Mar 10:17, And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?
Mar 10:18, And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.
Mar 10:19, Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.
Mar 10:20, And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth.
Mar 10:21, Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.
Mar 10:22, And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.
Mar 10:23, And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!
Mar 10:24, And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!
Mar 10:25, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
Mar 10:26, And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved?
Mar 10:27, And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.
This is not saying that having possessions will keep a man out of the kingdom of God...what it is saying is that if your possessions possess you, this will keep you out of the kingdom of heaven; because you are not trusting in the Lord for your provision but are trusting in riches: and ye cannot serve God and mammon. Those who serve mammon open their hearts up to a plethora of evils; and it should be clear that those who have been blessed financially apart from the Lord have given testimony to the fact that their lives have been empty. There is a God-shaped void in the heart of every man that only the Lord can fill. Those who try to fill this void with riches are not relying on the only source that can truly fulfill: the living water that will flow from your heart if you will only believe in Jesus Christ; which satisfies every thirst.
That being said, I want to say, in response to In Front of A Studio Audience, as it was aired tonight, that the Lord does not forbid a man to have riches if those riches do not have him. As a matter of fact, there is a prayer in Psalm 118 that tells me that the Lord has pleasure in the prosperity of his servant; and there is also a verse in scripture that says that very thing:
Psa 118:25, Save now, I beseech thee, O LORD: O LORD, I beseech thee, send now prosperity.
Psa 35:27, Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually, Let the LORD be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant.
Now if you are of one camp in the church, you may be saying right now, that is prosperity doctrine and it is heresy: but I want you to recognize something. The first scripture passage in this post is often misconstrued by people outside the body of Christ to be saying that they cannot be wealthy and also be a believer going to heaven.
However, the balance of the whole of scripture would tell us that this is not the case. Also the devil would love to keep people out of the kingdom of heaven by telling them that if they are going to pursue Christ, they have to give up all their worldly possessions. Again, simply not the case:
1Ti 6:17, Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;
1Ti 6:18, That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate;
1Ti 6:19, Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.
All that the Lord truly requires of the wealthy is that they might have a genuine concern for the poor; also there is a principle in scripture that love is unselfish by nature and that if anyone wants to be worthy of Jesus, let them deny themselves, and take up their crosses daily, and follow Him. This is the daily attitude of those who have been filled with the love of Christ.
Mar 10:18, And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.
Mar 10:19, Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.
Mar 10:20, And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth.
Mar 10:21, Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.
Mar 10:22, And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.
Mar 10:23, And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!
Mar 10:24, And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!
Mar 10:25, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
Mar 10:26, And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved?
Mar 10:27, And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.
This is not saying that having possessions will keep a man out of the kingdom of God...what it is saying is that if your possessions possess you, this will keep you out of the kingdom of heaven; because you are not trusting in the Lord for your provision but are trusting in riches: and ye cannot serve God and mammon. Those who serve mammon open their hearts up to a plethora of evils; and it should be clear that those who have been blessed financially apart from the Lord have given testimony to the fact that their lives have been empty. There is a God-shaped void in the heart of every man that only the Lord can fill. Those who try to fill this void with riches are not relying on the only source that can truly fulfill: the living water that will flow from your heart if you will only believe in Jesus Christ; which satisfies every thirst.
That being said, I want to say, in response to In Front of A Studio Audience, as it was aired tonight, that the Lord does not forbid a man to have riches if those riches do not have him. As a matter of fact, there is a prayer in Psalm 118 that tells me that the Lord has pleasure in the prosperity of his servant; and there is also a verse in scripture that says that very thing:
Psa 118:25, Save now, I beseech thee, O LORD: O LORD, I beseech thee, send now prosperity.
Psa 35:27, Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favour my righteous cause: yea, let them say continually, Let the LORD be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of his servant.
Now if you are of one camp in the church, you may be saying right now, that is prosperity doctrine and it is heresy: but I want you to recognize something. The first scripture passage in this post is often misconstrued by people outside the body of Christ to be saying that they cannot be wealthy and also be a believer going to heaven.
However, the balance of the whole of scripture would tell us that this is not the case. Also the devil would love to keep people out of the kingdom of heaven by telling them that if they are going to pursue Christ, they have to give up all their worldly possessions. Again, simply not the case:
1Ti 6:17, Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;
1Ti 6:18, That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate;
1Ti 6:19, Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.
All that the Lord truly requires of the wealthy is that they might have a genuine concern for the poor; also there is a principle in scripture that love is unselfish by nature and that if anyone wants to be worthy of Jesus, let them deny themselves, and take up their crosses daily, and follow Him. This is the daily attitude of those who have been filled with the love of Christ.