SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/24/2023 9:50 AM
My Worship Time Focus: PT-7 “The
Poverty of Riches”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference:
Matt. 19:23-26
Message of the verses: “23 And Jesus said
to His disciples, "Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter
the kingdom of heaven. 24 "And again I say to you, it is easier for a
camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the
kingdom of God." 25 And
when the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said,
"Then who can be saved?" 26 And looking upon them Jesus
said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’”
We will begin with the highlighted verse (v-25) and
talk about that first of all in this SD.
You see at this time of history the Jewish people were taught that
riches was a big part of entering into the kingdom of God, and I suppose that is
why the Jewish leaders looked down their noses at those who were poor, and
there were many poor people in Israel at that time. The disciples were taught this and that is
why in astonishment that they asked the Lord "Then who can be saved?" You may remember that when we studied one of
the gospels that I commented on the seven trumpet like (offering plates, for
lack of a better description), that hung in a certain part of the temple in which people would put their money in them. I suppose the scribes and
Pharisees loved to have people around them when they put all their coins in
them, making a lot of noise.
Now
we see Jesus teaching that wealth was actually a serious barrier to the kingdom
was diametrically contrary to everything that the Jews were taught at this
time. It was a great shock to the
disciples, and I suppose to Judas especially.
That again is why the disciples asked our Lord "Then who can be saved?" Perhaps the disciples thought that in the kingdom
that they would be rich in material things, but the truth is that they would be
rich, but not in material things but in spiritual things as they would
eventually sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
Now
we want to talk about what Jesus said after this found in verse 26 And looking
upon them Jesus said to them, "With men this is impossible, but
with God all things are possible.’” This
is the answer to their quest "Then
who can be saved?" John
MacArthur writes: “Just as it is not
merely difficult but impossible for a camel to go through the eye of a needle,
it is not merely difficult but impossible for men to please the Lord and come
into His kingdom on their own terms and by their own efforts. In one simple declaration, Jesus utterly
destroyed the current perspective in the religion of Israel and, at the same
time, all hope in works-righteousness.
Whatever his material possessions and earthly accomplishment, every
person stands totally helpless and powerless before God. He stands condemned before a righteous God,
and in his depraved nature he can do nothing to make himself holy and worthy of
God’s forgiveness and acceptance. With
that statement Jesus swept all religions of human achievement and
works-righteousness into hell. Left to
any work of man, salvation is impossible.”
Now
we want to look at the statement “But with God all things are possible,” and
talk about that. Jesus is saying that
because God is able to change sinful hearts, it is possible for Him to save
helpless men. The truth is that God can
do what men cannot do. Going back to the
rich young ruler remember that he went away without eternal life, and the reason
was because he sought it on the impossible basis of his own human resources and
goodness, but when I think about that I am reminded of what Paul wrote to the
Romans in 3:23, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” MacArthur adds “Salvation is entirely a
gracious and sovereign work of God, and the work of His human witness is simply
to proclaim the full truth of the gospel as clearly and lovingly as possible
and to rely on God to apply that truth to an unbeliever’s heart and bring him
to recognize his spiritual bankruptcy and come to repentance and obedient
faith. Although repentance and faith
require an act of human will, they are prompted by the power of God.
“No
one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him,’ Jesus said (John
6:44). That is why Paul admonished that “the Lord’s bondservant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to
all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who
are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the
knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the
snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will’ (2 Tim.
2:24-26).” With this we conclude this
first section of Matthew 19:23-29, and I look forward to beginning the next
section from verses 27-29 which MacArthur entitles “The Riches of Poverty.”
Spiritual meaning for my life today: As I am going through this section from
Matthew 19, I can’t help to think about walking with the Lord is very similar
to being saved. I think this verse can
explain what I am talking about: “6 Therefore
as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, (Col.
2:6). Now I want to also look at Eph.
2:10 “10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works,
which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” Now let me try to explain. According to Colossians 2:6 I am to walk in
the same way that I was saved, and that is by grace through faith, and then
according to Eph. 2:10 I am to do the things that God has called me to do
before the foundations of the earth. I
can only do them through the power of God’s Holy Spirit. The main point of this is that God will
receive all the glory for my salvation and my walk with the Lord doing what He
has called me to do as seen in Eph. 2:10.
It is not about me doing things in the flesh, but me doing things that
He has called me to do in the power of His Spirit.
My Steps of Faith for Today: I want to do
the things that God has called me to do through the power of His Spirit.
3/24/2023 10:34 AM
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