Give it All to Jesus

Matthew 19:23-26 NIV

“Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich 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 someone who is rich 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.’”

How many of you have heard people quote just this last verse and then broadly apply it to their lives and circumstances? And does this verse stand well alone? I don’t believe it does, and here is why. If out of this context we just say that with God all things are possible, then that would have to include all things including what is sinful and what is against God’s design and purpose for our lives. So, this has to be all things according to God’s will. And it is best if we keep the quote to the context, in this case.

Okay, so why is it so hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven? I believe it is because it is harder for rich people to give up all they have to follow Jesus with their lives. 

Now, does God require us to sell our homes and all we own to follow him, in a literal sense? I don’t believe so unless he specifically calls us to do that because he is sending us to a foreign country, et al. But Jesus did teach us that to follow him means surrendering it all to him, forsaking our sins and the things of this world to now follow him in obedience. I believe the point is that we now give ownership to God over everything we possess and we let him decide what we are to do with it all, even if it is barely anything.

In the video I shared two personal examples, one which may sound trite, but it is my experience, nonetheless. And this was a long time ago, but for many years I wanted a country table and chairs for my kitchen, but we could never afford it, because we were not rich. One day I found it at a really good price we could afford and we bought it, and it worked great for our family for quite a while. But then God led my husband and I to sell our home and to move into an apartment. And no matter how hard I tried to make that table fit there, it would not fit, so I had to let it go. And I did.

Years later we bought another house, and then years after that the Lord led us once again to sell our house and to move into an apartment. So, I had to downsize what we possessed by half. I had to get rid of half of everything, and I did. But one of my treasures was my handwritten journals from my quiet times with the Lord from over many years, and there was no room for them where we were going, and so I had to throw them all in the trash. But I had to let go of those to go with God where he was sending us.

So, when the Lord says we must leave it all behind to follow him, and he means it literally, then we must apply it literally. But if he is saying that we must give it all to him, that it all now belongs to him, and now he can choose to either let us still have it, i.e. to let us use it for now, or he can choose to take it away, and we have to yield to that, then we must do what he says. We must no longer consider our lives our own, and we must no longer consider our possessions our own, and then we just need to walk with him each step of the way and let him lead us where he wants us to go.

So, back to these last two verses, yes, it is hard for rich people to be saved because it is hard for rich people to give up all they have to follow Jesus with their lives. But it is not impossible for rich people to be saved, for it is possible with God, for our Lord can change people’s hearts and minds. For the faith to believe in Jesus comes from God anyway, and it is gifted to us by God, and it is not of our own doing, and we can’t even come to faith in Jesus unless God the Father first draws us to Christ, i.e. unless he persuades us to come to genuine faith in Jesus, surrendering our all to him.

[Hebrews 12:1-2; Ephesians 2:8-10; John 6:44; Luke 9:23-26]

Cost of Following Jesus Christ

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 10:37-38; Lu 9:23-26,57-62; Lu 14:25-33; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 8:51; Jn 10:27-30; Jn 14:23-24; Jn 15:1-11; See also: Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 4:17-24; Eph 5:3-6; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10] 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fxm7-RRQvY

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For Our Nation  

An Original Work / September 11, 2012

Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

Trust Him with your life today.

Make Him your Lord and your Savior.

Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.

He will forgive you of your sin;

Cleanse your heart, made new within.

Men betraying: Our trust fraying.

On our knees to God we’re praying,

Seeking God to give us answers

That are only found in Him.

God is sovereign over all things.

Nothing from His mind escaping.

He has all things under His command,

And will work all for good.

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

Men deceiving: We’re believing

In our Lord, and interceding

For our nation and its people

To obey their God today.

He is our hope for our future.

For our wounds He offers suture.

He is all we need for this life.

Trust Him with your life today.

https://vimeo.com/379406352