Adapted from a Perry Greene sermon series https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/1-greatest-command-1-to-the-core-perry-greene-sermon-on-love-for-god-186158?ref=SermonSeriesDetails

2. During the 1600's there was an Emperor in India
by the name of Shah Jahan and he was believed
to have been descended from Tamerlane and
Genghis Khan

3. Sometime during his reign, a rebel group in the
southern portion of India sought to reject his
rule and so he led an army to defeat them.
In his entourage was his beloved wife -- who
was pregnant with their 14th child.
Unfortunately she died while giving birth.

4. The Emperor was overwhelmed with grief and
locked himself in his quarters where he neither
ate nor drank for 3 days and kept the doors
locked for a total of 9 days.
When he emerged from his rooms, his raven
black hair had turned completely white and his
heart was filled with a dream.

5. He would build two memorials.
One would be a tomb made of white marble for
his wife's body, and the other a tomb of black
marble to be used for his burial chambers
(which he was never able to build).
The construction of her tomb required 22,000
workers to labor 24 hours a day for 22 years.

6. It was built of white marble decorated with 28
different kinds of gems.
A sheet of pearls was spread over the coffin
doors of solid silver opened onto the tomb and
a solid gold railing surrounded the monument.
It was the Taj Mahal

7. The Taj Mahal is one of the most famous
memorials in the world, and it is a memorial to
death.
The Shah didn't build it while his wife lived...
only after she died.
Memorials are often built to remind us of
someone who has died that we care for or
respect.
A memorial is something that is built to help us
remember.

8. Lord's Supper is a reminder of the death, burial,
and resurrection of Jesus -- HE LIVES!
In God gives His people
something to remember.
NIV Hear, O Israel: The LORD
our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD
your God with all your heart and with all your
soul and with all your strength. These
commandments that I give you today are to be
on your hearts.

9. Jesus Faces a Key Question
NIV One of the teachers of the law
came and heard them debating. Noticing that
Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked
him, "Of all the commandments, which is the
most important?"
answered Jesus,

10. "Well said, teacher," the man
replied. "You are right in saying that God is one
and there is no other but him. To love him
with all your heart, with all your understanding
and with all your strength, and to love your
neighbor as yourself is more important than all
burnt offerings and sacrifices."

11. When Jesus saw that he had answered
wisely, he said to him,

12. They knew an important Prophet was to come
like Moses.
NIV The LORD your God
will raise up for you a prophet like me from
among you, from your fellow Israelites. You
must listen to him.

13. Pay attention to Him
(Transfiguration)
NIV A voice came from the cloud,
saying, "This is my Son, whom I have chosen;
listen to him."

14. They Knew to Test Prophets
NIV You may say to
yourselves, "How can we know when a message
has not been spoken by the LORD?" If what a
prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD
does not take place or come true, that is a
message the LORD has not spoken. That
prophet has spoken presumptuously, so do not
be alarmed.

15. Observe their words and act accordingly.
Testing Jesus -- determine truth and Rabbinic
background.

16. A teacher gave her class of second graders a
lesson on the magnet and what it does. The next
day in a written test, she included this question:
"My full name has six letters. The first one is m,
and I pick up things. What am I?" When the
grades were all in the teacher was astounded to
find that almost fifty percent had written in,
mother. This was a good answer but not the one
the teacher was looking for.

17. NIV A psalm of David. LORD, who
may dwell in your sacred tent? Who may live on
your holy mountain? The one whose walk is
blameless, (1) who does what is righteous, (2)
who speaks the truth from their heart; (3)
whose tongue utters no slander, (4) who does
no wrong to a neighbor, (5) and casts no slur on
others; (6)

18. who despises a vile person but honors those
who fear the LORD; (7) who keeps an oath even
when it hurts, (8) and does not change their
mind; (9) who lends money to the poor without
interest; (10) who does not accept a bribe
against the innocent. (11) Whoever does these
things will never be shaken.

19. NIV Those who walk righteously (1)
and speak what is right, (2) who reject gain from
extortion (3) and keep their hands from
accepting bribes, (4) who stop their ears against
plots of murder (5) and shut their eyes against
contemplating evil—(6) they are the ones
who will dwell on the heights, whose refuge will
be the mountain fortress. Their bread will be
supplied, and water will not fail them.

20. NIV He has shown you, O mortal, what
is good. And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly (1) and to love mercy (2) and to walk
humbly with your God. (3)

21. NIV This is what the LORD says:
"Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my
footstool. Where is the house you will build for
me? Where will my resting place be? Has not
my hand made all these things, and so they
came into being?” declares the Lord. “These are
the ones I look on with favor: those who are
humble and contrite in spirit, (1) and who
tremble at my word. (2)

22. NIV This is what the LORD says to
Israel: "Seek me and live; (1)
NIV "See, the enemy is puffed up;
his desires are not upright— but the righteous
person will live by his faithfulness—(1)

23. Possible answers:
1. Sabbath -- all will fall into place
2. Live by Faith
3. Food Laws
4. Circumcision
Jesus' Answer --
answered Jesus,

24. A pagan went to R. Shammai and said that he
would convert and become a proselyte IF
Shammai would tell him the whole Torah while
standing on one foot. Shammai took a builder's
ruler and drove him away. The pagan went to R.
Hillel and made the same proposal. Hillel stood
on one foot and said, "What is hateful to you do
not do to your neighbor. That is the whole
Torah. The rest is commentary, go learn it."

25. To Jesus the greatest command involved
kingdom living
He combines two commands into one -- Love
God as seen in loving your neighbor.
NIV

26. NIV Then Jesus was led by the
Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the
devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights,
he was hungry. The tempter came to him and
said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these
stones to become bread." Jesus answered,

27. Then the devil took him to the holy city and
had him stand on the highest point of the
temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said,
"throw yourself down. For it is written: "'He will
command his angels concerning you, and they
will lift you up in their hands, so that you will
not strike your foot against a stone.'" Jesus
answered him,

28. Again, the devil took him to a very high
mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of
the world and their splendor. "All this I will
give you," he said, "if you will bow down and
worship me." Jesus said to him,
Then the
devil left him, and angels came and attended
him.

29. From the Talmud: King Jannai said to his wife,
"Fear not the Pharisees and the non-Pharisees
but the hypocrites who are the Pharisees;
because their deeds are the deeds of Zimri but
they expect the reward of Phineas."
Jesus is not a hypocrite, He is the Real Deal!
He Loved God in the Temptation.
1. Bread -- Appeal to Flesh in Food /Might
2. Pinnacle of Temple -- Appeal to Safety/Life
3. Kingdoms of the World -- Appeal to Ego/Heart

30. Jesus is the Real Deal!
He Loved God Through His Ministry
1. Compassion on People
NIV When he saw the crowds, he had
compassion on them, because they were harassed
and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
2. Cared for people in word and deed.
NIV he asked. "About
Jesus of Nazareth," they replied. "He was a prophet,
powerful in word and deed before God and all the
people.

31. In the book, No Bad Dogs, by British dog trainer
Barbara Woodhouse, she says dogs understand
love better than we do.
She writes, "In a dog's mind, a master or a
mistress to love, honor, and obey is an absolute
necessity. The love is dormant in the dog until
brought into full bloom by an understanding
owner.

32. Thousands of dogs appear to love their owners,
they welcome them home with enthusiastic
wagging of the tail and jumping up, they follow
them about their houses happily and, to the
normal person seeing the dog, the affection is
true and deep. But to the experienced dog
trainer this outward show is not enough.

33. The true test of love takes place when the dog
has got the opportunity to go out on its own as
soon as the door is left open by mistake and it
goes off and often doesn't return home for
hours. That dog loves only its home comforts
and the attention it gets from its family; it
doesn't truly love the master or mistress as they
fondly think.

34. True love in dogs is apparent when a door is left
open and the dog still stays happily within
earshot of its owner. For the owner must be the
be-all and end-all of a dog's life."

35. The real test of our walk of Faith isn't seen in
our work or activity, or even in our theological
purity.
It's found in this: when we have an opportunity
to wander away, to disobey, to leave His
presence, do we choose instead to stay close to
Him, to abide in Christ, to obey?

36. Loving God is crucial and is the real test of
faithfulness.
Demonstrated in obedient actions.
NIV

37. Critical evidence
NIV Jesus replied,

38. Loving God is especially evident in how we treat
our neighbor
Do we say the right words to God?
Then say the wrong words to others?
Mean-spirited?
Self-absorbed?