I Exam: Clarifying Your Spiritual Vision

"Am I Loving The Lord With All My Heart?

I think 2006 was a great year for Community Christian Church! I have heard so many testimonies of answered prayers, participated in 10 baptisms, witnessed the hand of God in exciting and awe-inspiring ways and grown spiritually as I have watched others grow. As we start 2007, I have been really convicted by the principle from last week's message, that we need to be sure that we measure "greatness" the way God expects. The reason that's so important is because we get results from what we measure.

(ill) Teachers ask questions on tests about the most important material, because that's what they want their students to know.

T/S: In a spiritual context, for you to grow in the New Year and become more like Jesus, you need to be intentional about what you look back and examine in your life from the past year, and what you will aim for and be measuring in the new year. SO as a starting point for 2007, I went to the place in the Scriptures where Jesus was asked what the most important material was. Actually, He was asked what the most important commandment was, but His answer provides us with a deep understanding of the will of God for our lives.

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." Mark 12:28-31 (NKJV)

As a primer for your New Year then, I invite you to take an "I Exam" ?. To use Jesus' words as a measurement with which you can examine your spiritual life, and make some resolutions for 2007. There are five lines on our chart, and the first one asks the question: Am I loving God with all my heart? To unpack your answer, let me offer some questions that will hopefully elicit applications for your life from the Word of God.

Are you relating to the Lord from the core of your being?

This question goes to our understanding of what Jesus means - and what the Bible means - when talking about our "heart." There is obviously something meant beyond the physical organ in our chest that drives blood through the circulatory system. We use the word ?heart' more metaphorically than that ourselves: in songs, in literature and in conversation.

(ill) Edgar Allen Poe's genius was the dual meaning of the word in the title of his short story "The Telltale Heart." There would be a gaping hole in music in general, and country music  in particular - were it not for broken hearts. And what Valentine oath would be the same without swearing that we will love someone with "all of our heart?"

T/S: We understand intuitively that when we talk about our heart, we are talking about the core of our being - the inner spirit that makes us unique and identifiable. The Bible often uses the word heart interchangeable with the word ?will' or ?spirit.'

For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Mark 7:21 (NKJV)

Why is this understanding important? Because God had something in mind when He directed His children to love Him with all of their hearts. And by the way ?. Jesus is not the first to say these words. Jesus is repeating the command that God instructed Moses and Israel with all the way back in Deuteronomy. So what's God trying to say? That our relationship with Him is going to be based on the core of our being - the part of us that matters most and is visible to God. It is a principle revealed again through Samuel as he searches for king to replace Saul. As the prophet looks through the sons of Jesse, and is captivated by one who is big and rugged and handsome, God steps in:

But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7 (NKJV)

So, if the Lord looked at your heart today, what would He find? What condition exists in the core of your being? What passion drives you and motivates you every day? Because you cannot love God with all of your heart, if you have not settled in the core of your person, what you are most committed to and what is most important to you. In our Wednesday night CONNECTION discussions, we have repeatedly discovered how important passion is in the development of a disciple. If you are not passionate about following and becoming like Jesus Christ, then saying you love God with all your heart is merely words. Appearances, not a conviction from the core of your being.

That is why the Lord says, "Turn to me now, while there is time! Give me your hearts. Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning. Don't tear your clothing in your grief; instead, tear your hearts." Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful. He is not easily angered. He is filled with kindness and is eager not to punish you. Joel 2:12-13 (NLT)

Does that sound harsh? Tear your hearts! Tear your heart away from loving something other than God. Tear your heart away from loving sin more than righteousness. Tear your heart away from a passion for the world and worldly things, instead of a passion for knowing God and serving Him. How do you do that?

You can't love Someone that you don't know, so make it a priority to know God better each day. Speak with Him, look for Him in the world around you and learn what He loves and what He's like. I believe the best starting point for this is the Gospels - the written revelation of Jesus. Read a Gospel a month every month this year - 4 gospels, 12 months - you should read through them 3 times each. And at the end of this year, you will have a deeper, clearer understanding of Who God is.

Personally, I don't see how you can honestly seek to know God better in this way, and not love Him more. Because I believe that the character of God is overwhelming - I don't know love like the love Christ showed by dying on the cross. I don't know compassion like reading Jesus move among the lepers and the tax collectors and the broken people. I don't know passion like watching Jesus confront the Pharisees or cleanse the temple. But regardless, you need to know God better so that you can determine if this is what you want. The point of Christianity is a redemption of our whole lives and souls, so that through the Spirit and power of God, we are restored to a state where we can relate to God, not only by faith, but eventually by sight. Being a Christian is not agreeing to a set of rules, or saying a particular set of words, or even going through a set of particular actions. Being a Christian means loving God so much, because of Who He is and what He has done ? that you devote yourself to following and becoming like Him.

Relating to the Lord from the core of our being means settling in our heart that God is the love of our life. That we want to make Him first, follow Him first, serve Him first. I didn't say we do that perfectly, yet .. I said we have to settle that issue. (

(Two media pieces have impacted me lately on this: Herald-Leader editorial that headlined "Why Santa Clause is Better Than Jesus." And the radio series on "Science and Religion" that begins with the assumption, which I'm afraid, is true, that most Americans profess belief in God, but only as a mythical story. The series claims that most people view science and rationalism as the worldview, which impacts them in everyday life. )

So, have you settled in the core of your being that you want to be like Jesus?

Is that borne out by the priorities and passions and motivations that exist in the innermost parts of your person?

You cannot love God with al of your heart, until you have settled firmly -- in your heart -- that He is worthy of your love and emulation. That what you want most is to be like Him. To live for Him. Is that issue settled in the core of your person?

Loving God compels us to examine ourselves, not only about what we do .. but about why we do what we do.

Are you seeking the Lord diligently?

(ill) I think a great many people hear the phrase "seeking the Lord" and instantly connect that with what happens when you play hide-and-seek with a one-year old. Have you ever done that - played hide-and-seek with a baby .. a one year old. A two year old? For a little while it's fun, and you're having a good time .. but after a while you get tires, so you do one of two things: either you hide in a really great spot, where you can't be found, so that you can take a nap. Or, you send the one-year old to hide ? and you go the living room and watch TV and never go looking for them.

T/S: Don't look at me like that ? I'm not the only one who's done that. Many people play the same game of hide-and-seek with God. Thinking that either Christianity is a game, of sorts, or that God is the grown up to our toddler .. and we can't really find Him anyway. One of the greatest obstacles in the faith life of people today is their half-hearted search for God.

And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13 (NKJV)

Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5 (NLT)

Again, the language suggests that our motives must come from the core of our being, but to our motives and desires God adds action. Loving God with all your heart means, first, that you have to secure the inner person - that at the core you want to be in relationship with God. But loving God then means you have to allow those motivations to get you up out of the religious lethargy that dominates American church-life. There's action that goes with the idea.

Now seek the Lord your God with all your heart. Build the sanctuary of the Lord God so that you can bring the Ark of the Lord's covenant and the holy vessels of God into the Temple built to honor the Lord's name."  1 Chron. 22:19 (NLT)

(ill) If I said you were not a Wildcat fan unless you cheered for them with all of your heart ? what picture comes into your mind? I'm thinking paint yourself blue, carry some painted sign that says ?Go Cats' and screaming at the top of your lungs. I'm thinking student section at Rupp, right? (Some of you look like that on the sofa in front of your TV!) I'm thinking about the people who take vacation days from work and buy airplane tickets and fly al over the country to watch UK play ball. Those people cheer with passion. Those people are fans.

T/S: Do you seek God with that kind of passion? Do you act to become closer to God out of the passion in your heart? Remember, relating to the Lord from the core of our being means settling in our heart that God is the love of our life. But then what? You need to seek Him diligently and passionately. Like you were a fan! The Scripture we just read says "Seek the Lord ? build the sanctuary." Let genuine love compel you to act in ways that bring you ever-closer to God. That's the point .. a closer relationship with God. As you seek Him, He will direct you to other actions - actions of service, of compassion, of worship, of fellowship, etc.

"And Solomon, my son, get to know the God of your ancestors. Worship and serve him with your whole heart and with a willing mind. For the Lord sees every heart and understands and knows every plan and thought. If you seek him, you will find him. But if you forsake him, he will reject you forever. 1 Chron. 28:9 (NLT)

Get to know God. Then seek to walk every minute and act every second in harmony and conjunction with Him. If you love Him, look for God and let Him come along with you through your day. God's not hiding from you. He's not out of your reach. If you wish to love Him with all your heart, seek Him diligently. Seek Him daily.

But whenever you were in distress and turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and sought him out, you found him?all were happy about this covenant, for they had entered into it with all their hearts. Eagerly they sought after God, and they found him. And the Lord gave them rest from their enemies on every side. 2 Chron. 15:4,15 (NLT)

Greta example here ? The relationship between God and Israel worked when Israel went into the relationship wholeheartedly. That is, from the core of their being. And then from that core, from their hearts, they sought God. Are you seeking God diligently? Beginning your day looking for Him and asking Him along? Conversing with Him through the day, releasing your will and agenda to Him, looking for His hand and heart in the people and circumstances that you encounter?

Are you seeking God diligently?

Are you guarding your heart from ungodliness?

Love is a commitment at the deepest level of our person about what, or Who matters most. Then love is action, expressing and demonstrating that commitment. But love is also prevention. Love is guarding what matter most. Just as a parent tries to protect their child, love guards itself against betrayal and corruption. God warns us with this wise counsel:

Above all else, guard your heart, for it affects everything you do. Proverbs 4:23 (NLT)

The first question asks about the commitment in your heart toward God. The second question asks about the daily habits you are developing to express that commitment. This questions asks what lengths you go to protect that commitment. The culture of the world has always been in opposition to the culture of God, but the day we live in seems particularly heinous. We are bombarded with sin and temptation, and educated and conditioned in philosophies and worldviews that run counter to what God has said and revealed. How do you protect yourself?

And now the Lord your God has given rest to your brethren, as He promised them; now therefore, return and go to your tents and to the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you on the other side of the Jordan. But take careful heed to do the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, to love the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, to keep His commandments, to hold fast to Him, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul." So Joshua blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their tents. Joshua 22:4-6 (NKJV)

I want you to see the words - take careful heed - that Joshua uses to warn Israel. Loving God with all your heart will not happen accidentally, and it will not continue without diligence and intentionally. If you are going to love God with all of your heart, you need to set some boundaries and implement some safeguards to guard and protect your heart.

You need to examine the influences on your heart. What are you exposing yourself to? I am almost to the point of declaring that the greatest threat to Christianity is television. More specifically, the entertainment culture we live in bombards us with the messages of selfishness, sexuality, indulgence, consumption, greed, abuse of power, violence and paganism. The Bible says who can hold hot fire to his chest and not be burned? Who can soak in the garbage of this culture and not be tainted?

But King Solomon loved many foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites-- from the nations of whom the Lord had said to the children of Israel, "You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you. Surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods." Solomon clung to these in love. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart. For it was so, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not loyal to the Lord his God, as was the heart of his father David. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and did not fully follow the Lord, as did his father David. Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, on the hill that is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech the abomination of the people of Ammon. And he did likewise for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods. So the Lord became angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned from the Lord God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, 1 Kings 11:1-9 (NKJV)

You need to examine how you are enforcing and re-inforcing your spiritual life. Best safeguard in the world is investing your life in the church. While I mean coming to church, I also mean weaving your life together with other people in the church  .. there's no better way to safeguard your heart. Community is not just a word we named this congregation with ? it is the core ideal of what this congregation seeks to be,? A community of people seeking and loving God diligently together.

("If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, 'Let us go after other gods'--which you have not known--'and let us serve them,' you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice, and you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him. But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has spoken in order to turn you away from the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of bondage, to entice you from the way in which the Lord your God commanded you to walk. So you shall put away the evil from your midst. Deut. 13:1-5 (NKJV) )

Loving God is intentional. Protect it intentionally.

Conclusion

There are two thoughts I want to close with: God will help you to accomplish what you cannot on your own.

"Now it shall come to pass, when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God drives you, and you return to the Lord your God and obey His voice, according to all that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul, that the Lord your God will bring you back from captivity, and have compassion on you, and gather you again from all the nations where the Lord your God has scattered you. If any of you are driven out to the farthest parts under heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you. Then the Lord your God will bring you to the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it. He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers. And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. Deut. 30:1-6 (NKJV)

Loving God with all your heart is not something you will do perfectly .. yet. But as you commit to do that .. God will assist you.

My hands have made both heaven and earth, and they are mine. I, the Lord, have spoken! I will bless those who have humble and contrite hearts, who tremble at my word. Isaiah 66:2 (NLT)

It's never too late to start loving God ? or to start loving God again.

(ill) Police stopped a teen-age girl in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, after complaints that a car had been seen going around her neighborhood in reverse for some time. The girl told police that her parents had let her use the car, but she had put too much mileage on it. "I was just trying to unwind some of it," she said.  (Wouldn't it be nice?)