Day Fifteen

Liberty Churches

Day Fifteen

Surrendered and Focused Forward

January 20, 2020

Day Fifteen Luke 9:57-62 Surrendered and Focused Forward

“As they were going along the road, someone said to Him, " I will follow you wherever you go." And Jesus said to him, " foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." To another He said "follow me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father. "And Jesus said to him, "leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God. "Yet another said, " I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home." Jesus said to him, "no one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."

In this account, Luke is telling us three men it seems, could not meet the conditions Jesus laid down to enter the kingdom of God, and journey on with Jesus. This was a tough word to three would-be disciples. Are you surprised at Jesus' response to these three men? I'm sure they, and the "large crowd" they were part of were as well.

We can gain some insight concerning the nature of God's Kingdom, and the truth of what it means to be a Christian by this interaction with Jesus.
These three potentials were members of a crowd following Jesus. They obviously enjoyed being part of the movement, but Jesus knew they had a fundamental ignorance to what was required to enter the kingdom and journey on. They had a false enthusiasm as most did who followed him because they lacked understanding. (John6:66) Jesus knew this, and I'm sure they had good intentions but, He knew their hearts were looking for the physical blessings that He was providing and that they were not yet committed followers. He knows us better than we know ourselves.
Jesus seems to be discouraging them. How Jesus handled this, seems so contrary to what we see in the church of today, and what we are accustomed to. We are accustomed to the church doing everything they can to attract people. We have made it so easy for people to think they've entered the kingdom. Just say a prayer and you're in. But Jesus, seems to be doing the exact opposite, and I'm sure all were caught off guard.

Why did Jesus handle these men in the manner He did? Why did He seem so unsympathetic and harsh with his three responses? What did Jesus mean when He said, no one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God?" Why was He turning potential ploughman away, when, just two versus later, He says "the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few"?(Lk 10:2) Let`s take a look!

Profession is easy! Jesus knew their hearts. Their minds lacked understanding therefore, their hearts had the wrong motive to enter in. I'm sure they were sincere in their thinking, but they exhibited the wrong motives. He rebuked them because He wanted them to know exactly what they were doing. He wanted them to know that committing to Him is more than a prayer. He wanted them to realize they needed to surrender all that would hinder their relationship with Him. He was trying to teach them and all who had ears to hear!

Keeping in context, many healings and miracles have recently taken place. Jesus had recently taught His followers about self-denial, cross-bearing and losing one's life. (v23-24) Jesus had announced twice to the disciples His forthcoming rejection and death. (v:22+24) and He had just steadfastly set His face towards Jerusalem. (V:51) ...He had His game face on. He was trying to make them understand the seriousness and the consequences of not understanding what was soon to take place. He was going to die for them.

When Jesus talks of putting one's hand on the plough and turning back, He is saying, the disciple must fix his eyes on Jesus and His mission. He must "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness."(Mt6:33) A disciples consuming purpose is to FIRST KNOW JESUS, and then, MAKE HIM KNOWN, which is the most important thing in this life.
Are there things of this world hindering you from being fit for the kingdom of God? Family? Work? The gym? Your bank account? Are you ashamed? Too tired? The reality is One doesn’t fit Jesus into their schedule, they fit their schedule into Jesus’. Is Jesus the focal point of your life? He deserves you full time, not when you have the time!

I enjoy Jesus' agricultural analogies, they're so applicable. In this case, He uses a plough. A symbol of work. To plough a straight furrow, the ploughman focuses on a point ahead, he needs two hands on the plough to strike a straight furrow. This can't be done if he's looking back. In like manner, looking back at former desires and ways, will distract you from the mission and lead to temptations of this world.

Jesus knew these three men had a divided loyalty. They wanted to be with Jesus, but they didn't want to surrender all the world was offering.
To Journey with Jesus and receive His blessings and joy requires leaving worldly values with a clean sever and immediate separation from the pride of life!

"For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart."(Hebrews 4:12)

"Love not the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love for the father is not in them."(1Jn2:15)

Jesus gave the warning, "remember Lot's wife, whoever seeks to keep his life will lose it."(Luke17:32-33) I can't help but wonder if she was longing for the former life as she looked back. Her life was apparently pretty good there. She probably knew it was wrong, but she liked it. (We have the same problem, Paul says he dies to self daily) Apparently, she was hesitant to surrender all and looked back with longing eyes, in disobedience, and died instantly.
Since the only way to really Journey with Jesus is with unconditional commitment. We need to ask ourselves, am I keeping one foot in the world just in case? Am I committed to Jesus Christ unconditionally? Am I ready for the high cost of discipleship? Have I counted the cost? Because if you are following Jesus the way he intends you to, it's going to cost you things you enjoy if it hasn't, you need to reassess your life. Jesus wants you to understand what discipleship in His kingdom requires because He loves you. He wants you on the right train because it's a one-way ticket. After all, because of His supernatural love for us, He paid the ultimate cost for our redemption so we would not face God's wrath. Praise God!

" the cross is laid on every Christian. The first Christ-suffering which every man must experience is the call to abandon the attachments of this world. It is that dying of the old man which is the result of his encounter with Christ." Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Day Twenty-One

January 26, 2020

DAY 21 - Psalm 24:3-5 - P24 Climb Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. He will receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation. The Psalmist here asks us two very key questions in verse 3. Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in His holy place? Then he answers the question for us in verse 4, He says “It is he who…" - Has clean hands - A pure heart - Does not lift up His soul to what is false - Does not swear deceitfully These four steps are how we ascend the hill of the Lord (i.e. Journey with Jesus. I call this the P24 Climb. You have all heard of the P90X exercise program, right? You cannot just pop in the P90X into the tv and then sit back on the couch with a bag of potato chips and watch, and think you are going to get physically fit. NO WAY!! You have to participate in the program!! Let’s briefly look at the P24 Climb. #1 Clean Hands To have clean hands means that we live our lives free from blatant sin. As Christians, or Christ Followers - Children of God, or Believers… Whatever you want to call yourself, we must choose to not sin! #2 A Pure Heart Matthew 5:8 says, ““Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. The Greek word for “pure” in Matthew 5:8 is katharos… It means to be “clean, blameless, unstained from guilt.” Interestingly… the word can refer specifically to that which is purified by fire or by pruning. The Greek word for “heart” in Matthew 5:8 is kardeeah. This can be applied to the physical heart, but it also refers to the spiritual center of life. This is the place where our thoughts, desires, sense of purpose, will, understanding, and character reside. So to be pure in heart means to be blameless in who we actually are. #3 Does not lift up His soul to what is false Proverbs 4:23-26 says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways.” Just as there are many diseases and disorders that can affect the physical heart, there are also many ailments of the spiritual heart. These ailments can impair growth and development as a believer. A hardening of the spiritual heart occurs when we are presented with God’s truth, and we refuse to acknowledge or accept it. #4 Does not swear deceitfully This is a person who lives by honesty. They are truthful and trustworthy. They keep their promises, obligations, commitments, contracts, and covenants. Matthew 5:37 says, "All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.” Throughout this coming year, it is my desire that we as a body will walk in the Spirit every day and choose not to sin. To be blameless with open hearts to the truths of His Word, Journeying with integrity WITH HIM. This is the conclusion of our SURGE 21 2020 fasting program. Please join together on Wednesday evening the 29th for a time of worship and prayer to solidify in our hearts the small sacrifices that have been made to consecrate ourselves to make this P24 Climb together for the praise and honor of our Lord God Almighty that we may be a blessing and receive His blessings. Pastor Moen Psalm 24:5 says, “He will receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation.” SURGE twenty-one devotionals are prayerful contributions from the pastors, ministry leaders, and volunteers of Liberty Church. We offer a special Thank You for your contributions.

Day Twenty

January 25, 2020

DAY 20 - Isaiah 5:6; Acts 2:42; 4:31- Being http://community...in Prayer... In Isaiah 56:7 we learn “these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.” In my initial reading of this verse, I wondered who Isaiah is talking about when he refers to “these”? I felt drawn to be with them on the holy mountain. Mentioned earlier in the passage, Isaiah is referring to all of those that “do what is good and right”, and those that “honor my Sabbath… and keep themselves from doing wrong”. Isaiah is telling us to draw close to God, go deeper in relationship with Him. Our relationship with God grows through time in prayer with him. All who devote themselves (offerings and sacrifices) to Jesus will be accepted in His house. It does not matter where you are in your Christian walk or where you are from (all nations) when we go deeper in our relationship with Jesus we experience the joy he gives us in his “house of prayer”. In these last 20 days, we have drawn closer to God through our fasting and prayer. By doing this together as a church body, we witness to the world. We see this realized in the New Testament when told about early church development in Acts 2:42: “They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” As we devote ourselves to Jesus through spending time in the Word, time in prayer, and time in fellowship with other believers we feel fulfilled. Nothing can fill us as completely as this. Yes, we need Jesus, but we also need each other, for God reaches us through people. He uses our prayer for others and our fellowship time together to build one another up and to build a community of faith. We learn about the amazing impact the early church had in Acts 4:31: “After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.” When striving toward greater intimacy with God through obedience and prayer, and growing in community of faith that builds one another up, we are filled by the Holy Spirit. When the Spirit governs our lives, we witness boldly and journey with Jesus toward the holy mountain. Then our community of faith “shakes the ground” and we become one of “these” that Isaiah spoke of. Let us come together to pray! Our prayers may be awkward. Out attempts may be feeble. But since the power of prayer is in the one who HEARS them and not on the one who says them, our prayers DO make a difference. Max Lucado

Day Nineteen

January 24, 2020

DAY 19 - Psalm 37:3-6 - A Couple’s Journey to Wholeness Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun. Maybe you’re in a situation where you feel like you just can’t take it anymore; maybe it’s your marriage, or a wayward child, the loss of a loved one, or your job. Do you find yourself saying? “I just can’t do it anymore!” “I’m done!” You may wonder why God isn’t answering your cries for help. Please know that our Heavenly Father sees your pain and knows the desires of your heart. As a wife, I had prayed for 26 years when I decided that I had enough and left. I had always wanted to be obedient and not get divorced, knowing how much God hated divorce, but strangely, I had an unexplainable peace about my decision. I had no idea what Jesus was about to do. I surrendered and trusted. As a husband, I watched my wife was busy praying for our marriage, I was also seeking a relationship with God, but on MY terms. I had asked Him into my heart and knew, according to the Bible, that I was saved and would have eternal life but I had never looked deep enough into my own brokenness to allow God to deliver and heal me. My relationship with God was kind of like my relationship with my doctor. We can try to fool our doctor by telling them everything feels great but when they look inside of us and examine our blood chemistry they can see what’s really going on. Until we totally surrender and allow His light to shine on the inside of hearts we never really know where the ailments are. Today as a couple walking this journey with Jesus we encourage you to allow Him, the greatest physician ever, to show you the brokenness that causes so much sickness and trouble in our lives and in this fallen world. Trust, surrender and commit. This can only be done by the power of the Holy Spirit. We are so blessed our marriage is now a three-stranded cord. Jesus thank you for your constant love, for knowing the desires of our heart. And for always being there. Our trust is in the LORD because He is working everything out.