The Missing Chord Of Love

Today on Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhardt challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ part everything you have.

Thinking this is the level with all the strength that you have on you think about that. That's implies tremendous intensity, sustained effort of the Lord your God with all your heart, apparently my pursuit of God has to be an all out effort joining us today on this additional Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhardt Fellowship in the Words the radio ministry of Fellowship Bible church located in Metairie, Louisiana going pastor go get her now is once again he shows us how God's Word meets our world. Adelaide Proctor began writing poetry when she was just a child. At first published poem brought her fame as a teenager among her readers were Queen Victoria Charles Dickens. She became a Christian in her early 20s and she move writing poetry to writing hymns and she also took up the cause of the homeless in England. Her health began to fill her in her 30s and she spent most of that decade bedridden in a 39. She died of tuberculosis by far her most famous poem is the lost court composer Arthur Sullivan was so moved by reading the lost court to his dying brother that he said at the music and it became the most famous song at the turn of the 20th century after the Titanic sunk the lost cord was sung at a benefit concert for the families of the victims, the lost court with the song, the Thomas Edison recorded the show off his new invention, the phonograph, you see the poem tells a story of a woman who is weary and anxious and one evening she sat down to play the organ and has her fingers or lay idly look on the keys without paying any particular attention suddenly her fingers created or touched a combination of keys that brought about the most beautiful court of music she'd ever heard. It was angelic. It seemed a sore from the soul of the organ to her soul, the court changed everything in her life.

All of a sudden she had peace which he had anxiety and she had hope. And then the court faded and was gone and try she might she was never able to reproduce the court again. She ends the poem, saying that she longed to hear the missing court again, but would likely not here it until she reached out over the decades century critics have said that the reason that the loss cord resonates to such a degree, with human beings is that we have a universal realization that there something missing in our lives. Something were not sure what it is but we know it's there something missing in our world or something missing in our lives or something missing our heart, that thing that brings harmony to the discordant notes of our lives. The question is what is it, well that's the deepest and most foundational, questionable philosophy, philosophers of tried for millennia to answer that question. What is the missing court is the subject of countless sermons, public lectures, even invades pop culture the day in which we live Apollo quite a who wrote the alchemist was on the Oprah Winfrey show and Oprah Winfrey ask him what is that very most special thing that makes a spiritual and he said well it's not necessarily a belief in God. He said I believe the courage is a greater spiritual quality and makes all the difference in life. Actress Audrey Hepburn says the most important thing in life is to enjoy your life. That's all that really matters. Taylor Swift. I think the most important thing in life is the dance to the beat of your own drum and look like you're having more fun than those people who look cool and was not even funny because that is the prevailing view in our postmodern world. Christians have weighed in on this theologians of waiting on this man's chief aim is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever. The Westminster catechism. That's the most important thing. That's the missing court. The apostle Paul seems to imply that the missing court is to know God and all these are partially right.

Some say the missing court is to be an active part of the great commission take the good news of Jesus Christ across the street around the world. That's the missing court, but I think the final word.

And I think that the one who should speak the frontward is Lord Jesus Christ. Would you open your Bibles to Mark chapter 12 Mark chapter 12 verse 20 verse 28 starts one of the scribes came and heard them arguing and recognizing that he had answered them well, asked Jesus what commandment is the foremost of all in Jesus answered and said the foremost is here oh Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord goes back to Deuteronomy chapter 6 the plenitude and he says and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.

He adds, then the second is that you shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these in the Matthew passage in Matthew 22 after he says that first part love the Lord your God, he doesn't have strength in the Matthew passage, with all your heart, mind and soul. He says this is the great and foremost commandment. This is the missing court is the most important thing loving God, the very most important thing in all human life. The question of the day for you is you love God. I'm not asking you of your believer not ask but asking if you revere God are afraid of God respect God. I'm asking you do you love God see loving God is the most important thing that we do. According to Jesus, one of the things it's added in this passage in Mark that I find these as you love them with all your strength. Let me ask you this question.

When's the last time you've done anything that's required all your strength. Everything you have seen Jesus as that's the level with all the strength that you have you think about that. That's implies tremendous intensity, sustained effort.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your mind all your soul and all your strength.

Apparently my pursuit of God has to be an all out effort. You see is not telling this to just respect the Lord Jesus, you have to have it all in, kind of love by the way, this isn't the only place he says things like this member.

Jesus also said that you have to love me more is that what one who Lord your Mom or dad your wife your husband your children your siblings. Yet the love me more fact. He says that if you don't love me more than I do not even worthy to be my disciple for that makes us uneasy. You know it's an interesting thing because we really know how much we love the people that we love in our lives, but I think the reason it makes us so uneasy is because I don't think we really love God.

That way how being the man I love him like I love my mom is not ask me to love them like you love your mom is asking you to love him more than you love your mom see you think that's the missing court missing court of life are so many of us is the love God the way that he loves you. That makes all the difference in the world. We were created to love God. You see we were just created to obey God. If God wanted that. By the way he could've created us without something it gets us in the whole world of trouble free will created us without it. And God would just say what we need to do and we would just march through life just doing exactly what he says gotchas and Wanda looking for that I want you to love me while in.

See, that's the great creation of the free will receive the will wasn't free than you never would really love God ever is willing to take that risk and I often think that when he created Adam and Eve and you have this loving relationship becomes an says he walks with them in the garden this love relationship and all of a sudden that relationship was destroyed from sin, but something else was destroyed going to destroy our relationship with God in meeting now to be reconciled to God. But sin brought into our lives the idea that we really don't want to love God.

We don't see it that way. But as people turn with me now to second Timothy chapter 3, you know, the passage it speaks of these last days from the time of Paul to the day he said realizes that in the last days difficult times will come. Men will be lovers of self and lovers of money, he says bows for arrogant revolvers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, and unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, and then he says, lovers of pleasure and then this phrase rather than lovers of God see are created intended purposes. The love God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength. The love of God that way, but a missing court is is that we don't. In fact, he says if you look at man in this case Manlove self narcissism. Manlove's money materialism Manlove's pleasure, hedonism, these are the substitutes rather than loving God loving God is that most important thing that you and I can do. Secondly, the Lord is not naïve. The more tests your love for him. Turn with me now to Deuteronomy chapter 13 Deuteronomy chapter 13 verse one we saw this on the midweek Bible study in the book of acts it speaks to this issue.

Verse one.

If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you, and he gives you signs and wonders, you performs miracles around and the sign of the wonder comes true concerning which he spoke to you saying let us go after other gods whom you will not known and let us serve them. He said if someone calms and performs miracles in your midst, but they're trying to lead you away from your relationship with me.

He says in verse three you shall not listen to the words of the prophet or that dreamer of dreams for the Lord your God is testing you, while the Lord your God is testing you know we want to say he must be testing us the just see how discerning we are as we can figure I get that was a miracle but I don't like what you're saying there's some of that in Scripture, no doubt, but watch this. He says the Lord God is testing you to find out if you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. In other words, he says, I will permit things to come into your life. To test whether you love me more than anything, is one of the things you career you see your children, your reputation, using her favorite team, your favorite hobby.

What is your love or just yet, but there's a new life on a test you see if you really love me that way she have to ask yourself that question over and over again the missing court is the love God the same way that he loves us this anything draw you away from your love for God. The astounding thing. The convicting question. By the way there's another way that this should work. There's another test. You have every day you and I have this test if you love Mozart. What you do when someone said you deserve any musician anything composing you really love you say love Mozart. They say what's your favorite piece and you would say I don't I'll never listen to, not you.

If you love Mozart you listen to his music right I mean you would if you love golf you make any excuse you can anytime you can get out there you just want to be there. If you love your Labrador retriever you play fetch sees a Labrador retriever question. What if you love the Lord of lords and King of Kings. But if you love him. What you do what Jesus said in John if you love me you keep my commandments sees by definition, why what we mean. I thought had to do that. I religious duty now is that I don't want that. I had enough of that see the motivation of the Christian life isn't religious duty. See the motivation is guilt, the motivation is love is so much stronger motivation and he's the Kings and Lord of lords over everything when he ask you to do something you do it if you love him. Peter three times Peter do you love me yes Lord you Peter do you love me, but what you say every time. Glad to hear it is that feed my sheep and my flock. In other words, if you love me, you do something because he is the Lord. So if you love the Lord is the test every single day.

If you love me you will do as I ask loving God to most important thing about us, the more test her love for him. By the way, to love the Lord is the lovers word come with me now to Psalm 119 Psalm 119. The longest Psalm in the Psalter verse 47 this amazing amazing song verse 47.

I should delight in your commandments because I have to do them and you're the boss and you can make it miserable for me if I don't see that's a religious view that, but this says I should delight in your commandments which I love. Verse 97.

Oh how I love your law is my meditation all the day is not trying to read through the Bible in a year to see bank at the passage just finished.

He said I love this one. 13. I hate those who are double minded. But I love your law. Verse 127. Therefore, I love your commandments above gold, yes above Feingold. I love this 140 word is very pure.

Therefore, your servant loves it. 159 consider how I love your precepts. While 163. I hate and despise falsehood, but I love your law 165. Those who love your law have great peace and nothing causes them to stumble 167. My soul keeps your testimonies and I love them exceedingly easy to love God is the lovers word why because it's in his word for God reveals himself to us. You see, that's what I know how much he loves me. See, that's where I find out that I have sinned and fall short of the glory of God that I'm not righteous that I need someone to save me God love me so much. He sent a son of the world to die for me. Christ love me so much.

They not only live the perfect life but he went to the cross is my substitute loves me so much. The pulse is nothing can separate me from the love of God.

Nothing. Oh how he loves me. That's what I find out from the word over and over again through his word. God whispers in your heart. I love you I love you Jeremiah said your words became for me a joy and delight of my heart.

See if you love God you love his word because you have a duty to try to trade through it because you love to hear him speak to you. Loving God is the most important thing you do the Lord test those your love for him in the love of God is to love his word and God blesses those who love him. Go to Psalm 91 I were in the book. Psalm 91. I love the starting in verse 11, he will give his angels charge concerning you to guard you in all your ways they will bear you up in their hands that you would not strike your foot against a stone. While he says you will tread upon the lion and the cobra, the young lion and the serpent you will trample down because he has love me. Therefore I will deliver him as Lord speaking because he is loved me. I will deliver him now because I love him. He would deliver me, but a statement. Psalm 18 I love the song David McCullough along the inscription is on top of the Psalm for the choir director, a Psalm of David, the servant of the Lord who spoke of the Lord. The words of the song in the day that the Lord delivered from the hand of all his enemies in the hand of Saul and he said they would like. I want this song and I want exactly when I wrote this, and he does notice how it starts. I love you Lord I love you my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock and who I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised.

I am saved and delivered for my enemies see nothing was going well and David like it wasn't like if you love the Lord and nothing that will ever happen. David says look at my enemies wrapped me. I got real enemies affect the enemy that really is after me as King of Israel himself. Saul Nick chased me down. They hunting me all the time she David understood that no question about it. He really understood his prompt.

In spite of the enemies that he had from without and by the way, no one was more aware of this. They would also realize he had the enemy within you and I have his own sin is got these enemies on the outside and on the inside. He said the right there. Notice in verse 31. He said for who is God, but the Lord and who was a rock except our God, the God who girds me with strength and makes my way blameless.

He said he makes my feet like Hines feed he said to me upon my high places is an interesting thing that he says that what God does for me.

He said God takes care of me. He gives me strength for those on the outside gives me forgiveness for my palm on the inside. That's why love that is no question about it that one of the biggest problems we have a suite is we never express the missing court. We just don't do duty would go to church. We read our Bibles. We do all kinds of things like that. We help old ladies across the street and we serve meals of the homeless and is all findings but are not the most important thing to the most important thing is to love God made you really love you see only you can answer that for yourself. David found the missing court.

He love God and align Proctor in her poem said that even though she longed to hear the missing court. She said I'm likely never to hear it again until I get to heaven we don't let that be your experience. I guarantee one thing that what will fill your heart when you step from this life or the next. From in our presence to be in his presence. Whenever that happens human experience in all-consuming, completely satisfying, absolutely overwhelming love for the God who loves you. I think you can fill in the way you've never felt before. I think one of the saddest things I hear so often Christians may understand the reason for that. So often we say I want to get to heaven. I can't wait to get to heaven to see that person. I love my mom see my dad, my spouse, my child and I understand that but I wonder what's in a really long for switching my heart really long for.

I'm to become go face-to-face with a guy love all my heart, my mind see all my soul and all my strength. You don't have to wait for heaven to experience love and God's the most important thing you ever do in your life. The little tester love that so that you know that so that you love God's love is word blesses those missing court pastor broke your heart on the radio ministry of fellowship Lord, if you ever miss one of our broadcast or maybe you just like listen to the message one more time.

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