Do We Really Love the Lord

"DO WE REALLY LOVE THE LORD?"

LUKE 10:25-28

INTRO: When we think of love many things come to mind. We love our families,

some love the work they do, and still others love the area where they live or a

multitude of other things. But our first love should be the Lord Jesus Christ.

He should be number one in our lives! Jesus said in Matthew 22:37-38,

when asked what the greatest commandment was, said—“…Thou shalt love

the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy

mind. This is the first and great commandment.” This means “Love God as

your very own God. This is a personal relationship, not a distant relationship.

God is not impersonal, not far out in space someplace, distant and removed.

God is personal, ever so close, and we are to be personally involved with God

as though face to face. The command is to "love the Lord thy God." Loving

God is alive and active, not dead and inactive. We are, therefore, to maintain

a personal relationship with God that is alive and active. Love God with all

that you are, with all of your being, all of your nature. Jesus breaks our being

into three parts: the heart, the soul, and the mind.” (Preacher's Outline and Sermon Bible –

Commentary - The Preacher's Outline & Sermon Bible – Luke.WORDsearch 9.0. Copyrighted Material. All Rights

Reserved). This is how Jesus says we should love HIM!

I want us to consider thisquestion this evening, “Do we really love the Lord?”

I want us to consider…

(1) WHAT IS LOVE?

LUKE 10:27—“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all

thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.”

A. LOVE IS THE HIGHEST EXPRESSION. In this passage of scripture the verb form

ofthe Greek word "Agape" is used. In thisusageit simply means the thing being

loved is mostprecious and worthy of the love given to it.In this passage, Jesus is

the object of that love. 1 Peter 2:7tells us—“Unto you therefore which believe he

is precious…”. What God desires most of all is the love of our hearts and the service

of our lives. That is the perfect sacrifice which every Christian must make. (William

to a work or to a cause, but to Jesus Christ. —Oswald Chambers inThe Place of

B. LOVE IS A HUMBLING EXPERIENCE. True love involves a total dependence on

the Lord, relying on Him for everything! Until we love the Lord with all we have, we

are not showing him all love due Him. When we love Him, He will be our:

DESIRE. Psalm 63:1-3—“O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary. Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name.” A man’s heart has only enough life in it to pursue one object fully. Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834–1892)(Draper's Book of Quotations for the Christian World. Copyright © 1992 by Edythe Draper).
DEPENDENCE. Psalm 91:2—“I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.” I love what Joni Eareckson Toda said, “The weaker we feel, the harder we lean on God. And the harder we lean, the stronger we grow.” (Draper's Book of Quotations for the Christian World. Copyright © 1992 by Edythe Draper).

(2) WHY SHOULD WE LOVE HIM?

1 JOHN 4:19—“We love him, because he first loved us.”

A. BECAUSE HE FIRST LOVEDUS.(1 John 4:19; Romans 5:8).God proved his

love on the cross. When Christ hung, and bled, and died, it was God saying to the

world, "I love you." --Billy Graham (1918- ) (Edythe Draper, Draper's Book of

Quotations for the Christian World (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.,

1992). Entry #7173).Even when we were unlovable in sin, He loved us.

B. BECAUSE HE DIED FOR US.(John 3:16: John 15:12-13—“This is my

commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no

man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”).

C. BECAUSE HE HEARS OURPRAYERS. (Psalm 116:1-2—“I love the LORD,

because he hath heard my voice and my supplications. Because he hath inclined his

ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live.”).

(3) HOW SHOULD WE LOVE HIM?

1 JOHN 2:3-6—“And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his

commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his

commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth

his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that

we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to

walk, even as he walked.”

A. BY LIVING FOR HIM-Having a Godly Character(John 14:15—“If ye love me,

keep my commandments.”).Roy Osborne says, “The love of God is the product of

how much we search for Him, how much we seek Him … if we are going to be

called into question at the judgment day, it will be for failing to love Him, not for

reserved.). Friends, if we really love HIM then we will seek His will and His way. We

live as close to HIM as we possibly can simply because of our love for HIM!

ILLUS: It is time for us Christians, to face up to our responsibility for holiness. Too

often we say we are “defeated” by this or that sin. No, we are not defeated;

we are simply disobedient. It might be well if we stopped using the

termsvictory anddefeatto describe our progress in holiness. Rather we

should use the termsobedience anddisobedience. –Jerry Bridges(Draper's

Our progress in holiness depends upon God and us—on God’s grace and upon our

desire to be holy as He is holy!

B. BY PRAYING TO HIM-Communicating. If a person truly loves the Lord, He will

keep the lines of communication open. (Philippians 4:6-7).

ILLUS: The CEO of a large manufacturing corporation was in the habit of going to a

room on the roof of the administration building and locking himself in, that he

might be free from interruptions. One day he discovered that the building was

on fire. He flew to the door to find that the lock had become set, and he was

unable to open it. He remembered the intercom which communicated with the

room below. But, his calls were in vain. It had been many months since he

had last used the intercom, and it had become so corroded with soot and dust

that it was useless. How fit an illustration is this of the prayerless life. It is by

daily fellowship that we keep the way open between ourselves and God.

C. BY READING AND STUDYING GOD'S WORD-God's love letter to Us (2

Timothy 2:15; Psalm 119:11). Friends, if we love the Lord then we will also love

His Word. The Word tells us about HIM and about HIS purpose for each of our

lives.A man who loves his wife will love her letters and her photographs because

they speak to him of her. So if we love the Lord Jesus, we shall love the Bible

because it speaks to us of him. John R. W. Stott (1921– )(Draper's Book of Quotations for the

from sin or else, sin will keep us from this Book!”

D. BY WITNESSING FOR HIM-Sharing God's Love with Others. Consider Luke

10:27b—“…thy neighbor as thyself.” It means that in the same way we take care

of ourselves and are concerned about our own interests, we should take care and

have concern for the interests of others.(David Guzik. Guzik Commentary. e-Sword. Version 9.6.1.

in vain you profess your love for God; for by your love for God the love for your

neighbor is produced, and by loving your neighbor your love for God is

are not. This is not sentimentality or effusive feelings, but good old basic love

that reaches out to heal the hurt of the world. Love’s simplicity is its attraction;

its transforming power is its glory. Love is practical, yet transcendent; earthly,

yet heavenly. Love is the essence of the divine Author and permeates the

whole of life. —Richard L. Baxter inReasons to Be Glad. Christianity Today,

CLOSING: If we really love him we are going to be doing all within our power to show

our love back to Him. (John 14:23). Someone said, “Service is love made

visible.” Friend, Do you and I really love the Lord tonight?

PREPARED PREVIOUSLY BY BROTHER BRYAN L. BROWNING AND REVISED ON OCTOBER 20, 2010 FOR WEDSNESDAY EVENING BIBLE STUDY, UNIONTOWN BAPTIST CHURCH, UNIONTOWN, KY.