The young man felt a bit confident at first as he realized he had ‘checked off’ so many of the ‘boxes’ that Jesus seemed to ask of him. But given our own hearts are deceptive and corrupt, it takes the searchlight of God’s spirit and word to expose these things that defile us. (Mark 7:21-23)
And here lies the great divide as to how one can truly enter the kingdom of heaven. When God shows us something in our heart, like he did for that young, rich ruler, the ball is back in our court and we have a decision to make. The decision has nothing to do with us going back out and ‘trying harder to be better’. That is the road of religion that gets us nowhere. And it’s a wide road with a lot of foot traffic, which according to Jesus, leads to destruction and eternal ruin. (Matt 7:13)
Nowhere in scripture are we admonished to ‘try harder’.
On the contrary, we are asked…invited…and yes, even commanded…to ‘lay it all down’. Give it up. Turn from-Repent.
Jesus saw what had the heart of this young man and met it head on. “Sell all that you have, give it to the poor…take up your cross and follow me…if you really want true riches.” (Mark 10:21)
The young man blinked. The price was too high, the cost too great. He turned and walked away sorrowfully.
And Jesus did NOT run after him begging and apologizing saying “Oh gosh…I didn’t mean to come across so hard…come on back and join my group. I’ll make you a deacon and finance minster.”
Sigh…
If/when God ask you to ‘lay something down’, it is for your own good. Where our ‘religious training’ has failed us is not making clear enough just what it is that God asks of us to ‘lay down’.
I remember as a kid, during Lent, we’d ‘give up chocolate’ for forty days. You know, we were ‘suffering for Jesus’. Honestly, I don’t think my brothers or I ever really even looked at it like that. I may on occasion have flirted with the notion that God looked down and thought to Himself how devoted to God I really was by doing this great sacrificial act. In fact, it had to be God who chose to bless us by putting in the heart of our parents to reward us on Easter Sunday with 15 pounds of chocolate to devour in one sitting.
But when we talk about ‘giving up something’ or ‘laying down our lives’ as Jesus instructs us in John 15:13, perhaps we would benefit to take a closer look as to what God truly ask us to lay down and die to. It’s not so much that we have to ‘give up stuff’ to appease God. “I’m gonna give up drinking on Sundays” or ‘going to the casino on weeknights’ or ‘sell that prized auto I spent so much time working on.’
Are those possibly some issues that God might at some time deal with you on? Perhaps. But that is not what is on the top of his list of what needs to go.
It is this old, sinful, flesh nature that we were born with that is corrupt and hostile to the character and nature of God and needs to be dealt with and put to death. (Col 3:5) I would go as far to say that our lack of dealing with this sinful nature fully, is the source of much pain, suffering, and heartache that has occurred in our lives, given the fact that this nature is the feeding ground of a spiritual enemy who comes to ‘steal, kill, and destroy.’
1 Samuel 15 is a great story to study where King Saul was instructed to ‘totally’ destroy the Amalekites. He did not finish the job. He set/chose his own standard of obedience. Thus began the downward spiral of King Saul, which by the way included evil spirits (that God sent) and became a source of torment to him. (chpt. 19)
Please go spend time in Galatians 5:16-26 for a longer list and insightful instruction. There are times we get convicted of some of these ‘flaws’ and are sincere and ask God to help us and we cry and tell him we are sorry. Then we go out with a renewed effort and sincere intentions to try better next time. (How is that working out for you?)
I would submit to you that where we have fallen short, is instead of truly laying something down and dying to it, we just exerted more will and human effort to be better; or countered with doing good/better in ‘other areas’. (You know, offering up good works to appease God for our failure in other areas) And that just won’t work in the long run.
Think of it this way. You are not a fish. You cannot breath underwater. But with practice, you can get in a pool and swim greater lengths under water without coming up for air. But, at some point, you do. Because you are not a fish. You are human and need to breath. Imagine though, if you truly became a fish. You could LIVE underwater and never come up for air again. Can I suggest here, that this is sort of what becoming a ‘new creation’ is all about? (2 Cor 5:17) Walking in the newness of the resurrected life that Jesus came to give those who turn to Him with all their hearts?
I don’t want to ‘oversimplify’ this as if you can overcome with these three easy steps…etc. But, consider this. Take an area in your life that God has convicted you on. Maybe ‘fault finding’, for example. Or Pride. Or anger. Pick one.
Here’s some useful info: many of these issues have nothing to do with your DNA or hormones or family lineage. For the sake of time, let’s cut to the chase. They are probably ‘spirits’. Not good ones. You might not have ever given much thought that what you struggled with for so long could actually be an ‘unclean spirit’ (You have read in the gospels where Jesus cast a lot of those out of people, yes?)
And truth be told, they are why you have never been able to overcome them. In your own strength and will-power, they are stronger than you.
(Remember what Moses told the Children of Israel before they entered the Promised Land regarding the Canaanite nations? They were stronger than them and it would take God’s power to overcome and defeat them.
Yeah…take a few moments and ponder this. Then go read Revelation 12:11
So when God points out this area, be it greed, lust, anger, pride, rebellion, etc, …it’s safe to say you are dealing with a spirit. (Eph 6:12)
Once you see the possibility of truth here, you can agree with God on it, repent (as in turn in your heart from this thing) and at that moment of confessing and turning, it is then, through faith, that the blood of Jesus is applied to that area in your heart/life. That unclean spirit must go. Done deal. No negotiation, he’s outta there. (Matt 12:43)
That was the biggest obstacle as to why you never were able to overcome this area. But that does not mean the battle is quite over. He will at some point come back to ‘test’ and see if there is still a ‘vacancy’ in your heart. When he does, the Holy Spirit will be with you and give you the grace to ‘stand’ your ground and ‘resist the devil’. You just have to recognize you can’t do it in your own strength. But Through Christ, you can. Hebrews 2:18 – “For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.”
The bible teaches when you ‘resist the devil’, he will ‘flee’ (James 4:7) You may incur this test a few times, but standing in the grace and power of the Holy Spirit who is present and WANTS to enable you, you will overcome and this is how you die…put to death this ‘old man’. And remember when something dies, something new comes forth. His nature and likeness…His fruit of the spirit. You don’t produce it. He does. It’s ALL Him. Not of yourselves lest you boast.
You don’t ‘become more patient’, you ‘die to impatience’.
You don’t ‘become kinder’, you ‘die to unkindness’. When you are tempted to be snarky or sarcastic, you resist that temptation and snuff the life out of that fleshly nature.
When you start to become a conscious ‘doer’ of the word, and not ‘hearer only’, you now have God’s attention because you are conveying to him your love for him by your faith = obedience. (John 14:15)
This is called ‘abiding in Him’ and scripture has much to say regarding this topic.
Join me for coffee tomorrow?
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