Ecclesia Global Missions

Deuteronomy 6:5
King James Version
5 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

Or as the AMP puts it:

Deuteronomy 6:5

Amplified Bible

5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and mind and with all your soul and with all your strength [your entire being].

Continuing on the topic of love and God’s love for us, we must understand how to love God. After all, as His children, isn’t that what children do? Don’t they love their parents? They may not even realize they love their parents, or that their parents are separate people until they are older. Often parents are just a part of the child’s life, one that includes, nurturing, love, discipline, and growth. How much more are we to love God? Our God who gave up His only begotten Son so that we might have life!

We read over and over again that we are God’s children, that we are co-heirs with Christ. That we are His!

John 1:12

Amplified Bible

12 But to as many as did receive and welcome Him, He gave the right [the authority, the privilege] to become children of God, that is, to those who believe in (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) His name—

Galatians 3:26

Amplified Bible

26 For you [who are born-again have been reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, sanctified and] are all children of God [set apart for His purpose with full rights and privileges] through faith in Christ Jesus.

1 John 3:1

Amplified Bible

Children of God Love One Another

3 See what an incredible quality of love the Father has shown to us, that we would [be permitted to] be named and called and counted the children of God! And so we are! …

Romans 8:16-17

Amplified Bible

16 The Spirit Himself testifies and confirms together with our spirit [assuring us] that we [believers] are children of God.17 And if [we are His] children, [then we are His] heirs also: heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ [sharing His spiritual blessing and inheritance], if indeed we share in His suffering so that we may also share in His glory.

Shouldn’t we then act like we are His? Show Him through our actions that we are His children, and love Him, as children love their fathers and mothers. 

Again, our experiences in the past can hinder how we love God, and what we think about loving God. So, if you have had a difficult relationship with your earthly father, or even mother for that matter if you have had a difficult relationship with men that were in authority over you, grandfathers, uncles, then ask God to help heal your heart so that you can love Him properly and openly. This may take some work, keep at it, keep seeking God and asking for His help. 

Before we dig into the scripture that I started this meeting with, I would like you all to think about the people you love. Whether it is family, children, spouse, parents, friends, etc…Think about how you came to love them. Sometimes if it is parents, siblings, or grandparents, it began very naturally, meaning, at first, we did not put all that much work into it. But what about keeping that relationship going, feeding it, nurturing it, or your relationship with a close friend, or your spouse? It all takes work. It takes commitment, it takes time, time getting to know that person, time spent with that person, making time for that person. It takes caring, kindness, selflessness, concern, working together, compromising, vulnerability on both sides, sharing yourself with that person, and then Love. 

When we are born again, we are born anew, and often we may feel the presence of God, we may feel free. Sometimes it can lead us to yearn to know more about Him, and what it takes to be His. Sometimes, it can be a difficult tumultuous relationship. Sometimes it is tumultuous because of our earthly relationships, sometimes it is because of sin we have allowed in our life, sometimes it is selfishness, wanting our own ways, and getting upset or disappointed when it doesn’t work out that way. Sometimes it is walking away from God and having Him call you back to Him. It is often not something that just comes easy and is there. There are several reasons for that and not all of them are bad!

Deuteronomy 6:5 is mentioned 3 more times in the New Testament.

Matthew 22:37

Amplified Bible

37 And Jesus replied to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’

Mark 12:30

Amplified Bible

30 and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul (life), and with all your mind (thought, understanding), and with all your strength.’

Luke 10:27

Amplified Bible

27 And he replied, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.”

Because it is mentioned several times, we can conclude that it must be important. 

Jesus tells us to love the Lord our God. This includes God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. When we reviewed the 10 Commandments, we stated that this 1 commandment, while on the outset looks like it agrees with and covers the first 4 commandments, ultimately it does cover all 10!

We are given 4 different areas in our life or 4 different ways in which we are to love God. 

As we stated, God the Father is part of the Trinity, He is our Heavenly Father and we are to love Him accordingly, and so much more. 

When the word love comes to mind what do you think of first? I know some may think of hearts, and that it is a feeling, which it is, but that is only a minute part of what love truly is. We learned last week how God loves us, knowing that we cannot fathom how much He truly loves us. However, He is an example to us, and Jesus is a role model if you will about how to love others. He was very compassionate with people and had a heart for them. 

The first aspect that is mentioned in how to love God is the heart…

Deuteronomy 6:5

English Standard Version

5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart…

Matthew 22:37

King James Version

37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart…

How do you love someone without loving them with all of your heart?

How do you love someone with all of your heart?

The word heart in this scripture means

Strong’s Concordance

καρδία kardía, kar-dee’-ah; G2588,the thoughts or feelings (mind)

Thayer’s Greek Lexicon

cordially or sincerely, truly

This is kind of where we get the feelings of love, the feelings of concern for someone, kindness for them, caring about them, the feeling of selflessness where someone else is concerned. When we love God with all of our hearts, we are feeling these same emotions and more. There is a tenderness that you may feel toward God. Sometimes there may be more tenderness toward Jesus, sometimes more toward the Holy Spirit, and even more toward God the Father. It may depend on our experiences with people and even experiences with answers to prayer. While different situations can create this feeling of tenderness toward one part of the Trinity over another, it is important that we feel the same so to speak for each one. If we are not able to feel love toward part of the Trinity then we must do a bible study, spend time in prayer to see why. Ask the Lord where the blockage is, so that you may be able to love God with ALL of your heart. 

When we are feeling love toward someone, especially if it is a new feeling, we want to spend all of our time with that person. We want to get to know them. It is the same with God. Take the time to get to know Him. How do you do that? You do it through reading His Word

John 1:1

Amplified Bible

The Deity of Jesus Christ

1 In the beginning [before all time] was the Word (Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself.

2 Timothy 3:16-17

Amplified Bible

16 All Scripture is God-breathed [given by divine inspiration] and is profitable for instruction, for conviction [of sin], for correction [of error and restoration to obedience], for training in righteousness [learning to live in conformity to God’s will, both publicly and privately—behaving honorably with personal integrity and moral courage]; 17 so that the man of God may be complete and proficient, outfitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work.

As we spend time in His Word getting to know Him, and getting to know what He requires of us, our hearts must be in the right place. 

We are wanting to get to know Him personally, to build up our relationship with Him and to grow spiritually, to learn to love Him more, to trust in Him, to have and keep faith in Him. 

We cannot learn about someone, or learn to love them if there is any manipulation involved, if our hearts are hardened and closed, and if we are doing it just because we should, not because we genuinely want to. 

If your heart is not in the right place, ask the Lord to help you with that, to be open to what He wants you to do.

Jeremiah 29:13

Amplified Bible

13 Then [with a deep longing] you will seek Me and require Me [as a vital necessity] and [you will] find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

Seek Him with all of your heart, as you make sure you are not only spending time in His Word to get to know Him and understand Him, as much as we humanly can anyway, spend time with Him. 

Spend time talking to Him. We often think of prayer as crying out to God with a need, whether it is for ourselves or those we know, or even interceding on a stranger’s behalf. 

Spending time with Him, in prayer, is also time for getting to know Him. Remaining silent and listening to Him, paying attention to how He speaks to you, how He guides you, the checks, the lack of peace that the Holy Spirit leaves with you. The unexplainable peace Jesus gives to you. Give Him your heart as you spend time with Him. Just as when you love someone, you enjoy spending time with them. You don’t always have to be doing something or saying anything. Sometimes it is the time spent with someone, when nothing is said and you are just near each other, that you feel close, feel intimate with them. We can do the same thing with God. We can do that in our prayer closets, we can do that in the small moments throughout the day, taking a break from your desk for a few minutes just to spend time with God.
It is taking the time to do this and making Him a priority in your life. As you draw near to Him, He draws near to you.

James 4:8

Amplified Bible

8 Come close to God [with a contrite heart] and He will come close to you…

Jesus is always our example, you can always learn from Him about how to walk a righteous life through Him and with God, and yes, you can even learn how to love God by reading what Jesus said and did. 

There were times that He left the crowd to be alone to pray and to spend time with His Father in Heaven.

Mark 1:35

New International Version

Jesus Prays in a Solitary Place

35 Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.

Mark 6:45-46

Amplified Bible

Jesus Walks on the Water

45 Jesus immediately insisted that His disciples get into the boat and go ahead [of Him] to the other side to Bethsaida, while He was dismissing the crowd. 46 And after He said goodbye to them, He went to the mountain to pray.

Luke 5:16

Amplified Bible

16 But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray [in seclusion].

Luke 6:12

Amplified Bible

Choosing the Twelve

12 Now at this time Jesus went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God.

Jesus often went away somewhere to spend time alone with God, people were continually looking for Him, looking for His help, His wisdom, and His teachings. 

We have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us. Yes, we can go to a quiet place, a place that is far from everyone, and spend time with God, but we don’t have to. We can spend time with Him right where we are. You can do it right where you are right now. If there is much background noise, it may take practice tuning it out, it may take practice calming your mind, your thoughts, and your feelings to just submit and be still in prayer with God. 

It is really hard to get to know someone without spending time with them, without getting to know them. It is even harder to love them without doing these things. Without being willing to take the time, commit to the work that it takes, or the effort it will take. 

But boy is it worth it in the long run!

If you want to learn more about how to spend time with God, or what it means, or what it takes to spend time with God I encourage you to look at Jesus’ example. 

There are others as well, in the Old Testament, we have Enoch:

Genesis 5:24

Amplified Bible

24 And [in reverent fear and obedience] Enoch walked with God; and he was not [found among men], because God took him [away to be home with Him].

Genesis 5:24

Amplified Bible, Classic Edition

24 And Enoch walked [in habitual fellowship] with God; and he was not, for God took him [home with Him].

Moses:

Exodus 33:11

Amplified Bible

11 And so the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend…

We also have Noah, Elijah, Esther, Peter, James, John, and Paul to name a few.

Remember David as he was known as the man after God’s own heart:

1 Samuel 13:14

Amplified Bible

14 But now your kingdom shall not endure. The Lord has sought out for Himself a man (David) after His own heart, and the Lord has appointed him as leader and ruler over His people, because you have not kept (obeyed) what the Lord commanded you.”

Acts 13:22

Amplified Bible

22 And when He had removed him, He raised up David to be their king: of him He testified and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart [conforming to My will and purposes], who will do all My will.’

Notice that having a heart for God and being a person after God’s own heart, includes submitting to Him, conforming to or adhering to, and complying with God’s will and purposes. More on that later!

Next up we have loving God with all of your soul:

Mark 12:30

Amplified Bible

30 and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul (life)…

Mark 12:30

Amplified Bible, Classic Edition

30 And you shall love the Lord your God out of and with your whole heart and out of and with all your soul (your life)…

Here part of loving God is loving Him with your soul, your whole life. That might be a bit hard. 

In many readings, the soul is also or can be also the heart. It can be where we find ourselves, our emotions, feelings, desires, longings, our dislike of things, and even love. It is the center of our being, our life, our inner self.

Exodus 23:9

Amplified Bible

“You shall not oppress a stranger, for you know the soul [the feelings, thoughts, and concerns] of a stranger, for you were strangers in Egypt.

Leviticus 26:15

Amplified Bible, Classic Edition

And if you spurn and despise My statutes, and if your soul despises and rejects My ordinances, so that you will not do all My commandments, but break My covenant,

Numbers 11:6

Amplified Bible, Classic Edition

But now our soul (our strength) is dried up; there is nothing at all [in the way of food] to be seen but this manna.

Deuteronomy 11:13

Amplified Bible

“It shall come about, if you listen obediently and pay attention to My commandments which I command you today—to love the Lord your God and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul [your choices, your thoughts, your whole being]—

Song of Solomon 1:7

Amplified Bible“Tell me, O you whom my soul loves…

This is loving God with all that we are, with who we are. Putting our whole selves into loving Him. Submitting ourselves to loving Him. 

When we submit ourselves to loving Him, we are wanting to or desiring to be obedient, to submit to His will and not our own. To trust in Him and rely on Him.

Psalm 42:2

Amplified Bible

My soul (my life, my inner self) thirsts for God, for the living God. When will I come and see the face of God?

Psalm 63:5

Amplified Bible

My soul [my life, my very self] is satisfied as with marrow and fatness, And my mouth offers praises [to You] with joyful lips.

To thirst for Him, to need Him, to be satisfied with Him. 

This too takes work and effort on our part. Yes, God does call each one of us by name, and He knows us so intimately. 

We are to know Him as intimately as we can. To have a relationship where we cry out to Abba Father as we mentioned last week. To know that He hears us, because we spend time with Him, we yearn to walk in obedience. 

Yes, walking in obedience is part of loving God.

John 14:21

Amplified Bible, Classic Edition

21 The person who has My commands and keeps them is the one who [really] loves Me; and whoever [really] loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I [too] will love him and will show (reveal, manifest) Myself to him. [I will let Myself be clearly seen by him and make Myself real to him.]

He delights in our reliance on Him, in our obedience and willingness to conform to His will and His plans for us and even to His will for the situations we are in.

Psalm 147:11

English Standard Version

11 but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him,

    in those who hope in his steadfast love.

Proverbs 12:22

English Standard Version

22 Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord,

    but those who act faithfully are his delight.

Sometimes there are experiences we may have had with those who had authority over us, where they abused that authority. This can also hinder our ability to love God as He is in authority over us. We may find it hard to release ourselves to Him. Maybe we did it once and the experience was not to our benefit. Do not let Satan take hold and keep you from God. Ask God to help you through this, to find scriptures to confirm His love for you, to help you let go, to open your heart, your soul, and even your mind to Him. 

If you would like prayer for this, the Holy Spirit does speak to you and guide you. We are here to help if need be. Just remember to always seek the Lord first! He is to be our heart’s desire, just as the bride in Song of Solomon was speaking about her love:

Song of Solomon 3:3-5

Amplified Bible

3 “The watchmen who go around the city found me,

And I said, ‘Have you seen him whom my soul loves?’

4 “Scarcely had I passed them

When I found him whom my soul loves.

I held on to him and would not let him go…

Grab hold of God, grab hold of His love and do not let go! Love Him back, walk in His ways, spend time with Him, submit to Him, desire to know Him! To know Him with all that you are. Not to just remain knowledgeable of who He is in your head or in your mind.

Matthew 22:37

Amplified Bible

37 And Jesus replied to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’

Mark 12:30

Amplified Bible, Classic Edition30 And you shall love the Lord your God out of and with your whole heart and out of and with all your soul (your life) and out of and with all your mind (with your faculty of thought and your moral understanding)…

Our mind is as the AMPC so clearly tells us, our faculty of thought and moral understanding. 

It is where we learn, it is where we process information, where we take in and receive knowledge. It can also be where the enemy attacks us and brings us doubt. 

Doubt about who we are as children of God, doubt about the forgiveness of our sins, doubt about the love that God has for us!

So keep your helmet of salvation on at all times and remember what Jesus did for you. 

What God the Father did for you, sending Jesus so that you might be saved!

This is where we turn the information that we learn about God, that we learn as we spend time in His Word and spend time in prayer, into love. It is where we put into action what we are learning. 

When we do not just keep the information in our heads but move it to our hearts, where we receive wisdom! Godly wisdom

Proverbs 1:7

Amplified Bible

7 The [reverent] fear of the Lord [that is, worshiping Him and regarding Him as truly awesome] is the beginning and the preeminent part of knowledge [its starting point and its essence];

But arrogant fools despise [skillful and godly] wisdom and instruction and self-discipline.

We learn to fear the Lord, to have a reverential awe of Him, that too is loving Him. Knowing and understanding the majesty of who He is! Once we understand that, reverential awe and fear of the Lord take place! We are wowed by Him. 

Have there been those whom you love that have wowed you by their actions, by things they have done or said? Maybe they said something so beautiful and heartfelt to you, that you would have never thought them capable of it. 

Imagine now the mighty wonder of our Lord and all that He is capable of!

Exodus 15:11

Amplified Bible

11 “Who is like You among the gods, O Lord?

Who is like You, majestic in holiness,

Awesome in splendor, working wonders?

Psalm 8:3-4

Amplified Bible

3 When I see and consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,

The moon and the stars, which You have established,

4 What is man that You are mindful of him,

And the son of [earthborn] man that You care for him?

Keep your thoughts on the goodness of the Lord. Keep your thoughts on His Truth, on His love!

If the enemy keeps attacking your thoughts seek God, seek His wisdom, and take those thoughts captive:

2 Corinthians 10:5

Amplified Bible, Classic Edition

5 [Inasmuch as we] refute arguments and theories and reasonings and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God; and we lead every thought and purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One),

And as you do remember the authority given to you by the One who loves you!

And be confident in who you are! You are His and walk in that love showing you are His! Be an example to others. 

As you do this, know that He is with you and rest in Him, seek Him, open your heart to Him, and be awed by Him. 

Love God with all of your heart, your soul, and your mind!

Isaiah 43:1-4

Amplified Bible

Israel Redeemed

43 But now, this is what the Lord, your Creator says, O Jacob,

And He who formed you, O Israel,

“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you [from captivity];

I have called you by name; you are Mine!

2 “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;

And through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you.

When you walk through fire, you will not be scorched,

Nor will the flame burn you.

3 “For I am the Lord your God,

The Holy One of Israel, your Savior;

I have given Egypt [to the Babylonians] as your ransom,

Cush (ancient Ethiopia) and Seba [its province] in exchange for you.

4 “Because you are precious in My sight,

You are honored and I love you,

I will give other men in return for you and other people in exchange for your life.

You are called by name, you are His, and so very precious in His sight! Allow His love to fill your soul, to fill your heart, and to fill your mind. Love Him as confidently as a child loves their father and mother!