How do we maintain authenticity in our lives and our evangelism? Building on our exploration of prayer in the previous session, here we explore the importance of the full devotional life in our Christian walk and our evangelism.
Session in a sentence
Devotion moves us to a place of holiness as we spend time with our holy, heavenly Father, which in turn prepares us to be effective ambassadors of the kingdom, carrying a message of hope on our lips that is shown to be authentic by the transformation of our hearts.
Session background
Returning from their annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the Passover festival, Mary and Joseph realised that Jesus was missing. After three distressing days, they were eventually reunited with their son, finding him with the teachers in the temple precincts. Jesus was sat among the wise teachers, learning from them, but also contributing and astonishing them with his remarkable understanding of scripture at just 12 years of age. When asked by Mary why he would worry his parents by wandering off as he did, Jesus appears confused by the question.
Jesus’ confusion is prompted because he rightly assumes that you can only be lost or missing if those trying to find you don’t know where you are. How could they not have known that he would be in his Father’s house? This is the natural place for him to be. It would be like looking everywhere except the White House when trying to track down the US president, only to be baffled when you find him at his desk in the Oval Office, and asking exasperatedly, ‘Where have you been?’
Luke recounts specific language in Jesus’ response to Mary that reveals his claim to a unique relationship to God: ‘Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?’ (Luke 2:49). There seems to be no equivalent to this statement anywhere in scripture, apart from when Jesus is speaking. Jesus’ first recorded words see him declaring that he is the Son of God.
The work of the cross means we can be adopted into God’s family. We are given the right to be called children of God by faith in Jesus, so the question for us becomes: how natural is it for us to spend time in our Father’s house?
It is in the place of devotion that we discover more fully who we truly are. We grow. We are refined. We are emboldened. We are convicted of our wrongdoing. We are instructed in our purpose. We are fulfilled in our existence. Through devotion we are made holy as he is holy. Devotion is central to the Christian life because it forms holiness, and it is crucial to the task of evangelism because the gospel is to be lived and proclaimed by a holy people.
God is asking us as we come into his presence, not with exasperation, but delight: ‘Where Have you been?’
Session guide
Catch up (20–30 mins)
Take time to catch up with one another, sharing stories, encouragements, feedback on opportunities and anything else that would encourage the group. Reflect on your prayer lists (Session Five – Application, Part Two) and any updates since you began faithfully praying for those people every day.
Prayer
Commit the time to the Lord and pray over any situations, positive or challenging, highlighted in the catch up time.
Teaching (20–30 mins)
Work through the following teaching material in your own way, either by reading it word for word, or by reworking it into your own presentation.
‘Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.’
MARK 1:35
We ‘devote’ ourselves to all sorts of things in life. We might devote ourselves to family and friends, to upholding positive values, to pursuing dreams. We might be devoted to a hobby, a sports team, or getting a high score on whatever the latest mobile gaming craze may be.
Jesus was devoted to his family and friends too. He was devoted to Joseph, learning the family trade from him. He was devoted to his mother, ensuring that the apostle John would take responsibility to care for her after his death, resurrection and ascension. He was devoted to fellowship with his friends, seemingly spending more time with them than he did preaching to the multitudes.
With this clear devotion on display, what does Jesus mean when he says he came to set families against each other (Luke 12:53)? We can begin to make sense of it in light of his primary devotion to his Father in heaven, a devotion which came at the cost of all other devotions, no matter how virtuous they might have been. Jesus was not saying that it is wrong to love your parents, or that he specifically wanted to tear families apart for the sake of it. Jesus knew that anything that takes your primary devotion away from God will ultimately lead to unholiness. It is through our devotion to God that we are made holy.
Discuss: What are some things that can easily pull your devotion away from God? Talk especially about things that are not bad in and of themselves, but can easily become distractions from or barriers to submission to God.
It is possible to become more devoted to evangelism than to Jesus himself! But we exist to worship the king – not a ministry or calling. We must be grounded in spiritual living that listens effectively to God and is devoted to him above all.
No matter the demands of his ministry or earthly relationships, Jesus prioritised his personal relationship with his Father, taking the time to retreat, pray and listen. For Jesus, being with his Father was the most natural place for him to be. Mark’s gospel tells us of three such occasions of retreat. Spend some time reflecting on these passages:
MARK 1:35–39: RISING EARLY TO PRAY IN A SOLITARY PLACE
What does this teach us about receiving instruction from God?
MARK 6:45–46: RETREATING TO THE MOUNTAINTOP TO PRAY
What does this teach us about being refreshed by God?
MARK 14:32–41: PRAYING IN GETHSEMANE BEFORE BEING ARRESTED
What does this teach us about bringing the weight of our circumstances to God?
Informal and spontaneous prayer throughout the day is great, but setting aside intentional time to pray and read the Bible is crucial. Some are great at praying and not so good at opening the Bible; others have a great Bible study ethic but come unstuck when it’s time to pray. It can be really effective to combine the two by reading a chapter or more of scripture and then praying over what the passage says and how it can be applied to our lives. It’s also important to spend time adoring and offering thanksgiving to God, and bringing your requests and your needs to him.
Jesus had no need to confess any sin, but confession is a central part of the prayer he teaches his disciples: ‘Forgive us our sins…’ (Matthew 6; Luke 11). David’s prayer of confession and repentance in Psalm 51 is a great example for our own approach to humbling ourselves before God in repentant prayer when necessary.
The first step towards holiness is recognising that God is holy and that we are not. We need him, and as we take the time daily to step into his presence, the transforming power of his love will ensure that we are never the same again. It is this transformation that stands as the strongest evidence that the gospel is true and has the power to save. As we proclaim the goodness of God and share the Jesus story, those we reach can grow in confidence of the authenticity of our gospel message by examining the work of God through our wholly-devoted lives.
Jesus has made the way for us to be holy through the saving work of the cross, calling us to die to our old life and put our trust him. As we walk into new life, Jesus has shown us what it looks like to pursue holiness through daily devotion to the Father. We are not perfect, and we will not always get it right in life, but as we bend the knee before our gracious and holy king, we can make ourselves available for his grace to heal and his power to help that we might become holy as he is holy.
Discussion (15 mins)
- Do you make enough space for daily devotion in your life? What are some of your good habits, and what habits might need some work?
- Do you notice a correlation between the health of your devotional life and the quality of your evangelism?
- How can you open yourself up to more instruction, refreshment, perspective and repentance through intentional devotion in the coming weeks?
‘The purpose of [spiritual] Disciplines is freedom. Our aim is the freedom, not the Discipline. The moment we make the Discipline our central focus we will turn it into law and lose the corresponding freedom… Let us forever centre on Christ and view the spiritual Disciplines as a way of drawing us closer to his heart.’
RICHARD FOSTER
APPLICATION (5 MINS)
Begin praying through the Psalms, spending a few minutes every day reading and praying on top of any other Bible study and prayer time. If you can, stretch yourself to keep it up for a whole month or an entire year. You can do this by simply opening your Bible and working through the Psalms one by one, or by following a devotional plan such as Tim Keller’s My Rock; My Refuge: A Year of Daily Devotions in the Psalms.
Prayer (5 MINS)
Give thanks to our heavenly Father that he desires relationship with his children. Commit prayerfully to a life of devotion that moves us from being spiritual tourists to being children who dwell in the Father’s house and in his presence. Ask God to help us become holy as he is holy, and that the transformation of our lives would be the foundation upon which our evangelism is built.
Accountability (15 MINS)
Discuss in pairs what things in your life can threaten to – or already have – become an idol for you and take away your primary devotion from God. Gently question each other as a way of helping to look beyond any blind spots you might have. Complete accountability forms, share in pairs or smaller groups and pray for one another.
DON’T FORGET…
Some of you will start your own groups at the end of this first year. Why not start praying about that now and thinking of who you might invite into the Gospel Formation journey over the coming months.
