Don't Let Anyone Fool You

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered at Pilgrim Reformed Church on Sunday morning, the 17th of November, 2024.  A recording of our service should be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch1992/streams.]

Family, we don’t have to look too far to see someone trying to fool us nowadays, do we.  They come in through our mail, our email, our telephone and text messages.  They croon their sweet promises over our TVs and radios.  They even come right up to our front doors.  All these people trying to get something from us, whether it be our money, our personal information, or our vote to keep them or put them in power.

There’s an old saying that, “If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”  If it sounds too good to be true, then it most likely is not true.  Wise folk heed those words and use extreme caution when presented with these false promises.  Be wise, and don’t let anyone fool you.

Our scripture reading this morning comes from the day after Jesus and His disciples made their last trip into Jerusalem together, in what we call His triumphal entry on Palm Sunday.  On that Sunday, Jesus chased all the moneychangers and merchants out of the temple and then He and His disciples left town to spend the night in Bethany, probably with His good friend Lazarus and his sisters Martha and Mary.  The next day they went back into town and Jesus began teaching in the temple, where He condemned the Pharisees and the Teachers of the Law of Moses before leaving the temple once more.

Our scripture reading picks up with what comes next.  Now, while both Matthew and Mark report all of this in their individual Gospel accounts of the life of Jesus, each has a little something extra to add.  So I am going to be reading from both accounts to get a more complete picture.  Please listen and follow along to what the Apostles Mark and Matthew recorded for us in their Gospel accounts, and I’ll be reading from the Contemporary English Version of our Holy Bible this morning.

First from Mark, chapter 13, verses 1 through 8…

1 As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, "Teacher, look at these beautiful stones and wonderful buildings!"

2 Jesus replied, “Do you see these huge buildings? They will certainly be torn down! Not one stone will be left in place.”

3 Later, as Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives across from the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew came to him in private. 4  They asked, "When will these things happen? What will be the sign that they are about to take place?"

5 Jesus answered:

"Watch out and don't let anyone fool you! 6 Many will come and claim to be me. They will use my name and fool many people.

7 "When you hear about wars and threats of wars, don't be afraid. These things will have to happen first, but that isn't the end. 8 Nations and kingdoms will go to war against each other. There will be earthquakes in many places, and people will starve to death. But this is just the beginning of troubles."

--Mark 13:1-8 (CEV)

And from Matthew, chapter 24, verses 9 through 14, with Jesus still speaking…

9  "You will be arrested, punished, and even killed. Because of me, you will be hated by people of all nations. 10 Many will give up and will betray and hate each other. 11 Many false prophets will come and fool a lot of people. 12 Evil will spread and cause many people to stop loving others. 13  But if you keep on being faithful right to the end, you will be saved. 14 When the good news about the kingdom has been preached all over the world and told to all nations, the end will come."

--Matthew 24:9-14 (CEV)

Let us pray…  Heavenly Father, we thank You for making sure we would have the words our Lord Jesus spoke and the mighty deeds He performed during His short life as a mortal man.  Thank You for inspiring the men who recorded those words and deeds, and for seeing that they have been preserved throughout the generations.  Sadly though, we don’t always give much time reading and studying these words.  We could better our relationship with Jesus if we would.  But the busyness of the world crashes down on us.  Our spirits are just too often wearied by all the lies and evilness filling our days and our views, all the people trying to fool us into believing what just isn’t true.  Forgive us these times, Father.  Please help us draw closer to You and Jesus.  Help us be more obedient to You and Your Son’s command to spread Your word and the Good News it bears.  Give us the courage and the will to step out into the world witnessing to the non-believers, sharing the Gospel and showing Your love.  Please forgive us when we hesitate to speak and act on behalf of You and our Lord Jesus.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand Your message today.  Help us share the Good News of forgiveness and everlasting life in our daily walk.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

The Danish philosopher, Kierkegaard, tells a parable of a theater where a variety show is proceeding. Each show is more fantastic than the last, and is applauded by the audience. Suddenly the manager comes forward. He apologizes for the interruption, but the theater is on fire, and he begs his patrons to leave in an orderly fashion. The audience think this is the most amusing turn of the evening, and cheer thunderously. The manager again implores them to leave the burning building, and he is again applauded vigorously. At last he can do no more. The fire raced through the whole building and the fun-loving audience with it. “And so,” concluded Kierkegaard, “will our age, I sometimes think, go down in fiery destruction to the applause of a crowded house of cheering spectators.”

I believe this brings up two good points.  First, will we realize the end is here when it comes?  Will we recognize the signs Jesus told us to watch for, or will we allow ourselves to be misled by the pundits and talking heads on our TVs that tell us not to worry, this is all normal?

And perhaps more telling of our culture, are we just spectators, watching the events of the world as they unfold, cheering as the curtains come crashing down in flames?  Or are we out there doing the work Jesus assigned us, participating in the spreading of the Gospel?

“Watch out and don't let anyone fool you!”, Jesus said.  “They will use My name and fool many people.”  I think we’ve seen that they don’t even have to claim to be the Christ or use the name of Jesus to fool many people.  All they have to do is offer a lot for a little, or pull on the heart strings, or bring up safety or security concerns.  People are fooled all the time, and they end up doing things they really didn’t want to do, maybe end up losing their life’s savings.

In this case, though, Jesus is talking about the end of times.  He’s saying that many will come forward claiming to be the returned Christ, here to judge the world.  Some of them may even offer salvation… for a price. 

And many people will be fooled.  We’d like to think that the fooled people would be non-believers, but some will likely be Christians, for we don’t all understand what to expect.

Wars and threats of wars?  Check – got those all around the world, with the talking heads all warning about a coming world war.  Nations and kingdoms fighting against each other?  Check – in Eastern Europe, in Asia, and in the Middle East.  The fights that have a greater impact on most of us, though, are those between gangs and between groups with conflicting ideologies.  We’ve had a war on drugs, a war on poverty, a war of words – seems like some folks are always fighting somewhere, even in our neighborhoods.

Earthquakes?  Check – and floods and hurricanes and tornados and wildfires and all manner of natural disasters.  People starving to death?  Check – especially in certain areas of the world, but even here in the US some folks struggle to find enough to eat.

But is all this a sign of the end?  No, not yet, Jesus says.  This is just the beginning.  Which means it’s going to get worse before it gets better.  It’s going to get much worse before Jesus returns.

Jesus goes on to say that Christians will be arrested, punished, even executed for their belief.  We see that in certain countries, and even the beginnings of similar persecutions here in the US.  People will hate us, not only from here but from all over the world.

In the Apostle John’s Book of Revelation, we’re told that we will not be able to engage in normal commerce unless we accept the Antichrist as lord and get his mark on our hand or forehead.  We won’t even be able to buy food for our families if we don’t renounce Jesus.  Many good believers won’t be able to take it.  They’ll give up, turn against us, even betray us.

False prophets will make false promises and fool many.  Evil will spread and brotherly love will become scarce.  It will be a struggle, but if we remain faithful to Jesus, we will be saved.

And then Jesus gives us one more sign to watch for.  The Gospel message, the good news about the kingdom of God, will be preached all over the world and told to all people.  Has this happened yet?  No, for there are still millions who have never heard the good news, never been told, never even heard the name Jesus.  So we’re not quite there yet, no matter what someone may tell you.

There is one more sign to watch for, one more event that has not yet occurred.  In the 25th chapter of his Gospel account, verses 15 through 22, Matthew recorded Jesus again warning us saying…

15  "Someday you will see that 'Horrible Thing' in the holy place, just as the prophet Daniel said. Everyone who reads this must try to understand! 16 If you are living in Judea at that time, run to the mountains. 17  If you are on the roof of your house, don't go inside to get anything. 18 If you are out in the field, don't go back for your coat. 19 It will be a terrible time for women who are expecting babies or nursing young children. 20 And pray that you won't have to escape in winter or on a Sabbath. 21  This will be the worst time of suffering since the beginning of the world, and nothing this terrible will ever happen again. 22 If God doesn't make the time shorter, no one will be left alive. But because of God's chosen ones, he will make the time shorter."

--Matthew 24:15-22 (CEV)

The "horrible thing" Jesus names is what Daniel refers to as the "abomination of desolation", that which defiles the temple.  This is the Antichrist, standing in the Holy of Holies in the Temple in Jerusalem, preaching his false gospel.  When this happens, it’s time to seek higher, safer ground.  It may be wise to keep a "bug-out bag" ready and at hand.

This may very well be referring to the start of the seven year Tribulation that we read about in Revelation.  And it will be a terrible time to be alive.  But Jesus says God will cut the time short for the sake of His chosen ones, His elect – those who believe in and accepted His Son Jesus as Lord.  This is the verse that primarily leads me to believe that Jesus will return to call His church home before the Tribulation begins.

I pray this has helped you better understand that the end is not yet here.  There are still indicators that have not made an appearance, signs that have not yet come to pass.  Mainly, the entire world has not yet heard the Good News of salvation through Jesus – everyone has not yet had the chance to be saved – and the Antichrist has not yet made himself known, nor entered the Temple’s most holy place.

And of course, Jesus Himself said it is not quite time, not yet.  So don’t be afraid, don’t worry, and definitely don’t let anyone fool you.  The end my be getting closer, but it isn’t here yet.

Be strong, be brave, stay faithful.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for insight into what is yet to come so that we can be better prepared.  By studying our bible, we can be aware of the signs that must first appear indicating the end is near.  Thank You for preparing those signs for our benefit.  Please forgive us for not spending more time in study of Your word, Father.  Help us set aside our concerns for what is going on in the world and seek the truth from Your word.  Forgive us when we let the world tell us what to do and how to act.  Please help us reach out more into the world, serving You by serving others, loving You by loving others.  Help us be more like Your Son Jesus, being more forgiving and merciful in our dealings with others.  Please strengthen our spirits to do Your will and help us do a better job of sharing Jesus with others so that they too may be saved by Your mercy and His sacrifice.  

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more obedient to Your commands, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, You told us not to be afraid, for the end is not yet here.  And You gave us signs to watch for, the harbingers of the end.  Now, Lord, please help us give of our lives in service to You and our Father God.  Please help us be prepared for the end by remaining faithful and true to You and our Father God.  Help us be more like You, more considerate and caring of others, more understanding, more merciful, more giving and forgiving.  And heal the hurts that still separate and divide us one from another.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.

Our Sacrifice for Sin

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered at Pilgrim Reformed Church on Sunday morning, the 10th of November, 2024.  A recording of our service should be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch1992/streams.]

With tomorrow being Veterans Day, we should truly be thankful for all those who have served, are serving, and will serve in our nation’s armed forces, giving of their time and efforts, and for some their lives, to keep our nation free and to ensure our liberties.  And as we’re coming up on Thanksgiving, we should be most thankful for our Lord Jesus, who gave up His life so that we might be freed from our sin, freed from the bonds of eternal death.

Jesus allowed Himself to be sacrificed; His blood was shed for the forgiveness of our sin. This is God’s love: that we might not die in our sin, but be washed clean by the blood of the Spotless Lamb.

Throughout the Old Testament of our Holy Bible, we can see where the blood of certain animals was used to purify and sanctify objects to make them holy.  Very specific sacrifices are described for the forgiveness of all manner of sins.  But why was a blood sacrifice necessary?  In the Book of Leviticus, God spoke through Moses when He explained, “This is because the life of the body is in the blood.  I have told you that you must pour the blood on the altar to purify yourselves.  It is the blood that makes a person pure.”

All this speaks to the first agreement God made with His people, the first covenant through Abraham.  But then Jesus came along and brought with Him a new agreement, a new covenant with God.

Please listen and follow along to what the unknown author of the letter to the Hebrew believers wrote in the 9th chapter of the Book of Hebrews, verses 15 through 28, and I’ll be reading from the Easy-to-Read Version of our Holy Bible this morning…

15 Christ brings a new agreement from God to His people. He brings this agreement so that those who are chosen by God can have the blessings God promised, blessings that last forever. This can happen only because Christ died to free people from sins committed against the commands of the first agreement.

16 When someone dies and leaves a will, there must be proof that the one who wrote the will is dead. 17 A will means nothing while the one who wrote it is still living. It can be used only after that person’s death. 18 That is why blood was needed to begin the first agreement between God and His people. 19 First, Moses told the people every command in the law. Then he took the blood of young bulls and mixed it with water. He used red wool and a branch of hyssop to sprinkle the blood and water on the book of the law and on all the people. 20 Then he said, “This is the blood that makes the agreement good — the agreement that God commanded you to follow.” 21 In the same way, Moses sprinkled the blood on the Holy Tent. He sprinkled the blood over everything used in worship. 22 The law says that almost everything must be made clean by blood. Sins cannot be forgiven without a blood sacrifice.

23 These things are copies of the real things that are in heaven. These copies had to be made clean by animal sacrifices. But the real things in heaven must have much better sacrifices. 24 Christ went into the Most Holy Place. But it was not the man-made one, which is only a copy of the real one. He went into heaven, and He is there now before God to help us.

25 The high priest enters the Most Holy Place once every year. He takes with him blood to offer. But he does not offer his own blood like Christ did. Christ went into heaven, but not to offer Himself many times like the high priest offers blood again and again. 26 If Christ had offered Himself many times, He would have needed to suffer many times since the time the world was made. But He came to offer Himself only once. And that once is enough for all time. He came at a time when the world is nearing an end. He came to take away all sin by offering Himself as a sacrifice.

27 Everyone must die once. Then they are judged. 28 So Christ was offered as a sacrifice one time to take away the sins of many people. And He will come a second time, but not to offer Himself for sin. He will come the second time to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him.

--Hebrews 9:15-28 (ERV)

Let us pray…  Heavenly Father, we thank You for loving us so much that You would send Your only Son to be the last blood sacrifice needed for the forgiveness of our sin.  He died once, for all time, that we might be freed from sin.  And now, Father, we no longer need to make blood sacrifices.  Sadly though, too many of us have stopped making any kind of sacrifice.  We follow the ways of the world and let it have too great an influence in our daily life.  We are just too often beaten down and wearied by all the lies and evilness filling our days and our views that it robs us of our desire to serve.  Forgive us these times, Father.  Please help us give of ourselves in Your service.  Help us be more obedient to You and Your Son’s command to spread Your word and the Good News it bears.  Give us the courage and the will to step out into the world witnessing to the non-believers, sharing the Gospel and showing Your love.  Please forgive us when we hesitate to speak and act on behalf of You and our Lord Jesus.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand Your message today.  Help us share the Good News of forgiveness and everlasting life in our daily walk.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

Dr. David Livingstone, the great missionary who is most famous for his work in Africa, once wrote, “People talk of the sacrifice I have made in spending so much of my life in Africa.  Can that be called a sacrifice which is simply acknowledging a great debt we owe to our God, which we can never repay?  Is that a sacrifice which brings its own reward in healthful activity, the consciousness of doing good, peace of mind, and a bright hope of a glorious destiny?  It is emphatically no sacrifice.  Rather it is a privilege.  Anxiety, sickness, suffering, danger, foregoing the common conveniences of this life - these may make us pause, and cause the spirit to waver, and the soul to sink; but let this only be for a moment.  All these are nothing compared with the glory which shall later be revealed in and through us.  I never made a sacrifice.  Of this we ought not to talk, when we remember the great sacrifice which He made who left His Father's throne on high to give Himself for us.”

How many celebrities do you know of that are this humble?  Yes, there are some who will give God the glory, but they still accept and welcome the accolades of the people, the praise of their peers.  Dr. Livingstone scoffs at the praise from others who speak of his accomplishments and sacrifice.

It is not a sacrifice, he asserts, when we acknowledge by our labors the debt we owe God, a debt we can never repay.  A sacrifice does not bring its own rewards, or peace of mind, or even a bright hope for a glorious future.  No, this is a privilege, not a sacrifice.  We have the privilege to serve our God and His Son Jesus, who made the greatest sacrifice to leave His Father’s throne in heaven to give Himself for us.

Still, from a worldview, we do see Dr. Livingstone’s actions as a sacrifice, since he gave up so much to serve God’s people, and thus to serve God.  I say “from a worldview” because what he gave up are things important to the world, important to this life.  What he did, though - his actions, his service – are things important to the next life, important to God.

But it does beg the question…  Do we need to make sacrifices now?  Since Jesus sacrificed Himself for our sin, once for all time, do we still need to make sacrifices too?  In the 6th verse of his 40th Psalm, King David sees a subtle truth…

6 Lord, you made me understand this:

    You don’t really want sacrifices and grain offerings.

    You don’t want burnt offerings and sin offerings.

--Psalm 40:6 (ERV)

All those sacrifices Moses enumerated for the people, all the different offerings of grain and flesh and blood, are not really what God desires of us.  But earlier, in the 5th verse of his 4th Psalm, David proclaims that we should still make sacrifices when he says…

5 Give the right sacrifices to the Lord,

and put your trust in Him!

--Psalm 4:5 (ERV)

Give the right sacrifices, the correct sacrifices, the sacrifices God really wants us to give.  So if it’s not the blood sacrifices or the grain or burnt offerings, just what is it that will please God?  The prophet Micah answered this question for us in verses 6 through 8 of the 6th chapter of his Book…

6 What must I bring when I come to meet with the Lord?

What must I do when I bow down to God above?

Should I come to Him with burnt offerings

and a year-old calf?

7 Will the Lord be pleased with a thousand rams

or with ten thousand rivers of oil?

Should I offer Him my first child to pay for my wrongs?

Should I sacrifice my very own child for my sins?

8 Human, the Lord has told you what goodness is.

This is what He wants from you:

Be fair to other people.

Love kindness and loyalty,

and humbly obey your God.

--Micah 6:6-8 (ERV)

God just wants us to be fair to others, to treat everyone fairly.  He wants us to love kindness and loyalty – not just to be kind but to love being kind, not just to be loyal but to love being loyal.  And God want us to obey Him, being humble in our obedience, not making a big show of it.  He wants us to be more like Dr. Livingstone.

Now I know I’ve thrown a lot of scripture at you this morning, and it’s because I truly think that the Bible speaks far better than I can.  But I have one more passage for you, one that should clarify this whole issue of sacrifices.  This comes from the Apostle Paul, who tells us what our sacrifice should be when he wrote to the church in Rome.  Hear what Paul told the believers living there, in the 1st verse of the 12th chapter of his Letter to the Romans…

1 I beg you, brothers and sisters, because of the great mercy God has shown us, offer your lives as a living sacrifice to Him — an offering that is only for God and pleasing to Him. Considering what He has done, it is only right that you should worship Him in this way.

--Romans 12:1 (ERV)

We are to make of ourselves a living sacrifice to God.  Jesus gave of His life as a blood sacrifice to atone for our sin.  We’re asked to give of our life as a living sacrifice, to acknowledge our debt to God.  This is our duty, our acceptable service.  This is pleasing to God, to give of ourselves in service to Him by serving others.  Nothing would please Him more than if we could bring just one lost soul to Jesus.

Our sacrifice should be of our time, of our resources.  We must give up our pride and what the world considers important to do the work God sees as important.  And family, it’s not a sacrifice if it doesn’t hurt.  So let’s give our lives to God as a sacrifice for our sin.  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for loving us all so much that You sent Your only Son into this world for the forgiveness of our sin.  You could have stopped the brutality we showed Him at any time, yet You knew that only the greatest sacrifice, the blood of the Spotless Lamb, could redeem us.  Thank You for having mercy upon us.  Sadly, too many people just refuse to accept this truth.  Sometimes even we struggle with the worldview.  Sometimes we just have trouble letting go of the world and worldly things.  Please forgive us these times, Father.  Forgive us when we let the world tell us what to do and how to act.  Please help us reach out more into the world, serving You by serving others, loving You by loving others.  Help us be more like Your Son Jesus, being more forgiving and merciful in our dealings with others.  Please strengthen our spirits to do Your will and help us do a better job of sharing Jesus with others so that they too may be saved by Your mercy and His sacrifice.  

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more obedient to Your commands, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, You came into this world knowing full well the cruel fate You would suffer, yet You came anyway.  You came to allow Your blood to be shed on our behalf, as a sacrifice to redeem us of our sin.  Now, Lord, please help us give of our lives in service to You and our Father God.  Please help us sacrifice what the world see as important that we might save souls and broaden God’s kingdom, maybe even make a difference in this world.  Help us be more like You, more considerate and caring of others, more understanding, more merciful, more giving and forgiving.  And heal the hurts that still separate and divide us one from another.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.

Love the Lord

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered at Pilgrim Reformed Church on Sunday morning, the 3rd of November, 2024.  A recording of our service should be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch1992/streams.]

Family, it’s hard to believe that we’re already come to November and the waning days of the year.  In just four weeks we will celebrate the start of the Advent season, heralding the birth of our Lord Jesus.  The Prince of Peace is coming, to preach good tidings to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.  And all this is done simply because God loves us and does not want us to die in our sin.  Jesus is the embodiment of God’s love.

But before we enter the Advent season, I want to look at what I feel is a defining moment for Christians.  This is during Jesus’ walk on this earth, toward the end of His ministry, after His triumphal entry into Jerusalem on what we now call Palm Sunday, and after He had chased the moneychangers out of the temple.

The crowds cheering His coming and His action in the temple and even His words all infuriated the Sadducees and Pharisees and scribes.  They had been questioning Jesus for a long time now, but their resentment was coming to a boil.  They wanted to trap Him in His own words and acts, get Him to say or do something against the Law of Moses so they could have Him done away with.  They didn’t fear Jesus - they hated Him.  They were jealous of His popularity and worried they were losing their grip on the people.

But with every test, Jesus answered them with the undeniable truth.  It was one of these times, one of these tests, that I think speaks to us Christians as much as to the Jewish religious leaders, maybe more so.  For that defining moment I mentioned, let’s turn to the 12th chapter of the Gospel account of the Apostle Mark, verses 28 through 34, and I’ll be reading from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible this morning…

28 Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that Jesus had answered them well, asked Him, “Which is the first commandment of all?”

29 Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. 31 And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

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. 33 And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

34 Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”

But after that no one dared question Him.

--Mark 12:28-34 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Heavenly Father, we thank You for ensuring that Your Son’s words and deeds would be saved for us to learn of and study, even after nearly 2000 years!  The Gospel accounts tell of just some of the things Jesus said and did during His short ministry, and in this way we are instructed as to how we should live and act as His followers.  Sadly though, Father, we don’t always spend the time and effort we should in studying the life Jesus led, in how He interacted with others.  We let the world have too great an influence in our daily life.  We are just too often beaten down and wearied by all the lies and evilness filling our days and our views.  Forgive us these times, Father.  Please help us make the effort to grow in our relationship with Jesus.  Help us be more obedient to You and Your Son’s command to spread Your word and the Good News it bears.  Give us the courage and the will to step out into the world witnessing to the non-believers, sharing the Gospel and showing Your love.  Please forgive us when we hesitate to speak and act on behalf of You and our Lord Jesus.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand Your message today.  Help us share the Good News of forgiveness and everlasting life in our daily walk.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

In his book, Moody's Anecdotes, D. L. Moody writes, “Show me a church where there is love, and I will show you a church that is a power in the community.  In Chicago a few years ago a little boy attended a Sunday school I know of.  When his parents moved to another part of the city the little fellow still attended the same Sunday school, although it meant a long, tiresome walk each way.  A friend asked him why he went so far, and told him that there were plenty of others just as good nearer his home.

‘They may be as good for others, but not for me’, was his reply.

‘Why not?’, she asked.

‘Because they love a fellow over there’, he replied.”

Moody goes on to write, “If only we could make the world believe that we loved them there would be fewer empty churches, and a smaller proportion of our population who never darken a church door.  Let love replace duty in our church relations, and the world will soon be evangelized.”

In our scripture reading, both Jesus and the scribe tell us that to love God is the greatest commandment.  Jesus adds that loving our neighbor is the second greatest, while the scribe includes them both together, summing love of God and of our neighbor as being of greater value to God than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices we could ever make.

Love itself is an intangible, and quite difficult to pin down or precisely define.  Countless writers and musicians have tried for centuries, pretty much since the dawn of time, to describe love in an unmistakable way, and there are so many different ways.  One unknown poet once penned:

What is love?

It is silence -- when your words would hurt.

It is patience -- when your neighbor's curt.

It is deafness -- when a scandal flows.

It is thoughtfulness -- for other's woes.

It is promptness -- when stern duty calls.

It is courage -- when misfortune falls.

And if we consider the example Jesus set, love is unconditional, sacrificial, and acceptable service to God.

Just how important is love?  Well, if we look at just the numbers, the word “love” is mentioned 504 times in the New King James Version of our Holy Bible – 237 times in the New Testament alone, 67 times just in the Gospel accounts of the Apostles Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.  Oh, and in what many consider to be the darkest, most foreboding and fearsome Book of the Bible, love is mentioned eight times in Revelation.

And then there’s the letters the Apostles wrote to believers scatter throughout the known world.  In his first letter to the church in Corinth, the Apostle Paul tells us that, “And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

The most compelling reason to see love as greatly important comes in the Gospel account of the Apostle John, what many consider to be the Book of Love, when Jesus told Nicodemus that, “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life”.

The greatest reason for loving is given by Jesus in our scripture reading: because God commands it.  This is nothing new, of course.  Jesus merely told the scribe what he already knew, what had been taught since the days of the exodus.  Please listen to what Moses instructed the people – and us - in the first nine verses of the 6th chapter of his Book of Deuteronomy…

1 “Now this is the commandment, and these are the statutes and judgments which the Lord your God has commanded to teach you, that you may observe them in the land which you are crossing over to possess, 2 that you may fear the Lord your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, you and your son and your grandson, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged. 3 Therefore hear, O Israel, and be careful to observe it, that it may be well with you, and that you may multiply greatly as the Lord God of your fathers has promised you — ‘a land flowing with milk and honey.’

4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.

6 “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

--Deuteronomy 6:1-9 (NKJV)

We must love the Lord our God with all our heart, all our soul, and all our strength.  And Jesus our Lord added to love our neighbor, which Moses had included in his Book of Leviticus when he reiterated God’s commands.

We must love God and love others that we may have a good life, both now and in the next, and that others might come to know the Lord, too.  And we must teach our children and grandchildren how to love, showing them love’s importance by our acts and deeds and words.

Family, we are called to love, to love the Lord our God and to love our neighbor.  And the kind of love we are called to is volitional rather than emotional.  It is voluntary, not involuntary.  It is a purposeful decision to love even the unlovable.

C. S. Lewis once said that love is “a deep unity maintained by the will and deliberately strengthened by habits reinforced by grace”.  Love is committed, unconditional, sacrificial, giving and forgiving.  It is the love Jesus showed us.

So let us love the Lord.  And let us show our love by loving others, as He would have us do.  In the beloved name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for loving all of Your creation so much that You sent Your only Son into this world to redeem us of our sin.  And some sweet day, He will return to set Your creation right again.  Thank You for loving us, and for commanding us to love You and to love our neighbor.  Loving You is easy, but loving others can be difficult.  Sometimes, Father, we still struggle with a worldview that would have us hate one another and wish harm to our enemies.  Sometimes we just have trouble letting go of the world and worldly things.  Please forgive us these times, Father.  Forgive us when we let the world tell us what to do and how to act.  Please help us reach out more into the world, serving You by serving others, loving You by loving others.  Help us be more like Your Son Jesus, being more forgiving and merciful in our dealings with others.  Please strengthen our spirits to do Your will and help us do a better job of sharing Jesus with others so that they too may be saved by Your mercy and His sacrifice.  

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more obedient to Your commands, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, You stressed the importance of love through how You lived and the things You did.  You reminded us of God’s command to love.  Now, Lord, please help us abide in love.  Please help love even the unlovable.  Help us be more like You, more considerate and caring of others, more understanding, more merciful, more giving and forgiving.  And heal the hurts that still separate and divide us one from another.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.