ENTERING
THE KINGDOM OF GOD
Mark 10:17-27
As we discussed earlier on, the
kingdom of God represents the sovereignty, supremacy and total dominion of God
in our hearts.
While we all desire to be partakers of the kingdom of God in the age to come (Rev. 11:15), the Lord God wants to establish His kingdom within our hearts…
He wants to be the Lord of your life; He wants to take total control of your life, from this moment. Give your heart to Jesus!
While we all desire to be partakers of the kingdom of God in the age to come (Rev. 11:15), the Lord God wants to establish His kingdom within our hearts…
He wants to be the Lord of your life; He wants to take total control of your life, from this moment. Give your heart to Jesus!
A rich man came running after Jesus
and knelt down before Him, asking ‘Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit
eternal life?’
Another way to put this is, ‘what must
I do to inherit/enter the kingdom of God?’
Let’s take note of two key things in
this statement. He first addressed Jesus as ‘Good Teacher’, he then proceeded
to ask questions pertaining to eternal life.
Jesus
quickly responded by saying, ‘Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One,
that is, God’.
What could this mean? Was Jesus trying to say He wasn’t good? NO!!!
By His response, He was indirectly saying to the man, ‘Do you recognize and acknowledge Me as God?’
Thereafter, the Lord told him about the commandments, which he already knew.
What could this mean? Was Jesus trying to say He wasn’t good? NO!!!
By His response, He was indirectly saying to the man, ‘Do you recognize and acknowledge Me as God?’
Thereafter, the Lord told him about the commandments, which he already knew.
The
man quickly responded to what Jesus said, ‘Teacher, all these things I have
kept from my youth, is there anything I still lack?’
Let’s give it to this rich man! He
really tried! He kept all the law...
However, just like this rich man, we sometimes seem to be ahead of God in terms of knowledge. It’s amazing how great we seem to appear in our customized apparel (‘man-made righteousness’). It looks as if we have a full grasp of what God is saying, and then, God suddenly turns the table around…Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, ‘One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me’…
However, just like this rich man, we sometimes seem to be ahead of God in terms of knowledge. It’s amazing how great we seem to appear in our customized apparel (‘man-made righteousness’). It looks as if we have a full grasp of what God is saying, and then, God suddenly turns the table around…Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, ‘One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me’…
Brethren, we can’t inherit eternal
life (the kingdom of God) by works, neither can we obtain it through our
self-made righteousness, it is only attainable by grace, through faith (Eph.
2:8-9; Gal. 3:11).
Eternal life is the free gift of God to us (Rom. 6:23).
Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom (Luke 12:32).
Eternal life is the free gift of God to us (Rom. 6:23).
Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom (Luke 12:32).
Jesus might not necessarily ask you to
sell all your belongings and give to the poor like He did to this rich ruler,
but be rest assured that He will deal with the worship of mammon in your life.
We cannot serve God and mammon! Until we place our total trust in God (not
uncertain riches of this world), we cannot enter into the fullness of His
power.
The
man became very sad at this word, and he went away sorrowful, because he had
great possessions…
The real problem the man had wasn’t in
owning great possessions, but that the great possessions owned him. The life of
a man does not consist in the abundance of things he possesses (Luke 12:15).
Just like this man, many of us place our entire life on materialism. We would rather walk away with what the world system has to offer. We would rather cling to the world at the expense of the kingdom of God.
Just like this man, many of us place our entire life on materialism. We would rather walk away with what the world system has to offer. We would rather cling to the world at the expense of the kingdom of God.
Later on, Jesus said to His disciples,
‘It is hard for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God’. He said
this repeatedly…
His disciples who were greatly astonished,
asked within themselves, ‘Who then can be saved?’
But Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With
men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible’.
IMPORTANT
THINGS TO NOTE:
Entering the kingdom of God can only be made possible by God. If you don’t know (seek) God, His kingdom can never be established in your heart…
Entering the kingdom of God can only be made possible by God. If you don’t know (seek) God, His kingdom can never be established in your heart…
Ask God for the kingdom (Matt. 6:10,
33; 7:7).
Except we become like little children,
we cannot enter the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 18:1-4; Mark 10:15; Luke 18:17).
Entering the kingdom of God is a
function of divine revelation. The way of the kingdom is not the popular way,
it is spiritually discerned. Few are they that locate it… (Matt. 7:13-14; 2
Peter 1:11; Prov. 25:2).
PASTOR NATHANIEL SADELA
Resident Pastor
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