You Still Lack One Thing

Text: Luke 18:22 (KJV)

Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing; sell all that thou hast, distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.

No man is complete because there is always something missing. We all still have an aspect of us that needs help, this is because we are not perfect, but we can tend towards perfection through Jesus. We just need to accept His help. In our text of today, we can see that the rich man had everything, but a time came when he realized that there was an empty place like a vacuum in his life, so he went to the Good Master for help. Psalms 23:1- The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. It is in God's supply that all our needs are satisfied. Think about it; there is only one instruction we need to follow to meet our needs. We ask the same question today in our lives, family, the world at large etc. WHAT CAN WE DO TO INHERIT THE KINGDOM? Do you have an answer? To enjoy a good life or a God-centered kind of life, there is a principle we must keep, which is obedience. It is one little key we must apply to experience a fullness to that vacuum. Certain times, the steps or the instructions given to us are not convenient, and we miss a lot. For instance, the case of Naaman, who had leprosy and the little maid who was God’s tool was used to save him from his illness all because of obedience, and it became a great miracle. Who would have ever thought so? What God is demanding from us might be little but sacrificial; all we need to do is to have absolute obedience to His word.

Matthew 6:19- Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal. For the rich man, he was terribly sad because the instruction given was not what he had expected, so he missed a great opportunity. He held unto his riches and the wealth which he had gotten from the world, and he missed a lot, so do not hold unto those things that will take you away from God so tight because you will eventually have difficulty letting it go to serve the Master. Instead, live a life so free that as God gives you instructions, you will be able to obey completely without holding anything back. What we overlook might be the key to our turnaround, so be very alert! The rich man was so attached to his materialistic things, he even kept the most difficult laws, but he could not imagine him selling all his goods to the poor will be his instruction to solve his emptiness. I pray that God will help us not to be attached to materialistic and worldly things to the point of not letting go easily in Jesus name.

We need to learn to have a kingdom based investment. 1Timothy 6:17- Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy. In this scripture, we learn that we should first acknowledge that all we have is from God. Once that is done, it makes it easy for us to offer everything back to Him, because in the end, he will supply again, even more, that you gave to Him. Pride makes us feel like we have kept all the commandments, but that is a lie. For the rich ruler, he said he has kept all from his youth, that was his beginning of pride, but God still forgave him and gave him another privilege by telling him to sell everything and follow Him, which is very amazing. Remember, our self-righteousness is the opposite of God's righteousness. Our self-righteousness is like filthy rags that will soon fade away like a wind. We assume we have done all we need to do, but the truth is that we cannot earn our way to heaven by relying solely on the good deeds we did. The good news is that you and I still have a chance to the victory lane, we just need to obey completely. God's yoke is easy, and his burden is light, so do not be too quick to conclude when we have done a good job. I pray God will help us to still see and do that one thing lacking in Jesus name.

PRAYER POINTS:

1.        Father, please show me the area where I still lack in my walk with you, so as to amend my salvation experience, in Jesus name.

2.        God, build in us a new capacity to absolutely obey and not be sorrowful or sad when given a new key, in Jesus name.

3.        God, may we always give willingly and sacrificially at all times, in Jesus name.

ACTION QUOTE: Do you know that, if that situation has not changed that is because there is still one thing you have not done right?