Week 8 – What Devotion Means

Nov 23, 2010 Gary Henry D - Commitment

“Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work” (2 Timothy 2:21).

If God truly exists and if He is our Creator, then we must see ourselves as “belonging” to Him. To be “devoted” to God means that a person consciously recognizes himself or herself as being God’s person and then lives accordingly.

The person who is devoted to God “reserves” himself exclusively for God’s use. The Christian pays his primary attention to God and doesn’t let himself be “used” for anything except God’s will. This is the best life that a human being can live. There’s simply no higher thing we can do than to dedicate every deed to God. Human greatness consists of devotion to God.

God desires to have a group of people who will see themselves as belonging uniquely to Him, “a holy nation, His own special people (1 Peter 2:9,10). And that is what the church is: those who have obeyed the gospel of Christ and who acknowledge, in word and deed, God’s special ownership of themselves. The church is consists of “saints,” the “set apart ones,” who keep themselves for God.

In the Old Testament, God entered into a special relationship with the nation of Israel. He said, “If you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine” (Exodus 19:5). Later, He said, “I will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people” (Leviticus 26:12; cf. 2 Corinthians 6:14-18). God’s “ownership” of physical Israel foreshadowed the much bigger relationship that God has today with spiritual Israel, a “nation” made up of people of all races and nationalities who are willing to devote themselves to the privilege of being God’s own people.

A large part of spiritual maturity is coming to understand the importance of belonging to God, devoting ourselves totally to Him in faith and obedience. Paul went to the heart of the matter when he asked, “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Corinthians 6:19,20).

“So we, Your people and sheep of Your pasture, will give You thanks forever; we will show forth Your praise to all generations” (Psalm 79:13).

Monday: Psalm 86:1-3

Key Idea: To be “holy” means to be dedicated to God, set apart for Him.

1. In a dictionary, look up the words holy, sanctify, consecrate, dedicate, and devote. What is the basic idea in all these words?
2. Can any person truthfully say, “I am holy” (Psalm 86:2)? What kind of person would be able to say that? What did David say in vv.10,11 of this Psalm? What was said to Israel in Deuteronomy 7:6 and 26:18,19? Consider Leviticus 11:44,45.
3. What is a “saint”? Is every Christian a saint, or only a special few? What does the expression “set apart” mean?
4. What does it mean that Christians are “sanctified”? What did Jesus say in John 17:15-17? In regard to young people, how does the statement in Psalm 119:9 relate to the idea in John 17:17?
5. How does God want His people to be “special,” “different,” “distinctive,” etc.? Is the difference to be on the outside, the inside, or perhaps both? Look back at John 17:17. What did Jesus say should be the thing that sets apart His people as a unique group?
6. What do we learn about sanctification in Ephesians 5:25-27?
7. What does the word “reserved” mean? Think of some examples in daily life where this word is used and consider how these situations might be analogous to the way in which we are to be “reserved” for God’s use.
8. In 1 Peter 3:15, what are we told to do in our hearts?

Tuesday: Psalm 18:21,22

Key Idea: Sin consists of departing from our dedication to God.

1. In this text, what did David say he had not done?
2. After his sin with Bathsheba, David prayed to God, “For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight; that You may be found just when You speak, and blameless when You judge” (Psalm 51:3,4). In what sense is all sin against God?
3. According to Paul in 1 Corinthians 6:19,20, what thought should keep us from sin?
4. In the hymn Live for Jesus by E. R. Latta, these words are found: “Live for Jesus, O my brother, His disciple ever be; render not to any other, what alone the Lord’s should be.” What is meant by these words?
5. Think about Psalm 18:23. Are those who belong to God sinlessly perfect, never failing to do His will? What should we do when we realize that we’ve broken our dedication and devotion to God?

Wednesday: Psalm 62:1-7

Key Idea: God wants our love, our trust, and our obedience to be reserved for Him alone.

1. Describe in your own words what David meant when he said concerning God, “He only is my rock and my salvation” (v.2).
2. In Acts 26:18, what are Christians said to be sanctified by?
3. Do you think the word “exclusive” could be used to describe our relationship to God? What does this word mean?
4. In what ways is a person’s relationship to God similar to the exclusive relationship that a husband and wife have? Consider Ephesians 5:22-33.
5. What is meant when someone says that a husband is truly “devoted” to his wife? What can we learn from this kind of devotion that will help us have a better relationship with God?

Thursday: Psalm 95:6,7

Key Idea: We should see ourselves as belonging to God.

1. In this text, what is the attitude reflected toward God by His people?
2. In Psalm 79:13, what will God’s people do?
3. In what sense can it be said that all human beings are the possession of God? In what special sense, then, are Christians His possession? Consider Acts 20:28 and 1 Corinthians 6:19,20.
4. How are Christians described in 1 Peter 2:9,10. What had God said to the nation of Israel in Exodus 19:5,6? What was the “covenant” or “agreement” that God and Israel entered into? See also Jeremiah 30:22. What is required of us in order to “keep” our part of the covenant? Consider Psalm 103:17,18.
5. What language is used in Malachi 3:17,18 to describe the special relationship God has with His faithful people?

Friday: Psalm 29:1,2

Key Idea: We honor God when we worship Him in the “beauty of holiness.”

1. In this text, what things should be “given” to God? Compare this text to Psalm 96:7-9.
2. What does it mean to worship God “in the beauty of holiness”? Compare 2 Chronicles 20:21.
3. According to Psalm 4:3, who are those whom the Lord has “set apart”?
4. What is said about God’s people in Psalm 89:15? What do they “know”?

Putting It All Together

As God’s holy people, we are to be reserved for Him, set apart for His purposes. Our thoughts, words, and deeds are to be devoted or dedicated to Him. This most special relationship of a person with God is what it is involved in sanctification, or being a saint. Faithfulness to God means that we remain true and steadfast in our devotion to Him only.

Gary Henry – WordPoints.com

Week 9 – Faithfulness to a Faithful God

Nov 22, 2010 Gary Henry D - Commitment

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23).

In the Parable of the Sower, Jesus described the unstable character of some individuals in this way: “But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles” (Matthew 13:20,21). Lifelong faithfulness to God depends, in large measure, on whether we have any “root” in ourselves. Some people choose to have a faithful character that keeps commitments, and some don’t.

The main thing that can help us develop a faithful character is to learn of God’s own faithfulness. Moses proclaimed this part of God’s nature to Israel: “Therefore know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments” (Deuteronomy 7:9). God has revealed Himself to us as a God of perfect, unfailing dependability. He has never told us anything but the truth, and He has never acted toward us in any way that is not faithful. Even when we’ve betrayed Him, He has never betrayed us. Paul said, “If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself” (2 Timothy 2:13).

The words “trust” and “truth” are closely related. We are able to trust God because He has demonstrated Himself to be a God of perfect truth. Like a young woman who “plights her troth” to a young man who has proposed marriage to her, we are to tell the truth when we say that God can trust us! To be “faithful” to God means that we choose to be “count-on-able.” We agree to be trustworthy.

In the matter of our faithfulness, God deserves far more from us than a “maybe.” He deserves a genuine, no-strings-attached commitment that binds us to keep His will as long as we live. We should be able to say to God what the Psalmist said: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. I have sworn and confirmed that I will keep Your righteous judgments” (Psalm 119:106). Having made that commitment, we are then exhorted by Christ to keep our word: “Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Revelation 2:10).

“All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth, to such as keep His covenant and His testimonies” (Psalm 25:10).

Monday: Psalm 89:5-8

Key Idea: God is a God of perfect faithfulness.

1. In the last half of vv.5,8, what attribute of God is praised? In v.7, how should we respond to the God described in vv.5,6?
2. What do we learn from the description of God in Deuteronomy 7:9? Compare this passage with Psalm 98:1-3 and 103:15-18.
3. To what is God’s faithfulness compared in Psalm 36:5,6? In 37:3,4, what can we “delight” in?
4. Consider 2 Timothy 2:13. If there is ever any break in the relationship between God and His creatures, whose untrustworthiness is always to blame? After we have broken faith with God, what can we count on Him to do?
5. In Genesis 24:27, what did Abraham’s servant attribute to God’s faithfulness? Are there things in our own daily lives that we ought to attribute to God’s faithfulness to us? Give some examples. According to Psalm 119:89-91, what is said to depend on God’s faithfulness?
6. What does 1 Corinthians 10:13 say concerning God’s faithfulness to us when we are being tempted by Satan?
7. Should God’s dependability make any difference in our praying? What is said in Psalm 143:1?
8. In Psalm 40:9,10, what did David say he had done? How might we do the same thing?

Tuesday: Psalm 51:10

Key Idea: With God’s help, we should make faithfulness a part of our own character.

1. What is the apparent background of Psalm 51? In v.10, what kind of “spirit” did David desire to have renewed within him? Is such a spirit a matter of choice on our part? Why do some people have this kind of character and others do not? Consider Amaziah in 2 Chronicles 25:2.
2. What admonition was given to the priests and Levites in 2 Chronicles 19:8,9? What are some of the characteristics of a “loyal heart”? In Psalm 57:7, what did David say about his heart?
3. In 1 Corinthians 4:2, what character trait is said to be required in a “steward”? What are some ways that we might think of ourselves as stewards?
4. What is said about the “faithful of the land” in Psalm 101:6?

Wednesday: Psalm 78:5-8,37

Key Idea: Sin consists of unfaithfulness to God.

1. In the last part of v.8, what is said about the “heart” and “spirit” of the “stubborn and rebellious generation”? What does v.37 say?
2. In Numbers 5:6, what is a person said to do when he or she commits sin? For what did Saul die, according to 1 Chronicles 10:13? What was said about Reuben in Genesis 49:4?
3. To what are the unfaithful compared in Psalm 78:57? What charge was made against Israel in Deuteronomy 32:5,6,15-18? Upon whom is a blessing pronounced in Psalm 119:1-8?
4. Could there be any more sorrowful thing than realizing we’ve been untrue to the most faithful Friend we’ve ever had? What do you think Peter must have experienced in Luke 22:54-62? How does this relate to the “godly sorrow” that Paul speaks of in 2 Corinthians 7:8-11?

Thursday: Psalm 37:5,6

Key Idea: We should commit ourselves to God.

1. In this text, what are we encouraged to “commit” to the Lord? What does it mean to do this? What does it mean to “trust” in the Lord?
2. What does 1 Peter 4:19 teach us to do? What is said about God in this passage? What assurance is given in Psalm 94:14?
3. In Psalm 9:9,10, what is said about the relationship we can have with God? See also Psalm 31:3-5.
4. In 2 Timothy 1:12, why did Paul say he was not “ashamed”? What had Paul “committed” to God? What confidence did he say he had in God? Judging by this passage, what’s involved in saying that we’ve “believed” in God?

Friday: Psalm 119:105,106

Key Idea: We should make a firm commitment to keep the word of God.

1. In v.106, what had the Psalmist “sworn” and “confirmed”? Is this promise related to the confidence expressed in v.105? Compare with vv.137,138.
2. What oath was taken in Nehemiah 10:28,29?
3. Consider Psalm 119:33,34. What does it mean to “keep” God’s word “to the end”?
4. Do you think we sometimes fail in our obedience to God because we don’t really commit ourselves to obeying Him?
5. What is said about the people of Israel in Psalm 78:10,11? Are we bound by any “covenant” today? What are our obligations to this covenant?
6. In Matthew 25:21,23, how are the servants described who received their master’s blessing?
7. What principle concerning faithfulness did Jesus teach in Luke 16:10?
8. What assurance does the Lord give us in Revelation 2:10?

Putting It All Together

True devotion to God requires that we make an honest commitment to Him and then remain faithful to that commitment. Faithfulness should be made a part of our character. We must be steadfast and dependable in our relationship to God. Our allegiance to Him must never be broken or betrayed. Since we can always count on God’s faithfulness to us, He should be able to count on our faithfulness to Him in return.

Gary Henry – WordPoints.com