Growing in Faith

Love | Fear | Know | Obey | Serve

 LOVEGod
The Greatest Commandment
Matt 22:37-40, Mark 12:28-34, Luke 10:27, Deut 6:5
 Mark 12:28-33
• The Greatest Commandment
• 28One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating.
Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of
all the commandments, which is the most important?” 29“The most
important one,”answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our
God, the Lord is one. 30Love the Lord your God with all your heart
and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your
strength.’ 31The second is this: ‘Love your neighboras yourself.’ There
is no commandment greater than these.” 32“Well said, teacher,” the
man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no
other but him. 33To love him with all your heart, with all your
understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor
as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
Love, what is it really to love?
• What is the opposite of love?
Selfishness ≈ inability to love or give of one’s self
• Jesus Christ is our perfect example of love, Jn
3:16; 15:13
• Paul’s famous chapter on Love, 1 Co 13:4-8
The Lord your God,
who is He to You?
¤ Personally
 Holy (set apart from sin),
 Loving (gives of Himself freely and entirely),
 Gracious (especially to an undeserving sinner
like me),
 Omnipotent (all-powerful; nothing is
impossible for my God if He wills it),
 Omniscient (all-knowing; knows best, and
what’s best for everyone),
 Omnipresent (who can hide from His presence)
The Lord your God,
who is He to You? [cont.]
¤ He is the original 3-in-1
 Abba Father: Holy and Loving, Jn
3:16
 Jesus Christ: God in flesh to fulfil
the will of the Father and atone for
the sin of men, Heb 10:9-10
 Holy Spirit: our Comforter,
Counselor, Convictor and Guide, Jn
16:5-16. Our seal, Eph 1:13
The Lord your God,
who is He to You? [cont.]
¤ The being of God is unfathomable. His ways
and thoughts are beyond ours, Is 55:8-9
¤ That’s what the Bible is for!
With all your heart and
with all your soul and with
all your mind and with all
your strength
¤ The four aspects of our being, our ALL, no
holding back
¤ Jesus asks, “Do you truly love me more than
these?” Jn 21:15
¤ Jesus says, “If you love me, you will obey what I
command.” Jn 14:15
Love your neighbor as
yourself
¤ Naturally we already want what’s best for
ourselves; we should also want that for our
neighbour.
¤ Hence, love your neighbour as you love
yourself.
 In Summary

• If you truly love God, everything else will

follow.
• “To love him with all your heart, with all your
understanding and with all your strength, and to
love your neighbor as yourself is more important
than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” Mk 12:33
 FEARGod
The Godly Kind of Fear
 Fear of the Lord
• Then the kings of the earth and the great men
and the commanders and the rich and the
strong and every slave and free man hid
themselves in the caves and among the rocks
of the mountains; and they said to the
mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and
hide us from the presence of Him who sits on
the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb;
for the great day of their wrath has come,
and who is able to stand?” Rev 6:15-17
 Fear of the Lord
• And as it is appointed unto men once
to die, but after this the judgment.
Heb 9:27 KJV
• For the wages of sin is death, but the
gift of God is eternal life in Christ
Jesus our Lord. Rom 6:2
 Fear of the Lord
• This is not for believers living under
God’s grace:
>>>> undeserving love
and forgiveness
THE GODLY KIND OF FEAR
 Fear of the Lord
1. Reverence and Awe
• Let all the earth fear the Lord, and let
all the inhabitants of the world be in
awe of him. Ps 33:8
 Fear of the Lord
2. Hatred of Evil
• The fear of the LORD is to hate evil:
pride, and arrogancy, and the evil
way, and the froward mouth, do I
hate. Pro 8:13 KJV
• Do not be wise in your own eyes;
fear the LORD and shun evil. Pro 3:7
 Fear of the Lord
• Through love and faithfulness sin is
atoned for; through the fear of the
LORD a man avoids evil. Pro 16:6
• In the land of Uz there lived a man
whose name was Job. This man was
blameless and upright; he feared
God and shunned evil. Job 1:1
 Fear of the Lord
3. Obedience to God
• And it shall be with him, and he shall
read in it all the days of his life, that
he may learn to fear the LORD his
God by keeping all the words of this
law and these statutes, and doing
them. Deut 17:19 ESV
 In Summary

¤ True fear of the Lord is

 Reverence and Awe, Ps 33:8
 Hatred of Evil, Pro 8:13
 Obedience to God, Deut 17:19
 FROM THE HEAD, TO THE HEART, TO THE HANDS
¤ I am motivated to obey God out of my LOVE for Him.
I am motivated not to disobey God out of my FEAR of Him.
Ptr Peter Tan-Chi
 KNOWGod
Knowing Knowing
about God ≠ God
The World’s Belief System
• Atheism: no god
• Agnosticism: can never know if
there is a god
• Pantheism: god is everything,
everything is god
• Polytheism: there are many gods
• Dualism: two equal gods; one
good and other evil, there should
be balance between the two.
The Biblical Belief System
• THEISM: one true God exists
– Theological argument: belief base on
His revelations through the Bible
– Practical argument: knowledge of
God base on daily practical facts we
witness around us every day
• Creation: God’s SPOKEN Word
• Bible: God’s WRITTEN Word
 OBEYGod
Complete Surrender of Myself
[Latin oboedre: to listen to, to hear]
 John 14:15, 16, 21
15 "If you love me, you will obey what I command.
16And I will ask the Father, and he will give you

another Counselor to be with you forever— 17the

Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it
neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him,
for he lives with you and will be in you. 21Whoever has
my commands and obeys them, he is the one who
loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father,
and I too will love him and show myself to him."
• The Role of the Holy Spirit
• The Role of the Bible
• The Role of the Believer
– 1 Co 10:31: So whether you eat or
drink or whatever you do, DO IT ALL
FOR THE GLORY OF GOD.
• Can people know that – As a sister
Christ is in you? – As a daughter
– In your speech? – As a friend
– In your actions? – As a woman
– In your thoughts? – As a student/worker
– As …
The 6 SERVEGod
W’s of Serving God
• me, you, US – believers
• Everyone wants to lead; no
one wants to be a servant.
• “… the Son of Man did not
come to be served, but to
serve …” Mk 10:43-45
• Glorifying God, 1 Co 10:31
• Building up the church, 1 Co
14:26, Eph 4:11-12
• Contributing to the common
good, 1 Co 12:8
• We should serve God where
our God-given talents fit
best, Rom 12:6-8, 1 Co 12:4-
11, 1 Co 12:27-28, Eph 4:11,
1 Pe 4:10-11
• He cuts off every branch in me
that bears no fruit, while every
branch that does bear fruit he
prunes so that it will be even
more fruitful, Jn 15:2
• Anyone, then, who knows the
good he ought to do and
doesn't do it, sins, Jas 4:17
• Rev 2:5
• Illegitimate unbiblical
motivations
• Legalism, False guilt, Self-seeking
motives, etc…
• The only acceptable reason for
serving God is our love for God.
• Legitimate biblical motivations
• Love, Mk 12:28-34, Jn 14:15, Jn
14:21
• Gratitude, “So much so has He
done for you, what little can you
do for Him?”, Gal 2:20
• Duty, 1 Ti 1:12
• Eternal Significance, Matt 19:29
• Therefore I urge you, brethren,
by the mercies of God, to
present your bodies a living and
holy sacrifice, acceptable to
God, which is your spiritual
service of worship, Rom 12:1-2
 In Summary

¤ Who? What? Where? When? Why? How?

¤ Each man has his own gift from God, 1 Cor7:7
¤ God gives accordingly, Matt 25:15
¤ We have all we need for good work, 2 Cor 9:8