Possessing Truth
I had originally planned on wrapping up the rest of 18 and moving into 19. But when I read 19 I got anxious and wanted to do that one instead. Actually, we're gonna be looking at the end of 19.
So here is Matthew 19:14-30
16And behold, a man came up to him, saying, "Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?" 17And he said to him,"Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments." 18He said to him, "Which ones?" And Jesus said, "You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, 19Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself." 20The young man said to him, "All these I have kept. What do I still lack?" 21Jesus said to him, "If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." 22When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
As an aside...there is a difference between faith and hope. Hope is something that is rooted much more in desire and expectancy, where faith is rooted in truth and trust. I think I would like to elaborate more on this later.
Back to Matthew. So after Jesus rattles off some commandments this guys like, yeah I've been there done that what else. Jesus, knowing this man's heart takes the one thing that he might love more than God. Notice, in that short list Jesus rattled off he said nothing about idolitry. But Jesus tells the man, Go and sell everything you have and give to the poor, then come and follow me.
Now for someone like me, I hop on that in a hot second. Here you go, you can have my student loans, and you...you can have my crappy car....and for you, oh yes you can have my beat up trailer that I sometimes live in. But for someone who owns a $300,000 house, a bmw and a benze...not so simple. Jesus might have well have has added, and btw, quit your job, cuz your not gonna need that either. These are not light things to ask. But notice how much we allow our possessions to possess us. How often is your cell phone glued to your ear? how much time in front of the tv do you spend? How often do you give to the poor? Tithe?
I'm not pointing the finger here, I do the same thing. In fact I have a really hard time with tithing. I cant even spell it let alone do it. But here in America, we are one of the richest countries in the world. Look at how God has blessed this country. Let every child grow up with a good education, a new cell phone, and 5 pairs of shoes, thats the American motto. Look around, not in your town, or in your state, but look around in the world. We've got it made. And its easy to justify all the reasons why not to give to the poor. I can talk about that all day. I cant really afford it, I want to make sure it goes to the right place, Children in other countries dont really matter to me. But notice that after Jesus told this man to sell everything he owns, to also come "follow me". The same invitation he gave to the 12.
So not only does Jesus want you to give up all you own, but he also wants all your time as well. Not just your spare time. I hardly have any time to spare as it is. But all your time. Not just for an hour on sunday morning. Monday-Friday...even....Saturday and Sunday....24/7. Imagine if this man had done what Jesus said. Right then and there, the man turns around and says, Jesus dont go anywhere I'll be right back. Goes and hands over the deeds to all his property to a servant, gives his car to a perfect stranger, empties his bank account and gives all the money away to the church, united way, and soup kitchens. Calls up work and says forward his last paycheck to afganistan. Throws his pda in a lake and his cell phone in the garbage. Meets up with Jesus an hour later and says I'm ready, lets go. People would look at him as if he were crazy. Crazy because everyone else is so attached to what they own, where they work, how much money they have, they miss it.
I had an interesting conversation with a friend a little while ago. I asked "if someone held a gun to your head and said believe in god and die" what would you say? The friend replied "I would say I believe in god....but on a daily basis I deny him all the time." With Jesus the thing is we do have to die. We have to die to our old selves and come alive in him. This is by no means an easy task. Friends will not like us, some will hate us, make fun of us. But youre not alone.
You
are
NOT
alone
Jesus goes on to say with man, this is impossible. This rich man cannot find it in himself to do it. Can't bring himself to it. Thats the thing, the verse continues to say "but with God all things are possible." Its when we stop looking at our selves and instead of saying "How am I going to do this" instead say "Lord give me the strength to do this." Instead of searching inside looking for things to rely on, look to christ. Christ gave us brothers and sisters to be supportive and supported. I'm not gonna sit here and just say "give it to God." But be comforted in knowing that you are not alone. And that is the truth.
Earlier I mentioned something about truth. Here are a few definitions of faith:
—Idiom
So here is Matthew 19:14-30
16And behold, a man came up to him, saying, "Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?" 17And he said to him,
23And Jesus said to his disciples,
As an aside...there is a difference between faith and hope. Hope is something that is rooted much more in desire and expectancy, where faith is rooted in truth and trust. I think I would like to elaborate more on this later.
Back to Matthew. So after Jesus rattles off some commandments this guys like, yeah I've been there done that what else. Jesus, knowing this man's heart takes the one thing that he might love more than God. Notice, in that short list Jesus rattled off he said nothing about idolitry. But Jesus tells the man, Go and sell everything you have and give to the poor, then come and follow me.
Now for someone like me, I hop on that in a hot second. Here you go, you can have my student loans, and you...you can have my crappy car....and for you, oh yes you can have my beat up trailer that I sometimes live in. But for someone who owns a $300,000 house, a bmw and a benze...not so simple. Jesus might have well have has added, and btw, quit your job, cuz your not gonna need that either. These are not light things to ask. But notice how much we allow our possessions to possess us. How often is your cell phone glued to your ear? how much time in front of the tv do you spend? How often do you give to the poor? Tithe?
I'm not pointing the finger here, I do the same thing. In fact I have a really hard time with tithing. I cant even spell it let alone do it. But here in America, we are one of the richest countries in the world. Look at how God has blessed this country. Let every child grow up with a good education, a new cell phone, and 5 pairs of shoes, thats the American motto. Look around, not in your town, or in your state, but look around in the world. We've got it made. And its easy to justify all the reasons why not to give to the poor. I can talk about that all day. I cant really afford it, I want to make sure it goes to the right place, Children in other countries dont really matter to me. But notice that after Jesus told this man to sell everything he owns, to also come "follow me". The same invitation he gave to the 12.
So not only does Jesus want you to give up all you own, but he also wants all your time as well. Not just your spare time. I hardly have any time to spare as it is. But all your time. Not just for an hour on sunday morning. Monday-Friday...even....Saturday and Sunday....24/7. Imagine if this man had done what Jesus said. Right then and there, the man turns around and says, Jesus dont go anywhere I'll be right back. Goes and hands over the deeds to all his property to a servant, gives his car to a perfect stranger, empties his bank account and gives all the money away to the church, united way, and soup kitchens. Calls up work and says forward his last paycheck to afganistan. Throws his pda in a lake and his cell phone in the garbage. Meets up with Jesus an hour later and says I'm ready, lets go. People would look at him as if he were crazy. Crazy because everyone else is so attached to what they own, where they work, how much money they have, they miss it.
I had an interesting conversation with a friend a little while ago. I asked "if someone held a gun to your head and said believe in god and die" what would you say? The friend replied "I would say I believe in god....but on a daily basis I deny him all the time." With Jesus the thing is we do have to die. We have to die to our old selves and come alive in him. This is by no means an easy task. Friends will not like us, some will hate us, make fun of us. But youre not alone.
You
are
NOT
alone
Jesus goes on to say with man, this is impossible. This rich man cannot find it in himself to do it. Can't bring himself to it. Thats the thing, the verse continues to say "but with God all things are possible." Its when we stop looking at our selves and instead of saying "How am I going to do this" instead say "Lord give me the strength to do this." Instead of searching inside looking for things to rely on, look to christ. Christ gave us brothers and sisters to be supportive and supported. I'm not gonna sit here and just say "give it to God." But be comforted in knowing that you are not alone. And that is the truth.
Earlier I mentioned something about truth. Here are a few definitions of faith:
| 1. | confidence or trust in a person or thing |
| 2. | belief that is not based on proof |
| 6. | the obligation of loyalty or fidelity to a person, promise, engagement, etc.: |
| 7. | the observance of this obligation; fidelity to one's promise, oath, allegiance, etc.: |
| 8. | Christian Theology. the trust in God and in His promises as made through Christ and the Scriptures by which humans are justified or saved. |
| 9. | in faith, in truth; indeed |
posted by Its not about Perfection, Its about Progress at 9:42 AM
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