A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good — except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’” “All these I have kept since I was a boy,” he said. When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth. – Luke 18:18-23 Does Jesus mean that each of us should give away everything before we can follow Him? First, this is a conversation with a person who is quite full of himself and confident in his own goodness. Second, Jesus says that what is holding him back is what he is holding on to. The application that I see is that Jesus is not just calling this man to give up his stuff, but to give up himself. This means that we let go of how good we think we are and embrace the God who loves us in spite of who we are. If our possessions or our ego holds us back from God- they must be surrendered.
What must you do to inherit eternal life? Jesus says leave everything behind that keeps you for making Him the priority. When Christ is the priority the things that hold sway over us lose their appeal. Do whatever it takes to follow Jesus. In Him all things are possible, without Him life loses its meaning.
We would love to meet you at First Baptist Church. If you are looking for a Church to call home I want to encourage you to visit and see what God is doing in our Church. We are genuine and relevant, and we want to make a difference. We are looking forward to meeting you! First Baptist Church is located at the corner of 4th and Foley. Morning Bible Study begins at 8:45 a.m., with our Morning Worship Service at 10:00 a.m. Our Wednesday Night programs begin at 6 p.m. I would also like to invite you to visit our website at www. eufaulafbc.org.
Know that you are loved!
Pastor J. Ingram – First Baptist Church of Eufaula
