I LOVE THE LORD! AN INTRODUCTION
How many times have we heart it, song it, thought it, said it? Jesus said the greatest commandment was to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind" (Matt. 22:37). But, what does it mean to love the Lord? If you look at the Old Testament context from which Jesus quoted (Deuteronomy 6:1-8) you will find that the primary message was that of obedience to God. The words "commands ...decrees ...laws" stand out in this passage. The text tells us to:
"Observe" them (v.1)
"Keep" them (v.2)
"Obey" them (v.3)
Put them in our hearts (v.6)
Teach them to our children (v.7)
Talk about them all day long (v.7)
This linking together of obedience to God with love for God is a prominent them in Deuteronomy. Just look at the following sampling:
Deuteronomy 10:12 "And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul”
Deuteronomy 10:13 "...observe the LORD's commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good"
Deuteronomy 30:20 "... love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob."
It shouldn't be a surprise that obedience to God is a major part of loving him. It was Jesus again who said in John 14:21, "Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."
The Westminster Shorter Catechism asks, "What is the chief end of man?" The answer, "The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever." As we glorify Him with our obedience, we will enjoy him in our living, and our love for Him will be demonstrated and increased.
How is your level of obedience? In the big things, probably pretty good. But what about the small things? After all it’s the little fly that spoils the day.
I LOVE THE LORD! FURTHER INTRODUCTION
The last time we were together I pointed out that obedience is at the very heart of our love for God. That was the context of Deuteronomy. 6:1-8 where Jesus quoted when he said, "...Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind" (Matt 22:37). We saw that the book of Deuteronomy places great emphasis on equating obedience to God with love to God.
Although obedience is the primary way to express our love for God, it is not the same as love. Some have said that love is a verb, an action word. As one of my pastors used to say, "Love is emotion in motion." And that is true, just read 1 Corinthians 13.
But it is also true that love validates my obedience and makes it acceptable to God. And this is where my challenge to you is this week. Is love for God the motive of your obedience to Him? Not all obedience is motivated by love, is it?
I may be obedient to my boss so I will receive a raise or promotion.
I may be obedient to my parents to avoid discipline.
I may be obedient to my coach so I can play a better game and win praise and popularity.
There are many motives for obedience. The only acceptable motive for obedience to God is love for God. It is possible to do the right thing for the wrong reason. Without the motive of love my obedience may be self-serving. That is, I may obey God because:
He may punish me if I don't.
He may withhold His blessing on my life.
I wish to conform to a certain earthly standard and blend in with my peers.
As one writer put it, "To love God with all our heart and soul and mind, and to obey Him wholeheartedly and diligently are like two sides of a coin. You cannot have one without the other. Fervency of worship on Sunday morning or in our private devotions is vain without an accompanying fervency in obedience to God. On the other hand, precise and exact obedience to the law of God is vain if it is not prompted by love to Him."
How obedient to God are you?
And why are you obedient to Him?
I LOVE THE LORD BECAUSE HE LIFTS ME
In Matthew 22:36 a lawyer came to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" His answer was, "`Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: `Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
In 1954 a man was pastoring a small church in Georgia. The church had a potbelly stove, and neither indoor nor outdoor plumbing. He was both pastor and the substitute Sunday school teacher for every class in the Sunday school. One Sunday morning he was substituting for the boy's primary class. He had about a dozen boys in the class and they were studying the Book of Romans. Their memory work was Romans 3:23. To get their attention he asked them, "What does the word "all" mean?"
After some silence, one 6 year old said, "Pastor, all means all and that's all, all means."
How true. When Jesus said we are to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind" that's just what He meant.
We have started on a journey to discover how to love God. We noted that to love him means we will obey Him. The two - love and obedience - go hand in hand. And the motive of our obedience is that of love, nothing more. Now I want to direct our attention to the first of 13 reasons to love the Lord. All 13 are found in Scripture.
The first reason I love the Lord is because THE LORD LIFTS ME. We find this in Ps 40:1-2 "I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand." His lifting me is in 2 dimensions. He lifts me first from the slimy pit of sin and damnation. This is the uplift of eternal salvation. It's good to remember the pit from which we have been lifted. Some of us were saved when we were young in life and may not have witnessed a dramatic change. While others were saved later in life, after becoming involved in sin to a greater degree and so saw a more dramatic effect. But whether saved as a child or an adult, we've all been saved from the slimy pit of sin.
Not only do I have the uplift of eternal salvation, I also have the uplift of temporal salvation. Read Psalm 91 and see his protecting care. You can see it also in 1 Corinthians 10:13 and Isaiah 43:2; 41:10; and 41:13. If you ever get discouraged, depressed, fearful, or whatever, you have the ministry of the great Uplifting God.
Yes, I love the Lord. I love him because he has lifted me from the slimy pit of sin, and continues to lift me and place me feet upon a rock as I progress through this earthly journey. He has given me freely the Uplift of Eternal Salvation, and the Uplift of Temporal Salvation.
I LOVE THE LORD BECAUSE HE LISTENS TO ME
Do you love the Lord? If so, why? Last week I directed your attention to Psalm 40:1-2 "I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand." The thought being, I love the Lord because HE LIFTS ME. He lifts me from both the eternal pit of damnation and the temporal pit of temptation and sin.
Today I want you to consider Psalm 116:1-2, "I love the LORD, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live." I love the Lord because HE LISTENS TO ME.
We live in a world where people are lonely, and often in great distress because none will listen to them. One of the greatest complaints counselors hear is, "Nobody listens to me. Nobody cares about me." We are all takers, but few, very few, are listeners.
But God listens. And he listens with full attentiveness and caring. Just consider Job 34:28; Ps. 4:3; 18:6: 34:17 (No, I will not print it for you, go to the Bible and read it there for yourself).
After his successful campaign against the Philistines, David penned the words of 2 Samuel 22:7-10. Read them!
In Jeremiah God said, "Call to me and I will consider you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know."
One author wrote, "To some believers it seems that God could not possibly hear and answer their prayers. Their discouragement gets in the way of their faith. But he has promised to respond to our every call. So, whatever message is on your heart, send it to Him."
Yes, I love the Lord because HE LIFTS ME, and HE LISTENS TO ME. And that love is shown in a careful obedience to him.
I LOVE THE LORD BECAUSE HE LIBERATES ME
There's a great old song that was made popular by George Beverly Shea. Some of the words are, "I'd rather have Jesus than silver or gold, I'd rather be His than have riches untold...I'd rather be his than be held in sin's dread sway." Which brings us to our third reason for loving our God? That is, I love him because HE LIBERATES ME. He has liberated me from "sin's dread sway."
Before we came to Christ we were the slaves of the Master of Sin. That slavery was demonstrated in many and various ways and different for each of us. But Paul wrote, "In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace” (Rom 6:11-14).
Within the context of Romans 6:17-23 Paul presents a picture of being liberated from sin and set free to be bound to righteousness. I will not develop the thought for you, that is better done in your own times of meditation. But I will outline it for you. In a sense, I will give you the ingredients and you will prepare the meal.
SLAVERY TO SIN - ITS BEGINNING, Rom 6:17 This slavery to sin began the day you were born, even the day you were conceived.
SLAVERY TO SIN - ITS DEVELOPMENT, Rom. 6:17Sin is never content to stand still. It grows, develops, drawing us deeper and deeper into its clutches.
SLAVERY TO SIN - ITS CONCLUSION, Rom. 6:20-21The end of this slavery is shame now and eternal death later. The world says it is living it up. Paul says it is dying.
But then we are liberated from that slavery to slavery to God.
SLAVERY TO GOD ITS - BEGINNING, Rom. 6:17Yes, "thanks be to God," for it is by the work His grace that we were brought to "wholeheartedly obey the form of teaching" that brought the Gospel.
SLAVERY TO GOD - ITS DEVELOPMENT, Rom. 6:19Just as there was an ever increasing development to impurity, so here there is an ever increasing development to holiness.
SLAVERY TO GOD - ITS CONCLUSION, Rom. 6:22"...the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life."
What a contrast! I love the Lord because he liberates me from sin's dread sway and delivers me to God's delightful way.
I LOVE THE LORD BECAUSE HE LEADS ME
David wrote, “The LORD is my shepherd I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside the quiet waters.”
An old hymn writer put it this way,
“He leadeth me,
O blessed thought
O words with heavenly comfort frought
Whater I do
Where I go
Still tis God’s hand
That leadeth me.”
We have looked at reasons for loving the Lord. We have said we love him because he lifts me, listens to me, and liberates me. Now we find cause to love the Lord because HE LEADS ME. In Psalm 23 is one of the classic Scriptures dealing with his leadership. In the Old Testament Israel wandered like sheep in the wilderness, and God provided their basic needs. He provided them with food, water, and eventually the Promised Land.
And he still provides for his own today. Sheep left to themselves wander haphazardly, caring only for the next clump of grass. They easily stray getting themselves into dangerous places and wrong paths. And we are like those sheep. But our Shepherd-God watches his own and leads them.
One of the unique features of an Eastern shepherd is that, unlike the Western cattleman, he doesn’t drive his flock. He leads them. He establishes such an intimacy with them that they recognize his voice and his appearance, they trust and follow him. If there’s sheep that do not cooperate the shepherd watches closely and disciplines it with his staff if needed. And if it doesn’t improve, will actually break its leg and then nurse it back to health. The sheep will then become more dependent upon it shepherd.
In the Old Testament God was a shepherd to Israel. He didn’t drive them out of Egypt. Rather, he went before, leading them with a pillar of fire and of cloud. He gave them his word in the form of the Law and the Prophets. In the New Testament he directs his people by sending his son, Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd. This Good Shepherd promises to lead his flock to an abundant life, and guides it to that life through his word.
Yes, in a world that has largely lost its way, we, the flock of the Lord Jesus Christ, are lead by him.
Yes, I love the Lord because he leads me.
I LOVE THE LORD BECAUSE HE LABORS ALONG WITH ME
It is easy to say, "I love the Lord!" But why? Why do we love the Lord? And if we can't answer that question with a substantial answer, should we love Him and do we love Him? We have seen some reasons for loving the Lord. We love the Lord because:
HE LIFTS ME
HE LISTENS TO ME
HE LIBERATES ME
HE LEADS ME
Now consider 1 Corinthians 3:9. There we read "For we are laborers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building" (KJV). Or, in the NIV, "For we are God's fellow workers."
I love the Lord because he LABORS along with me. He has given us a responsibility, a task, a work to do, and we are not left alone to do it. He has called us to live for Him (Rom. 12:1), to use are spiritual gifts in His service (Rom. 12:6-8), to reach a world of over 5 billion people with the Gospel (Mt. 28:18). Thank God we are not alone in this labor, he labors along with us.
This laboring along with us is well documented in Scripture. Just consider Rev. 2 and 3. There we see the head of the church, the glorified Lord Jesus Christ, walking among the churches of Asia Minor. As He does so He evaluates, warns, and instructs. He gives specific, particular messages suited to each one. Each one is given a unique message fitting that church's position in the world. But to each there is one message they receive in common. It is the message, "I know..."
He knows what we are doing, and should be doing. He knows what we are doing and what we should not be doing. He knows our works. And He knows them both because He is omniscient, and because he labors with us.
I love the Lord because I don't have to labor in the flesh. I don't have to labor according to my brain or my brawn. I don't have to labor alone. I can labor with him.
Yes, I love the Lord for he is a manager who not only spells out the job description and oversees the job, but He also gets right down there with me in the doing of the job.
I LOVE THE LORD BECAUSE HE LONGS FOR ME
A lawyer once came to Jesus asking, "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?" Jesus responded, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all you soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment."
If to love the Lord is the greatest commandment, then the greatest testimony is, "I love the Lord." We have been cataloging reasons for loving him. So far we have seen that we love him because he lifts us, he listens to us, he liberates us, leads us, and labors with us.
Now, I love the Lord because HE LONGS FOR ME! See this in John 14:1-4, "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am."
The Lord Jesus Christ is our heavenly bridegroom and we are his earthly bride. Paul points out in Ephesians 5:22-23. And the Lord Jesus Christ longs to be united forever with his bride.
I heard of a couple who had to be apart following the end of the school year. They were both graduating and had planed to marry in August. Now it was June. She was going to work in a factory near her home and he was involved in pastoring a small church. Now they were going to be separated for two months, at the end of which they would not only be reunited, but married.
He said he had rented a little room in which to live. Just down the street was the Post Office and there he had a mail box. He knew the mail came in daily at 5:30 A.M. and was in his box by 6. He set his alarm for 5:45. He woke, dressed, and went right to the Post Office where he would find a letter from his intended bride. He wrote to her every day, and he received a letter from her every day.
He would read that letter on his way back to his room. He re-read it over breakfast, and again at least 3-4 times before the end of the day.
Finally, the time came when they were to be married. Two months of separation had gone by and all he could think of was seeing her again. He took the train to meet her. When the train pulled into the station there were hundreds of people there but his eyes looked for only one. As he stepped into that crowd he looked for her and her alone. It didn't take long before they were in each others arms.
All during those days of separation there was a tremendous longing to be with each other again.
And I suggest that it is the same with our Bridegroom. For almost 2,000 years he has been in heaven with the nail scars He suffered for His bride. We can almost hear him say, "Father, is it time? Is is today? Can I go and get my bride to me with me?"
Some day, some glorious day, the Father will say, "It is time." And the archangel will shout, the trumpet will sound, and the Son of God will come in the air and say to His earthly bride, "Come up, my beloved."
Yes, I love the Lord because He longs for me.
I LOVE THE LORD BECAUSE HE LEVELS WITH ME
Today we come to the 7th reason why we should love the Lord. And that is because HE LEVELS WITH ME, In John 1`4:6 Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth, and the life.” Jesus Christ is the truth, and always tells the truth. Such an individual is very unusual today. We live in an age where lying, cheating and stealing are almost considered virtues. One of my wife's acquaintances even recommended she read a book all about how to lie in today's world.
The Psalmist said in Ps. 116:11, "And in my dismay I said, `All men are liars." He also wrote, "Even from birth the wicked go astray; from the womb they are wayward and speak lies. Yes, we live in a world of lies.”
In day the Pharisees sent men to capture Jesus. They returned without Him and were asked why they did not take Him. Their answer was, "No man ever spoke like that man."
Yes, I love the Lord because he levels with me.
A man in Christian service said, "One of the greatest reasons my life is the way it is today is because as a 14 year old boy I started spending an hour a day reading the Bible. I was in a summer camp in July of 1948 where I got right with God under the pungent, powerful preaching of a missionary/evangelist. I went back to my home town and asked my pastor if he could give me a suggestion as to how I could find the will of God for my life. He said, `Let me challenge you to spend an hour a day reading your Bible.' I took him up on that challenge and it changed my life. Because God told me the truth about myself...the world in which I live...about a whole lot of things..."
Yes, our Lord does not lie, or beat around the bush. He levels with us. In Proverbs 27:5-6 we read, "Better is open rebuke than hidden love. Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses." Be glad God is willing to wound you with the truth. As someone put it, "Truth doesn't hurt, unless it ought."
We can rejoice today in knowing the God levels with us, he is honest with us, he is not two-faced with us.
Praise God, He levels with us.
I LOVE THE LORD BECAUSE HE LOADS ME
OK, our topic is big this time so let us just move right into it. I love the Lord because HE LOADS ME. That is, He loads me with benefit after benefit. Paul wrote the Philippians and told them, "My God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus." Consider the following:
He Loads me with Salvation Benefits.
Paul wrote to the Romans and told them, "where sin abounded, grace increased all the more." How much grace did you need to have all your sins forgiven? But let's just suppose you didn't start sinning until you reached your 5th birthday (obviously this is just for illustrative purposes only). Then, when you were 5, you sinned each day once in deed, once in word, and once in thought. That's just 3 sins a day. At 3 sins a day for 365 days you would accumulate 1,095 sins a year. By your 10th birthday you would have 5,475 indictments on your account before God. By your 16th birthday that number would be 12,045. And by the time you reach 20, you would have 16,425 if you only sinned once a day. And every one of those sins is sufficient in itself to send you to hell for eternity.
Under the convicting work of the Holy Spirit John Newton wrote, "I saw my sins rising like a great mountain blotting out heaven and God." No wonder we sing about "Amazing Grace," for that is just what it is. In Col.2:13-14 we read, "When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross."
And we are also the recipients of earthly benefits as well. For in 2 Corinthians 9:8 Paul wrote, "...God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work." I'm not suggesting prosperity theology. I am only saying that God's grace is sufficient. The late Dr. John Cawood used to teach that the word "grace" could be substituted with the word "ability." God's grace is God's ability. What do you need? What task is in front of you? What trial are you going through? His grace is sufficient for you.
And He loads me down with spiritual benefits.
Just read the following:
Ephesians 1:3 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.”
Romans 8:31 "What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?”
Romans 8:16-17 "The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs-heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory."
And, of course, He gives us eternal benefits.
Peter said we have an "inheritance that can never spoil or fade." Jesus Himself said, "I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever."
Well, I could go on and on but this has gone on long enough for a "Weekly Thot." But, I love the Lord because He loads me with benefit after benefit all by His grace.
I LOVE THE LORD BECAUSE HE IS LOYAL TO ME
Loyalty! Something we find little of today. You don’t need me to take up your time and this space with illustrations and example of disloyalty. But a consideration of the term does bring us to our next reason for loving the Lord. I love the Lord because HE IS LOYAL TO ME.
As we look at Scripture we find three ways in which the Lord Jesus shows his loyalty to us. But first of all we must see what he has pledged himself to do for us in order to measure His loyalty. The Lord promises us,
Eternal Salvation.
In. 3:16 “For God so loved the Lord that He gave His one & only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” When we come to Christ in faith & receive Him as personal Savior from sin He promises us an eternal salvation, all sin forgiven & clothed in His righteousness.
He has also promised us the indwelling of His Spirit.
John 14:15-17 "If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, & He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever - the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, for He lives with you & will be in you.”
And he promises us his intercessory prayers.
Heb.7:25 “Therefore He is able to save completely "those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them"
Last, he has promised us the continuing work of grace.
Philippians 1:6 “Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
And the record of his performance shows His unswerving loyalty to us and to His promises. He is loyal even in the face of my detours. In Psalm 23 I learn he wants to guide me in the paths of righteousness for “His name’s sake.” But I often set my own course & take a detour from his will. Does he let us go & bid us a sad farewell? No! Hebrews.13:5 11 “...Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” For fun and profit, read it backward. We may leave Him, forsake Him, but he never proves disloyal to his own. In the worst of my detours I still have Eternal Salvation, the indwelling Spirit, his intercessory prayers & the continuing work of grace.
And, he is loyal in site of my defections. In 2 Timothy 2:13 we read, “If we are faithless, He will remain faithful, for He cannot disown Himself'.” He will be loyal to you even when you are not loyal to Him. Even when you defect - prove faithless & disloyal. He proved this with Peter who denied him three times. Even when I defect from the standard of holiness & righteousness, I have eternal salvation, the indwelling of the Spirit, his intercessory prayers and the continuing work of grace.
Moreover, he is loyal in spite of my distresses.
For some of our friends their loyalty is good only when they can receive something from us. But when it comes time to give they flee. When it comes time to forgive, they forget they know us. But not our Savior! In 1 Corinthians 10:13 we read “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” Even in our deepest distress he is loyal.
Yes, I love the Lord because he is loyal (constant and faithful) to me.
I LOVE THE LORD BECAUSE HE LAVES ME
As children we learned to sing,
“Jesus loves me, this I know,
For the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to Him belong
They are weak but He is strong.
Yes, Jesus loves me…
The Bible tells me so.”
It’s good to know that the Lord loves us. But do we love the Lord? And, if we say we love him, why do we love him?
We have been looking at some reason to love the Lord. They have been because he lifts me, listens to me, liberates me, labors along with me, longs for me, levels with me, loads me with benefit, and is loyal to me.
Now I love the Lord because HE LAVES ME. “Laves” is an old English word that comes from the word “laver.” In homes we have a “lavatory.” It refers to a place for washing. We see this quality of our Lord demonstrated in John 13:1-11.
John 13:1-14 “It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love. The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
“He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, `Lord, are you going to wash my feet?’
“Jesus replied, `You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.’
“`No,’ said Peter, `you shall never wash my feet.’
“Jesus answered, `Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.’
"Then, Lord, `Simon Peter replied, "not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!"
“Jesus answered, `A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.’ For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.
“When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place.” Do you understand what I have done for you?" he asked them. `You call me `Teacher' and `Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. ‘”
Here is a beautiful illustration of our day to day need as believers. When we trusted Christ as Savior, we were bathed in the blood of the Lamb. By faith we were washed, cleansed, bathed. And that washing was a once for all experience. But as we walk through life we get dirty, and we need daily cleansing. And as I walk the paths of this life and become soiled with sin as I step through the murky mess of this world, I can come to my Lord at any place or time, confess my sin, and His promise (1 John 1:9) is that He will lave me, that is, He will wash me.
This is how I keep clean and in fellowship with Him through this pilgrim pathway.
I love the Lord, because according to his promise in 1 John 1:9, when I am dirty and confess my sin, he laves me completely. Not just 99% pure.
I LOVE THE LORD BECAUSE HE LIVES FOR ME
As we read through Scripture we see our Lord Jesus Christ in various ways. Again, I will not take up space here to reproduce the Scripture; I will leave that up to you to look it up on your own. But we see him as:
 | The LIVING One in Hebrews 7:225 |
| The LOVING One in John 13:1-2 |
| The LOVELY One (in His character) in Psalm 45:2 |
| The HOLY One in Mark 1:24 |
| The HEAVENLY One in John 3:13 |
| The HONORED One in Hebrews 2:9 and Philip. 2:9 |
It is this Living, Loving, Lovely, Holy, Heavenly, and Honored One we are to love. We have seen 10 reasons for loving him. Today we come to the 11th with only 2 reasons remaining. This 11th reason is found in Hebrews 7:23-25 “Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.”
I love the Lord because HE LIVES FOR ME. The above verses from Hebrews present Christ as the Christ of an endless life, endless intercession, endless priesthood, and an endless salvation.
We are interested now only in that theme of the Christ of an endless intercession. He lives for me and in that living he intercedes for me. In the Old Testament time, when Aaron the high priest entered the Holy Place, the bells on the hem of his garment made a beautiful sound. Even so our High Priest, having entered into heaven, his intercession makes a melodious sound in the ears of God the Father. Although he is exalted to glory he has not laid aside his heart of compassion. He is till ever mindful of His universal body and its individual members. Thomas Watson wrote, “Christ is the Great Master of requests in heaven.”
As my Great High Priest living for me he performs the following ministries:
- He presents his blood as the atoning sacrifice for our sin
- He answers all charges brought against us before the Father.
- He calls for the acquittal of His own. He is our Advocate before the Father.
As always, there is not enough space to cover the topic in a justifiable manner. But I leave that up to you, the Scripture, and the Holy Spirit. Think on this, the Lord Jesus Christ lives for you. He lives to make intercession for you.
Yes, I love the Lord because He LIVES FOR ME!
I LOVE THE LORD BECAUSE HE LIGHTS ME
As we come to this week's reason for loving the Lord we will begin by looking at two verses of Scripture that, at first glace, seem to be in contradiction with each other. In Matthew 5:14 Jesus told His followers, and by extension we who believe, "You are the light of the world." Then, in John 8:12 He said of Himself, "I am the light of the world." Is there a contradiction?
The answer is "No," it just depends on your perspective. On a clear night you can look up at the moon and say, "The moon is the light of the world." And then go outside the next day when the sun is shining and say, "The sun is the light of the world." In one sense both statements are true. In another sense, only the second one is true. The moon is the light only as it reflects the sun's light.
So much for astronomy. What does this have to do with loving the Lord? Well, I love the Lord because HE LIGHTS ME. The moon becomes the light of the world when it reflects the sun, and we become the light of the world when we allow the light of the Savior to reflect off of us. Jesus Christ, the light of the world, makes us the light of the world as we reflect His light to a dark and darkening world. Jesus put the same idea in different worlds when he said we were like a city set upon a hill and like a candle in somebody's home. You can bring help, sanity, comfort, strength, and all the other positive qualities our world is seeking for! You can! I can! Jesus has set us as lights in this dark and sinful world.
I have a mission. I have a reason for being. I have a divine mandate from the King of Kings himself to shed His light abroad. What a commission!
But in order to do that I must be like the moon and the sun. Our moon reflects the sun's light only when it is in a position to reflect it. If it hides behind the earth its light is diminished. If we hide from the Savior behind sin our light diminished as well.
So let us "walk in the light as He is in the light" and let our light shine for this is God's purpose for us. And whatever he purposes for us he also accomplishes in us.
I LOVE THE LORD BECAUSE HE LOVES ME
And now we come to the last of our Weekly Thots which are concerned with reasons for loving the Lord. And I think the best has been saved till last. We have seen 13 reasons for loving the Lord. Now the 14th is, I LOVE THE LORD BECAUSE HE LOVES ME!
In the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah we read, “… I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness” (Jeremiah 31:3). I love him because He first loved me, and I’d never love him if he hadn’t loved me first.
John wrote in his first epistle, “We love Him because He first loved us.” And Jesus said, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him.” No one has ever gone looking for the God of the Scriptures until God first went looking for him.”
Ad children we learn to sing,
“Jesus loves me, this I know,
for the Bible tells me so.”
We also sing,
“I am so glad that my Father in heaven,
Tells of His love in the book He has given.
Wonderful things in the Bible I see,
This is the dearest, that Jesus loves me.
“Oh if there’s only one song I can sing,
When in His beauty I see the great King,
This shall my song through eternity be,
O what a wonder that Jesus loves me.”
This is a Redeeming Love
Probably the first verse of Scripture we learned and the world’s most widely know is John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes on Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.”
It is a Consistent love:
Rev.1:5 “…to Him who loves (present tense) us and has freed (past tense) us from our sins by His blood.”
It is an immense love:
Eph 3:16-19 “so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”
It is a depicted love.
It was depicted at Calvary for all to see.
- The accusation nailed to His cross was written in Latin, Greek and Hebrew. Here is the WIDTH of God’s love. It takes in the whole world.
- He cried, “My God…My God…” Here is the length to which He went for us.
- He was crucified between 2 thieves showing the depth to which He would go.
- He said to the one thief, “Today you will be with me in paradise” showing the height to which His love would take us.
Oh yes, I love Him because He first LOVED me!
I will close with the words of an old hymn.
“The love of God is greater far than tongue or pen can tell.
It goes beyond the highest star and reaches to the lowest hell.
The guilty pair bowed down with care God gave His Son to win.
His erring child He reconciled and pardoned from his sin.
“Could we with ink the ocean fill and were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill and ever man a scribe by trade,
To write the love of God above would drain the ocean dry,
Nor could the scroll contain the whole through stretched from sky to sky.
O love of God how rich and pure, how measureless and strong,
It shall forever more endure, the saint’s and angel’s song.”
To me the most amazing verse in Scripture is Gal 2:20“I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
