Sermon Tone Analysis

Deuteronomy 6

 

! Introduction

      Today is Saint Valentine's Day.

Have you ever wondered where this celebration come from?

It is somewhat obscure, but it seems that it has its roots in a Roman festival of love.

As with so many of our celebrations, the church changed its meaning to a celebration of romance and attached the name of a saint to the festival.

St. Valentine had been martyred on February 14 and so his name was attached to it.

There are various legends about St. Valentine.

According to one legend, Valentinus ignored a decree from Emperor Claudius II that forbade all marriages and betrothals.

Valentinus was imprisoned and sentenced to death for secretly conducting several wedding ceremonies.

While imprisoned, he cured a girl (the jailer's daughter) of her blindness.

The girl fell madly in love with Valentinus, but could not save him.

On the eve of his execution, Valentinus managed to slip a parting message to the girl.

The note, of course, was signed "From your Valentine."

Today we continue to celebrate Valentine's Day as a day to let someone know that we love them.

We do so with cards, flowers and other such expressions.

If you were to make a list of those you love and those you would like to tell that you love them, would God be included in that list?

 

! I.                   How Do You Feel About God?

      How do you feel about God? Do you love Him or do other feelings and thoughts dominate?

!! A.                 Common Feelings About God

      The feelings people have towards God are often anything but feelings of love.

I have had a few jobs in my life that I really didn't like.

Although I didn't have any great love for my job or my boss, I did what I was told because if I didn't, I was afraid I might miss getting my pay cheque or even get fired.

Sometimes we look at God like that.

We know that God is big and powerful and holds our life in his hands and so we obey Him, but we do so only because we are afraid that if we don't we will get into trouble with Him.

We see God as a master and ourselves as slaves and we give God a grudging obedience.

The implications of living life looking at God like that is that it is not surprising if negative attitudes towards God develop.

God is feared and we begrudge God and have a reluctant attitude towards Him.

If we want to make a major purchase, we might do some serious shopping.

We will compare products and prices and eventually come to a decision about which product is best and which price is best for that product.

Sometimes we look at God in this way.

We look at all the religious options in the world and decide that after all, God is the best possible option.

He forgives sin and gives eternal life and all that just for believing and since no other religion gives a better deal than that, we believe.

The implications of such a relationship with God is that there is a certain formality in the relationship.

God is chosen on the basis of pragmatism and the relationship continues with that kind of formal acceptance.

There is no warmth or closeness in the relationship.

We are willing to pay the required price to get what we want, but that is as far as it goes.

I have watched a few people step into a canoe for the first time.

It can be quite comical.

They are not sure if this thing will hold them up and so they fearfully and tentatively climb in never fully trusting the craft.

Sometimes we have that kind of a relationship with God.

We know He is creator and that He has saved us, but sometimes, since we do not see Him or hear from Him audibly, we are not sure we can fully trust Him.

We have a tentative trust in God.

We believe, but we make sure that we remain in control.

We try to be insurance for ourselves.

We avoid making decisions that take us beyond ourselves even if we know God wants us to make those decisions.

The implications of a life lived in such a relationship with God is that it is filled with fear about life.

When we have this kind of a relationship with God we are often questioning and worrying and filled with all kinds of stress.

Have you ever felt like this towards God? Have you ever feared that if you don't measure up, he will punish?

Have you ever felt that you are not sure you can really trust God?

Have you accepted God, but there isn't really much more to the relationship than the assurance of sins forgiven?

!! B.                 But Do You Love God?

In contrast to such a relationship, the Bible calls us to love God.

As Moses gave his final instructions to the people of Israel as they were ready to enter the promised land and he was ready to leave them, he wanted them to look at God not merely as the holy God they feared at Mt. Sinai or another God among the many gods of the nations.

He wanted them to have a love relationship with God which would sustain them in all of life.

Deuteronomy 6:4,5 is Moses instruction to them.

It is the "John 3:16" of the OT.

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      This commandment calls God's people to a whole-hearted love for God.

Jesus repeated this command in the New Testament and so it is a command which is for us as well.

I want to appeal to all of us to obey this command.

I pray and wish for all of us here that we will not have a formal, or grudging or tentative relationship with God, but that we will have a whole hearted love for Him.

Let us think about that for a moment.

How does it feel to love someone?

If you have ever experienced love as a boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, wife, child or parent, you know that in a true love relationship there is a longing for the other person.

In a deep love relationship there is commitment.

When those who love each other are together there is joy and peace and it is just a good feeling.

My prayer for each of us is that we will have such a love for God.

The Bible calls us to such a relationship of intimacy.

The text says that we are to love God with all our heart.

What does that mean?

The heart is the seat of emotions.

If we really love God, we must feel something towards Him.

To love God with all your heart means that there can be nothing half hearted about it.

Sometimes our heart can be divided, but in our love to God, there must be no division.

Do you love God with all your heart?

The text further invites us to love God with all your soul.

The soul is the center of personality.

That is who you really are.

Loving God with all your soul means that it is not a show we put on or a mask we wear.

Our love for God must be fully a part of who we are.

The text also indicates that we are to love God with all our strength.

True love acts.

It is demonstrative.

Our love for God must be shown in everything we do!

So my invitation to you on this day which celebrates love is to love God fully with a love which dominates your emotions, directs your thoughts and is the dynamic of your actions.

! II.

Why Love God?

But why love God in such a complete way?

      Have you ever met people and wondered what reason they had for their love?

I once knew a couple who had been married for many years and when I first got to know them, I wondered, "why do they love each other, they seem so opposite?"

She was an accomplished musician and he a grader operator for the municipality.

She drove a sports car and attended concerts in Winnipeg and he drove a half ton and spent a lot of time in his wood shop.

I wondered what they had in common and what made them love each other, but they did.

Well there is no mystery about why we should love God.

Moses mentions three reasons in this chapter.

We love Him because of who He is, where He is and what He has done.

!! A.                 Who He Is(4)

      In Deuteronomy 6:4, we have a key verse.

There we read, "."