02/09/25 Pastor Cody: Mark 12:28-34

E way Happ [Music] e [Music] e [Music] e you [Music] what for e [Music] good morning it's so good to see you all here this morning on Super Bowl Sunday I trust that after tonight that we'll still be a unified church and not divided I have a couple quick announcements next Sunday is our next business meeting and it will we'll have a potluck right after the service and then we'll come back in here for the meeting at 1 o'clock and there are agendas at each entrance if you want to if you have not already got one please do take advantage of that and make plans to attend 22nd February 22nd there's going to be a men's Beast feast and this opportunity is also open to single dads so if you know of a single dad in your community please by all means invite them we will have child care provided and we'll look forward to getting together as brothers in Christ today there the direct directory pictures for the supplemental directory will not be happening due to sickness we'll inform you of when we'll reschedule that for the next time I think that's all my announcements I always draw your attention to this card you can also scan the QR code and connect with us communicate your prayer needs or any other information you want to give us let me open our time in

Prayer father God I thank you that we get to be here this morning on this property in this building and thank you for just what has already taken place in community groups and Kids Quest and Lord in our just our time of Fellowship together we thank you for the body of Christ and just the encourage that we get to have from one another as we walk this journey of faith I pray that Lord as we continue in worship with music with your word that our hearts would be centered on you and that Lord we would be filled and prepared and equipped for this week ahead of us and that Lord as we disperse from here later that we would be going alert as your ambassadors into a world that is desperate in need of you I thank you and praise you for these things and we commit our time to you now in your name amen I have a couple verses from Jeremiah chap 10: 6 and 7 and it says there is none like you oh Lord you are great and great is your name in might who would not fear you oh King of the Nations indeed it is your due for among all the wise men of the Nations and in all their kingdoms there is none like you stand [Music] what can wash away my nothing but the blood of Jesus what can make me whole again nothing but the blood of Jesus oh precious is the flow that makes me white as no other p I know nothing but the blood of Jesus for my part this I see nothing but the blood of Jesus for my cleansing this myle nothing but the blood of Jesus oh precious is the FL that makes me WI as no oh no other found I know nothing but the blood of Jesus nothing canone nothing but the blood of

Jesus not of good that I have done nothing but the blood of Jesus oh precious is the FL that makes me white as snow no other I know nothing but the blood of [Music] Jesus this is All My Hope and peace nothing but the blood of Jesus this is all my rightousness nothing but the blood of Jesus oh precious is the that makes me white as snow no other B I know nothing but the blood of [Music] [Applause] Jesus be seated we shocked each other all right good morning church all right we are going to prepare to take the Lord's offering and so if you would pray with me real quick father we just come to you today Lord we humble ourselves before you and father we ask that you accept these offerings Lord and that they come from our heart and that Lord that you to give each and every person the desire and the want to serve you through giving Lord and Lord we pray as a church that we use this money to honor you and to do your will Lord and we pray this in the name of your son Jesus amen all right so today's question is what are God's works of Providence so Psalms 14517 says the Lord is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his Works Isaiah 28:29 this also comes from The Lord of hosts He is wonderful in the counil and excellent in wisdom Psalms 10424 oh Lord how manifold are your Works in wisdom have you made them all the Earth is full of your creatures Psalms 10319 the Lord has established his throne in the heavens and his kingdom rules over all and finally Matthew 10 29-31 are not Two Sparrows sold for a

Penny and not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your father but even the hairs of your head are all numbered fear not therefore you are of more value than many sparrows [Music] beautiful creation a Earth and Sky the heavens are your Tabernacle glory to the Lord on high God of Wonders beyond our galaxies You Are Holy Hol holy the universe declares your majesty You Are Holy [Music] holy Lord of Heaven and Earth Lord of Heaven and Earth [Music] early in the morning I will celebrate the light when I Stumble in the [Music] [Applause] darkness I will call your name by night God of Wonders beyond our galaxy You Are Holy Universe declares your majesty You Are Holy [Music] holy Lord of Heaven and Earth Hallelujah of Heaven and Earth Hallelujah to the of Heaven and Earth H to [Music] the wonders beyond our gy s You Are Holy precious Lord Reveal Your Heart To Me father Hold Me Hold Me Universe declar your majesty you are [Music] holy [Music]

Holy Lord of Heaven and Earth Lord of Heaven and Earth [Music] thousand Generations Falling Down In Worship to sing the song of Ages to the [Music] lamb and all who gone before us and all who will believe we sing the song of Ages to the L your name is the highest your name is the great as your name stands above them all Thrones and dominions all power and positions your name stands above them all and the angel cist holy all creation Christ ho you are lifted [Music] highly holy forever if you've been forgiven and if you been redeemed sing the song forever to the lamb and if you walk in Freedom and if you bear his name sing the song forever to the lamb sing the song forever and amen and the angels C [Music] holy all creation Christ holy you were lifted High Hol holy [Music] forever your people sing Holy to the King of Kings holy you will always be holy [Music] forever your name is the highest your name is the greatest your name stands above them [Music]

All gr ands all hearts and position your name stands above the all your name is the highest your name is the greatest your name stands above them all thrs and dominions all power and positions your name stands above them all Ang chist holy all creation Christ holy you are lifted High holy forever he you people sing Holy to the King of Kings holy you will always be holy [Music] forever you will always be holy forever [Music] dear heavenly father we thank you thank you thank you so much for this day that you've given us to be able to congregate and worship you as a congregation as fellow Believers we praise you we worship you we just pray that you continue to feed our hearts and our minds this morning that you anoint Cody with every word that he says dear Lord fill his mind and heart with you also right now dear Lord we love you so much amen well if you have your Bible and I hope that you do please turn with me to the Book of Mark we are talking today about the greatest commandment as we've been in this series looking at these different conflicts between Jesus and the religious leaders of his day it's kind of weird in our culture talking about the greatest commandment right especially when our culture is so prone

To antinomianism antinomianism is anti-ag against nomos law and so it's it's against the law in other words there's a lot of Christians that believe that there's no compulsion or anything like that to say this is God's law therefore I should obey it or walk in it what Christ teaches us is of utmost importance to us because I know especially if you're a young person and you're just trying to figure things out one of the big questions that you ask is what does God want me to do with my life right you know we've all been there we've all asked those questions if you're a single person you kind of go who is like my spouse going to be right I wish that there was just some sort of Halo or something that just appeared when I saw that person what should my profession be should should I go to college should I learn a trade should I enter the workforce there's lots of questions and one of the best pieces of advice I ever heard was from U Southern Baptist pastor he's passed now but you guys would know him Charles Stanley he said God he will not reveal his personal will for your life if you're not walking in his moral will for your life in other words God he's not going to speak clearly to your heart not that not that he can't but he won't he not speak clearly while you walk in Rebellion to his will some of you U might remember really famous hyw writer John Wesley he's the father of the wesleyian movement a Holiness guy he was one of the most influential men in England and we could even say by extension in American history he was born in 1703 he was the 15th child in a family yeah now I know that we got some big homeschooling families here but none that big okay I would not recommend going for that by the way he was a professor of Greek and logic at Oxford University

Okay at Lincoln College which feeds into Oxford University he was ordained as a priest in the Church of England in 1728 okay I want you to kind of think about that for a moment okay keep that date in mind because he gets involved with a lot of different groups and organizations there at Oxford one of them was called The Holy club that was where George Whitfield and his brother Charles they would get together and they would read the Greek New Testament together they taught themselves how to read the Greek they would get together for prayer to read the great commentators of the past they would pray for an hour every day as they meditated on the Scriptures they would fast twice a week they would give to the poor they would help out the sick they would visit the prisoners they did all of these different things he even committed himself to destroying every sin in his own life and committed himself to forgive others of their sins in 1735 he felt called to go from England with an organization called got to remember this Society for the prop propagation of the Gospel that's a mouthful to go to Georgia our state of Georgia to minister to Native Americans and share the Gospel there okay what's what's amazing is that it was there that began to understand that he was not a convert of Jesus Christ yeah you heard me he was not a convert he actually wrote in his own journal by his own pen he said I went to him America to convert the Indians but oh who shall convert me and it was through this season that he started to see the wickedness and the waywardness of his own heart on the way back he met some Moravian Christians and he was just struck by the Simplicity of their faith and he wrote once again he was clearly convinced of

Unbelief and of the want of that faith whereby alone we are saved saved in 1738 he opened up his Bible to the passage that we're reading today which says you are not far from the kingdom of God we're talking about the law we're talking about the Gospel today because they go hand in hand and they are friends so stand with me in honor of God's word as we read Mark 12 verses 28-34 God's word it says this and one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another and seeing that he answered them well asked him which commandment is the most important of all Jesus answered the most important is here o Israel the Lord Our God the Lord is one and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength the second is this you shall love your neighbor as yourself there is no other commandment greater than these and the scrib said to him you were right teacher you have truly said that he is one and there is no other besides him and to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength and to love one's neighbor as oneself is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices and when Jesus saw that he answered wisely he said to him you are not far from the kingdom of God and after that no one dared to ask him any more questions Let's turn to the Lord in prayer father we do ask that you would bless us and give us greater understanding of what you want to see in our lives but more than that even when we fail in the greatest commandment Lord we know that there is abundant grace that's available to us in Christ and so as we see ourselves clearly in the mirror of your law help us to also see the beauty of the grace of Christ that is available to us and I pray that each person

Here that's under the sound of my voice would be able to be receptive to what your word has to say today Father we pray that you would move in us that you would move us closer to you help us to know and experience more of who you are and the fullness of it God but we desire your presence we desire your Comfort we desire your very person God and we just pray that today that we would get a little bit more of you father if it's at all possible meet us where we're at and we know that it is because of Christ and we thank you for that in Jesus name amen well as I've said these religious leaders they've been taking their best shots at Jesus asking them all sorts of different questions and they've all failed and the Scribe here was very impressed with Jesus's response to the Sadducees questions about what about the resurrection and he's struck by that and because of that response he decides to ask a question of his own this question it doesn't seem to be phrase to ENT trap or ins snare Jesus like all the other questions that we've dealt with it seems like a really positive dialogue right and it's amazing what happens when the Pharisees probably the group that the Scribe belonged to do when they approach Jesus without pretense they just come to him honestly and this is just a good question right and so if we're taking notes you can write this down is that there's there's a genuine question here if you were to ask Jesus a question what would it be what would it be God he never frowns on people when they ask sincere questions and a question is sincere when it's the following right it firstly it's honest in its intent the Scribe he asks the question earlier in Christ Ministries there was another scribe that asks the same question and Jesus he gives us the story of the Good Samaritan

In Luke chapter 10 and that question was asked but the conclusion was different than what we read about here secondly there's an honest curiosity so there's intent and there's curiosity The Scribe he saw that Jesus answered the questions really well and he said you know what Jesus has some really good answers let me just get his input let me see what he has to say about this thirdly there's respect tying in to Jesus's ability to answer the Scribe obviously saw Jesus he pointed to the word he points to the Old Testament and the Pharisees apparently they had missed this truth about the resurrection in Genesis the fourth thing is active listening The Scribe as we see they responded he responds back to Jesus with thoughtfulness and Clarity reasoning through the response okay I agree with that the question is which commandment is the most important of all and in the Old Testament there's 613 commands that were given to the people of Israel to observe and if we were to break them down into the three M major categories they are the moral law the civil law and the ceremonial law okay the moral law is things that are right wrong we think of like the Ten Commandments just very generally that's moral law those things are always good and right to do okay no one says yeah lying is fine now because it's a moral law unlike the other two which is the civil law that's what made Israel Israel very distinct as a nation okay eating shrimp and you know eating pig and think the Lord for barbecue right we love those things but then there's there's ceremonial law which that's where you know if you need to put your sins on a scapegoat and send it out into the Wilderness there's a there's a process behind it and you follow that law very clearly and likewise if you're giving a

Grain offering what that looks like and a burnt offering and all these different offerings those are the ceremonies that are entailed in that and so the Scribe he wants to know which of these 613 laws is the most important and what's interesting is Jesus doesn't say they're all important they're all of equal importance he agrees that there's one that's more important than all the others that word important means it's protos okay it's it's like the you think of the word prototype it's the first of that type right it's the first chief in rank or indignity in the Greek and so let's take a look at Jesus's answer here in Mark 12 verses 29-31 Jesus he says this the most important is hero Israel the Lord Our God the Lord is one you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul with all your mind with all your strength Jesus he directs the man's attention to the most fundamental summary of man's obligation that God gave to his people in the Old Testament he recites What's called the shama you guys probably know that shama Shama Shama literally means to give here to give ear or to hear and it's found in Deuteronomy 6 and I think that's very significant that Jesus he chooses toite this passage when asked to identify the highest priority commandment he doesn't go to Exodus chapter 20 where we find the Ten Commandments he goes he goes here right after God has promised to be with his people when they take the promised land it's a conditional Covenant if the people obey the law he will be with them as they walk with him he will be with them but if they break the law he will withdraw his hand and each day the Jews they would write the shama and even in our culture today you can see these actually on Jewish households these are called mzas they're made of sometimes Pottery

Or sometimes metal sometimes wood and what's engraved in there and encapsulated in there is just a piece of paper that has Deuteronomy chapter 6 vers 4-5 on there and it says this here o Israel the Lord Our God the Lord is one you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart all your soul and with all your might notice that there's a distinctiveness here in the Oneness of God we believe that God is one there aren't many gods there are not three Gods we don't believe that the father Son and Holy Spirit are three parts that make God like the Megazord on Power Rangers or anything like that we don't believe in three beings that make one God we believe as all Christians have believed since the beginning okay in the unity of the godhead that there be three persons of one substance power in eternity God the Father God the son God the Holy Spirit the father is of none neither begotten nor proceeding the son is eternally begotten of the Father the Holy Ghost eternally proceeding from the father and the son they are co-equal in glory in honor and eternality and they share the attributes of divinity and yet they are unbroken in their unity and don't miss it that he is the Lord Our God he's not distant he's not unknown he's not some impersonal Force he's God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob he is the deliverer and we are called to love him not because He commands it and not just because of what he has done but because of who he is and so with Jesus's answer he's pointing to a genuine love for the Lord to love God is the first in greatest command and we can understand this as a as a primary concern for all people for all time we believe along with the Puritans that the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever the word love here in this passage is the

Word agapo which was where we get that love word Agape it's a it's a strong pure esteem and it's used by Jesus in another place when talking about two masters no one can serve two masters for either he will hate the one and love the other a genuine affection or he will be devoted to one and despite the other you cannot serve God and money likewise Paul he uses it in Romans 8:28 and we know that for those who love God all things work together for good for those who are called according to his purposes or purpose this love it's not simply a fondness I'm fond of pizza flavored Pringles right those are I enjoy those those are good yes I know it's awful chemicals and things like that don't judge but a love this is a strong pure love that radiates from a pure conscience and expresses itself as delighting in and we are to love God this way it's not love that we keep hidden and we break out on Sunday mornings it's not a love that only occurs during this Gathering that we have together it's an allc consuming affection for his person and his presence and this is why God he instruct isra to love them with all of their being and he uses this heart soul mind and strength and there's a lot of overlap between those four words and I really don't think that he's trying to give us specific words for a specific purpose I think that he's he's communicating the big principle of your whole being should be filled with love for the Lord every part of you and Jesus he restates it emphatically before each and every noun with all your heart with all your soul with all your mind with all strength and that's the greatest commandment now I want you to take a moment I want to ask yourself a question okay what is that mean what does it really mean to love God with the entirety of your being

What would it look like for you to love God in that way how would your life be different this is the most important the chief law According To Jesus now we could talk all day about Christians being commanded right to do things we could talk all day about that but the fact is that our Lord that bought us said that this is the most important command the scribes of the day they distinguish between heavy and light laws and Jesus he did the same thing okay Matthew Chapter 5 therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these Commandments Jesus's words and teaches others to do the same will be called the least in the kingdom of God but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven likewise later on in Matthew he says say this woe to you scribes and Pharisees Hypocrites for you tithe mint and Dill in cumin and have neglected the weightier matters of the law Justice Mercy faithfulness these you ought to have done without neglecting the others so I want to talk about this real quick is that there is a difference in weight when it comes to sin yet there's no such thing as small sin in a Christian's life I don't mean venial and Mortal we're not Catholic but lesser and greater let's use Jesus's words Sin is Sin and it's judged the same okay there there's a very clear difference between eating shrimp and murder and if you don't see it I can't help you but you know what a nuclear bomb will kill you just as much as 70 milligrams of arsenic if I were to ask you what the most serious sin is of all what would it be you might say murder you might say adultery you might say idolatry you unbelief but it seems to me that it's reasonable to say that if the greatest

Commandment is to love God with all of our being then the greatest sin is to not keep that commandment and that terrifies me because I don't know what you thought about when I said what would it look like for you to keep that but when I was considering that I'm thinking I'm not doing that and let's just be frank I don't think that there's many of us that have done that very well in our lives I try to love God with all my heart and yet many times I get distracted I'm a finite creature try to love God with all my strength and I fail every day I try with all my mind and yet I'm I'm I'm so dumb sometimes I try it with all my soul and yet my soul lives here but yet I'm also Living For Eternity and so at best I'm divided but this command here's the beauty is that this command is not performative like we can't obey our way into God's presence we aren't going to be perfect by our love my wife I love my wife she's the best woman many of you know her many of you love her I love her more okay I remember one time first married of course you're learning all sorts of stuff when you get married let me tell you but she I got home from work and she had made a very simple dinner of chicken breasts and like some sides and things like that but I just remember the chicken and one of the things that she really she's terrified of is undercooking chicken and let me tell you she did not undercook that chicken I mean I mean that it would it tasted like shoe weather okay but do you think that I go this tastes like shoe leather no you know what I took that as a sign of her love for me she did her best we ate stuff that tasted like Sho

Leather that night my love for her was not based on the condition of how good the food was or wasn't we laughed about it we chewed through it and loving God it means genuine intention behind your effort rather than the Perfection of our actions we don't live by performance in the kingdom of God either in other words it's not based on what people see around us I mean if there's someone in your life let's say they don't tell lies you would call them honest right say it's an honest person someone honors their their father and mother we would say that they're a good and obedient person if someone is affectionate towards their spouse and they never cheat on them we would say that they're loyal and those things are good to be honest and loyal and obedient but those things do not save we're not saved by our keeping of the law but rather we are saved by coming to the one who kept the law and his name is Jesus and it's only Jesus Who Loved God with his whole person and if we're moving on and I have to I cut out like 30 minutes of this guys I'm really trying to move fast but Jesus's answer is secondly a genuine love for your neighbor look at what he says the second is this you shall love your neighbor as yourself there is no commandment greater than these Rabbi Hil who lived in 40 BC to 10 ad he was approached by a gentile who said I will convert to your God on the condition that you can teach me the whole law while I stand on one foot okay what he's basically saying is before I lose my balance if you can get through the entirety of the law then I'll become a follower of the one true God and so what did Rabbi Hil said he said it in a negative way he

Said what you yourself hate do not do to your neighbor this is the whole law the rest is commentary go and learn it Jesus he summarizes the True Heart of God pleasing Focus toward our neighbor is not negative commands but in positive loving attitude towards God and others this is why Paul he says it this way love does no wrong to a neighbor therefore love is the fulfilling of the law a lot of people they'll just take this part they'll say love is the fulfilling of the law and they'll just say I'm just a loving person well neglecting all the rest of it we can't do that it's a love for God and a love for others in that order according to our God the who of the law is summarized as a wholehearted response to our to our neighbor our people that are around us and he doesn't come up with this he recites it from Leviticus 19 he says you shall not take Vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people but you shall love your neighbor as yourself I am the Lord both of these teachings are old they're ancient rabbis had taught these things and yet Jesus is the first one to bring them together see Jesus he takes the first four laws of the Ten Commandments and that deal with honoring the Lord and He summarizes them and then the second six they deal with how to honor our neighbors and in our home we do the same thing we say guys the real simple love God love your neighbor that's it and if you find yourself in a moral quandry ask if it's loving to God and your neighbor the Brilliance is not only found in how short these things are to remember but also it shows that these loves are friends they're United

They're not divided a right love of God will lead to a right love for your neighbor and a true love for your neighbor flows from a right love of God look at what the Scriptures say in 1 John 4: 21 in this commandment we have from him whoever loves God must also love his brother going back to Romans owe no one anything except to love each other for the one who loves one another or for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law in Jesus he radicalizes this love he says love your neighbor as yourself love your neighbor as yourself and the point that Jesus is making is that we are to love our neighbors with Purity with sincerity out of a motivation of the love that we have for God but notice this notice the scribes response response what does the scrib say to him and the scribes said to him you are right teacher you're right you're absolutely correct you have truly said that he is one and there is no other beside him and to love him with all the heart with all the understanding with all the strength and to love one neighbors one's neighbor as oneself is much more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices and the Scribe he Praises Jesus he's thoughtfully recounting his words he agrees with him in the entirety of Jesus's answer there's no correction there's no argumentation there's just agreement and acceptance of Christ's words and even more than that the Scribe understands that love for God and neighbor is even greater than all of the civil and all of the ceremonial laws the writer of Hebrews he says it this way consequently when Christ came into the world he said sacrifices and offerings you have not desired but a body you have prepared for me and burn offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure and then I said behold I have come to do your will oh God as it is written of me in the

Scroll of the book when he said above you have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings these are offered according to the law then he added behold I have come to do your will he does away with the first in order to establish Lish the second talking about the New Covenant and by that will we have been Sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all and every priest stands daily at his service offering repeatedly the same sacrifices which can never take away sins but when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins he sat down at the right hand of God waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a foot stol for his feet got one more for by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being Sanctified you see the reason why Jesus's sacrifice was effective was because of his love and his obedience toward the father that's why he was able to go and make full atonement for the sins that we've committed that we've all committed for falling short of the GL glory of God and if we're making a big Point here it's that the greatest commandment it urges us to live from a place of love for God and others it reveals a genuine faith that expresses itself through relationship rather than adherence to a bunch of rules the last thing here look at Jesus's response what does he say and when Jesus saw that he answered wisely he said to them he said to him you are not far from the kingdom of God coming back full circle this verse that John Wesley looked at as he considered the state of his own soul the truth is that there are many who are not far from the kingdom of God and what a warning that is we're talking about in our community group this morning weren't we that we can we can look so right and miss out on

Heaven so close and yet still separated we can be so close to the kingdom of God and not enter it's like Israel standing on Jordan's Banks and they looked over into the promised land it was theirs they just had to obey God they had to follow God they had to have communion with God and trust him and what happened they wouldn't and God sent them into the Wilderness they leaned on their own understanding and they continued to walk and Rebellion Against The God Who had delivered them from Egypt we must walk by faith in Christ see you can grow up in church you can be blessed with consistent Godly Parents and never come to a saving knowledge of Christ and what a horror that would be to spend all of your life coming to church and to here on that last day depart from me I never knew you I love theology I love all the things that entail with it and it's possible to read all the dead white guys and not know God we can know the Scriptures in the Greek just as Char just as John Wesley did and we can know more than the preacher which isn't hard to do and you can still be lost and I would plead with you don't let that be you it is possible for you to hear the Gospel preached every single Sunday and still be resting in your own goodness and in your own works when it comes to Salvation God he doesn't care about your membership he doesn't care about your baptism or your good works or how much money you've given to the church he doesn't care about the kindness towards your neighbors or how regular you are in tending period but what matters is do you know Jesus Christ Christ do you have a personal relationship with them have you been

Born again to a living hope I mean it is so possible for you to be Gospel hardened and so seal your damnation even within the church walls it is so possible to fool everyone around you for everyone to think that you are a good Christian person it is so possible for me to come and preach your funeral and preach like you're in heaven while you are suffering in hell it's possible so don't be a fool it is possible to be within an inch of the kingdom of God to be within Arms Reach of Heaven just like this man and for Jesus to say you are close to the kingdom of God do not deceive yourself God he made you for his glory and therefore you should live for his glory because he's the Supreme object of our affections we should live for him by loving him supremely and others genuinely that's the passage and yet all of us have fallen short and we've lived like this for although they knew God they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him but they became feudal in their thinking and their foolish Hearts were darkened claiming to be wise they became fools and exchange the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things and as a result of this Rebellion we deserve an eternal punishment and separation from God in hell it says this they will suffer the punishment of Eternal destruction away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might and he says and these will go away into Eternal punishment but the righteous into eternal life but God did not want that for us and that's why he sent his son Jesus Christ into the world to prepare a way for us for God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life what does the Scripture say for Christ also suffered once for sins the righteous for

The unrighteous that he might bring us to God and so because of Jesus's payment for us eternal life is a free gift to you if you would trust in him as the Scriptures say because if you confess with your mouth Christ Jesus is Lord you believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved head heart hand head God he wants you to know that the greatest commandment is to love God with all your heart soul mind and strength okay this means that failing to love God fully is the greatest sin and none of us have kept that command perfectly but Christ did on our behalf and our hope is in him alone heart God he wants you to believe that our greatest need is not more effort to love God perfectly but to trust in Jesus to walk with him daily right he's the one that perfectly fulfilled the greatest commandment on our behalf and it's only by knowing Christ by having a relationship with him that you can TR truly love God and others as we're supposed to and hand God he wants you to rest in Christ's perfect love by daily seeking him in his word okay it's it's a marathon it's not a Sprint guys knowing the Lord it's a walk it's it's just walking with him every single day hand in hand seeking him in his word and prayer and asking him to grow your love for him and others through his spirit and so God we do thank you so much for this time we pray that you would help us to have great clarity in how we are to live and I pray for every person that's in here Lord I pray that none of us would be deceived into thinking that we're okay I pray that we would all know that we know that we know that we know that we're saved and if anyone's here and they don't know you Lord I pray that they would talk to a parent or someone that brought them or even myself after service and just say I

Need to talk to someone about this because I don't know Jesus and I want to I want to be saved Lord and I pray that would happen today and father as we respond and worship may you be glorified you are just so good and wonderful help us to love you more and more out of a greater and greater Purity God give us that father that's the Cry of our hearts that we would know you that we would love you better God until that final day when our faith becomes sight when our sin nature passes away Lord help us to continually lean upon the mercy and the grace that you offer to us in Christ we love you Lord in Jesus precious name amen let's all stand and let's respond to the Lord and worship together [Music] the dear plant for the My Soul Longs after [Music] you alone are my heart desire and I long to worship you alone Are My Strength my shield to you alone may my spirit he you alone are my heart desire and I long to worship you're my friend and you are my brother even though you are a king I love you more than other so much more than [Music] anything you alone Are My Strength my shield to you Al alone may my

Spir he you Al are my heart desire and I long to worship you if y'all don't mind having a seat real quick I want to introduce to y'all a family that just came through new members class this is Mike and Lesley mlen and they've given good testimony of knowing the Lord and loving the Lord and they're here at the lake now full-time and they said you know we want to find a good church to be a part of and this is where we want to land and so church if y'all would receive them into Fellowship as members of First Baptist Church by letter would you say amen all right any opposed that baby okay all right but yeah there's always one there's always one be sure to come up here and shake their hands and welcome them into the fellowship I'm so thankful for you guys I'm glad to be y'all's pastor and I look forward to ministering to you guys let's just take a moment and pray and thank the Lord for the time that we've had today Father we do love you we thank you for the grace and the mercy that's in Christ I pray for just our new members Mike and Lesley I just pray for your blessing on them and I pray that more and more each and every day that you would grow this church into the what you want it to be God Lord we don't we're not concerned about the numbers or anything like that we're concerned about whether or not we're pleasing to you but we thank you Lord for each and every single person that's here we know that's a gift from you we ask that you would bless us father that you would watch over us and help us Lord to rightly live out this passage in Jesus name amen