40 DAYS OF LOVE SERMON SERIES: LOVE MATTERS MOST
Preached at Naylor UMC on 8 February 2009
I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Mark 12
28. One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?"
29. "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: `Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.
30. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'
31. The second is this: `Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."
32. "Well said, teacher," the man replied. "You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him.
33. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."
-- let me ask you a question -- what is the most important thing in your life? -- when you think about your life, what is the one thing that you value -- that you cherish -- more than the rest?
-- a couple of weeks ago, we were all riveted by the story of Airways Flight 1459, the US Airways Airbus that crash landed in the Hudson River -- that day started out just like any other day for the pilot, Captain Sully Sullenberger, his crew and their passengers -- the plane was crowded with businessmen, anxious to get to their destination for a meeting -- it was crowded with families, headed to vacations and to see relatives -- it was crowded with students, headed home or headed back to school -- it was crowded with ordinary people headed to ordinary destinations -- for everyone on Flight 1459, it was just an ordinary day -- just another ordinary flight
-- what do you think they were they thinking as they boarded that plane? -- what was important to them at that moment? -- what was on their mind? -- getting to work? -- getting home? -- getting back to school? -- getting to their destination on time to catch their next flight?
-- now, as we all know, just moments after takeoff, the plane hit a flock of birds, causing both engines to fail and to lose power -- in that moment, priorities changed -- in that moment, what was important to those people in that plane changed
-- what if you had been sitting in that plane? -- what if you were sitting there and you heard Captain Sully come on the intercom and tell you that you were about to crash land into the Hudson River? -- what would have been going through your mind?
-- in those moments when you were facing possible death, what would occupy your thoughts? -- what would be important then? -- more than likely, it wouldn't be your office -- it wouldn't be your job or your morning meetings -- it wouldn't be school -- it wouldn't be homework -- and it certainly wouldn't be money or any of the possessions that seem so important right now
-- no, when you distill life down to its most basic element -- when you get down to what is truly important in life -- it isn't money or wealth -- it isn't possessions -- it isn't occupations or school or accomplishments -- no, when it comes down to it, the most important things in your life are the relationships you have and the love that binds those relationships together
-- in this passage from Mark, Jesus has been debating this very thing with the Sadducees -- and you can see from the text that they didn't understand it -- as one of the two main leading Jewish sects and the group of people who held the high priesthood and controlled the temple, what mattered most to the Sadducees was the issue of the resurrection -- nothing else they did mattered as much as that -- it consumed their thoughts -- it dictated their actions -- it directed their worship -- this is what defined them -- this is what was important to them -- ultimately, being right about this issue was all they cared about
-- it kind of reminds me of the way some Christians are so wrapped up about the issue of abortion -- now I am unabashedly pro-life -- I am firmly against abortion -- but I don't let it define me, like some others do -- to them, to be Christian is to be pro-life -- they define who they are -- and who others are -- by their stance on abortion -- they focus on this one issue to the detriment of everything else we are called to do and be as Christians -- abortion is important -- but it is not the most important thing that we are called to do by God
-- that is what is really going on in this conversation between Jesus and the Sadducees -- He is trying to get them to see that there are more important things in life than this one issue of the resurrection
-- as He is trying to get this point across to them, Mark tells us that a teacher of the law -- a Pharisee -- comes up and hears their debate and sees what Jesus is trying to do -- so he asks Jesus this probing question to push the conversation on
-- look back at verse 28
28. One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?"
-- "What is the most important commandment? -- What is the most important thing that we should be concerned with? -- It it's not the resurrection, then what?"
-- verse 29
29. "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: `Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.
30. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'
31. The second is this: `Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."
-- right there, Jesus answered the question of importance once and for all -- "the most important commandment," He said, "is love -- the most important thing in life...is love -- the most important thing that you can concern yourself with are the relationships built on the love of the Father and the love of those around you"
-- this morning we are going to begin a new sermon series called, "40 Days of Love" -- it's a new series by Rick Warren, the pastor of Saddleback Church in California and the author of "The Purpose Driven Life" based primarily on 1 Corinthians 13
-- a few months ago we took a cursory look at this chapter, but in this study, we're going to go deep into what is called by most, "The Love Chapter" -- we're going to look at what the Bible says about love and remind ourselves about the truth that the Beatles used to tell us -- "All we need is love"
-- with Valentine's Day coming up this next Saturday, I thought this would be a good study to remind ourselves of what is truly important in life and to prepare ourselves for the celebration of the ultimate gift of love, Christ's death on the cross at Calvary
-- so, if you would, please turn over to 1 Corinthians 13 and we'll begin our 40 days of Love by looking at the three reasons God gives us in His word concerning why love needs to be our number one priority in life -- why love matters most
-- you already know the first reason -- we've already talked about it this morning as we looked at Jesus' response to what the most important commandment was
-- the first reason why love needs to be our number one priority is because love is the supreme value in life
-- as Jesus said in the passage in Mark that we call "The Great Commandment," -- "Love is the most important thing -- it is all we need -- love matters most" -- the lesson here is obvious -- if we live lives focused on love -- if we make it our number one goal to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength and to love our neighbor as ourselves, then we will truly live lives that matter
-- when Jesus came to earth, He came for a specific purpose -- reconciliation between God and men -- now this doesn't only mean re-establishing the relationship between us and God -- it means restoring the relationship between us and those around us -- that's why the cross has two aspects -- there's the vertical aspect, by which Jesus paid the way for us to be in a relationship with God again by dying on the cross for our sins -- that's what is covered by the command to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength" -- but there's also a horizontal aspect, by which Jesus made it possible for us to be in true loving relationships with everyone around us -- that's what is covered by the command to "Love your neighbor as yourself"
-- you know, Jesus didn't just tell us that one time -- this command is repeated in the Bible nine times -- "Love your neighbor as yourself" -- now, if God says something nine times, don't you think we need to pay attention to it?
-- one more point on this -- do you remember what He said would define us as a church -- as His people? -- I asked this at bible study the other night at Wright's Chapel -- one person said, "evangelism" -- another said, "Worship" -- but the answer is, "Love" -- Jesus said, "they will know you by your love" -- love is the one defining characteristic of the church -- love of God and love of our neighbors -- love is what matters most in our lives -- it is the supreme value of life
-- the second reason why love needs to be our number one priority is because love is the primary objective of life -- look now at 1 Corinthians 13
1. If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.
2. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
3. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
-- do you see what Paul is saying there to the church of Corinth about the primacy of love? -- He's saying...
-- If I don't live a life of love...nothing I say will matter -- even if I speak in the tongues of men and of angels --without love, words are worthless
-- If I don't live a life of love... nothing I know will matter -- even if I have the gift of prophecy -- even if I can fathom all mysteries and have all knowledge -- without love, brilliance equals zero
-- If I don't live a life of love...nothing I believe will matter -- I can have the deepest faith -- I can know all the right words and I can know the Bible backwards and forwards -- I can have a faith that can move mountains -- but without love, faith doesn't matter
-- If I don't live a life of love... nothing I give will matter -- if I give everything I have to the poor -- if I even offer up my body to the flames -- that doesn't mean I am necessarily loving my neighbor as myself
-- If I don't live a life of love...nothing I accomplish will matter -- relationships are more important than accomplishments -- it's more important to love someone -- to show them the love of Christ -- than anything else in the world -- you can have the biggest church -- you can have people standing up for services on Sunday mornings -- but if you don't have love, you've not accomplished anything
-- the third reason why love needs to be our number one priority is because love is the greatest power in life -- love is the only power in the universe that can change hearts and transform lives
-- about a month ago, Matthew Paris, a well-known atheist in England, grew up in the small African country of Malawi -- he recently went back for a visit and was appalled at the conditions there -- as he went about the countryside, he noted the one thing that was missing -- the presence of Christian missionaries
-- as a boy, he had seen how the missionaries truly loved the people in that country -- how they had helped them with the tangible necessities of life -- and how the word of God and the love of God changed their hearts and transformed lives right there in the villages of that African country
-- in a recent column in the London Times, he wrote, "As an atheist, I truly believe Africa needs God -- missionaries, not aid money, are the solution to Africa's biggest problem"
-- even Matthew Paris -- even an atheist -- can see that love is the greatest power in the universe and that the love of God given out through His people is the only way that a people and a country and a continent can be changed and transformed for the better
-- we know this because we have experienced the grace of God in our lives and we know, as the Apostle John told us in 1 John 4:8, that "God is love" and so love is the greatest power in life
-- in my life at church -- especially in my time as a pastor -- I have come to recognize that I'm not going to get anything lasting out of it unless I intentionally leave here with the decision to act on what I've heard -- whether it was something that stirred me in a song or something God spoke to me in His word or whether it was something that inspired me in the sermon -- if I don't intentionally grab hold of it and try to apply it, I find I lose it before I get home
-- Casting Crowns points that out in their song, "The Altar and the Door" -- a lot of times, if we're not careful -- we lose what we gained at church between the altar and the door
-- that's why I always take notes when I listen to a sermon -- so, I can go back and read over them later in the week and keep them fresh in my mind -- that's why I gave you a piece of paper to take notes on this morning
-- we're not here for entertainment -- we're not here just to enjoy spending an hour together in worship -- we're here to have our lives changed through the power and love of the Holy Spirit working in us
-- so, just like we did with the Fireproof Sermon Series, I'm going to assign you homework each week when you leave -- something that I hope keeps you engaged with God's word this week and \that you can actively apply in your life
-- on the bottom of the piece of paper I gave you, I want you to write down your task for this week -- what we're trying to answer this week is, "How do we go from talking about love to living a life of love?"
-- one way we're going to try to do that is by picking one person each week during this sermon series -- it can be the same person-- it can be a different person each week -- doesn't matter -- but I want everyone to pick one person -- it can be a family member -- someone in the church -- a person who needs the Lord -- your neighbor -- a person on the fringes of your life or church -- just whoever the Lord puts on your heart
-- when you've got your person selected, I want you to do two things:
-- first, commit to praying for that person this week -- use the idea of 1-1-1 to remind you to pray for 1 person for at least 1 minute at 1:00 pm each day
-- secondly, make a connection with them this week to deepen your relationship -- the way you connect to them is up to you, but here's a few ideas to get you started
-- take them out for coffee
-- send them a note, a card, or an e-mail and just let them know you're thinking of them -- since this is Valentine's week, maybe send them a Valentine's Day Card
-- give them a call to see how they're doing
-- ask how you can pray for them
-- invite them to come to church or invite them to join you for a meal
-- the point is for you to start actively living out God's idea of love in a tangible way with someone in your life -- to the person that He has called you to reach out to
-- so, as we close in prayer, take a moment and ask God to show you who He wants you to reach out to -- if anyone needs a special moment with God, remember that the altar is always open and you are invited to come up as the last hymn is played
-- let us pray
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