“The Devoted Life”
September 12, 2010
“Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the LORD your God.”
1 Chronicles 22:19
Lance Armstrong is a phenomenal cyclist who has won the Tour De France for a record seven consecutive times, and that was after having survived cancer! One of the keys to his success as an athlete has been his single-minded devotion to training. He has an unusual willingness to suffer physically, to push his mind and body to the limit, to prepare himself to win. Listen to this passage from his book which describes his preparations for the 1999 Tour De France:
"I went back to training. I rode, and I rode, and I rode. I rode like I had never ridden, punishing my body up and down every hill I could find. I remember one day in particular, May 3, a raw European spring day, biting cold. I steered my bike into the Alps, with Johan following in a car. By now it was sleeting and 32 degrees. I didn’t care. We stood at the roadside and looked at the view and the weather, and Johan suggested that we skip it. I said, "No. Let’s do it." I rode for seven straight hours, alone. To win the Tour I had to be willing to ride when no one else would ride."
That’s a good definition of devotion. Here’s another one. Cyrus, the founder of the Persian Empire, once had captured a prince and his family. When they came before him, the monarch asked the prisoner, “What will you give me if I release you?” I’ll give you half of my wealth,” was his reply.
“And if I release your children?” The prince says, “I will give you everything I possess.”
“And what would you give if I release your wife?” Without hesitation the prince says, “Your Majesty, I will give myself.”
Cyrus was so moved by his devotion that he freed them all. As they returned home, the prince said to his wife, “Wasn’t Cyrus a handsome man!”
With a look of deep love for her husband, she said to him, “I didn’t notice. I could only keep my eyes on you—the one who was willing to give himself for me.”
If I were to ask you what YOU were devoted to – how would you answer that question? The evidence is pretty plain to see. Some people are devoted to their jobs – haven’t missed a day in years. Some are devoted to their mate or kids and they make great sacrifices for them. Some are devoted to sports – and you can tell it by the clothes they wear and how much time and money they spend on it. Some are devoted to reading or entertainment or having a good time. Whatever it is you are devoted to will affect your time, how you spend your money, and what you think about.
I wondered what Jesus was devoted to. As I thought about it – I had to conclude that He was devoted to us. He was willing to give His life for us. That’s devotion. The only thing He said about devotion was this:
"No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money." Luke 16:13
Have you noticed that whatever a person is devoted to takes up most of his life? The thing he is devoted to becomes his god. God wants us to be devoted to the right things. We are to be devoted to Him – and then He tells us how to express our devotion to Him - by being devoted to certain things. Devotion to God is expressed in devotion to these things. Before I share those things with you – let me share with you what some great people in the Bible were devoted to.
First, let’s look and see what Ezra was devoted to. The Bible says,
“For Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the LORD, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel.” Ezra 7:10
Devoted to studying the Bible and obeying God. That pretty good. He was also devoted to teaching the Bible. Not bad things to be devoted to. Studying the Bible and teaching it to others. We would do well to follow Ezra’s example.
Second, let’s look at Nehemiah. Here’s his testimony.
“Moreover, from the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, until his thirty-second year—twelve years—neither I nor my brothers ate the food allotted to the governor. But the earlier governors—those preceding me—placed a heavy burden on the people and took forty shekels of silver from them in addition to food and wine. Their assistants also lorded it over the people. But out of reverence for God I did not act like that. Instead, I devoted myself to the work on this wall. All my men were assembled there for the work; we did not acquire any land.” Nehemiah 5:14-16
Nehemiah devoted himself to rebuilding the city of God. That’s another way of expressing devotion to God; Devoting yourself to doing God’s work.
Third, let’s look at a man after God’s own heart – King David. He says,
“Hear, O LORD, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. Guard my life, for I am devoted to you. You are my God; save your servant who trusts in you. Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I call to you all day long.” Psalm 86:1-3
David says he is devoted to God. How does he express that devotion? By trusting God and praying constantly.
One last example, David’s son, Solomon. Solomon says,
“I devoted myself to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven.”
Ecclesiastes 1:13
Solomon became a full time student. He devoted himself to learning. Unfortunately, he went to the wrong teachers and left God out of the process eventually. He became a bitter, disillusioned old man who died apart from God. For all his devotion to learning and in spite of the fact that he was the world’s wisest man, he didn’t learn that the wise person remains ignorant about some things. Paul wrote to the Roman Christians,
“Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I am full of joy over you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.” Romans 16:19
Amplified Bible says,“…wise as to what is good and innocent and guileless as to what is evil.”
Are you beginning to understand what it means to be devoted? The dictionary defines it like this:
To concentrate on a particular pursuit, occupation, purpose, cause, etc., to set apart or dedicate. to commit to something.
I don’t think the Christian can be a Christian without being devoted. He can talk the talk – but not walk the walk. We have to be devoted to God above all. But there are a few things the Bible tells us to be devoted to as well. Maybe our devotion to God is expressed by our devotion by these things.
The first thing we are to devote ourselves to, and maybe the most important thing, is prayer. Paul writes the Christians in the Colossi church,”
“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” Col 4:2
One of the things the early Christians were devoted to was prayer, Acts 2:42 tells us. I’m not sure how that was done. Certainly, each of them must have had a strong and consistent personal prayer life. I think they probably started their day with pray. Maybe they ended it with prayer as well. King David said He prayed morning, noon and night. It was Daniel’s habit to pray three times a day. That’s devotion! And maybe that’s where we get the idea of devotions – from being devoted to this thing of speaking with our God and Savior.
What does it mean to you to “devote yourself to prayer”? I have to confess I am not as devoted as David and Daniel. I begin my day with prayer – and often end it with a few praises. But I think we can all do better at this thing.
Someone asked me recently how I prayed. My act of praying consists of using the acronym of “ACTS”. ‘A’ stands for adoration. I begin my prayer time adoring and admiring God. That’s praise. There is so much to praise God for. We take so much for granted. It is good to come into His presence with praise.
Secondly, I confess. We holiness people are not too good at this. Our definition of sin is “a willful transgression of a known law of God” and we can honestly say we have not willfully and knowingly rebelled against God. But tho the heart may be perfect, the acts are not. We need to confess our faults and failings. If we love God we grieve for every imperfection and flaw that we have. We ought to recognize them, acknowledge them, and confess them. I tell God, “I am so sorry I didn’t think to say something to so and so.” I am so sorry I didn’t speak with you much today. I am so sorry I was too busy to have meaningful time with you today.
If there is any sin in your heart – you must certainly confess it. But also confess your faults and flaws and shortcomings. It keeps us humble and grounded.
Then I come to God with thanksgiving. Every day I am grateful for my salvation. Every day I am grateful for God’s grace. Every day I am grateful for God’s blessings. I am so grateful to be loved and love. I am so grateful for my eternal future with God. Come before God with thanksgiving. Be lavish and generous with your gratitude.
Lastly, I come to God with my supplication. That’s requests. That’s my needs and desires. I pray every day for my physical well-being. I pray every day for my intellectual needs and for wisdom in applying knowledge. I pray every day for my emotional needs and to be positive. (Phil 4:8) I pray for my spiritual needs – that I would keep my heart and mind on heavenly things (Col. 3:1-2). I pray I would not sin (Matthew 6:13) and that God would accomplish His will through me. I pray for my wife and kids and grandkids. I pray for my Mom and family in Minnesota. I pray for my church family. I pray for where I work – the people in it and for it’s success.
Do I do this every day? No. Some days I pray for the urgent needs and lift my list up to Him and say, “Lord, you know my heart. Please meet these needs.” But several times a week I take the time for the longer prayers.
Being devoted to pray also means praying through the day as needs arise. As the Holy Spirit puts thoughts in your mind - stop and pray. When someone comes to you with a need, I have found that it is usually best to stop and pray for them right then. It’s too easy to forget.
Prayer ought not to be hard and difficult. It ought to be natural. But it takes devotion and disciple and dedication. Otherwise you will find your prayers superficial and shallow. Pray on purpose. Discipline yourself to pray. I think that’s what it means to “devote yourself to prayer.”
Secondly, we are to devote ourselves to Bible Study. Paul wrote Timothy,
“devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture” 1 Timothy 4:13
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
2 Timothy 3:16-17
”Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”
2 Peter 1:20-21
“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” 2 Peter 3:18
If there is one thing that has had the most influence on my spiritual walk I would have to say it is my devotion to the Scriptures. For 40 years I have consistently read the Scripture every day. It takes me about 10 months to read the New Testament through and a couple of years to read the Old Testament through. That means I have read the Bible through and through a lot of times. But ya know what? It is still fresh and relevant today. I need its’ strength each and every day. I need the guidance and instruction. I need to be reminded over and over of God’s goodness. I need to remember that I am eternal and I need to think about God’s promises every day. As the Children of Israel fed upon the manna from heaven every day – we need to feed on God’s Word. Devote yourself to it. It is the source of your spiritual strength.
Thirdly, we are to devote ourselves to one another. The bible says,
“Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.”
Romans 12:10
Why do you think the Bible tells us to devote ourselves to others? Could it be by nature – we aren’t? By nature we are devoted to ourselves and doing our will and getting what we want. It is not in our nature to be sacrificial. We want others to meet our needs.
I want you to realize that God is asking you to devote yourself to caring about people. He wants you to love them. He wants you to honor them. He wants you to stop being selfish and self-centered and choose to focus on others. It’s the second greatest commandment. We get so busy wrapped up in ourselves and our wants. Stop it! Devote yourself to others. I don’t know what that means to you. For each of us it may be a little different. But there’s the command. God wants you to ‘devote’ yourself to others.
One last thing. We are to devote ourselves to doing good. Paul writes,
“I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.” Titus 3:8
“Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good…” Titus 3:14
We are to be devoted to being good. We were created for it, Ephesians 2:10 says. Doing good is a kind of a generic cover all. “Just be good!” Devote yourself to doing the right thing. Again, that’s a personal thing. You may devote yourself to doing some good things, and I may be devoted to doing other good things. The bottom line is be devoted; commit; dedicate; yourself to always do the right thing.
You are to be a devoted person. You are to dedicate yourself to; 1. Praying, 2. Studying the Scripture, 3. Loving others, 4. Doing good.
This is God’s will for you. This is your challenge. With God’s help you can do it. Are you willing to be a devoted Christian? If so – pray this prayer with me.
Dear Jesus,
Thank you for the privilege of being your child. Thank you for salvation and the wonderful future you have for me. Forgive me for being ungrateful and selfish. Help me, from this moment on, to be devoted. Help me to be devoted to Praying, Studying the Scripture, Loving others, Doing good. Help me to grow as a Christian. Use me to accomplish your will.
