Today on the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. One of the deepest desires of the human heart is to be loved. Only the very cynical, only the disillusioned reject love. We want love. To receive love.
We want to give love. Two others. And so, as we think of this subject of loving God, we must begin not with us loving God, but rather with God's love for us. Welcome to the verdict with Pastor John Monroe, Senior Pastor at Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. How do you feel about God?
Do you know how he feels about you? Scripture tells us we love because he first loved us. Today, we're exploring the marvelous reality of God's love and how His love transforms our lives.
Now, here's Pastor John Monroe with his message titled, Love God. Do you love God? Have you received the love of God? Love is one of the greatest experiences in life. God loves you.
Last time we thought of the wonderful story told by Jesus of the young man who turned his back on his father's love and wanted to live his own life. But then he came back to his father. back to his home. back to his father's love. Jesus said that his mission was to seek and to save the lost.
Lost people. Matter. to God. And when you receive the Lord Jesus as Savior, not only will you begin to love God, You will have an increased capacity to love others. Join me now.
As we continue to think of God's love for us and our love for God. Let me read to you. Look 15. Verse 14 about this young man. Like many a young man, he knew he thought he knew better than his father.
Tired of life on the farm, wanting to live it up, heading for the big city. And so he goes to his father and says, Look, I know when you die, I'm going to get something.
So give me it now. I want to use it now. I want to enjoy life now. And so the father Gives him his inheritance. Verse 14.
And when he, the son, had spent everything. A severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need.
So this young man went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of the country. who sent him into his fields To feed pigs. And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything. And when he came to himself, he said, How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger? I will arise and go to my father and will say to him, Father, I've sinned against heaven and before you, I'm no longer worthy to be called your son.
Treat me, make me as one of your heart. Servants. Do you notice he makes no excuses? He makes no rationalizations. Yes, there are always reasons, there are always rationalizations, but this young man, we have to say this about him, he doesn't do that.
He's a broken young man. He knows he has sinned, and his running and his rebellion and his self-indulgence now are coming to an end. And he's saying to him, what a fool I've been. What does verse 18 say? I will arise and go.
to my father. The biblical word for that is Repentance. Jesus uses it. In verse 7, about over one sinner who repents. Verse 10, just so I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.
What is repentance? Repentance is a change of mind leading to a change of action, a change of attitude. A change of direction, and this young man who was so self-focused, so self-absorbed, now. He begins to think. About home and his father, and says, I'll arise.
And go. And this young man also, we can commend him for this, that he knows he no longer deserves the privileges of sonship. Verse 19. I'm no longer, he says, I'm going to say to my father, I'm no longer worthy to be called your son. You're absolutely right, son.
You got your inheritance. You've blotted your father's name. You've brought disgrace on your home. You're right, you don't deserve it. He understands that.
And he says, I'm going to say to my father, Not give me. But make me treat me as one of your hired servants. Before it was me, me, me. No. I want my dad to make something of me.
But he's prepared to come home. and work for his father not as a son, but as a servant. And with a changed heart and a humble spirit, he now returns for father and home. With the parables, I love the way that Jesus has constructed these three parables. With the parables of the sheep and the lost coin, we see the Father, as it were, searching for the lost.
With the parable of the sun, we learn. that we must repent. If we are going to receive Salvation. Anyone running away from God? I think all of us know that to a greater or lesser extent.
Running away from God. Jonah tried that. This young man tried that. Many of us have tried that. Do you know that when you're running away from God, you're also running away from yourself?
Some time ago, a friend told me, he said, John, do you know the toughest person to live with? I said, Well, I can think of a lot of tough people to live with. He said, The toughest person to live with is yourself. And this young man realized that. He was really running away from himself because he had forgotten that God made him.
And God made him for a purpose. How can you know and fulfill your existence for planet Earth when you're running away from God?
So I'm asking you today, all of us, to take a good look at yourself. What are you heading for in life? You're running, you're running, you're running. And you're full of excuses. And you're trying to convince yourself that what you're doing is right, but in your heart you know it's wrong.
Isn't it time to stop running from God? Isn't it time to start running, stop running from yourself? But you notice the story, verse twenty. Don't you love this? Verse 20, Jesus says, He arose.
and came to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him. and felt compassion and ran and embraced him and kissed him. In love. The father runs to the boy.
Oh, I know it's a parable. I know it's just a story, but we can picture. This father Every day of his life, perhaps almost every minute, thinking about his son. Going up. to the roof of his house and Looking out as far as he could to the horizon.
Could it possibly be that this day? would be the day his boy Returns. Indeed it is. And the father does something remarkable. Older men in the Middle East don't run.
It was regarded as undignified. It was regarded as lacking decorum. They don't do that, but when this boy comes home. The Father is watching for him. And he runs To welcome him.
Doesn't that surprise you? Or not if we know God. And the Son confesses that he has sinned against heaven. as well as his father. That's true repentance.
No excuses, no rationalizations, no pointing the finger at others, no pointing the finger at you, Dad, who didn't spend enough time with me and that older brother of mine. Don't want to see him. He doesn't do that. And what does the Father do? He extends grace.
Love. Forgiveness and acceptance to this boy who has acknowledged his sin. And the son deserves to be treated like a servant, but the father calls him my.
Son, verse 24. For this My son. You can almost hear pride in the man's voice, can't you? Not this prodigal. Not this waster.
Not this loser. Not this man who had disgraced me and was so selfish, no. The Father says, for this My son. This is my boy. My son was dead and is alive again.
He was lost and is found and they began to celebrate. He's welcome not as a servant, but as a son. A boy who is dead is now alive. A son who is lost is now found. His boy has come home.
It's time to celebrate. This calf, which was fatted for a special occasion, is now killed. There's a tremendous celebration going on. All of heaven rejoices over one sinner that repents. Can you understand what happens in heaven?
Joy in the presence of the angels. Over one sinner Who repents that heaven is looking down, and here is one sinner, or not 99 righteous people. They don't think they need repentance. They think they've got it all together. They're judging others.
They're the elder brother. But over one Sinner. That repents. All of heaven. Rejoices.
That's one of the themes, isn't it, of Luke chapter 15. Oh, the elder brother. He's critical and bitter. You say, Well, I could understand it from his point of view. He was working hard all the time.
His son gets his inheritance. He wastes it. And of all things, the father now. Not only accepts him back, calls him my son, puts him in a position of privilege, and then throws a whole party for him. And I've never had such a party with my son.
Friends. In a parable, who's the elder brother? Luke 15, verse 1.
Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him, and the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, This man receives sinners and eats with them. The elder brother. As the Pharisee The elder brother is the legalist. The elder brother is the one who outwardly appears to be good, but inwardly is bitter, critical, legalistic, judgmental. You ever come across These people Keep coming to church, you'll you'll find them.
I'm serious. People who don't seem to rejoice. When a sinner is saved, People who don't rejoice When a straying brother is restored, but rather want to remind him over and over and over again of their sin, that's not what Jesus is saying. That sin is gone, covered with the blood of Christ. And brothers and sisters, we should be shouting the praises of God over one sinner that repents, over one person.
who is restored. Can I ask you? Receive God's love. to receive Christ.
Now what are we to do? Turn to Mark chapter twelve. Having received, this is a point I'm making this morning, an obvious point, having received the love of God in our hearts through Christ, now we are able to love God. Mark chapter twelve, again, the brilliant teaching of our Lord. Mark twelve, verse twenty eight, one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked, Which commandment is the most important of all?
Jesus answered, The most important is. Here, O Israel, he's quoting from Deuteronomy 6. The great Shema, the confession of faith. Of Judaism. Hero Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.
And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these. Notice the order of these two commands.
First, love God. Secondly, love your neighbor. The most important, love God, verse 29. The second, verse 31, love your neighbor. We must understand that it's impossible to love our neighbor.
We'll think of this next week. It's impossible to love our neighbor as ourself. Unless we first receive The love of God. We can't love God until we first receive His love. We can't love our neighbor as ourselves until we receive this love and we love God.
And the more we love God, the more we will love our neighbor as ourselves. That is the point. John says this. In 1 John 4:7, love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. And so we must surrender our ego, repent of our sin, open our hearts to the love of God revealed perfectly through Jesus Christ to receive Christ.
To experience the depth of the love of God through the Holy Spirit who shed abroad in our hearts. Paul says in Romans 5, verse 5, and then This miracle takes place. That the more we follow Christ and the more we receive His love, The more and more we are freed from our self-absorption and our selfishness and our self-indulgence. That is, love God. And everything else Falls.
into place. Augustine said it well, love God and do what you want. That's the answer to legalism. Legalism is saying, don't do this, don't do that, do this, do this, don't do that. Struggling with unholy thoughts and attitudes and actions.
The Christian faith has not just stopped doing that. That's legalism, that's moralism. The way of Christ is this, love God. The more you love God, The less you will be concerned about yourself. The more you love God, the holier you will be.
The more you spend loving God, the less likely you're going to spend time in sinful pursuits. C.S. Lewis said, I believe in Christianity. As I believe, the sun has risen. Not just because I see it.
but because by it I see everything else. Isn't that a great quote? We believe In Christ. As we believe the sun has risen today, because the sun has risen, we can see everything else. Because we see God, because we love God, everything else falls into place.
Isn't that what Jesus meant when He said, Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you. Loving God. Enables us supernaturally to clearly see everything in life and to work out. Our priorities. Jesus is saying here in Mark 12, love God supremely and totally.
There's only one God, He's unique, and because He's unique and because He's the only God, He must have no rivals. He alone is the supreme sovereign God. Therefore, I am to love God supremely. There can be no rivals in my love for God. I'm to love God, not just a little bit, I'm to love God supremely.
He's the one God. No rivals. First two commandments: love God totally, completely, supremely. A young girl, a young man says to his girlfriend, Darling. I want you to know that I love you more than anything else in the world.
I love you so much, I want to marry you.
Now I know I'm not as rich As Johnny Brown. I don't have the same big yacht as Johnny Brown has. I don't have the big house that Johnny Brown has. I certainly don't have a million dollars in the bank that Johnny Brown has, but I do love you and I want you to marry you. And the young girl looks at the young man and says, I love you with all of my heart as well.
But tell me a bit more about Johnny Brown. No, that's not loving God supremely. If you love God, If you love someone, Supremely, there are no rivals, there are no Johnny Browns. There is a Unquestioning surrender and commitment to this God. True love has no rivals.
What's the rivals in your life, your lifestyle, your comfort? Your home, your pleasures, your money, your family, your career, your sport, what is it? What is it? All of that must go. Your love for God must be above everything else.
God is a jealous God. He has no rivals. Love God supremely. Love God totally. I'm not just to love God a little bit.
I'm to love Him with all of my heart, with all of my soul, with all of my mind, with all of my strength. 100% commitment to God is what Jesus Christ is saying. The word all is mentioned four times in verse 30. This is total love. This love for God is to be the consuming passion of our life.
How can it not be based on God's love for us?
So the scripture says that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. This is a love which glorifies God, a love which enjoys God. a love which seeks the interests of God above our own. A love which obeys. Jesus says, if you love me, you will keep my.
So, being a follower of Jesus is not obeying some religious or legalistic rituals and regulations, it's about a living and a loving relationship with the living God.
So I ask her, Have you received God's love? Are you a loving person? And you're home? Mine would Wife say that you're a loving, kind person? Love your children.
The loving person at work. See, the more we love God, the greater will be our joy. This is the great antidote to sadness. to unfulfillment, to frustration. You will be frustrated.
If you don't Love God. Because God made you in His image. Christ comes to seek and to save you. And so, our greatest fulfillment, our greatest joy is not running away from God. That's the last thing we should be doing, but it is running.
To Christ. And as we run to him, we find that the Father is running. to us that God's love comes to you today. And the message of God's love is not that I've got to climb this ladder and be a good person so that I'm worthy of this love. None at all.
The Son was not worthy of the Father's love. The father would have been justified if he had said to the son, You've got some nerve, get out of here, I never want to see you again. And there are fathers who do that, aren't there? But not this father. Who's a picture, of course, of our Heavenly Father.
This is a father who runs. Who has compassion?
So that God demonstrates His own love towards us, and that while we were yet sinners, Christ. died for us. Can you open your heart to Christ? Will you do that? Will you receive Christ?
We stop running from him. And if you're a believer in Jesus Christ and I've got off tangent, you've gone your own way. Isn't it time to come back? You say, Will the Father welcome me? Of course he will.
Today your Heavenly Father is waiting for you. And as you come, ever before you begin to come to him, he is coming to you, running as it were. to save you. to restore you. To fill you with the Holy Spirit.
So that you can be the kind of person. But God has created you. to be. May I ask you to pray? If you've never received Christ, never received the love of God, will you open your heart?
And say, Lord, I turn from my sin, I've messed up. Come. And save me. and cleanse me. I believe that you're the Savior, not just of the world, but you're my Savior, dying for my sins and rising again.
We thank you. that Jesus says, Come to me. We thank you that you're a father who runs to greet us. May many of us Experience your compassion and your salvation and your forgiveness this day. In Christ's name, amen.
This is the verdict, featuring the Bible teaching of Pastor John Monroe. There's still more to hear when John returns in just a moment, so stay with us. From matters of truth and identity, to the subjects of love and grace, our world seems more confused than ever. but to find truth and certainty about who we are and find peace, we must turn our attention away from the world and look to the Word of God. To help you do that, John wrote a booklet titled Eternal Security, Finding Certainty in a Chaotic World.
Through this special resource, John shares his personal testimony, along with a careful examination of Scripture, to offer us clarity on matters of eternity. Get your copy today by visiting our website at theverdict.org. While you're there, consider making an investment in this Bible teaching ministry. Whether it's $5, $50, or more, your gift today helps cover the cost of sharing these gospel messages to listeners around the world. And if you haven't already, be sure to subscribe to the Verdict Podcast, featuring John's weekly podcast exclusive called Avizandam.
It's available wherever you get your podcasts, or simply go to our website. Again, that's theverdict.org. The verdict is a ministry of Calvary Church in South Charlotte. We're located on the corner of Highway 51 and Ray Road. If you've been looking for a church home or a community to help you grow in your walk with Christ, We invite you to join us for our Sunday services.
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Now, here's Pastor John Monroe.
Well, what's your verdict? Love God supremely and totally. And that can only be accomplished through first receiving God's love in your heart. Have you done that? This love changes our hearts.
We're transformed by the love of God in our lives. And we are to share this love. I've known people who before they came to Christ were very harsh. but now they are loving, compassionate people reaching out to others. Receive God's love.
Love God. And join me next time as we think of the next step in following Jesus, loving others. Thanks for joining us today on The Verdict. I'm Michelle Davies. Today's program with Pastor John Monroe was produced and sponsored by Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
