Loving God with Everything By: Pastor Joshua Sponsler “And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O 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.” Mark 12:28-31 ESV
God has brought me back to these verses over and over again this year. I love God so much, but I do not love him with everything inside of me. I love people a lot, but I do not always love them like I love myself.
Anytime there is any command in the Bible the seems impossible, it is in our own ability. That is why God sent us the Holy Spirit, to dwell in us and lead us into all truth. Because of the Holy Spirit, these impossible things become invitations to those who are in Jesus. Invitations to grow closer to Him. The Jews lived under the law. There were 613 laws that had to be followed perfectly to be right with God. Jesus summed them all up into two invitations: love God with everything you have, and love people with the love of Jesus.
“Success in the kingdom of God looks like love.”
As I was reading over these verses, God showed me something. He said, “Success in the kingdom of God looks like love.” This is not the love of the world, but the pure, unconditional love that God first loved us with. The only way we are able to love God is by Him first loving us with His perfect love. “We love because he first loved us.” 1 John 4:19 ESV As we are loved by God, His love transforms us and shifts our hearts to love Him with all of our heart, all of our soul, all of our mind and all of our strength.Following Jesus is not hard. Our Jesus made it so simple, love God and love people. Let’s pursue His kingdom together.
Application: * Find three days and take 10 mins to get by yourself. Turn on some instrumental music and ask God what He loves about you. Write down the first thing that comes into your head. Everything God says to us is full of love, encouragement, and truth. If it does not line up with love or the Bible, it is not God. Take what you wrote down and share it with a close friend who is walking with God to see what they think. Come into the love of God.
The Widow's Offering | Mark 12: 41-44 By Pastor Leslie Brown Pastor Josh preached a bit on this in his most recent message, but I want to revisit the Widow's Offering. Mark 12: 41 And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. 42 And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. 43 And he called his disciples to him and said to them, "Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. 44 For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on."
Giving is something that has always been a part of my life since I was a child, and I am thankful my parents instilled into me the importance and biblical mandate of tithing. I remember often giving my $0.10 from the dollar I would receive as an allowance as a small girl, but like any child, sometimes I kept my ten cents, partly because it felt so little to give. Or, I would often make the excuse, "How do I give ten cents at church when all I have is a one dollar bill? How am I supposed to make change and not spend it all before I give my tithe?"
If we are honest, I think most of us would say, "Those are totally accurate thoughts for a child. Surely, God isn't holding children to the tithing standard." But if we are truly, brutally honest with ourselves, we often continue to use little excuses like this into adulthood concerning our giving and tithes.
What I am so blown away by in the widow's offering was she gave ALL SHE HAD. Remember the rich young ruler from Mark 10? Jesus told him to sell all he had and give to the poor, but he couldn't do it. Here, we see a poor woman do the very same thing, yet we seem to minimize her sacrifice because she was already poor.
A tithe is a tithe, 10%, no matter your income. And though the rich people in the temple that day were scoffing such a "ridiculous offering" and had technically put in "more money," Jesus knew the unseen: the hearts behind the giving.
I want to encourage you to look at your giving habits. Are you withholding your tithe out of fear of not having enough to pay the bills? Have you tithed for so long it's simply routine, and you have lost the joy in partnering with God? And are you willing to give when it empties the bank and causes people to judge your giving?
The Lord knows your heart, and giving is ALWAYS to Him, and for Him, to advance his kingdom, so please know this isn't a ploy to "get more money." Don't withhold because it's "too small" or "too scary." Only you and God know the value and depths of your giving. Partner with Him and see His faithfulness and pleasure pour out in your life.
Don't withhold because it's "too small" or "too scary."
Mark 12:12 (ESV)12 And they were seeking to arrest him but feared the people, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them. So they left him and went away.
1. Pharisees: Question him about civility Mark 12:13–17 (ESV)13 And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and some of the Herodians, to trap him in his talk. 14 And they came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone’s opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?” 15 But, knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why put me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” 16 And they brought one. And he said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said to him, “Caesar’s.” 17 Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they marveled at him.
2. Sadducees: Question him about eternity Mark 12:24 (ESV) 24 Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God? 27 He is not God of the dead, but of the living. You are quite wrong.”
3. Scribes: Question him about morality. Mark 12:28–34 (ESV) 28 And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 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.’ 31 The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” 32 And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him. 33 And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34 And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.
One Lord One Command Jesus wants wholistic love for him.
Most compartmentalize their Love for God.
Some prioritize love for God.
“He didn’t ask to be fist on a list, he is the point of the list.
Wholistic Love 1. Heart: Motivation.
2. Soul: The immaterial self.
3.Mind: Intellect
4. Strength: Might and Ability
5.Love your neighbor as yourself.
Mark 12:38–40 (ESV)38 And in his teaching he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces 39 and have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, 40 who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”
Mark 12:41–44 (ESV) 41 And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. 42 And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. 43 And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. 44 For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”
-Render unto God. Whose image is on you? Have you rendered unto God what is Gods? We don’t give him what’s left. We give ourselves to him until nothing is left.
Additional Reading: Parable of the Vineyard Owner: Matt. 21:33–46; Luke 20:9–19 Question of Taxes: Matt. 22:15–22; Luke 20:20–26 Question of the Resurrection: Matt. 22:23–33; Luke 20:27–40 Question of the Greatest Commandment: Matt. 22:34–40 Jesus Questions the Leaders: Matt. 22:41–45; Luke 20:41–44 Jesus Condemns the Leaders: Matt. 23:1–14; Luke 20:45–21:4
