KEY THOUGHT...

“When we say FOR THE ONE…we are obeying the call of Jesus as disciples to Love God and to Love Others”

INTRO...

- NEW SERMON NOTE QUESTIONS ON THE BACK OF THE WEEKLY...
- Don't forget the notes are also found on YouVersion and our church App
- FOR THE ONE SERIES: Our goal with this 10 week series is to work through our mission statement to define who we are as a church and who we are as disciples
- We are also launching our Missional Communities (small groups) so join one…talk to Pastor James for more information
- Every kid/teen gets asked this question sooner or later…Q: what do you want to “be” when you grow up?
- I think adults ask this question because they are still trying to figure it out and are looking for creative ideas!
- “What do you want to be when you grow up?”…usually referring to the job they will perform as an adult, something that they are passionate about, would make them happy, make them money…would be enough to take care of us parents when we get old (our retirement plan!)
- Jesus gave us a good answer to this question when he was asked about a similar thing…if he could sum up all of the Law and narrow it down to the most important thing that we should do…what would it be? This in essence is…OUR CALL: this is where we start. Jesus was asked what is the most important thing…that everything else that was taught would hang on…what was the greatest commandment in all of the Bible (law)...and Jesus did not hesitate to give a clear, simple answer.
- He would recite from Deut and Lev the most important commandment. We can’t miss this guys…This is really really important. We have an opportunity to hear Jesus sum up the whole bible and give us the playbook and purpose of our lives, the call that he sets forth for us…living our lives "FOR THE ONE"

—> "FOR THE ONE"
…this is why I love the title of this series…all of our lives lived… "FOR THE ONE"…I want this to be more than a title of a sermon series here at Creekside, my prayer is that in the days and years to come this three word statement becomes the ANTHEM of Creekside Church! When people ask what we as a church are about, that your answer would be “FOR THE ONE”…when people ask you what you are about, what makes you get up everyday, what gives you joy and purpose, meaning in your life…you would simply proclaim that you are living every day “FOR THE ONE”…I think this is what Jesus was calling us to and I in turn want my life, your life, this church’s life to be about that one purpose…living everyday in every way “FOR THE ONE”…
- Jesus tells us what that means when he answered the question ‘what is the greatest commandment’…

QUOTE: JOHN PIPER...

“So the first stupendous thing surrounding the commandment to love your neighbor as you love yourself is the commandment to love God as the greatest and foremost thing that is in the entire Word of God. The greatest and most important thing you can do is love God—love GOD—with all your heart and soul and mind…Everything else in the Old Testament in some sense depends on these two commandments: the commandment to love God and the commandment to love our neighbor. This is an amazing statement. We have the authority of the Son of God here telling us something utterly stupendous about the origin and design of the entire plan and Word of God…It is an absolutely staggering commandment. If this is what it means, then something unbelievably powerful and earthshaking and reconstructing and overturning and upending will have to happen in our souls. Something supernatural. Something well beyond what self-preserving, self-enhancing, self-exalting, self-esteeming, self-advancing human beings…can do on their own.”

Don’t let the familiarity of these verses lull us into a comfortable understanding of what Jesus was calling us to || this is big stuff…

THE TWO DIRECTIONS OF OUR LOVE ‘FOR THE ONE’…

[1] THE VERTICAL…

[MT 22:37-38] || [DEUT 6:4-5]
(greatest commandment #1)
4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” (Strength)

-- FOR THE ONE…OUR LOVE TOWARDS GOD
-- HEART/SOUL/STRENGTH = with everything, wholeheartedly, without reserve
-- LOVE = OBEDIENCE...As we finished the sermon on the mount last week, Jesus was very clear that hearing all of his commands was not evidence we loved him, that is only part of the story, but loving him meant that we actually did what he said! That was the point, our doing/obedience showed that we loved him, that we are his disciples…love = obedience, it is active!

[JN 14:15]
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”

-- Last week we took some time to listen and to ask Jesus what he was saying to us, I listed 29 different things Jesus had just taught in the sermon on the mount and asked us to list 3 things that we needed to obey Jesus, we also talked about the way Jesus speaks to us through His Word…
-- So…with those things in mind…did you obey the things that Jesus told you to do last sunday? Listen…I'm not here to make you feel guilty, to beat you down with legalism…but I am here to equip you, to train you as a disciple…and part of that is simply asking if you are obeying Jesus
-- Are you living in open disobedience to him right now?
-- Is he speaking to you right now about your life and your calling?
-- Are you following another lord?
-- Are you pursuing another kingdom?

As disciples we must obey Jesus. We follow him, are changed by him, and live on mission with him…does that describe your life right now?

THE TWO DIRECTIONS OF OUR LOVE ‘FOR THE ONE’…

[2] THE HORIZONTAL…

[MT 22:39] [LEV 19:9-18] (greatest commandment #2)
9 “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. 10 And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God. 11 “You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to one another. 12 You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord. 13 “You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him. The wages of a hired worker shall not remain with you all night until the morning. 14 You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall fear your God: I am the Lord. 15 “You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor. 16 You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life of your neighbor: I am the Lord. 17 “You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. 18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord."

-- There are some super practical examples of what it means to love our neighbors in this passage…don’t take all the things in your field as a harvest but leave some for the poor and traveler (they are your neighbors)…we should be honest and not lie to each other…or oppress or rob him (they are your neighbors)…withhold payment from a worker (they are your neighbors)…treat the deaf and blind poorly (they are your neighbors)…show partiality to the rich, unjust to the poor in court, be righteous (the people you are in court against are your neighbors)…speak slanderously or stand up against your neighbor…hate your brother or take vengeance or bear a grudge (these people are your neighbors)
-- Clearly God was defining our neighbor in a different way than we might define it…these people were both friends and enemies, hired workers, strangers, brothers and people we are in court with…in all of these situations, God is calling us to love them, be kind to them, pay them fairly, speak lovingly to them, seek restoration, don’t take vengeance on or slander…
-- Bottom line he has called us to love them in lots of different ways…you need to listen to him and then love them the way he is leading you to love them (obey=love)

WHO IS YOUR NEIGHBOR?...

(Pick at least one…prefer three people)

-- The question for us then is to identify our neighbors…who is the person/people that Jesus is calling you to love? We tend to just keep it vague and general, ‘everyone’…which allows us to dodge the actual loving of a specific person most of the time!
-- As we are reading God’s word…did he speak a name into your heart? A person that he is calling you to love? Probably the person that you are saying in your head right now “I'm not loving that person!” || honestly, that is probably exactly who he is calling you to love
-- I can’t even begin to address HOW you need to love them, God will direct you to the specific ways, but pay attention to the voice of Jesus…listen to him as he speaks through his word, by his Holy Spirit in your life || but pick a specific person…or three :)
-- Neighbors are christian brothers and sisters and are also people far from God (both believers and non-believers)…

-- But maybe no name or person popped in to your head…how do you begin to identify the specific people God is calling you to love?

A TOOL TO IDENTIFY AND LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR…

If you are still struggling and no one specific comes to mind, start using this tool and praying for God to help you identify your neighbor, the person(s) you are called to love || I have shared these tools before and just find them very helpful in my own life and want to keep putting this tool in front of you…

1. OPEN YOUR EYES…
Look around you and identify the specific person/people God is calling you to love
--> Natural LOVE path || Location…where you live || Occupation…where you work || Vacation…where you play || Education…where you learn

2. OPEN YOUR EARS…
Begin to spend time with them and listen to them, learn what their questions are, learn their fears, their dreams, what their world view is so that you can love them in a way that meets their needs. As I am getting to know people I want to listen to them, but sometimes I am stuck in where to go with my questions, so sometimes I like to ask where they are...
--> F.R.O.M. || Family… || Recreation… || Occupation… || Memory…

3. OPEN YOUR HANDS…
Begin to serve them in every way you can, to show you love them and to point them to Jesus who loves them

[1 JN 4:19]
"19 We love because he first loved us.”

--> What God has done TO ME He desires to do THROUGH ME

KEY THOUGHT:

“When we say FOR THE ONE…we are obeying the call of Jesus as disciples to LOVE GOD and to LOVE OTHERS”

Q: Are you obedient in doing those two things, consistently in your life?
Q: What needs to change today so that you are obeying? This is our calling. This is the greatest commandment.

PRAYER AND COMMUNION…

Q: What is Jesus saying to you?
Q: What is Jesus asking you to do?