Table of contents for Do You Love Me?

1. Do You Love Me?
2. It’s About the Heart – Throughout the Bible
3. It’s About the Heart – He is Everything
4. It’s About the Heart – A Relationship With God

It’s often said that Christianity is different than any other religion because Christianity is not really a religion as much as it is a relationship.

God created people to have a relationship with Him, and when we sinned, the relationship was broken.  That didn’t stop God from wanting that relationship, it just meant that it would take a perfect sacrifice to make it possible again.

God wants a relationship with us that is real, personal and practical.

God Provided…

In the Bible, we see that God abundantly provided for His People

• Genesis 3:20-21 – God gave Adam and Eve clothing
• Genesis 16:1-13 – God gave Hagar a blessing
• 1 Kings 3:2-13; 4:29-30 – God gave Solomon wisdom, knowledge and riches.
• Mark 6:7-13 – God gave power.
• Acts 12:1-17 – God freed Peter from prison.
• Revelation 1:9-20 – John was given a revelation

God provided in real ways, in personal ways.

Many times, we like to think of God as detached, almost like we put Him in a box.  We believe that He’s almost at our beckon call, waiting to hear from us.  It’s almost like He’s got a crush on us, and we feel guilty if we don’t spend time with Him or talk to Him.  Except, He’s the Creator of the Universe who is at work and He wants a relationship with us, but He’s not begging!

God has not changed.  The relationship that God wants is all about the heart, and it starts with belief in Him—but it doesn’t end there.

Table of contents for Do You Love Me?

1. Do You Love Me?
2. It’s About the Heart – Throughout the Bible
3. It’s About the Heart – He is Everything
4. It’s About the Heart – A Relationship With God

If God is a part of your life, then you have to ask yourself, how much of my life is His?  You see, He will not rest until He makes you into the image of His dear Son.  He wants to be the Lord of your life.

That means that there are two different people that are fighting over your heart—you and God.  I think you know who will win!

He is Everything

Everything in your Christian life, everything about knowing Him and experiencing Him, about knowing His will, depends on the quality of your love relationship with God.  If that’s not right, nothing in your life will be right – Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God, Revised and Expanded

We were created to be beings of worship—worship is something that is natural and normal.  The truth is, if we don’t look to Him to be the foremost thing in our lives, if we’re keeping back parts of our life, then we aren’t allowing our love relationship to grow, and we’re not being all that we can be.

We were made to love Him, and when we’re in that love relationship with Him, we find in Him everything we need.

Seek This First

… But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.  Matthew 5:25-34

This passage of Scripture talks about how in Christ we have everything we need.  The birds of the air don’t worry about food.  The field doesn’t worry about dress.  But we worry about both of these things, even though God loves us much more than any of these.

You see, if we’re in God’s will, He will provide.  There’s an old saying that what every God orders He will pay for.  Often we’re so caught up in making sure that we have everything that we need so that we don’t need to rely on God, that we don’t bother to seek Him!

Eternal Beings

When it comes to thinking about ourselves, I believe that we are often fooled about our true nature.  It’s easy to get focused on the tangible, on the moment.  We can think about what we do, where we are, and what family we belong to.  The truth of the matter is, however, this world is not our home, we are just passing through.

We are eternal beings, in the process of becoming what God wants us to one-day be.  The question is, how are we preparing now for our future in Heaven?

Table of contents for Do You Love Me?

1. Do You Love Me?
2. It’s About the Heart – Throughout the Bible
3. It’s About the Heart – He is Everything
4. It’s About the Heart – A Relationship With God

When you ask the question, “Do You Love Me?” you immediately realize that this is a question directed at the heart.  What you may not realize is that it’s always been about the heart—from the beginning of time.

You see, throughout the Bible, God has always been concerned about our heart attitude toward Him.

Throughout the Bible

Adam and Eve

It was about the heart in the Old Testament as far back as the Beginning.  When God created Adam and Even back in the garden, the test was the Fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil¹ but at the root of the test was whether or not the two first people would want to serve and love God first and foremost, or whether they would pursue their own way.

Their true heart attitude was on display when they were confronted with their sin.  Instead of acknowledging their sin and seeking to make right with God, they sought to shift the blame to someone else.  One wonders what would have happened had they sought forgiveness instead of making excuses!

Noah

God has an interesting commentary about people at the time right before the flood.  It’s not just that they were sinners, selfishly looking after pleasure.  Of course, they were that too.  God’s commentary is that “every imagination of the thoughts of their heart was only evil continually.”  Their heart did not want to do right, so they weren’t looking to do right.

In all of the earth, only a few short generations after Adam, God could only find one man and his family that did seek God.  He was not perfect, but he longed after God, and God saved Noah and his family from the destruction of the Earth.

Saul and Samuel

The Amalekites were a bad bunch of people—marauders.  As the children of Israel were leaving Egypt headed toward Canaan, the Amalekites attacked them, and God told them that they would be judged—utterly destroyed.

However, in God’s mercy, they were given multiple years before that happened.  It wasn’t until the time of King Saul that God finally judged the people, and He gave Saul a specific command: kill all of them.  From the smallest to the greatest, there was to be nothing left of this people.

Saul didn’t comply, and God sent Samuel to take the kingdom away from Saul.  However, Samuel also rebuked Saul, telling him “To obey is better than sacrifice.”  In essence, he was saying, your heart’s desire for obedience would have been better than sacrificing the animals you saved from this king when.  Your heart is more important than you deeds.

David

David was a man after God’s own heart.  Not that he was sinless.  When it comes to the “big sins” of the Bible, David’s sin with Bathsheba is one that is remembered.  David was where he shouldn’t have been and he did what he shouldn’t have did.

But the sin isn’t why he’s given such a great title.  It’s not because of his slaying Goliath.  It’s because he saw sin as God saw it.  He broke to pieces when confronted with his sin, and pleaded God for change.

The Greatest Commandments

In the New Testament, when the religious leaders of the day were trying to trip Jesus up, they thought that they could get Him to make a mistake by placing one commandment over the other, when they were all in force.  So, they set Him up, asking Him what the “greatest commandment” was.  Jesus, knowing their intents, but also the Word of God responded, “To love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind.”

Even the second, “Love your neighbor as yourself” contains a heart action—we are to love God and others.

Sermon on the Mount

In what was surely surprising for those in attendance, Jesus’ most famous sermon talked about the heart as being the key to living right and being blessed.  Each one of the “Beatitudes” or blessings that are found at the beginning of Matthew 5 have to deal with the inner person.

And then when you get into the portion after that, you see that for every commandment that is listed, Jesus talks about how it is not enough to simply obey the commandment, but that your heart has to be right in that area as well.  It’s not enough to not kill, you have to not hate.  It’s not enough to not commit adultery, you have to not even lust.

You see, from the very beginning of the Bible until the end, it’s always been about the heart.  It’s always been about how our heart loves Him, how it believes Him, etc.  That’s key to understanding this question of “Do you Love me?”

1. Which was not an apple!

Table of contents for Do You Love Me?

1. Do You Love Me?
2. It’s About the Heart – Throughout the Bible
3. It’s About the Heart – He is Everything
4. It’s About the Heart – A Relationship With God

John 21 is an interesting passage.  There’s some debate as to when it takes place, but the meaning is powerful.

Jesus talks with Peter, alone, after he had denied the Lord three times.  And we find Jesus asking Peter three times if he loves Him.

We know that the word for “Love” changes in each request—going from unconditional love to friendship love.

The question that I have is this—if Jesus were to ask us that question, how would we answer?  If He looked in our heart, what would He see?

Journey with me as we look over the next posts about where our heart is and it needs to be.

Satan is quick to tell God that the reason that Job worships him is because God has richly blessed him:

• Family (7 sons and 3 daughters)
• He had much cattle

So God decides that to show Satan just how great his servant is, he will let Satan take away all of his possessions.

Through a multitude of different events, Satan attacks every possession (including children) that Job had, and each time he left one person alone to tell Job. (Job 1:15-19)

Imagine with me, for a moment, what it would have been like to be one of the witnesses.  We don’t know what happened to these men, but we can imagine that their heart broke for Job.  Though they were servants, they could see this man lose everything.  Such an upright man would have treated them well—and they would have known that he didn’t deserve this.

Job wanted to be left alone to talk with God, but his friends would not have it. 

• Job 7:16-19 – Job is wallowing in his sorrow and bitterness and wants to be left alone.
• Job 10:20 – He wants to be left alone, not told that he’s in sin.
• Job 13:13 – Only God could answer what Job is seeking.

Though Job wanted to be alone, in a good way having friends around could have encouraged bitterness.  It could have fostered self-pity and regret.

When we know of someone that has gone through loss or that are in pain, they need comfort, for God alone knows the answer.  Those in pain do not need to hear their sin rehearsed.

God, alone, provides the strength in time of trouble.

Table of contents for Never Alone

1. Introduction
2. Adam
3. Jacob
4. Elijah

Somewhat out of nowhere, Elijah appears on the scene at the court of King Ahab of Israel and promises a drought until he says it will stop.  It’s not clear whether King Ahab believes him or not, and yet the next thing we know, Elijah is whisked off to the Brook Cherith to be fed by ravens.

As if this wasn’t enough, Elijah was then taken to a widow and her son.  He promises them food that will never run out until the drought does.  And he raises the son from the dead.

After some time he returns to fight the prophets of Baal on Mount Caramel, and here’s where things really start to get interesting.  He challenges the prophets to see who is the real god—Baal or Yaweh, and the test is a test of bringing fire down from the heavens to light a sacrifice.

When the prophets of Baal cannot accomplish the feat, Elijah ups the ante by having water poured all over the sacrifice before praying and seeing fire come down.

After this, as a light encore, he calls for rain, and it comes.

He Saw So Much

So, you’d think that this guy that has seen God do some pretty great things would be confident in God, wouldn’t you?

Nope, he hears that Queen Jezebel (King Ahab’s wife) is out to kill him, so he flees for his life.  He leaves his servant in Beer-sheba, and journeys on alone—going almost a day further.  When he gets to a place where he’s alone, he sits down and asks the Lord if he can die.  This is really hard for me to think through! He goes from getting food from ravens to being scared of the queen!

God calls him further- after giving him food to eat via an angel.  And after Elijah tells God that he feels alone.

Isn’t that the case with us?  We do something great for God, we are out in front leading, and then we look around and wonder—how am I doing this?  Where’s everyone else?

Elijah wasn’t alone: Obadiah and 100 prophets were still alive. (I Kings 18:12-13) God told Elijah there were 7,000 that had not bowed the knee (I Kings 19:18).  That’s hardly alone—and God has people where you work, in your community, and all around you accomplishing His mission.  We’re not alone, no matter how much we feel like it.

Request Granted

God grants his request to leave the Earth, in a roundabout way (I Kings 19:15 & 16), and I think this was God’s way of showing Elijah who was in charge.  We’re not done until God is done with us.

Even though Elijah had a special relationship with God and God spoke to Elijah, Elijah could not tell God when he was done.  In fact, I find it kind of amusing that Elijah asks to leave this Earth—and he probably thought death—but God didn’t let this mighty prophet die.  Instead, Elijah became one of two people that never tasted death!

God took Elijah to Mount Horeb and gave him an assignment, and then he brought Elijah home.

We are Not Done Until He is done with us.

Isn’t it neat to know that God is in control, and that we’re not done until He is done with us?  Nothing can stop God’s power to accomplish His purposes in His way.

Table of contents for Never Alone

1. Introduction
2. Adam
3. Jacob
4. Elijah

In Genesis 32, Jacob is headed back home after working for his Uncle Laban for over 14 years.  He has his two wives, two maidservants and all of the rest of the servants and children in tow as they had back to Caanan when they get news that his brother Esau is headed out to greet them.

In case you don’t remember, the real reason that Jacob headed out to Uncle Laban’s was not because he heard that he had good looking daughters, but because he had stolen the birth-rite and blessing from his older brother, and Esau had promised to kill him when he saw him.

Split Them Up

Jacob, being the valiant hunter and brave man that he was, decided to send all of his family out in front of him, and he stayed behind.  He thought he was alone, and therefore he’d be safe.  but he wasn’t quite alone.

The First WWE

God came and wrestled with Jacob (Gen 32:24).  This match lasted all night, as neither man would give up.  Jacob was blessed by his persistence, even when he was alone.  And this was after the “Man” touched the hollow of Jacob’s leg and caused it to come out of socket!

Persistence

Do we persist, even when we’re the only one?

People like to be in the majority.  It doesn’t matter whether it’s a Presidential Election or deciding where to go to eat for lunch, we like people to like us, and we like to have a popular opinion.

Simply because there is a majority does not mean that the majority is right.  Do we stand for what’s right, regardless of whether or not it’s popular?

Table of contents for Never Alone

1. Introduction
2. Adam
3. Jacob
4. Elijah

Adam.  The first man created by God.  We know very little about this man when compared to some of the other greats in the Bible.  And yet, by him we get the names for the animals, from his rib we have woman, and by him sin entered into the world.

And yet one of the first things that we learn about Adam was that God saw that it was not good for man to be alone. (Gen 2:18)

Adam was alone in the garden.  He was the only one of God’s creation without a partner.  All of the animals had partners, and as God brought them one by one for Adam to name he must have saw the look on Adam’s face to know that Adam was wondering where his partner was.

Was God not enough for Him?

This is a really good question.  God is supposed to be everything we need and more—so wasn’t God enough for Adam?

Man was created as a social being.  That means that he was created for interaction with others.  Though God is always enough, God was not going to be a like companion to Adam.  Adam needed an equal, a human like himself, a companion for life, so God created Eve.

Eve, a Special Creation

Eve was to be one flesh with Adam.  The first man did not have any trouble choosing a bride—she was the perfect bride for him.

Eve was taken from Adam’s side.  I’ve heard it said that it wasn’t from his head so that she could rule over him, or from his feet to be his slave, but from his rib to be his companion.

Eve made Adam no longer alone.  Through all of life, Adam had Eve.  Even after their sin got them kicked out of the Garden of Eden, Eve was still there, and though they were no longer perfect, they were still one.

How’s Your Relationship?

Are you taking advantage of your relationship with your spouse?  God created your spouse and brought them into your life to complete you.  He made her/him special, and they are to make it so that you would never be alone.

Adam didn’t leave Eve because it was “her fault” that they got kicked out of the garden.  They stuck together, and benefited from the companionship for their entire life.

How is your relationship with your spouse?  Have you thanked them lately for making it so that you’re never alone?

Table of contents for Never Alone

1. Introduction
2. Adam
3. Jacob
4. Elijah

A famous passage of Scripture. A famous poem. A parable and a prophet.

If there’s one thing on this earth that God wants us to know is that we are not alone. Those of us that have Jesus as our Savior have the promise that we’re never alone. We never go through trials alone. We never go through pain alone.

He was there first, and He will be there for us.

Over the next few posts, let’s look at some people who thought they were alone, and how God encouraged them, and was at work.

However, since I usually work late into the night to get these things done, and they are encouraging, I will be posting my latest sermon here over the next few nights for your enjoyment.