With God all things are possilbe

Chapter 3 -Single-Minded Obedience  (continued)

Bonhoeffer-' Obedience to the call of Jesus never lies within our own power. If, for instance, we give away all our possessions, that act is not in itself the obedience he demands. In fact such a step might be precise opposite of obedience to Jesus, for we might then be choosing a way of life for ourselves, some Christian ideal, or some ideal of Franciscan poverty. Indeed in the very act of giving away his goods a man can give allegiance to himself and to an ideal and not to the command of Jesus. He is not set free from his own self but still more enslaved to himself.  The step into the situation where faith is possible is not an offer which we can make to Jesus, but always his gracious offer to us. Only when the step is taken in this spirit is it admissible. But in that case we cannot speak of a freedom of choice on our part.

Mat 19:23  Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Mat 19:24  And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

Mat 19:25  When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved?

Mat 19:26  But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

Bonhoeffer- 'The shocked question of the disciples "Who then can be saved?" seems to indicate that they regarded the case of the rich young man not as in any way exceptional, but as typical. For they do not ask: "Which rich man?" but quite generally "Who then can be saved?" For every man, even the disciples themselves, belongs to those rich ones for whom it is so difficult to enter the kingdom of heave. The answer Jesus gives showed the disciples that they had understood him well. Salvation through following Jesus is not something we men can achieve for ourselves-- but with God all things are possible.

My thoughts--

We must live our lives under the constant tutelage of our Savior, ever learning from Him. His words tell us that He opened His mouth and taught- remember?

Mat 5:2  And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying…

Recognizing our state of helplessness we present ourselves to our Savior and seek to be forgiven by Him. Recognizing our sinfulness and our inability to ever cleanse ourselves of the stains of sin- we must seek the only One who can cleanse us. It is IMPOSSIBLE for us to save ourselves. What has been made possible by our Savior is the ability ask for cleansing, for salvation, for a life in Him.

Are there people who do not recognize their helplessness?

Yes.

Rev 3:16  So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

Rev 3:17  Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked

Neither cold not hot.

Saying- I am rich.

Saying- I am increased with goods.

Saying- I have need of nothing.

What does all that mean? It means there are people, a lot of people, who believe in CHEAP GRACE.  They say they believe and believe they believe but what they are believing is NOT Christ's testimony, but Satan's lies.  These people believe they have all they need and need nothing more and they believe this outside of a TRUE BELIEF IN A TRUE SAVIOR.

Jesus wants us to only believe in HIM and nothing else, not even ourselves, especially not ourselves.

Rev 3:18  I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

Rev 3:19  As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

Rev 3:20  Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.

Rev 3:21  To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.

Rev 3:22  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

We are rich ONLY in JESUS.

We are clothed ONLY by JESUS.

We can understand ONLY as our Savior gives us understanding.

We MUST REPENT- this is a REAL ACTION of repentance, not lip service mouthing the words without anything to back it up.

We MUST OPEN the door.

Only by opening the door will our Savior come into us and FEED us, sustain us.

We MUST OVERCOME- Jesus says- 'to him that overcometh'

We must overcome by living with our SAVIOR and allowing Him to save us.

Our Savior OVERCAME.

What did He overcome? Sin.  He overcame living in this world under Satan's control, proving it is possible for someone to be tempted to the uttermost and overcome. He relied upon His FATHER for all things, teaching us that we must rely upon HIM for all things.  He overcame through the power of the FATHER, why do we ever imagine we can overcome through our own power?

Only by the grace of Jesus is the impossible, possible, and we must NEVER forget this! NEVER!

Please Lord, help us to NEVER forget.

Mat 19:26  But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.