Treasure has power over hearts . Do not believe that you are too spiritual and mature for things to capture your heart . If our hearts and affections are to be heavenward , then we must invest there . Paul encouraged the Colossians “ Since , then , you have been raised with Christ , set your hearts on things above , where Christ is seated at the right hand of God .” ( Col . 3:1 - NIV ) And he encouraged the Philippians , “ As I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears , many live as enemies of the cross of Christ . Their destiny is destruction , their god is their stomach , and their glory is in their shame . Their mind is set on earthly things .” ( Phil . 3:18 - NIV ). We will be totally ineffective and become spiritually dead if our hearts and minds are set on earthly material things . Take Jesus ’ advice and get rid of everything that is a distraction and make Jesus your everything .
Authority to Forgive Sins ? The claims of Jesus make Him only one of three things ; a lunatic , a liar or Lord . Many thought Jesus was a lunatic because His claims were so ‘ out of this world .’ We could too , if we were alive when Jesus lived on earth . When the friends of a paralytic ripped through a roof to get him to Jesus , Scripture records ,.. Luke 5:20 “ When He [ Jesus ] saw their faith , He said to him , ‘ Man , your sins are forgiven you .’ And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason , saying , ‘ Who is this who speaks blasphemies ? Who can forgive sins but God alone ?’” ( Luke 5:20 ). How could Jesus tell someone He did not know that they were forgiven ?
If someone wronged you and then came to you humbly you could , by choice , forgive them and tell them that he or she were forgiven . However , imagine approaching someone on the street , that you had never met before and saying “ I forgive you .” You would either be drunk or mad . You cannot forgive someone for offending your neighbour . That is your neighbour ’ s responsibility . This was how the scribes and Pharisees reasoned :
“ How can Jesus forgive someone for sinning against God ? Only God can do that .”
As we consider the humanity of Jesus , we must never forget His divinity . Jesus was not only man , but was indeed God manifest in flesh . Men of greater status , age and experience would bow before Him and address Him as ‘ Lord ’. Why ? Because Jesus was not mad , He was God !
Desire is not enough ! The gospel of Mark records a fascinating story of a rich young ruler who came to Jesus seeking eternal life , but who the Master allowed to sadly leave without it ( Luke 18:18 ).
Why is this story so fascinating ? Because the Christianity shaped by Western culture portrays a different Jesus from the One we see in this story . Here Jesus did what we fail to do today , i . e . to lay out the cost of a disciple ’ s commitment . We try to sneak people into the kingdom and therefore deceive them into thinking that there is no cost to their commitment , that they can go on to do their own thing once they have recited “ the sinner ’ s prayer ,” which is not endorsed by Scripture . We have reduced entry into the Kingdom of Heaven to nothing more than taking an oath or reciting a creed as if joining some society or club .
A . W . Tozer puts it this way , - “ Believing for salvation has these days been reduced to a once done act that requires no further attention . The young believer becomes aware of an act performed rather than of a living Saviour to be followed and adored .” - The Root of the Righteous – Pg 11 . Hearts are no more pierced by the sharp double edged sword of the gospel , nor experience godly sorrow , or true repentance , no more do they bear fruits worthy of repentance . This leads us to conclude that many today have a form of godliness but are not truly saved . The shocking truth is that Jesus did not hurry after this young man or plead with him . He does seek and find a lost sheep , but He will not plead with anyone who remains unrepentant . We cannot lay hold of eternal life on our terms .
Who is my family ? “... ‘ Who is My mother and who are My brothers ?’ And He [ Jesus ] stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said , ‘ Here are My mother and My brothers ! For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother ’” ( Matt . 12:48-50 ). The moment we were saved we experienced an inexplicable miracle ! We became a new creation , ‘ born again ’ with a new nature , a new family in which our father is God and we obtain a new citizenship into a spiritual kingdom in which the King is Jesus Christ .
Jesus told Nicodemus , “ Except a man be born again , he cannot see the kingdom of God ” ( John 3:3 ).
For birth to take place there needs to be an egg and a sperm . The egg is like the soul and the sperm or seed is the Word of God . Like natural babies , spiritual babies are born into a family , the family of God . Jesus demonstrated that His heavenly relations through His Father took priority over all earthly relations . The disciples thereafter followed His example making their natural families secondary to their heavenly family .
If you have experienced the miracle of being born again , then you have been born into a spiritual family with spiritual relations . This is no excuse for neglecting your earthly family responsibilities . However , when there is a conflict between your earthly family ’ s wishes and your heavenly Father ’ s will , your heavenly Father and heavenly family will have to take priority . “... I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ , from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named ,...” ( Eph . 3:14 ).
Jesus is building a family not an organisation . Are you a part of it ? p
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