Love God, Love Neighbor: The Cross and Commandments

We look at the cross and yes, this is a pristine sanitized version of the cross. The actual cross is nothing like it. It was truly stained with blood divine. And we get led into thinking it's this sort of sanitized, clean version and no, my friends, the cross was a horrible instrument of cruel torture. Reserved for the worst of the worst. But he let himself be led there. He let himself be nailed to it. He let himself be raised upon it, and he let himself, right, bleed there and suffer there. What kept him there? But god commended his love toward us. He demonstrates it. He shows it. He says, this is it. You want to know I love you? Let me show you. [01:23:37] (55 seconds)  #BleedingCrossTruth

So, I'm not saying love harder. Love more. Here's what I'm saying. You can't do it. I can't do it. Our hope is not in try harder. Our hope is in this that Christ is able. That's my hope. My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness and that didn't that didn't change. It just it just didn't include the day I got saved. That includes today. You know what I have to do? I have to every day recognize. He has to do the work through me and in me. And my job is to know, reckon, and yield. [01:27:28] (35 seconds)  #TrustChristNotPerformance

Number one, we gotta understand biblical love. It's not just Hollywood feelings, the butterflies, this uncontrollable urge oftentimes leading to things that shouldn't be done or simply merely duty. I talked about that. It's not just cold actions. What true love is is both the heart and the affections. The heart, the affections, and the hands are actions and deeds. There's a couple of definitions I found. I thought were good. One writer put it this way, a rugged effective commitment of presence, a rugged effective commitment of presence, advocacy, and direction. A lot of people say, well, love is just like people do whatever they want. We gotta tolerate and we gotta put up with and we just got to accept. No. No. No. No. Love, true love is bringing people to Jesus. [01:20:03] (45 seconds)  #BiblicalLoveIsAction

I know that's not a popular thing to say in a world like this, but hey, you know what loving people is? It's loving them, seeing them as fashion and formed in the image of god with a soul that Jesus Christ died for. And looking at them not with anger, not with hatred, but the spirit of mercy. Yes. Should they get worse than what they're getting? Would I be right in the world's sight to stand in front of some people and say, you and and and actually physically harm them and hurt them because of what they've done. Yes. But blessed are the what? Merciful. Who look at someone and say, you know, you don't deserve any goodness here. You're a you're you're a bad person, But I know who can who can forgive you. I wanna point you to my friend, Jesus. Do you see the difference? [01:20:49] (52 seconds)  #LoveWithMercyAndGrace

Maybe today, why why the reason you can't love your neighbor is because you don't even love yourself. You hate yourself. What you need to do is you need to get your eyes on god and say, god, I don't feel good about myself but I know you love me and that's I just have to rest in that. It probably help you love your neighbor a little better. You never thought about that, have you? I I that was brought up to me about a year ago. I'm like, man, that's true. Love your neighbor as you love yourself. Most people don't love themselves because and when I say love yourself, so they don't see god's love for them. They don't see themselves as worthy of love. I'm here to tell you you're not worthy of love but god loves you anyway. Whoo. That'll make you shout. [01:38:54] (37 seconds)  #KnowGodsLoveLoveOthers

But you know what? God says your first love is me, the creator, not the creation. In fact, that's what he says in Romans chapter one, the heathen man, he is what? He is a lover, a worshiper of the creation more than the what? Creator. It's a it's a problem. And that's the upside downness. Look at how much people look down. They're not looking to god with love. They're looking at themselves. They're looking at others. They're they've got these idols. They've created it and yet we think of idols as these things fashioned by hands but idols is anything I put ahead of god. Anything I love more than my creator. [01:09:24] (36 seconds)  #LoveTheCreatorNotCreation

But you and I, that's what we think god wants. We we drag our old self, the the self that got crucified on the cross with Jesus, and we drag that to god and say, god, here god. God's like, I don't want that. It's dead. It died when Jesus died. I put the old man to death. You've been raised to walk in newness of life. Why are you bringing the old life to me? And you and I think, well, I'm just gonna try harder. I'm gonna bring to God and yield this to him. And God says, no. You need to consider that dead, and you need to yield what I've done in you. You need to yield the new man created in Christ Jesus under good works. Amen? You need to yield that to me. [01:29:29] (36 seconds)  #YieldToNewLifeInChrist

But here's the truth. You and I, boy, we we're in this upside down thinking so often. We're not really viewing the world as god says, this is how I intended it, and I've saved you to live in that world, not the old world. Amen? He said, I can't. It's impossible. You're right. Boy, you need Jesus to do all of this. You need that new creation that he's made of you to do this. You're to love your neighbor as thyself, as yourself, and loving your neighbor, loving your enemy. You know what that shows? That you're like dad. [01:16:20] (34 seconds)  #LiveAsNewCreation