Everything we want to do comes out of love.
Jesus sets a very high bar; don’t look at her with lust, she’s your sister Don’t look at him with anger; he’s your brother
The fasting he requires is feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, loving those that have nowt. He asked Simon Peter: do you love me?
Yes
Feed my lambs then
If you love me – love them
What else can save the world, our cities, but this love. A people caught up in love. The bible is a love story
Not a rule book

Matt 13:3-9 parable of the sower
19-23 unpacks and explains it.

Jesus is sowing seed on planet earth
Some – hard ground; ‘I just don’t and won’t believe that love story.’

Some had no root; shallow relationship. The first joy of the first date. No depth to the relationship.

And some – it’s wealth that gets in the way. The cares of this world, consumerism is choking out the gospel in the world. Britain is full of rich young rulers who won’t give up their riches, to get through that is impossible for man but possible for God. It needs a miracle. Have we got too much stuff to get it done. Will we give up our name, our reputations. Our brands. For his seed to have more place to grow. To say to God ‘Take it all.’ That’s the place where something beautiful could grow.

A surrendered life is the place of fallow ground where a seed can grow.

God says ‘will you give it all up again?’
When nothing of ours is ours, God has all of us.

It will take that, to see a greater harvest
That love will transform the city, the nation, the world.
When it sees what we give and how we love.

Let’s practise what he preached!