And take your Bibles if you would, Revelation chapter four. Revelation chapter four This is a scene that takes place in heaven. John has seen it via a vision here in Revelation, a future event, a day, a time in which the redeemed in Christ Jesus represented by the 24 elders here We'll fall at his feet in heaven. We'll crash our cast our crowns before him. And we'll worship him.

Chapter four verse 10. The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne. And worshiped him that liveth forever and ever. That's Jesus. And cast their crowns before the throne saying, thou art worthy, oh Lord, to receive glory and honor and power.

For thou hast created all things and for thy pleasure, they are and were created. Let's go to the Lord in prayer once more. Lord, thank you for this day. For this opportunity, to praise your name, to declare your glory, your majesty, your holiness, and your love. Lord, may our service today bring honor and glory to you.

May it bring you pleasure. For which you created us. Lord, help us to understand how we might trust you, serve you, love you in such a way that every day, we might bring our creator and savior pleasure. In Jesus name, we do pray. Amen.

Again, this morning, it's a review for some of you. So, why did God create you? He created you for his good pleasure, for his pleasure. He did so simply because it suited his good pleasure to do so. It was his desire.

He wanted to and so because he is God, he did so. He created us and this world in which we live. He did so because it gave him pleasure to do so. Like for some of you, I mentioned, putting together a puzzle or a model rocket or writing a song or building a cabinet or catching a bunch of fish. Whatever it is that you do that brings you pleasure, that you accomplish, that gives you fulfillment.

The creation of this universe, this Earth, and particularly mankind in the image of God. Brought God pleasure. I love to sing. Some people have asked me, why don't you have somebody else lead singing? Well, I don't have anybody knocking down the door trying to get up here to do it for one.

But the other is, I love singing. I love leading singing. It brings me pleasure to sing, to sing praises most of all, to my savior, to sing it here with you. It brought and brings God pleasure. To create us and to make us in his image.

He did so in order that you might continue to bring him pleasure by doing his will and those things for which he made you. You know, if you make a kite and looks all pretty and everything and you go, wow, that was fun. I made a kite but the kite won't fly. Does it bring you pleasure then or does it bring you only frustration? It brings you frustration.

I made the kite and the dumb thing won't fly. You know, I think sometimes God feels that way. He created mankind and mankind chose a different path. He gave us free will to allow us to choose whether we would serve him or serve other things and sadly, in the day in which we live, it seems that most people are just satisfied to serve other things. And not the God who made them.

We can bring God pleasure today and every day. First of all, by choosing him as our savior and Lord. By surrendering to him in faith and saying, Lord, here am I. Save me. Use me.

And then, by serving him in every aspect of our life each day, remembering him. In doing so, you can bring God what? Pleasure. You can bring him pleasure by choosing him as your Lord by faith and trusting him more each day Exhibited in your obedience. Obedience.

We talked about faith a couple weeks ago. How do you bring God pleasure by putting your faith in him? By putting your faith in him to save you but not only that, by learning to trust him more each day for faith is trust. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart. Lean not into thine own understand.

All thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths. It brings God pleasure when the people he created learn to trust him for he is trustworthy and put their faith in him and therefore, follow and obey him. Why is it that we struggle to obey him? Because we do not trust him. That's one of the main problems.

We, our faith is weak. It needs to grow and get stronger and as it does, one step at a time, God is pleased. It brings him pleasure when we trust and obey. But it also brings God pleasure when we choose to love and serve him first of all in our lives. Valuing him and our relationship with him above all else And also choosing to value others above self.

Demonstrating to them his love also. How can you bring God pleasure? Trust him. Love him. Love him.

You know, do you desire to be loved? Of course, you do. Why is that? Because the God who created you also was a god who desires to be what? To be loved and he placed that desire within you.

He desires to be loved too. What does love mean? The love of God. What is what is love? What does that word mean?

What what does it mean when it's used in scripture? What does it mean we talk about it in the context of loving God? Well, first of all, we're not talking about lust or infatuation, hormones, or a mushy feeling. Now, mind you, the love between a man and a woman is not in itself bad but sacred and wonderful. That is as long as it is constrained by the morals and standards which God has set.

And hopefully leads to a deeper love and commitment. Hebrews thirteen four, we read this, marriage is honorable in all and the bed undefiled but whoremongers and adulterers, God will judge. The love between a man and a woman is a wonderful thing. Created by who? By God.

As long as it is constrained by the laws of God. As long as it is practiced within the parameters of God and so God says, marriage is wonderful but but unrestricted lust is not And so, we must understand the difference. We live in a world today that doesn't what? Doesn't understand the difference and they're settling for what they call love and sadly, many of them never experience the true love of God that we're talking about today. We're not talking solely of the affection one shares for a relative or close friend.

This is represented in Greek and in scripture by the word meaning brotherly love. You might have heard of a city up north called Philadelphia. What does that mean? The city of brotherly love. This word used often throughout the scripture.

This is this kind of affection is not to be treated lightly. It is used as I said often in scripture. For the love between a friend or a loved one, a relative, but it too falls short of the love which Christ has for us. Ever noticed how quickly relatives and close friends can get offended at one another? Ever noticed that?

You know, oh, I, yeah, I love you brother and then the next day, oh, I hate you and I never want to see you again. What happened? Well, that that love, that affection between relatives, that that can be can be troubled and sometimes hurt gets in the way and sometimes that love just seems to what? Disappear. At times, loved ones are even estranged from one another.

Over the most ridiculous of things. Now, this love is a wonderful love given to us by God as well but it falls short of the love that we're talking about today. Know this love, the love of God is a love that transcends family ties. A love that transcends friendships and in infatuations. It is a love which invokes a sacrificial, selfless commitment toward another which neither time nor distance nor offense can destroy or diminish.

If you truly love someone with this kind of love, yes, they will fail. Yes, they will hurt you. Yes, they may discourage you they may offend you but you'll still forgive em and you'll still love em because that is the love of who? That is the love of God for us. That's the love.

That we're talking about. We read about here in Romans chapter eight beginning in verse verse 35. It says, who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or famine or nakedness or peril or sword? As it is written for thy sake, we are killed all the day long.

We are as accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay and all these things were more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor powers nor things present nor things to come nor height nor depth nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. There is nothing that can separate you from his love. There is nothing that can stop God from loving The child for whom he died.

Who chose him as their Lord and savior. His mercies and love, you will find our new what? Every morning. It is because of his compassions. That we are not consumed.

For they fail not because his love, his love compels him, compelled him to send his son to die on the cross in our place. It compels him to forgive the lost sinner who cries out to him to be forgiven and saved. It compels him to forgive the sins and the failures of his children and to never leave them or what? Forsake them. No matter how bad life gets, it cannot separate the child of God.

From the love of Jesus Christ. Amen. No matter how big your failure, if you have received Christ as your Lord and savior, he will pick you back up This is the love of God. This is the love of God which he demonstrated by allowing humanity another chance after failure of Adam and Eve in the garden? After the failure of humanity before the flood, after the failure of humanity at the Tower Of Babel, after Abraham sinned with Hagar and David with Bathsheba, after Israel turned to idols and rejected their Messiah and nailed him to a cross, a cross from which Jesus cried these words, father, forgive them for they know not what they do.

That is the love of God. That despite our sin and rebellion, God still says, if you will come to me, I will in no wise cast you out. That is the love of God. Toward us and indeed, we love him because he what? He first loved Turn if you would in your Bibles to Matthew 22.

If you would, Matthew 22, read a few verses there. Speaking of the we love him part this morning, let's read what Jesus had to say. Somebody came to him and said, master, what what what's the greatest commandment of all? You know, is it the first commandment? Certainly, it must be the first commandment, you know?

Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Or or maybe it's the the fourth commandment. Maybe it's the, you know, the the one that says, thou shalt not kill or murder. That that sounds like a pretty important commandment, don't you think? And so, I think he was listening maybe to hear one of the, which of the 10 commandments or or I think the Jews have 600 and some.

They've added to it just a little bit. And he was expecting, John, pick one out of the blue. Well, Jesus didn't pick one out of the blue. He didn't pick one maybe that some would have expected him to. No, he went to Deuteronomy chapter six and there, he quoted and we read in verse 36.

Master, which is the greatest commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment and the second is like unto it. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments, hang all the law and the prophets.

Jesus said, the greatest commandment is this, love me. Love me with all your heart. Give me all of your allegiance. Give me first place in your life, in your heart. Love me first of all.

That is the greatest commandment and the second is similar. Love everybody else like who? Like yourself. Your neighbor, as he goes on to describe in Luke, is anybody you come across that's in need? That's your neighbor.

That's your neighbor. He said, on these two laws, hang all the law and the prophets. In other words, if you get these two, then keeping rest of God's commands won't be so hard because if you love your neighbor, you're not going to kill him. If you love your neighbor, you're not going to steal from him. If you love your neighbor, you're not going to lie to him.

If you love your neighbor, you're not going to be envious and covetous of what he has. If you love your God, you're not going to have other gods. You're not going to bow down to graven images. You're not going to take his name in vain. You're going to take time and find time to be with him.

You see, on these two commandments, hang all the law and the prophets. If you just love God, then everything else will just fall into what? Will fall into place. Doesn't mean it'll always be easy but it'll always make sense. And God will help you.

How is it that this love love toward God is demonstrated in our life? How do we demonstrate? How how can we identify this this kind of love in actions? Because this word is an action word. It's a word that demands action but God commended his love toward us and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Okay? How do we know God loves us? Because Christ came in, died for us. That's how we know Christ. God loves us.

He didn't just say, I love you. He actually did something to demonstrate that he loves us. That love compelled him to what? To action. The love of God compels us to action and what actions and attitudes in this world, in your life, and mine demonstrate this kind of love toward who?

Toward God. Well, first of all, and I want you to notice some of these things might sound familiar because they are similar to the way we demonstrate our faith in Christ. You see, these are not separate items. These two work what? Hand in hand.

As we demonstrate our faith in Christ, we'll also be demonstrating our what? Our love for Christ. How do we demonstrate our love for Christ? Bring him pleasure. Well, first of all, by our sincere worship.

And that's what we're here to do today. Together, publicly. By the way, you can worship on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday as well, can't you? We've been commanded to come together and worship him publicly. Hebrews ten twenty five but we also need to be doing it privately each and every day.

In song and in testimony, in preaching, in teaching, in prayer, and testifying, falling down before him in humility and with abandon. To offer him all my love and all my heart. That's worship because it shows that he is worthy. He is worthy of my love. He is worthy of all my heart.

To surrender to him every nook and cranny. To surrender all. We see this out. I surrender all. It's one of the invitation songs we sing sometime.

Have you surrendered all? It takes a lot of love for you to surrender yourself to somebody else, doesn't it? It does. That doesn't come easy. We want to be in control.

We want to do what we want to do. That is human nature. But if you're saved, you also have a divine nature in here. Amen. The Holy Spirit.

He sheds abroad the love of God Christ abroad in our hearts. For each other and for him. How do we demonstrate our love? By surrendering all. How do we do so by our worship, by adoring and exalting him with all the energy we can muster?

I know some people can sing hymns of praise to God kind of softly without any energy. I can't do that. I've never been able to do that. Every Monday morning, I wake up with a sore throat. And I had music teachers in in high school and college that said, well, you gotta breathe this way and you gotta sing this way and you you can't push it too much or else you're going to give yourself a sore throat and every day, every Sunday, I do it.

Because I just can't sing softly. And whether those hearing it cringe or smile, my God in heaven is smiling. Amen. And I'm smiling. Because he deserves to be exalted and adored with all that I have.

Out of a true love for him, for him, for who he is, and for what he has done for us. I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever. With my mouth will I make known his faithfulness to all generations. There's a a little chorus that I learned as a child. It's entitled I Love You Lord.

It goes, you can sing with me if you know what. I love you Lord and I lift my voice to worship you oh my soul rejoice take joy my king in what you hear may it be a sweet sweet sound in your I show my love for Christ and my worship and you can too and should. But we're not quite done yet. By our conversation with others. How can you demonstrate your love for God by your conversation with others?

Well, what do you mean by that? By that which you say, and you talk about. You know, I like to talk about things that I want. That I love. I like to talk about my family.

Why? Because they are important to me. What does that mean? That means, I love them. I care about them.

And therefore, I talk about them a lot because they're important to me. I talk about church a lot. Why? Because I love my church. I love the people.

I love the ministry. I love being a pastor and I love my church and so, it doesn't take too long if you stop and talk to me to find out that church is important to me. I love to talk about my God. I love to talk about his his word. Because they are important to me.

I love I love to sing and talk about music. I have found an instrument that I can collect that isn't too expensive. It's called a ukulele. I now have four of them. You want to find out about ukuleles?

Come see me. I have two tenors, a baritone, and an eight string ukulele. And I don't think my wife loves them quite as much as I do. But I do. Maybe with you, you love your job, maybe you love fishing, maybe you love woodworking, maybe you love hunting, maybe you love whatever it is you love.

Cooking. Cooking. You hadn't thought of that. That that just hadn't even crossed my mind. Whatever it is you love, you talk about.

You know something? If you love your God, you're going to do what? You're going to talk about him. If you never talk about him, Your love is lacking because if you loved him, if he's really important to you, then you talk about him. You talk about him with your neighbors, you talk about him with your family.

Because you love him and God hears every word you say and when you talk about him, it brings him what? It brings him pleasure. In Acts four twenty, the disciples were told, don't you talk about that man anymore. Speaking of Jesus, they said to the authorities, we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard. Sorry, do with us what you want but we can't stop talking about who?

We can't stop talking about Jesus because we love him. And then, not only by our conversation with others, do we show our love for God but by our conversation with him, we demonstrate our love for God. When we spend time to talk to him in prayer and in meditation upon his word, you see that's that's a two way communication. You talk to God in prayer, the holy spirit helps you and you communicate with him and then God communicates to us through his what? Through his word which is the sword of the spirit by which the holy spirit helps us to understand and God communicates with us who are his children and if you have the holy spirit, the holy spirit that you receive when you accept Christ as savior, you have a helper and assistant when you talk to him in prayer and when you read his word that you might understand it and apply it to your life and you show him you love him by talking with him, by listening to him, by finding ways to spend time with him.

You miss him. When you don't have that opportunity. When the day gets away from you, when something else comes up, and you don't have the normal time to spend in prayer, to be in God's word. You miss him. You miss your spouse.

If you love your spouse when they're gone, you don't like it. Because you love them and you want them what? You want them near. I have a son in college. I miss him.

Now, I was prepared for him to go and my life isn't meaningless because he's not here because that's the way it is. You raise children and then they what? And then they leave and that's part of God's plan but it doesn't mean that there aren't times that I still want. I still miss him because he is important. And I love him.

Jesus told his disciples that he was going away and they panicked. They panicked. Oh no, you can't go away. Why? Because they loved him.

He was important to them and they pleaded. No, you can't go to the cross. No, you can't die. No, you can't leave us. You must stay with us.

We need you. We love you. We care about you. You are important to us. So, in John chapter 14, Jesus had to say to them, let not your heart be troubled.

You believe in God, believe also in me and my father's house for many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself that where I am, there you may be also. There you may be also.

Jesus told his disciples, you know, it's okay if I go away because when I go away, I'm going to do what? I'm going to come back, okay? Not only that but he told him later in that chapter, the next one, the next one, he said, not only am I coming back but also, when I leave to go to heaven, I'm going to send another comforter, another helper. Amen. And he won't just be with you, he'll be in you and that is the Holy Spirit.

Amen. So, Jesus said, no, I'm not leaving you all together. No, you won't be able to see me and you won't be able to touch me but I'll be here with you. I'll be in you. I'm not going to leave you all by yourself.

When you love somebody, you want to be with them. What set people like Moses and David and Daniel apart from others? What set them apart from others was the time they spent with who? The time they spent with God That's what set them apart. Moses would go to the door of the tabernacle daily to talk to who?

To talk to God and Daniel and David prayed three, at least three times a day, every day. Spent time with their God. How can you show your love for God? You can show your love for God by your sincere worship, by your conversation with others, by your conversation with him, and by your willingness to serve and obey him faithfully loyally. Let me read that last one again.

How can we give him pleasure? How can we demonstrate our love by our willingness to serve and obey him faithfully and loyally. First John five three, for this is the love of God that we what? Keep his commandments and his commandments are not grievous. How can you show that you love God?

It's very simple. Obey him. Just do what he tells you to do. You can show God so you don't have to be some special talent. You you all you've gotta do is simply do what he says.

You know, my children I don't expect of them to be this great successful businessman or scientist or or famous person. That doesn't matter to me. Only two things that matter to me. One, do they know and love God? And number two, did they take out the trash?

Okay? Did they wash the dishes? Did they do their homework? How was a child? Can you demonstrate love for your parents?

Simply do what? Do what they tell them to do. Obey them. And you know the same thing is true of who? The same thing is true of God.

How do you show your love for God? You show God your love by simply obeying his commands. That's simple. It's that simple. And his commands are not grievous.

What does that mean? That means if you know God and you love God, then what God asks you to do, it's not burdensome. It's not burdensome. Now, it's not always easy because your human nature fights you but it's something you want to do. You see, I want to worship God.

I want to read his word. I want to spend time in prayer. I I I want to sing praises to his name. I want to tell others about you. I want to do a it's I don't want to to smoke this and drink that and I don't want to go to these places and do these immoral.

I don't want that. I don't like that. Those restrictions aren't burdensome and God's commands make sense to me. Because I love him. They're not grievous.

They're joy. Sadly, what's grievous is sometimes I fail. And that is grievous. But his commands are not. Joshua twenty one sixteen.

I mean, John twenty one sixteen. He say it unto to him, he say it to him again the second time, Simon, or you may know him as Peter, lovest thou me? He said to him, yea Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. He said unto him, Jesus says to Peter, feed my sheep. If you really love me, Jesus said, you'll do what I want.

You'll do what I ask. If you really love me, Peter, you'll you'll put down the fishing nets. This is after Jesus's resurrection. After Jesus resurrection, he comes to his disciples and they're out in the boat fishing again. They're fishermen, some of them by trade and certainly fishing with something that Peter loved and so he was out there fishing and Jesus comes along the shoreline and Peter jumps out of the boat and he and he swims to Jesus.

He can't wait for the boat to come back in and he gets to shore and he's sitting there with Jesus and Jesus says, Peter, do you love me? And Peter says, yes, Lord. You know that I love you and Jesus says, then, Peter, feed my sheep. What is he saying? Do what I require, what I ask of you.

And what had God asked of Peter that he preached the word, that he teach the word, that he disciple, new believers, that he plant churches and that's exactly what he did with his life and that's what God had called him to do and he said, Peter, if you love me, do what I ask. Embrace the mission. Let go of the fishing net. And take up your cross and follow me. Indeed, Peter died on the cross too.

Matter of fact, Peter, it is said, refused to be crucified right side up because he just did not feel worthy to die in the same manner as his Lord and they crucified him upside down. That was after years of feeding the Lord's sheep. Love that unlovable person. Teach those that are ignorant. Comfort those who are hurting.

Encourage those that are struggling. Lift up those that are fallen. Forgive those who have hurt you. Take up your cross. And follow Jesus.

If you love him, if you love him. God hasn't asked us all to be Peter or to be a pastor or a teacher. But you may have a child in your home that needs teaching. You may have a spouse that needs loving. You may have a friend that needs encouraging.

Do that be Jesus' hands and his feet and his mouth Represent him. And fulfill his ministry. And then finally, Romans twelve one and two as we close this morning. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that that is seen, that's because of the mercy that God has shown toward us. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service.

Now, why would that be reasonable to to give God your life? Present it to him. Here it is. It's now your life. Here it is.

Take it. Use it. It's yours. I present it to you. A living sacrifice.

Why why would that be reasonable? It wouldn't be reasonable for you to do that for me or me for you. Say, that'd be kind of, you know, odd, pastor. Yeah, it would be. But it's not odd in respect of who?

Of God, of Christ. Why? It's your reasonable service because of the love that he showed to you. When he hung on a what? When he hung on a cross.

And it is reasonable. That we should love him so much. That we should say, Lord, here am I. Send me. Use me.

Take my life. How about you? Do you really love him? As you should. If we talked about these things, do you, do you really talk to others about him a lot?

Very little. Do you spend time with him in prayer and in his word every day? Or just on Sunday? Do you worship him sincerely from your heart? Do you have you given your life to him?

To serve and obey him faithfully. It is your what? Your reasonable service. And if you love him, you will. And you'll confess where you've fallen short.

And maybe this morning you would say yeah there's this area I see this and I see that yes. My love is not what it should be. Then would you talk to him about it today? Will you talk to him about it? Will you not let this time slip you by?

Will you confess your sin so he can forgive and cleanse you from all unrighteousness? And maybe you're here today and you've never trusted Christ as savior. The first thing you do is you must accept his love. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. For as many as received him, to them gave you power to become the sons of God even to them that believe on his name.

For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Would you receive his gift of love today? He wants to save you. He wants to change you because he loves you. He died to do so.

And he pleads with you today. Would you come as we give this hymn of invitation? Let's pray. Dear heavenly father, thank you Lord for your love for us. Thank you for all that you've done for us.

Forgive us for our lack of love. Forgive us for getting caught up in other things so much and forgetting about you. Lord, increase our love. Increase my love. Lord, I pray most of all, if there's one here today that doesn't know you and is yet to receive your love and your son.

I pray that today would be their day of salvation. That they would realize how much you love them. And that they would repent of their sin and trust in Jesus Christ who died for them and rose again. To forgive them, to be their Lord and savior. I pray.

In Jesus name, amen.