Thursday, October 27, 2022

Give It All – The Vault

October 27, 2022/in Bible Study, Week 3

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Giving up your life is something that I bet never entered your mind when you considered following Jesus. Must we give up so much to follow him?

Yes! But why?

I read an amazing book by Pastor Kyle Idleman, Not a Fan: Becoming a Completely Committed Follower of Jesus. I felt it spoke directly to me and helped me change my view on following Jesus. (A special thank you to CedarCreek’s Founding Pastor Lee Powell for recommending it during a guest visit.)

For me, giving can almost be too easy. If I have something you want, all you have to do is ask, and there’s a good chance I’ll give it to you. More than once, I’ve gone to look for something only to remember I gave it away. It’s not mine anymore; it belongs to someone else.

As followers of Jesus, we gave the life we knew over to Christ. We are told by Paul in 2 Corinthians that anyone who accepts Jesus gives up their old life and is a new person—our old life is gone and a new life starts.

Matthew 16:24

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you want to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me.”

Think about it like this, we give up an addiction, a lifestyle, even our time, when we pick up our cross to follow Jesus. Yes, it’s a sacrifice. We’re losing something that we thought we needed or that brought us comfort, but none of those things even come close to providing us with the comfort Jesus brings when we give our faith to him. Jesus brings us a peace that cannot be matched by anything or anyone here on earth, because he is not of this world.

Matthew 25:41-46

41 “Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. 42 For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink. 43 I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’

44 Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’

45 And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’

46 And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.”

If we think of what we’re giving away as our own, we’re missing the point.

Luke 20:25

“Well, then,” he said, “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.”

We need to give God what is his—US!—our lives, our bodies, our talents, and our gifts. I’m sure many would consider this a sacrifice. As Jesus followers, we need to be mindful to not take credit for what God has given us; rather, we’re called to use our gifts to bring glory to God. Because when we refuse to share what we have been given with those who need our help, we are refusing God.

As Pastor Idleman explained in his book, we all need to decide if we’re fans of Jesus—someone who wants to be close enough to get all the benefits without all the sacrifice—or if we’re completely committed to Christ, sacrifices and all.

I’m not a fan. What about you?

Questions:

What have you given up so you can give it to God? How have you used your gifts in the way God intended?

Next Steps:

Attend GrowthTrack and learn how to purposely use the gifts God gave you for his glory rather than your own. Pray for guidance on how best to use your gifts to guide others to give themselves to God.

Prayer:

God, help me guide others to use their gifts to lead to a faith that is giving—a faith that is unafraid of giving up anything here on earth to follow the precious gift that you gave us, your Son, Jesus. Let me not be afraid to share the gift of your Son with anyone who may come across my path. Give them the same strength to grow their faith so that they, in turn, will share the gift of eternal life with others. Father, allow all the glory of my giving to be yours no matter the cost. Amen.