Hunger Mountain Christian Assembly
Who Are We To Love?
HMCA
February 21, 2010
“Who Are We to Love?”
Mark 12:28-34 (NKJV)
Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, "Which is the first commandment (most important) of all?" 29Jesus answered him, "The first of all the commandments is: 'Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. 30And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart (Deut.6:5), with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' This is the first commandment. 31And the second, like it, is this: 'You shall love your neighbor (Lev.19:18) as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." 32So 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. 33And 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." 34Now 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.
Introduction: Two weeks ago, I brought you a message on “what love is” from God’s perspective in 1 Cor.13:4-8. We saw that love (agape: God’s unconditional love) is patient, kind, does not envy, is not boastful, is not proud, is not rude, is not self seeking, is not easily angered, does not hold grudges, does not delight in evil, but rejoices in truth, and love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres. Love will go on forever. It will be our entrance into heaven. This is what love is and now the question is “Who Are We to Love?”
We are to love God, our neighbor, and ourselves.
1. Vs.30-To love God is that which is most important.
• With all our heart: kardia- heart (middle).
• With all our soul: psuche- breath, spirit.
• With all our mind: dianoia- mind, imagination, understanding.
• With all our strength: ischus- ability, might, power, strength.
2. Vs.31- We are to love our neighbor. Luke 10:29-37 (NLT)
The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"
30Jesus replied with an illustration: "A Jewish man was traveling on a trip from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes and money, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road. 31"By chance a Jewish priest came along; but when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. 32A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side. 33"Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt deep pity. 34Kneeling beside him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with medicine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. 35The next day he handed the innkeeper two pieces of silver and told him to take care of the man. 'If his bill runs higher than that,' he said, 'I'll pay the difference the next time I am here.' 36"Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?" Jesus asked. 37The man replied, "The one who showed him mercy." Then Jesus said, "Yes, now go and do the same."
3. Vs.31- We are to “love your neighbor as yourself.”
We are to love our enemies. Matthew 5:43-45 (NKJV)
"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45that you may be sons (and daughters) of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
Matthew 5:46-48 (MsgB)
If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. 47If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that.
48"In a word, what I'm saying is, Grow up. You're kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.
Love is more than the words we speak. 1 John 3:18-19 (NLT)
Dear children, let us stop just saying we love each other; let us really show it by our actions. 19It is by our actions that we know we are living in the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before the Lord.
Conclusion: Loving God is the first and most important of all the commandments. Loving our neighbor as we love ourselves is the second most important of the commandments. All the law is wrapped up in these two commandments. We will fulfill the law when we love God and our neighbor. We are also to love our enemies. Scripture tells us that anyone can love those that love them and so if we want to be sons and daughters of God we will love our enemies. But our love must be more than words; it must be shown by our actions. What we do will show if we love or not. How is our love quotient today? Maybe this is the day that we bury old resentments and learn to love the way God desires for us to love; Loving God, our neighbor, ourselves, and our enemies.
John 13:33-35 (NLT)
Dear children, how brief are these moments before I must go away and leave you! Then, though you search for me, you cannot come to me—just as I told the Jewish leaders. 34So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. 35Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples."