That First Commandment (Part C)

Taking this from John in his children's progress confession of faith is to lead to a life answerable to that confession.

You said you're a Christian okay to see God help us to believe the things we confess God help us to believe and carry out things we say we can do and when you fail to get up. Satan hates that part. Satan hates that you can get off and that you do get him from this is cross reference radio with our pastor and teacher Rick Gaston. Rick is the pastor of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville. Pastor Rick is currently teaching through the book of Mark, please stay with us after today's message to hear more information about cross reference radio.

Specifically, you can get a free copy of this teaching, and now here's Pastor Rick in Mark chapter 12 with his study called that first commandment since the very moment I've been saved I've been trying to fill this love I haven't gotten there yet, but it's been worthwhile.

Imagine if I did not. It is a worthwhile duty to pour everything into loving God with balance but loving God must, it must continue to love itself not and not an imbalanced love of self. We we love ourselves naturally need no effort for that. Jesus said, listen, love your neighbor as Giselle because I know you love you so much without effort. I don't have the tell you to love you, I gotta tell you to take some of that love and give it to your neighbor and you will not lose any of it.

You know that you some would say you know Campbell doesn't lose any of its own light when it lights another candle. Well, there is this a good illustration but I've been chasing this love, but I'm not the only one. Paul said it this way because he chased it to use is not that I've already attained, or am already perfected, but I press on, that I may lay hold of that which Christ Jesus has laid hold of me. Not that I've already attained, or am already perfected, but this one thing I do, and then he goes on to tell of the Philippians. We writes this in Philippians 3. I'm spending myself loving Christ and then he told the Corinthians. I am spent and will gladly be spent for you.

Sometimes I get tied up in spent do I do. Okay I'm done and God just as because he knows I am By the power of God, not only for my salvation before my service thinking that I can keep myself God is big and he is awesome and we love them for it. And Satan is not going to sit down idling and stand for that is going to come at no matter what you bring to God with your heart, he's going to attack it at some point if you're in it.

If you're in the fight like he did.

Job Job was attacked because he was a good man. He was a great man. God was bragging about Job you check out Joe nobody like Joe loves good hates evil. I have asked God to not boast about me and he has said don't worry about it.

Cannot given me much so God put blood in the game when he came and died for us and he has demanded no less from us in return with all your heart, again, that that is my mind. That is my my ability to reason to make a decision. The way I feel it is all of me that's what Christ is saying is tell giving us the definition of the heart when he says, mind, soul and with all your heart, mind, soul's you got it you have already quoted it like five times without looking you sold your mind, your strength, that's your soul. It is that part of me who is me and if I'm not born again. I only have a soul.

I do not my spirit is dead, is not until I'm born again is my spirit come alive. And now I can interact with God that dead spirit can interact with hell cannot interact with God way that pleases God says with all your soul and again the already pretty much covered that if you are unsaved. Your soul is empowered with human energy and influenced by Satan and from the spiritual realm and not God. Unless, of course, God is appealing you to get say if you are saved. Your soul is empowered and influenced by the Holy Spirit, but it still has to fend off the flesh.

So it is that touch of holiness upon the soul that brings us life in Christ centers our attention upon God is a picture of what happens inside of us, from experience of Moses and remember I love the tell this I know Moses did not want to be cooked called in the ministry. He had tried to help his people.

He realize you know what people are a pain in the neck and he left and then God said, yeah you too bad your pain in the neck the pain and you know you will still have to work saved them. Eventually they would be a pain in his hands and his feet and the side and on his brow. People did all that to him, Christ was crucified for us anyway. So when Yahweh saw that he had turned aside to look as God. I guess I don't know much about hunting or trapping and things like that but I have heard that there's two things that really work when it comes to hunting and trapping and that is bait and weight 52 bade him and you wait for you going to get him and so God, did that with Moses in the bush that burned. He wanted to grab his attention and Moses that I got to go and see this thing.

He took the bait.

God was waiting.

I hope that doesn't sound like I'm trivializing a magnifying so when Yahweh saw that he turned aside to look God called to him from the midst of the bush and said Moses.

Moses and when God says your name twice. Something's going on not necessarily bad, but is serious and he said here. My look at the look on Moses face is nobody on the mountain and someone's talking to him and he's talking to someone he can see just like us anyway.

Then he said do not draw any of this place. Take your samples off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground horse annexing Moses that took the samples off see a soul was the spirit came to life use and presence of God.

God does this to us in that sense of holiness comes from this type of experience with God. And so Jesus says with all your mind. Sin always drives us from God. Would God desires. Sin is always opposite of what God wants and it is always harmful. Spent some point it is very harmful and who we are better off when we feel better about Jesus Christ. A lot of Christians I just don't feel good about life. Roy Sauer have life but they don't have joy and I I fear that in many of these cases it's because there really not centered on Christ are centered on self and I don't say this as an as an outsider is a bystander when I'm cast down. I know the steps and I take them. I don't suffer with depression too much anymore.

Every now and then I feel feel it on the sea on the horizon. I beat that thing back now. What I learned early on and on. To live this way and so again as I've said before, when I feel depression coming on the next sound you hear is the sound of the sword, leaving it she I'm going to fight it. I am not going to let it fight me without resistance when my mind is on him. Then I feel how I feel about myself falls into place now. Isaiah says it this way and I have had problems with this verse but I've never given up on and it is paid off. Isaiah 26 you will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you, because he trust in you. You either believe that or you do not. If you are in a place to say. I believe it but I don't feel it and you gotta work it out, that's okay, you're in a good space you are saints.

You are separated by the blood of Christ, we have no right to take the easy way out.

When the hard way leads to victory. We have no right to say it's too hard and then quit more is expected of us. How else do you get stronger.

How else do we develop I'm telling I'm getting afraid to preach these things no one because it seems like I preach him in God's is looking to see if you can do it. No knowledge is a work that way. I preach it.

They do it then you tell me more to preach.

I preach it they do, it's a good system God. He just hasn't agreed with that with all your strength. The resources of your resolve of my resolve the resources that we have and we have them just sometimes have to mind them dig for them, feeling a thrill. In Jesus name does not make me a believer by itself, there must be the confession of the faith with energy to grab hold of life in that strength and that faith in that belief, confession of faith is to lead to an answerable life to the confession taking this from John Bunyan and his Pilgrim's progress confession of faith is to lead to a life answerable to that confession. You said your crew a Christian okay to say it. God help us to believe the things that we confess God help us to believe and carry out things we say we can do and when you fail to get up. Satan hates that part.

Satan hates that you can get up and that you do get up how many times have you felt like I don't feel like going to church and probably none here. I know that that's just for a moment, put ourselves in the place of other churches where were sometimes people who sowed goofy when they don't feel like going to church and they go anyway who just won that skirmish was in hell unless they get the church to cause problems for the good of another problem. This is the first commandment, Jesus said, so he lays it out.

This you to love God with everything you have these four things are the beginning of the first commandment is going to say but it doesn't stop there. The man asked for one commandment Christ is giving him one answer with two parts of commandments involved. What would Christianity look like if Christ never said such things. If you never said you shall love the Lord your God with everything you've got. What if he said you know just whatever you can get even less than what we are able to give him and so balanced Christianity is critical. It involves duty and sacrifice which is what Christ meant was, take up your cross and follow me. It is your duty and it is sacrificial and it is worth it and to take that away we get nothing done for Christ. And so the will that is the duty and the heart strength. The feelings are involve the mind passionate action with intelligence because of you have passion without intelligence you have fanaticism is no good at staff truth because if you have passion in your faith without truth. Your superstition both of those are wrong.

I do not want to be a fanatic, someone who is upset, you know, obsessed, we would say, with a particular passion but has no truth with it or not enough truth just parts of fragments which creates the lie we see the in the news media do this all the time with truth of the manipulate would anyway your heart, soul, mind, strength. This is the first commandment. Collectively, these make up 1 May they make up the whole person. The first part of his answer, the whole heart, put on the whole armor of God in Ephesians 611 verse 31 now the second is like it is this you shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these. I don't like that one too much.

As I've already been very clear about it belying otherwise stand up and say that's just love every body. Well, I would be nice if you could just do it like that but then not going to help you all the time. In fact, going to work against you. Many times God will send them your way. Satan will send them your way and God will allow Satan. Satan to send them your way because that's where the fight is so this first commandment has two parts. According to the Lord because here he's not quoting Deuteronomy of the Shema any part of it. He's now going to Leviticus is that it is like he said well I'm going to answer your question in the obvious answer is you love God with everything but the part that's not so obvious is that you supposed to love people toe. Leviticus 1918, you shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am Yahweh, I am God. What good is there loving God. If you don't love people who were made in his image in spite of the fall, especially after the fall. That's when it's needed most. I've had friends in my life who are my friends when I needed them most. Even when I didn't know any of the most that's a friend not wanted to bail on you when when the going gets tough. And they gone you can find it will pick up the phone a mess of forest balls that he sought me out. He looked for me. I was in jail in Rome somewhere and he found me a great risk to himself.

Anyway, with the devotion to God comes the love for others is sometimes like a cross is painful and God's way.

Whenever God's people whenever they have got big things done again and has not been by taking the easy way out, Joseph could have taken the easy way out. He did not have to reveal himself to his brothers would love compelled him. He loved his brothers. He loved his father and it shows up in the end of the story and there just aren't shortcuts to these things as long-term victory. That's why we have words in our Bible, such as endurance and persevere. That's what it takes to win. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Very challenging is it not. Does anybody here said not as easy as you need counseling you haven't been in the fight that granted it does come easier to some some just seem to be able to love more effectively, but the great many do not. What about you know there are Christians or think that they can they can love others. They just don't have to love their spouse was at come from a comes from hell.

It comes from nowhere else that you can go to church and you can see love are never the people you choose to love. When you get home you get in the car you can hate on the other one. Praise the Lord sarcasm. Hopefully if someone is guilty in the sink that got me. I am convicted that is God speaking to me and is God speaking because he loves me and he doesn't want to leave me the way he found me on this matter. So I'm going to do my part, I am going to love. And again I had hoped to master it.

Have had mastered this love thing by now, and I asked myself I difficult. A lot of don't answer, because of course I am what just you know you should ask yourselves, am I difficult to love. I do ask myself is this something about me and then I say but like this and that. Now, though I can't fix it.

No I don't like habitat would be counterproductive. God show it to you is a I see it, but this can happen. We don't do that no matter how long it takes and Christ here summarizing the Mosaic law making a compound verse out of these two verses come putting them together. No one but Jesus is ever truly love God with all his heart sold my mind and strength. Only him. No one but Jesus has truly loved his neighbor as himself. No one but Christ could give everything he's got for the father's will and he knows this but he doesn't excuse me from trying back.

He demands it is an imperative.

You shall love your neighbor if you don't have love you or nothing quoting Scripture verses.

You shall be perfect, as your father in heaven is perfect. What was it was the opposite should be okay. Like who I'm here because if he doesn't set the standard is with God then who should you be like you should be like David who really love me but failed. Well the truth is I don't want to be like that. I may be like that, but I don't want to be like that and this is made the church successful so love fulfills the God's will report said this to the Romans. Oh no one anything except to love one another.

That's why borrow money from people I don't know you anything. I love you. I know, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law of the commandments you shall not commit adultery shall not murder, you shall not steal.

Notice their role in the negative. You shall not bear false witness, you shall not covet. That's a big one should not want more than woodcuts giving the right and if there is any other commandment are all summed up in this saying, namely you shall love now goes to the positive. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Love does no harm to a neighbor.

Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. Let me do harm to make wanted to Jesus. It was his loving others.

A group out there that Elsa woke God only loves the elect people who had that position have elected to be wrong because if that was true that he could never have said father forgive them for they know not what they do. He love the whole world, and no man has a right to say will that's only the elect. This is the world we wanted to say God so loved the elect that he gave his only begotten son know he loves the world and this is the love that we are to pursue. It is a good system is very easy to love religion that's with the Pharisees and Sadducees were doing. It is very easy to love doing things for in God's name is easy to love places all I love Jerusalem. Whatever it maybe. It is easy to love pets as pets will treat you like people treat you as a role, but that's not what he's demanding we still have to love people more like it or not. You cannot hide behind those things and be without guilt. Jesus said to Peter, Simon, Simon son of Jonah, do you love me more than these Scripture doesn't say what Christ was referring to when he says more than these was at the fish. Was it the other disciples. What was it purposely omits what it was, because we are to fill in the blank. If there's anything we love more than Christ. If there's anything we love more than people that something is gotten in the way God is made us in his own image and he is also died to keep us out of hell. Genesis 9 whoever sheds man's blood.

This man his blood shall be said for in the image of God he made them. He says that later on after the creation of manta reminders. He's not forgotten. This it doesn't go away, it's still there.

This is duty and sacrifice. This is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you again. I have not been able to pull it off.

However, if I've gotten anything done for Christ.

It is because of that, if I've made any progress as a believer is because I'm commanded to love and if he had not commanded me to love things would look would look nothing like Christianity.

Well I see that I'm out of time, almost. And so I need to finish this up just to remind you Christian love is like a high antenna. It transmits and receives and it also draws lightning from hell. And if you're loving you going to be attacked. If you are not loving you are already attacked is no way around it.

Sin is the great separator of man from God. However, the cross is a greater separator then sin because it separates us from the judgment of sin and this then is about loving the Christ would take verse 32.

So the scribe said to him, well said teacher you have spoken the truth, for there is one God and there is no other but he the Lord could've said I really don't need your approval, but he's too loving for that nest on what he wanted.

He wanted this man to say this and others to hear it, and for us to verse 33. The man continues to love him with all the heart, with all the understanding with all the soul, with all the strength to love one's neighbor as oneself is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. David said this way after his great sin with Bathsheba. Your you killed Uriah you know that you know the story and you write Psalm 51 and he says for you do not desire, sacrifice, or else I would give it it was that simple to bring a bull down to the temple and have all of this go away.

I would've done that continues.

He says you do not delight in burnt offerings, none of these circumstances the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart. These all God, you will not despise you go to the Lords that I have been mean to my spouse. I have been so selfish and I didn't analyze what I want. Which brings up the avalanche of depression on dogs not giving me what I want I deserve more look and see what God wants from your life and do that watchword begins to happen. You still struggle.

It will have meaning.

Verse 34 and when Jesus saw that he answered wisely said to him you're not far from the kingdom of God. But after that. No one dared question him.

He was, not far. Why wasn't he all away in the months that you are the Messiah and son of the living God Nathaniel God. It Peter God. It Christ is not this man did not eventually get it. But again you have to surrender to Jesus Christ because he has no plan of some salvation without surrender move thanks for tuning in to cross reference radio for this study in the book of Mark cross reference radio is the teaching ministry of Pastor Rick Gaston of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville in Virginia to learn more information about this ministry. Visit our website cross reference radio.com once you're there you'll find additional teachings from Pastor Rick.

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