Serving God

Mr 12:28And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all?

Mr 12:29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:

Mr 12:30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

Mr 12:31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

Mr 12:32 And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he:

Mr 12:33 And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.

Mr 12:34 And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.

Loving God with our whole body

Brian LaCroix - Jesus had just [finished] answering his critics, one after another. They had been trying to get him to say something in order for him to trap himself. It hadn’t worked before that, and it doesn’t work this time.

One of these fellers had been watching and listening to the exchange, and finally comes to Jesus with his own question, a question that goes to the very heart of what the Bible teaches about God and how we’re to relate to Him.

One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?"

Allan McCann - Jesus is at the centre of a series of disputes within the Temple precincts. This is one of many questions that he had faced. One of the teachers of the Law steps forward and asks a question: ‘What is the greatest of all the commandments?’ You see the rabbis had added up all the Laws and come to the conclusion that God had given the people 613 commandments to obey. His question is ‘which of these 613 is the most important?’ In his reply Jesus joins two commandments together. The first one is found in Deuteronomy 6.4-5 – the Shema, which every Hebrew child was taught from earliest childhood. This is an uncontroversial reply. However Jesus adds a second commandment to this from Leviticus 19.18 and concludes ‘there is no greater commandment than these.’

A.W. Tozer says about worship:

"We are called to an everlasting preoccupation with God!" He defines worship like this...

A throne-ward gaze of the soul upon a holy God!

Jerry Vargo – True worship involves the whole person…heart, soul, strength, and mind.

1. Heart = Emotions (Feelings/Passions)

2. Soul = Existence (Life/Way of Life)

3. Strength = Vigor (All your might, force, or power)

4. Mind = Intellect (Decisions/Brainpower/Mentality)

1. with all your heart

a. Alan McCain - According to medical statistics ‘heart disease’ is the biggest killer in Northern Ireland. Physically we cannot live without our hearts. Emotionally our hearts are important and according to the answer Jesus gave to the ‘teachers’ question in Mark 12 are hearts are important, nay vital, in our commitment to God our Father.

b. Mt 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

c. ACC - 1. He loves God with all his heart, who loves nothing in comparison of him, and nothing but in reference to him:-who is ready to give up, do, or suffer any thing in order to please and glorify him:-who has in his heart neither love nor hatred, hope nor fear, inclination, nor aversion, desire, nor delight, but as they relate to God, and are regulated by him.

2. with all your soul

a. vs. 33… with all the strength, this includes all your strengths and abilities. Serve God with all you have in you.

b. Giuseppe Garibaldi was an Italian revolutionary who led an incredibly committed, yet tiny, volunteer army against the Bourbon regime at Marsala harbor on May 11, 1860. In recruiting men to fight with him he would make this appeal: “I offer neither pay, nor quarters, nor provisions; I offer hunger, thirst, forced marches, battles and death. Let him who loves his country with his heart and not with his lips only, follow me!”