Christ Equip You

Mark 12:28-30 - "And 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?" Jesus answered, "The foremost is, 'Hear of Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.'""

In looking at this first and greatest commandment I want to continue to focus on the idea that the Lord never commands us to do something that He doesn't also enable and empower us to do. Though this command seems impossible, and it is, we can love the Lord in this way if He does it in and through us. Because God specializes in the impossible and He is at work in us first to will and to do of His good pleasure.

In Mark chapter 2 we read of a time when a man was let down through a roof into the house where the Lord Jesus was teaching. This man was a paralytic, he couldn't walk. His friends let him down through the roof because the crowds were so great that they couldn't get through the door. When the Lord Jesus saw the man He told him that his sins were forgiven. This of course upset some of the Scribes who began reasoning within themselves that Jesus was blaspheming because only God can forgive sins. But we read in verses 8-12 - "And immediately Jesus, aware in His spirit that they were reasoning that way within themselves, said to them, "Why are you reasoning about these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven'; or to say, 'Arise, and take up your pallet and walk'? But in order that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins" - He said to the paralytic - "I say to you, rise, take up your pallet and go home." And he rose and immediately took up the pallet and went out in the sight of all; so that they were all amazed and were glorifying God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this."" In this passage the Lord Jesus performs a miracle. He told a man who could not walk to walk. He told him to do the impossible. But when He commanded him to do the impossible He also enabled him to do it. It would be awful cruel if the Lord Jesus commanded him to walk but didn't give him the ability to do it. But that is never the case. You cannot separate the command from the empowering. The two are one. When God commands a paralyzed man to walk He enables him to do it. Even though it was impossible for him to walk he could do it because Jesus commanded him to. 

In Matthew chapter 12 we find another instance where the Lord Jesus commands someone to do something impossible. In this passage the Lord Jesus is talking to a man who has a withered hand, and we read in verse 13 - "Then He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand!" And he stretched it out, and it was restored to normal, like the other." When the Lord Jesus commanded this man to do the impossible the man didn't respond by saying, "Lord, I can't do that! Why are You commanding me to do the impossible?" He didn't say that. What did he do? He simply did what the Lord Jesus told him to do, and he was able to do it solely because the Lord Jesus commanded him to do it. Apart from Him we can do nothing, but through Him we can do all things. 

In John chapter 11 the Lord Jesus came to the house of Mary and Martha. In this instance their brother Lazarus had died and he had already been dead for four days. But when the Lord Jesus came to the tomb, we read in verse 43 - "And when He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!."" Now this is getting a little weird. The guy has been dead for four days! Maybe someone just needs to take Jesus aside and explain to Him that dead men don't come back to life. This is just about the most hopeless situation we could imagine, and yet what happens? When Jesus commands the dead to rise, verse 44 says - "He who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings; and his face was wrapped around with a clothe. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go."" When Jesus commanded the dead man to come forth he did it. I know I'm stressing this point, but I want us to get this idea that when God commands us to do something, He doesn't command us to do it because we can accomplish it on our own, but when commands us to do something He enables us to do it. When He commands us to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, He enables us to love Him in that way. We can't do it on our own, but because He said it we can do it, if He does it through us. We read in Genesis chapter 2 that the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living being. In Second Timothy chapter 3 it says that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, literally, all Scripture is God breathed. Every command in the Word of God was breathed out by the eternal God. And that same breath that enabled Adam to live enables us to carry out what God has commanded.

Just one more example. There is an account in Matthew chapter 8 that demonstrates really well that Christ and Christ alone has the power and the authority to not only command, but to enable us to obey. Here we read the account of a Roman centurion coming to Jesus on behalf of his servant who was paralyzed. The centurion recognized the authority of the Lord Jesus and said in verses 8-9 - "Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it." In talking about his own authority this centurion says that he commands he servant to do something and he does it, but I know of one of his servants who was not obeying. This centurion could command his paralyzed salve all day long, but it didn't make any difference because he couldn't empower him to obey. The Lord Jesus on the other hand could not only command the servant to do something, but He could also enable him to do it. In verse 13 we read - "And Jesus said to the centurion, “Go; it shall be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed that very moment."

The writer to the Hebrews ends his letter by saying in Hebrews 13:20-21 - "Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead that great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen." Again we see that God is the one who equips us to carry out that which is pleasing in His sight, and that includes loving Him. In Song of Solomon 1:4 the bride says to the bridegroom - "Draw me after you, and let us run together!" This book of course depicts our relationship with Christ using the relationship of a bride and a bridegroom. And the bride in this verse recognizes that if she is going to follow after the bridegroom, if she is going to pursue that relationship with him, he is going to have to draw her after himself. Our bridegroom has to draw us because we cannot pursue Him as we should in and of ourselves. In Jeremiah 31:3 the Lord says - "I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness."

Think about a baseball mitt for a minute. A baseball mitt was created to catch baseballs. So I'm going to go outside and stand across the yard from my baseball mitt and throw baseballs to it so that it can catch them. I know this is ridiculous, but I think you get the point. That baseball glove cannot do what it was created to do unless someone fills it and enables and empowers it to do what it was created to do. Apart from us, that baseball glove can do nothing. We were created to have an intimate, love relationship with our Creator, but we can't do it unless He fills us and works in and through us to enable us to do what He has created us to do.

In John chapter 21 the Lord Jesus is having a conversation with Peter, and He asks Peter a question about his love for Him. Verse 15 says - "So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?"" As we read through this passage we shouldn't sit back and just listen to the Lord say this to Peter, but we need to hear Him speaking to us. The Lord Jesus is asking us the question "Do you love Me?" There are several words in the Greek language for love. The word that the Lord Jesus used in this verse is the word agape. This is the strongest word for love imaginable. This is the word that is used to describe Gods love for us in John 3:16. That's the love that the Lord Jesus is asking about. "Do you have this agape, God love for Me? Do you love Me in the same way and to the degree that I have loved you? Peter responds in verse 15 by saying - "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You." Now, the word "love" that Peter used is a different word than the one the Lord Jesus used. This word translated love is the Greek word phileo which is a much weaker word. This could probably be better translated "affection" or "fondness." So the Lord Jesus says "Peter, do you love Me?" And Peter honestly responds, "Yes, Lord; You know that I have affection for You." When Christ asks us this question we need to be honest with Him. Honestly evaluate your love for Him, because He already knows where we are in our love for Him. He is asking for our benefit. Because if we realize where we are in our love for Him then He can reveal to us the steps that need to be taken to grow in that love. But if we're content to deceive ourselves concerning our love for Him then we're just playing games with Him. Peter recognized the weakness of his love for the Lord Jesus and he didn't try to hide it. So Jesus asks him a second time - "Peter, do you love Me?" And Peter again responds - "Yes, Lord; You know that I have affection for You." The Lord Jesus asks the question a third time, only this time He changes the word that He uses. He doesn't use the word agape the third time. This time He uses the same word that Peter uses, phileo. He says - "Peter, do you have affection for Me?" Essentially He is saying, "Peter, I know that you recognize that you don't love Me like you should, and you say that you only have an affection for Me. But search your heart. Do you have affection for Me? Is your love for Me even that strong?" The questions of the Lord Jesus are searching questions. He never asks a question because He lacks the information. He knows everything. So when He asks a question, He asks it in order to penetrate our hearts and cause us to search ourselves. When He asked the third time "Do you have affection for Me?" We read, "Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, "Do you have affection for Me?" And he said to Him, "Lord, You know all things; You know that I have affection for You." It can be a painful thing to have the Lord search us, but it's necessary if we are going to grow. Back in John chapter 13 the Lord Jesus told Peter that before the night was over Peter would deny Him three times. And Peter thought that his love for the Lord was greater than it actually was, and he said to Him, "Lord, even if I have to die with You I will not deny You." And I think Peter truly meant it. But when the time of testing came and the pressure was on, Peter's love for the Lord wasn't as strong as he thought and he denied the Lord. And his failure grieved him. We read that after he denied the Lord, Peter went out and wept bitterly. Peter had to learn that in his own strength he couldn't produce the right love for God. So when the Lord Jesus asks the question "Do you love Me?" Peter essentially says, "Lord, You know that I don't love You like I should." And he recognized that he was unable to love Him in that way in his own strength. In the book of Acts we see the Lord using Peter in a mighty way. Peter was an instrumental tool in Gods hand in the early life of the church. Peter lived and worked for the Lord and would eventually go on to be martyred for Him. Church history tells us that Peter was crucified upside down, because he didn't consider himself worthy to be crucified in the same manner as his Lord. But it couldn't begin until Peter came to grips with the weakness of his own love, and realized his own inability to love God. We need to come to the point where we recognize that our love for the Lord is weak and that we are unable to make it what it should be. Once we come to that point then God can work in and through us to produce an agape love for Him. Wherever we are in are relationship with Him we need to be praying that God would draw us closer to Himself and put in us a love for Him. Because He alone can do it.

Philippians 2:13 - "For it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to do for His good pleasure."