You Can't Stay Where You Are!
Mark 10: 17-31
17 As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.”
20 “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”
21 Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
22 At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.
23 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”
24 The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25 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.”
26 The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “Who then can be saved?”
27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”
28 Then Peter spoke up, “We have left everything to follow you!”
29 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel 30 will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to comeeternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”
You Can’t Stay Where You Are!
Here we are about to enter another year.
What hopes and dreams do you have for these coming days?
For most people they see this as a fresh start. We get to begin again. I have already seen many ads about making resolutions for the coming year and implementing changes that will make you “a better you”.
In our journey together to know and understand God and His plans for us better we are also at a critical juncture. This next step closer to God is an extremely important one if we are to find the joy, peace, and hope He longs to give us. It is where the rubber begins to meet the road. It is the place where we learn how to adjust our life to God’s ways. Blackaby, in our Experiencing God study, begins this unit with this statement: “Many of us want God to speak to us and give us an assignment. However, we are not interested in making major adjustments in our lives.”
This week as we continue our study of Experiencing God we are going to explore what happens after we move beyond the crisis of belief – namely, committing ourselves to doing the will of God by adjusting our lives to that reality. Following Jesus often times leads us to a crisis of belief where we come to the realization that we either take Him at His word and step forward in faith and obedience or shrink back and stay comfortable. Once we have decided to step forward in faith to follow Jesus and His plan, we WILL be asked to make some adjustments in our lives that will lead to greater confidence in Him. And this is when faith becomes very practical.
However, the danger here for us is to attempt to accomplish the will of God in our own way and on our own strength. This, as we have already seen in our study, is always a recipe for disillusionment and failure. Yet the good news is that, despite whatever failures we might experience, God’s grace is always sufficient to not only cover our sins but also renew our strength to serve Him. So join us this Sunday at we look at why you can’t stay the way you are when you truly encounter the person of Jesus!
Grateful to journey with you,
Pastor John