1 00:00:01,160 --> 00:00:05,080 We are one church. We love God, love people, love 2 00:00:05,080 --> 00:00:07,000 His mission, and love His church. 3 00:00:07,520 --> 00:00:09,560 Welcome to the One Church podcast. 4 00:00:16,120 --> 00:00:19,440 Today we're carrying on our teaching series looking at the 5 00:00:19,440 --> 00:00:22,720 Greatest Commandment. So just to recap what we've 6 00:00:22,720 --> 00:00:25,840 looked at so far, we have looked at loving God with all your 7 00:00:25,840 --> 00:00:30,240 heart so that we can only love God because we are first loved 8 00:00:30,240 --> 00:00:32,840 by God. That love doesn't originate in 9 00:00:32,840 --> 00:00:37,160 us, but love originates in Him, and we can love because He loved 10 00:00:37,160 --> 00:00:39,640 us. Loving God with all your soul. 11 00:00:39,720 --> 00:00:43,200 We looked at some principles that keep our souls strong. 12 00:00:43,400 --> 00:00:48,240 His word, the Sabbath, fasting, praying in the Spirit, good 13 00:00:48,240 --> 00:00:50,520 things like that. And then last week we looked at 14 00:00:50,520 --> 00:00:54,960 loving God with all our mind, setting our minds on things 15 00:00:54,960 --> 00:00:59,360 above, renewing our minds, putting to death the things that 16 00:00:59,360 --> 00:01:03,200 lead to death, and putting on the Spirit that leads to life 17 00:01:03,200 --> 00:01:05,600 and peace. And today we're looking at 18 00:01:05,600 --> 00:01:07,680 loving God with all our strength. 19 00:01:08,360 --> 00:01:11,600 Now today maybe you look at me and physical strength maybe 20 00:01:11,600 --> 00:01:14,400 wouldn't be the first thing that you thought of as you look at me 21 00:01:14,400 --> 00:01:17,320 standing here. Well, I'll have you know that I 22 00:01:17,320 --> 00:01:20,880 have become a gym girl. I've been going to the gym since 23 00:01:20,880 --> 00:01:24,600 winning a competition for a three months membership and just 24 00:01:24,600 --> 00:01:27,480 to say I have never won anything in my life. 25 00:01:27,480 --> 00:01:30,240 And the first time I win something it turned out to be a 26 00:01:30,240 --> 00:01:33,200 membership for regular torture. So I think that was brilliant. 27 00:01:33,760 --> 00:01:36,800 But my strength has increased little by little through 28 00:01:36,800 --> 00:01:39,560 exercise and pushing myself a little bit at a time. 29 00:01:40,200 --> 00:01:42,800 And then the day came to put my strength to the test. 30 00:01:43,320 --> 00:01:46,320 I had a message from one of my friends who no longer lives in 31 00:01:46,320 --> 00:01:49,280 Leicester, and she needed a suitcase picking up from her 32 00:01:49,280 --> 00:01:52,000 aunt's house. Her aunt was moving out and it 33 00:01:52,000 --> 00:01:55,200 needed to go before she could get back to Leicester to get it. 34 00:01:55,200 --> 00:01:57,640 So I said, yeah, that's fine, I'll head over. 35 00:01:58,120 --> 00:02:01,000 So I arrived, say hello to Auntie, and she takes me 36 00:02:01,000 --> 00:02:05,000 upstairs to the suitcase. Now suitcase on wheels, no big 37 00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:07,600 deal, right? So I pull it and it doesn't 38 00:02:07,600 --> 00:02:09,280 move. So I think, oh, the wheels must 39 00:02:09,280 --> 00:02:11,560 be broken. The wheels are not broken. 40 00:02:11,560 --> 00:02:15,160 This is the heaviest suitcase I have ever known in my life, Josh 41 00:02:15,160 --> 00:02:16,640 can vouch. He had to move it the second 42 00:02:16,640 --> 00:02:18,640 time. But I put a little bit more 43 00:02:18,640 --> 00:02:21,360 effort in and I managed to drag it down the corridor. 44 00:02:22,200 --> 00:02:24,920 But then the reality hit me. I was upstairs. 45 00:02:25,280 --> 00:02:28,760 I was going to have to get this suitcase down the Victorian 46 00:02:28,760 --> 00:02:32,640 Terrace House stairs now, I said to the auntie. 47 00:02:32,640 --> 00:02:34,680 I said I don't know how I'm going to get this down the 48 00:02:34,680 --> 00:02:36,840 stairs. It's so heavy, she said, I've 49 00:02:36,840 --> 00:02:39,440 got a good idea. What if you go down before it 50 00:02:39,440 --> 00:02:42,360 and let gravity help it? I thought, yeah, that's a great 51 00:02:42,360 --> 00:02:45,800 idea until I'm squashed at the bottom of the stairs for years 52 00:02:45,800 --> 00:02:48,080 to come under this very heavy suitcase. 53 00:02:48,280 --> 00:02:50,720 But I did it and I let it come down and it was very slow and 54 00:02:50,720 --> 00:02:53,000 steady, but I let it happen and it was good. 55 00:02:53,480 --> 00:02:55,640 I said goodbye and I wheeled it out to the car. 56 00:02:56,000 --> 00:02:58,680 Second reality hits me. I've got to get it in the boot 57 00:02:59,240 --> 00:03:04,880 on my own alone, but I'm a gym girl now and so I'm strong and 58 00:03:04,880 --> 00:03:08,920 so I muster every muscle in my body and I use all of my limbs, 59 00:03:09,040 --> 00:03:12,720 limbs I didn't realise I had, and I hoist it into the car with 60 00:03:12,720 --> 00:03:15,920 everything that I've got, never to be moved again by me. 61 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:19,760 Hallelujah that Josh And then my friend's boyfriend was able to 62 00:03:19,760 --> 00:03:21,680 move it and get it to where it needed to be. 63 00:03:21,680 --> 00:03:23,920 But the gym membership was worth it, everybody. 64 00:03:25,320 --> 00:03:30,440 Our key passage is Mark 1228 to 31, and this is what it says. 65 00:03:31,160 --> 00:03:34,280 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. 66 00:03:34,760 --> 00:03:37,920 Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him 67 00:03:38,320 --> 00:03:41,560 of all the commandments, which is the most important? 68 00:03:42,240 --> 00:03:45,520 The most important one, Jesus answered, is this. 69 00:03:45,840 --> 00:03:49,960 Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is 1 Love the Lord 70 00:03:49,960 --> 00:03:53,320 your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with 71 00:03:53,320 --> 00:03:55,360 all your mind, and with all your strength. 72 00:03:55,680 --> 00:03:59,080 And the second is this love your neighbour as yourself. 73 00:03:59,520 --> 00:04:02,480 There is no commandment greater than these. 74 00:04:03,680 --> 00:04:07,320 Now, for context, this passage was referencing a passage in 75 00:04:07,320 --> 00:04:09,120 Deuteronomy in the Old Testament. 76 00:04:09,360 --> 00:04:11,600 It was called the Shema. It was a prayer that Jewish 77 00:04:11,600 --> 00:04:15,320 people prayed every day, every morning and every night. 78 00:04:15,320 --> 00:04:18,160 And it's so it would have been very familiar to people. 79 00:04:18,720 --> 00:04:22,640 Jesus was bringing together hundreds of Old Testament laws 80 00:04:22,640 --> 00:04:25,880 and commands and he was collating them into just two 81 00:04:25,880 --> 00:04:30,360 instructions in simple to love God, which is what we've talked 82 00:04:30,360 --> 00:04:34,320 about the last three weeks and today, and to love people, which 83 00:04:34,320 --> 00:04:36,240 is what we'll talk about next week. 84 00:04:36,240 --> 00:04:39,360 That is a huge part of our church's vision to love God and 85 00:04:39,360 --> 00:04:42,480 to love people. And this is something that is at 86 00:04:42,480 --> 00:04:46,640 the heart of Jesus for us today. Now quite clearly Jesus isn't 87 00:04:46,640 --> 00:04:48,400 saying love God with all your strengths. 88 00:04:48,400 --> 00:04:51,800 So go on get a gym membership. Although physical training is 89 00:04:51,800 --> 00:04:54,360 good as it says in one Timothy, but what is he saying? 90 00:04:55,120 --> 00:04:59,000 The word strength in the Hebrew is the word met owed. 91 00:04:59,360 --> 00:05:03,480 Now met owed was more commonly translated as very. 92 00:05:03,840 --> 00:05:07,640 So it's a an adverb, a word that describes the word that follows 93 00:05:07,640 --> 00:05:09,800 it. So it would say when God made 94 00:05:09,800 --> 00:05:12,680 humanity, it was met owed good. It was very good. 95 00:05:13,120 --> 00:05:16,000 The flood were waters were met owed powerful. 96 00:05:16,200 --> 00:05:18,440 In the story of Noah, it was very powerful. 97 00:05:19,080 --> 00:05:24,400 So why does a word that means very or much get translated to 98 00:05:24,680 --> 00:05:28,720 strength? Well, if me ode is a word that 99 00:05:28,720 --> 00:05:33,280 intensifies something's meaning to its full capacity, then the 100 00:05:33,280 --> 00:05:37,000 thing that we use to love God isn't actually a thing at all. 101 00:05:37,440 --> 00:05:40,800 It's everything. So what it means is that we're 102 00:05:40,800 --> 00:05:45,800 devoting every possibility and opportunity that we have to God. 103 00:05:46,640 --> 00:05:49,840 Some often interpreted me owed to mean power or strength. 104 00:05:49,920 --> 00:05:53,160 Others would interpret it to mean wealth, meaning that we 105 00:05:53,160 --> 00:05:56,320 have opportunities to love God by giving our resources to show 106 00:05:56,320 --> 00:05:59,320 him that we love him. But the word me owed is not 107 00:05:59,320 --> 00:06:02,400 supposed to limit the ways that we are to love God. 108 00:06:02,800 --> 00:06:06,160 In fact, it's the opposite. It's to say that everything in a 109 00:06:06,160 --> 00:06:09,360 person's life, every moment, every opportunity, every 110 00:06:09,360 --> 00:06:13,360 ability, all of our capacity, offers a chance to love and 111 00:06:13,360 --> 00:06:17,320 honour the one that made you, to love God with all your muchness, 112 00:06:17,600 --> 00:06:20,920 so to speak. So if our strength is basically 113 00:06:20,960 --> 00:06:24,520 everything that we do, then loving God with all our strength 114 00:06:24,680 --> 00:06:27,480 is every practical thing that we do. 115 00:06:27,520 --> 00:06:30,640 It's saying that our love for God is a love that acts on a 116 00:06:30,640 --> 00:06:35,320 feeling or acts upon our words. I tell my children every day 117 00:06:35,320 --> 00:06:38,960 that I love them, but unless I show them by helping them with 118 00:06:38,960 --> 00:06:41,360 things that they can't do, by playing with them, by taking 119 00:06:41,360 --> 00:06:44,400 them to clubs, by meeting their needs, and even more than just 120 00:06:44,400 --> 00:06:47,480 meeting their needs, then my love for them is just words. 121 00:06:47,960 --> 00:06:52,480 Love is meant to be action. I'm so grateful to God for our 122 00:06:52,480 --> 00:06:54,720 three children. They are amazing. 123 00:06:54,920 --> 00:06:58,200 And there are some moments where it's a little bit overwhelming 124 00:06:58,520 --> 00:07:01,680 and very loud. Now, I share this story in the 125 00:07:01,680 --> 00:07:04,560 hopes it reminds you of my humanity, that I am just a 126 00:07:04,560 --> 00:07:06,800 human. But we were driving home from 127 00:07:06,800 --> 00:07:08,760 school this week. Josh was away for a couple of 128 00:07:08,760 --> 00:07:12,880 days, and one of the kids had got very upset, was crying very 129 00:07:12,880 --> 00:07:15,960 loudly for something that you and I wouldn't see as a big 130 00:07:15,960 --> 00:07:19,200 deal, but obviously to him was a big deal in that moment. 131 00:07:19,200 --> 00:07:23,480 And the volume in the car in that moment was something that 132 00:07:23,560 --> 00:07:25,880 even now remembering it makes my skin crawl. 133 00:07:27,040 --> 00:07:30,520 And in that moment, I just exploded at the kids. 134 00:07:30,520 --> 00:07:33,000 And I shouted. I hate shouting at the kids. 135 00:07:33,400 --> 00:07:36,240 And two things after I had shouted in that silence fills 136 00:07:36,240 --> 00:07:39,520 the car because everyone's like, oh, dear, we did something bad. 137 00:07:40,160 --> 00:07:42,040 Two things came out of one of the boy's mouth. 138 00:07:42,120 --> 00:07:45,240 The first was this. Mama, I'm sorry. 139 00:07:45,240 --> 00:07:47,400 It sounds like you're feeling a bit angry. 140 00:07:49,840 --> 00:07:53,240 Thanks for that. And then secondly, this really 141 00:07:53,240 --> 00:07:55,560 moved my heart. We got in and I'd hugged the 142 00:07:55,800 --> 00:07:59,360 child that I'd shouted at. And then the other child said, 143 00:07:59,920 --> 00:08:01,840 Mama, would you like me to make you a cup of tea? 144 00:08:01,840 --> 00:08:07,160 And I said, yes, I would like that, thank you very much. 145 00:08:07,560 --> 00:08:09,400 And he successfully did it. I did help with the water. 146 00:08:09,400 --> 00:08:12,680 But you know, even at such a young age though, his love for 147 00:08:12,680 --> 00:08:15,520 me is more than his words is actions. 148 00:08:15,520 --> 00:08:17,640 To do something that he knows I will value. 149 00:08:17,640 --> 00:08:19,920 Not because I deserve it, because to be honest with you, 150 00:08:19,920 --> 00:08:23,000 in that moment, I didn't really deserve it, but because I'm 151 00:08:23,000 --> 00:08:26,480 loved now. Our love for God must be shown 152 00:08:26,480 --> 00:08:29,200 through our actions. For me, when someone takes an 153 00:08:29,200 --> 00:08:32,120 interest in something that I'm passionate about, then it shows 154 00:08:32,120 --> 00:08:35,480 me that they love me. For example, as when I was a 155 00:08:35,480 --> 00:08:37,159 teenager, I remember driving with a friend. 156 00:08:37,159 --> 00:08:38,679 She'd asked what I'd been up to for the weekend. 157 00:08:38,679 --> 00:08:42,200 We'd run a an event in youth and that was an invite night. 158 00:08:42,200 --> 00:08:45,920 I'd been singing. I invited none of my friends and 159 00:08:45,920 --> 00:08:48,040 she said, why didn't you tell me? 160 00:08:48,280 --> 00:08:49,720 Why didn't you invite me to come? 161 00:08:49,720 --> 00:08:51,680 I said, oh, I, you know, I didn't really think that it 162 00:08:52,040 --> 00:08:53,600 would be your thing. I didn't think you'd want to 163 00:08:53,600 --> 00:08:55,360 come. And she said this phrase which 164 00:08:55,360 --> 00:08:57,400 should stick with me forever. She said of course I want to 165 00:08:57,400 --> 00:08:59,080 come. If it matters to you, it matters 166 00:08:59,080 --> 00:09:01,480 to me. Now let that be an encouragement 167 00:09:01,480 --> 00:09:04,240 for you, firstly for the 14th, that if something matters to 168 00:09:04,240 --> 00:09:06,240 you, then it matters to the people in your life. 169 00:09:06,400 --> 00:09:08,680 So you can invite somebody to come and let's believe that 170 00:09:08,680 --> 00:09:10,000 they're going to take an interest. 171 00:09:10,600 --> 00:09:13,000 But also let's consider what is on God's heart. 172 00:09:13,920 --> 00:09:16,720 What's something that God is passionate about that we should 173 00:09:16,720 --> 00:09:20,720 take an interest on His behalf? God has a passion for justice. 174 00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:24,600 He has a desire to show grace. He has a heart of compassion. 175 00:09:24,880 --> 00:09:28,600 He loves the unlovely. He longs for people to find 176 00:09:28,600 --> 00:09:31,760 freedom and healing. He longs for the gospel to be 177 00:09:31,760 --> 00:09:33,680 shared with people that have not yet heard it. 178 00:09:34,200 --> 00:09:37,240 How can we take an interest in the things that are at the heart 179 00:09:37,240 --> 00:09:40,640 of God and act upon it to show Him that we love Him? 180 00:09:41,960 --> 00:09:44,560 Let's look at Amos. Amos is one of the prophets in 181 00:09:44,560 --> 00:09:48,000 the Old Testament and he's known as someone that used his voice 182 00:09:48,000 --> 00:09:50,120 to speak out in moments of injustice. 183 00:09:50,880 --> 00:09:54,880 God showed Amos that he loves righteousness and justice. 184 00:09:54,880 --> 00:09:59,320 And so Amos was also to love righteousness and justice and he 185 00:09:59,320 --> 00:10:02,360 was to do whatever was in his power to bring those things to 186 00:10:02,360 --> 00:10:05,680 earth. Amos 524 says, But let justice 187 00:10:05,680 --> 00:10:08,760 roll on like a river, righteousness like a never 188 00:10:08,760 --> 00:10:11,800 failing stream. Now the king of his day was a 189 00:10:11,800 --> 00:10:15,840 man who was not a man of God. He had no concern for justice or 190 00:10:15,840 --> 00:10:19,160 integrity. He allowed the wealthy to ignore 191 00:10:19,160 --> 00:10:22,760 the poor, He allowed the poor to be sold into slavery to pay 192 00:10:22,760 --> 00:10:26,520 their debts and he denied them of any legal representation. 193 00:10:27,080 --> 00:10:30,920 Now the Bible is very clear, the poor, the marginalised and the 194 00:10:30,920 --> 00:10:33,040 outcast are very important to God. 195 00:10:34,360 --> 00:10:37,360 Now Amos was adamant that this had to be dealt with because he 196 00:10:37,360 --> 00:10:39,480 had God's heart and he was passionate about things that 197 00:10:39,480 --> 00:10:42,160 were on God's heart. And so he took his complaint to 198 00:10:42,160 --> 00:10:45,400 God and then he prophesied to the people of Israel what would 199 00:10:45,400 --> 00:10:48,120 happen to the king and what would happen to the people if 200 00:10:48,120 --> 00:10:51,800 they continued in this way. He called out their sin, He 201 00:10:51,960 --> 00:10:56,480 called out their hypocrisy, He called out their sham worship. 202 00:10:56,840 --> 00:11:00,480 Their worship was totally disconnected from how they were 203 00:11:00,480 --> 00:11:03,560 treating people. How many of you know that if 204 00:11:03,600 --> 00:11:08,680 worship is the adoration of God, we can't adore God and mistreat 205 00:11:08,680 --> 00:11:12,800 His people? Amos love for God turned to 206 00:11:12,800 --> 00:11:16,680 action so that God's people were called back to a life that 207 00:11:16,680 --> 00:11:19,440 honoured justice and righteousness that God had 208 00:11:19,440 --> 00:11:22,000 called them to. If you want to know a bit more 209 00:11:22,000 --> 00:11:24,760 about this, the Bible Project which is a great resource on 210 00:11:24,760 --> 00:11:28,840 YouTube, it has a fantastic 7 minute video on the book of Amos 211 00:11:28,840 --> 00:11:30,680 that will further explain things a bit for you. 212 00:11:30,680 --> 00:11:34,240 But in short, Amos was a man whose love for God and the 213 00:11:34,240 --> 00:11:36,560 things on God's heart turned him to action. 214 00:11:37,680 --> 00:11:40,480 What about practically for us? What are some ways that we can 215 00:11:40,480 --> 00:11:45,200 love God with all our strength? The entirety of who we are? 216 00:11:45,360 --> 00:11:49,240 If you're Matt odd is the strength, the full passion of 217 00:11:49,240 --> 00:11:51,320 your heart, your gifts, your talent, your power, your 218 00:11:51,320 --> 00:11:54,680 influence. What are you doing to show God 219 00:11:54,880 --> 00:11:58,680 that you love him beyond telling him and beyond simply feeling 220 00:11:58,680 --> 00:12:01,280 him? Well, what about your power? 221 00:12:01,560 --> 00:12:05,240 The word dunamis is where we get the English word dynamite. 222 00:12:05,240 --> 00:12:08,680 What about your dynamism or the energy that we have? 223 00:12:09,360 --> 00:12:12,280 Mental capacity, our physical capacity? 224 00:12:12,520 --> 00:12:16,320 What about our influence? So if injustice breaks God's 225 00:12:16,320 --> 00:12:18,520 heart, then it's got to break our hearts too. 226 00:12:18,800 --> 00:12:23,160 And we must be moved to bring influence and to bring justice 227 00:12:23,160 --> 00:12:26,640 in our spheres. Maybe your circle of influence 228 00:12:26,640 --> 00:12:30,400 feels small, or maybe your influence reaches to hundreds of 229 00:12:30,400 --> 00:12:32,880 people, whether it's the ones and twos in your immediate 230 00:12:32,880 --> 00:12:35,360 family or it's hundreds of people through your job every 231 00:12:35,360 --> 00:12:37,920 day. Your influence is important that 232 00:12:37,920 --> 00:12:39,560 we use it to show God we love Him. 233 00:12:40,320 --> 00:12:42,720 What about our wealth, our treasure? 234 00:12:42,800 --> 00:12:45,880 If God has blessed you with a resource, whether that's big or 235 00:12:45,880 --> 00:12:49,680 small, which He has for all of us, then how are we using our 236 00:12:49,680 --> 00:12:53,440 wealth or our resources to give away to those in need? 237 00:12:53,760 --> 00:12:56,640 To give to God through the body of Christ and to through the 238 00:12:56,640 --> 00:12:59,800 church to give to people that He places on your heart. 239 00:13:00,320 --> 00:13:03,000 The Bible says that where your treasure is, there your heart 240 00:13:03,000 --> 00:13:06,160 will also be. You know, if you value something 241 00:13:06,160 --> 00:13:10,520 that you'll pay for it. My gym membership, I value it so 242 00:13:10,520 --> 00:13:12,720 I pay for it. If you love watching football, 243 00:13:12,920 --> 00:13:15,480 you might pay for a season ticket. 244 00:13:15,480 --> 00:13:18,560 Even if it's going bad, you still go because you value it 245 00:13:18,560 --> 00:13:22,040 and you've paid for it and you leave at half time like a lot of 246 00:13:22,040 --> 00:13:26,560 people did yesterday. You know, the love of money is 247 00:13:26,560 --> 00:13:29,880 the root of all evil. Money is not evil, but the love 248 00:13:29,880 --> 00:13:32,280 of it is. So we need to learn to love the 249 00:13:32,280 --> 00:13:36,280 one that gives more than the gift He gives. 250 00:13:37,040 --> 00:13:39,960 What about our opportunities? You know, God gives us 251 00:13:39,960 --> 00:13:42,800 opportunities every day to show Him that we love Him through 252 00:13:42,800 --> 00:13:46,080 obedience. If you love me, you'll obey my 253 00:13:46,080 --> 00:13:49,320 commands. We show God that we love Him by 254 00:13:49,320 --> 00:13:51,440 having the courage to share Him with others. 255 00:13:52,720 --> 00:13:56,280 This week we celebrated courage in our eldest son Levi, who took 256 00:13:56,600 --> 00:14:01,160 30 invitations to school for RISE, which is our monthly kids 257 00:14:01,160 --> 00:14:02,760 group for Key Stage One children. 258 00:14:03,040 --> 00:14:06,120 And he invited as many kids as he could get the Flyers into 259 00:14:06,120 --> 00:14:09,840 their hands of after school. And on Tuesday night two kids 260 00:14:09,880 --> 00:14:13,840 from his class came and was so excited to be in church and 261 00:14:13,840 --> 00:14:16,680 absolutely loved it. He prays everyday as he walks 262 00:14:16,680 --> 00:14:18,680 into school and prays many different things. 263 00:14:18,680 --> 00:14:21,800 But one thing he prays I think everyday is that God would give 264 00:14:21,800 --> 00:14:24,640 him courage. And when the opportunity 265 00:14:24,640 --> 00:14:28,000 presented itself, he was obedient and he was courageous. 266 00:14:28,680 --> 00:14:30,480 What opportunities are in front of you? 267 00:14:31,920 --> 00:14:33,800 How about being people of great faith? 268 00:14:34,440 --> 00:14:37,640 When somebody tells me something that I could offer to pray for 269 00:14:37,640 --> 00:14:41,440 them about, should I pray there and then I think I should. 270 00:14:41,440 --> 00:14:46,120 Would I see more people healed if I prayed right there in the 271 00:14:46,120 --> 00:14:48,920 moment when they told me they were unwell or injured? 272 00:14:49,360 --> 00:14:53,760 I'm sure I would. When opportunities arise to 273 00:14:53,760 --> 00:14:57,200 share Jesus, let's be people of great faith and show him that we 274 00:14:57,200 --> 00:15:02,160 love him by obeying His voice. Would everything I do show my 275 00:15:02,160 --> 00:15:05,840 love for you? And then what about Jesus? 276 00:15:07,840 --> 00:15:12,120 If we look at a life that epitomised the word strength and 277 00:15:12,120 --> 00:15:14,880 met owed, it's got to be Jesus, right? 278 00:15:16,280 --> 00:15:20,320 If we think about the life that he lived, loving the unlovely, 279 00:15:20,880 --> 00:15:24,280 think about how he reached out and he touched lepers, people 280 00:15:24,280 --> 00:15:28,000 that were completely outcast from society, people that nobody 281 00:15:28,000 --> 00:15:31,400 wanted to be near or talk to, let alone touch. 282 00:15:32,680 --> 00:15:37,120 How he spoke out against injustice, the religious leaders 283 00:15:37,120 --> 00:15:40,280 when they failed to show mercy and love towards people in 284 00:15:40,280 --> 00:15:43,920 preference for just keeping rules, Jesus spoke out against 285 00:15:43,920 --> 00:15:46,560 that. He challenged religious 286 00:15:46,560 --> 00:15:48,720 hypocrisy. If you think about when he 287 00:15:48,720 --> 00:15:52,160 flipped the tables in the temple because people were selling, 288 00:15:52,160 --> 00:15:54,960 buying and selling in the temple rather than using it for a House 289 00:15:54,960 --> 00:15:59,160 of prayer. But he loved everyone he came 290 00:15:59,160 --> 00:16:03,120 into contact with. He loved them by meeting their 291 00:16:03,120 --> 00:16:08,240 needs, by challenging them in love, by healing them, by crying 292 00:16:08,240 --> 00:16:11,960 with them, by eating with them, welcoming them, comforting them. 293 00:16:12,960 --> 00:16:16,000 Jesus's love could never have just been contained into a 294 00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:20,240 feeling or to words. Think of the Garden of 295 00:16:20,240 --> 00:16:27,600 Gethsemane before he was seized and unfairly arrested, tried and 296 00:16:27,600 --> 00:16:30,880 sentenced to death. It says that he cried out to the 297 00:16:30,880 --> 00:16:36,000 Father in agony in Matthew 26. My father, if it is possible, 298 00:16:36,440 --> 00:16:39,240 may this cup be taken from me yet? 299 00:16:39,240 --> 00:16:43,320 Not as I will, but as you will. The strength it took to 300 00:16:43,320 --> 00:16:47,000 acknowledge the pain that lay ahead of him, but the strength 301 00:16:47,000 --> 00:16:50,360 to accept the will of the Father, whatever it looked like. 302 00:16:51,840 --> 00:16:55,720 And then think of the strength it took to carry the cross in 303 00:16:55,720 --> 00:16:59,720 its physical weight, but even heavier than that, the weight of 304 00:16:59,720 --> 00:17:05,720 humanity's faults, humanity's sin and all wrongdoing on his 305 00:17:05,720 --> 00:17:08,760 shoulders. To die in our place, to pay a 306 00:17:08,760 --> 00:17:13,040 price for our sin. Because Jesus loved the Father, 307 00:17:13,240 --> 00:17:17,920 he wanted to obey the Father. And because he loves you and me, 308 00:17:18,200 --> 00:17:22,400 He put love into action in the most iconic event in all 309 00:17:22,400 --> 00:17:25,640 history, when he died for you and He died for me. 310 00:17:27,680 --> 00:17:31,520 But maybe you need to come to know this love that laid down 311 00:17:31,520 --> 00:17:34,600 his life for you. I want to say that a 312 00:17:34,600 --> 00:17:38,640 relationship with Jesus can transform every aspect of your 313 00:17:38,640 --> 00:17:43,120 life, some in simple ways, some in a dramatic way. 314 00:17:43,120 --> 00:17:45,520 But all who have come to know Jesus have had their lives 315 00:17:45,520 --> 00:17:52,320 changed. Jesus, 100% God, totally divine, 316 00:17:52,720 --> 00:17:57,320 humbled Himself to be born on earth as a human baby with all 317 00:17:57,320 --> 00:18:01,160 the needs of a very normal baby. If you've ever had a baby, 318 00:18:01,160 --> 00:18:03,080 you'll know they have a lot of needs. 319 00:18:04,040 --> 00:18:07,920 He didn't come down as a 30 year old ready to fight the systems 320 00:18:07,920 --> 00:18:10,960 and show everybody that he was God and he was in charge. 321 00:18:11,840 --> 00:18:15,720 He humbled himself. He lived a perfect life, but a 322 00:18:15,720 --> 00:18:19,680 hidden life for many years. And then at the right time, he 323 00:18:19,680 --> 00:18:23,160 began to minister to people and see people find freedom and 324 00:18:23,160 --> 00:18:27,160 healing and restoration and then eventually to die in our place. 325 00:18:28,360 --> 00:18:32,040 But he didn't stay dead because he wouldn't be a God worth 326 00:18:32,040 --> 00:18:34,320 giving your life for if he was still dead. 327 00:18:35,680 --> 00:18:39,960 No, death is not the end. We can know right relationship 328 00:18:39,960 --> 00:18:43,680 with God while we're here on earth and we can know eternal 329 00:18:43,680 --> 00:18:48,280 life with Him in heaven when we go to be with Him if we choose 330 00:18:48,280 --> 00:18:53,400 to accept Him because the alternative and eternity 331 00:18:53,400 --> 00:18:58,880 separated from God in eternal suffering is our alternative if 332 00:18:58,880 --> 00:19:02,920 we choose not to accept him. But today you can choose to 333 00:19:02,920 --> 00:19:07,280 accept Jesus. There is nobody too far that His 334 00:19:07,280 --> 00:19:14,960 love doesn't reach you. And then for the rest of us, 335 00:19:16,320 --> 00:19:19,200 maybe there's something that, you know God wants you to do for 336 00:19:19,200 --> 00:19:23,480 Him, and we're going to worship in a moment. 337 00:19:23,480 --> 00:19:25,760 But why don't you just allow God to speak that to you? 338 00:19:25,760 --> 00:19:29,160 If there's something of a gift in you or a resource that you 339 00:19:29,160 --> 00:19:32,120 have that you know God wants you to love him with all your 340 00:19:32,120 --> 00:19:35,480 strength, with everything that you are, with all that you have, 341 00:19:36,360 --> 00:19:38,840 maybe he's going to highlight that to you in just a moment. 342 00:19:39,920 --> 00:19:43,760 Or maybe there's something in you that doesn't reflect to God 343 00:19:43,760 --> 00:19:47,320 that you love him, a way of living or an action or something 344 00:19:47,320 --> 00:19:53,480 that you do that doesn't reflect that you love him well, as we 345 00:19:53,480 --> 00:19:57,240 sing, allow the conviction of the Holy Spirit to come and just 346 00:19:57,240 --> 00:20:02,680 prompt you, nudge you and say is that and then lay it down and 347 00:20:02,680 --> 00:20:06,000 let our hearts cry. Be today, God, we love you. 348 00:20:06,800 --> 00:20:10,080 Let everything that I am declare that I love you. 349 00:20:13,840 --> 00:20:15,680 The Lord bless you. And keep you. 350 00:20:15,880 --> 00:20:18,000 The Lord make his face shine upon you. 351 00:20:18,360 --> 00:20:19,520 And be. Gracious to you. 352 00:20:19,920 --> 00:20:23,400 The Lord turn his face towards you and give you peace.