Mark 12:28-34 (NKJV) 28 Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving[a] that He had answered them well, asked Him, “Which is the first commandment of all?” 29 Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. …

Mark 12:28-34 (NKJV) 31 And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” 32 So the scribe said to Him, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He. 33 And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” …

Mark 12:28-34 (NKJV) 34 Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” But after that no one dared question Him.

Seek The Old Paths We wish to present a fundamental lesson for the month of April This lesson will be one in our series on “Seek The Old Paths” Our intent is to look to God’s word for all knowledge

Seek The Old Paths What is the greatest thing you have done in your life? –Helping someone –Getting married –Raising children –Volunteering service –Donate an organ –Taught someone the gospel

Seek The Old Paths What is the greatest thing anyone could do? –Save someone’s life –Donate millions to charity –Serve as President of the U.S. –Teach others the gospel –Invent something life changing –Fight for freedom (military)

Seek The Old Paths Though all these things are indeed great, there is still something greater we are called to do It is spoken of in both Matthew 22:36-40 and Mark 12:28-34 It is to love our God

Seek The Old Paths The greatest thing we can do: –Anyone can do it –It won’t cost you a dime –You will get the greatest return on your investment Heaven Eternal Life Happiness & Joy

The Command Jesus gives us the command to love God The word love used by Christ is the Greek word agape It is the word used for the ultimate kind of love; it literally means a love feast

The Command It is not a simple like or just an adoration of God It is a love that Christ tells us is with our complete and total being We are to love with all of our heart (feelings)

The Command We are to love with all of our soul (breath, spirit) We are to love with all of our mind (deep thoughts, understanding) We are to love with all of our strength (ability, might, power)

The Command Can we say that we truly love God in this way? Can we say that we love God if we do not read His word? Can we say that we love God if we do not talk to Him in prayer?

The Command Can we say that we love God if we do not desire to be with His people and worship Him? Would we be like Peter and his response when Jesus asked Peter if he loved Him? Loving God is the greatest thing we can do

The Practice It’s one thing to say that we love God, it’s another to put it into practice What exactly does loving God look like? Jesus says it’s akin to loving our neighbor as ourselves

The Practice John spoke of this in I John 4:7-8, 11, We cannot claim to love God if we do not love others It is also shown in our keeping the commandments of God (Jn. 14:15, 21-24)

The Practice Again, John spoke of this in I John 5:3 “This is love, that we walk according to His commandments” (II Jn. 6) We show our love for God when we live by His word

The Practice When we love God as we should, then everything else falls into place We will automatically seek to please Him in all things This is why all the law and prophets hang on the 2 great commands