Go and sell your possessions

Jesus teaches that giving up possessions for the kingdom of God is important, but it does not mean salvation can be bought. The command to sell possessions is about giving up personal interests and committing to serving God. It is about complete devotion to God and not letting possessions control us. Self-denial is necessary to enter the kingdom of heaven. Welcome to our weekly exhortation. Thank you for joining me. My name is Gila Mewan, Servant of God, Servant of Jesus. While talking to the rich young men, our Lord Jesus says, Go and steal your possessions. What does he want to teach us? Praise the Lord. The idea of giving up everything for the sake of the kingdom of God is found in many places of the Lord's teaching. Remember the rich young man who wanted to enter the kingdom. Teacher, what must I do to have eternal life? In response, Jesus declared, If you want to enter into life, go and sell your possessions. Give them to the poor and follow me. Does Jesus mean that salvation can be reached if we sell our possessions and follow him? What is meant by the word to sell in this passage? Hallelujah. Friend, we are not going to give a speech about this topic because we all know that salvation is a free gift from God for those who repent and who confess the Lordship of Jesus Christ. John chapter 3 verse 16. No compromise can be made upon this truth. But Jesus responds to the question of the rich young man may confuse those who read this passage. The rich young man questions, Teacher, what must I do to have eternal life? The answer of Jesus, If you want to enter into life, go and sell your possessions. Give them to the poor and follow me. It is true for ordinary people, Jesus would be in contradiction with his own word and would advocate salvation by what? But is this actually Jesus' intention? We must make it clear that the command to go and sell is not a rule according to which all Christians must necessarily give up their possessions to be part of the kingdom of God simply because salvation cannot be purchased. Neither the rich young man nor us can be saved by selling all our assets. There is only one way to salvation, faith in Jesus Christ. Praise the Lord. If faith is the only way to salvation, then we need to know what is meant by the group of words selling all possessions. In fact, what is meant by selling all that the rich young man had is that Jesus cement our hearts. He demands a total commitment of our parts. This means that the disciple must give up his personal interest and commit himself entirely to serving the interest of God. Do you remember that a lawyer asked the same question to Jesus, Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? According to the commandments, the Lord Jesus said, and what are the commandments? Well, the commandments are summed up in this phrase, you shall love the loyal God with all your being and your neighbor as yourself, Luke chapter 10 verse 25 to 28. Friend, at the heart of entering the kingdom is a relationship of complete devotion to God, a devotion that places God at the center of one's life. It is a response that involves the whole person, the heart, the soul, and the mind. Praise the Lord. You see, such a degree of submission is impossible without faith. Hallelujah. Here is what Jesus would like to teach us. It is not about going and selling the goods you have acquired over the years, but it is about devoting yourself to God entirely and not letting yourself be controlled by what you have. The goods of this world are given by God and no one can afford to ignore it. It is by His will that we have what we have. The Apostle Paul says, what do you have that you didn't receive? First Corinthians chapter 4 verse 7. What we must understand by the word selling is to give up any vicious behavior inherent in our personality and which does not promote our relationship with God. For instance, your pride, your jealousy, your anger, etc. You give the healing and grace are, I've always hungered for. I want to conclude to say that the command to go and sell everything refers to a total self-surrender the disciple must practice in order to please God. The truth is this, the Lord Jesus will be found by those who sincerely seek the truth. They are the ones who declare with determination, if I find God, I am committed to following Him no more than the cost. Yeah, Jesus is worth more than all the possessions you can acquire in your entire life. You know, the goods of this world are not the problem, but rather the attitude of men in relation to this thing that is disturbing. Remember, Israel didn't accept the offer of Satan when he offered him the wealth of this world because this thing would distance him from the will of his Father. And this is exactly the attitude Jesus expects from His people, self-denial, yes, self-denial. In Jesus' response to the rich young man, the sale of goods corresponds to the self-denial all disciples must practice every single day. Self-denial is the price to pay to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. This price is enormous because no one can obtain it without sacrificing everything he has. Self-denial is an act of repentance, praise the Lord. Well, we have come to the end of today's exhortation. In God's wishes, we will be together next week. God bless you. Shalom. I don't feel alone now. With comfort came the Spirit of the Lord. Now with His Word to guide me, from temptation hide me. I'm standing on the solid rock. I'm standing on the solid rock of ages. Staked from all the storm and the rages. Rich, but not from Satan's wages. I'm standing on the solid rock. I'm standing on the solid rock of ages. Staked from all the storm and the rages. Rich, but not from Satan's wages. I'm standing on the solid rock.