The cost of competing loves

Good morning, everyone. Welcome to "Try Jesus!" If this is your first time joining us, it’s great to have you with us. I would like to thank all the new members for joining "Try Jesus."

I would also like to welcome those in Mississippi, Louisiana, Ohio, Michigan, Kansas, Virginia and Florida. It is a pleasure to have you with us today. The Lord continues to expand his word!

"I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD."  (Psalm 122:1 KJV). The Lord is indescribable and uncontainable. We gather to seek him above all today. He is an amazing God!

Our Lord continues to pave the way for the righteous. Authentic born-again believers shall not be moved from his mighty guiding hand! The Lord is our rock and our salvation this morning! He is our defense against ungodliness.

So, what percentage of light do you think you spread since last week's message? Did you keep track of it the way you keep track of the percentage of power you have left on your cell phone? Most of you never let that power run out.

Letting your light (his light) shine should be brighter than the HD lighting you have in your four walled home. That light is held inside, but your Lighthouse (temple) is to shine for the whole world to see. Let’s embrace the light in prayer.

"Heavenly Father, thank you for being so gracious to us. Thank you for tending to our every need. Thank you, for loving us unconditionally, even when we don't return that love to you. We acknowledge your goodness is poured out daily to us.

Lord, again, as we open your word today, we ask that you would silence every voice but your own. The winds of life are loud, and the waters around us are restless, but we look to you, our ultimate great shepherd.

As was last week's prayer, Lord, you are the only Savior who mends the brokenhearted. Holy Spirit, please tug on curious hearts this morning. Father, cause those with the measure of faith they have, to cry out for your help.

Lord Jesus, thank you for guiding visitors to this digital doorstep today. May your deep peace quiet any stress, anxiety, noise, or worry in their heart right now. Lord, open eyes to see your great love, in Jesus’ name, Amen."

When you consider that great love of Jesus, what comes to your mind? How would you describe it? Is it easy to describe a love you never experienced? Someone once wrote the lyrics to a song about looking for love.

Of course, it just happened to be looked for in all the wrong places. Think for a moment about the thing you love most in the world. Keeping thinking because the world is a big place.

Your mind can also be misled into what you perceive might be love but ends up being something else. For a small four-letter word, it is packed full of those who have missed its pure full meaning and have been sadly disappointed by what they thought it was.

But after all your thinking, I want you to stop and imagine Jesus looking you in the eye and asking you to give up all that defined perceived thinking of what you thought love was. Many lonely people today settle for less than Jesus.

Today, we are going at the tragic anatomy of a heartbreak. How many of you have had your heart broken? Would you say the percentage is very high among most of us? The heart 💔 break can leave lingering scars.

Today, we are going to look up close at heartbreak; not when Jesus rejects a person, but when a person looks at the perfect, unconditional love of God, weighs it against their own earthly attachments, and chooses to walk away.

This cost of competing love can have devastating painful results that can be carried into eternity. Even before we look at our two main scripture text, can you describe what a "First love is?" Some of you might define it as a "Puppy love."

But I want to remind all of you that puppies eventually grow. Their affection for you continues to grow and maintains its love and loyalty to you, until the end. "Man's best friend, right?"

So, walking away is something we don't think of man's best friend doing when the relationship is secured between dog and owner. I used to train my dog to stay to see how far I could walk away from him before he would run up to me and tackle me.

After I would put my arms out and motion him to come, he would run as fast as he could to cover up the space of distance we had between each other. After all these years, I still miss and think about him.

Let's turn to our main passages for this morning. As all "Try Jesus" members already know, I repeat each week about reading the opening scriptures of God's living word aloud into your spirit, family, or study group.

17) "And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?

18} And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.

19} Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.

20} And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth.

21} Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.

22} And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions." (Mark 10:17-22 KJV).

Here is our second passage: 53} "Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.

54} Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. 55} For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.

56} He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. 57} As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.

58} This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever." (John 6:53-58 KJV).

[Of course, Jesus was not talking about literal blood, of course. The law had already spoken on it. (Leviticus 17:10-11). He was saying that his life had to become their own, but they could not accept this concept.]

This would become how true born-again believers partake in the Lord's Supper. This symbol of eating his body and drinking his blood is done in the Communion. It is done by believers only. (1 Corinthians 11:23-30).

True Christians believe in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. We depend on the word of God as fact in the Christian teaching for guidance and trusting in the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit.

His love seals us until the day of redemption. But sometimes sincere love can go through testing periods in life. Those of you who have ever owned a dog with more than one child have probably seen this love loyalty tested.

It can happen when two children both try to call the dog at the same time from different distances. The dog may hesitate in its decision about which child it might run towards. It's an innocent test. The dog still loves everyone.

But there are tests for us that come when our grasp of what love, loyalty, and trust really means. Those in (John 6:63-66) missed the spiritual significance of what Jesus was teaching them. Let's read it.

63} "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

64} But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him.

65} And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father. 66} From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. (John 6:63-66 KJV).

You see beloved, when Jesus spoke, his words were always spiritual. His parables were only for hearts and minds who were willing to receive it. His words are Spirit and they are life for the un-generated soul. (The unsaved).

That's why Peter said what he said in verse 68 after Jesus asked his disciples would they go away in verse 67. Words of "eternal life" are spiritual living words. Do you have his living words inside you this morning?

Walking away from "Living Love" is hazardous to your soul. This tension of walking away causes emotions to fluctuate. In Mark chapter 10, I want you to see the simple but serious answer Jesus gave about entering heaven.

Please read (Mark 10:13-15) aloud into your spirit. The requirement needed to enter heaven must come from having your heart match that of a child. Jesus looked at the rich young ruler and loved him.

The word loved in the Greek translation is (agapaō) It defines loving someone one in a moral sense. It means to have felt or shown deep affection, attachment, or adoration for someone