St Matthew, Chapter 19, verse: 22b, The commandments: Having great possessions.

Our paragraph topic is:  (The rich young man speaks to Jesus) Part 16.

And now we come to the culmination of this paragraph topic, the rich man speaks to Jesus.  He came because he wanted to know.  He had conquered all the experiences of his time, having the freedom to do as he pleased.  Yet within all that he had accomplished he still desired something more.  He had a hunger within.  He had a hole that needed to be filled.  He had yet to find anything in this world that could fill it.  He had riches.  He had opportunity.  He had freedom to do all that his wealth allowed.  Yet he did not have the fulfillment that enlightenment brought.

He sought Christ because he heard the word.  He sought Christ because the word opened the door to his heart and stirred something within him.  He sought Christ because that which was within pointed him in the direction of Christ to get the answers.  And when he found Christ he was given answers.  Keep the commandments he was told.  That he did, but that was not enough to fill the hunger.  If he wanted to be perfect he was given other tasks to complete.  Sell what he had.  Give to the poor and have treasure in heaven.  And then, to reach that perfection, come and follow Christ to fill the hunger within.  When he heard the words he was filled with sorrow and sadness.  "He went away sad, for he had great possessions."

He had great possessions.  Much had he acquired in his lifetime even though he was a young man, he had great possessions.  Typical of what we aspire to have today is great possessions.  We want much riches, cars, beauty, good health, love, passion, power, beautiful homes, travel, fine clothes, fine wines, fine men or women in our lives.  All these are the things that we aspire to have today.  Is it wrong to want these things?  Is it wrong that we see and feel the desires of our hearts?  Is it wrong for us to want what is given to us to have?  After all we see these things presented to us everyday.  We are given to want these things because others have them and they tell us that we should want them also.

Great possessions are the things that are plugged into our brains daily.  Yet it is those same possessions that possess us.  It is the desire, the passion, the need, that drives us that consumes us, that possess us in our every waking thought and deed that lead us to the destination that we seek.  Some succeed in that goal.  Most do not.  What must we do to obtain that goal?  Or is that goal something that we truly want or desire?  Thousands of potential actors, singers, comedians, and performers grow up seeking to be the stars of today.  Yet only a handful succeed in reaching that goal.  And what are the consequences that are paid to obtain that goal?  What price do they pay to be number one? 

The rich young man had an opportunity.  He had an opportunity like nothing else that he had experienced in his life.  He had the opportunity to become a follower of Christ, to become a disciple.  Yet he had possessions.  He had great possessions.  And those possessions had a hold of him.  He could not find a way to let them go.  He was blinded by the glitz and glamour of death.  For all that is physical leads to death.  And all that is spiritual leads to life.  What is the dollar but ink on paper?  What is gold but a shimmering rock?  All that we are given to value in this world does not give life but death.  And there is nothing in this physical world that will give life except that which is life. 

Christ came that we would have life and have it more abundantly.  We are the life that he has given us if we only are able to see it, to feel it, to know it, to be it.  We are given death in the disguise of life, but life is within us and not from outside.  Life is the light that is within us.  It is the essence of that which Christ gave to us.  It is the light of life that results from the spirit within.  I am the spirit and not the physical.  I am the light within and not the body.  I am the life of the spirit and not the darkness of death.  For I know the truth of who I am in Christ and so can you.  I know the consolation of the Spirit and so can you.  I know the protection and the provision of the Father and so will you.  Come!  Know the truth of who you are in the spirit and see the life that is within you. 

Read the sign of the times! Read the Highlighted New Testament Bible and lift the scales from your eyes that you may see, that you may know, that you may find the truth of who you are in Christ. Read it as though you would read a good book, from cover to cover, and see for yourself. Do not study it in parts reading one passage and then skipping to another, but read it for understanding. Read it for knowledge. Read it for faith. Read it that your eyes may be opened, that your ears may hear, that your heart may be filled with the light of Christ. The Holy Spirit awaits you. Christ seeks to know you.  Open the door and let him in.  

St Matthew, Chapter 19, verse: 21c, The commandments: If thou wilt be perfect, come, follow me.

Our paragraph topic is:(The rich young man speaks to Jesus) Part 14.

Christ looks into the rich young man and sees something that is seeking fulfillment.  He see the heart of the young man.  He sees the soul of the young man.  He sees the desire of the young man to have something that he has not found before.  So Christ instructs the young man on how he can fulfill the longing desire that burns within.  He tells the young man to sell what he has to unburden that which possesses him.  He tells the young man to rid himself that which has a hold upon him.  Finally he tells the young man to give what he has sold to the poor that he himself may become poor in spirit.

Following these instructions will free the young man from the physical bonds that enslave the spirit within him and open his mind and heart to the truth of who he is.  For without an awakening one remains a slave to the flesh.  Christ tells the young man that if he completes these tasks he will have treasure in heaven.  He will have riches far beyond what this earth can offer.  Now to complete the journey to spiritual awakening he gave the young man one last instruction.  Jesus said to him,"And come, follow me."

What would you do if Christ came to you and said: "Come, follow me?"  If Christ told you to sell all that you had, give it all to the poor and follow him, what would you do, what would you think, what would you say?  For many of us, we see this as a hypothetical question because we believe that this would never happen.  We would believe that we would never see Christ in our lifetime, only after death will we have that opportunity.  Would we follow?  Would we go and do as was asked of us?  Would we hesitate and think about what we are being asked to do? 

Of course we would.  This is our nature.  We are two feet in the world and nothing in the spirit.  We believe that we have a father and that our God will protect us and provide for us.  We believe that if we follow the prescriptions that are given us, go to church, pray, give to the poor, do some services in our church, and act as Christians then we will be saved.  And this is the truth.  But there is more to be had.  There is more to be known.  There is more to understand.

Christ gave the young man the opportunity that is not offered to anyone in a lifetime.  He offered to teach the young man first hand the ways of the spirit, to instruct in the reality of the truth of the heavenly kingdom.  He offered to open the mind and the heart of the young man that he would know the wisdom of the kingdom of heaven that has not been revealed to ordinary people.  And this is the gift that is given to us today if we seek it.  For if we desire to know, desire to see, desire to be with the spirit, it will avail itself to us.  The spirit will come to us and be with us and provide for us like we can never provide for ourselves. 

For with his consolation we can know, within ourselves, the truth of the kingdom.  With the consolation of the spirit we can rejoice in the presence of the Advocate.  With the consolation of the spirit we can live a life without the fear and anxiety, disappointment and depression, hatred and lust.  With the consolation of the spirit we can live a life without succumbing to the temptations that will turn us against the commandments of our Father.  The Holy Spirit will reveal the wisdom and knowledge of ages as we practice perfect patience in the trust of our Father.  For we can now be certain of who we are and who we belong to.  And in that certainty comes the foundation of the faith and the hope and the knowledge of who we are, spiritual, not physical beings.

Can you follow?  Do you want to follow?  Do you seek the burning desire to know?  Have you tried all else and failed to succeed?  The desire for success in the world and the failure to achieve it, is the plan of the world that seeks to change who we are.  But the desire of the heart to know the truth of who you are is the plan of the Father to bring you back to his loving arms.  Come!  Follow me, is the cry!  Open the heart and seek the treasure that is within you and let not the world corrupt the treasure that is within.

Read the sign of the times! Read the Highlighted New Testament Bible and lift the scales from your eyes that you may see, that you may know, that you may find the truth of who you are in Christ. Read it as though you would read a good book, from cover to cover, and see for yourself. Do not study it in parts reading one passage and then skipping to another, but read it for understanding. Read it for knowledge. Read it for faith. Read it that your eyes may be opened, that your ears may hear, that your heart may be filled with the light of Christ. The Holy Spirit awaits you. Christ seeks to know you.  Open the door and let him in.

St Matthew, Chapter 19, verse: 5, One Flesh

Our paragraph topic is:  (The question of divorce) Part 3. 

The Creator had a plan.  The Creator had a purpose.  The Creator gave them life and called them male and female.  And they were made for each other and not against each other.  So why do we have divorce?  Why do we have separation?  Why do we not live together as The Creator meant for us to be from the beginning?  Have you not read it?  Have you not heard it?  Have you not believed in it?

He was the one who gave marriage to us.  He was the one who first instituted bonding.  He was the one who made us male and female that we should be together for a purpose.  But today we live not for his purpose but for our own purpose.  And if our own purpose does not work then we divorce, we separate, we get a legal and judicial breaking apart contrary to what we were created for.  Yet he created us for one purpose, male and female.  "For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh?"

One flesh!  One body!  One mind!  Two spirits!  But we do not know who we are.  We do not know the spirit within.  We have no knowledge of what The Creator made.  So we only know the flesh.  We only know what we see, feel, taste, and smell.  And it is in that physical knowledge that we are trapped.  For we reside in the knowing of the mind and not of the spirit.  We believe in the physical and not the spiritual.   

Taught from childhood, reinforced throughout life, we know the physical.  We are given the desires of the flesh, the aspirations of the world, the beliefs, desires, dreams, and passions of the physical with no knowledge of the spiritual being that we are.  We are loosed into the world to struggle with the tricks and traps of evil.  For evil seeks to kill us.  Evil seeks to possess us.  Evil seeks to have us do evil.  We become evildoers and do the bidding of evil. 

Father, hold my hand and don't let go.  Father, Hold the hands of all your children and keep them from evil.  For we are lost.  We are asleep.  We are without the knowledge that opens our minds, our ears, and our hearts that you may heal us.  We are in the world and the world is around us.  We know not.  We hear the Word but it is stolen from us.  It is choked before it can bear fruit.  It is given to us but we have no roots for it to take hold.  And we become lost. 

Help us to know you, Father, that we may know ourselves.  For you are our source, our life, our joy, our happiness, our fulfillment.  We are male and female.  Help us to know your purpose that we may fulfill your will. 

Read the sign of the times! Read the Highlighted New Testament Bible and lift the scales from your eyes that you may see, that you may know, that you may find the truth of who you are in Christ. Read it as though you would read a good book, from cover to cover, and see for yourself. Do not study it in parts reading one passage and then skipping to another, but read it for understanding. Read it for knowledge. Read it for faith. Read it that your eyes may be opened, that your ears may hear, that your heart may be filled with the light of Christ. The Holy Spirit awaits you. Christ seeks to know you. Open the door and let him in. 

St Matthew, Chapter 14, verses: 15, The Needs of the people: The Disciple's inability.

Our paragraph topic is: (Hunger of the crowd) Part 2.   

And the people were lost.  The people needed a leader.  John the Baptist was beheaded by Herod and Christ was there to fulfill their needs.  For when he arrived from the boat, the people were waiting.  The people were in need.  The people had come from all around to hear his words, to see his face, to be near him that they may be comforted.  For chaos had come.  Fear had come.  Doubt had come since the word spread of the murder of John the Baptist.  For John was their beacon.  John was their voice.  John was their inspiration for the things that were to come.  John baptized the people.  John called the people to repent.  John told the people of the coming of the Messiah.  And then he was gone.

And Christ came ashore and saw the crowds.  And Christ came ashore and saw the people waiting.  And Christ came ashore and saw the need in the hearts of the men, women, and children. And Christ came ashore and he cured the sick that they may believe.  But then the disciples came, the disciples that followed Jesus and knew of his teachings.  But then the disciples came, the disciples that knew of the power and majesty of Christ.   But then the disciples did not know.  The disciples did not see.  The disciples did not understand the truth of the Christ they followed.  For they were concerned about the people.  They were concerned about the needs of the people that they did not believe that they could fulfill.  They did not understand that they followed Christ who could fulfill all needs.  They did not understand that they followed a Christ who was the fountain of satisfaction.  They did not understand that they followed a Christ that was filled with the spirit of fulfillment and they did not know.

So they came, with their concerns of their own needs for feeding the people.  They did not believe.  They did not understand.  Their needs were pressing upon them so they brought them to Christ.   Now when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying, "This is a desert place and the hour is already late; send the crowds away, so that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food."

So often today we see the same scene repeating itself.  Many, come to a place of spiritual worship, seeking.  They come seeking hope.  They come seeking faith.  They come seeking relief.  They come seeking truth.  They come, with their needs, seeking fulfillment.  And what do they find?  They find momentary relief.  They find momentary hope.  They find momentary faith.  But they do not find lasting peace, they do not find lasting fulfillment.  For we do not give them what they seek.  We only give them a daily piece of bread, we give them something that will only last for a moment.  For we do not know.  We do not understand.  We do not believe that Christ is our satisfaction.  Man is not our satisfaction.  Pastor is not our satisfaction.  Priest is not our satisfaction.  Apostle, nor preacher, nor minister, nor anyone can be our satisfaction.  God is our satisfaction and through Christ we have the opportunity to find eternal satisfaction, eternal peace.  But man does not lead us to Christ.  Man turns us to himself.  

Preach the gospel!  Preach the word!  Tell all the nations about the Christ who came down from heaven to save the world.  Be the shepherd!  Lead the people!  But where do you lead them?  Do you lead them to the church?  Do you lead them to the synagogues?  Do you lead them to the temples, the places of worship?  Resoundingly, we say yes.  But why do they still need?  Why do they return again and again to hear the same sermons, the same preachings, the same words without having some relief.  Christ saw the need in the people.  Christ knew the satisfaction that would fill the hole in their hearts.  Christ was their need.  If you do not know Christ how can you lead someone to him?  If you do not know Christ how can you show someone how to find him?  If you do not know Christ how can you tell someone how to find the satisfaction they seek?  If you do not know Christ how can you demonstrate hope and faith and love?  Is Christ in you?  Can you show the people the way to Christ.  Words will not get them there.  Only your example of knowing him will show the people the way to their satisfaction.  If you do not now the way how can you lead?