You're not a disciple of you. You're a disciple of Him. So what you're doing is carrying out who He is, not who you are. Jonathan Evans reveals the secret of reflecting Christ's love. His love is perfect, true, and good. So you revert back to what He gave you, and then you give that to everyone else. This is the alternative broadcast featuring the timeless biblical teachings from the archives of Dr. Tony Evans.
A serious athlete is far more likely to achieve victory when fully committed to the sport, in the same way our spiritual lives thrive when we're wholly devoted to God. Today, Pastor Jonathan Evans takes us to Matthew 22, where Jesus calls us to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind. Let's join him in verse 35 as he challenges us to realign our priorities and live out a love that transforms everything. Today I want to talk to you from the title Back to the Basics.
Back to the Basics. Here you have the Pharisees and Sadducees in context of this chapter asking Jesus questions in order to trip Him up. This is a group of smart gentlemen who have prided themselves on their understanding and knowledge of the law and the Ten Commandments and 613 statutes and ordinances. One of them, who is a lawyer, which means he's proficient in law, comes and sits down and tests him and says, which is the greatest and foremost commandment? In other words, there's a lot of these commandments. Tell us which one you would put first.
Put them in order so that we can understand what you think is the greatest out of all of them. And so he's setting to trip Jesus up for Him to make one law more special than another and do all of those different things. And he's trying to test Him. I'm sure they were expecting some historical context, some ethical teachings, philosophical elaborations, ritualistic observations, like, give us something. This is a smart group, kind of like an ordination that he was at where they were testing Him, trying to see what He knows and what He was going to bring to the table. And when the lawyer came and said, which one is the greatest? He said, love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.
What? Basically, if we don't get back to the basics, your Christian life will always be basic. Evidently, God is not looking for rule followers. He's looking for followers that rule, and there's a difference. He said, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest commandment. He's not interested in contractors of the faith. He's looking for people who are going to be full time. So how do you love Him?
Well, He tells you. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart. The heart is the central location for life. Spiritually speaking, it's the central location of the overwhelming desire to radically live for or follow Jesus.
It is the desire within a person. I used to have coaches who would say, that boy or that girl got heart. They're not talking about the science. They're not even talking about whether they're good at it. They're not talking about their training. They're talking about their passion in the game. In other words, it's evident, and then they'll say, that's not something you can teach.
I can't even coach that. Let me tell you about the disciples. Acts 4 13 says they were untrained men, but they knew they had been with Jesus.
The Pharisees didn't change anything. The disciples, 12 of them, changed the world. And what happens when you have 22 to 2500 people who can leave church with the heart that has been given to Jesus Christ? If 12 can change the world, we can at least change the community.
The problem is we've been satisfied with being the salt to the shaker and not the salt to the world. So we come to church and we learn, whoa, that was a good sermon. And we leave with the same stale heart that still hadn't fallen in love with Jesus. He sat down with the Pharisees and he said, I got your brain. I'm trying to get your heart.
That's the law. Oh, and you look good. I don't care about that. He said when he was choosing David, man looks at the outer appearance. I don't. I look at the heart. You look cute and pretty and handsome, all the things. And that's nice for us. Jesus said, love me.
Do you have heart? And many of us, just like me, for a long time, I thought I loved him, but I didn't. I list him or law him. And we get it confused when we list him or law him, because it's like this little line where we do so that God will respond instead of responding to what God has done. This is just my gratitude and my response. I love him. I'm not trying to enlist him. He said, love the Lord your God with all of your heart. That's the unleash part.
You can't teach that. He says, love the Lord your God with all your heart, beating desire, and all your soul. While your heart gives life, the soul is positioned to petruate the life that you have. The heart is the inner beating desire on the inside. The soul is the disposition that will parade that desire around on the outside.
In other words, the soul is your temperament, your personality, your personhood. It is your character. It is you. Sing it with me. Repeat after me. It is well. It is well. With my soul. With my soul. OK, sing it together. It is well. It is well.
With my soul. My brother was here at first service. He was like, oh, don't do that.
I can see him like this at first service. That's not your gift. He told me when I was little, he said, you got an A ear, but a D voice. Like, you can hear it, but you can't execute what you hear.
It don't matter. But when you sang that, you can feel that. It's well with my soul. What you're saying is, I'm OK. I'm at peace.
I'm going to be all right, because it's well with who I am. That's why Matthew 10-28 says, fear not the ones who can kill the body, but cannot kill the soul. Because the soul, that's who you are. The body without the soul is just an empty shell. The soul still lives on. And so the soul is who you are. So when he says, the Pharisee says, which one is the greatest law?
Jesus says, love the Lord your God with all of your desire, all of your beating desire from the inside. And then he says, give me your whole soul. I want all of you, not just your head knowledge, not just your ability to put on fig leaves to cover yourselves up in front of people. I want your whole soul. I want your will, your time. I want your talents, your past experiences, your future aspirations.
I want your positioning and your posture. I want your whole soul. I want the heart of the man or the woman. I want the whole soul of the man or the woman. That's more than going to church.
That's having that thing live inside of you. In other words, when you repent, you repent with a heart and a soul. Not just, I'm sorry, he'll forgive me. It's that grace thing.
When someone loves somebody and they're sorry, that's a whole different level of repentance. Here's your answer. Back to the basics. If I can just get my people to love me, disciples unleashed would be no problem. It would be their whole life, not a calculated list when they pick and choose when they're going to do it or not. If I had their whole soul, then their whole disposition would be set to carry out the desire that's beating from the heart.
Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, with all of your soul, and all of your mind. Oh, well, this brings it all together. We've got a desire. We have a disposition.
Now we go do. Because the mind makes you do. Do not be conformed to this world. Be transformed by the renewing of your... so that you may prove what the will of God is. That which is acceptable, perfect, and good. Now we're going to prove the will of God because what's coming from my desire and my disposition is now being worked out in my mind.
My whole self. I don't just want your knowledge. I don't just want your memorization. All of those things are important. It must be connected to your whole life. Jonathan Evans will continue to unpack that thought for us when he returns with more of today's lesson in just a moment.
Don't go away. If you're like most Christians, there are people in your life who know you but may not know Jesus. You really want to do something about that, but don't feel equipped to share your faith effectively.
In other words, maybe if you knew more, you could do more. Well, that's where the Tony Evans Training Center comes in. It's an online Bible school with classes that will take you deep into the most important core concepts of the faith. You can start with our free introductory course on evangelism, then move on to subjects like spiritual warfare, marriage building, maturing in the faith, and many more. The content is challenging, but you can move through it at your own pace any time you're online. There's also lots of custom content from Tony and an online forum where you can get your specific questions answered.
Go to TonyEvans.org and follow the link to the Tony Evans Training Center. It's like having a seminary on your smartphone. Today's broadcast from The Alternative is bringing you part of a powerful new series from Pastor Jonathan Evans called Discipleship for Every Day. Through these messages, we're learning how to move beyond routine religion and live out an authentic, impactful faith that influences every area of life.
This six-part audio collection is available on CD or digital download, making it easy to listen and grow whenever it's convenient for you. We're offering it as our gift and thanks for your donation to support this ministry. And right now, as an added bonus, we'll also send you Jonathan's inspiring book, Your Time is Now. In this book, he challenges you to stop waiting on the sidelines and to step boldly into the purpose God has for you. It's a powerful resource that will encourage you to embrace God's calling and live with confidence and courage. To take advantage of this double resource offer, visit TonyEvans.org or call us at 1-800-800-3222. Make a contribution and let us say thanks by sending you Discipleship for Every Day and Jonathan's motivating book, Your Time is Now. But don't wait.
This special offer is only available for a limited time. Visit us at TonyEvans.org or call our resource request line at 1-800-800-3222 any time of the day or night. Right now, let's hear more from Jonathan Evans. Guys, Jesus wants all of you. I can't say it more simplistic than he said it. They just couldn't hear it because they're Pharisees. Their whole goal was not the sermon. Their whole goal was to try to trip the sermon up. They weren't there to listen, learn. And he said, love the Lord your God. They didn't even know who they were talking to.
The whole thing is an indictment on who's asking the question. Love the Lord your God. By the way, I'm him. And some of us come to church not knowing where we're at. He's him.
But we haven't given us to him. And he wants all of us, your mind, your heart, your soul to prove what the will of God is, that which is acceptable, perfect and good. Okay, so how do you get there? How do you get to the place where you just are in there?
You just love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind. You want to know how you get there? The same way you get a tan. You go sit in the sun. That's how it works. It's the effect of who he is, not the effect of who you are. You keep trying to figure out what you're going to do.
No, go be in his presence and watch him burn on you. I know people who are negative. You know why they're negative? They dwell in it.
People who are living in anxiety because they dwell in fear. And you spend your time trying to pick them up, like, no, see it this way. Understand, like, you're doing all of this and they just can't get out of the woods because they're living there. You dwell in victory and it builds your countenance and confidence.
You dwell in gratitude and it builds up your joy. But you can't go be in the sun and stay inside. Okay. That also means being in the sun also means a change of location. This is the hard part, because you don't want to turn off your social media. You don't want to change your people. You want to stay inside and get the sun.
No, you have knowledge of the sun, but you don't get the effects of the sun until you go outside. You can't be in the same place and not be the same person. It says, well, I need you to, if I can just get my people to love me, not try to enlist me, but love me. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your soul, with all your mind. And then he says, it'll be evident because you'll then be able to love your neighbor as yourself. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and then love your neighbor as yourself. Now, here's the misinterpretation of this verse, is I'm going to love people the way I want to be loved.
No. I know, because I used to think about it the same way. I used to think, well, great, this works for me, so it must work for you. Now, if you've been married for any time at all or in a relationship, you know that don't work. Have you all know the Five Love Languages?
You all read that book, seen that? If I tried to love Kenneka based on my love languages, that ain't going to work. Matter of fact, because I'm a fallible person, I should never use the way I want to be loved as the rubric for loving anybody.
That's not really how that works. When he says, love your neighbor as yourself, he's reverting back to God, not you. Love your neighbor as much as I know you wanted to be loved by me. You don't want to forgive, but didn't you need forgiveness? You don't want to give mercy, but isn't that how you wanted me to love you? You didn't deserve grace, but didn't you need that for me? He's saying, I know exactly how you want to be loved. Now love them like that.
Why? Because his love is not fallible. His love is perfect, true and good. So you revert back to what he gave you and then you give that to everyone else. A disciple is a visible verbal follower of Jesus Christ, not their own history, their own rubric of love, how they were raised, what they think is good. You're not a disciple of you. You're a disciple of him. So what you're doing is carrying out who he is, not who you are. I want you to love the Lord your God.
Why? Because of how he loved you first. Then you turn around and you give it to others. And then things begin to change.
Things begin to morph. You say, well, we're not Jesus. We can't do it perfectly. Well, he knows that and at the same time still says, be steadfast, unmovable, always abound in the work of the Lord. He does not coach you based on your ability.
He coaches you based on his standard, which is the greatest command. Love me with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind. That's first and foremost.
And the second is much like it. You turn and you love your neighbor the way I loved you. In this is the disciple unleashed. In this is the entire law and the prophets.
Now, how in the world is that possible as I close? Jesus is a beast. How did you sum up the entire law and the prophets by telling people to love you? Anybody know the 10 commandments? Thou shall have no other. Thou shall not make unto thee any graven images. Thou shall not take the name of the Lord thy God in. Remember the Sabbath day and keep it. Stop.
You notice anything about those first four? They're all about you and God. First four commandments are vertical commandments. Then it goes, honor your mother and your father. Thou shall not kill. Thou shall not commit adultery. Thou shall not steal. Thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
Thou shall not covet thy neighbor's house or anything that is thy neighbor's. He just went horizontal. When he said, love me and love others, he just attacked the entire law.
And one fell swoop. The New Covenant is not about the list. The New Covenant is about love. And so hopefully after we break huddle, you know, I'm happy that football season's here. Anybody happy about football season? A hundred thousand fans aren't going to Texas Stadium to watch 11 men bend over and have a private conversation. They come because they want to know what difference the huddle makes. I want to know having now huddled, can you now score?
What are you going to do about 11 other men on the other side of that ball daring you to go public with that private conversation? Every week, this is a much needed, do not forsake the assembly of the saints, huddle. But the kingdom of God is like, what difference does the huddle make?
Having now huddled, can you now score? What are you going to do about the enemy that's waiting for you right outside of that door, what you just learned? Pastor Jonathan Evans will return with a brief thought to wrap up today's message in just a moment. First, though, a reminder to take advantage of that special offer I mentioned earlier, your own copy of the full length versions of all six messages in Jonathan's current teaching series called Discipleship for Every Day, along with Your Time is Now, his practical book that complements these powerful messages. These resources will not only deepen your understanding of authentic discipleship, they'll also help you live out your faith with purpose and boldness every day. And the best part is they're yours with our thanks when you make a donation toward the alternative broadcast ministry. Just visit tonyevans.org for details or call us at 1-800-800-3222.
Again, that's 1-800-800-3222 or online at tonyevans.org. Knowing who Jesus is changes everything. When Jesus asked his disciples, who do you say I am? He wasn't just testing their knowledge, he was challenging their faith. Tomorrow, Pastor Evan shows how our answer to that question impacts everything about us. Right now, though, he's back with these closing words. So I hope from today you don't continue to play the game without the ball. Love him with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and love your anger as your self. That's all you needed for the whole law and the prophets. God bless you.
