I don’t know if you’ve thought much, lately, about the idea of ‘devotion’ or not … but I sure have. The Bible, in Luke 7 (36-38), talks about ‘tears of devotion’-the story of a Pharisee who invited Jesus over to his house to have dinner with him, which he did. The story tells us that in that town, there was a woman who lived a sinful life (though we’re not told what her sins were). She heard Jesus was in town, so she came to the Pharisees house and brought with her an alabaster jar full of perfume (probably worth a great deal). Scripture tells us that she stood behind Jesus, moved to his feet … crying and wetting his feet with her tears, drying them with her hair. She then kissed his feet & poured perfume on them. ‘Tears of devotion’ is what this story is all about. So, let me ask you this, as we begin our time in God’s word today: Where does your devotion lie? Are you as devoted to Jesus … as this?
John Kenneth Galbraith, in his autobiography, A LIFE IN OUR TIMES, illustrates the devotion of Emily Gloria Wilson, his family’s housekeeper. He tells it this way:
It had been a wearying day, and I asked Emily to hold all telephone calls while I had a nap. Shortly thereafter the phone rang. Lyndon Johnson was calling from the White House. ‘Get me Ken Galbraith. This is Lyndon Johnson."
‘He is sleeping, Mr. President. He said not to disturb him." ‘Well, wake him up. I want to talk to him," was Johnson’s reply. ‘No, Mr. President. I work for him, not you.’
When I called the President back, he could scarcely control his pleasure. ‘Tell that woman I want her here in the White House!’
Folks, nothing can replace devotion in life; where we place our devotion allows for those we devote ourselves to … to do their job to the best of their ability; once again, our everyday attitudes and actions don’t just affect us! They affect many people and many circumstances. As you’ve heard for the last couple of weeks, Jesus wants to bless us with an abundant life-the life that God desires for each and every one of us. But quite frankly, he can’t … unless we place our devotion in him! That’s the relationship that has to come first… Listen to this story of Moses and the people of God that was mentioned last week…
"Moses answered, ‘What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?’ 2 Then the Lord said to him, ‘What is that in your hand?’ ‘A staff,’ he replied. 3 The Lord said, ‘Throw it on the ground.’ Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it. 4 Then the Lord said to him, ‘Reach out your hand and take it by the tail.’ So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand. 5 ‘This,’ said the Lord, ‘is so that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers–the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob–has appeared to you.’ 6 Then the Lord said, ‘Put your hand inside your cloak.’ So Moses put his hand into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was leprous, like snow. 7 ‘Now put it back into your cloak,’ he said. So Moses put his hand back into his cloak, and when he took it out, it was restored, like the rest of his flesh.
8 Then the Lord said, ‘If they do not believe you or pay attention to the first miraculous sign, they may believe the second. 9 But if they do not believe these two signs or listen to you, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. The water you take from the river will become blood on the ground.’ 10 Moses said to the Lord, ‘O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.’ 11 The Lord said to him, ‘Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.’" – Exodus 4:1-12 (NIV)
Moses had a devotion to God, second to none … or he could not have accomplished all that he did in the face of life’s challenges, in leading God’s people. So, HOW DO WE MOVE INTO A LIFE JUST AS DEVOTED … TO JESUS CHRIST-a life that will result in the abundance God desires for us? Here’re some things that we really need to pray for … and experience in our lives … to move into a life of true devotion to the One who wants to bless us… OUR LIFE NEEDS TO EXPERIENCE…
A SERIES OF CONVERSIONS. Definition: Conversion is a point at which you have a change of thinking and a change of practice in any specific area of your life.
I was just talking about this very topic in our E.T. Class this past Wednesday-that there is one new birth in life, which is the time when we accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and the Holy Spirit comes into our life, empowering us to walk the Christian life, with all of the resources of heaven being made available to us-one new birth…
But, even though there is just one new birth, we will likely experience a series of conversions throughout our lifetime. (Look once again at the definition I gave you of ‘conversion.‘) As we learn and practice spiritual disciplines in our lives or ‘Keys to God’s Kingdom’ as we call them in E.T. (i.e. Bible Study, Prayer, Tithing, and Fellowship), we tend to change our way of thinking and behaving in life … to conform to the perspective and renewing action of Jesus-the work of his Spirit in us…
Here’s my house illustration: When we experience new birth, it’s like we’re giving God the whole house-to the best of our ability & knowledge at that point. But, as we grow, we find that there are areas of our lives that we haven’t really trusted God with-haven’t really given over to God for him to lead us in those areas. "God, you can have the house, but … well, that back porch over there is still mine. I’ll handle that." Or, "God, that pantry there in the kitchen; I’m just not ready for you to look in there yet. I’ll handle everything that takes place in that room."
Does this make sense? We have one new birth, where we turn the house (our life) over to God (as we understand it at that time). But, throughout our lives, we need to experience many conversions. As the Holy Spirit reveals to us which part of our lives (the house) we haven’t really devoted to God, we’ll need to deal with each one of those things. We’ll need to turn those over to God-our thinking & actions converted to Jesus’ way of doing things in the process…
Our possessions are usually one of those areas that God brings to our attention, as time passes & we continue to grow in our faith… Money is one of the last conversions that most people want to experience, but necessary in order to be totally devoted to Christ… WE ALSO NEED TO EXPERIENCE…
A RECOGNITION OF RIGHTFUL OWNERSHIP. The abundant life that God desires for us requires a recognition … that God is the rightful owner of all things. Exodus 4:2 shows us God calling Moses to a place of conversion-to a higher place in his life!
(Exodus 4:2, NIV) Then the Lord said to him, "What is that in your hand?" "A staff," he replied… What that staff represented was ‘what Moses had’-the tool of his trade. It represented his skills & his talents, God’s provision for him to make a living and a life. Everything Moses needed for the abundant life that God was calling him to … was already in his hand.
A common mistake that’s made when it comes to money … is thinking that what we have in our hand is … just not enough. All too often, we use credit cards for what’s not in our hand. We believe that in order to have an abundant life, we need just a little bit more … and acquiring debt is the only way to get it. Isn’t that right? If you haven’t been there before, surely you know someone who has…
Folks, listen to me right now, because I believe this to be a word from God for today: The only thing that God is going to bless supernaturally in your life (and for his purposes) … is what you are already holding in your hand!
This is why the Bible tells us that this kind of debt is not our friend-the debt that stems from not trusting God for our needs. That kind of thinking is really self-defeating, because you already have everything you need … for God to take and bless for his Kingdom. For Moses, it really wasn’t about what he didn’t have; it was all about what was in his hand at the moment-what he had. And, so it is with us. What’s in your hand right now? Are you willing to recognize who’s it really is … and allow him to bless it? Finally, we need to experience or recognize…
OUR RESPONSIBILITY OF TRUST. To give up all of your possessions means to claim ownership of nothing you have, to release everything to the hands of God; as followers of Christ, this is our responsibility-our demonstration of trust… Recognizing God’s ownership is a critical step toward the abundant life God wants for us; it’s what Jesus meant when he said that no one can be his disciple unless they give up all their possessions…
In Mark 10:21 (NIV), it says: "Jesus looked at him and loved him. ‘One thing you lack,’ he said. ‘Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.’" Now, this scripture may trouble you, but it doesn’t mean that you must become poor and homeless; rather, it demonstrates our responsibility to trust God for every need, and give away what we don’t need… Remember, God isn’t calling us to release what we don’t have; he’s calling us to release what we do have-what’s in our hand right now…
Folks, God is One who loves you … and cares for you more than any other ever could. You have a Powerful Parent … whose desire is for you to know an abundant life. These things that we have been talking about today are all ‘steps of faith’ … and, if we will even take one step of faith in God’s direction, God will meet us there … and we will know-without a doubt-just how much God loves us, cares for us, and wants to walk with us through each and every day of our lives (Footprints) … sometimes even carrying us through the tough days…
In light of all that we have heard together today, let’s be praying for these ‘steps of faith’-for ourselves and, unselfishly, for one another-that we can experience in life all that we need to in order to be properly devoted to Jesus…
- Do you have a devotion to Jesus Christ that is second to none, trusting God for all things?
We have all the resources of heaven at our disposal … when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior at the time of our spiritual birth…
But, those resources are released to bless our lives for the sake of God’s Kingdom … as we begin to live out of a devotion to Jesus Christ in obedience-a devotion second to none…