Love Strong

What is important to us is pretty obvious.  Anyone who knows me well knows that the St Louis Cardinals are important to me.  I am constantly keeping up with the team online (even in the offseason), I enjoy talking with other Cardinal fans about the team, I wear Cardinal paraphernalia, I watch games frequently on television, I go to Busch Stadium to watch games, every once in a while I’ll even try to convince someone else to become a Cardinal fan.  The St Louis Cardinals occupy a lot of my thinking, my interest, my conversations, my time, and my money.  There are not too many areas of my life that the St Louis Cardinals don’t occupy.

It’s pretty simple, whatever occupies our life is what is important to us.  There are an abundance of things that can be important to us.  For some, a specific relationship is important.  For some, money and possessions are important.  For some, video games are important.  These things might be important to us but a question we need to consider is . . . What is the MOST IMPORTANT thing in our lives?

READ:  Mark 12:28-34

LOVING God is the most IMPORTANT way we can use the STRENGTH of our lives!  Strength is the mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual ability to accomplish something.  Although we have little strength compared to God, the most important way we can use the strength we do have is to, “love the Lord (our) God with . . . all our strength”.  Loving God is having a strong desire to relate with Him and be with Him.  Loving and relating with God is to be the top priority in our lives. 1 John 4:19 says, “we love because He first loved us.”  Our strength to love comes from the fact that we have been loved by God.  How are we to love God?

Loving God is something we do with ALL of our strength (Mk. 12:30) – All means all and that’s all that all means.  To give our all means to give 100% and not hold anything back.  A good athlete leaves it all out on the court.  A good student gives all of their attention to a teacher.  Anyone who wants to be a part of the Kingdom of God gives all of their life’s strength to loving the Lord.  Loving God with “all” our strength means that there is no amount of our life’s strength left for anything other than loving God.  Yes and no.  Yes, we use all of our strength to love God.  No, it doesn’t mean we don’t do anything else in life.  Instead now, whatever we do, anything and everything we do in life, no matter what it is, we do as an expression of our love for God.  

Loving God is more than RELIGIOUS RITUAL, it is a RELATIONSHIP (Mk. 12:33) – Loving God through religious ritual is compartmentalizing our relationship with Him into a measurable list of do’s and don’ts.  The scribe who asked Jesus this profound question about the most important commandment agreed that loving God was “much more” important than any ritualistic “burnt offering” or “sacrifice” he could offer to God.  In contrast, we love God through relationship in a few specific ways 1) 1 John 4:21 says, “whoever loves God must also love His brother.”  2) 1 John 5:3 says, “this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments.  And His commandments are not burdensome.”  Obedience and loving others are God’s love language.  If we can do these two things we will fulfill all the commandments of the law (Romans 13:8-10).

CONCLUSION
We make the mistake of thinking that loving the Lord with all of our strength is like going to the gym, putting as much weight on the bar as is possible for us to lift, and maxing out all of our spiritual muscle at one powerful moment.  When in reality, loving the Lord with all of our strength means, putting down the heavy weight and using our spiritual muscle to obediently lift the “weight of life” in everything that we do each and every day with our thoughts, words, and actions.  Jesus said in Matthew 11:28, “come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Loving the Lord with all our strength is not as exhausting as we make it out to be.  It means coming to Christ and letting Him do all the lifting for you!  How much of your life’s strength are you using to love God?

Be Loved Strong

One of the most basic human needs is our need to BE LOVED.  I can remember a few childish incidents during recess in elementary school when I tested whether I was loved or not.  I recall a few times sitting on the ground, with my legs crossed, and my head down (acting sad or upset) “inviting” someone to come and ask me what was wrong or if I was okay.  With my heart and my posture I was seeking someone who cared about me.  Sounds kind of psycho doesn’t it!?!  We all pursue attention one way or another, but what we are really seeking is to find out who or if anyone loves us.  Some of us behave badly, others pursue accomplishment, but what we are all doing a lot of the time is “inviting” someone, anyone to want us, to accept us, to love us!

In order to be mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually strong we need to KNOW beyond a shadow of a doubt that we are loved.  Sadly, many of us look to fulfill our need to be loved in others, a friend, a boyfriend, a girlfriend, etc. when in reality there is only one person who can fulfill the deep need we have to be loved.  If being loved is so important to be strong, where do we gain the greatest confidence that we are loved?

READ:  Ephesians 3:14-21

In order to BE strong, we need a strong COMPREHENSION of how immeasurably much CHRIST loves us!  If there is one characteristic that defines God it is love.  In the Old Testament the primary word used to describe God’s love is hesed. 26 times in Psalm 136 it says that God’s, “steadfast love endures forever”.  In the New Testament the word used to describe God’s love is agape.  1 John 4:8 and 16 say precisely that, “God IS love”.  These words communicate that love is who God is.  Love is His character.  Love is His nature.  God can do nothing other than love.  So, if this is who God is what is it?  God’s love is His unconditional acceptance and His faithful commitment to us.  God’s love is not conditional, it’s not based on our performance, it is always available.  How strong is Christ’s love?

Christ’s love for us is the FOUNDATION of our strength (Eph. 3:17) – One of the purposes of tree roots is to support the weight of the visible part of a tree above ground.  It is not uncommon for the roots of a tree to go as deep down under the ground as a tree grows above ground.  A strong, stable tree requires strong roots growing deep underground.   Paul prays that our lives would be, “rooted and grounded in love”.  Strength in life exists when the roots of Christ’s love penetrate deep into the “inner being” of our “heart”.  Without deep roots of Christ’s love our lives are vulnerable to topple over at the slightest challenge or difficulty.  It is only when we are convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that we are unconditionally accepted by God and that He is faithfully committed to us that we have a strong foundation.

Christ’s love for us is far GREATER than we know (Eph. 3:18-19) – A skyscraper . . . big.  The Grand Canyon . . . huge.  The earth . . . humongous.  The universe . . . gigantic.  Encountering or pondering anything of immense size produces awe and wonder.  Words come up short in describing immense things, which is definitely the case in trying to describe Christ’s love.  Paul says that the “breadth”, “length”, “height”, and “depth” of Christ’s love “surpasses” anything we are able to comprehend.   Christ’s love is ginormous!  Christ’s love is largmongous!  There is no word or combination of words that can adequately describe the size of Christ’s love.  Our greatest strength in life comes from knowing that we are loved by God.

CONCLUSION

According to verses 20-21 God is, “able (strong) to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power (strength) at work within us”.  With Christ’s love as the foundation, God is able to accomplish anything and everything He wants to accomplish in our lives.  Things beyond even what our minds can conceive.  With being loved comes unimaginable power and strength for God to work in and through our lives.  How strong is the strength of God’s love that is at work within you?

God Strong

The greatest theological questions of all time is . . . Can God create a rock that He cannot lift?  My answer to this very deep and important question is NO.  An answer can be found in Isaiah 26:4 which says, “trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock”.  What do we learn about God from this verse?  1) God Himself is a “rock”, 2) God is an “everlasting” or ETERNAL “rock” and therefore was not created.  3) God can not and did not create Himself, He is an uncreated infinite rock, He is the biggest thing in all existence, therefore, He is incapable of making something greater than Himself and it is an impossibility for Him to create something He cannot lift or influence or move!  Some like to refer to this characteristic of God as being the unmoved mover.  God is the only thing that has no cause and He is big enough to be the cause of everything.  To be THAT big, God must be pretty strong!

STRENGTH = The MENTAL, EMOTIONAL, PHYSICAL, OR SPIRITUAL ability to accomplish something.  We need strength in all aspects of our lives.  We need mental strength when we make decisions.  We need emotional strength when we relate with others.  We need physical strength when we do work. We need spiritual strength for morality and salvation.  Human strength is limited.  And yet, we fiercely depend on our own mental, emotional, physical, or spiritual abilities to accomplish anything.  In life we need strength that goes far beyond our own abilities and efforts.  Where can we find strength beyond ourselves?

READ:  Psalm 18:1-2, 31-42

God is infinitely STRONG and the SOURCE of STRENGTH we need for all the circumstances we face in life!  Throughout the Bible God is characterized as STRONG.  Psalm 93:1 says, “(the Lord) has put on strength as his belt”.  God is infinitely strong.  There is nothing in all existence that is stronger or more able to accomplish something than God.  There is nothing that God is incapable of doing or inadequate to accomplish.  LifeStrong = DEPENDING on GOD for all the mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual strength we need in life!  How do we depend on God for a strong life?  Be realizing that . . .

God is PERMANENTLY and IMMOVABLY strong (Psalm 18:31) – When we were in Haiti, there was a mission team digging a trench to lay a drain pipe underground.  While digging the trench, they hit a rock, and it turned out that the rock they hit was the size of a minivan.  It was NOT going to move.  There is no greater “rock” besides God!  There is nothing more immovable in all existence than God.  God is not someone that we manipulate or attempt to conform to us.  We have no choice but to manipulate our lives and conform to Him.  He is bigger, greater, and ultimately stronger than anything in existence.  This is immensely terrifying to those who oppose Him, but immensely comforting to those who love Him and look to Him as a source of strength.

God is a PERSONAL source of strength (Psalm 18:1-2, 32-42) – A weight lifter uses a spotter to able to lift more weight than they are physically capable of.  If a weight lifter does not use a spotter they will be crushed under the weight of what they are trying to lift.  God is like a spotter in life who offers us His strength to be able to “lift” the things of life that we are unable to lift by ourselves.  King David writes Psalm 18, “when the Lord rescued him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul”.  David declares in verse 39 that, “(God) equipped me with strength for the battle.”  In a battle for David’s physical life against his enemies, God was his source of “strength”, his “rock”, his “fortress”, and His “deliverer”.  David depended on God’s strength and he was victorious. Whatever circumstances we are facing, God is more than able to be a personal source of strength.  If we depend on Him, He will give us strength beyond our own abilities or efforts.

CONCLUSION
David says to God in Psalm 18:35, “You have given me the shield of your salvation”.  God’s greatest display of strength is offering us salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.  A strong life begins by building our lives on the solid rock of Jesus Christ (Matthew 7:24-27).  Is your life built on the something eternally strong?  

Be a Faithful Servant

Shark Tank is one of my favorite TV shows.  On Shark Tank four rich investors give money to entrepreneurs trying to grow and expand their business.  It’s obvious that the Sharks are interested in one thing . . . an increased return on the money they are willing to invest.  If a Shark is going to invest, they want to see past success in earning money and a plan to expand and earn more money in the future.  God is the Creator of a global business called “The Kingdom”.  God is in the eternally important business of ruling and reigning in the heart of every human being in the world.  God’s Kingdom business is not yet ruling and reigning in every heart, so therefore, He is working His plan to expand.  What’s His plan?

READ:  Matthew 25:14-30

God is in the business of Kingdom building and He has a plan to expand His Kingdom . . . God entrusts RESOURCES to HIS PEOPLE in order to expand His Kingdom!  God’s plan to expand His Kingdom is you and I!  While God is “away”, He has left US to manage His effort to increase the number of those whose hearts are being ruled and reigned by Him.  We are each individually to use our unique combination of resources and abilities to expand His Kingdom.

How do we fit into God’s plan to expand His Kingdom?

God gives us a PERSONALIZED amount of resources according to our ABILITIES (Mt. 25:14-15) – In this parable, three individuals are given “talents” (“property”/resources) according to their “ability”.  In the New Testament a talent was the largest measurement of money equivalent to about 20 years wages.  The modern equivalent of one talent would be $600,000.  Therefore, each individual had abundant resources entrusted to them.  Some more than others, but no doubt sufficient to accomplish the task.  1 Corinthians 12:4-7, 11 says, “there are a variety of gifts . . . to each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good . . . All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.”  We can question God’s plan to expand His Kingdom all we want, but one thing is for sure, He will give all of us exactly what we need to accomplish the task He has given to us.  There is no room for comparison with others, no wishing we had more, no wishing we had less, there is only one thing to do with what we have been given . . .

We must be FAITHFUL to INCREASE God’s Kingdom using the resources given to us (Mt. 25:19-30) – When the master of the three servants came to settle accounts he respond in two different ways.  To those who increased upon what they had been given he said, “well done, good and faithful servant.”  To the one who did nothing with what he was given he said, “you wicked and slothful servant . . . cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness.  In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”  God wants to see a return on what He has invested in us.  His expectation of us is pretty simple, we must use what has been given to us to increase the number of hearts being ruled and reigned by Him.  We are to use the unique mix of our time, money, personality, skills, and interests combined with our spiritual gift(s) to faithfully expand God’s Kingdom.  Expanding God’s Kingdom is not just for church leaders.  Whether we are a school teacher, a doctor, or a fast food service professional we are to be doing something to expand God’s Kingdom.  No one’s combination of resources and abilities is just like ours.  When God settles accounts with us, He will not compare us with anyone else, He will judge us based only on what He has given to us.  If we aren’t using our resources and abilities to expand God’s Kingdom, a good question to ourselves is whether we are a part of God’s Kingdom ourselves.

CONCLUSION
God is as passionate about ruling and reigning in peoples’ lives as Sharks are about money.  He is desperately wanting His rule and reign in the lives of people to expand.  His plan to accomplish this?  We, His good and faithful servants!  As a faithful servant, we are to use our resources and abilities to encourage others to repent of their sin and believe in Jesus Christ. Are you a good and faithful servant? 

Be Watching

A wedding is a special and exciting moment.  A wedding is a moment that many anticipate and look forward to.  A wedding is one of the most treasured of human experiences.  A wedding beautifully unites two individuals together into one.  According to God’s original design in Genesis 2:24, “a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”  Throughout the Bible, one of the most frequently used images to show God’s relationship with His people is marriage (Eph. 5:25-33; Rev. 21:1-4).  God has “proposed” to the world by giving Jesus Christ and whoever says “yes” by believing in Him is betrothed to be His wife (yes, even guys).  Our “wedding” with Christ is not something we want to miss out on.

READ:  Matthew 25:1-13

Entering the Kingdom of God requires WATCHING for the return of Christ!  A traditional Jewish marriage was initiated by parents of a groom and bride who made an agreement that their children would marry.  The groom’s father would pay a dowry (“bride-price”) to the bride’s father and the couple became betrothed.  During the betrothal period the groom would prepare a home for him and his new bride to live in.  When the home was built, at an unexpected time, the groom would lead a procession to the bride’s home and back to his home for a marriage celebration joined by family and friends.  Jesus uses a groom’s unexpected appearance at the end of a betrothal period to help us understand the importance of watching and being ready for His return.

What do we need to do as we watch for the return of Christ?

We are watching if our lives are LIT with the FLAME of JESUS CHRIST (Mt. 25:1, 7) – Imagine if the “ticket” that was required to go an athletic event or a concert was a flame?  What if the event was at an unknown date in the immanent future?  What would it require to keep our flame burning?  We would have to be 100% committed to waiting for the event from the moment we bought our ticket.  The event would have to be our life!  If we were not 100% committed, it wouldn’t take long before our flame would go out.  If our flame went out, it would mean we were never really committed to the event in the first place.  In John 8:12 Jesus said, “I am the light of the world, whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”  Jesus Christ, the light of life, is our “ticket” to eternal life.  We commit ourselves to Christ by repenting of our sin and believing in Him.  If we do, when Jesus returns at an unknown date in the immanent future, His light will be burning in our lives.  When Jesus returns for His bride (the church), we cannot borrow from someone else’s light.  At that moment, it will be too late to go purchase more oil.  The only time we have to be ready and watching with the light of Christ burning in our lives is right NOW!

We are watching if the flame of Jesus Christ is burning with the OIL of the HOLY SPIRIT (Mt. 25:3, 8-9) – A flame burning with wood or cloth or a wick can only burn so long.  On the other hand, a flame burning with replenished oil can burn indefinitely.  The five foolish virgins had “no oil” so their flame went out while the five wise virgins “took flasks of oil with their lamps” so their flame remained lit.  The oil that keeps the flame of Jesus Christ burning in our lives is the Holy Spirit.  Ephesians 1:13 says, “when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in Him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit (cf Romans 5:5, 14:17).”  The presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives is the divine fuel that guarantees our belief in Jesus Christ is real.  Without the oil of the Holy Spirit in our lives our flame is artificial and will eventually burn out.

CONCLUSION
Scripture is clear, Jesus Christ IS coming again for His bride the Church.  God has communicated His undying love and has proposed to the whole world through Jesus Christ and wants us all to say “YES”!  We have either said yes and are betrothed to Christ with our lamp burning brightly waiting for Him to return or we have said no to Jesus and our light is burned out and when He returns He will say, “I do not know you.” Have you said “YES” to Jesus’ proposal?  Now is the time to be ready and watching!

Possess the God Who Is Good

“I’ve got this” is a phrase we might use when we are 100% confident of our ability to do something.  “I’ve got this” is probably moving beyond confident toward cockiness.  “I’ve got this” is a frame of mind focused on our own talents, our own strength, and our own abilities.  “I’ve got this” is the attitude of many professional athletes as they enter into competition.  “I’ve got this” is the attitude of musicians as they go on stage to perform.  “I’ve got this” might be an attitude we take with us into many aspects of our own lives . . . a test at school, a job interview, a recital, asking a girl out on a date, a sports competition, a conflict with a friend, etc.  Most dangerously, “I’ve got this” might be an attitude we take with us in an effort to live out our Christian life.

READ:  Luke 18:18-30

The rich young ruler’s attitude toward inheriting eternal life was, “I’ve got this”.  He was confident that the goodness of His life made him deserving of entrance into eternal life.  He was sadly mistaken since according to Jesus, “no one is good except God alone!”  In the Old Testament God’s moral goodness is described using the word “holy” (Isaiah 1:4, 5:16, 40:25; Revelation 4:8).  God says about Himself in Leviticus 19:2 that, “I the Lord your God am holy”.  God’s holiness is his moral PURITY and PERFECTION.  God alone has inherent goodness or holiness.  Goodness or holiness is not something that we, or the rich young ruler, possess.  Therefore, entering the Kingdom requires possessing GOD who is GOOD!  Why do we need to possess the God who is good?

We need to possess the God who is good because NONE of US are PERFECTLY GOOD (Mt. 18:18-23) – Perfection is impossible.  No matter how hard we try, we will ultimately end up coming up short in any pursuit of perfection. The rich young ruler mistakenly thought that he had achieved moral perfection.  He was confident that this Good Teacher would find NO impurity or imperfection in his moral character, “adultery” (nope), “murder” (nuh-uh), “stealing” (no way), “lying” (off course not), “honor your father and mother” (absolutely).  And yet, Jesus knew one area where his goodness was lacking . . . his wealth.  James 2:10 says, “whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.”  Although perfection is the goal, we will never achieve it.  As hard as we might try, if we fail at even one small point, we are considered guilty of breaking the whole law.  The “I’ve got this” attitude of the rich young ruler contradicts with the truth of Romans 3:12 which says, “no one does good, not even one.”  Even if the rich young ruler lived an impeccable life Ephesians 2:8 says, “by grace you have been saved through faith.  And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”  Plain and simple, no amount of good works will earn us entrance into the Kingdom of God.  What prevents us from possessing the God who is good?

We cannot possess the God who is good if we are unwilling to leave behind EVERYTHING to follow Jesus (Lk. 18:22-30) – Instead of pursuing perfect goodness, we are to pursue the God who is perfectly good.  Jesus said, “what is impossible (perfection) with man is possible with God.”  Although we are not able to be perfectly good, God is able to make us perfectly good!   It’s as easy as stop, drop, and roll.  STOP trying to earn our way into the Kingdom, DROP anything and everything in life that is preventing us from possessing Jesus, and ROLL through life with Christ as our Savior and following Him in obedience.  Elisabeth Elliott said it well, “he is no fool who lets go of what he cannot keep to possess what he cannot lose.”  Jesus said it perfectly with a question in Mark 8:36, “what good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet lose his soul?”  No matter how important, we must be willing to leave behind anything and everything in order to possess Jesus Christ.

CONCLUSION
In Philippians 1:6 we are told about the One who can say “I’ve got this”, Paul says, “I am SURE of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion (perfection) at the day of Jesus Christ.”  When we leave everything to possess Jesus Christ He begins a process of perfecting us which only He can do.  Have you allowed God to begin the good work of perfecting you?

Be Childlike

“Kids Say the Darndest Things” was a television show hosted by Bill Cosby from 1998-2000.  The premise of the show was that Bill would ask a question to a child about anything from dead goldfish to love letters in anticipation on an unpredictable or “cute” response.  For example, during one interview Bill Cosby asked a little boy, “who was George Washington’s wife?” and the boy replied, “Miss America”.  Cosby asked another boy, "how would you make marriage work?" and he boy replied "Tell your wife that she looks pretty even if she looks like a truck."  Children definitely have an honesty and innocence about them that is sweet, charming, and irresistible.  It is these, and many other characteristics, that God loves!

READ:  Matthew 18:1-4

Entering the Kingdom requires become like a CHILD! Mark 10:15 says, “unless you become like a child you will never enter the kingdom of God.”  A Kingdom full of children sounds terrible; crying, temper tantrums, complaining, permanent marker on the streets of gold, etc . . . I don’t think that is what Jesus had in mind.  The characteristics that make children worthy of the Kingdom is their TRUST and DEPENDENCY.  Children believe, accept, and go along with just about anything others say.  Children rely 100% on others for all of their most basic needs for living.  Children are delightfully vulnerable, helpless, weak, and powerless which requires them to be trustworthy and dependent.  How do we regain such childlikeness?  What does it mean to become like a child? 

Becoming like a child means abandoning our desire to become GREAT (Mt. 18:1) – Jesus introduces a child into an awkward conversation where His disciples are selfishly wanting to know who was “greatest” in the Kingdom.  Although children are selfish and want what they want when they want it, they are not “sophisticated” enough to strive for personal honor, recognition, or greatness.  Children do things and relate with others simply for the personal satisfaction and fulfilment that they experience, not what they can get out of it.  John Piper has a popular quote that says, “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him”.  Simply put, Kingdom people are satisfied.  Our need to feel important or significant has been filled.  No more striving.  No more ambition.  No more competition.  When our attitudes are like children before God, our satisfaction comes completely from Christ and we will be able to relate with Him in complete trust and dependence.

Becoming like a child means HUMBLING ourselves (Mt. 18:4) – Childlike trust and dependency on another are not attributes that most people are striving for.  We have “moved on” and “matured” to self-sufficiency and independence.  Childlikeness would be a step backward or back down the ladder in life.  That’s why being childlike requires humility in order to obtain it.  Jesus is not upholding humility itself as a characteristic of being a child.  Instead, He is saying that Kingdom people are humbly willing to revert back to the trust and dependence on God that a child exhibits by nature.  Rather than elevate ourselves, we must be willing to lower ourselves to a place of trust and dependence.   Childlikeness is a humble choice to no longer live a life of self-sufficiency and independence.

CONCLUSION

The book of 1 John refers to believers in Christ as “children” or “little children” 14 different times in 5 chapters.  By using this word John is reminding believers that Kingdom people are those who trust and depend on God.  Whether avoiding sin (1 John 2:1), abiding in Him (1 John 2:28), avoiding being deceived (1 John 3:7), loving others in deed and truth (1 John 3:17), or keeping ourselves from idols (1 John 5:21), we need to maintain a constant attitude of trust and dependence on our Father.  Children of the Kingdom do the darndest things and our first steps back to childhood are satisfaction in God and humility.