We are Driven by what we LOVE
Joshua 23:11 says. “So be very careful to love the Lord your God (nlt).”
The greatest way to ensure that we are walking in the blessings of God and are never at risk of backsliding is to be very careful to love the Lord your God; this is our single greatest safeguard to ensure our growing relationship with Jesus Christ.
Why did Moses call all of Israel in the great Shema to this one thing in Deuteronomy 6:5, “and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength (nlt)” ?
Why must we love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, & strength? Because our actions are driven by what we love! Our actions are not only driven by what we believe, our actions are driven by what we love. We all know people who ‘believe’ everything the Bible says about Jesus Christ, but they are still destroying their lives by their love for the world.
James 2:19 says, “even the demons believe” but their belief doesn’t change their actions, does it? Because our actions are driven by what we love.
If we love sin more than we love Jesus, we will ultimately fall more away from Jesus in order to fall more in love with sin. The same goes for loving the world more than Jesus.
In Mat 22:37 Jesus said the entire law can be ‘summed up’ in these two commands; love the Lord your God, and love your neighbor. How could Jesus sum up the entire law with just two commands? Because our actions are driven by what we love.
In Joshua Ch 23 (our Jos224 message) we see three safeguards to ensure that we will continue to walk in the blessings of God and be safe from the risk of falling away;
- Be careful to follow all of God’s Word.
- Do not cling to the world, or the things of the world.
- Above all, be very careful to maintain an ever-increasing love for Jesus Christ.
Let’s do that.
Pastor Dave