Obedience

God hasn't called me to be responsible. God has called me to be obedient. There is a huge difference. Many people will be deceived into missing out on what God has for them by clinging to their own earthly idea of "responsibility." This has always been the case:


Matthew 19:16-22 Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.” He said to Him, “Which ones?” Jesus said, “ ‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ” The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.


Now HERE was a responsible young man. This guy had walked the straight and narrow, was careful with his possessions, had built up some savings. He had all the bases covered. BUT, when offered a choice to either be a disciple of Jesus or hang onto his idea of responsibility, the young man walked away torn. He was torn because he KNEW the right choice was to be irresponsible, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. The cost was too high.


On one day that young man is going to actually regret his choice to be responsible with his possessions. In one day, He will stand before Jesus and WISH he had sold it all and lived paycheck to paycheck for Jesus...REALLY.


Jesus said those who take the safe route will "suffer loss." That doesn't mean they won't be saved. It really means they won't get everything in the age to come that Jesus wanted them to have. I believe the Bible is clear that there WILL be an honest recollection of our lives in heaven. When we see Jesus, and come into a stark awareness of how much He gave for us, and how sparingly we gave to Him, regret will be part of the equation in heaven. Many people have the idea that you can only feel the emotion of happiness in the age to come. This, when you think about it, is kind of creepy...an entire city filled with Stepford-wife like happiness is not what the Bible describes. Usually, we base this idea of no regret in heaven on this one passage:


Revelation 21:3-4 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”


We have to know the context of this truth. After Jesus returns, there will be 1,000 years of us ruling with Him as he remakes the earth. This passage above happens AT THE END of the 1,000 years. God the Father's throne is actually coming to earth. He WILL wipe away every tear, but there WILL BE tears to wipe away. Tears of loss and regret when we see what could have been ours and how little of our hearts we gave God to work with...when we realize that we didn't love Jesus with everything. When the "rich young rulers" see how temporary the things they held onto were, and how permanent and real the wealth they ignored or "wrote off as symbolic" really was.


I Corinthians 3:13-15 each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.


Remember the servant who tried hard to be "responsible" with His master's money:


Matthew 25:24-30 “Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’ “But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. Therefore take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. ‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’


BUT, There will also be great joy! When those like the widow who gave "all she had to live on" sees just how much their two pennies were really worth in the age to come:


Mark 12:41-44 Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much. Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans. So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.”


Talk about irresponsible! Jesus celebrating an old widow giving away everything she had to live on! Why didn't He stop her?! Because He knew she was storing up great wealth where she will enjoy it forever!!


Right now, the exchange rate is really good between temporary wealth and future reward...but the dollar amount has no affect on it. The value of our money is completely tied to the "faith" we mix with the offering. Just giving your 10%, or 5%, or 1% has no bearing on the value of the gift in the age to come, according to Jesus..the Man running the place. It is the amount of faith that is stirred in with the offering. In this instance faith is spelled R-I-S-K. If my gift costs me nothing in terms of risk, the value is much lower in the age to come. Even a cup of cold water will be rewarded, but the measure I'm willing to risk it all...throw caution to the wind...for Jesus is the measure I will enjoy spiritual wealth now, and even more so along with physical wealth, when heaven comes to earth.


The reason it works this way is the heart. God doesn't need any of my money. He hasn't limited himself to earthly economic laws. He can literally make money appear out of nowhere. This is how Jesus paid His taxes. Think anyone would call this responsible?:


Matthew 17:27 Nevertheless, lest we offend them, go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first. And when you have opened its mouth, you will find a piece of money; take that and give it to them for Me and you.”


Jesus wants to make my HEART NEW, but He is unwilling to force me to give Him my heart. God has committed to love, which means I have to choose to give Him some of my heart to work with. When I take a risk in the natural, it is like I toss my heart up into the wind of His presence and say to Him "ok Jesus, here is my trust and my heart. Have your way with it here. I'm trusting you to reveal yourself in this risk." AND HE DOES. If I never release my heart to Him in taking risks that agree with Him, then I never build a secret history of seeing Him really move on earth. If I limit myself to the safe bounds of what I can "control" then I never offer Jesus my heart in a meaningful way. If I stand on my savings, hard work, and responsible behavior, then I never really stand on invisible Jesus and His promises. Soon, the whole world is going to see that invisible Jesus was really the only safe place to stand anyway!! For real! Soon, all money is going to be worthless to anyone loyal to Jesus. Guaranteed:


Revelation 13:15-17 He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.


Mankind's fear of not having enough...our sense of "responsibility" is exactly what the Bible says the antichrist will use to force multitudes to give their allegiance to satan through his son, the antichrist. Anyone who takes the mark of the beast CANNOT BE SAVED. To trust in satan's currency, which will be the only currency for 3.5 years, is to reject Jesus' leadership and accept satan's. Soon, to participate in the global economy will = satan worship.


God says he is going to "shake everything that can be shaken." The Bible is clear that this includes our money. If I stand on money as my strength now, it will only be harder as insecurity and fear increases in the world, to give it up later. If I give up trusting in it now, then no one can manipulate me through fear of loosing it! It is that simple.

Mark 10:29-31 So Jesus answered and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”