Declare Your Love for A Lifetime, Part 2

If you have your Bible, turn with me to the book of the Song of Solomon, Song of Solomon. This is where we were two weeks ago by looking at Abishag and her commitment to Solomon, how she declared her lifelong love to her man. She said these words. She said, put me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm, for love is as strong as death. Jealousy is as severe as sheol. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the Lord. Many waters cannot quench love, nor will rivers overflow it.

If a man were to give all the riches of his house for love, it would be utterly despised. She makes an authoritative statement. She makes a statement that is strong, that's resilient. This is her commitment to her husband. This is her desire to declare her love for the rest of her life. As far as we know, she was committed to him all the days of her life. We talked to you last time about the fact that so many people start out well, but they don't finish well. What is it about their lives that caused that fire to go out?

What is it about their lives that caused them to have a diminished love for one another instead of an increased love for one another? We told you last time that there are certain things that need to take place in our marriage when we declare our love for a lifetime. That is, number one, you need to purify your mind.

Peter says this in 1 Peter 1, verse number 13. Therefore, prepare your minds or gorge your minds for action. Keep sober in spirit. Fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts, which were yours in your ignorance. But like the Holy One who has called you, be holy yourselves and also in all your behavior, because it is written, you shall be holy for I am holy. Peter says you need to gird up your mind.

You need to wrap your mind together. You need to gather all those loose ends and all those distractions and keep sober in spirit. Don't become intoxicated with the things of the world, but keep sober in spirit by fixing your eyes upon the revelation that's about to come. Focusing your eyes above on the Lord, making sure that your mind is clean, your mind is clear. It was Solomon who said that we are to guard our hearts for out of it flow all the issues of life. Everything about life springs from the heart.

And the Bible says, Solomon also tells us, that as a man thinks in his heart, so is he. Your heart is the thinking mechanism of your life. Everything that you do, everything that you say comes from the heart, from the inside of a man. And so therefore it's imperative that we purify the mind, that we clean the mind, that we make sure that we're not entrapped with the things of the world. So often we get enamored by the things of the world. So often we get enthralled by the things of the world and they capture our attention and it turns us away from the Lord.

Our minds need to be purified. And so we told you in Philippians 4 verse number 8, Paul says, think on these things. What things? The things that are true. Don't think of things that are false. Think of things that are true, things that are pure, things that are holy, things that are praiseworthy, things that are good. And he gives us a list of things that we are to focus our attention on. Because if we're not thinking about those things, we're thinking about other things. In order for our mind to be purified from the things of the world, we must have a soul concentration on the things that God wants us to think about.

But yet so often we don't do that. But we need to purify our minds. Marriages fail because we begin to be enamored with things outside of our marriage. We begin to think about things that other people are doing or other things that come along our plate instead of realizing what God wants me to think about, develop on, that I might be the person He wants me to be. So we talked about that last time. So let me move on to point number two.

Once you purify your mind, you've got to prioritize your ministry. Prioritize your ministry. This is very important. You can't prioritize your ministry if you don't purify your mind. So what do we mean by that? I've told you many times over the years, and I'll keep repeating it over and over and over again, that your marriage is your ministry. And if your ministry doesn't work at home, it doesn't work at all. Now you might think it does, but it doesn't. Because everything about ministry stems from the relationship you are closest in.

And so therefore, your marriage is your ministry. Now, on Saturday when I was doing A.G. and Mattie's wedding, I told them the very first thing they needed to realize if they wanted a magnificent marriage was that they needed to minister to the Lord unwaveringly.

They need to minister to the Lord unwaveringly. Why? Because the priority of your ministry is to the Lord, not to your wife, not to your children. It's to the Lord first.

Secondarily, it's to your wife. Because if you minister primarily to the Lord, you're freed to minister to your spouse. But if the Lord isn't the priority of your ministry, then you will not minister effectively to your spouse. Listen to what Paul says in the book of Colossians, third chapter.

He says, Whatever you do, do you work heartily as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. We are servants of the King. And the priority of our ministry is to make sure that we serve Christ first and foremost.

He is everything. And we need to make sure that he is the priority on our list. Because if he is, serving your spouse comes a lot easier than if he's not. And you want to make sure that you're serving the Lord in whatever you say and whatever you do and wherever you go. So important. It was our Lord who served his father. I came to do the will of him who sent me. He said, my food is to do the will of my father. He said, I always do those things that please the father. Why? Because his service to us was secondary.

His service to his father was primary. The reason we are the beneficiaries of his service is because he primarily served his father who is in heaven. And therefore we realize that there was a priority in his ministry and that was to do the will of his father. It was his food. It was his daily sustenance. Everything he did revolved around the fact that he came to serve his father in glory. And that everything he did was for the glory of the father. And so the same thing should be true for you and me.

Prioritize your ministry. And you do that upwardly before you can ever do it outwardly. You do it vertically before you can ever do it horizontally. It must be focused upon the Lord God himself no matter what because he is the priority of your life. Remember the last question asked of our Lord. It's in Mark's gospel in Mark chapter 12. On the last week of our Lord's life, he was asked a series of questions by the religious establishment. And the very last question asked of Jesus before he would turn the tables and ask them a question was this.

Verse 28 of Mark 12, one of the scribes came and heard them arguing and recognizing that he had answered them well, asked him, what commandment is the foremost of all? It's the last question asked of Jesus by the religious establishment. What's the foremost commandment? Jesus answered, the foremost is hero Israel. The Lord God is one Lord and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, with all your strength. The second is this, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.

There is no other commandment greater than these. Now we know that verse. We can even quote that verse and to realize that what Christ says is so true that we are to love the Lord our God with all that we have.

The intensity of that statement, the inclusivity of that statement, the intimacy of that statement is profound. We are to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, all of our soul, all of our mind, all of our strength, with every ounce of energy that we have, we are to love God with all of it. Why? Because he's the priority. And if he is the priority in our ministry, then everything else will flow from that. If he's not, we're going to have all kinds of hiccups, all kinds of problems, all kinds of difficulties because we're serving ourself primarily and not the Lord.

So I thought I'd ask you this question. Do you love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength? Do you? Most of us say, yeah, sure I do. I love the Lord with all that I have. Most of us would say that. So I thought I'd give us a little quiz tonight to see whether or not we truly love the Lord because if I had to prioritize my ministry, it must stem from the fact that I really love the Lord with all that I have. And every one of us in the room would probably say, well, yeah, I love the Lord.

Peter said he loved the Lord. And yet Jesus questioned Peter's love for him. Turn with me in your Bible to John 21 for a second.

John 21. You know these verses. Peter's already seen the resurrected Christ, okay? He has beheld the resurrected Christ. We know that he denied the Lord. We know that all of the disciples denied the Lord, but the Lord was gracious to them, appeared to them, and they were able to see the resurrected, glorified Christ. But Peter goes back to fishing. He goes back to the upper Galilee, and he begins to do what he always does, and Jesus shows up on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. And he beckons Peter to come.

Of course, he tells them to cast nets on the other side. They do. They catch a whole bunch of fish, and Peter recognizes Jesus. He swims to the shore, and he and Jesus have breakfast. I don't know what it's like to have breakfast with Jesus, but Peter had breakfast with Jesus. I'm not even sure what they ate, but I'm sure Jesus just said whatever it was he was going to eat, and that's what he said, and it came to be, right? And they ate it. And after breakfast is over, the Bible says these words.

So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon, Peter, Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these? That's the question. Now the question comes, what are the these? Well, it could be the other disciples. It could be his fishing business. It could be any number of things. But let's just put yourself in Peter's sandals, and Jesus comes to you and says, do you love me more than your spouse? Do you love me more than your children? Do you love me more than your job? Do you love me more than your popularity?

You love me more than anything else. Do you love me? That's the question. And so Christ asked Peter a very simple question. And so Peter responds. He said to him, yes, Lord, you know that I love you. He said to him, tend my lands. I want you to minister for me. I want you to serve me. I want you to take care of my people. Do you love me, Peter? Now when Christ asked the question, he used the term agapao, which means, do you love me unconditionally? Do you love me sacrificially? Do you love me volitionally?

You choose to love me, you're willing to sacrifice your life for me, and you do it unconditionally. That's the agapao kind of love. That's the question that Christ asked Peter. And Peter responds by saying, Lord, I not agapao you, I phileo you. I have a brotherly love towards you. I have a fond affection towards you. And Christ says to Peter, I want you to feed my lands.

Now how long is there a pause or a break between verse 15 and verse 16? I don't know. But Christ says this in verse 16, he said to him again a second time, Simon, son of John, do you love me?

Same phrase. Do you love me unconditionally? Do you love me sacrificially? Do you love me with all that you have, and you're willing to give yourself away just for me, Peter? He said to him, yes, Lord, you know that I love you. He said to him, shepherd my sheep. You need to be involved in a ministry for me, Peter, if you love me. But Peter responded the same way with the word phileo, yes, Lord, I have a fond affection for you. You see, he knows Jesus knows all things. He also knows that he can't say he loves him unconditionally and sacrificially the way the Lord would love him.

He knows he can't say that because the Lord knows everything and he's right in front of the Lord. So verse 17, he said to him a third time, Simon, son of John, do you love me?

And Peter was grieved because he said to him a third time, do you love me? Now the third time, Christ says he used the word agapolo, he used the word phileo.

So he says, Peter, do you really have a fond affection for me? Do you really? And Peter's response was simply this. He was grieved because he said to him the third time, do you love me?

Why was Peter grieved? Because Christ questioned the love that Peter thought was good enough. That's why he was grieved. And so he said to him, Lord, you know all things, you know that I love you. And Jesus said to him, tend my sheep, feed my sheep. This conversation between Christ and Peter at the end of his ministry is so important because you read it. We know about it. In fact, it's one of my favorite places in all of Israel is to go to the shores of the Sea of Galilee and preach this sermon there in John 21 and try to challenge people, do they really love the Lord?

Because all of us think that we do. And so I thought it'd be good for us to look at it and say, okay, if Christ was to ask me this question, how would I respond and what would I say?

And how do I know I love the Lord? How do I know I love him? I mean, we can think of all kinds of things to say, but what does the Bible say about how I know I love the Lord? Because now you've got to examine your life in light of what the scriptures say, not in light of what I might say or another elder might say or another pastor on the radio might say. What does the Bible actually say? And then if I can measure my life against what the Bible says, I can ask myself, yes, Lord, I really do love you.

And yes, Lord, you are the priority of my life. I prioritize you above everything else because I love the Lord. I'm going to love my spouse. I just will because it's an outflow of my love for the Lord. The reason I have a hard time loving my spouse is because I really have a hard time loving the Lord. Let's just be honest. I have a really hard time loving the Lord as I need to love him because I get caught up in my own issues, my own needs, my own wants, instead of realizing I've been called to serve the King of Kings.

It's the Lord Christ who you serve. So how do I know I love the Lord? If you love the Lord, you meditate fully or daily, excuse me, you meditate daily on the law of the Lord. That's how you know you love the Lord. I'm going to give you seven principles. That's number one, and they won't be on the board.

So take good notes. You've got to meditate daily on the law of the Lord. Psalm 119. You know these verses. Verse 97, oh, how I love your law. It is my meditation all the day. Wow. There you go. When you love the Lord, you meditate daily on the law of the Lord. Why? Because the law of the Lord is truth. God is true. The words he speaks are true. Listen, if you love the incarnate word, you love the inspired word. You cannot separate the two. They are one and the same. Oh, how I love your law. It is my meditation all the day.

Wow. So, it says in verse number 127, these words. I love your commandments above gold, yes, above fine gold. Wow. I love your commandments more than gold. Precious jewels. It says in verse 28, therefore, I esteem right all your precepts concerning everything, and I hate every false way. Verse 159, consider how I love your precepts. Revive me, O Lord, according to your loving kindness. Verse 165, those who love your law have great peace, and nothing causes them to stumble. Verse 167, my soul keeps your testimonies, and I love them exceedingly.

That's just great. I love your word exceedingly. I am overjoyed with your word. It goes way beyond anything else I can imagine. That's how you know you love the Lord. You meditate daily on the law of the Lord, because you love him. You love what he has to say. You even love how he says it, because it's the God of the universe who speaks. And someone might say, well, yeah, you can't meditate all day on the word of the Lord. Joshua was commanded to do that. Joshua had to oversee two million Jews, two million disgruntled Jews, by the way, but he had to oversee them.

He was the leader of two million Jews. And the Lord said, this command I give you, you shall meditate on it day and night. This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you meditate on it day and night, and then I will make your way prosperous, and then you'll have good success. Wait a minute. No one is going to be any more busy than Joshua. I don't know how many people he got reporting to you, but nobody in the room has two million people reporting to them. Joshua did. And God says to him, you meditate on the law of God day and night.

I'll make you successful. I'll make you prosperous. I'll do things you can't even begin to imagine, but you've got to make me the priority. And no matter what your job is, Christ has to be the priority. And you know you love him when you meditate daily on the law of the Lord. Number two, you know you love the Lord when you hate fully what God hates.

Psalm 97 verse number 10, hate evil you who love the Lord. Now it doesn't take a PhD to be able to interpret that statement. Hate evil you who love the Lord. So anything that's evil, you must hate. You see, one thing about loving the Lord, that's why he said in 1 John chapter 2, love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes are part of life. Why? Because they're of the world, and the world's passing away in the lust they're of. But he who doesn't love God abides forever.

You can't love the world. You can't love the world and love God too, right? You can't serve God and money, Matthew 6, 24. You can only serve one master, and the master you love is the one you're going to serve, the one you're going to give your life to, the one you're going to give your time to, your energy to, your efforts to, everything. But you've got to hate fully what God hates. You know, I've come to realize that as Christians, we hate partially what God hates fully. We hate a little bit what God hates, but we don't despise it like God despises it.

That's why we dabble in sin. That's why we fiddle around with sinful behaviors, because we really don't hate it that much. But if you love the Lord, you're going to hate fully what God hates. In fact, you know Proverbs 6, you know these words, Proverbs 6, there are six things which the Lord hates. You want to know what the Lord hates? Here they are. Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him, haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that run rapidly to evil, a false witness to others' lies, and one who spreads strife among the brethren.

God hates that. So those are the things that we've got to hate. We've got to hate haughty eyes, we've got to hate pride, we've got to hate lying lips, right? We've got to hate those who sow discord among the brethren. We've got to hate that. Why? Because they're dividing what God has put together, that died to bring us all together for. You've got to hate those kind of things. But you know, we just don't do that. Well, well, you know, they really didn't mean what they said or whatever that... And we give all kinds of excuses for people.

But God is very black and white, very clear about what He says. God never mumbled when He spoke. God never spoke with a forked tongue. God never spoke and then took back what He said. He's made it very clear. And if you love the Lord, you're going to hate fully what God Himself hates. Why? Because you who love the Lord hate evil. And that's what we do. So Peter says, or Christ says to Peter, Peter, do you love me?

Do you love me enough to meditate daily on my law? Do you love me enough to hate the things that I hate, Peter? How much do you really love me? Because that's the question that Christ asked us. And we have to be able to apply it to our lives today and say, Okay, do I really love the Lord? I know a lot of people who say I love Jesus. Okay? They say it, but the evidence is not clearly seen. Because they don't hate the things that God hates. And they're unwilling to meditate daily upon the law of the Lord.

Number three, how do you know you love the Lord? Well, you imitate authentically the character of Christ. You imitate genuinely, authentically the character of Christ. Peter said it in 1 Peter 1, verses 15 and 16. That we're to be holy as God himself is holy. Are you? Do you imitate the holiness of God? You know, we always talk about what is holiness? Well, holiness just simply is defined by one word, separation. And Christ is holy, holy, holy, right? It's the only attribute that's repeated three times over in describing our Lord.

The Bible never says God is mercy, mercy, mercy. Or God is grace, grace, grace. Or love, love, love. Or just, just, just. It says he's holy, holy, holy. And to understand that holiness is that he is completely separate from his creation. And completely separate from all corruption. That's a separation. He is completely separate from his creation. In other words, he's not a better brand of us. He is completely different than us. And he is separate from all corruption because there's no sin in him.

He is pure and holy. So if I want to be holy as God himself is holy, I must be separate from creation. And I must be separate from corruption. Or I cease to strive to be as holy as God himself is holy. I'm separate from the creation of a world that's engulfed in sin. So I'm separate, I'm separate from that. I've been called out from that. That's what the church is, right? The church are the ones that have been called out from the world. We are completely, uniquely, distinctly separate from the world.

But whenever I begin to dabble in the things of the world and associate with the people of the world more than the people of God, I'm going to become like the people of the world. I need to separate myself from corruption or from creation. And then, because I do that, I separate myself from the corruption of the world. There's a separation at the base of all that Christians are. Because we want to imitate authentically and genuinely the character of Christ. It says over in the book of Ephesians, the fifth chapter, Therefore, be imitators of God as beloved children and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.

Wow, what a statement. Be imitators of God, walk in love. In other words, God is love. And we've got to walk in love. Back up earlier in chapter 4, in verse number 31, he gives the opposite characteristics of love. And then in 32, he gives the obvious characteristics of love. It says in verse number 31, Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, just as God and Christ also has forgiven you.

So you have the opposite characteristics of love. Then you have the obvious characteristics of love, because love is best manifested in its ability and willingness to forgive, to be a forgiving person. The height of love is seen in its willingness to forgive sin. Love covers a multitude of sins. That's why we're to be fervent in our love toward one another. And so if I love the Lord, I'm going to imitate authentically, genuinely, the character of Christ. So Peter hears the Lord ask him, Peter, do you love me unconditionally, sacrificially?

Are you willing to hate what I hate? Are you willing to meditate upon my law day and night? Are you willing to be like me, Peter? Because if you are, I need you to feed my lambs. I need you to tend to my sheep. I need someone who loves me enough to manifest me to those in my flock. Number four, how do I know I love the Lord? Well, I meditate daily on the law of the Lord. I hate fully what God hates. I imitate authentically and genuinely the character of Christ. And number four, I demonstrate freely my obedience to Christ.

I demonstrate freely my obedience to Christ. Listen to what John says in 1 John 2. 1 John 2, John says these words in verse 3. The one who says I have come to know him and does not keep his commandments is a liar. And the truth is not in him. That is so clear. Again, God does not speak with mumble tones. He's very clear. Those who are followers of me keep my commandments. But whoever keeps his word in him, the love of God has truly been perfected. Wow. Those who keep the word, there the love of God has been truly perfected.

By this we know that we are in him. The one who says he abides in him ought himself to walk in the same manner as he walked. There's a love for the Lord that makes me want to demonstrate freely my obedience to him. He would go on to say in 1 John 3, verse number 16, these words, we know love by this, that he laid down his life for us and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has the world's goods and sees his brethren in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?

Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and in truth. Chapter 4, verse number 19, we love because he first loved us.

If someone says I love God and hates his brother, he's a liar. For the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him that the one who loves God should love his brother also. There's a love that we have for God that drives us to obey him and to demonstrate freely our obedience to him every single day. So when Christ says, Peter, do you love me?

That's what I'm telling you you got to do. Are you going to do it? Because if you love me, you will. Because those who love me obey. John 14, 15, if you love me, keep my commandments. Again, very simple. Then take a PhD from some seminary and figure out what that means. If you love me, you will keep my commandments. Number 5, those who love the Lord anticipate longingly the coming of the Lord. Anticipate longingly the coming of the Lord. There's something about a crown of righteousness, as Paul says in 2 Timothy 4, that's available to all those who love his appearing.

They love his appearing. They're looking forward to that day. They're looking and longing for that glorious appearing of the great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Titus 2 verse number 13. We live in anticipation and there's this longing in our hearts to be with the bridegroom. I told you a couple of weeks ago I'd never met a bride who didn't want to be with her bridegroom. Well, same is true in Christianity. We're the bride. We want to be with the bridegroom. We can't wait to be with him. And there's this anticipation that my heart longs for that I might be with my Lord.

So important. Do you do that? Are you sitting here tonight longing for the return of Christ? Living in anticipation of his coming again? Have you ever noticed that we long for so many things other than the Christ and his coming? There's always something that's more prominent in our mind about what we want to do, where we can go, than the coming of Christ. Those who love the Lord anticipate longingly the coming of the Lord. Here's one that you won't hear very often. This is number six. Those who love the Lord elevate consistently personal prayer for the peace of Jerusalem.

Those who love the Lord elevate consistently personal prayer for the peace of Jerusalem. Psalm 122, verse number six. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, those who love the Lord. How do you know you love the Lord? You pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Listen to what the psalmist says in Psalm 87. His foundation is in the holy mountains. The Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the other dwelling places of Jacob. Over in Psalm 137, the psalmist says, If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget her skill.

May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth. If I do not remember you, if I do not exalt Jerusalem above my chief joy. Wow. I need to exalt Jerusalem above my chief joy. What's your chief joy? What brings you the greatest joy? You've got to exalt Jerusalem way above that joy. Why? Because the Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the other dwelling places in Jacob. In fact, Psalm 48, verse number two, Jerusalem is the joy of the whole earth.

The whole earth. Psalm 132, verse number 13 says, For the Lord has chosen Zion. He has desired it for his habitation. This is my resting place forever. Here I will dwell. I have desired it. And then over in chapter 133, God has commanded blessing forever in Jerusalem. Jerusalem, the city of peace. It's called Psalm 48, verse number one, the city of God.

Psalm 48, verse number two, the city of the great king. Psalm 48, verse number eight, the city of the Lord of hosts. It's called Salem in Psalm 76, Zion in Psalm 76, the city of righteousness in Isaiah 126, the faithful city, Isaiah 126, Ariel, the Lion of God, Isaiah 29, one, the holy city, Isaiah 52, one, the city of the Lord, Isaiah 60, verse number 14, my delight is in her, Isaiah 62, verse number four, the throne of the Lord, Jeremiah 3, 17, the Lord is our righteousness, Jeremiah 33, 16, the perfection of beauty, Lamentations 2, 15, the joy of the whole earth, Lamentations 2, 15, the Lord is there, Yahweh Shammah, Ezekiel 48, 35, it's called the city of truth, Ezekiel, excuse me, Zechariah 8, verse number three, it's called the holy mountain, Zechariah 8.

I mentioned 811 times in the Bible is Jerusalem and God says if you love her, you're gonna pray for the peace of her.

Do you do that? It is the city of the living God. It is the city of peace. It's the eternal city of God. It's his place. Therefore, we pray for the peace of Jerusalem and those who love the Lord, they elevate consistently personal prayer for the peace of Jerusalem. And lastly, those who love the Lord, consecrate wholly their life to God above everything and everyone else. Now I'm gonna take you back to John 21 because after Jesus asks Peter, do you love me? He says these words, truly, truly I say to you when you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk wherever you wished.

But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will gird you and bring you where you do not wish to go. Now this he said signifying, but what kind of death he would glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he said to him, follow me. Peter, do you love me? Let me tell you something.

When you were younger, you kind of did what you wanted to do. You kind of went where you wanted to go. But when you get older, guess what? That's not going to happen. In fact, they're gonna stretch out your hands. It's a symbol for crucifixion. And church historians tell us that Peter was crucified, crucified upside down, not right side up because he didn't want to be crucified like his Lord. He didn't feel like he was worthy to do that. But he says, someone else will gird you and bring you where you do not wish to go.

Peter, you're gonna die for me. Are you ready? Follow me. Because if you love me, Peter, because you said you did, I'm gonna put your love to a test. And you must follow me wherever I lead you. Are you ready? And Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved, that's John, following them, the one who had also leaned back on his bosom at the supper and said, Lord, who is the one who betrays you? So Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, Lord, and what about this man? What about John? Is he gonna die too?

Am I the only one that's gonna die? What about John? He is the one who said he loves you. The disciple whom Jesus loved. He's got a whole book about it. How about him? Is he gonna die too? Here's Jesus' response. If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow. I'm not talking about John. I'm only talking to you, Peter. What is it if he lives till I come again? What is it if you die way before him? What difference does it make? I'm not talking to John. I'm talking to you, Peter.

Because we sit here today and say, well, what about so-and-so? What about my wife? What about my kids? What about my friends? Don't they have to consecrate themselves to the Lord? The Lord says to you, like He says to Peter, I'm not talking about your spouse. I'm not talking to your friends. I'm talking to you. I need you to follow me. Without reservation. Without hesitation. I need you to follow me. No matter what it costs you. And then we'll see how much you really do love me. See, in order for us to have the kind of relationships we need to have in our families, we must prioritize our ministry.

And our ministry is to the Lord first. We serve Him. And we serve Him, we do it because we love Him. With all of our heart, all of our soul, all of our mind, all of our strength. We are committed to Him. Deeply. And we are cultivating that relationship more and more each and every day. None of us are perfect in our love for the Lord. But we can grow in our love for the Lord every single day. As we meditate daily upon the love of the Lord. As we hate fully what He hates. As we demonstrate freely our obedience to His commands.

As we elevate consistently personal prayer for Jerusalem. As we seek to imitate authentically the character and nature of Christ Himself. As we consecrate ourselves to fully and wholly following Christ to the end. We just grow deeper and deeper and deeper in our walk with the Lord. That's our challenge. You want a relationship that lasts? Purify your mind. Prioritize your ministry. And number three, I'll just introduce it to you this evening.

Please your master. Please your master. Paul says, I make it my ambition to please Him. 2 Corinthians 5 verse number 9. This is my ambition. To please the Lord. That was our Lord's ambition. To please His Father in heaven. To please our Master. Galatians 1 verse number 10 says, If I seek the pleasure of man I forfeit the pleasure of God. What a statement. If I seek the pleasure of man. If I seek the pleasure of somebody else other than God. I forfeit the pleasure of God. Everything about my life is to please my commanding officer.

Is to please Him who is invisible. Is to please the Lord God of the universe. The question is, how do I do that? And you'll have to come back next week and I'll explain that to you. Let's pray. Father we thank you Lord for our time together this evening. And the chance you give us to spend in your word. And our prayer Father is that every one of us. Every one of us, myself included. Would learn to love you all the more. There is so much. That we don't know about you. So much we long to know. And our prayer Father is that we would be the kind of people.

Who seek a deeper walk with our Lord. Your word says draw near to me and I will draw near to you. May we be in the process of drawing nearer and nearer to our God. Every single day. Help us to purify our minds. Prioritize our ministry. Please our master. With all that we have. For the glory of your name. Until you come again as you surely will. In Jesus name. Amen.