30th Mar 26 | 13:54
Studies by Book
Luke 14 25-33 The cost of discipleship 06 Priests in the family
📖 Luke 14:25-33
28Dec19 - *Priests in the family* - _Luke 14:25-33_ - Bible reading: _Deuteronomy 33:8-10_
_Luke 14:26 “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple._
We need to be constantly reminded that we cannot be Christ’ disciples by our own strength. We will fail miserably. Discipleship is a walk in the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit alone, who enables us to be disciples of Jesus.
Yesterday, we understood the matter of gods that determine our position in the family. We said that mammon is the god that we often prostrate before, and this is where we must take a stand against, in the home.
Today, we will look at another way to understand what Jesus meant, when He said that we should hate our loved ones, if we have to be His disciples.
_Deuteronomy 33:8-10 And of Levi he said: "Let Your Thummim and Your Urim be with Your holy one, Whom You tested at Massah, And with whom You contended at the waters of Meribah, (9) Who says of his father and mother, 'I have not seen them'; Nor did he acknowledge his brothers, Or know his own children; For they have observed Your word And kept Your covenant. (10) They shall teach Jacob Your judgments, And Israel Your law. They shall put incense before You, And a whole burnt sacrifice on Your altar._
There was an incident that is recorded in _Exodus 17:7 So he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the contention of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, "Is the LORD among us or not?"_ The people grumbled and contended with Moses saying, “Give us water to drink”. By grumbling and complaining to Moses for water, they were actually testing the Lord. How were they testing God? This is what is explained in the above verse. They were doubting the presence of God with them.
Whereas, as we read in _Deuteronomy 33:8-10_, we understand that the Levites were not part of the grumbling multitude. The Levites were acknowledging the presence of God and not grumbling like the others. This is how God wants us, His disciples, to be in the family, to know that God is with us at all times, and not grumble and complain.
It is when we as His disciples are living in Him at all times that we will be those, who bring in the Urim and the Thummim of God into the family. In Hebrew, Urim means "lights" and Thummim means "perfection." These objects were used to illuminate the people about God's will. These were a foreshadow of Jesus, for Jesus came to do His Father’s will and He revealed His Father to us, who is perfect _John 6:38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. Matthew 5:48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect._
The role of the disciple of Jesus is not to grumble and complain, when others in the family are grumbling. Thereby, the disciple of Jesus will be the one, who will teach God’s word to the family. If we are grumbling and complaining, then we have no credibility to teach His word to the family.
Not only is the disciple of Christ the teacher of God’s word to the family, the disciple of Jesus is also the one, who will intercede on behalf of the family to God. The disciple of Christ is also the one, who is repeatedly becoming a living sacrifice for the family before God.
We realise now that hating our loved ones, has an entirely different meaning altogether.
*Thought to ponder*
```Are you being the priest of God in your home?```