One Thing

Luke 18:18-22 "Once a religious leader asked Jesus this question: “Good Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?” “Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked him. “Only God is truly good. But to answer your question, you know the commandments: ‘You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. Honor your father and mother.’ ” The man replied, “I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young. When Jesus heard his answer, he said, “There is still one thing you haven’t done. Sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

There are many people, like the rich man in this story. They have one thing they are holding on to that is keeping them from eternal life. One thing that they are unwilling to surrender to Jesus and that one thing is going to take them to hell. What about you, what is your one thing? You know you need Jesus, you know that he is the only way to heaven, you know that how you are living is destroying your life but you keep holding on to that one thing. The enemy has lied to you and told you that you can not live without that one thing. he has told you that you can not quit and there is no hope for you.

But here is the Good News, all you have to do is be willing to let Go and God will take it from you. Surrender is the key to eternal life, when you surrender everything to God, he will take away the sin and fill you with his grace and love. He will empower you by his spirit to live a victorious life full of his glory. But you must be willing to let go of that one thing and surrender everything to him. When you open your hand to let go, you also open your heart and let Jesus in. Once he comes in everything changes and you will find yourself infused with life from above.

The Key to Life

Deuteronomy 30:20 "You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life"

The key to life is loving God and fruit of love is obedience. Without obedience there is no love. When a husband and wife obey their wedding vows, their obedience is the fruit of their love. When they disobey their wedding vows, it shows a lack of love. Love is the fuel that produces obedience in our lives.

Obedience birthed out of love brings joy and increases intimacy. Obedience birthed out of fear brings resentment and causes division. That is why God said, the key to life is loving God. If you love God you will obey him and it will produce joy and deepen the intimacy of your relationship with God. If you obey God because you fear him, you will resent God and every act of obedience will drive a wedge between you and The Lord.

According to Proverbs 8:13 the fear of The Lord causes you to hate what God hates and according to John 14:15 the love of God causes you to obey God. We run from sin because we fear God and we obey God because we love him. This is the key to life.