Loving the Lord God (Deuteronomy 6:1-15)
Sermon Summary
Pastor David Yan
6 October 2019
Love should be lasting. Sadly today, much of what is regarded as love fades very quickly. This is because people focus much on the emotional and physical aspects of love but fail to realise that love is largely a matter of the will.
The Israelites must direct their will to have a continuing love for God. They were on the verge of entry into the promised land. Their leader Moses urged them to love the Lord their God. The implication is clear. With better days lay ahead they could weaken in their love to the Lord.
Israel's God (and our God) is identifiable. He is the one who communicated to the patriarchs (6:3,10). He is the God who revealed himself to the apostles. He did not reveal himself to just one person but to many persons over many years. The cults begin with one person claiming to have had revelation is not corroborated. Not so Christianity. God revealed himself to many people over many years. Christianity is rooted in people and history.
The God we love has revealed his nature (6:4). He is one, that is, he is the only God, a truth that is emphatically and repeatedly taught by the Hebrew prophets and Christian apostles.
But how do we love God? Deuteronomy 6:1-15 gives us some guidance.
We love God with all our being (6:5). There should be nothing half-hearted about our love for God. Was he half-hearted in his love for you? Certainly not! He sent his most beloved one - Jesus Christ, to die for you. That's anything but halfheartedness.
We love God by keeping his word in our hearts (6:6). Our inner selves produce our words and deeds. From the heart come the issues of life. What is in your heart is crucial. What better thing to reside in you heart than the word of God, the Bible?
We love God by telling others about him (6:7-9). When someone is excited he is constrained to speak about it.
Love is like that. Someone in love will talk about love. The Christian apostles had encounters with Jesus and were constrained to talk about him. They were irrepressible. Christians may not be good conversationalists but they must be good talkers of the gospel.
We love God by remembering him especially when things are going well (6:19-12). In desperate situations people tend call out to God. But when things are going well we tend to forget. Hence Moses exhorts the Hebrews to remember the Lord particularly when things are going well. Earthly well-being can be a blessing. It can also distract us from loving the Lord.
Do not go after other gods, that is, do not be an idolator (6:13-15). Our love for God must exclude all other so-called gods. In Israel's experience the other gods were the idols of surrounding nations. We also are surrounded by idolatrous people and things. Do not follow vain idols. Follow Jesus.
Love Jesus. We should love him because he first loved us.