Demonstrating Our Love for God

Deuteronomy chapter six. We're going to begin reading in verse four. And we're going to read through verse nine, okay? Deuteronomy chapter six verses four through nine. Hear, oh Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart and with all thy soul and with all thy might and these words which I command thee this day shall be in thine heart And thou shalt teach them diligently under thy children, and shall talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes and thou shalt write them upon the post of thy house and on thy gates. Let's go to the Lord in prayer once more. Lord, we thank you for your word. Lord, may it not return void today. May it do a mighty work in our hearts.

Lord, we thank you for your love for us. Lord, may you today now remind us, show us how we might return that love, demonstrate that love, for you to others. In Jesus precious name, we do pray. Amen. We'll be, hold your place in Deuteronomy chapter six because we will be back there in just a few minutes.

I start a series beginning the first of the year on glorifying the Lord. I asked, what does God want? What does he desire? What does he deserve from Missouri Avenue Baptist Church? Above all things, he deserves to be glorified, to be glorified in us, in our good works.

In first Corinthians ten thirty one, it says, whether therefore you eat or drink or whatsoever you do, do all to the glory of God. Do all to give glory unto your maker. Do all to give glory unto your savior. Give all to give glory to the king of kings and the Lord of lords who gives us all good things. In Matthew five sixteen, it says, let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your father which is in heaven.

The gift of salvation is indeed a gift. It is free. For by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. You cannot earn salvation. You cannot earn a place in heaven.

It is not within you to do it because we are lost in sin. Powerless to its slavery. There's only one who can free us from that. There is only one who can save us. From an eternity separated from him in the lake of fire, and that is Jesus Christ.

And salvation is a gift. You can't earn it. You receive it by faith. As you put your faith and trust in the only one who is able to save your soul. However, once you become a child of God, like any child, we have responsibilities in the family of God.

We have privileges many but we also have responsibilities. We have a responsibility as God's children to bring glory to our father. It is not only a responsibility, indeed it is a privilege to do so. To represent him in this world, that others might see Jesus in us and that our savior and our Lord might be exalted. God wants to be exalted today in this service.

God wants to be exalted every day in the lives of his children and in every time we gather together as Missouri Avenue Baptist Church, he is worthy of our exaltation. How do we demonstrate how do we show in our lives how great the Lord is, what he's done for us? Well, we demonstrated in our faith. We looked at that a couple weeks ago. We demonstrate the faith, our faith in God, and as we do, in declaring our faith and in living out our faith before the world and in our services and in our place of work, because remember, Missouri Avenue Baptist Church is not the building, it's not the lot, it's the people, and we're we're part of a family, a church, and we minister and we represent him as this church family wherever we go throughout the week.

And we have an opportunity to demonstrate our faith before others that they might glorify our father which is in heaven. We have an opportunity to demonstrate the love of God in our life and that's what we're looking at this morning and we'll come back to that in just a moment. We started that last week by looking at the love that God has for us. The only way for us to truly have any understanding of what the word agape in Greek means, the love that is the word for love that is used so often throughout the New Testament is to not look in a dictionary, but to look at the word of God and see how God loves us. And we looked at that last week.

And then this and then also, coming in the next couple weeks, by demonstrating God's holiness. We have an opportunity to glorify God by our good works in demonstrating the holiness of God. Now, as I mentioned, last Sunday, we began our study on demonstrating God's love. And looking in first John chapter four at the love God has for us. I'm singing one of my favorite songs, the love of God.

That last verse is one of my favorite songs, one of my favorite poems. Could we with ink the ocean fill, and where the sky a parchment made, were every stalk on earth a quilt, a pin, and every man a scribe by trade. To write the love of God above would drain the ocean dry, nor could the scroll contain the whole, though stretched from sky to sky. The love of God. How great it is toward us.

This morning, we reminded in Romans chapter five and verse five of that love. It says, and hope maketh not ashamed because the love of God is shed abroad in our heart hearts by the holy spirit which is given unto us. That same love that God has for us has been bestowed upon us and within us by his spirit that he has given to every child of God. And it is also this love which we have therefore been commanded to exercise and demonstrate in our life towards God and others. First John four seven eight, beloved, let us love one another.

That's an imperative. That doesn't mean, you know, you you might want to consider this. It's not just a suggestion. God commands us. He says, let us love one another.

We must love one another. Everyone that loveth is born of God and knoweth God. He that loveth not, knoweth not God, for God is love. God is love. God has commanded us to take the love that he has put in our hearts by his spirit and to demonstrate and express that love towards him and towards others.

It is a selfless and a sacrificial and unconditional love. It is a love that does not seek personal gain or advantage from the object of that love. There's many that are confused today in our culture about love because they think love is actually something that is quite selfish or they think love is just a feeling. But love is not about me. Love is about the one I'm what?

I'm loving. It's not about what they do for me, it's what I can do for them. That's the love of God that doesn't seek personal gain or advantage but a love that is primarily interested in the good, the well-being, and the happiness of the one that is loved. This is the love of our savior Jesus Christ towards us. It is the love whereby he loved us and gave himself for us.

While we were yet sinners. It is the love whereby he has promised to never leave us nor forsake his children unconditionally. Once you are born again into God's family, that's a permanent relationship and God has promised to his children who have been born again by his grace. Whom he loves. With an unconditional love that he will never leave us nor forsake us.

Herein is the love, herein is love, not that we love God, but that he loved us, and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins. This morning, as we continue to focus on glorifying God, we look at the love that we should return in thanksgiving to the one who first loved us. How do we show our love for God? How do you show your love for God? How can God be glorified in the demonstration of our love for him?

Well, the first one is obvious and that is to express that love for God in words, to declare our love for him. An obvious way of demonstrating our love for God, but sometimes one which for some reason we kind of bypass. Why don't you just tell him that you love him? How can we tell him that we love him? We just did.

Oh, how I love Jesus. That's right. Or the chorus we sang, I love you, Lord. Praise God. We can declare our love for him in song.

We can declare our love for him in the preaching and the proclamation of his word that we love and we'll come back to that again in a moment. We can declare our love to him and we should declare our love to him in prayer. What is prayer? It's talking to God. It's talking to God.

Do you ever tell him that you love him? I think sometimes we are so busy, so caught up in our requests and in our pattern of the way we pray, and we think, well, God knows I love Him. But I think He needs to hear it too. There was a husband and wife. They had been married for several years, and the husband was kind of a manly brute of a guy, the type that doesn't cry, and the type that doesn't show his emotions.

And his wife asked him one day, why don't you ever tell me that you love me? And he said to her, woman, didn't I tell you that I loved you when we got married? She said, well, yes. He said, well, if that ever changes, I'll let you know. But that doesn't suffice, does it?

Why? No, it doesn't. No, you like to hear from your husbands, I love you. And your husbands like to hear it from you too. And I think God likes to hear it from us also.

And then we can also declare our love to God before others. We can declare our love to God before others and tell them how much we love our Lord. You know, when you're dating and you've met this person that just changes your world and you can't get them off your mind, you tell other people how much you love them, how much you love what they say, how much you love what they do. A matter of fact, to the point that your roommate, if it's in college like mine, might get tired of hearing it after a while. Do your coworkers ever get tired of you telling them how much you love God?

Or do they even know that you love him? If we really love him so much, why does it seem sometimes that we're ashamed to tell others how much we love him? We have an opportunity to glorify our God and letting others know around us that we love him and he means more than anything else to us. The Psalmist declares in Psalm one sixteen one simply, I love the Lord because he hath heard my voice and my supplication. I love the Lord, the Psalmist tells us, because he heard my voice.

He heard my voice when I was in need. He hears my supplications. He isn't a god that is is is watching from a distance that doesn't care about my life and isn't involved. No. He is a personal savior.

Loves me, died for me, and is with me. And I love him. The Psalm has says. We should echo that in our lives also. Number two, I gotta move along or I'll never get done this morning.

Second way we can demonstrate the love of God and our love for God in our lives, we read about here in Deuteronomy chapter six. God says in verse four, here oh Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord. There's only one God. There is only one Lord, Israel. He is your God.

He is your Lord. You know who he is. He's the one who brought you up out of Egypt by a mighty hand. He sent the plagues upon Pharaoh. He parted the Red Sea.

He destroyed Pharaoh's army so they would follow you no more. He fed you with manna in the wilderness. He brought, he brought you into the land or at least he will. Coming very soon in Deuteronomy. In Joshua.

And he says, and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. You only got one Lord. There is only one Lord. There is only one God. So, should not that one Lord and that one God have all of your allegiance?

Shouldn't he have your loyalty? Shouldn't he have your love? Shouldn't he be the singular God in your life? Because there is no other. There is make believe gods.

People fashion with their hands. There's only one creator, only one savior, only one redeemer. And we owe him our love because he first loved us. He demonstrated his love for us. How can we withhold our love for him?

Sincere love from our heart, our soul, expressed with all of our might. He is due our love. And he deserves it all. And it tells us in verse six and these words which I command thee this day shall be in thine heart. Now, verse six is not disconnected from verse five.

You remember the chapters and verses, they were added by the the chapter divisions and verse division. Those were added by men. Originally, when Deuteronomy was written, it was one continuing text and sometimes, we allow the verse and chapter divisions to affect our thinking and to disconnect one verse from another. Verse six, in these word which I command thee this day shall be in thine heart is connected to thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy might. Because one of the ways that we can demonstrate the love of God, our love for God in our life is to welcome his word.

Where? Into our heart. To welcome his word into our heart. We demonstrate our love for Christ by taking his word into our hearts or to heart, you might say. It is always been God's will that his word, his law would be written not would be written not only on tables of stone and parchment and pages of text, but that it might be written where?

In our heart. In Jeremiah thirty one thirty one says, but this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord. I will put my law in their inward parts and I will write it in their hearts and will be their God and they shall be my people. He's speaking there of the day when Israel returns to their savior. But he has already entered into your heart who know him as savior.

And his law is not just written upon the pages of the text in front of you, but through by the power of Holy's Holy Spirit, it is written upon our hearts. And as we read God's word, which the Bible calls the sword of the what? The sword of the spirit. And welcome it into our hearts, we do show and express our love for God. Receiving God's word into our heart with faith and joy and in obedience is the way God clearly gives us here in Deuteronomy six and to Israel to express and to demonstrate our love for the Lord.

To embrace the word of God and welcome it into our life in faith. Faith that is indeed in God's word because it is God's word and not what? Man's word. Taking it to heart and placing our full faith and trust. In the word of God.

First Thessalonians two thirteen, for this cause also thank we God without ceasing because when you receive the word of God which he heard of us, you received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God which effectually worketh also in you that believe. Paul says, I thank the Lord. I thank the Lord that when you heard the word of God, you did not receive it as the words of men, but you received it as it is in truth, the what? The word of God. It is powerful, effectual, that is true, that is trustworthy because it is not the words of man, it is the words of God.

And God, one of the ways we demonstrate our love for God is when we brace His Word as his word. What is written here is the word of God. We have it in our hands. Just as though he came down and talked to you. That's what this is.

Don't doubt it. Don't question it. Don't twist it or purposefully let it slip. Believe it. Believe it.

It's his word. It it reminded me of the illustration I used I mentioned it in Sunday school this morning, and believe it or not, somebody hadn't heard it, so maybe you haven't heard it. I used this illustration of the man that has the wheelbarrow and has been pushed across Niagara Falls on a tightrope. And he asked the people that are standing by, do you believe I can push the wheelbarrow across Niagara Falls on a tightrope? And they say, yeah, you can do it.

And he says, sir, would you come here? And he asked this man, he says, do you believe I can push the wheelbarrow across Niagara Falls on the tight rope? And the man said, looks at says, well, yeah, I do believe it. He says, great, that's great, get in the wheelbarrow. Get in the wheelbarrow.

Just get in the wheelbarrow, it's simple, you believe it, get in. Do you believe God's word or not? Do you believe it's his word or man's word? If you believe it's God's word, then get in the wheelbarrow. I use that in references and illustration to being saved.

There's a lot of people that say, oh yeah. Yeah, I believe in the Lord. They haven't put their faith and trust in him. They haven't put their soul and their eternity in his hands. They're they're a Christian.

They're in name only. They're a professor but not a possessor. No, we have to truly really trust him. That means get in the wheelbarrow but that illustration also works morning for simply believing what God tells us in His word as His children. If God says do this, then we'll do it, if we really believe that it's His word.

What's there to lose? Is God going to fail you? Is God going to lead you astray? No. Welcome it in faith.

Welcome it with joy. I I thought of this as they were singing the the song this morning. Welcome it with joy. Despite our unworthiness, God has given to us his word. He has told us his will.

He has revealed in it to us his nature that we might know him and serve him all our days. I am not worthy to hold this book. I am not worthy to hear it. I'm I am certainly not worthy to preach it. But yet God has given it to me.

Preserved it for me He brought people in my life to share it with me and has entrusted it to me, to not only live it but also to preach it and to teach it. What joy! What joy! What privilege we have? I know how we do take it for granted.

First John five three, for this is the love of God that we keep his commandments and his commandments are not grievous. The word grievous means burdensome. To the world, this book is not a book of joy. This is a book of rules. This is this is a book of of do's and don'ts.

This is a book of restrictions. That's how they look at God's word. This is God telling them how to live and what to do but we know as Christians, that's not what this is. This is God's love letter to us. This is God revealing himself to us.

This is the good news of the gospel that despite you're a sinner who can't keep the law, God gave his son, so that you might be saved and know him. Become his child and have the opportunity to serve him and to bring glory to his name. And the commandments that are found in this book are not grievous to the Christian. They're what? They're joyous.

They're joyous. They're not a burden. They're joy. They're joy. This is a joy.

It's a joy to preach. It's a joy to teach. It's a joy to read. It's a joy to follow. And it should be in our lives.

Now, hold your place in Deuteronomy. Turn if you would quickly to Psalm chapter 19. I don't think I have this on the, no, I don't have this on the screen. Psalm 19. Psalm 19 verse seven.

David writes, he says, the law of the Lord is perfect converting the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure making wise the simple. We're in verse eight. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.

The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever. The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yay, than much fine gold. Sweeter also than honey. And the honeycomb.

Moreover, by them is thy servant warn and in keeping them, there is great reward. What does the word of God do? It rejoices the heart of God's children. Welcome it into your life. It will only do you good And in doing so, you demonstrate the love of God.

Declare it in song. Preach it and teach it. Put a smile on your face. Respond to it with joy and not a frown. You don't know how discouraging it is to a pastor to be up here preaching in the pulpit and seeing people week after week with their head in their hands, looking down on the pew or at the floor or with a scowl on their face.

There's a problem there because the preaching of God's word should bring you what? Joy. Joy. And if there is something there that's robbing you of that joy, please deal with it. If it's between you and God, deal with it.

It's between you and the preacher, deal with it. Come talk to me. Because don't let the devil take away your joy. And your opportunity to demonstrate the love of God. In the joy that you show in his word.

We welcome it with faith and we welcome it with joy and we welcome it with an obedient heart. Can't leave that off. If you are to demonstrate the love of God God is clear. One of the ways we do that is by obeying his word. Exodus 20 verse six, speaking of God and showing mercy unto thousands of them them that what?

Love me and keep my commandments. God puts those two together. Together, love me, keep my commandments. How do we demonstrate the love that we love God? We keep his commandments.

John fourteen fifteen, Jesus says, if you love me, what? Keep my commandments. James one twenty says, two says, be ye doers of the word and not hearers only deceiving your own selves. You say to me, oh, pastor, I love God. Oh, I love he is the love of my life.

He's more important than anything else. But you do not strive. It's not evident in your life that you're striving to keep his commandments. Then, your words are what? Contrary to your actions.

Because God says, if you love me, you'll keep my commandments. The child who comes to their parents and says, mom and dad, I love you. I love you. And mom and dad says, okay, wonderful, go take out the trash. No.

I ain't taking out the trash. What just happened? Well, the kid said, on the one hand, I love you, mom and dad, but on the other hand, I don't care what you say, I'm not taking out the trash. Those two are contrary, one to the other. And maybe he does love his parents, but not as he should.

Because he loved them as he should, he would what? He would take out the trash. He would be obedient. We sing songs like, Oh, How I Love Jesus. But sometimes we need to step back and think, Are my actions demonstrating that I love Him?

Are they supporting that I love him? Or are they teaching something contrary? I found this little story in this book I have. It's about a Wycliffe missionary by the name of Areta Loving. Says she was washing her breakfast dishes when she saw Jimmy, her five year old neighbor headed straight toward her porch, her back porch.

She had just finished painting it. The the paint was fresh. And she yelled out the window, come around to the front door, Jimmy. There's wet paint on the porch rails. Jimmy replied, I'll be careful.

She said, no, Jimmy. Don't come up the steps. Come around the front. Jimmy said once again, I'll be careful. She shouted once again, Jimmy, stop.

I don't want carefulness. I want obedience. As the words burst from her mouth, she suddenly remembered Samuel's promise to King Saul, To obey is better than sacrifice. How would Jimmy respond? She wondered.

To her relief, she shouted back, alright, loving. I'll go around to the front door. He was the only one who called her by her last name like that. That was her last name, Loving. And it endeared him to her from the beginning.

As he turned around the house, Loretta thought to herself, how often am I like Saul or like Jimmy? Wanting to go my own way, I rationalize, I'll be careful, Lord, as I proceed with my own plans. But he doesn't want carefulness. He wants what? Obedience.

How do I show God I love him? I obey him. I trust him. I trust his word. When God says, the fear of the Lord bringeth us there, but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe.

The fear of man bringeth a snare, but whoso putteth their trust in the Lord shall be safe. And I've got to talk to somebody about something. I've got to confront them, And I don't want to because I'm afraid of how they might respond. And the Lord reminds me, the fear of man brings a what? A snare.

But whoso putteth their trust in the Lord shall be saved. What should I do? Trust in the Lord and not allowing the fear of man to entrap me to where I don't do the things that I need to, that I don't confront things that I need to, that I don't share the gospel with people I need to. So often we hesitate. And why do we hesitate?

We don't trust him. We don't trust his word. And how can we say, Lord, I love you, and then turn around and say, God, I don't trust you. Jesus obeyed his heavenly father. He's the greatest example of all.

It says in John fourteen thirty one, but that the world may know that I love the father and as the father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence. Jesus was going to the cross and he said to his disciples that the world may know that I love the father. As the father hath given me, gave me commandment, even so I what? I do.

The Bible says in Philippians two, he thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but Jesus made himself of no reputation, took upon him the form of a servant, was made in the likeness of men, and being found in fashion as a man, he became what? Obedient, obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. He obeyed. As he was about to go to the Mount Of Olives into the Garden Of Gethsemane, he prayed unto his father. He said, let this cup pass from me as he sweat as it tells us in the book of Luke as it were great drops of blood.

But he ended his prayer, not my will, but thine be done. Because he loved humanity, yes, but also because he loved too. He loved the father. He obeyed and he followed through. We have that same opportunity to pick up our cross and follow him.

No, we're probably not going to have to suffer anywhere near the suffering of our savior for him ever. We'll never suffer in a way that compares. But God has a will for our life. He's told us most of it right here in his word. And if we love him, we'll follow him.

How do we demonstrate that? Will we demonstrate that at home, in our own personal life? By simply obeying the things God tells us in his word. We demonstrate a church in our response to God's word and being submissive and contrite and confessing our sins and and changing our ways, allowing God to change them. Not continuing to do the things that dishonor him, and not being content with the status quo.

Are we going to be a complacent church that's just kind of gliding by? Are we going to people who love God? And recognize that God is conforming us to the image of his son, and we're going to follow him. By doing things God's way, in our worship, in our ministry, not not pragmatically but biblically. That means in in what we do in our church, the decisions we make, and the worship that we have, that we do those things we believe according to God's word brings glory to him and trusting him to bring the increase.

Or are we gonna start compromising because, hey, it works. The rock and roll music works. Would seem. But I don't believe that's God's way to bring that music in here. So we don't.

We teach and preach the word of God plainly. That's what God tells us to do. We love one another. That's what God tells us to do. And we're going to do it his way By being faithful and not convenient Christians.

By being faithful and not convenient Christians. The word of God tells us in Hebrews ten twenty five, do not forsake the assembling of ourselves together. I'm glad you're here today. I'd love to see you every week. We have a Sunday night and a Wednesday night service.

If you can, come. Give God everything you can give him. Don't hold back. Be faithful. Be faithful in your church attendance.

Be faithful in your prayer life. Be faithful in your service to him. As obedient children, as we show the love of God in our lives. If you look back in Deuteronomy chapter six, In verse seven, says, not only are we to take these things in our heart, but we're to teach them diligently unto our what? If you love God, then you won't just hide these words in your heart, you'll do what?

You'll share it with the next generation. You'll share it with them. Because they need it, and He wants to know them too. So, you'll teach them. I like this verse right here, Mark ten forty one, And when Jesus saw it, he was much to plea displeased and said unto them, suffer the little children to come unto me and forbid them not for such is the kingdom of God.

We have a children's ministry. As long as I'm here, we'll have a children's ministry. And I'd love to see that children's ministry grow and a teen ministry come about because we're to give the word of God to the children. They're important. Some people say, well, we gotta have a children's ministry to reach the families.

Well, I'd love to reach the families But it's not just about the families. It's about the children. We have vacation bible school every year. That somewhat difficult for a church of our size to put on. We can use hell.

But we do it. Because the kids in this neighborhood, they need to know who. Jesus Christ and they need to hear his word. Says, teach it to your children. Talk talk of the things, the word of God to them when thou sitest in thine house and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up, talk about them.

Don't just talk about the football game. Don't just talk about your hobbies. Don't just talk about what happened at work. Talk about who? Jesus and the word of God.

If you love him, comes natural. And then, it says in verse eight, and thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes, thou shalt write them upon the post of thine house, and upon thy gates. What does that? Keep the word of God what? Before you.

How do you demonstrate the love of God? Keep his word before your eyes. Hide it in your heart so that you don't depart from it. Psalm one nineteen nine through 11, Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way by taking heed thereto according to Thy word? With my whole heart have I sought Thee.

O let me not wander from Thy commandments. Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against God. Why would Joseph not sleep with Potiphar's wife? Because he didn't want to commit so great a sin against who? God.

Why? Loved him. He loved him. And his word was in Joseph's heart. And he knew right from wrong.

And he didn't want to let his God down. He loved him and so he said, no. I won't do it and so Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego said, no, we won't bow and so, Daniel said, no, I am going to pray to my God anyway because I what? I love him. And I must keep his commandments.

I'd like to close this morning by reading words of the hymn. It's 332 in your hymn book, and we're going to sing it for the invitation song in just a moment, which means I just changed the invitation, Kate, to three thirty two. We sang this song last week as one of our congregationals, and I just want to read the words to you this morning in closing. Written by a boy of about 10 years old, I think. These words.

The music written by A. J. Gordon, a well known Baptist preacher. He wrote, my Jesus, I love thee. I know thou art mine.

For thee all the follies of sin, I resign. My gracious redeemer, my savior art thou if ever I love thee. My Jesus, 'tis now. I love thee because thou hast first loved me and purchased my pardon on Calvary's Tree. I love thee for wearing the thorns on thy brow.

If ever I love thee, my Jesus now. I love thee in life. I will love thee in death and praise thee as long as thou lendest me breath and say when the death do lies cold on my brow, if ever I love thee, my Jesus now. In mansions of glory, an endless delight, I'll ever adore thee in heaven so bright. I'll sing with the glittering crown on my brow.

If ever I love thee, my Jesus, 'tis now. Bible says a little child shall lead them. What a profound poem from the heart of a child who loved Jesus and knew him. If you're here today, I have a question for you before you leave this morning. Do you know him?

If you don't know him as your Lord and Savior, if you've never come to him in repentance and faith, and are born again by his grace, then what I preached about this morning, you don't completely understand because you can't love him who you do not know. But he knows you, he died for you, and he welcomes you today. He invites you to come into his family if you'll put your faith and trust in him. And as we sing this hymn of invitation, I plead with you this morning. Will you come?

Just walk this aisle. And I'll I'll introduce you to someone or I'll take you myself and show you from God's word how you can be saved today and know it. If you're a child of God this morning, God is impressed on your heart, some area of your life where you're not demonstrating your love for God. Why don't you come also? Bow your heart and your head in prayer.

Confess to God that you do love him and that you haven't been showing it like you should. And show him today. Let's pray. Dear heavenly father, we thank you Lord. For your word and for your love for us.

Thank you Lord for the opportunity we've been given to declare our love for you and word and song, testimony but also in our deeds and in our works that we might bring glory to our father which is in heaven. Lord, that we might bring glory to you and by being obedient to your word, hiding it in our hearts, by sharing it with others because it is indeed your word. And we love you because of it And we thank you for it today. And I pray, Lord, if there's one here today that's never trusted in you, to be Lord and Savior of their life, I pray that they might do that this morning. And I pray, Lord, for your children, that if you're dealing with in our lives this morning, we wouldn't put that off.

We wouldn't put that off till tomorrow. We wouldn't put that off till later but we deal with you now. Upfront or in our seats, Lord, we just bow our head before our God and confess and thank you for giving us the opportunity to love you more. In Jesus' name, we do pray. Amen.