There was a time in Jesus’ ministry where when he would travel people would follow him around everywhere, everyone wanted to know who he is.  Who is this man who makes blind people see, and who makes paralyzed people able to walk again? Why is he here, what does he want, what is he going to do?  Everyone wanted to know! Jesus asked his disciples, "Who do people say that I am?” They said, "Some say  John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the  prophets.”  

Everyone was guessing, trying to figure out just who this man is! Today, lots of people have opinions about who Jesus is too.

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In Exodus 3, we have the account in the life of Moses; a man who had been raised in the finest palaces of Egypt; who had eaten the best foods and attended the best schools; but then fled Egypt when he learned that the Pharaoh was seeking his head because he had killed an Egyptian. This account this morning is of his encounter with God. Moses is now an inhabitant of Midian. He has married a woman named Zipporah, has had a son, and has been working for his father-in-law tending sheep for the past forty years.

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"Be still and know that I am God," . Do you yearn for that kind of deep, long-lasting peace? If we're being honest, we have a hard time putting this concept into practice. We rarely live with the conviction that God is God and we are not. Joins as we begin this new series!

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I) Introduction

How can we ensure next time won’t be like the last time!

We are focusing on our spiritual life but what we are going to discover can be applied to any area of one’s life (finances, relationships, career, etc.).

We learn from our mistakes in the areas that matter least (games, hobbies, sports, etc.).

We repeat our mistakes in the areas of our lives that matter most (faith, relationships, etc).

Illusions

Experience makes me wiser!

Experience alone does not make you wiser.  (Evaluated experience makes you wiser.  Evaluation of one’s experience can be a game-changer)  James 1:2 “Count it all joy . . .”  Count means to evaluate

Since I know better, I’ll do better!

Knowing better ≠ doing better.

Knowing better ≠ the ability to do better.

Time is your enemy!

Time is not your enemy, it is your friend.

Leverage time to work for you by pausing long enough to evaluate and heal.

Romans 8:28 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”  God is doing something and God is going to leverage my past for my good.  We must:

Take Responsibility - One must own one’s role in one’s negative history.  Therefore, one must pause long enough to own one’s responsibility.

Renewed Mind – Romans 12:2 “What were you thinking?”  Regret and resolve are not enough to live differently – one must renew one’s mind.

Let Go of it

As a parent, have you ever responded to one of your children to something you saw them do and ask, “What were you thinking?”  If we were to pause for just a moment and look back at our life, I am sure there was someone that thought that same thing of us in some of our decisions.  And looking back, our decision doesn’t even make sense to us!  “What was I thinking,” we ask!  

If we desire for this time not to be like last time, then we need to stop long enough to come up with a real answer to the question: “What was I thinking?”

Before I get started today, I want to start with a small experiment or exercise. 

Let’s play pretend and imagine that you have 30 days left to live? 

This may seem morbid or even uncomfortable, but I promise I’m going somewhere. So just for the sake of this imagine as if you only have 30 days left.

Now that you’ve got this idea in your head let me ask you a few questions.

What will you do now? What will you do now that you have 30 days to live? Are your priorities different? Will your conversations be different?

But the main question I want to ask you is: Will you love differently NOW because you only have 30 days to live? Will you love differently? 

Will you love completely? Will you love completely and how do we even do that?

Jesus talks about loving completely in the passage we will read this morning found in mark 12.

But let me set the scene as to what’s going on right before our scripture.

Jesus is among some crowds, and He is teaching about the authority He has from Heaven (Mark 11:27-33), 

He presents the Parable of the Wicked Tenants (Mark 12:1-12), 

He speaks about giving and taxes (Mark 12:13-17), 

and He speaks about marriage and Heaven (Mark 12:18-27). 

Jesus is teaching the crowds and in the midst of the crowds, the Pharisees and Sadducees were asking questions and were trying to trap Jesus. 

It was during these trapping and sly questions that a person genuinely seeking an answer comes up to Jesus. Let’s read.

MARK 12:28-34

“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?" 29 "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: ’Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ’Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these." 32 "Well said, teacher," the man replied. "You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. 33 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." 34 When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.”

A teacher of the law came and asked a genuine question. In Jesus’s teaching, we find the answer to ‘how we love completely.’ 

Jesus points out three aspects of love that when combined form a complete love for our lives. 

Jesus teaches that we should love God, love others, and love ourselves.

These three are components of complete love.

I. LOVE GOD COMPLETELY

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At the first of the year, we started our Pursuit Series for 2022 sharing about seeking first God’s Kingdom for our lives.  The greatest tragedy of life is so many are willing to settle for less than the best; to accept mediocrity, insignificance, the petty when life could have purpose and fulfillment. What one receives depends on one’s priorities because one’s priorities will affect one’s personal, business, spiritual and social life. When our priorities are right, our life will be fulfilled, confident, and rewarded. When they're wrong, our life will result in that which is meaningless.  We can allow the world to set our priorities by what is popular and important; the ambition to pursue everything that appeals to you, to the flesh or the second option is to allow God to set your priorities.  This is the priority that takes the pressure and anxiety out of life.  This priority is the key to a life that is lived in harmony with the will and purposes of God.  Whatever the option may be, the bottom line is the choice is yours to make and initiate!  So, we looked at two incredible invitations that God gave to us.  One is found in Isaiah 55 and the other is given in Matthew 6 by Jesus in his Sermon on the Mount about seeking God and His Kingdom.  So, I asked the question, what is it, that is very important to us?
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Last week, we started our Pursuit Series for 2022 sharing about seeking first God’s Kingdom for our lives.  I mentioned that the greatest tragedy of life is so many are willing to settle for less than the best. To accept mediocrity, insignificance, the petty when life could have purpose and fulfillment and that what you receive depends on your priorities.  One’s priorities will affect one’s personal life, business life, spiritual life, and social life. One’s priorities will dominate one’s life. When they are right, your life will be fulfilled, confident, and rewarded. When they're wrong, your life will result in that which is meaningless. The fun will go out of your life. You will feel flat and empty.  So, I asked the question, what is it, that is very important to us?

It’s an amazing time in which we live. Technology allows us to travel the globe without ever leaving our living room.  In our pocket, we have a device that can answer virtually any question that we can come up with. We have Social-Media that connects us to family members and friends that may be miles away. We have accessibility to healthcare, clean water, food, and clothing online or in stores on every corner. It really is an amazing time to be living.  Yet for all of this we seem to be empty, something is missing.

We are connected through social media, yet distant in real life.  We are full and our cabinets and refrigerators fully stocked, but we are still hungry and can never find what we want.  We are clothed, but still wanting the latest fashion and fad.  We have all the answers at the swipe of a finger or the stroke of a key, but we still are wandering around unfulfilled and feeling clueless.

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