Almost Everything
Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to
get eternal life?” “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied.
“There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the
commandments.” “Which ones?” the man inquired. Jesus replied, “ ‘Do not murder,
do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your
father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’” “All these I have
kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?” Jesus answered, “If you want
to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will
have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When the young man heard this,
he went away sad, because he had great wealth. (Matthew 19:16-22 NIV84)
The rich man almost did everything to be with Jesus and inherit eternal life.
He was so close, yet infinitely far. He had one more step to take, and he would
have discovered a treasure that surpassed all his riches combined. He had given
God 99% but was holding back 1% for himself-just one percent! Why would he not
inherit eternal life? Why would he at least get some treasures in heaven?
Many Christians today have a false theological view on how Christianity and God
work. People say, "I mostly live for God. I'm a good person. I read my
Bible, go to church. I've prayed the sinner’s prayer. I obey the Ten Commandments...
But...(like the rich young man) I'm not going to give up my lazy habits. I'll
give God all the rest, but to stop going to parties and hanging out with these
friends, gosh I just don't see why I'd have to give that up? Look at all the
other good deeds I do!" or "I reach out to my friends at school, I
come to youth every Wednesday. I've grown up in church, BUT... I just can't
give up this relationship. Stop going into my boyfriend’s house alone? What's
wrong with that!? We don’t do anything wrong. Lord, you want me to stop
listening to this music? But it feels so good. It makes me feel so happy. What
could be wrong with that? Look at all the good I've done! I'm the rich young
man that has obeyed the Ten Commandments. I'm almost perfect!"
Pastor Eric used to give an analogy of why this is not how God works. When
Madison, my niece was a baby, she loved playing with her dad's keys shaking
them up and down over their glass coffee table. Eric would let Madison shake
the keys up and down about 95%, but the last few inches Eric would gently slow
the momentum of her arm down so she would not hit he glass table. Who is in
control?
In the same way, we can give God 99% of who we are and hold back 1% and believe
we are good to go like the rich young man. But the truth is we are simply
almost Christian or almost his. We are still in control of our own pleasure,
happiness and lives.
It's like a basketball shot. You can shoot a 3 pointer to win the game and have
the ball go halfway into the goal and come out. Just because it almost went in
means nothing. There are no such things as almost points. You're either in or
you’re out.
Or take a track race for example. The world record for the mile is 3:43. A mile
is 1609 meters. You could run a 3:38 for 1608 meters and claim to be the
fastest miler in history, but unless you finish that last meter it doesn't
count.
Where are you on the track of obedience?
The rich man was about ten meters away. Some of us are further away. Some of us
are not even in the race. Others have given almost everything, but there is
that seemingly innocent sin that we are still holding on to. It could be a
laziness of sleeping and playing video games rather than being active and
productive with your life, or a submission for a desire for attention, or a set
of friends that are keeping you from being productive for God. Check your heart
and allow the Holy Spirit to dissect your soul to rid you of the cancer that
could potentially destroy your soul. It would be a tragedy for you to have 99%
of your cancerous sin removed and be killed by the 1%.
What was the rich young man missing that kept him from giving up everything,
from being completely obedient? What is it that a runner is missing that makes
him give up when he has only one lap left? What is lacking in the man or woman
that could do something great for God, but they just give up?
VISION!!!
The Bible says, "Where there is no revelation, the people cast off
restraint; but blessed is he who keeps the law. (Proverbs 29:18 NIV84)"
When there is no vision people lose hope; they grow tired and weary. They
become discouraged and give up just like a runner in a race. A winner has
tunnel vision. He can only see the victory at the finish line. He can't see his
pain, or hear his heart beating, or feel his muscles straining. All the little
pains subside, because the vision of winning has overjoyed the problem of pain.
Without this vision the racer feels every push, thinks about every breath,
feels the pressure of the wind and fears his opponents beating him.
The rich young man had almost done everything, but there was one thing holding
him back-his money, his riches on this earth. He had no vision for what God had
for him. He couldn't grasp or see that Jesus had a life for him that all the
riches in the world couldn't compare to. The young man was blinded by the
desires of the flesh.
I am convinced his is why young men and women waste their lives spending hours
on video games, watching TV, surfing the Internet and lying around. They have
no vision, no reason to live! The vision has been lost in young people today.
Youth no longer believe that they can reach multitudes and change the world.
They don't believe that they can make an eternal difference on their high
school. They don't believe they are called to greatness.
In 2 Kings 6:17, Elisha's enemies have surrounded him and his servant with a
huge army to capture Elisha. The servant trembling in fear asks Elisha what
they were going to do. Elisha responds, "Greater are they t hat are with
us than they that are with them. Open his eyes Oh Lord." God answers
Elisha's prayer and the servant sees the hills surrounded with angels and
chariots of fire."
WHAT DO YOU SEE??
Do you see the odds stacked against you or do you see "Greater are those
that are with us?" Do you see the sacrifice or the reward? Can you see
revival? Can you see scores of your friends coming to Jesus through you? Can
you see scores of students catching the flame at your school? Can you see
yourself sharing the gospel with your friends? Can you see yourself transformed
into a woman that doesn't crave attention from guys? Can you see yourself as a
man of purity and devotion? Can you see yourself making the A, B honor roll,
living a disciplined life? Do you see the temporary pain or the everlasting
joy?
HOW DO WE FIND GOD'S VISION?
We must O.P.E.N. our eyes.
O.bey God's Word. The Bible projects God's vision for our lives. When we open
it and read it we begin to see who God has called us to really be. We begin to
discover the greatness God has for us. Paul says in Romans that faith comes by
hearing and hearing the Word of God. Like a movie we experience much more of
the emotion of the movie when there is sound. We don't just need to see the
Word. We need to hear it. It builds our faith (our vision) when we speak aloud
God's Word over our lives.
But don't just stop there. Imagine if you took it one step further. Imagine if
you actually lived the movie! You would then understand what the writer's
vision was on a whole new level. You would remember every scene, every little
detail, every place... James 2 says, "Do not merely listen to the Word and
so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. A man who looks intently at the Word,
but then forgets to do what it says is like a man who looks into the mirror and
immediately forgets what he looks like." When you look into the mirror
what do you see? Do you see the vision of God for your life or have you
forgotten who you are? We have the propensity to forget who we are when we
don't obey God's Word. The rich man almost obeyed God. God wants full
obedience.
P.artner with your brothers.
Paul tells us "Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual
songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord" (Ephesians 5:19
NIV84). What does singing have to do with vision. I believe what Paul is saying
is that when we have unity and a common vision to live passionately for God and
build his Kingdom that are tongues will carry a harmonious sound. I have seen
this with my 5 closest friends who all believe they are going to change the
world like Tim Tebow. We have a "secret" LIVING Poets' Society where
we come together and war for the lost and pray for revival. I can feel my heart
leap for joy when I'm warring alongside these men. Alone I see only a piece of
God’s vision. With my friends I see a grand masterpiece of God’s vision looking
at the uniqueness of each individual's love and passion for God. Together we
make a melody. I believe we will change the world. Who are you partnering up
with to change the world?
E.counter Jesus in the prayer closet and worship. Only Jesus can take away our
blindness. When we encounter his presence we begin to see that it is worth it
to go all out for him. It says in Psalm 9:10 "Those who know your name
trust in you, for you have never forsaken the righteous." What does it
mean to know His name? It means you are so close to him and have walked with
him that you know him for who he really is. If someone calls me Mr Austin, they
don't know me. If they say, "Ryan Austin" they kind of know me. If
they call me "Champ" they know me pretty well. If they say
"Batman" they really know me. And if they say "Babe" they
really know me or they’re just weird. What do you call God? To the rich young
man he was "Teacher." His vision was small, because he had never
walked with Jesus or spent time in his presence. I’m convinced that if he would
have been with the disciples and Jesus for a length of time he would have given
up everything to follow Jesus.
N.ever light fires for yourselves. God tells us that we who light fires for
ourselves will lie down in torment. In other words, when God tells us to follow
him and obey him when there is no light (or knowledge of the future), He tells
us to simply trust in him and not light an "insurance" fire. The rich
man could not let go of his "fire" (his money). To lose this would be
risky. He would have nothing to fall back onto if Jesus didn't work out. Jesus
is calling us to let go and trust fully in him. What will you do when you are
walking in the dark? THE MAN WITH A VISION SIMPLY WALKS.
