Those who have met Jesus Christ completely offer themselves to Him.
1) Naaman, the General who could not surrender his Authority
| Naaman was the commander of the army of Syria and had great power and authority. However, he was leper. This meant that all he possessed was meaningless in comparison to his serious condition. This same Naaman was healed through the prophet Elisha and came to know the God who healed him, and decided to serve God. However, he faced one stumbling block. He had to worship an idol in the house of Rimmon with the King of Syria. A great issue in his life was resolved. But he could not make the decision to worship God which was the greatest issue in life, an issue greater than his leprosy. |
》Scripture Prayer
(2 Kings 5:1) Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master and in high favor, because by him the LORD had given victory to Syria. He was a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper.
(2 Kings 5:14-18) So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. Then he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and he came and stood before him. And he said, “Behold, I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel; so accept now a present from your servant.” But he said, “As the LORD lives, before whom I stand, I will receive none.” And he urged him to take it, but he refused. Then Naaman said, “If not, please let there be given to your servant two mule loads of earth, for from now on your servant will not offer burnt offering or sacrifice to any god but the LORD. In this matter may the LORD pardon your servant: when my master goes into the house of Rimmon to worship there, leaning on my arm, and I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, when I bow myself in the house of Rimmon, the LORD pardon your servant in this matter.”
》Pray that the Word may become the Conclusion.
1. General Naaman made this confession “I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel. Your servant will offer neither burnt offerings nor sacrifices to other gods.” But he also made a plea to God asking for pardon for just ‘one thing’ resulting in a contradiction: worshiping at the house of Rimmon. After being healed and experiencing the power of God, he should have worshipped God just as he confessed. Do you see the fear and value that was hidden in the ‘one small thing’ that he asked God to pardon? God is most deserving our alabaster jar, the worship of breaking and pouring out our lives to him. Let us to the Lord, confessing our fear of losing myself and ask the Lord for his help in prayer.
Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. (John 12:3)
2. We confess “I will only worship you God. But could you pardon this one small thing?” Are we making this kind of compromise in our lives? Though ‘this one small thing’ may seem trivial, it is most likely that our entire being is completely tied to it. Jesus is not a mere part of our lives but he must become everything. If there is that ‘one thing’ in our lives that Holy Spirit is revealing to us, let us turn and confess that God is worthy of receiving our everything and make the decision to offer up that ‘one thing’.
One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple. (Psalm 27:4)
2) The One Thing that prevented a Rich Man’s Salvation: His Own Possessions
| After Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came, the apostles stood against the threat of the Jews and the mockery of the Gentiles and boldly proclaimed the Truth of the Cross and Jesus’s There was a rich young ruler who kept the law with an earnest heart and came to Jesus with his thirst for eternal life. This rich young man appeared to have no shortcomings. However, he had one thing he needed to surrender in order to receive eternal life. It was his own possessions. If you desire to enter into the Kingdom of God, you must not love anything more than God. You need to deny yourself and carry your cross. |
》Scripture Prayer
(Mark 10:17-23) And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!”
》Pray that the Word may become the Conclusion.
1. Jesus spoke to the young man about his riches because it was everything to him. The Gospel is eternal life given to us through the broken body of Jesus on the Cross! This gospel demands our everything and this standard cannot be lowered. All we can do is to have faith in the Lord who is the good news, and is able to do what is impossible to man. Are you going to lose your eternal life because you were not able to surrender that ‘one thing?’ Let us pray for the Lord’s mercy, that he would give us faith.
For he says, “In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. (2 Corinthians 6:2)
2. Let us humbly confess to the Lord that we cannot obtain salvation by our effort or exertion. We can only go to the Lord by believing in the work of Jesus Christ through the Cross. Let us pray that the Lord would pour into us the Spirit of wisdom and revelation so that this generation would realize the Truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. May we present our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable unto God which is our spiritual act of worship.
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2)
3) One cannot serve Two Masters
| In the Gospels, Jesus says that it is impossible for man to serve two masters. His message is not saying because it is hard to serve two masters, one should stop being greedy, and choose to serve just one. Jesus is saying that one must repent and surrender the kingship of their own selves and serve God, the one true King. |
》Scripture Prayer
(Matthew 6:24-26) “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
(Matthew 6:31-33) Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
》Pray that the Word may become the Conclusion.
1. A person’s master is discernible by what he seeks and what he fears. One common characteristic of all sinners is that they are masters of their own lives. Another characteristic is fear or worry. However, Jesus said, “Do not fear.” Behold! Jesus came to this earth so that he would become our true Lord by dying on the Cross for us! We belong to him. As our true master, he will most certainly take responsibility for our lives. Let us pray that we may cast all our fears upon him.
For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. (Romans 14:7-9)
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