Needful Things
We live in a finite world where there are many losses in a lifetime. The older we get the more losses we experience… we lose loved ones, houses, friends, possessions, and jobs. While there are many things that cause us to suffer in this life, all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to his purpose. We can either look back on our lives with regret or with thankfulness for the lessons we have learned. And not only so, but we glory in tribulation also, knowing that tribulation worketh patience, and patience experience, and experience hope because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the holy spirit which is given to us. Sometimes the times of greatest loss are the times of the greatest deliverance. In Matthew 10:39 Jesus said,”He that loses his live for my sake shall find it.”
In John Chapter 6 the question is, “is Christ sufficient?” Needful things… If we’re needy, what is it that we really need. The context of John 6 changes the upbeat mood of the story from those who followed Jesus as the “rock star” of his day, to a more somber mood that Jesus’ true purpose was to be crucified and for God to raise him from the dead. Your attitude about life will determine the flag under which you serve. What is the cost of following Jesus and what will life be like as a follower of Christ? Many of his followers forsook him when Jesus told them about his suffering and death. Jesus warned about the impending crises that his followers would face. In Matthew 24:9 when his disciples asked Jesus about the signs of the times, he answered that they would have to pay a heavy price… they would be persecuted and martyred for being his disciples and hated by all nations because of Christ. There is always a spiritual battle behind the earthly battle. The flame of the spirit of the church of God has been fueled by the blood of Christian martyrs throughout the history of his Church. What’s important is that the gospel of deliverance is spread. However, in the last times, many shall fall away from the faith and false prophets shall deceive many. The one who stands firm to the end shall be saved… He who endures shall be delivered. Jesus set the bar so high that no one could follow… that salvation would not be through our own futile efforts, but only by his grace alone by faith alone through Christ alone. The key to deliverance is that even though there is suffering in this life, Jesus Christ who knew no sin sacrificed his life on our behalf so that we may be made the righteousness of God in him. For I have been crucified with Christ nevertheless I live, yet not I but Christ liveth in me… therefore, my life is hid with Christ in God.
What endures in this life? If you attach your identity to things that are here today and gone tomorrow, life will be an exercise in frustration. Where are your going in life? If you have no destination, you’re never lost. Jesus said, “I am the way the truth and the life, no man cometh to the father but by me.” As the Apostle Paul said, “I press toward the mark of the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
After Jesus spoke to his followers in John 6, and many of his followers left him, Jesus said to his disciples, “are you all-in?” Many said, “I’d rather follow the world and my own comfort than give up everything to follow you.” The hard questions expose the idols in life. Are we really willing to trust in God by following our Lord Jesus Christ? Are we willing to endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ? In the sermon on the mount, Jesus said, “lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth where moth and rust corrupts, but rather lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, for where your treasure is, there shall your heart be also.”
Is anything in your life too precious to give up to follow Christ? The first of the ten commandments says, “Thou shalt have no other Gods before me.” Literally this verse means that God said “you shall have no other gods between your face and my face.” Do your children, your wife, your job or your possessions come between you and God? Jesus said, whosoever loses his life for my sake shall find it. The most penetrating question is “Would you worship and praise me no matter the consequences in this life?” In order to worship God, we must put our most valuable possession upon the altar. Lordship means that all I have is thine. To confess that Jesus is Lord means that I am his and he is mine. My times are in thy hands. Life is much easier when you give up and give it away… Despite the trials and tribulations of this world, take my life and let it be consecrated Lord to thee… Needful things: are you all in? As John the Baptist said, “I must decrease that he may increase.” You can have all this world, just give me Jesus. All I need is thee…
May God richly bless you,
Your brother in Christ,
Michael