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WORTHY OF IT ALL

FULLY DEVOTED | Week 1

WEEK 1 | WEEK 2 | WEEK 3 | WEEK 4 | WEEK 5

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Read the devotional.
2. Answer the reflection questions.
3. Read + Engage in the “Devoted Practices.”

DEVOTIONAL

In Luke 17 is a story about Jesus while he was on his way to Jerusalem from Galilee. This was his final trip to Jerusalem. He was walking towards the cross for you and me. 

He came to a village and there was a group of ten lepers who came out to meet him. At the time leprosy was one of the worst diseases a person could go through. Leprosy causes the body to deteriorate by literally eating away skin and body tissue causing fingers, toes, ears, and worse to disintegrate.  Someone with the disease was usually quarantined and socially distanced away from the city and often they would be made to wear bells around their necks so they could ring them and warn anyone who came near, while shouting, “Leper! Leper!” It was a shameful disease and everyone was afraid of it…well almost everyone.  

Luke chapter 17 starting in verse 11 says;  “Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance 13 and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” 14 When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.”

In order for these ten lepers to be able to take the bells off and to be embraced back into the community they needed a priest in the local synagogue to declare them cleansed. It would be like getting a document to prove your official bill of health (in other words, a test that showed you were leprosy negative) – that’s what they needed!

Did you notice the end of that passage, “as they went, they were cleansed.”  So while they were on their way to see the priest they were cleansed (meaning they were healed)! Imagine that walk together. Ten guys speed walking to the temple and they began to freak out when the first guy noticed a miracle happening to one of the other guys and says, “Whoa, dude your ear is back!” Then another leper says, “Bro, I thought you had two fingers on your right hand, but now you have all five! Whoa, give me a high five…literally bro!” I imagine it when something like that. 

Verse 15-19. One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. 17 Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”

I love when Jesus says this kind of stuff, 
“Were not all ten cleansed?
I mean, I’m pretty sure I can count…
after all I Am the son of God. 
Where are the other nine?”

So only one guy comes back. 
Only one guy seems to get it. 
This is shameful…seriously, what are the other nine guys thinking?

Maybe they got stuck at the synagogue waiting on their formal document of cleansing. Maybe they went to celebrate with friends. Maybe one guy stopped to smell the roses with his newly refurbished nose or maybe a few of them simply ran as fast as they could back home…to their old life…completely missing that God did something new. This guy though…this one guy basically says, “I am not going to only praise what Jesus did for me, but I am going to praise him for who he is! All glory, and honor, and praise is his — Jesus is worthy of all my praise, all my attention, all the credit!” 

Jesus has done things for you and what he’s done deserves a response of praise from you! However, it can’t be just about what he does for you! Because this isn’t about you, me, or us — as if God exists for us! We must come to the believe and live what it says in Revelation 4:11, “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.” 

I believe many of us relate to the other nine lepers in this story. We cry out to Jesus in our times of need. Then God provides and takes care of us and we’re grateful for what He’s done. But not long after he’s helped us, we get distracted or busy and we fail to continue to surrender ourselves in the praise and declarations that he is worthy to receive from us.  

Every passage of scripture can teach us many things about life with God and this story has many lessons for us, but the one staring us in the face is that ten people were healed and helped by Jesus and only one gave him the glory, honor, and praise he was worthy to receive. I don’t know if this story represents a statistical anomaly or if 90% truly represents the number of us who are healed/ rescued/ helped by God, but fail to honor his worthiness.

Or maybe…
this story represents
the one time
we gave God praise
out of the ten times
we should have.

The struggle over who is worthy is real.
Am I worthy of it all or is God worthy of it all?
We gladly receive from God all the time, but struggle to give him what he deserves —
which he deserves
e v e r y t h i n g,
all we have,
and all we are.
Luke 9:23 says,“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” The call to deny self for the sake of giving greater honor and praise is one of the best ways to declare to God and the world that He is worthy of it all!

The “Devoted Practices” below provide the opportunity to help you do two things: 1. To declare to God over the next five weeks that “He Is Worthy Of It All” through your worship and devotion. 2. To deny self through practices of fasting and prayer in order to develop greater discipline to Contend vs. Consume.

As we step into this five week journey, make sure you take your cue from the one leper who came back. He’s the guy who “got it.”  Becoming fully devoted will always mean returning to Jesus every day “praising God in a loud voice, throwing yourself at the feet of Jesus and thanking him.” (Luke 17:15-16)


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REFLECTION QUESTIONS
Write your answers in a journal or in a “notes” app on your device.

1. What Are You Doing?
You are likely doing many things to honor and thank God; write down the things you currently do in life that declare He is worthy of it all. (Make your list as thorough as possible as it will help you with question #2).

2. What Can You Begin?
Write down other ways that your life can begin to express that “God is worthy of it all.” Consider the topics of your time, relationships, money, commitments, daily practices, family dynamics, neighboring, and other areas God brings to mind. The key thought in your reflection should be, “How am I honoring God with my ______ (time, money, commitments, etc).” Pray over those thoughts and determine 2 (or more) specific things you can begin doing to increase the praise and worthiness of God in your life.

3. Optional: Worship with the song, “Worthy Of It All + All Of The Glory” (click to watch)

4. Watch the sermon, “WORTHY OF IT ALL” from 2/28/21 (click to watch)


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DEVOTED PRACTICES
Practices & patterns of a life devoted to Jesus. Below are the instructions on the 2 Devoted Practices to experience the rest of the week.


1. HIDE THE WORD IN YOUR HEART -
The Practice of Scripture Memory
One of the most powerful practices of a devoted life is scripture memorization.

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2. CONTENDING OVER CONSUMING -
The Practice of Fasting & Prayer

5 Week Fasting & Prayer Plan
Click here to read more about each week, how to prepare, and about the “Devoted+” fasting & prayer experience. (Must Read)

Week 1 — 1 Hour Prayer (instructions below)
Week 2 — Deny 1 Food
Week 3 — Social Media Deny/Fast 
Week 4 — All Media Deny/Fast
Week 5 — 24 Hour (or more) Food Fast


WEEK 1 - ONE HOUR PRAYER

1. What Is It? — An extended time of prayer in the Prayer Room, at home, anywhere.
2. Why Do It? — Choosing to contend in prayer is an essential practice of a devoted follower of Jesus.
3. How Do I Prepare? — Determine when and where you will set aside an hour (or more) to pray.

This is the perfect way to begin this five weeks of contending over consuming! Choose a time this week to dedicate an hour to prayer.

We want to begin with prayer because everything begins and ends with prayer. Plus, you may need a little extra time to prepare for the different fasts in the coming weeks. Any of can make the choice pray for one hour this week, so as you pray use this devotional topic and the reflection questions to help focus your prayer time. In addition to declaring to God that He is worthy of it all please utilize our One Hour Prayer Guide.

Additional Instructions:

1. Use the Prayer Room!
You can obviously pray wherever and whenever you want, but we’d love for you use the prayer room if you’d like! Please sign up to use the prayer room.

Click here to make a Prayer Room Reservation


2. One Hour Prayer Guide
Click here for our One Hour Prayer Guide