The will of the Master

A servant doing the will of his Master.

We are the servants, Christ is our Master.

What is the will of the Master?  We have to do the will of our Master. If we are found doing our OWN will we are NOT servants of the Master, but servants of self and any servant of self is a servant of Satan, because Satan is the author of pride, Satan is the author of self-serving.

In the following parable our Savior explains this --

Mat 25:14  For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.
Mat 25:15  And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.

Mat 25:16  Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents.
Mat 25:17  And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two.
Mat 25:18  But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money.

Mat 25:19  After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them.
Mat 25:20  And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.
Mat 25:21  His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

Mat 25:22  He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them.
Mat 25:23  His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.

Mat 25:24  Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:
Mat 25:25  And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.
Mat 25:26  His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:
Mat 25:27  Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.
Mat 25:28  Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.

Mat 25:29  For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.

Mat 25:30  And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

*******

Just as with the five virgins with extra oil, those that are filled with the Holy Spirit, those who are doing the will of God, the servants who used all their master gave them for Him are those that are going to be in God's kingdom.

God's will.

If we know God's will, if we know what our Savior would have us do then we are accountable to that. The servant who hid the single talent told the Master that he KNEW the Master.  And the Master came back and told that servant that he did know Him, and because he knew Him He should have done what he knew the Master would want him to do.  That servant did NOT do what the Master expected of him. Presuming to know better the servant did what he wanted to do and the servant mistakenly thought the Master would except that because he could give back what the Master gave him to begin with.  The Master did NOT give the talent in order to get it back. The Master did NOT give the talent for no purpose, if that were the case the Master could have kept the talent and the same would have been accomplished. The Master expected the servant to do His will.  The Master even told the servant that he could have done something SAFE with the money if that were his true intention, but he didn't even do that.  The Master didn't ask the servant to do something to put himself in jeopardy of the Master's displeasure. The Master wasn't trying to trick the servant.  The servant knew the Master's will, and decided to disobey that will.

Our Master, our Savior, would NEVER put our eternal life in jeopardy, never! We are to do the will of our Savior never thinking WE know better. We are to never tell our Savior that we know best. We have a clear cut guide in the Word of God as to our Savior's will, to do anything but His will is unacceptable and must be repented of. We cannot do our will and expect our Savior to accept us into His kingdom.  When He returns for us all will have been decided, we cannot presume to have sit down time with our Savior in order to explain ourselves to Him. We either do His will and He knows us because we are doing His will, or we do our own will and no sweet talking of ours will ever explain what is truly known to Christ.

To think that we can do our own will when Christ Himself came and did NOT His own will but the will of the Father, is lunacy.

Joh_5:30  I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.

Luk_22:42  Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.

Truly some will be great men and women of God, and others will be mere shadows of those great men and women, but as long as we do God's will from the least to the greatest, we will be in His kingdom with Him! PRAISE GOD!

All glory to God!
May His kingdom come!
May His will be done!

Preached in all the world- the gospel of the kingdom

Preaching the gospel of the kingdom.

Mat 24:14  And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

Mar 16:15  And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
Mar 16:16  He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

Truth.

Jesus preached the gospel of the kingdom.
Jesus taught His disciples to preach the gospel of the kingdom.

IF the gospel of the kingdom is to be preached until the end of the world is close then would there ever come a time the preaching should stop?

We can't know the day nor the hour, but we can know the end is close by watching the signs Jesus has given to us.

There are signs to watch-

Rev 13:11  And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
Rev 13:12  And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
Rev 13:13  And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
Rev 13:14  And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
Rev 13:15  And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
Rev 13:16  And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
Rev 13:17  And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
Rev 13:18  Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.

Signs!

Cryptic signs, signs crouched in symbolism, signs that need interpreting, signs that call us to study deeply. 

We know these THINGS must come to pass. 

We can watch for these things, we can keep our eyes on the world and all that is happening in the world and we can pray, in this we can see the end of the world coming, we can know to be ready. 

The gospel has been preached in all the world. We know it has. Everywhere people have gone the gospel has gone with them. People might say there is a remote village somewhere that hasn't and we're just waiting for them to hear the gospel.  I personally don't believe it. I believe with our technology and our ability to go to everywhere in the world that the gospel has been preached.  We will never stop witnessing of Christ, never. Our lives are a witness. We live Christ if we have the gospel in our lives. If we live the truth Christ gives to us then we are witnesses to the gospel of the kingdom. What is the hope in us?

Col_1:27  To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory

Christ in US the hope of glory!

The gospel is being preached, the truth is being preached, the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of God is being preached it is, and will be preached right up until the end of the world.

The kingdom of God is Christ crucified, it is Christ risen, it is Christ forgiving us, it is Christ's righteousness, it is CHRIST in us now and FOREVER.

Please, Lord, let us live with You in us!
Lord, let us live with YOU as a part of our lives so that You will never be separate from us. We would be with you ALWAYS. Please LORD, please let us be YOURS now and forever, now and in the kingdom!

In Your love!

The kingdom of heaven - shut

The kingdom of heaven- shut.

People want to believe the kingdom of heaven is open to all regardless of everything.  They do. People ultimately wish to believe that no matter the circumstances heaven, a hereafter, a life after dying will be theirs. Few people will desire an after life of nothingness. The idea is that no matter what you believe, you will have heaven.

Of course there are those who simply choose to believe there is absolutely no life at all after death's sleep, they don't even believe death is a sleep but an actual end.

Truly, people believe in all sorts of theories- none proven except…  Christianity.

I can say this is proven because of HISTORY.

Prophecies made thousands of years before coming to pass. 
Prophecies prove the truth.
Prophecies 100% true and history has proven this.

You don't have to believe me, or even believe the Bible, but I personally cannot ignore the facts. When we choose to ignore the truth, we are blinding ourselves. We are putting out our spiritual eyes. 

Many people have blinded themselves and more continue to do so. They blind themselves so they don't see the truth and therefore are not accountable to the truth.  The truth is a cross. The truth is self-denial.  The truth is Christ.

The kingdom of heaven can be shut to people.

Remember yesterday-

Mat 22:11  And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment:
Mat 22:12  And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless.
Mat 22:13  Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Mat 22:14  For many are called, but few are chosen.

Denied the kingdom of heaven.

Luk 13:23  Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them,
Luk 13:24  Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.
Luk 13:25  When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are:
Luk 13:26  Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets.
Luk 13:27  But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.
Luk 13:28  There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.
Luk 13:29  And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God.
Luk 13:30  And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last.

This is truth.

The kingdom of heaven is not easily accessible, or rather, not evilly accessible.  It's only accessible through the righteousness of Christ.

Mat 23:13  But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.

Jesus said- WOE unto the scribes and Pharisees.
Jesus called them HYPOCRITES.

Hypocrites are those who act one way but are really another. The scribes and Pharisees were supposed to be closest to God and yet they were the farthest away.

Jesus said the scribes and Pharisees shut up the kingdom of heaven so people CAN'T go in, and neither can they.

Jesus said these supposed men of God did not even want any to go into the kingdom of heaven.

The kingdom of heaven shut up.

The kingdom of heaven denied to people.

The truth shut up.

Satan does NOT want any to enter the kingdom of heaven and he'll do ALL he can to see that as many as he can stop from entering, he will stop.

Is the kingdom of heaven open to you?

Do you want the truth?!

Do you want spiritual sight?!

It's not easy! It's not the broad way!

It's the narrow way, it's the strait way, it's the way of the CROSS for all!

Please Lord, help us to have only Your truth! Please  keep our spiritual sight intact. Please Lord, we don't want to be blind. Please Lord, let us enter the kingdom of heaven, we would be YOURS. Please, Lord, by Your GRACE, Your LOVE.

Please forgive us.

The Wedding

Mat 21:45  And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them.
Mat 21:46  But when they sought to lay hands on him, they feared the multitude, because they took him for a prophet.

Mat 22:1  And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables, and said,
Mat 22:2  The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son,
Mat 22:3  And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come.

Mat 22:4  Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage.

Mat 22:5  But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise:
Mat 22:6  And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them.

Mat 22:7  But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.

Mat 22:8  Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy.
Mat 22:9  Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage.

Mat 22:10  So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests.

Mat 22:11  And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment:
Mat 22:12  And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless.
Mat 22:13  Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Mat 22:14  For many are called, but few are chosen.

*******

The kingdom of heaven.

This is the place we all should be aspiring to obtain. The kingdom of heaven is our end game, so to speak. The kingdom of heaven is the ultimate prize. The kingdom of heaven is EVERYTHING we should be living for right now!

The kingdom of heaven is the end heralding a new beginning.

The kingdom of heaven is the end of a story where you know there is truly a happily ever after in such a way we can scarcely allow ourselves to imagine it.  We are taught to believe that happily ever after is merely a fairy tale, something that can NEVER be obtained, not ever. It's a fiction, a fantasy, an unreality, a simple story for children and fools. We hear it said that only fools believe in happy endings, and we hear it said that there are no happy endings.  There are a lot of sayings out there but only ONE truth.

The truth is- there really is a happily ever after and it is found solely in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior.

The truth is- many will be the ways that people are led astray and those ways make for a very broad road leading to everlasting death.

There is only ONE truth, but there are MANY lies.
There is a single narrow way, and a huge broad road.

Our Savior was telling the priests that the kingdom was lost to them because of their lack of love for the truth that can only be found in Him.  The priests knew this and wanted to shut Him up, but Jesus would not be shut up. The priests knew that the people were hanging on His every word of truth and they dare not publically try to stop Jesus from speaking.

The above parable of our Savior talks of a king who has prepared a wedding feast for his son. He calls all those invited to come to the wedding but they refuse, they refuse to the point that they actually kill those servants calling them to come to the feast. 

Imagine it for a moment-  invited to a glorious wedding for a king's son- refusing to go after being invited, refusing to go and hurting those who would invite you. The insult, the horrible affront to the king.  This isn't a wicked king, in fact in the parable we know that the king is the Heavenly Father and the Son is Jesus Christ our Lord.  God's chosen people, the Israelites, refused to believe, refused to have anything to do with Jesus Christ. To this very day there are Jews, and they hold fast to the fallacy  that Jesus was not God's Son.  They've rejected the Son, spurned the Father and they are rejected by the Father and Son. 

The servants in the parable are then told to go to others out in the street, those who weren't initially invited and bring them into the feast.  These are the gentiles, these are those who believe in Jesus Christ and listen to Him. These are those who listen to the truth from the Father. 

Then there is found one of those brought in that isn't wearing a wedding garment.

The wedding garment.

Rev 3:5  He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

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_19:8  And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

Clothed- in white raiment.
Buy of Christ- white raiment - to be clothed.
Arrayed in fine linen, clean and white.

We must all have CHRIST'S righteousness if we wish to be in the kingdom of heaven.

Zec 3:3  Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel.
Zec 3:4  And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment.

Our filthy garments must be taken from us, our sins must be taken from us and we must be clothed by our SAVIOR in the white robes of HIS righteousness.

The parable speaks of one at the feast without the wedding garments, without the raiment that is Christ's righteousness and that person was cast out. We cannot presume to enter into the kingdom of heaven of our own accord, we have no righteousness of our own. We MUST accept CHRIST'S righteousness as ours! 

It's only through Christ that we have any hope for the happily ever after that is TRUTH, found solely in Him.

There are plenty of lies for people to believe in, millions and millions of them, but there is only one truth- JESUS CHRIST, our LORD and SAVIOR.

May we be accepted of Christ, may we be found in Christ, may we be among those called to the feast from the highways and may we don the wedding garment of Christ's righteousness so that we may be with Him forever.

This is truth.

Christ is our salvation, our hope, our lives!

Please, Lord Jesus, please let us come to Your wedding feast fully clothed in the wedding garment You and You alone can give to us.  By YOUR grace! YOUR love! YOUR mercy forever! ALWAYS in YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS, our LORD and SAVIOR!

Harlots and Publicans in the Kingdom of Heaven

The harlots, the publicans will go into the kingdom first --

We all know what a harlot is- but do we know what a publican was?

Definition- In antiquity, publicans - were public contractors, in which role they often supplied the Roman legions and military, managed the collection of port duties, and oversaw public building projects. In addition, they served as tax collectors for the Republic (and later the Roman Empire), bidding on contracts (from the Senate in Rome) for the collection of various types of taxes.

Pasted from

Harlots were known sinners, and publicans as well were known for their less than honest dealings with people.

Read the following--

Mat 21:23  And when he was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority?

Jesus speaking with the chief priests and the elders of the people...

Mat 21:28  But what think ye?
A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard.
Mat 21:29  He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went.
Mat 21:30  And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not.
Mat 21:31  Whether of them twain did the will of his father?

Mat 21:31...  They say unto him, The first.

Mat 21:31... Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.

Mat 21:32  For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.

*******

The sinners believed, the so called righteous - the chief priests and elders of God's people did NOT believe. 

Here they are, those who are supposed to be the pillars of God's truth and they were rejecting the truth while others who were supposed to be the devil's own children were believing and accepting the truth.

It will not be those who profess godliness without any real truth in them that will be in the kingdom of God.  The kingdom is NOT going to be filled with pastors, preachers, priests, popes, ministers, deacons, bishops, elders, men and women who wear the mantle of a religious profession.  The kingdom of heaven is going to be filled with TRUTH SEEKERS and those truth seekers are not going to be caught up in the lies of so many religious professions. 

Those who seek truth, those who seek Christ will be in the kingdom of Christ. Those who set themselves us as being gods upon earth having authority over others, making up their own rules and laws, attributing to God so much that He never intended, setting up their own religions based upon lies, these people no matter who they are will NOT be in the kingdom of God. Their hearts are NOT with God, but on SELF!

The kingdom of God will be filled with those who comprehend their sinfulness and look to Christ for His forgiveness. These sinners will look to God for all things. These sinners will depend upon God for everything! These sinners KNOW they are nothing and Christ is everything! These sinners do NOT assume anything of themselves.  Christ is all in all!

Please Lord, be our all in all!

We are sinners, Lord, we need You, we need Your forgiveness. Help us to NEVER assume we are ever good enough, it is YOU and YOU alone who are righteous, You and You alone who are good. We cling to You Lord, we holdfast to You and pray You holdfast to us!  All by YOUR grace, Lord!  Forgive us, we are such awful sinners! Forgive us, Lord, please, forgive us. We would be with You in the kingdom, Your kingdom!

By YOUR LOVE!

The first shall be last, and the last shall be first

The world's standards of fairness are not God's.  If we desire God to be fair as we imagine fairness we are on the wrong path. 

Our idea of fairness means equality. And that equality means in the following parable the man complaining is right. Read the following about the Kingdom of Heaven...

Mat 20:1  For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard.
Mat 20:2  And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
Mat 20:3  And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace,
Mat 20:4  And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way.
Mat 20:5  Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise.
Mat 20:6  And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?
Mat 20:7  They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive.
Mat 20:8  So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first.
Mat 20:9  And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny.
Mat 20:10  But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny.
Mat 20:11  And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house,
Mat 20:12  Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day.
Mat 20:13  But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny?
Mat 20:14  Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee.
Mat 20:15  Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?
Mat 20:16  So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.

Do you see? The man said it's only fair they get paid more money, they worked longer, harder. They did work longer and harder, so do they deserve more? We want to say yes. But the truth was they agreed upon a set wage. That man was NOT cheated out of the agreed upon wage. They agreed to work for a penny and he gave them a penny.  What he agreed with the others really, truthfully was none of their concern.  They felt cheated when in truth there was no cheating at all. It wasn't any of their business if the man wanted to hire others and pay them the same. Their own selfishness demanded they resent someone working only a fraction of the length of time and getting the same pay. The cry, 'Not fair! Not fair!' ringing out loudly, and it would be the same today.  Would you feel the same resentment? Answer honestly.  Our flesh nature almost demands it.

The last shall be first.
The first shall be last.
Many will be called.
Few will be chosen.

The kingdom of heaven is like this man who hired laborers, many laborers and treated them all with fairness from the first hired to the last hired.

There is no special treatment in heaven. There will be no favored. The idea of such stuff is foreign to heaven.  It's our fleshy sinful nature that demands to be first, that demands special treatment, special consideration. We somehow think we deserve to be treated in certain ways and when we are not we cry out- NO FAIR! NO FAIR! 

We've been taught from our youth to indulge our selfishness. Maybe not in a deliberate way, but by society itself. 

Satan wants us self centered, self motivated, self indulgent, self absorbed, self obsessed, you get the picture.  As long as our minds are upon ourselves we are lost.

Christ came to save us, from the worst sinner to the least of sinners. Christ didn't come to find the most well behaved, Christ came to bring hope to the worst behaved.  Christ wanted all to have HOPE and that HOPE is found in HIM.

By His grace may WE find our hope in HIM. May we look to Him and only Him and not to ourselves. Please Lord, take our selfishness from us, teach us to be more like you.

All by YOUR LOVE, all by YOUR GRACE!

Who then can be saved?

Entering the kingdom of heaven. How many people would buy their way into heaven if they could? We've all watched, read, heard about the very rich using their riches to gain access to things those without riches could never have access to.  We've seen some of their grand palaces, we've heard tell about stores that are closed to all but that rich person, we've heard about rich people having a restaurant closed to all but their personal dining party. These things we've heard and seen in fictional movies portrayed are great shows of wealth. Many a movie has a plot where the rich use their money to buy things that are outrageous to most. Many a movie has created an envy in people to be rich so they too can enjoy such a lavish, powerful life. So when I ask, 'How many people would buy their way into heaven if they could?' The answer very truthfully would be if heaven were accessible by wealth many would give their life savings to buy their way in and most assuredly the rich and very rich would reserve their place in heaven.   Heaven is absolutely beyond any doubt inaccessible by riches. Not a single person will ever be able to buy their way into heaven. From the wealthiest person to the poorest, not a million dollars nor a single cent will buy entrance into the kingdom of heaven.  It's a sad truth that riches corrupt and many a rich person will try to buy favors from men of God, hoping those men of God will use their influence to help them into the kingdom. If a single man of God accepts any money in such a way you can be assured of one thing, that man of God is NOT a true man of God.

Riches will NOT buy entrance to the kingdom of heaven.

And Jesus said the following--

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.

Jesus' words.  So why would anyone ever want to be rich?! 

Why? If you're almost guaranteed NOT to gain entrance into the kingdom of heaven if you are rich, why would you seek riches? Why would you long for riches? Why would you strive to obtain them? Why would you mourn your inability to get them?

We've been conditioned to believe that the things of this earth matter more than anything else. We've been conditioned to believe that our lives are hard and thankless when we have to struggle for every penny. We are taught to long for the life free of worry over money and the things it can do for us.  We are taught to desire so much more than we have living a very simple life.  We are taught to pity those who have never once in their life ever gone on a trip away from their home. We are taught to pity the less fortunate because surely they live their entire lives just wanting to be rich. We are taught to feel awful for those who struggle just to eat, drink, have clothing, and a roof over their heads. Surely they have to want to live a life free of all that horrendous extremely, life threatening poverty.  No, I'm not saying we shouldn't feel pity for them and a desire to help the less fortunate, but in truth those who are poor are closer to the kingdom of heaven than any who have riches. 

Jesus could say that a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven because it's TRUTH.  The rich have their focus on earth not on the kingdom of heaven.  Their hearts are with their riches, not in heaven with Christ.

Jesus went on to say the following--

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.

Easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle (an IMPOSSIBILITY) than a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

Riches tie us to earth. Riches tie us to self and selfishness.

What did Jesus' disciples think of what Jesus said? --

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

They were AMAZED. Why? Because they understood that desire to be rich, to want riches, to aspire for riches, to envy the rich. All of that was a way of life they were brought up with. To look upon the rich as the favored, as those meant to be envied if not personally then envied simply for their wealth. That desire for wealth to ease life's burdens has been around for a very, very long time it's become a part of us. The disciples understood that and were amazed that Jesus would say that it's an impossibility for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.

Jesus responded--

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

ONLY God can give us entrance into the kingdom of heaven. 
Nothing we do, nothing we imagine we can do, no amount of money can buy us entrance into the kingdom of God.

Not that million dollars, not that single penny will give us that access. Riches from the greatest to the least will not give us heaven. Only God can give us heaven, only GOD and God alone! With God all things are possible, with men of their own accord nothing is possible when it comes to the kingdom of heaven.

We must be solely dependent upon God, upon our Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior!

So while we long for riches in what seems to be a natural way in our sinful flesh, we have to comprehend no amount of money in the entire world will give us the greatest treasure in existence- the Kingdom of God. 

Everything, absolutely everything in our lives except Christ and His love, the love He gives us to give others, is temporary to eternity.  The clothes we wear, the houses we live in, the treasure we reap upon earth all of them are only temporary and quite meaningless when it comes to eternity. 

We will have to answer for our stewardship of the money we do get. Do we want to spend our money on ourselves or on the things of Christ? It's so hard for us who live in such a materialistic existence, where our ease and pleasure is so important to us, to imagine not living as we do. Please LORD, help us to live for you and the things You would have us live for. Please LORD, we know that none of our riches mean a single thing unless we can use them for You, the greatest riches or the least riches, must be YOURS. Teach us to do with our money as YOU will, not as we will. Create a clean heart within us, by the power of the HOLY SPIRIT, please Lord let us be YOURS in all things! Help us! Satan would keep us as His, free us from HIM, make us YOURS, please LORD we believe, help our unbelief. Please Lord we will, help us keep our minds upon YOU always in all things! Please Lord, You and You alone can do what is impossible for us to do, we need You to do the impossible in us! Heal us! Help us be YOURS!

By YOUR GRACE LORD, by YOUR LOVE, YOUR MERCY, YOUR FORGIVENESS YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS! IN YOU LORD, ALL IN YOU!  All GLORY PRAISE AND HONOR UNTO YOU!