18 A religious leader asked Jesus, “Good Teacher, what must I do to get eternal life?”
19 Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? Only God is good. 20 And you know his commands: ‘You must not commit adultery, you must not murder anyone, you must not steal, you must not tell lies about others, you must respect your father and mother ….’”
21 But the leader said, “I have obeyed all these commands since I was a boy.”
22 When Jesus heard this, he said to the leader, “But there is still one thing you need to do. Sell everything you have and give the money to those who are poor. You will have riches in heaven. Then come and follow me.” 23 But when the man heard Jesus tell him to give away his money, he was sad. He didn’t want to do this, because he was very rich.
24 When Jesus saw that the man was sad, he said, “It will be very hard for rich people to enter God’s kingdom. 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter God’s kingdom.” (Luke 18:18-25, ERV)
The god of success invites you to save yourself instead of
depending on Jesus to do it. In God’s economy, success only comes as you
declare your spiritual bankruptcy.
3 “Those people who know they have great spiritual needs are happy.The kingdom of heaven belongs to them.
4 Those who are sad now are happy.
God will comfort them.
5 Those who are humble are happy.
The earth will belong to them.
6 Those who want to do right more than anything else are happy.
God will fully satisfy them.
7 Those who give mercy to others are happy.
Mercy will be given to them.
8 Those who are pure in their thinking are happy.
They will be with God.
9 Those who work to bring peace are happy.
God will call them his sons.
10 Those who are treated badly for doing good are happy.
The kingdom of heaven belongs to them. (Matthew 5:3-10, ICB)
How
do you slay the god of money? Refuse to look at it as a source of security,
satisfaction, or significance.
He who loves money shall never have enough. The foolishness of thinking
that wealth brings happiness. (Ecclesiastes 5:10, TLB)
Be
generous, and give what you have away.
Give freely, and you will profit. Help others, and
you will gain more for yourself. (Proverbs 11:25, ERV)
How
do you slay the god of achievement?
40 But Martha became exasperated by finishing
the numerous household chores in preparation for her guests, so she interrupted
Jesus and said, “Lord, don’t you think it’s unfair that my sister left me to do
all the work by myself? You should tell her to get up and help me.”41 The Lord answered her, “Martha, my beloved Martha. Why are you upset and troubled, pulled away by all these many distractions? Are they really that important? 42 Mary has discovered the one thing most important by choosing to sit at my feet. She is undistracted, and I won’t take this privilege from her.” (Luke 10:40-42, TPT)
Two
key phrases (of two sisters):
·
Martha became exasperated…
·
Mary has discovered the one thing most important…
Choose to be still, and worship God.
“Be still,
be calm, see, and understand I
am the True God. I am honored among all the nations. I am honored over all the
earth.” (Psalm 46:10, VOICE)
"There are two types of people who will
tell you that you cannot make a difference in this world: those who are afraid
to try and those who are afraid you will succeed." (Ray Goforth)[i]
[i] Inspired by the sermon “Slaying the god of Success:
Slaying gods, “(installment four) Sunday October 20,
2019, Pastor Dave Jansen, CenterPoint Gahanna Church Gahanna, OH.
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