How to Love God With All Your Heart

How do you love someone fervently?

To understand how to love someone, you have to first know what's important to them, what they like, what pleases them, and what they dislike, what upsets them.

That's a key to a good marriage, by the way.

Finding an individual, finding out what they like, serving those needs through the years, trying to please that individual.

That is how you can serve and love others. If a son asks you for a fish, Jesus said, you give him a snake.

If he asks for bread, you give him a stone. That's not how you love someone.

God knows what we need, and He provides us with what we need.

In 1 John 3, it says that in order to love God, we must do those things that are pleasing in His sight.

Pleasing in the sight of God.

In summarizing the Bible, Jesus said, There is a first and a great commandment that you shall love the Lord your God with all of your heart, with all of your living being, with all of your might.

It sounds good. It sounds like the right thing to do.

But how do you do that?

Have you ever heard it explained specifically how you go about loving God in that fervent, wholehearted manner?

Let's explore today how to fulfill this first of the great commandments.

The title of the sermon is, How to Love God with All Your Heart.

I hope by looking into the Scripture and seeing the things that please God, seeing the things that He wants, will enable us then to go about doing those things that are pleasing in His sight.

And thereby love Him truly in a very full manner.

There are several things that are important to God.

Several things that they like, the Father and Jesus Christ.

Several things that pleases them or that they dislike and that upsets them very greatly and brings their wrath.

Today I'd like to give five things that God wants you to do in loving Him.

Five things the Bible tells you to do in order to love Him.

The first is, God is to be your authority.

It is very important to God that He is your authority.

In fact, it's the first thing mentioned in the Bible that we begin to understand that authority.

Genesis 1.1, In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

He made them out of nothing and therefore He is the great Master of all that He created.

He made it from nothing.

Nobody can take any credit for anything.

You may have heard the joke about the man who came up to God and said, God, I have made a new life form. I've got to show it to you.

Made a new life form. God said, okay, well, show me.

Watch, I'm going to plant this genetically modified seed and it's going to grow into a brand new kind of plant.

God said, fine, just use your own soil.

You know, God started with nothing. He made everything and therefore He is the Master of all. It says in Jeremiah 32, verse 17, that God was the great Creator. Notice how it's written here.

Jeremiah 32, verse 17 through 19.

Ah, Lord God! It says, Behold, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm.

There is nothing too hard for you. You show loving kindness to thousands and repay the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them.

The great, the mighty God, whose name is the Lord of hosts.

You know, God is massive in hues. You are great in counsel and mighty in work.

For your eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men to give everyone according to his way and according to the fruit of his doings.

So God made it all and He is the great authority of it all.

The second thing we find in the Bible after the creation in Genesis 2 is that in verse 16 it says, And God commanded the man. He made Adam and then God commanded the man.

James 4 verse 7 says, Therefore submit to God and resist the devil.

That's what we find Adam and Eve supposed to do. Submitting and obeying to God his commandment but resisting Satan there in the garden.

You are a saint if you have God's Holy Spirit. If you've been baptized, forgiven of your sins, and continue to be forgiven of your sins through repentance, and you have God's Holy Spirit, you are what the Bible calls a saint. And that means you have been purchased.

You have been bought by the blood of Jesus Christ. He is your Lord and Master. He is your authority.

It says in Acts 20 and verse 28, The church of God which he purchased with his own blood.

So the first way that we love God is to submit to his authority. That pleases him. It is an attribute of the God family.

And God, as a family, submits to the authority. God is inviting us to participate in his family.

And so the thing that pleases him is if we think like the family, and we also submit to that authority.

It's a key component, and it shows love.

The second thing that we can do to love God fervently is to obey God's commandments.

God's commandments are for you and me to obey. Not to talk about, not to read about, not to complain that others don't keep them.

They are actually for us to obey.

You know, it is said of treasurers, the one who has the money makes the rules.

Well, it can be said in the Bible that the one who gives life makes the rules.

God has given us life, and he's promising us life, and therefore he makes the rules.

It's important that the Father and Son are recognized as being fully responsible for all laws and rules, because they made us.

Nobody else can claim, well, I should be able to make rules, too. Just the one who gives you life.

That includes the one who brought you to life. Your father and your mother, actually.

You know, we owe our physical lives to our parents, and what does God say about them?

Well, in Ephesians 6, verses 1-3, as a type of God to an infant, parents who are a type of Christ in the church, it says in Ephesians 5, they stand in, as it were, they teach a child about God and about authority.

It says in Ephesians 6, verse 1, Children obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.

For this is right.

Today, it's not common for children to obey their parents.

Many parents today don't even expect it. They wish it, but they don't expect it.

But God wants submission to those who gave life, and ultimately to himself.

A good example of this is found back in Genesis chapter 27 and verse 8, between a teenage son and his mother.

Genesis chapter 27 and verse 8.

I say as a teenager, I'm not sure how old he was, but he was still living at home.

Genesis 27, verse 8.

Now this is Rebecca, and she's talking to Jacob, her son, and she says, Now therefore my son obey my voice according to what I command you. And that was expected.

That was the descendant of Abraham who ordered his children, and they submitted. And it's God's way that there is a submission to authority and an obeying of the commandments.

It's another type of category that falls in that's also appointed by God. It's the shepherds who are feeding us from God towards life.

It says in Hebrews chapter 13 and verse 17. Obey those who rule over you and be submissive, for they watch out for your lives, for your spiritual lives, as those who must give account to the great shepherd. This is really obeying God. It's not obeying people, but these are agents, these are shepherds, these are workers, these are helpers that Christ has put here.

And finally, the one who will ultimately give you eternal life, we are to obey. In Revelation chapter 22 verses 12 and 14, Jesus himself says, And behold, I am coming quickly, and my reward is with me to give to every one according to his work, whether or not you've obeyed me or not, whether or not you've obeyed my Father.

Verse 14, Blessed are those who do his commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city, New Jerusalem.

So obeying commandments is very, very important. It's so important that it's a family trait.

You might think of God as this great God, and he is telling you, submit to my authority, and yet Jesus Christ submitted to God's authority. You might say, well, he wants me to do what he tells me. And yet, it's a trait of the God family, isn't it? Let's go to John chapter 15 and verse 10.

And see, from Jesus' own lips when he was here on earth, If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love.

It is a family trait.

And that family trait is not to adapt to something else, not to stretch, not to change, not to substitute. Oh, you want me to keep Sabbath? Well, I think I'll keep Sunday. Want me to do this? Well, I'll do that. I'm going to keep the feast? Okay, I'll keep Christmas. And we start switching all this stuff around.

It says in Deuteronomy 5 verses 32 and 33, Therefore you shall be careful to do as the Lord your God has commanded you.

You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. So to love God, it's very important that we obey his commandments exactly as he has given them, because that's what God needs. He needs a family that's ordered, that's going to obey so that he can have a kingdom and have us in his kingdom. That pleases him as children are growing.

The title of the sermon is, How to Love God with All Your Heart. There's a short passage in the Bible that sort of gives a summary of how you do that. Turn with me, if you will, to 1 John 5 and verse 3. I know it's a long way to turn for such a short statement, but really, this is important to God. And if you want to love God with all your heart, with all your life, with all your might, notice the importance of this point, 1 John 5 and verse 3.

For this is the love of God. This is loving God that we keep his commandments. Wow! That really says it, doesn't it? You cannot love God without keeping his commandments. In 1 John 3, verses 22 through 24, it says, And whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. That's loving God. And this is his commandment that we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another as he gave us commandment.

Now he who keeps his commandments and abides in him, and he in him, and by this we know that he abides in us by the Spirit which he has given us. The third way that we can show love to God in a way that pleases him deeply is by trusting him. Point 3 is God wants you to trust him. He wants you to submit to his authority to obey his commands, and he wants you to trust him.

Trust is what we call faith. Having faith, or trust, in God. Trust that his way works, no matter what. No matter what the tribulation, the trial, the circumstance, the good times, or the bad times. His way works, and that his promises are true. And these things are asked of a God that we don't see, that we have never heard, that we've never touched.

And it pleases him when we trust him. That is an important aspect of loving God, is showing him that complete trust. This is summarized in Hebrews 11 and verse 6. Hebrews 11 and verse 6. Without this point, all the other things do not show love to God. This is an integral part of expressing our love for God. Hebrews 11 and verse 6 says, But without faith, without trust, it is impossible to please him.

Remember, we're trying to love God and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. Without trust, without that faith, it's impossible to please him. For he who comes to God must believe that he is, that he exists, he's really there, and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. Loving God includes trusting him completely and believing that he will never leave you nor forsake you. The fourth way that we can love God involves honoring him. God wants you to honor him. Now, it's not because God is a big, egotistical God that just wants a whole bunch of honor and praise. That's not the point.

The point is, Godly-minded people honor others. It's part of God's mentality. He wants us to join him in that mentality. We are self-centered humans, and we have to ask simple questions like, how do I pray? A disciple asked Jesus that. Let's go over to Luke 11 in the first two verses. We don't really understand how to do things in a godly manner. We lack understanding without God's input. And so he gives us direction so that we can think and act like him. Luke 11, beginning in verse 1. Now, it came to pass as he was praying in a certain place when he ceased. One of his disciples said to him, Lord, teach us to pray.

How do we do that? Now, what's interesting is you're now going to have a member of the God family organize a prayer for us. And what's the first thing that pleases God? What's the first thing that's important for you and I to do with a godly mentality? It says, he said to them when you pray, say, Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

The word hallowed in Thayer's Greek lexicon means venerable, which means heroic in virtue. Heroic in virtue. God is a hero, a pillar of virtue. Our Father in heaven, you are heroic in virtue is one way that that comes across.

Recall the fifth commandment, honor your physical father and mother, that your days may be long upon the earth. Here we're told to raise it to a spiritual level. Honor your spiritual Father in heaven, that your days may be long upon the new earth, in the kingdom of God.

This is the mentality of the God family and something that's very pleasing to God.

We're to grow, to become like our Father is. And these points where you might think, Well, God wants this honor, He wants this obedience, you can almost see Him up there just like a vacuum cleaner demanding and wanting it and wanting it. The only way you can appease this big God is just throw a bunch of stuff at Him. That's how humans have tended to see their false gods through time. They throw vegetables and food in there, they throw animals in there, they throw people in there. Do anything to appease this wrathful God. When in fact all God is wanting you to do is learn to love and have the mind, the mentality that He does. He is full of integrity and virtue. He is the sum of it. Matthew 5, 48, Be you therefore perfect as your Father in heaven as perfect? Looked up the word perfect and theirs again. Of course, we all know perfect can mean several different things. Complete, mature, can fulfill the purpose for which you are called. Perfect has another aspect to it. If you go down to 4a and theirs, the sum of integrity and virtue. That's just like honoring God as the sum, the hero of virtue. Now we're told we are to become an icon, as it were, the sum of integrity and virtue, like the Father is. That's our goal. He is only asking us to become like He is and to reflect those values and traits that He has. So God is to be our hero of perfection, of integrity and virtue. And we need to give Him essentially a Father's Day card every day to say, Wow, I recognize that in you. I appreciate that in you.

You are fathering me. You are influencing me. I am trying to be like you. And as we get on our knees, the first thing we say as our Father in Heaven, You are the great hero of what I want to be, of perfection, of integrity, of virtue. And we need to thank Him for that. We need to appreciate that. I don't know, have you ever written a card to somebody? Often times people will get a card that says something and sign it. But if you stop to write maybe a Father's Day card, it kind of stumps you, doesn't it? You say, I need a little time here. You need to go in the other room here and think. You have to think about, dear old dad, what am I going to say to him this year? What am I going to write, you see? Well, the same. When Jesus says, when you begin your prayer, or Father in Heaven, Oh, what a legend, what a hero you are of integrity and perfection. We've got to stop for a minute and think about that and then say, describe it. You have to admire all of that, but with a twist. The twist is, unlike empty worship where people say, oh, praise the Lord, you're wonderful, praise the Lord, actually there's more to it because he says, again, in Matthew 5.48, Become you, therefore, like your Father in Heaven is perfect. That icon of perfection and virtue. That's very atypical for humans. It says in Job 34, in verses 25-27, that there's a tendency in humans to maybe give a little lip service and a little wink, but to ignore God and not think about and not be inspired and motivated by his integrity, his perfection, his virtue.

If you look here in Job 34, verse 25, it begins, Therefore he knows their works. Verse 26, he strikes them as wicked men. Verse 27, Because they turned back from him and would not consider any of his ways. They didn't want to know about God. They didn't want to consider Him. They didn't want to think about Him. They didn't want to honor Him as the pinnacle, the zenith, of what we are to become. So rather than having that mentality, the point here is we need to consider God. We need to admire God. We need to compare God to ourselves and then repent and change and grow. God is so thrilled when we grow, we produce fruit. It gives Him much pleasure as we produce fruit. In other words, as we become more like Him. To introduce the fifth and final point, let's remember that God has given you and me everything He possibly could. He has given us the creation. He has given you your life as a soul, the Bible calls it. That living, breathing, thinking entity. You are a soul. You don't have a soul. He has given you His Holy Spirit through which He lives and works continually, constantly. And finally, He is giving you a place that He is preparing for you in His Kingdom. He is actually actively working on preparing a place for you, Jesus said. Is there anything more that God could be doing? And yet, you and I are called converted, if we have God's Spirit, and yet even as converted people, we are very self-centered. We are very self-aware. I mean, just think you. You and I, as individuals, we are very concerned about how we feel, comfort. The comfort of our clothing, the comfort of the chair, the temperature of the room. We will adjust those things constantly, just to make everything just right. We will change the view. We like things that look nice. Outside the window, we will probably plant a garden or a nice tree, maybe some flowers, because we like things to look nice. We might have a little sound, a little music in the background, listen to some things that are pleasing to our ears. We'll have things come into our eyes, either reading or entertainment or things that inspire whatever, to keep the mind. Sort of like this life to be going along well for ourselves. And if something gets a little out of alignment with the body, we'll jump right on that, too.

Body's performance is very important to us. We will seek a fix. When restored, then we're back to normal. When you're comfortable, the temperature is right, you're feeling good, everything is right. That's normal, that's what we expect to be, and we don't think a whole lot about it. And so it was in Luke 17, verses 12-18, some individuals weren't feeling too well. Something was a little out of kilter in their comfort range. Luke 17, beginning in verse 12, Then Jesus entered a certain village, and there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar up.

And they lifted up their voices and said, Jesus, Master, we don't feel good. Fix us. And it sums out a whack here. We need to get fixed. We want to go back to normal. And so He saw them, and He said to them, Go show yourselves to the priests. And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed. They hadn't even gone to the priests.

As they went, they were back to normal. Everything was okay. You forget about. No problems. No worries. Done. Over. The event is finished. One of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned and with a loud voice glorified God. Wow! You are great! What you did was fabulous! It was wonderful. You know, he glorified God in what He said with a loud voice. And He fell down on His face at His feet, giving Him thanks.

And He was a Samaritan. He was looked down upon for His religious beliefs. So Jesus, who was a member of the divine God family, said, were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? Where are the nine? Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner? It's very important that we give glory, that we think not of just ourselves, not just about Me. But we develop this mind of the God family that is thoughtful and it is glorifying.

It is not only thankful, but it really looks and honors God and each other. It's an important part of human nature. So, after all that God has done for you, and He's done a lot through your life, we come to the fifth point. God appreciates your thankfulness. God really, truly appreciates your thankfulness. Because of all that He does and has done.

When you are thankful, it is a godly-minded thing and He appreciates that. Let's go to Romans 1 and verse 21 and see how honoring God and being thankful to God are linked together in this one verse. Romans 1 and verse 21. Because although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God. They didn't want to know about Him. They didn't want to say, you're the sum of integrity. You're the sum of what I want to be. Nor were they thankful.

If you don't honor God and you're not thankful, what do you end up with? Well, they became futile in their hearts, their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. In other words, they had the mind of another being, of Satan the devil, who was very self-centered. And that's very displeasing for God because He cannot bring those people into His family. He can't serve and love them forever. What pleases God is if we develop His mind.

Carnal nature is self-elevating. It is self-centered, self-promoting. It has pride of oneself. And in order to raise oneself, it uses others. You promote self at the expense of others. Like the nine who ran away. Oh, I used that guy. Yeah, now I'm healed. See, now I go on. It's about me. It's about my life. But God wants us to develop a thankful nature because He has a thankful nature.

It's an attribute of the God family, of being like your Father. Satan wants you to be selfish. Be like me. Be all you can be. Promote yourself. Don't care about anybody else. Scrabble up to the top, you know. Leave the carcasses behind. It doesn't matter. Use your helpers. God gave men a wife as a helper. What do many men do with their helper?

Use her to promote themselves and then ignore her. Cast her aside. Maybe go get another one. It's about me, you see. But to give thanks and to be appreciative means to think about what somebody else has done. To focus on another individual. You ever write a thank you card and really write?

You know, write out what the person did? It's kind of a humbling experience. Many people don't like it. Thank you cards really don't sell that well. Because it's hard for one human to abase himself in front of another. You're considering the deed. And you're being thankful, appreciative of the deed. What you're doing is you're saying, you did something, I didn't. You did something meaningful, memorable, helpful, I did not. I'm the one writing the card. People don't like to be in that situation. It's just not comfortable for one who is unthoughtful of others. You're recognizing the hero, as it were, in another person. You're contemplating their virtue, their integrity, their effort. It's only by doing that that you can truly be thankful. And so when we are thankful to God, we are stopping thinking about ourselves for a minute, aren't we? We're starting to think about what God has done. And we're thinking about His great love, His great perfection in love, His integrity, the perfect individual, the sum of all things. And it makes us small in comparison. That's why people don't like the concept of God sometimes. An essential principle of godliness is found in Philippians 2, verses 3-8.

Philippians 2 will begin in verse 3.

Now, what can we do through selfish ambition?

Nothing. Why? Because it's not a trait of the God family. It's not where we're headed. But rather, in lowliness of mind, let each esteem others better than himself. So the principle of thanking God is esteeming Him as the greatest, and then godly people esteeming them greater than Me. And that is a biblical principle.

It requires us to think about the virtues of others, the love of others, and thereby we develop appreciation and esteem that is high. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. That fulfills the second great commandment of loving your neighbor as yourself. This is certainly not carnal self-promotion above others, casting them aside.

Verse 5, Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. Verse 7, Who made himself of no reputation. He didn't come to make it about himself and use anybody. But rather, He took upon himself the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.

And being found in the fashion as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross, in order to serve, in order to save you and me.

That begs the question, how do I feel about that event? How do I feel about that God?

Like the nine lepers? Thanks for salvation! Grab that. Grab forgiveness. I'll just buzz right along. Or does it sort of stop us in our tracks? Does it have that passover kind of stop and really appreciate the awesomeness that was done on our behalf?

The thanks is not only deserved to God, His Son Jesus Christ, but it is the godly thing to do to really admire and appreciate and be humbled and think of others from God on down as greater than ourselves. That is a mentality of God. We should feel like it says in Isaiah chapter 9 and verse 6. Isaiah chapter 9 and verse 6. Much different than the nine lepers who just skipped on off. Is that okay? Thanks! Well, they didn't even say thanks, but they probably thought thanks, right? At least they felt good.

But those who say what is in this verse here in Isaiah chapter 9 and verse 6 have a different view. And they say, For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called Wonderful. This is a wonderful guy. Look at all he has done. Look at all he is doing. He is wonderful. He is way up there on my pedestal. He is my iconic hero. He is the counselor, the mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace and Harmony. The Father and Jesus Christ truly are wonderful. They appreciate it when we think like they think. Mind off the self, thinking the good things of others, the positive things, the virtues, taking the time to pause and consider, to honor, to respect, and to be thankful for the love that comes from God through those who he has called at this time. God likes your appreciation. He likes it often. It is a way of showing him that you, indeed, are like him, that you are becoming love. It says in Ephesians 5 and 20, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Will you stop and ponder that? You can't just say that. Oh, thanks for everything. No, giving thanks always. That's a constant mentality of appreciation and giving thanks to God the Father for all things. What are all things? That's a lot of stuff to ponder, isn't it? There's a lot of things that God gives. One of those things is gravel. Now, you don't think much about gravel. If you ever drive down the road for a long way on asphalt, start looking at the asphalt and noticing the gravel. There's a lot of gravel in the world, at least in asphalt. There's a lot of gravel. In gravel, you don't think much of gravel. In fact, gravel is kind of everywhere. Mountains are making gravel. Little pieces of gravel are called sand along the edges of the lakes. This stuff is all over the place. But it is part of a necessary component of life, like so many other things that aren't the red-colored birds, the giant giraffes, and the things that really grab our attention. Life is full of a whole bunch of stuff that's necessary. Water molecules, oxygen molecules, and various substances that are in our bodies. There's a lot that God had to make in order for you and I to be here. And when He says, give thanks for everything, it means to look a little bit below the surface and really come to appreciate all that God is doing. Pay attention, even for things like gravel. In conclusion, we need to really consider what God wants. And we've seen today five things right from the Scripture that really please God, that really excite Him. When we recognize that He is the authority, that we really obey exactly what He tells us to do, that we trust Him explicitly, and that we honor Him as the chief, the most supreme, loving, perfect being that there is, and we want to be like that too. And we're very, very thankful, very thankful for everything that He does and has done. That pleases God. So as you seek to love God with all your heart, do these things that are pleasing in His sight.

He loves you with all that He has. And all that He asks in return is that you do the same.