Read: Luke 14:25-35
What sort of worship does God desire from His people? What does God truly want from you?
This week we have studied Solomon's thoughts on worship and on relationship with God. Solomon did not provide detailed, religious procedures or patterns to follow. He did not describe certain things that we can do to guarantee God's favour on us or ways that we can build a relationship with God so that He will serve our desires and commands. In fact, Solomon blasts those who come hastily to God with a vast array of foolish words to make foolish promises they cannot keep.
Instead we saw how Solomon commanded us to come to God respectfully, humbly and sincerely. To remember our place compared to the almighty, all-powerful God of the universe. God is not interested in our lip-service, our empty promises or our religious duties and processes, God is interested in our obedience and our total devotion to Him.
Jesus talked about this kind of total devotion in Luke 14. Large crowds were following Jesus. Jesus knows that in these large crowds there are many people who are only fair-weather followers. People who are willing to follow Jesus while He is popular and listen to His nice sayings and teachings but will fall away when the going gets tough. He knows that these people will eventually be the same people who will cry "hosanna to the King" one day and then stand and mock Him at His crucifixion the next day.
This is the same kind of self-serving religion that Solomon writes about. Jesus does not want fair-weather followers, He wants devoted disciples, men and women who are totally devoted to Him.
Seeking to separate these two groups Jesus addresses the crowds with the challenging words in verses 26-35. He describes to the crowds what it really takes to be a devoted disciple of Jesus: to see Him as the absolute greatest treasure and to be willing to surrender anything and everything for the sake of Christ.
This is what true devotion to Jesus looks like. This is the kind of life the He calls us to. The life that Jesus calls us to is a life that sees Him as our greatest treasure. Greater than our possessions, greater than our comfort, greater than our freedoms, greater than our rights, greater than our desires, greater than our friendships, greater than our families and even, greater than our very lives themselves. When we see Jesus in this way we are willing to give everything for His sake and to follow Him.
Jesus tells those who are following Him to sit down and count the cost, to consider whether they are truly willing to give up everything to follow Him. We too must sit down and count this cost. Do we truly see Jesus as our greatest treasure and pleasure? Are we really willing to give everything for the sake of following him?
Total devotion to God looks like giving Him everything: our finances, our time, our skills, our abilities, our passions, our hearts, our minds, our leisure time, our work time, our entire lives.
Are we totally devoted to God?
Prayer: Write down your prayer points in the space provided. Use today’s reading to help you get ideas.
Adoration:
Confession:
Thanks:
Supplication:
- Praise God for His grace to us despite how often we fall short of giving everything to Him. Pray that He would deepen our love for Him and our passion to serve Him. Pray that we would see Him as our greatest treasure and that we would seek to serve Him always. Pray that He would grow in your heart boldness to share Him with others and and a passion to serve Him, no matter the cost.
- Pray for Andrew and Marilyn Schache as they serve God at the Talua Ministry Centre in Vanuatu. Pray that God would strengthen and encourage them as they serve His people in another culture. Pray that Andrew and Marilyn would serve faithfully and cheerfully. Pray that those who are trained at the centre would be bold and faithful in their preaching of the gospel and that the church would grow across Vanuatu as a result of the Lord's work.
My Additional Prayer Points
Discussion Questions for families and groups
- If you had to plot your life on a graph would the graph reflect that Jesus is your greatest treasure? What areas of your life would speak most clearly about where your heart is at?
- What areas of your life do you find the hardest to surrender to God? Why?
- How can you encourage each other as a group to be totally devoted to God?
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