PRAYER: LORD, what an honor it is to worship the One and True living God. To know that we cannot serve two masters. That when we serve anything other than Jesus, our return is void of the goodness and eternal blessings that You promise. Hallelujah LORD, we praise You in advance. Not only for what You have done or what You're going to do, but because of who You are. I pray for those who don't know You. I pray for those who don't know what a privilege it is to serve You. I pray for those who are confused about who You are. I pray that we will be corrected and enlightened by Your Word. Not by our opinions. I pray that Your Spirit will continue to feed us with what is righteous and good in every area of our lives. Father God, You are about Your people. You never sleep. At all times You are watching over us with a loving eye, with great concern for each one of us. I pray that we submit to You completely LORD; that we let go of the things that we are holding on to because they make us feel good, powerful, protected, and have become natural to us, when they shouldn't be-because they are all actions against You. I pray that we realize that You are all that we need. In the mighty name of Jesus, Your Son, our Savior. Amen.
MATTHEW 19:16-30 part 1
THE RICH YOUNG MAN:
Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?"
"Why do you ask me about what is good?" Jesus replied. "There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments."
"Which ones?" the man inquired.
Jesus replied, " 'Do not murder,' 'do not commit adultery,' 'do not steal,' 'do not give false testimony,' 'honor your father and mother,' and 'love your neighbor as yourself.' "
"All there I have kept," the young man said. "What do I still lack?"
Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.
Then Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."
When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, "Who then can be saved?"
Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
Peter answered him, "We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?"
Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first."
What hits me is that this rich man had the chance to follow Jesus. Literally, Jesus says in verse 21 "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." And all the man heard was that he would have to give up everything he had. He didn't hear that he would help the poor, that he would have a treasure in heaven or that Jesus invited him to follow Him. What a greatly missed opportunity. Though today it isn't physically walking Jesus' walk as the disciples did when He was walking as a human on this earth; Jesus offers us the same opportunity. Jesus wants us to follow Him in every area of our lives. He might not have told you to sell everything and give to the poor, but He is telling you to give up something. Whether you know Jesus or not, there is something in the way of you following Him.
To this rich man seeking assurance of eternal life, Jesus pointed out that salvation does not come form good deeds unaccompanied by love for God. The man needed a whole new starting point. Instead of adding another commandment to keep or good deed to perform, the rich man needed to submit humbly to the lordship of Christ. You can call yourself a good person all you want and be full of good deeds. Without God, it's meaningless because with your good deeds and being that good person you will NOT get you into the Kingdom of God. Accepting Jesus into your life is the only way. If you know Jesus, good deeds are great, but God will always be the only One who is truly good. And he is concerned with what's in your heart. Even when we know Him, we place so many things before Him: work, tv, relationships, going out, sleep, appearance/reputation, money, doing things our own way, our made up philosophies and the list can go on-you know what's before God in your life. The great thing is that God gives us more than second chances, there's a fourth, fifth, sixth and keep going. As humans, we're going to mess up. We will never be perfect in our actions. But being covered by the blood of Jesus, we're blameless in God's eyes. Praise God for that! As long as it's a truly heartfelt declaration, God offers us a new starting point when we get off track or too routined to remember it's about a relationship and not acts. Do you need a whole new starting point today? God is offering it to you, take it!
WHAT IS GOD TELLING YOU TO DO THAT YOU'RE NOT DOING?
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