The Eleventh Commandment Part 2

Loving God with all our hearts and our neighbors as ourselves, rules long and pleases our creator. Obeying this commandment means obeying all 10 of the ones God rules on tablets of stone to give to Moses so long ago. Please stay with the Moody Church in Chicago.

This is running to win with Dr. Erwin Sir clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line. Mr. lutes or any of us really live up to all that is implied in loving God with all our heart, you know, Dave, were always going to fall short. But that doesn't mean that we should sit back and not try to love God.

And when I use that word try. I'm not talking about human effort.

I'm talking about coming before God and asking him to birth. That kind of love in our hearts.

One of the things that I've learned is that the older I get, I believe the more I love God, that it's always something for which we must strive. We want to thank the many of you who support the ministry of running to win and as we come to the end of the 10 Commandments series if you'd like to have these messages for yourself so that you can listen to them again and again for a gift of any amount they can be yours. Here's what you do go to RTW offer.com that's RTW offer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337 now we go to the pulpit of Moody church where we again expound upon the wonderful words of Jesus which I have called the 11th commandment is one thing to repair a message. Intellectually, it's another thing to prepare your heart as I was thinking about this last night I was agonizing in the presence of God, thinking of all the times that I bypassed opportunities to help people play because I thought my schedule is more important than their need. The text of Scripture says that the greatest commandment is that you shall love those who have needs and love imagination because sometimes people don't throw out distress signals. It's just that they are there and you know that they have a need and it's your responsibility and my responsibility to love them as we do ourselves that we talked about love toward God, thou shall love the Lord thy God with all my heart and with all thy soul. Love toward your neighbor to love your neighbor as yourself. Now there's 1/3 group of people that we should love and for that turn to the 13th chapter of John's Gospel, John chapter 13 I want you to notice that Jesus here is in the upper room and he is sharing some interesting words with the disciples before he dies. Judas is just left and then Jesus says that he's going to give them a new commandment. Some people who saw the topic of my sermon in the bulletin and 11th commandment asked, with perhaps just a touch of sarcasm. Whether or not the pastor of Moody church was qualified to add one to the 10 well actually I'm not doing that. It's our Lord. That did it. Notice what he says in verse 34 and new commandment I give you, you shall love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

Now when Jesus was in Mark chapter 12 that was not a new commandment because the commandment that you shall love your love the Lord your God with all your heart and your role, all your soul comes from the book of Deuteronomy and the fact that you should love your neighbor as yourself comes from Leviticus chapter 19 verse 18 and so Jesus took two passages of Scripture from the Old Testament and he simply combine them together and said these on these hang the law and the prophets.

These are the great commandments. Those were new commandments. But here Jesus said, and new commandment I give to you and 11th commandment. What is that commandment what Jesus is saying is that you love one another any speaking about Christians loving other Christians now and notice the standard. This is new. As I have loved you, so I have left you the text and we say will. How did Jesus love them well. The 13th chapter begins with Jesus washing the feet of the disciples doing something that the disciples themselves were too proud to do. He laid aside his garments.

The same Greek word, as is found in Philippians chapter 2, where he laid aside his glory.

And Jesus lays aside his outer garments and he begins to wash the disciples feet in all humility, and in all service and Jesus said, I have done this in your to love one another as I have loved you, we see him there as a servant, washing the disciples feet.

And that's not the end of the story Jesus goes on.

Of course the very next day to die for the disciples and let's not romanticize the death of Jesus Christ. Let's not look at those artistic paintings that sometimes depict a very sanitary crucifixion. Jesus is dying there very probably naked with nails in his hands and he is in excruciating agony physically and emotionally and spiritually because of what is happening there at the cross and then Jesus said you should love one another, just as I have loved you. That's the way you want to love one another. You want to care for each other. You want to uphold each other. You are to strengthen each other.

That's the test of true discipleship. When you look at the passage of Scripture and you say, where have we gone wrong, sometimes over very petty things. We have arguments with one another, sometimes over matters that really aren't that important. We criticize one another we speak against each other. We we work at cross purposes, and we we do not love with the same kind of sacrifice that Jesus is talking about here.

You know that there are three different kinds of love there is Eros erotic love that constantly is willing to take, but it does not give theirs to let all love the human love which gives us but it also takes it does both. And then there's divine love that is able to give in to given to give them to give and to give in to give even if there is very little or no return. That's the kind of love's past week I read a story about of person struggling with homosexuality was discovered by his wife. She went on loving him. She went on forgiving him discovered by people in the church. He went on loving and forgiving and working with until over a period of time.

God just transformed this person totally, but it took months and it took failure after failure after failure, but every time he failed there was a wife who forgave and there was a church church friends who forgave I read the story and I thought how could anybody love like that and then I thought of the text of Scripture here but you love one another as I have loved you, that means sacrifice. That might mean late-night telephone calls from people that irritate us and bother our schedules.

That might mean reaching out to those that maybe are not our kind of people lend inviting them over. It involves all the dimensions of an incredible sacrificial love and Jesus said this is the new commandment.

It's the 11th commandment that you love one another as I have loved you a brand-new standard and will condemn because we both fall short in the city of Portland was a church that decided to open its doors to people log on the street you know that whenever that happens you got problems in advance because you know that there are all kinds of people who are a nuisance and a bother, humanly speaking, and they decided that they would take some of these people, many of whom perhaps at alcohol problems or other problems, they began to do something with them and inevitably there was criticism people saying you know their stuff lying around. The church is messy and his people. They come in and they're just always in our way.

Gotta have extra staff to take care of them and all those other problems.

And furthermore, they said, these people are ripping us off for stealing stuff.

One of the church leaders decided that he would prove that there were these people who were taking everything they could get a hold of including bars of soap from the washroom that they would take and then later pond for reps of a few pennies so that they could get more to drink one day decided to hide in a washroom to prove his point, someone came in and soon he was taking a bar of soap and slipping it into his pocket. The guy thought. See I got red-handed, and that church leader was just going to reach out and to put his hands on the shoulder of that man when the man who had stolen the bar soap turned around and suddenly that church leader was looking I bawled to I ball into the face of a friend that stop both of them, and for a few moments.

They just stood and stared at each other and suddenly that church leader was transformed.

He was a different person because now instead of looking at this man as simply a person who ought to know better, and who ought to get out. He now looked at him as a person who had a name. The man not only had a name that had a family and this church leader knew that family and the man had a history and and he was once a little baby in his mother's arms and he was once a father who cared for his children and and suddenly the church leader instead of putting his arms on his shoulder to evict the man put his arms around him to hug the man you know I think that story because I can't help but think of how different our relationships would be as people if only we began to realize that behind every face behind every person who's a bother and a nuisance behind everybody who messes up our schedules is actually a person with a name and more importantly at person in whose eyes we should see Christ and then we might hug them rather than get rid of them. Remember Jesus said one day that the time is coming. During the period of tribulation where people are going to say you're going to be judged, and that the Lord is gonna say you know I was in prison and you didn't visit me. I was naked and you didn't close me. I was hungry and you didn't feed me and I said get this straight floor. When did we ever see you in prison if Jesus if you were in prison we visit you any day when even go to Cook County jail. If Jesus were in prison you come to our door. You knock it doesn't matter what hour of the day you come, Lord Jesus, we would've fed you know that show up on clothes. We take the shirt off our back and we give it to you. You know that Lord, when did we see you in prison.

When did we see you hungry and when did we see you unclothed.

Jesus is going to say whatever you have done to the least of these my brethren, you've done to me and whatever you haven't done to the least of these my brethren, you have in to me your neglect of those in need is a neglect me because when you stare into the eyes of someone that is you.

You were staring into the eyes of Christ. Jesus said, as I have loved you.

You are to love me and to love one another, we come to the 11th commandment. And we realize our helplessness in the presence of God.

Why were the commandments written are they, because God says now what I want you to do is to gear up and see whether or not you can keep them see whether or not you can at least get 4 to 5. That's not bad baseball players do worse than that when they're up to bat. See whether or not you can at least bat 300, 400, 500 anybody who bets 500 is outstanding that the reason why the 10 commandments were given by your friend. The reason that God gave the 10 Commandments was to devastate us was to realize our helplessness, our sinfulness, our total dependence upon Jesus Christ and their need for that because there were Pharisees and the time of Christ, who kept all the commandments they did is well as they possibly could and Jesus that I felt unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will in no way enter into the kingdom of heaven did Jesus mean boy, you'd better do better than they are. You better roll up your sleeves and go to it like a bullet a gate because of not your hat. No Jesus at all the righteousness that could be done by human beings all piled together all quantified would somehow turn out to be less than what God needs before you enter the kingdom of heaven. So your damn your lost you had what Jesus is saying is that you need a righteousness that God accepts, namely the righteousness of Christ and that's why Jesus died on the cross as God knew we couldn't keep these commandments Jesus died on the cross and he becomes the fulfillment of the law. The text says that means he fulfills the law for all of us. He loves us perfectly. He does everything perfectly, and he did everything perfectly, and he met God's requirements for us so that when we see our helplessness and our sin and we cast ourselves upon his grace and his mercy, because of his death, we can then be saved and received and forgiven and welcomed into God's family. Despite the tremendous failure that all of you and I recognize in the presence of the law of God. That's why Christ came because we couldn't keep the law, it still remains God standard it is still what he would desire to do in our lives by means of the Holy Spirit. After we have received the free gift of salvation. But God's standard cannot be kept by us and certainly a person is never trusted Christ can't and so the purpose of the law is to show us our helplessness.

It's a schoolmaster to bring us to the Savior.

If you're not a Christian. That's its first purpose.

If you are a Christian. The second is to so give up the self life. The Holy Spirit might enable us to at least begin to conform to what God requires.

Thou shalt love one another. So Jesus even as I have loved you.

Let's pray father. There's no question but that we stand naked in your presence. When we read your word and understand its implications, who has love to someone else as Christ loved us, who has not covenanted who has not had other gods before you father were all guilty. We pray that those of us who know you a Savior might graciously ask your Holy Spirit might work in us that we might to begin to approximate standard in the holiness of God, we desire to experience it. For those who have never trusted Christ as Savior, but are trying in their own foolish way to get your approval. May they today understand that Jesus paid for their sin. He met your requirements. May they see him as the only one that can give them the righteousness that they need to enter the kingdom of do that father Forrest. Today we pray in Jesus name, amen. My dear friend, this is Pastor Luther I'm so glad that I don't have to keep the law perfectly in order to be accepted by God. If you've never received Christ as Savior. Please do that today is the Holy Spirit of God works in your heart because we are actually saved, not by our righteousness, but the righteousness of another is this series of messages on the 10 Commandments and the added 11th commandment hasn't been a blessing to you.

Would you be benefited if you had this series of messages so that you could listen to it again and again. Here's what you can do for a gift of any amount. These messages can be yours. You go to RTW offer.com did I say that to quickly its RTW offer.com or you can call us at 1-888-218-9337. I want to thank you in advance for your generosity and helping us in this ministry and by the way yesterday is the last day, we are offering this series of messages once again the contact information.

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It's time again for you to ask Pastor Luther question about the Bible or the Christian life. Coping with great loss is very hard and it gets harder when you face two possible reasons for the loss reasons which cannot both be true. Marilyn from Pennsylvania rights. I'm struggling with the concept of God's sovereignty. I always thought that God had planned a B or C depending on how I decided to act or choose in a situation, but in a sermon I heard you explain sovereignty as God knowing all things being in charge of all things and having the power over all things, regardless of me, but I'm confused.

Several years ago my grandson Joshua died at the age of 3 1/2. We prayed for his healing. After numerous surgeries on his lungs, heart and brain.

Our healing began when we accepted that God in his infinite wisdom and sovereignty chose to take him home but my minister said to me that he believes that this happened not due to God's sovereign will. Which I can accept but that the devil interfered and has stolen Joshua without God's hand in it. He does say though that God will use this for his purpose.

At some point, to me, though the difference is critical and not just superficial.

Please help Marilyn, you're absolutely right.

The difference is critical. It is not superficial. I hate to say this over the radio because I don't know your ministry but I do believe that he is wrong. I don't believe that it was a case of Satan stealing your grandson. I believe it is correct to say that God took him home. On one level. Of course there's a sense in which Satan is involved in these things because he's involved in sin. He's no doubt involved in sickness, but you have an illustration from the book of Job was Job's the trial from God or the devil.

On the one hand it was from the devil.

I mean, he did the dirty work. He's the one that caused the windstorm.

He's the one who gave Job oils but nonetheless because the devil is under God's control and direction and can only do what God allows him to Job clearly understood that this trial came to him from God, and Job said the Lord gave, and the Lord took away blessed be the name of the Lord not the devil and Job.

Here is your model you have to say it is the Lord who took your grandson is not cancer. It is not disease that might've been the secondary cause but the ultimate cause was the will of God, I'm so interested to notice that in your question you say that you accepted the will of God, and it was easier for you to accept when you believe that God took him for a reason. Thanks Marilyn, I'm so glad that even though sorrow is deep and it is lasting. I thank God it doesn't last forever.

Hang on to that God is in control, and someday you'll see your grandson again thank you Dr. Luther for your compassionate answer if you'd like to hear your question answered.

Go to our website that RTW offer.com and click on ask Pastor Luther or call us at 1-888-218-9337 that's 1-888-218-9337 you can write to us running to win 1635 N. LaSalle Boulevard Chicago, IL 60614. New life comes to a church when revival begins. There is no doubt we could use the great awakening.

No, what is revival. One of the indications that God is making his presence known in a special way. Next time I'm running to win. We begin a series that tells us what they are. The series is called when God comes to church taken from Paul's first letter to the Thessalonian believers make plans to join us.

This is Dave McAllister running to win is sponsored by the teacher