Have you ever missed a moment that was important? How did you feel? Regret, loss, anger? Maybe you thought missing it wasn’t that important, but then you found out it was more than important! If you recall a moment you missed you will find yourself in our scripture. In the next 25 mins you will learn a method to move with the more, so you never miss a moment. You may be wondering, “what does she mean by ‘the more’?” I’ll explain in a minute.

First off, do you agree the Pharisees missed more than a moment of importance? They missed the Messiah! So much more! Why do you think they missed him? Imagine you are in the temple, sitting at a table with the Pharisees. You watch them write on a chalk board, “Rules to Measure up the Messiah”. You notice them write many items. Things like: He will deliver us from oppression, He will set us above and apart from the rest, He will dramatically reverse our fortune. You see their list. You know their mindset. This Jesus better measure up. What if Jesus measures more? They tell you “The Sadducees peppered him with questions, but now it’s our turn. We are going to send our best lawyer to test this Jesus.”

Will you look with me at how Jesus answers the test? The greatest commandment is “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ T​his is the first and greatest commandment. ​A​nd the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ A​ll the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

At first glance, you may think check mark, Jesus measured up. Look with me how Jesus measured more. He combines two old testament scriptures. Deutornomy 6 and Leviticus 19. You need a bit of background. The book of Deuteronomy is known by the Pharisees to be earthed in a bi-literal covenant between God and Israel. Jehovah God would bless Israel. God Yahweh is life. Yahweh freed Israel from Egypt and Moses implored Israel to acknowledge God’s love. Their only response is to love Yahweh in return! You can place this background into Jesus’ answer.

You may see Jesus revealing himself as Messiah. He gives them more. Chances are you know this scripture well. I hope you know Jesus is Messiah, and a God of relationship. You place this commandment in this context. This is the first time for the Pharisee to hear these two commandments together. They do not know Jesus as Messiah. They live by law. Obedience to God is about obeying the law. But Jesus’ answer invites them to move towards knowing him as Messiah and into relationship first. Moses implored love to come out remembering Israel’s experience of God’s love. Maybe the Pharisees have forgotten.

Now Jesus reveals the second commandment to them. Love your neighbour. You probably know the Pharisees do not practice loving their neighbors. How do you think the Pharisees feel hearing this answer? Maybe a gamut of emotions. Jesus is giving them more than they asked for! Can you imagine? They may have been confused, or offended, and tension may be increasing. Jesus is just getting warmed up. He’s been peppered with questions. You know Jesus loves these guys. Can you use that knowledge to see Jesus inviting them, pulling them in? “Hey guys, you want to get to know me as Messiah? Yet they miss Him. They refuse to move with the more, and miss the moment?

You may recall I promised to explain what I mean by “the more”. Perhaps you’ve heard of the Toronto Blessing. My friend experienced it first hand. We met for coffee. If you were sitting beside me at our table, across from my friend, you would have heard her say, “Tam, Jesus is doing more. People pray simple prayers like more Lord, more, and the Holy Spirit shows up with power in ways we’ve never seen.” You would hear how my friend saw “the more” of Jesus move into the lives of the people who moved towards Him and received Him. Tam, “Their lives change. They are healed and set free.”

This revival was on world news. The manifestations of the Holy Spirit, such as people shaking, falling down, uncontrolable laughter. They sounded strange, maybe even wierd. You would see my folded arms reveal to you my reluctance. You would have been right if you’d thought, “Is she’s going to move with the more, and miss the moment?” I almost did.

I was stuck in the order in my own mind. I believed Jesus is my Messiah. My own chalk board list of who Messiah is and how He will move. The Pharisees seem to be stuck as well. They move out of their own order. Not divine order. Divine order is the beautiful relationship between Jesus, Heavenly Father, and Holy Spirit. Jesus represents the Father to us. This draws us in, and we want to live, move, and have our being in this relationship. He is God and He works above and beyond me. The Pharisee looks at their list of how this Jesus is to measure up, and this order makes them miss Him. They refuse to move with the more, and they miss a moment of importance!

Jesus’ turn. Imagine you’re standing in the temple. You’re in ear shot of Jesus as the Pharisees encircle Him. You hear Him. “What do you think about The Christ?” “Who’s son is he?” This seems like a simple question, but the way they answer it will determine much. They quickly reply, “The Son of David.” Check mark. They measured up, but Jesus measures more.

He continues, “How is it then, that David, inspired by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’?” The Lord declared, ‘Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.’ If David calls him ‘Lord’ how, then, can he be his son?”

This is a huge question! Remember, you’re standing beside Jesus. You look at the Pharisees. Will they move with the more and never miss a moment? You know the answer. Why would they choose not to engage with Jesus? They could have asked Him to explain this. He could have revealed the incarnation but they decide to never ask another question of Jesus.

It’s important you know you can ask Him questions. This is a magnificent part of the more of Messiah. It is a part of divine order. Messiah desires you to draw near, ask questions, enter in. When you move with the more you will never miss a moment. But the Pharisees refused. This was their mindset.

We only have time to scratch the surface of what is happening here. I hope you will take some time to look closely afterwards. Jesus quotes Psalm 110 in his answer. What’s happening here? You have heard Jesus answer their question with the first and second greatest commandments. Usually messages on this scripture are divided into two: the greatest commandment and then this passage, but this all occurred at the same time. It’s critical to look at why Jesus references Psalm 110 as the more to His answer to the question about the greatest commandment. What is Jesus saying?

Psalm 110 is the most quoted psalm in the new testament of all the psalms. When you read the first line of scripture like this is the way they referenced the entirety of it. The chapter and verse numbering system did not exist. Jesus is calling them to their memory of all of Psalm 110. If Jesus quotes it, it can’t be missed by us. Jesus starts by confirming David wrote the psalm inspired by the Spirit. This is key. The psalm is not about David, it is written by David. This removes debating the author, and it clearly confirms the psalm is indeed Messianic.

When you read David is inspired, does it give you pause? It did for me. Jesus could quite possibly be saying, “Guys, if David can be inspired, you can be inspired too.” Could He be drawing them towards Himself, asking them to move away from their own order, away from the chalk board, and into divine order? He invites them to move with the more, so they don’t miss the moment. To see him as Messiah. Their silence seems to indicate they are immovable. Their order is paramount to divine order.

What about you? Are there places in your life where your own order trumps divine order? There was for me. You hear me say I almost missed Him. I didn’t trust or understand the physical manifestations of the Holy Spirit I heard about. I didn’t want anything to do with it. Then our son was born with a rare condition and I broke. My order shattered. You see, I had a Pharisee mindset too. My list said if I obeyed God my life would look a certain way. This was my order. But my life did not look the way I thought it would. I don’t know if I knew I had this order in my mind, but it was there. Now I need more.

I had a life I couldn’t order. Divine order of trusting Messiah’s love for me first, and growing my love for him, became my journey. This moved me with the more of God. Will you move with the more so you don’t miss a moment?

The order the Pharisee moved in was their own order, but Jesus moves out of divine order. He invites you to surrender to His divine order. When You decide to move out of divine order you will move with the more, and not miss the moment.

When you move with Him your relationship with Messiah will deepen. Relationship is central to move with the more, and not miss a moment. In our passage today you witness several relationships but I want to call you to two contrasting relationships: the Pharisee relationship with Jesus revealed in our story and David’s relationship with Messiah highlighted in Psalm 110. Jesus is doing more here. Could He be inviting the Pharisee to move with more, so they don’t miss a moment? He ties this answer to their question about the greatest commandment. Could He be saying you need relationship with me to even live out the commandments?

Let’s look at the first line: “the LORD said to my Lord”. Did you notice the first “Lord” is all capitals? This is known to be indicating Yahweh God. The second Lord is Adonai. In my research, I learned the Pharisees believed this to be a Prophetic Messianc Psalm. Only Messiah could sit at the right hand of God. What is Jesus doing pointing this out? You may have several thoughts about this. Allow me to invite you to focus on David’s relationship. David is known for being a man after God’s heart. David’s humility enables him to receive inspiration from the Spirit and trust his relationship. David is honest and steps out in faith. David is an example of moving with the more to never miss a moment.

The Pharisee is stuck. Their relationship lacking. Jesus just doesn’t measure up. They miss him. If you hold up these two relationships, which one do you relate to?

There is one line of Psalm 110 I’d like to call your attention too. Verse 4: “You are a priest forever in the order of Malchezidak”. This one line shows a depth of David’s relationship and faith. In David’s day only Levites, the order of the tribe of Levi, could be priests. David knew this. This one line he heard under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, would have been an enigma to David. We don’t know but it’s quite possible to imagine David struggling to write it down. Tormented by what he knows about God, and what he is being asked to believe? It’s beyond his measuring. It’s more. It’s an enigma. What will Daivd do? Will David move with the more, and not miss a moment? This inspiration is more. It’s against everything he knows and understands about Yaweh. This is a time when David is living out the enigma of faith. He is hanging in the expanse. Yet he writes it down. This mystery, this enigma, is made known to us 1000 years later through our Messiah Jesus.

Enigma is a part of the more of God. If you had been sitting on the shuttle beside me on our way to the Toronto Blessing, you’d have met a man. We will call him Paul. You would have heard a sweet older woman turn to Paul, “Young man, what brings you here?” Paul says “I’m from England, and my rich uncle begged me to come here. Said he’d pay for everything if I’d visit before I made my final vow to the coven of satan.” “My first day here, I walked through the doors of the church, and the eyes of the Heavenly Father met mine. There was no condemnation, only love and I knew I was home.” “That was three weeks ago, and I’m never leaving His presence again.” For me, this was the day my faith grew deeper, and I realized the enigma of Christ is a beautiful place to live.

Today you have heard about the more of God. I’d like to give you a method, as promised, to remember the more. This is to help you to move with the more so you never miss a moment. You can move with the more if you know Jesus as your Messiah.

The M in the word “more” is Messiah. When He is Messiah, you learn to move with his divine order.

The O represents Order. Your relationship will grow and deepen as you move with the more.

R is for Relationship. There will be moments that measure more than you’ve experienced. These times of challenge and walking with Messiah will probably include moments that are beyond your understanding. Your relationship with Messiah will probably have times that are an enigma.

E is for enigma.

This is the method of the more. It is my hope that you will move with the more and never miss a moment.

2020 has been a difficult year for many. When have you had moments of struggle this past year, or at other moments of your life? How have you responded? I hope you will take a moment to jot down your thoughts.

There is always room for you to make a decision for more. I behaved many times like the Pharisee, yet God is gracious; and even though this past year He has been an enigma, I do believe the more of God is coming. It probably will not look like it did back in the Toronto Blessing. Messiah does not have to measure up to my list, He will measure more. I hope I am ready to move with the more so I don’t miss a moment.

What about you? Are you ready to get ready for the more of God so you never miss a moment?