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He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
What would happen if we were to look at the following text in Mark 10:29-30:
And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's,
But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.
And confess that we don't believe in Jesus' words?
Have the following responses to the above text occurred in you?
"Well, I don't think Jesus really is going to give us THAT much."
"I don't think Jesus is THAT faithful."
"I'm worried that if I forsake all, God will not give me anything."
"This whole hundredfold thing is a crock. It doesn't even exist."
"Jesus is going to let me down. That's why I'm not going to forsake anything."
All those thoughts have gone through my head repeatedly. Do they go through your head? Confess them. Acknowledge them. Don't cover them up. Don't deceive yourself.
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
Confess your sins, and God will cleanse you from them.
Have you ever looked at this text:
And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much.
And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.
And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury:
For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.
And said to yourself the following:
"My money is more important to me than Jesus' words of praise."
"If I cast it all into the treasury, I will have nothing. Jesus' words don't really matter to me."
"I need financial security. I am not going to liquidate all my assets and cast my money away just for Jesus' words."
"All my friends and family will yell at me for giving all my money away. What can Jesus do about it? He can't help me."
I am in no position to tell you to forsake all, or cast all your substance into the offerings of God, for I haven't done either. But what I am in the position to tell you, is to acknowledge your doubts of Jesus' power.
"What if I forsake all, and Jesus turns his back on me?"
"What if there is NO God at all? What if this is just a trap or scam?"
Folks, these thoughts go through all our heads. Only acknowledge them, and you will have great success in the kingdom of God.
Consider this text in Matthew 13:44
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.
Some of our responses would be:
"I'm not sure if there REALLY REALLY actually IS a kingdom of heaven."
"The kingdom of heaven is a nice idea, but does this thing REALLY exist?"
"What if this talk about the kingdom of heaven is just a made-up idea?"
"How do I know there REALLY is a kingdom of heaven? All I see is THIS current life on earth."
"If I knew FOR SURE there was a kingdom of heaven, I would forsake all and buy that field. But I have no evidence that this thing exists."
Unless you've forsaken all, and are experiencing unending unspeakable manifestations of the Holy Spirit in your daily life, those above thoughts apply to you. As they do also me.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Thanks be to God for the Holy Spirit which searches our hearts, and gives us the courage to acknowledge all our iniquities.
Amen.
One last encouraging text of scripture:
And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
What would happen if we were to look at the following text in Mark 10:29-30:
And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's,
But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.
And confess that we don't believe in Jesus' words?
Have the following responses to the above text occurred in you?
"Well, I don't think Jesus really is going to give us THAT much."
"I don't think Jesus is THAT faithful."
"I'm worried that if I forsake all, God will not give me anything."
"This whole hundredfold thing is a crock. It doesn't even exist."
"Jesus is going to let me down. That's why I'm not going to forsake anything."
All those thoughts have gone through my head repeatedly. Do they go through your head? Confess them. Acknowledge them. Don't cover them up. Don't deceive yourself.
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
Confess your sins, and God will cleanse you from them.
Have you ever looked at this text:
And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much.
And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.
And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury:
For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.
And said to yourself the following:
"My money is more important to me than Jesus' words of praise."
"If I cast it all into the treasury, I will have nothing. Jesus' words don't really matter to me."
"I need financial security. I am not going to liquidate all my assets and cast my money away just for Jesus' words."
"All my friends and family will yell at me for giving all my money away. What can Jesus do about it? He can't help me."
I am in no position to tell you to forsake all, or cast all your substance into the offerings of God, for I haven't done either. But what I am in the position to tell you, is to acknowledge your doubts of Jesus' power.
"What if I forsake all, and Jesus turns his back on me?"
"What if there is NO God at all? What if this is just a trap or scam?"
Folks, these thoughts go through all our heads. Only acknowledge them, and you will have great success in the kingdom of God.
Consider this text in Matthew 13:44
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.
Some of our responses would be:
"I'm not sure if there REALLY REALLY actually IS a kingdom of heaven."
"The kingdom of heaven is a nice idea, but does this thing REALLY exist?"
"What if this talk about the kingdom of heaven is just a made-up idea?"
"How do I know there REALLY is a kingdom of heaven? All I see is THIS current life on earth."
"If I knew FOR SURE there was a kingdom of heaven, I would forsake all and buy that field. But I have no evidence that this thing exists."
Unless you've forsaken all, and are experiencing unending unspeakable manifestations of the Holy Spirit in your daily life, those above thoughts apply to you. As they do also me.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Thanks be to God for the Holy Spirit which searches our hearts, and gives us the courage to acknowledge all our iniquities.
Amen.
One last encouraging text of scripture:
And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
