
we were
still quite
unloving
and unlovely
Romans 5
familiar
verse
at just
the right
time
says Paul
when we
were still
powerless
Christ died
for the
ungodly
very rarely
will anyone
die
even for a
righteous
person
though for a
good person
someone might
possibly dare
to die
but God
demonstrates
his own
love for
us
in this
while we
were still
sinners
Christ died
for us
even though
we've all
failed to
love God
as we
should
God has
loved us
so much
so deeply
he's done
something
truly amazing
to fix the
problem
to fix
what's broken
between us
and him
and to
make this
relationship
that he's
describing
possible for
us
loving God
like Jesus
said
that we
should
really is
impossible
for sinners
like you
and me
there's truly
only one
person who
ever loved
God this
way
with all
his heart
and soul
and mind
and strength
all the
time
and that's
Jesus
he was not
bent like
we are
he was in
a sinner
like we
are
and so if
we want to
see what it
looks like
for someone
to really
live this
kind of
relationship
with God
all we need
to do is
read the
gospels
Matthew
Mark
Luke
John
but what's
wonderful is
this
while we
will continue
to love
God in a
way that
falls short
of what
God is
worthy of
one day
God will
so transform
all of his
people
that this
kind of
love
that all
your heart
soul
mind
and strength
love
will be
the normal
and the
natural
in our
relationship
with him
we'll find
ultimate joy
we'll find
happiness
forever
loving him
like that
how do we
know that
this is
true
back to
John
first John
three verses
one and
two
see what
great love
the father
has lavished
on us
that we
should be
called
children
of God
and that
is what
we are
dear friends
he goes
on
now we
are children
of God
and what
we will
be has
not yet
been made
known
but we
know
that when
Christ
appears
we shall
be like
him
for we
shall see
him
as he
is
so there's
coming a
day when
all the
children of
God will
become like
Jesus
when he
appears
when he
returns
there's going
to be a
great
transformation
of all
of us
who are
in Christ
and we
will become
like Jesus
loving God
perfectly
the way
that we
should
with all
our heart
soul
mind
and strength
for the
rest of
forever
Paul spoke
about this
transformation
in his
letter to
the
Corinthians
I won't
go there
but he
talked about
how there's
coming a
day when
in a
flash
in the
twinkling
of an
eye
at the
last
trumpet
the dead
will be
raised
and we
will all
be changed
those of
us who
are in
Christ
will be
given a
new
body
will be
clothed
with
immortality
and we
will come
to bear
the image
the likeness
of the
heavenly
man
Jesus
well when
will this
happen
when Jesus
returns
as he
promised
to
so what
should our
response be
to all
this
we might
look at a
command like
this and
say well
I guess I
need to do
better at
loving God
I guess I
need to make a
greater effort
to love God
more fully and
deeply
it's a command
so we just
need to obey
it
we need to
do it
but I'm
not sure
that's the
way we're
meant to
respond to
this
I think if
we want to
grow in our
love for
God
we need to
discover and
experience for
ourselves more
of how glorious
and how worthy
and how lovely
he is
and the more we
know him and
experience his
goodness and see
his greatness the
more deeply and
fully we will
love him it just
follows and so
I don't want to
end this morning
by telling you
to just go out
and love God
more love him
better I want to
encourage you
rather to seek to
know God for who
he really is and
the rest will
follow you won't
be able but to
love him with all
your heart soul
mind and strength
I don't want to
encourage you this
morning just to
love him more and
deeper because it's
your Christian duty
I want to
encourage you to
long for and
seek for the God
who desires this
kind of relationship
with you
how is your
relationship with
God going
how is your
relationship with
Jesus Christ the
king going
are you enjoying
him deeply
are you growing in
your love for him
week after week
are you spending
time just praying
to him each day
throughout the day
not because it's your
Christian duty or
because you have to
fill a certain number
of minutes to feel
good but just
because you want to
be in this love
relationship with
him
same with reading
your Bible
has it become a
religious task
that you just
I got to do this
to be healthy as a
Christian
just like I got to
eat my vegetables
and my whole wheat
bread
or will you open
your Bible this week
at home on your own
just to be in this
love relationship with
God and hear him
speak to you in the
way that he's chosen
to in our day
and so that's what I
want to encourage us
all with this morning
God loves you
he desires an all-in
love relationship with
you so deeply
a passionate powerful
relationship and he's
done everything to
make it possible
this is what the Bible
is all about
this is the good news
of Jesus
are you into that
let's pray
father in heaven
it blows us away
that this is what
you want with us
compared to you
we're nothing
we're pathetic
we're sinners
we've blown it
we've done things
that we
we know are
evil
are wrong
and yet you
love us
and it's amazing
God I pray that
in each of our
hearts you would
draw us
deeper into
friendship with
you
you know exactly
what's going on
in each of our
lives
the struggles
that we have
the challenges
that we're facing
the worries
the doubts
but we pray
and ask in these
moments Lord
that you would
pull us close
that you would
speak of your
love to our
hearts
and that you
would bring
life
and joy
reveal yourself
to us
in the days
and weeks
ahead we ask
in Jesus name
amen
all