❖ Video
❖ Audio (Message)
I will love and serve God
yourchurch covenant 1
Andy Nagahara
1. What is yourchurch Covenant?
In many churches, those who have faith and are baptized become members of that church. Membership of yourchurch is different.
At the beginning of the year, we renew our commitment to keep important promises and walk through the new year with Jesus and everyone at Your Church. Pastors and leaders are no exception. It’s a single-year contract, not a 10-year contract like MLB’s Mr. shohei Otani. However, if you wish to continue, you can sign another contract as many times as you like. No one will be notified by God or the church that they are out of force.
I always liken the church I believe in to a “three-story house,” where the first floor is “loving and serving God,” and the second floor is “loving and serving one another.”, and the third floor is “Love the World, Serve the World.” And our vows are in line with this way of being: 1) “I will love and serve God,” 2) “I will love and serve one another,” and 3) “I will love and serve the world”. Just as you can have a one-story house without a second or third floor, but you cannot build a two- or three-story building without a first floor, it is also impossible to “love one another” without “loving God and serving God. It is also impossible to “love the world.” That is a top priority for anyone who wants to follow Jesus in their life. When Jesus was asked by a scribe/rabbi, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” he answered by quoting the book of Deuteronomy from the Old Testament.
“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘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 mind and with all your strength.’ (Mark 12:29, 30)
2. What does it mean to love God and serve God?
a. What does it mean to love at all?
Your Church Covenant is a vow to “Love and Serve.”
I think it’s easy to understand that “I will serve you” means “I will be your servant, I will work for you,” but is it clear to you what “I love you” means? What is love?
The shortest word to describe God is “love.” The kanji character for “ai” began with the meaning of giving something to someone, and then was used to mean caring for that person, and has also come to be used to mean “like” that person. The origin of the English word “Love” is also said to be an old Nordic word that means to please someone. Both words are now commonly used to express one’s feelings, such as “I love you.”
However, if we live only based on our feelings of “I love you,” we tend to end up making people sad and hurting them instead of making them happy. If that happens,”love” will lose its most basic meaning. In this usage, it means that God loves us, but God’s love is close to the root meaning of the word.
In other words, the one who is willing to sacrifice himself so that we may live joyfully is our Lord Jesus Christ, who suffered on the cross.
In the Greek language in which the New Testament was written, there are multiple words that are translated into modern language as “love,” and they are used differently depending on their meaning. The most representative of these are “eros” and “agape”. As you can imagine, “Eros” is something close to desire. It is a word that expresses one’s feeling of “liking”, and it has a direction that one is trying to obtain. You could call it “seeking love “.
Agape, on the other hand, does not seek anything in return. On the contrary, it is a “love that gives” that is the exact opposite of “eros”, which is willing to make sacrifices and give without hesitation for the joy and happiness of the other person. When the Bible says to love, it refers to “agape.” However, this love is not something that naturally exists within us. If that were true, everyone in the world would be peaceful and happy even without God.
In chapters 1 and 4 of the Epistle of John, it is written that in a relationship with God, who is love, we come to know that we are loved and are able to love. Therefore, in order for love to become reality within us, the love of God, who loves us, must first become reality within us.
b. Then, what does it mean to love God and serve God?
Do you remember the words of Jesus that Pastor Mari introduced last week?
Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. (Mark 8:34,35)
In order for God’s love to be realized within us and for us to become lovers, we must first cherish and nurture our relationship with God above all else. And that means that worshiping God is a top priority in our lives. That’s why the Covenant says, “I will love and serve God by making worship a top priority in my life.”
To love is above all to spend intimate moments with the other person. Even if you satisfy material needs, if you are reluctant to spend time on the other person, you are not loving them.
However, the worship I am talking about here may be a little different from what you are imagining. Worship does not refer to the time we spend together on Sunday mornings. It is a time when you spend time intimately with God. This Sunday morning is included in that, but it can be done anytime, alone or with someone else. Therefore, it is not a promise to attend yourchurch service first and foremost on Sunday morning.
Some people think that yourchurch is a loose church because you are not asked to attend services or meetings, but that is a misunderstanding. I think it’s probably an easier promise to say, “Every Sunday morning, I’m going to come and sit here for an hour and a half.” There is no one to monitor the time you spend with God. There are no time cards either. Even Jesus, the other party, would not say, “Please spend more time with me.”
Over time, many people have drifted far away from Jesus, and as a result, when faced with a major problem, they find themselves unable to love anyone, or even themselves.
At yourchurch, the Japanese word “worship” has a strong image of this time on Sunday morning, so we often express it as “worship” in English.
Next week, Pastor Mari will be speaking about the continuation of the Covenant, “We will love one another, and we will love the world.” And the week after next, I will talk about how to offer that “worship”.
c. So, why are we talking about money here?
In Covenant, the way to “love God and serve God” is not only “by making worship a top priority in your life,” but there is also another thing. It is “by a tithe offering.”
We offer what you have to God’s work. It is a part of worship that expresses our love for God. Therefore, many churches have a time for giving as part of their Sunday worship program. We also believe that the offering is an important part of the worship service, but since we have many non-members who come, we do not have an offering time in the worship program so that they do not have to worry about it. We only place a box for those who are ready to make their own offerings.
We believe that this is the standard expected of us, based on the fact that the people of the Old Testament were required by God to offer 1/10 of their harvest or born livestock (Malachi 3:10).
Some people think that this tithe is something we should actually follow, but we think of it as a “standard.” For many people, it may be difficult to meet these standards depending on their individual state of life. So, there is no need to feel bad about not meeting the standards. On the other hand, if you are earning many times more than the average person, then one-tenth may be a shameful amount.
Jesus says as follows regarding offerings in the section following the “Most Important Commandment” that I introduced today (Mark 12).
41 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts.
42 But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, [1] worth only a fraction of a penny. [2]
43 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.
44 They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything–all she had to live on.”
Jesus is not saying to you, “Just like this widow, give all your living expenses.” The question is not the amount of money, but the heart of the person who gives. The Bible also teaches that offerings should be voluntary, not forced by anyone.
6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.
7 Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. （2 Corinthians 9：6,7）
Yourchurch leaders do not know, nor do they intend to know, who has how much income or how much they give. This is a contract between each person and God. As the body of Christ, the church also has costs as it exists in this society, but yourchurch has no concept of an annual budget. The amount that members give sincerely is the amount that yourchurch can use for God’s work. Let each of us give “not reluctantly, nor under compulsion, but gladly, as we have decided in our hearts.”
(Prayer) God, this year as well, we will walk with worshiping You as our first priority.
Please speak to us in our worship, show us your miracles, heal us, and meet our needs.
We walk with your abundant grace as lovers of one another and people. Please use our work and offerings.
We pray in the name of Jesus Christ.
Summary
For God’s love to be realized within us and for us to become loving ones, we must first cherish and nurture our relationship with God above all else. And that means that worshiping God is a top priority in our lives. Therefore, as a Covenant, we make a promise: “I will love and serve God by making worship a top priority in my life.” Worship is not limited to Sunday morning gatherings, but is a time of intimacy with God that can be held anytime, anywhere, alone or with anyone.
For Discussion
- How do you love God?
- What is the Tithe?