If someone asked you what
your life is... what would you say? Would you say that its your work, spouse,
children, family, friends, pets, car, clothes, hobbies, travels or free
time...? Would you think to say it’s about God, loving God, being in awe of God
who created you in His image and have eternal life in Jesus Christ?
If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it. If
you
love Me,
you
will keep My
commandments.
And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to be with you
forever—… John 14:14-16.
John
14:21
Whoever has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me. The one who
loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and reveal Myself to
him."
John 14:23
Jesus replied, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will
love him, and we will come to him and make Our home with him.
John 15:10
If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My
Father's commandments and remain in His love.
What does God command, we know the Old Testament
commandments and what is in the New Testament? Love God with all your heart,
soul, mind and strength… love your neighbor as your self ~ Mark 12:30-31.
“Teacher, which commandment is the greatest in the Law?”
Jesus
declared, “‘Love
the
Lord your
God
with
all
your
heart
and with
all
your
soul
and with
all
your
mind.’
This is the first and greatest commandment.…~ Matthew 22: 36-38.
People today and sadly many in the church have
switched the order of God Commandments. They think His Love is expressed by loving
and serving man first. Loving God is expressed by loving Him first, putting Him
first, praising and thanking Him first for all things. Paul said,“For am I now
seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were
still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ ~ Galatians
1:10.
What we do is what Jesus did, love God and then love
our neighbor as our self. We love God because He is the truth, the way and the
life. And, life is the absolute good. If we love God because He is the truth, the
way and the life… the absolute good then we desire that always and we desire
that for everyone and everything he created. In fact, he said go out and preach to all creation the
good news. He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel
to all creation ~ Mark 16:15.
Paul said, just as I try to please everyone in all I
do. For I am not seeking my own good, but the good of many, that they
may be saved. 1
Corinthians 10:33
In a fallen world such as this, we will be hated for
loving God for being the absolute good, not man. Only through Jesus Christ can man become what
He is and seen by the Father as worthy of being His Bride. Look around folks, a lot of people pretend to love God
first as they too busy loving their neighbor first which is a form of all other
things around them which is not God: their pastor, their government, their lawyer,
their doctor, their boss, their life style, their hashtag, their careers,
families, friends… etc.
Moreover, they love their neighbor because there is an
advantage in loving their neighbor… a means to greater social status, prestige,
power and wealth… They virtual signal by loving a government that promises to hand
out freebies or make extraordinary promises to those in need (we being born
again know could never be true in this fallen world) to gain people’s attention,
admiration and love.
Indeed, God’s Word says to obey authority… its not
because authority of men tells us to… but God does. Reading from Romans 13: 1-10 ~ Everyone must
submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except
that which is from God. The authorities that exist have been appointed by God. Consequently,
the one who resists authority is opposing what God has set in place, and those
who do so will bring judgment on themselves.
For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but bad.
Do you want to be unafraid of the one in authority? Then do what is right, and
you will have his approval. For he is God’s servant for your good. But if you
do wrong, be afraid, for he does not carry the sword in vain. He is God’s
servant, an agent of retribution to the wrongdoer.
Therefore, it is necessary to submit to authority, not
only to avoid punishment, but also as a matter of conscience. This is also why
you pay taxes. For the authorities are God’s servants, who devote themselves to
their work. Pay everyone what you owe him: taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue
to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is
due.
… Be indebted to no one, except to one another in
love, for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. The commandments “Do
not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and any
other commandments, are summed up in this one decree: “Love your neighbor as
yourself.” Love does no wrong to its neighbor.
Again, God’s love is absolutely good because it is the
absolute good … it is life! He created life and He has commanded us to love Him
and love others as He does because it is absolutely good. What is good? God’s
love is the absolute good and His commands. Not what you think is good or
anyone else. That is why we are commanded to love God first. He is the Creator,
He commands all things.
Many of us go to church thinking about how good we might
feel by going or showing others we went. But going to church is not necessarily
to make us feel good. It is not about worshiping as a reflection of how we
feel; it’s a reflection of what we know to be true and what God has promised in
his Word.
It’s a declaration of what God is worthy of. Here’s
what God often (and graciously) allows to happen: As we declare it, we begin to
feel it. Sometimes even the posture of our body will actually guide our heart,
which is one reason we are commanded to raise our hands and shout in worship.
When you kneel in prayer, you should feel submissive.
When you raise your hands, you should feel surrender. When you open your hands,
you should feel needy. The posture guides the heart. Worship is not a depiction
of our feelings, but a declaration of our faith. It’s a defiant declaration
that “I am not how I feel. My life is not what circumstances may make it look
like it is. It’s What God says is true is true, and I am going to act like
it.” Worshiping despite our feelings is a fight, but it is a godly fight.
If someone asked you what your life is... what would
you say? Would you say that its your work, spouse, children, family, friends,
pets, car, clothes, hobbies, travels or free time...? Would you think to say
its about God, loving God, being in awe of God who created you in His image and
have eternal life in Jesus Christ?
And for that reason, we Should never worry that God
will not work all things for good? His ways are higher than ours and always
good! Even what we might think of as bad government, unfair taxes, poor health care, burdensome ordinances/laws,
and lack of respect for borders…
We should pray that worship in all of today’s churches
will be from the perspective of declaring His work in us on the “threshing
floor” of His Mighty and Glorious Authority!
For this is worship by which the future Bride is in great
expectation of the coming Bridegroom; who will come and come to be together to
“consummate” the marital relationship, out of which “life” (eternal life which
is eternally good) is produced.
