Latest / The Daily Word / May 5 – The Lens for Everything
Transcript
- Cory Barnes: Well, happy Cinco de Mayo, happy Taco Tuesday. It's Pastor Jenny here and the calendar has aligned for one of the greatest days of the year. I hope you're going to enjoy some tacos today. I know my family and I will be, and I loved that our reading today as we follow the Life Journal plan is in Matthew 22 and actually even talks about a wedding feast. How about that? Amazing that we're lining up Taco Tuesday, Cinco de Mayo, and talking about a wedding feast. Now, I'm going to let you read about that because that's not what I'm highlighting today. I actually want to highlight for us verses 34 through 40 where Jesus is questioned about what is the greatest commandment. In fact, it's a lawyer that asked him that question. So I'm going to pick up in verse 36, the lawyer asked him this. He says, teacher, which is the greatest, the great commandment in the law? And Jesus responds, he says, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself on these two commandments. depend all the law and the prophets. And so I'm sure if you've been around the Bible, if you've been around the church, you've even heard about Christianity, you have heard this portion of Scripture. You're familiar with it. And so, you know, as we read our reading today, perhaps it's easy for you to kind of brush over and go, yeah, yeah, yeah. I know, I know that's Scripture. I know for me, I could easily brush over it too, but I was drawn to it today, maybe perhaps because recently if you're at our TKK campus, Pastor Brandon taught a message on, ⁓ you know, don't don't turn right on red. And he highlighted that, yes, I am a rule follower. ⁓ So I do love the rules, but I know many do not like the rules. And so for those that don't like the rules, while even those that don't care to follow the rules, what I have found about them is that often they will at least follow some of the rules. And so a lot of times that can be the question. Well, I'm not going to follow all of the rules, but at least tell me which one is the most important. So I know that I need to follow that one. And it's almost as if this is the question Jesus was being asked. Well, I don't know if I'm going to follow all of the rules, but if we're going to follow any of them or at least one or two, what should those be? And so Jesus gives an incredible response that I think is so helpful for us because it's not about, well, if we're just going to follow one or two things. But Jesus gives us a way through which to view all of scripture. He doesn't just say, we'll follow these two things. And if you do these two things, that's all you have to do. No, he actually says, if you'll view, if you'll do these two things and you'll look at it this way. It'll actually help give you the lens through which to see all other things. And I believe is how we can actually step into by the finished work of the cross because it's by faith through grace, by grace through faith that we are saved, not through works, but there is a response through obedience that we walk out our salvation. So again, let me just highlight what he says. Jesus responds when asked, is the greatest commandment? He says, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. There's several components to this. We have first and foremost to have a relationship with the Lord where with all of our heart, what is that? That's with all of our being, our will, our emotions, every part of who we are, and with all of our soul, our spirit. ⁓ We are pouring out and loving God. So with all that we are, we love Him and with all of our mind, with all of our intellect, with the way we think, that's why repentance, it's such a big deal. What is repentance? True repentance. It's changing the way we think. So I think sometimes when we think about repentance, of course it's changing the direction of how we're living. But a lot of times people will think of repentance as, ⁓ you know, I'm doing this terrible thing and I need to course correct and change the of something I'm doing, but a lot of times it's gonna start with a way that I'm thinking. The way that we think impacts the way that we walk. And so there are many ways that we are thinking about things, especially in the world that we live in, all of the information we're being fed that we need to repent of and adjust. And so with all of our heart, our soul and our mind, we're to love God. And then second, We are to love our neighbor as ourself. Jesus also talks about in John chapter 15, how he is the true vine and we're to abide first in him and that we are to actually love others as Jesus himself has loved us. So I love that he takes it a step further, more specifically that John takes it a little step further than loving others as we love ourselves. Cause I think sometimes we can cut ourselves a little short. We don't love ourselves very well. But when we can love others as Jesus has loved us, and then even we can begin to see ourselves as Jesus sees us, that helps us. And so, but at the end of the day, when we can love God and love others, and then understand that when we're looking at all of scripture through that lens is what I'm doing, loving God and loving others. How am I loving God through this? How am I loving people? ⁓ It makes following the Lord and following what he's asking us to do it's I won't say that it's easy because there are certainly things that God invites us into and calls us to do and ask us to do that we may not understand and that are not always easy But it gives us just a different perspective and how to step into that I'll say but he does promise that his ⁓ that his burden is light because he wears that yoke with us, that Jesus walks with us. And so he carries and he has gifted and graced us to walk ⁓ that he's with us, that he will never leave us nor forsake us. And so be encouraged today that whether you're a rural follower or maybe You're ⁓ one that struggles to quote unquote follow the rules. ⁓ Today, we are reminded that what we are just there, our starting place in all things is to love God with all of our heart, soul and mind and to love others. And if we can approach our daily walk and approach God's word from those two starting places, then God can take us really far. That's the two commandments on which all things depend. Jesus specifically says, on these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets. Of course, that's what they would have had at the time. But we can now expand that to, I would say, all of God's Word that we have in all its fullness. So, can I pray for you today? Whether you say yes or no, I'm going to pray. So hopefully you'll receive that. And then you can go enjoy the rest of your Taco Tuesday and Cinco de Mayo. So Lord, we come before you and we thank you for your goodness and your faithfulness. Lord, thank you for your presence in our lives. Lord, I just wanna say that I do love you. That with all of my heart, all of my soul and all of my mind, would I continue to pursue you each and every day. And I thank you that I have the ability to do that because you first loved me. that you have first extended ⁓ all that you are to us, that you gave your one and only son so that we could be reconnected to you and be connected. Lord, I thank you that you have never left me nor forsaken me. And Lord, I thank you for the opportunity that I have every day to love those around me. Lord, would you forgive me for where I've fallen short, where I miss it. Holy Spirit, I thank you for your mercy. and for your grace ⁓ that is more than sufficient each day, would you continue to help me as I'm walking in your love towards others. And God, as I ⁓ look to your word to continue to grow, I thank you that that is the lens through which I can continue to see and mature in all things. And it's in Jesus' name we pray, amen.