HOW MUCH DO YOU LOVE THE LORD?
(MARK 12:28-34)

INTRODUCTION:

1. Late one evening, 1968 years ago, the most devastating of all betrayals took place.
a. In a garden, on a hillside, facing the city of Jerusalem Jesus prayed.
1) His friends slept while He agonized over what was to come.
2) He drops of blood and sweat poured from His veins as He pleaded for another way.
b. On the same hill, approaching Jesus was a band of soldiers lead by a friend.
1) The friend identified Christ to the soldiers resulting in Jesus' arrest.
2) His other friends fled in fear, one of His best friends would soon deny him with cursing.

2. The mockery of trials condemned the innocent to die.
a. His flesh torn from his back, shoulders, and chest in the scourging.
b. His head badly bloodied from the thorns and an additional beating from Roman soldiers.
c. He was forced to carry the heavy wood that would soon become a part of His cross.
d. He stumbled and fell under the weight of the wood while suffering from loss of blood and sleep, and perhaps also from dehydration and hunger.
e. Lead by a procession of soldiers through a jeering crowd to the place of his execution.

3. The death was a painful one.
a. He was laid on the horizontal crossbeam He had tried to carry up the hill.
b. A nail was pounded through his hand, and then the other hand was nailed to the wood.
c. He was hoisted up above the crowd and onto the vertical beam where His feet were nailed.
d. A human body attached to wood by nails.
1) A living person cruelly executed.
2) The Son of God allowing His creation to afflict Him with horrible pain.
c. Death within a few hours by suffocation.
1) The weight of the body putting pressure on the lungs.
2) The weakening muscles no longer able to hold the body back against the cross to allow breathing.
3) The painful cry of one forsaken and then death.

4. The song says, "I gave my life for thee, what hast thou given for me?"

DISCUSSION:

I. THE APOSTLES OF CHRIST GAVE MUCH.

A. All are reputed to have been killed excepting perhaps for John.

1. Some were beheaded, others crucified.

2. Some records indicate other forms of painful death for them.

B. These apostles saw the Lord killed but were also witnesses to His resurrection.

1. They were so determined to serve their risen Lord, they lost their lives for Him.

2. So deep was their dedication that not even death could shut them up.
a. Their influence and example lives to this day.
b. Their inspired writing you may hold in your hand and read.

II. HE GAVE UP HIS LIFE FOR YOU, BUT WHAT HAVE YOU GIVEN UP FOR HIM?

A. You were once baptized into Christ's death. (Romans 6:4)

1. Did you not come out of the water to live as a new man?

2. Did you not arise from the water to live a dedicated life for Christ?

3. Are you now serving Him with a sacrificial love, devotion, fear, and reverence?

B. You are commanded as a Christian to put the kingdom of God and His righteousness first in your lives. (Matthew 6:33)

1. Is the church your number one priority in life?

2. Is obedience to God a top priority in your life?

C. "Oh yes," you say, "the Lord is first in my life."

1. I worship Him Sunday mornings and I put twenty dollars in the plate when it goes by.

2. I dont gamble, cuss, drink, or tell dirty jokes.

3. Surely I must be pleasing to God.

III. THE LORD DIED FOR YOU, THE APOSTLES AND OTHERS DIED FOR HIM, WHAT WILL YOU DO FOR HIM?

A. Will you give your life for Him?

1. To the persecuted Christians, the Lord said, "be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life." (Rev. 2:10)

2. If you would not die for your faith, you must grow stronger spiritually or you will not be saved.

B. When we think about giving up our lives for Christ we speak of something very serious.

1. We speak of a high level of dedication and love for God.

2. Are we really that strong?

C. Would you assemble with the saints to worship God?

1. Some of you may be thinking, "well, here I am aren't I?"
a. Were you here for Bible class?
b. Will you be here tonight to worship again?
c. Will you be here Wednesday night for Bible study?

2. For the first Christians, it would seem a small thing to take four hours out of the week for Bible study and worship.
a. They gathered daily to encourage and exhort one another. (Acts 2:46)
b. They assembled every Sunday to worship. (Acts 20:7; 1Cor. 16:1, 2)
c. They gathered for prayer meetings at other times. (Acts 12:12)
d. Surely they would wonder why we couldn't give more than four hours a week to assembling with the saints.

IV. THE LORD GAVE UP THE TREASURES OF HEAVEN, THE EARLY CHRISTIANS GAVE UP THE TREASURES OF THIS LIFE, WHAT HAVE YOU GIVEN UP?

A. Jesus gave up Heaven to come to earth and die. (Philippians 2:4-12)

1. Peace, beauty, and glory such as cannot be imagined was exchanged for a life of poverty on earth.

2. He did it for you and I.

B. Early Christians either gave away their possessions or lost them for the cause of Christ.

1. Barnabas sold his property and gave the proceeds to the church. (Acts 4:34-37)

2. Others lost many material possessions and often their lives because of persecution. (Acts 8:1; 22:4)

C. We won't give up much.

1. We won't give up our favorite sport to attend the services.
a. Will watching a game save your soul?
b. Will playing a sport mean anything to you in eternity?
c. Why participate in that rather than attend all of the services of the church.

2. We won't give up our favorite recreation for the church.

3. We won't ask our bosses for those four hours a week because we are worried about our income.

4. We won't give up school activities in order to assemble.
a. A young man gave up a favorite school sport to attend Wednesday night Bible study.
b. A star High School quarterback forced a change in a playoff schedule when he refused to play on Wednesday night.

5. The world means more to us than the Lord.
a. The evidence of such is within the fruit we produce.
b. We are loosing our souls.
c. We are teaching our children how to die spiritually.

CONCLUSION:

1. For many of us Christianity is just a little section in our lives.
a. We are Christians when it is convenient.
b. We are Christians when it suits us.
c. We are Christians when nothing else interferes.

2. For many of the first century Christians, Christianity was a way of life.
a. Everything else focused around the kingdom.
b. That which interfered with their service to God they gave up.

3. How much do you love the Lord?
a. Can we truly say we have the level of love expressed in Mark 12:28-34?
b. The Lord said, "If ye love me, keep my commandments." (John 14:15)
c. The Lord commanded us to worship the Father in spirit and in truth. (John 4:24)
d. The Lord commanded us not to forsake the assembly of the saints. (Hebrews 10:25)
c. Do you love the Lord?

4. Some of you are lost, though you were once baptized.
a. Some of your care more about the world than you care about your Lord.
b. Some of you follow the ways of the world more than the ways of the Lord.
c. Some of you must repent before it is too late.