Prioritizing God: Embracing His Love and Purpose

 

Summary

In today's gathering, we began by reflecting on Psalm 9, which calls us to give thanks to the Lord with all our hearts and to tell of His wonders. This scripture reminds us of God's intimate care for each of us, encouraging us to rejoice and be glad in Him. We prayed for those in need, both within our community and globally, trusting in God's ability to do exceedingly more than we ask.

We then turned to Luke 14, exploring the parable of the great dinner. This parable challenges us to examine our priorities and the excuses we make that prevent us from fully engaging with God's invitation. The call is to compel others to come into God's house, reflecting His love and compassion. We are reminded that our love for God should be so profound that it surpasses all other affections, making Him the priority in our lives.

The message emphasized the importance of putting God first to experience true joy and peace. We are called to be disciples who carry our own crosses, understanding the cost of following Christ. This involves sacrificing our ambitions and desires to align with His will. Our spiritual lives should reflect this commitment, avoiding the distractions that lead us away from God's presence.

We also discussed the parable of the lost sheep, highlighting God's relentless pursuit of each one of us. This pursuit is a model for how we should seek out and embrace those who are lost, showing them the same love and compassion that God has shown us. Our role as a church is to reflect God's heart, embracing our community with love and compassion.

Finally, we are encouraged to declutter our spiritual lives, removing anything that hinders our relationship with God. By pursuing Him wholeheartedly, we will find more joy and fulfillment. As we close, we are reminded to reflect God's love in our daily interactions, representing Him well in all we do.

Key Takeaways:

1. God's Intimate Care: God is not only concerned with the world as a whole but is intimately acquainted with each of us, caring deeply about our daily lives and struggles. This understanding should lead us to rejoice and be glad in Him, trusting in His provision and care. [06:02]

2. Prioritizing God: Our love for God should be so profound that it appears as if we hate everything else in comparison. This means making God the number one priority in our lives, which is essential for experiencing true joy and peace. [42:32]

3. The Cost of Discipleship: Following Christ requires us to carry our own crosses, understanding the cost of discipleship. This involves sacrificing our personal ambitions and desires to align with God's will, reflecting His love and compassion in our lives. [49:32]

4. Reflecting God's Heart: We are called to reflect God's heart by embracing those who are lost with love and compassion. Just as God pursues each of us, we should actively seek out and welcome others into His presence, showing them the same grace we have received. [01:03:26]

5. Decluttering Our Spiritual Lives: To pursue God wholeheartedly, we must declutter our spiritual lives, removing anything that hinders our relationship with Him. By doing so, we will find more joy and fulfillment, living lives that honor and please God. [01:14:42]

Youtube Chapters:

- [00:00] - Welcome
- [06:02] - Opening Prayer and Needs
- [36:16] - Introduction to Luke 14
- [37:17] - The Parable of the Great Dinner
- [38:19] - Compelling Others to God's House
- [39:40] - Reflecting the Heart of the Father
- [41:03] - Prioritizing God Above All
- [42:32] - The Cost of Discipleship
- [43:25] - Finding Joy in God's Presence
- [44:07] - Avoiding Complaints and Grumbling
- [45:29] - Putting God First in Our Lives
- [46:41] - Carrying Our Own Crosses
- [47:51] - Building Our Spiritual House
- [49:32] - Sacrificing for Christ
- [53:14] - Decluttering Our Spiritual Lives
- [55:38] - Reflecting God's Love
- [01:03:26] - Embracing the Lost
- [01:14:42] - Pursuing God Wholeheartedly

Study Guide

Bible Study Discussion Guide

Bible Reading:
- Psalm 9:1-2
- Luke 14:16-24
- Luke 15:1-7

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Observation Questions:

1. In Psalm 9, what are the specific actions the psalmist commits to doing in response to God's wonders? How does this reflect God's intimate care for us? [06:02]

2. In the parable of the great dinner in Luke 14, what excuses do the invited guests give for not attending the dinner? How do these excuses relate to the sermon’s message about prioritizing God? [37:17]

3. According to the sermon, what does it mean to "carry our own crosses" as disciples of Christ? How is this concept illustrated in the sermon? [46:41]

4. In the parable of the lost sheep from Luke 15, what actions does the shepherd take when one sheep is lost, and how does this reflect God's heart for the lost? [01:03:26]

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Interpretation Questions:

1. How does the psalmist's commitment to giving thanks and telling of God's wonders in Psalm 9 encourage believers to trust in God's provision and care? [06:02]

2. What does the parable of the great dinner in Luke 14 teach about the importance of prioritizing God's invitation over worldly concerns? How can this be applied to modern life? [37:17]

3. The sermon discusses the cost of discipleship and carrying one's own cross. What might this look like in practical terms for a believer today? [46:41]

4. How does the parable of the lost sheep in Luke 15 illustrate the value God places on each individual? What implications does this have for how believers should treat others? [01:03:26]

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Application Questions:

1. Reflect on a time when you felt God's intimate care in your life. How did it impact your trust in Him, and how can you share this experience with others to encourage them? [06:02]

2. Consider the excuses you might be making that prevent you from fully engaging with God's invitation. What steps can you take to prioritize God in your daily life? [37:17]

3. What personal ambitions or desires might you need to sacrifice to align more closely with God's will? How can you begin to make these changes this week? [49:32]

4. Think of someone in your life who might be "lost" or distant from God. How can you actively seek them out and show them love and compassion this week? [01:03:26]

5. Identify one area of your spiritual life that feels cluttered or distracted. What specific actions can you take to declutter and focus more on your relationship with God? [01:14:42]

6. How can you reflect God's love in your daily interactions, especially with those who are difficult to love? What practical steps can you take to show compassion and grace? [01:25:17]

7. In what ways can you and your small group support each other in carrying your crosses and pursuing God wholeheartedly? How can you hold each other accountable in this journey? [46:41]

Devotional

Day 1: God's Intimate Care in Our Daily Lives
God's intimate care for each individual is a profound truth that should lead to rejoicing and trust. Psalm 9 reminds us to give thanks to the Lord with all our hearts and to tell of His wonders. This scripture highlights that God is not only concerned with the world as a whole but is intimately acquainted with each of us, caring deeply about our daily lives and struggles. This understanding should lead us to rejoice and be glad in Him, trusting in His provision and care. As we reflect on this, we are encouraged to pray for those in need, both within our community and globally, trusting in God's ability to do exceedingly more than we ask. [06:02]

Psalm 139:1-4 (ESV): "O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether."

Reflection: Think of a specific area in your life where you need to trust God's intimate care. How can you express gratitude and trust in Him today?


Day 2: Prioritizing God Above All Else
Our love for God should be so profound that it appears as if we hate everything else in comparison. This means making God the number one priority in our lives, which is essential for experiencing true joy and peace. The parable of the great dinner in Luke 14 challenges us to examine our priorities and the excuses we make that prevent us from fully engaging with God's invitation. We are called to compel others to come into God's house, reflecting His love and compassion. By prioritizing God, we align our lives with His will and experience the fullness of His joy and peace. [42:32]

Matthew 6:33 (ESV): "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."

Reflection: Identify one area in your life where God is not the priority. What practical steps can you take today to realign your priorities with God's will?


Day 3: Understanding the Cost of Discipleship
Following Christ requires us to carry our own crosses, understanding the cost of discipleship. This involves sacrificing our personal ambitions and desires to align with God's will, reflecting His love and compassion in our lives. The call to discipleship is a call to a deeper commitment, where we are willing to lay down our lives for the sake of Christ. This means being willing to sacrifice our own desires and ambitions to follow Him wholeheartedly. As we embrace this call, we find true joy and fulfillment in living a life that honors God. [49:32]

Luke 9:23-24 (ESV): "And he said to all, 'If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.'"

Reflection: What is one personal ambition or desire you need to sacrifice to follow Christ more closely? How can you begin to make this sacrifice today?


Day 4: Reflecting God's Heart to the Lost
We are called to reflect God's heart by embracing those who are lost with love and compassion. Just as God pursues each of us, we should actively seek out and welcome others into His presence, showing them the same grace we have received. The parable of the lost sheep highlights God's relentless pursuit of each one of us, and this pursuit is a model for how we should seek out and embrace those who are lost. Our role as a church is to reflect God's heart, embracing our community with love and compassion. [01:03:26]

Ezekiel 34:11-12 (ESV): "For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness."

Reflection: Who is one person in your life that is lost and needs to experience God's love and compassion? How can you reach out to them this week?


Day 5: Decluttering Our Spiritual Lives
To pursue God wholeheartedly, we must declutter our spiritual lives, removing anything that hinders our relationship with Him. By doing so, we will find more joy and fulfillment, living lives that honor and please God. This involves examining our lives for distractions and obstacles that keep us from fully engaging with God. As we remove these hindrances, we create space for God to work in our lives, leading to a deeper relationship with Him and greater joy and fulfillment. [01:14:42]

Hebrews 12:1-2 (ESV): "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."

Reflection: What is one distraction or obstacle in your spiritual life that you need to remove? How can you begin to declutter your spiritual life today?

Quotes



"Now, I was taught many years ago that the compelling part is where we kind of lack in compelling them into, into the house of God. And the compelling part says that by whatever means necessary. Are you hearing me? Your family, your co -workers, your neighbors who don't know Jesus, are we compelling them? Are we doing whatever it means necessary to bring them into the house?" [00:39:02] (37 seconds)


"Because, you see, my problem over the last several months has been stuck on trying to find the details that are in the Scripture that brings out the heart of a father. One that is of compassion and love that no matter what we've done and no matter what they've done, we love them unconditionally. Are we? Our words often don't reflect that we are doing that and we are encouraged this year to love unconditionally regardless of where we've been or what we've done. We must continue to show them the great love of our God." [00:39:50] (52 seconds)


"That's everyone in this building. If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Now we go back several years when I explained to you that that hate isn't that we disown our family or we hate our family or that we show them hate. It's that our love for God... Our love for God becomes so passionate. Our love for God becomes so great that it looks like we hate everything else." [00:41:38] (38 seconds)


"So I ask you to compare your love for the Father. Is that love for the Father the same way that he is telling us it needs to be? That God is number one in every part of your life. If you're not loving God in a way... That he has become number one in your life, that's where we're going wrong. We're not going to have joy. We're not going to have peace. We're not going to have all the good blessings of God until we put him at number one in our life." [00:42:56] (34 seconds)


"You're not going to have joy being a complainer. You're not going to have joy being a gossiper. You're not going to have joy always fussing over the problems of your life. God is not on His throne complaining about you. You shouldn't be on your throne complaining about them either. That's a rough one, isn't it? We'll spend more time complaining and fussing about problems in life and our life burdens and situations if we'll just set the complaining aside and we'll find His presence." [00:44:07] (37 seconds)


"Whether you like it or not. And we have leaders who are over us who are leading guidance. And you got to start telling your wife how she need to do it. And you need to quit telling your parents how they need to do it. And you need to quit telling your co -workers how they need to do it. For you and me alike, we need to pick up our own... our own crosses and crucify a lot of our own problems before we go trying to help other people carry theirs." [00:47:07] (29 seconds)


"You're a house your body is the temple of the Lord your house when you gave your heart to Jesus Christ I believe too many of us probably failed to calculate the cost that it was going to require to maintain the house now you hear me if you're going to accept Jesus Christ as your personal savior it's going to come at a cost it's going to require us to lay down our lives our ambition our hopes our desires our dreams so that we can align ourselves to who Jesus is so when it's time to build the house and give our lives over to Jesus Christ we must know it's going to require sacrifice you're going to have to give of your money you're going to have to give of your time you're going to have to give of your life you're going to have to sacrifice and service and give and do and over and over because you said I love Jesus Christ and I thank him for saving my soul and now my life's goal is to reflect who he is my life's ambitions are to be who he has called me to be and to serve him with my whole life and my whole heart and everything I am will be about Jesus Christ and no it's not just the pastor who had to do that it's not an evangelist or a teacher it's the body of Christ who dies to themselves so that Jesus might come alive so I think for the majority of the church we have either forgotten what it was going to cost or we decided to do some additions to the house that were never meant to be additions to the house and now as you start adding all the other things you start realizing you put in the house you put the second roof on wrong and now when the rain comes it's flooding your relationship with Christ parable too tight there thought it was pretty good" [00:49:36] (121 seconds)


"y 'all probably should take your shoes off for this one I got a little out his house is suffering spiritually because the house at home has no spirituality to it we've sacrificed the Holy Ghost in the house of God because the Holy Ghost don't exist in our houses we've sacrificed the word of God for fancy teaching and some fluff and some excitement and some entertainment because the word of God doesn't exist in our homes" [00:53:14] (40 seconds)


"pursuing the father and this year I want you to go home and I need you to clean out the house and clean out your life so that you can pursue the father closer one lady in the community she put on her Facebook this week that she was doing a house clean out and she was going to do 31 trash bags in 31 days and every day she was going to declutter her house she was going to fill one trash bag every single day and I think for ourselves some of us we could not only probably declutter our houses we could probably declutter our spiritual lives the same way every day examining who we are and how close we are to the father would you stand with me this morning" [01:17:13] (46 seconds)


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Transcript
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