50 Days to More

A Seven Week Campaign to Begin 2018

Week 1: Knowing the True Source of all Increase in Your Life

Day Five (1/11/18): The Promise of Jesus
Recommended Reading: Mark 10:17-30

Yesterday, we discussed that the story of Job teaches us that God is the God of double portion blessings. This is confirmed by the promise that Jesus gives us in Mark chapter 10. In this scripture, a young rich man asks Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus answers the rich man by essentially rifling off the Ten Commandments (which this rich man--who was Jewish--already knew. And of course Jesus knew this, but He was preparing to reveal the true Gospel to this man). The rich man proclaims that he has kept all of these commandments.

Of course, we know that it is impossible to always keep them all. In theory, we could keep the first nine (honor God, do not kill, do not lie, honor your parents, etc.), but the tenth commandment is different: Do not covet.

While the first nine commandments deal with actions and attitudes, this commandment goes much deeper into a person’s thoughts and feelings.

After the rich man says that he has kept all of the commandments, the following takes place:

“And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”
-Mark 10:21 ESV

Jesus did not tell the young rich man this because he had to sell his possessions in order to enter heaven. He said it because the young man was not willing to give up his riches in order to find salvation.

The point is not that riches are bad or even that the young man had to give everything to the poor. The point was to make the rich man examine himself to determine if he would be willing to do so. It is not a question about money, but a question of Lordship.

Is Jesus truly the Lord of our lives? If it came down to it, would we give up everything we own in order to spend eternity with Him? Do we love and believe Him enough to do it?

Further along in the scripture, Jesus is talking with His disciples (who were, by the way, wealthy men) about this encounter with the young rich man. Peter tells Jesus that he and the other disciples left everything and followed Him, just like Jesus asked the rich man to do. Jesus responds, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.” Mark 10:29-30 ESV

Many believe that this “hundredfold” blessing is referring to what our rewards will be in heaven. However, Jesus clearly says that those who leave everything behind for the sake of the Gospel will be receive a hundredfold in this time!

Today, be encouraged by the truth that Jesus taught us that God is a God of 100 times more! When we are responsive to his voice, obedient to his calling, and detached from our earthly possessions, we will see unfathomable increase in our lives!

“As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.” Matthew 13:23 (ESV)

Compiled by Christine Thompson
Taken from the Sermon Series “7 Steps to One Thousand Times More”
By Pastor Timothy Coats
Family First Church - Spring Hill, Florida