Rev. Patrick Vincent
“And Mary said: ‘My soul magnifies the Lord,‘” – Luke 1:46
This is from Mary’s song of praise called The Magnificat in which her young heart spills over in joyous song.
Her soul magnifies the Lord.
Ours do as well. That is why our souls were created in the first place; It’s all about Him.
We would love to have a strong preacher like John the Baptist, wouldn’t we?
When the crowds came out to be baptized by him, he said, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath! Produce fruit in keeping with repentance!” (Luke 3:7-8)
How about now?
Our precious modern ears don’t like such strong language. Our precious modern feelings don’t want to be offended. Our precious modern egos flinch at such plain words.
Have we forgotten texts like:
“Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you!” – Luke 6:26
and
“Obviously, I’m not trying to be a people pleaser! No, I am trying to please God. If I were still trying to please people – I would not be Christ’s servant.”- Galatians 1:10
J.C. Ryle said,
“There is no ‘charity’ in flattering unconverted people. My chief desire is to exalt the Lord Jesus Christ, make Him beautiful & glorious in the eyes of men, and to promote the increase of repentance, faith, & holiness upon earth. I am one of those old-fashioned ministers who believe the whole Bible and everything it contains.”
Imagine that.
If someone asked you how to get to Heaven, you’d probably say “by grace through faith in Jesus (Eph. 2:8-9),” right? So why did Jesus give the Law to the rich young ruler when he asked the same question (Mark 10:17-22)?
This passage used to scare me. Will I have to sell all my stuff and give it to the poor?
No, no – that’s not the point.
The point is Jesus was exposing where the young ruler put his faith and it was IN HIS ABILITY TO KEEP THE LAW. (The Law THEN was the 10 commandments, NOW is any human effort or religious tradition). He thought rule-keeping was his ticket. His faith was in himself.
I’m not rich, young, or a ruler – but I identify with this guy, don’t you? Self-righteous, works-based faith is a constant struggle. What would Jesus say to me? “Throw away your device and follow Me.” Abraham was asked to give up Isaac (Gen. 22). What would He say to you?
The Law cannot save (Gal. 4:21). It’s not faith-worthy. It’s a ministry of death bringing God’s wrath ( 2 Cor. 3:7 & Rom. 4:15). Likewise today, putting your faith in your works, only brings God’s wrath. The Law is there to reveal our sin and point us to Jesus (Rom. 6:14). Like a mirror: it reflects you (warts & all), but cannot clean you. No one uses the mirror to clean their face. The mirror just shows you how dirty you are (Rom. 3:20). The Law crushes self-reliance, it is not a reason for it.
Mark 10:21 is a tender moment: Jesus looks at the young ruler and loves him. He’s trying to take him from Sinai to Calvary. He does the same for us. He knows us the best and loves us the most. After all, we’re all little Prodigals and Pharisees.
The young ruler boasted in keeping “all” the Law, so Jesus showed how he had missed the FIRST ONE! (Exd. 20:3) He placed his possessions before God. Look, if you rely on human effort, there will always be cracks (Gal. 3:10). Like a chain holding you over a fire; remove just one link and it all falls apart (James 2:10). Anything you make into a Law and then use to condemn others – will be used to condemn you.
“Everything that isn’t gospel is law. If its not rooted in the good news of the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus is damnable, crushing, despair-breeding , Pharisee-producing law. We’ll get either shallow self-righteousness or blazing rebellion or both.” – Elyse M. Fitzpatrick, Give Them Grace
This passage doesn’t scare me anymore. I am not under the Law. It is obsolete (Heb. 8:13). I am under GRACE (Rom. 8:2). Relying on tradition & religious rituals makes Jesus of no effect (Mark 7:13). It blinds us with a veil that only Jesus can remove (2 Cor. 3:14-16). Jesus came to set us free from this nonsense (Gal. 5:1).
Luke’s account says when the young ruler left, Jesus was saddened (18:24). Jesus didn’t force anything. It was his choice. Jesus loves us enough to let us reject Him. However, if we do, it grieves Him.
Please don’t make the same mistake as the rich young ruler. Put your faith totally in Jesus today.
Well, I’ve done everything I can do. Nothing left for me to do but pray, I guess.
Ever hear that? Ever say that? To be honest, I have. I’ve thought and/or said that very same thing myself many times.
Psalms 55:22 says “Cast your cares on the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken.”
My wife said something the other day that really struck a chord with me, “Let Go and Let God!” How simple. How true.
But, how difficult!
Let Go
and
Let GOD!
Give God the reigns of your life. He is a much better driver anyways. Letting go is hard for us humans, isn’t it? We have to be in control of everything. It’s almost as if we’re admitting defeat if we let someone else take over. If someone is more qualified, then why not? And if anyone is more qualified, it’s the LORD. Why is this such a struggle?! It’s OK to let God in. It’s OK to let Him be the deciding factor.
Allowing God full access to your life doesn’t mean you will be without hardship. In fact, it all but guarantees it. The more the world senses you are a Child of The King, the more it will hate you. The more it will sniff you out. The more it will try to crush you. “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.” John 15:18. “You will be hated because of me” Matt. 10:22.
So, be ready.
Think of it this way, Jesus was the first to say Let go and let God! He prayed the hardest prayer: “Father, if You are willing, take this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.” Luke 22:42
Submission to the Father is scary but it’s the only thing that leads to ultimate peace and joy. John 16:33 says it all. Look it up. Memorize it. Live it.
Let go and let God! God Bless!
#LetGoAndLetGod #YHWH
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