are you devoted to jesus?
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Are You Devoted to Jesus?
(1 John 2:3-6)
I. Introduction.A. Orientation.
The Lord commanded us
Through the author to Hebrews
To run the race
To live your life
With your eyes fixed on Jesus.
What did he mean?
1. Certainly that as you live
That you are to look to/trust in Him alone for salvation
Theres salvation in no one else,
No other righteousness,
No other payment for sin,
No other way,
Nothing you can do.
All other religions/cults
Lead to destruction,
Hes only way.
2. He meant as you live
Youre to look to Him for strength
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Even though what He commands is good
And thats what you want to do
Because He has changed your heart,
You still have enemies
That stand in your way
Your flesh, the world, the devil
These are opponents you cant overcome by yourself.
Youre too weak,
You need His Spirit,
So you need look to Him daily in faith
For the power to overcome them.
B. Preview.
1. But He also meant
That you are to love Him so much
That you cant do anything else but look to Him
He is to be the object of your greatestdesire
So that heart draws you out/forward.
2. And youre to look to Him for His example
He is to be your pattern/paradigm,
The One you aspire to be like.
John says, The one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the
same manner as He walked (1 John 2:6).
Its these last two that were going to consider this morning:
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II. Sermon.A. First, Jesus is to be the One you desire the most.
Paul writes in Galatians 6:24, Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus
Christ with incorruptible love, literally, with an undying love.
Thats the kind of love
You need to have for Him.
How can you love Him that much?
You can only do this
If you have His Spirit.
If you dont love Him at all
You need to ask Him
To break your stony heart.
But even if He has,
Theres still more you can do.
1. First, you need to see Him more clearly
Through the eyes of your faith.
To the degree that He doesnt seem real to you
To that degree, you wont love Him as you should
If you see Him as only character in a story,
Someone to read about in a book.
He is real,
A real person,
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A real Savior and Lord,
One who offers Himself to you,
Who has given Himself to you
If youve received Him.
2. You need to remember what He has done for you.
Everything necessary
To save you from an eternity of misery
That we all deserve.
Without Him, your sins
Would have pushed you down into hell.
Without Him,
You would have been tormented forever.
Without Him,
You would have been separated
From Gods blessed presence forever.
Consider the price He paid for you:
Creator/creature.
Holy/dwelt among sinful man.
Innocent/punished.
Blessed/wrath.
Life/death.
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He didnt deserve these things, you did.
He took what was coming to you.
How thankful are you
When someone does something nice for you
When they do your chores,
Pays your bill/fine you owe.
If they forgive some small offence?
How thankful should you be
For what Hes done for you?
Sometimes were more grateful
For those small things
Than we are for what Jesus did,
Because it doesnt seem quite real.
If thats the case with you,
You need a greater faith
Faith is the evidence of things not seen.
By faith you believe He is,
And that He is a rewarder
Of those who diligently seek Him.
By faith you know
He sent His Son to do these things for you
If youre trusting Him this morning.
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If you are to love Him as you should
You need a stronger faith.
He is real,
What Hes done is real,
And that should command your love.
2. You also need to love Him for who He is.
What Hes done speaks volumes:
What mercy,
Condescension to your need!
But consider the heart and character
This One must have
Who has loved you in this way.
His love of what is good/right,
His holiness,
His infinite worthiness as God.
See His moral beauty by His Holy Spirit
And let it stir your heart to love Him more.
3. How can you know
If you really do love Him?
Its not hard to tell
If you love others.
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Do you think about Him?
When you do, does it stir your heart?
Do you spend time with Him?
Do you listen to what He tells you
And try to remember what He says?
Or to put it another way
In terms Dick used at study
Is He your hero?
Do you admire Him?
Do you want to be like Him?
More than anyone else?
Those you choose to be your heroes
Say a lot about you
About whats in your heart.
If you are a Christian
If you are a genuine believer
Jesus is your hero
The One you admire most,
The One you most want to be like,
The One you look to and hold onto.
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As Spurgeon said in the book were reading,
The one your faith is built on,
Your reason to believe and hope
Cant be a mere creature
It cant be a Spurgeon, Whitefield or Edwards
It must be Jesus.
You need a pillar/a support
One to lean on that cant fail,
So that even if whole church
Abandoned God,
You wouldnt
Because your faith is founded on the rock.
Some of you are about to make public profession.
In the interview,
Youll be asked if youre trusting Jesus
If you love Him in this way.
Perhaps all of you
Will say you do.
Those of you who have been interviewed
Already have said this.
Examine your heart.
Do you really love Him?
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How often do you think about Him?
How often do you spend time with Him?
Is He your hero?
B. Theres another way you can tell,
That brings us to second point,
Are you following Him?
Is He your example?
Jesus said, If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word (John 14:23).
Do you keep His Word?
He said in our meditation,
If you come to Him,
And take His yoke,
You will learn from Him.
Are you His student?
Are you learning from Him?
John says in our text, The one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk inthe same manner as He walked (1 John 2:6).
Are you living as He lived?
This is the evidence
That you really do know Him.
You can say youre trusting Him,
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That youre looking to Him for strength,
That you even love Him more than any other,
But does your life show it?
Again, John writes, By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keepHis commandments. The one who says, I have come to know Him, and does
not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever
keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this weknow that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to
walk in the same manner as He walked (vv. 3-6).
If you love Him,
You will obey Him.
The movie Chariots of Fire
Provided an example of the two kinds of people
We find in the visible church:
Those who seek their own glory
And those who seek Christs.
Abrahams ran for himself
He was addicted, compelled;
He wanted to win,
For personal glory/gain,
As a weapon against being Jewish.
He made no pretence of being Christian,
But how many do
And live the same way?
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How many seek their own pleasure
Rather than trying to please God?
Liddell, on the other hand,
Was a great example
Of someone whose heart
Was really committed to the Lord.
He used the gifts God gave him to glorify Him.
When he ran and won, he evangelized.
When he was told his event would take place on Sunday,
He refused to run,
Even though the British Athletic Committee,
The Prince of Wales,
His teammates and his country
Were all pressuring him
To violate his conscience.
It was a hard decision to make,
But it was the right one,
And the Lord honored him for it.
By refusing to run on Sunday,
The Lord opened the door for him
To run in the 400 meter,
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Which he found to be his best event,
And in which he won the gold medal.
If you love the Lord,
You will obey him
And not compromise
Even though it may cost you dearly.
Remember: Elijah, Stephen, Paul, Athanasius.
Consider what it cost Jesus to please His Father:
He was hated by virtually everyone
Rejected by His own people,
And put to death on a cross.
He gave His life for His Father,
Because He loved Him,
And He calls you to give yours
Out of love for Him.
Will you fail?
Of course, sometimes miserably,
But you wont stop
You will keep pressing forward,
Because you love Him,
Because youre devoted to Him.
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You may not have the greatest gifts
Those of a Spurgeon, Whitefield or Edwards
But that doesnt mean
You cant have a great heart.
You can love Him and devote yourself to Him
Every bit as much as they did even more!
That is what you must strive to do.
Fix your eyes on Him.
Look to Him as your Savior.
Look to Him for your daily strength.
Let your love for Him continue to grow.
Dont set your sights on anything less
Than becoming like Him.
Dont leave any room in your life for compromise.
If you can, then you truly are a Christian. Amen.
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