Meeting Jesus - Letting Go
One of the ways you can begin to experience a life changed by the Word of God is by applying the message today to your life. Today, we will look at another moment in scripture when Jesus invited somebody to follow him, but the man rejected Jesus. He did not reject Jesus because he was a religious leader. He didn’t reject Jesus because he lacked belief. He rejected Jesus because he could not let go of what he considered most important.
“Letting Go” can be a very difficult thing.
When I was in college, I spent my summers serving as a counselor at a Christian Camp during the summer in the mountains of Colorado, and one of the activities I was in charge of was the zipline. The Zipline was over 150’ high on one end, over ¼ mile long, and crazy fast. The rider steps into a harness that loops around the legs; they pull the harness up like a pair of pants. Then, the harness connects to a pulley, and the pulley gets connected to the cable. All the rider has to do is step off the 150’ high rocks and trust that the pulley, cable, and harness are secure. The first time I stepped off the cliff – I was terrified.
My heart was thumping. My body kicked into fight-or-flight mode. I forced myself to overcome the panic I felt, stepped off the rocks and I was almost halfway across when I realized I wasn’t trusting the harness. I was not sitting down in the harness; I was clinging to the strap as tight as I could, holding onto the strap, squeezing with all my might…but sitting down in the harness. Slowly, I lowered myself down and allowed full weight of my body to rest in the seat of the harness…then let go. I was a chicken to let go, but when I did – it was one of the most incredible moments in my life.
Letting Go.
It is one of the most difficult things to do. Right now – I want to invite you to “let go.”
Luke 18:18-30 (NLT2)
18 Once a religious leader asked Jesus this question: “Good Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?” 19 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked him. “Only God is truly good. 20 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.’” 21 The man replied, “I’ve carefully obeyed all these commandments since I was young.” 22 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.” 23 But when the man heard this he became sad, for he was very rich. 24 When Jesus saw this, he said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God! 25 In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!” 26 Those who heard this said, “Then who in the world can be saved?” 27 He replied, “What is impossible for people is possible with God.” 28 Peter said, “We’ve left our homes to follow you.” 29 “Yes,” Jesus replied, “and I assure you that everyone who has given up house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the Kingdom of God, 30 will be repaid many times over in this life, and will have eternal life in the world to come.”
On the surface, it appeared like this ruler had everything together in life. Most likely, he was respected in the community as a leader.
He was a ruler.
He had wealth.
He seemed to live with integrity.
He respected his parents.
But, under the surface, beneath the perception others had of him, this man knew his own heart. He knew something was not right. Although he had wealth, influence, and family… and probably offered advice to others, under the surface, something troubled him. He did not know if he had lived a good enough life to be with God in heaven when he died. He did not know what life after death was going to look like. And, he asked the RIGHT question to the RIGHT person. He asked Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”
This question shows that the man not only thought about his life here on the earth, but he understood that there was a spiritual life that would go on after he died. He wanted to know what he needed to do to get into heaven. I think many people have that same question today. What’s it going to take for me to get into heaven? Like the man asked Jesus, I want to ask you a question:
HAVE YOU INHERITED ETERNAL LIFE?
Many of us have questions about Heaven. What is heaven really like? We don’t have all the answers, but God gives us a little look at what Heaven will be like in Revelation 21:1-4. Speaking about Heaven, the Apostle John writes:
Revelation 21:3-4 (NLT2)
3 …God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”
In Heaven, followers of Jesus will be in the presence of our creator God forever.
We will live without fear or worry.
We will live without need.
We will live without pain.
We will live without sorrow.
In heaven, there will be no more cancer. No more heart failure. No more diabetes. In heaven, there will be no sickness, pain, and frustration, and God will wipe every tear of joy from our eyes! If you have experienced the hurt, confusion, sadness, and sorrow that living in a broken world brings – you understand that living with God for all eternity will be absolutely amazing.
But this man who rejected Jesus was more concerned about what his temporary life would be like without his stuff. He was narrow-minded. He couldn’t see the Big Picture. He did not realize that 90 years of living on this planet is nothing compared to the infinite presence of God in his life. He walked away rejecting the HOPE of Eternal Life…but that doesn’t have to be you. Jesus clearly communicated how a person could know if they had Eternal Life.
John 5:24 (NKJV)
24 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.
The ONLY way to receive ETERNAL LIFE is BY HEARING and BELIEVING.
Hearing what? The words of Jesus. God’s word. You cannot be given ETERNAL LIFE unless you hear God’s Word. You are already doing that right now. You are halfway there – but halfway there is not close enough.
PISTEUO (Pistooyoh): To TRUST IN, ENTRUST, and COMMIT.
Jesus is saying – BELIEF is MORE than head knowledge – BELIEF is an action WORD. It requires TRUST…
And if you truly entrust your life to Jesus, you let go of anything you once valued as more important than Jesus. I BELIEVED the zipline strap would hold me up…but until I stopped gripping the strap with my hands, I did not ENTRUST my life to the strap. Jesus used PISTOOYO John 3:16 when he said,
John 3:16 (NLT)
16 For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
EVERYONE who LET’S GO, TRUSTS IN, AND COMMITS TO JESUS will have ETERNAL life.
BELIEVING in JESUS means ACCEPTING what He DID for you 2,000 years ago and ENTRUSTING your LIFE into his hands through SURRENDER.
And surrender looks like this:
Romans 10:9 (NLT)
9 If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
If you are ready to surrender your life to Jesus, inherit eternal life, and receive forgiveness for your sins, at this moment, you can say something like this:
PRAYER OF SURRENDER:
God, I am ready to become a follower of Jesus, and I surrender my life to you. I believe that Jesus paid the price for my sins. I believe he suffered, died, was buried, and rose from the dead. Thank you for your forgiveness and grace…I receive Jesus as my Savior and entrust my life to you.
Now, you have surrendered your life to Jesus. You have let go of your life. You have surrendered to Jesus and received forgiveness for sin, and are living daily for him.
Now, as a follower of Jesus, some advice I offer to you as you seek to follow him…
DON’T LET YOUR “BUT” GET IN THE WAY
Jesus was not communicating to the man that Eternal Life came through giving his stuff away – this was a test of this man’s heart. Have you ever met somebody who had the answer to everything? They always had an answer, whether it was true or not.
Jesus said, “Have you obeyed your parents?” Oh, Yes Lord!
Have you committed adultery? Oh, no, Lord.
Have you lied or cheated? Oh no, Lord.
Since I was a child – I have been PERFECT!
Jesus looks at the man, and I believe this is his “yeah, right” moment. It was clear to Jesus that no matter what Jesus told this man to do, this man would claim to have already done it…
So, looking at his wealthy clothes and money, Jesus said, “Get rid of your wealth.”
If he had REALLY loved the Lord with all his heart and loved his neighbor as himself since he was a child, giving away possessions would not be that big a deal.
Think about this. If Jesus had communicated to this man that wealth was an acceptable excuse – Jesus would be saying that there is a higher priority than him!
How often have you been like this man?
Jesus, I will follow you wherever you lead, BUT not across the street to my loud-at-night neighbor.
Jesus, I love my neighbor as myself, BUT I don’t have time for them.
God, I will begin to give generously, BUT I need to set aside vacation money first…
God, I will speak more softly and gently with my spouse, BUT they make me so mad sometimes…
Jesus, I will seek reconciliation with my parents, BUT I am waiting for them to take the first step…
Jesus, I will begin to rise early in the morning to spend time reading my bible and sitting in your presence, BUT I stayed up too late…
Jesus, I will begin a Lifegroup, BUT I don’t want to be trained…
We let our selfish BUTS get in the way of following Jesus. If we stop living a lifestyle of surrender, our BUTS get bigger! If we stop following Jesus, we stop experiencing his blessings.
It is important for followers of Jesus to remember…
A LIFESTYLE OF SURRENDER REAPS AN ETERNITY OF BLESSING
In verse 22, Jesus invited this man to let go of his past and follow him.
Luke 18:22 (NLT2)
…Sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
The invitation to follow him was not a cold command to walk behind a dictator. The invitation is nothing like that. The Greek word akoloutheó (ah-ka-loo-they-o) means not just to follow but to “accompany, attend” or literally, “to go the same way with.”
Jesus wasn’t simply saying, “Walk with me.”
He was also saying, “I want to walk with you.”
Jesus wants to walk in the same direction as you – He is pleased to be going the same way. He guides and directs our steps along the path, and He is not embarrassed to be seen at your side. He knows you are dragging your feet. He knows you become distracted at times. He knows that you stumble and fumble into sin…yet he still chooses to walk with you, and he is not ashamed of you!
Jesus was communicating to this man –
I know you will become distracted by other things in your life…but I will accompany YOU as well.
I will never leave you.
I will never abandon you.
I will walk alongside you even if you choose to abandon me,
I will never not be there for you. I will always be near you.
JESUS WANTS TO WALK WITH YOU! He enjoys your company!
As followers of Jesus, we are assured of his forgiveness of our past, his promise to walk through life with us, and the promise we have of eternal life.
So keep living a lifestyle that lets go.
Let go of your treasures.
Let go of your fears.
Let go of bitterness.
Let go of pride.
Let go of sadness.
Let go of hurt.