Posts Tagged ‘Value’

We began taking The Value Test yesterday during our corporate worship together.  Our text was Matthew 8:1-22.  Jesus gave the test to 2 different people on one occasion.  Incidentally, the two people were both “religious” and “moral,” yet they didn’t pass the value test, indicting them as people who were out of relationship with God.

First up was The Scribe.  We’ll call him “Sonny” the Scribe.  Religious.  Moral. Spirituality galore. Respected in the community as a church member.  Knew the right answers.  But Sonny the Scribe couldn’t be a Christ-follower because he valued something over and above Jesus.  He valued comfort. Jesus asked him if he would be willing to give up his comfort in order to follow.  Jesus told him that foxes and birds had more comfort than He did, and that those who followed after Him would also have to forsake comfort and convenience.  What Jesus was really telling him was if you want to follow Me, your comfort and conveniences have to be found in Christ.  Jesus was pointing out Sonny’s god – and Sonny’s god wasn’t Jesus, it was comfort.  He worshipped comfort.  Comfort and conveniences are of less value than Jesus himself.  For Christ-followers, they value Christ more than creature comforts.  Christ followers are so captivated and captured by the gospel of Jesus Christ that any other comfort pales in comparison.

Next up is the disciple. We’ll call him “Devon” the disciple.  Righteous.  Moral. Good guy. But Devon the disciple couldn’t follow Jesus because he valued possessions more than Jesus.  His god was possessions.  He wanted to wait until his father passed away so that he could have his inheritance.  He was unwilling to follow Jesus before his father died.  He would follow Jesus after he was “set.”  He would follow Jesus when he could afford to follow Jesus.  He worshipped money and possessions, and that was his god.  And that’s why he failed the value test.  He valued stuff over the sent Savior.  Christ-followers find completion and satisfaction in the gospel of Jesus Christ, the good news, that stuff can’t touch.

• How are you and I doing with the value test?
•  Is there anything we value over and above Jesus himself?
• Does something other than the gospel grab our hearts?
• Who or what are we worshiping?

Dig Deeper into the depths and riches of the gospel!

PC

Are you learning and growing from Luke 14:15-33?  I have to tell you I haven’t been able to leave this text for quite some time, as I’m praying for my family and our church family, that God would make us a “God is supremely better” people.  What has entered your life this week that is rivaling God being better?  Is sickness trying to steal this from you?  Is work related  issues, family experiences, unmet expectations competing to steer you away from God being so much better than all else in life?

Just this week I have had a phone call from a friend who is dealing with a possible miscarraige…Just this week I am praying for family members who desperately need the Lord to come through in a job situation…Just this week I’m lifting up people walking through some dark times already in 2011, and they are faced with a question – Is God really worth dropping all else in life to follow Him?  Is he worth it?  Can I value him enough to put #1 priority in his life?

Also, there are some of us out there who have it all together and who are experiencing fruitfulness in life like never before, and things couldn’t be better.  I firmly believe it’s in these “good times” that it’s hardest to consider God as better than all else - because all else is treating us so nicely.

Anyway, let’s look at Invitee #2 to God’s Party in Luke 14:15-33…Who is this guy?  He is a guy who turns God down becasue he has just bought 5 yoke of oxen.  He has 5 pair of oxen that he is needing to visit and make sure they are doing their job in order to provide for him.  In other words, this invitee #2 is valuing work and the bottom line financially over God and God’s Party.  He is more concerned with working and how work is going than dropping work for an evening and celebrating who God is.

I have to admit – this punches me in the soul!  I’m a bit of a workaholic to be honest.  Are you?  Are you like me and tend to place a more significant value on work rather than on God?  Are you defined by what you DO, rather than what Christ DID on the cross?  I struggle here.

If you do struggle here, remember our friend Martha in Luke 10:38-41 – respond to these questions:

• How would you describe Martha?  Use some adjectives to define what she was like.
• How would you describe Mary?  Use some adjectives to define what she was like.
• What was Martha frustrated with?  What was Mary doing?
• What did Jesus consider to be the most important act in this story?
• How can you apply this to your life?

Man, i’m praying God makes some significant transformations in all of our hearts – namely, that he would make us a people who are “God is supremely better” than WORK people!

Dig Deeper,

PC

By now you should be well aware – if you’ve been at RiverStone the last 2 weeks, or if you’ve been following this blog – that I’m praying a bold prayer for God to do some incredible things with us at RiverStone.  In particular, I’m asking him that he would make us a “God is supremely better people.”  If you missed these messages, please visit iTunes or http://www.riverstonechurch.org/media-2/messages to hear what God is teaching us.

We looked at Luke 14:15-33 again yesterday for part 2 of My 2011 Prayer for RiverStone Church.  We peered deeply into the 3 excuses made by the men who were invited to God’s party.  The bottom line of the parable is simply that God deserves and demands the worship of all peoples.  Do you believe this?  Do you believe that God deserves and demands your personal worship?  Daily?  He absolutely does – and he is absolutely the only one who has demonstrated his supremacy to us seen clearly in the cross of Christ.

What did the invitee #1 say?  He said “I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it.”  Really what he was saying is that he valued the field more than he valued being in the presence of God (the master throwing the banquet.)  This invitee #1 was so wrapped up in his possessions (his field) that he didn’t have room for worshiping God on this occasion.  He placed a supreme value on his stuff than he did his savior.  Do we ever do this?  Are we ever guilty of placing a higher value on our commodities than on Christ?

Let me say that the result of placing a more supreme value on stuff always results in sadness and unfulfillment.

See Luke 18:18-23 & answer these questions as you Dig Deeper into God’s Word:

• What was this man known for that came to Jesus? What was he known as?
• On a scale of 1-10 how moral was this guy in your opinion?
• What might Jesus be saying to this man about how ‘works’ doesn’t equal morality in God’s economy?
• What is the hardest thing to you about Jesus’ challenge to this man?
• What would this man be known for if he decided to ‘do’ what Jesus asked him to do?
• What was the result of his decision? [sadness]

Dig Deeper!

PC