Possessing Nothing
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In The Beginning
In The Beginning
When God create us, he made us the Garden of Eden, he made us so many things that were meant for usefulness, sustenance and our pleasure. They were made for our use, to be external to us, and subservient to us.
But how often are the “things” around us actually over us, and we subservient to them? Quite often we find ourselves in the pursuit of things, chasing our own happiness, but in reality our desire for possessions actually possess us.
When I was thinking about what to preach on today, I was listening to another sermon here in church, but I was distracted and a verse came to mind and struck me that that’s the verse I should preach on, because I had never really heard a message on it before. When I started my research and writing, I made so many false starts, as there were just so many ways you could tackle this, that I have ended up having a number of verses that I will use as the center of this message.
The first is Matthew 5:3
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
And this is where we start. Hopefully I can use this scripture to God’s glory and bring something to you that I feel is important in our day and age.
Before the Fall
Before the Fall
When man was first created, God was on the throne of our hearts, and he dwelt within us. He was first. He was inside and all the “things” were on the outside which he had showered on us in the Garden of Eden.
When sin entered, it produced complications and all those “things” that were once external to us for our use, became the potential source for the ruin of our souls. Our troubles began when God was forced out of the central place in our hearts and the world was allowed to enter, and the things of the world fight for crown God once held in our hearts.
Our True Nature
Our True Nature
Jesus always probed at the true nature of things, and the sermon on the mount probes the inner being of our nature. To be poor in spirit runs in contrast to what is hidden in our sinful hearts, and true to the nature of the word, the truth will cut deep to the true intentions of our hearts, Hebrews 4:12
12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
It has to cut deep. Have you ever used a blunt knife? Its useless unless you get a better one. A butter knife can never do the job. And we as stubborn people who are rooted in our sins and our possession, the Word of God is powerful enough to show the way to Christ who can show us the way into His rest. If you read Chapter 4 it talks about entering the rest of God which is tied to the obedience to Him.
The writer says essentially that the word needs to be alive to us, to be mixed with the faith of those who hear it to have any profit and to enter His rest. Unfortunately the heart of man is deceitful, and often we deceive ourselves of the things that are truly of worth and profitable towards a life of contentment.
I believe possessing Christ and apprehending (or understand and perceive) Him should be a our goal, not the things on earth.
The New King James Version Chapter 3
Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
15 Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. 16 Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind.
Our Citizenship in Heaven
17 Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern. 18 For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: 19 whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame—who set their mind on earthly things. 20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.
The Heart of Man
The Heart of Man
Jeremiah 17:9
9 “The heart is deceitful above all things,
And desperately wicked;
Who can know it?
In the heart of man there is a tough fibrous root of fallen life whose nature it is always to possess, and covets things with a fierce passion. I find myself always thinking I am always going to find fulfillment in that one pursuit, that one purchase, but each time I buy the item I want, the fulfillment lasts a mere moment, generally until you get it out of the packet, or if you are lucky a few days afterwards. In the words of Solomon, who should know, Eccl 1:2
2 “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher;
“Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.”
He goes on to describe that the grasping after the things of this world is grasping after the wind. Yet we continually strive for these things to what end? Matthew 6:20-21 speaks to me so more profoundly than ever before, and again in Matthew 11:30
20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
We have the answers, and by the mercy of God, he gave it to us in written form, and it is trust worthy and is sure. We need to enter His rest, and stop busying our minds with whats on earth, because does it really matter that much?
Getting to the Root of Things
Getting to the Root of Things
There has been a substitution that started in the Garden of Eden. Gods Gifts now takes the place of God. Things are our master, and this tyranny of things over us the Lord referred to when he said to His disciples in Matthew 16:24-25
24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
A.W Tozer broke this down in one of his books. He said that Christ referred to the “self” and “life”, or self-life, and the most defining aspect of this is possessiveness, and yet to let this possessiveness rule our lives, is to ultimately lose everything. For if we gain this world, even a small part of it, in the end we die and lose all. If we gain Christ, and Christ only, we not only find life, but we gain everything. To be poor in spirit is to have the inward state of that of a beggar, for we are beggars at the foot of the cross for the salvation only found in Him. Christ, the creator of all impoverished himself to become human, to not have anywhere to lay his head as Luke said in Luke 9:58
58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”
Maybe the woman in Matthew 15:25-27a had the attitude we should all have. Don’t you think we act like spoiled children sometimes? Did we deserve such love, grace and mercy from someone so great?
25 Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, help me!”
26 But He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.”
27 And she said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.”
The blessed people who posses the kingdom of heaven are those who have an inward state of rejecting earthly possessions. That is not to say we don’t have anything, but that the things we do have do not control our lives, and that they do no not take the place of God.
They have broken the yoke, but not by fighting, but by surrendering all to Christ Jesus to take his Yoke, for it is light and it is easy. This is the Grace of God through Jesus Christ.
An Old Testament Example
An Old Testament Example
As is often the case, a New Testament principle finds its best illustration in the Old Testament.
The Story of Abraham and Isaac
The Story of Abraham and Isaac
Abraham was old enough to be Isaac’s grandfather when he was born, and at once his son became the delight and idol of his heart, and an eager love slave of his son. When God first asked him to take Isaac there, he even acknowledges his love for him in Genesis 22:1-2
1 Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!”
And he said, “Here I am.”
2 Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”
Its understandable that a father has so much joy in their children. Isaac represented to him everything he held dear: the promises of God. He is also the son of promise and through Sarah his wife. As Abraham watched his son grow from a baby into a young man I can imagine that his heart came closer and closer bound to Isaac’s possibly to the point where it became dangerous.
Then God steps in to test Abraham’s faith, and asks something that will test any parent. I wonder how many of us would have passed that test? It is easy to pass tests when one knows exactly what the answer is. God was testing Abraham’s faith in His character, but at the same time testing what Abraham held more dear, the things of God, or the things given by God. Job found this out,
The New King James Version Chapter 1
Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped. 21 And he said:
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
And naked shall I return there.
The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away;
Blessed be the name of the LORD.”
22 In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong.
It would have been much easier to give his own life, as any parent would, and for him, he had already lived a full life. I don’t think we understand exactly what must have gone through Abraham’s mind. This was a real winnowing the wheat from the chaff. Yet was chafe when some comparably small tests are sent our way. I am guilty of this, and I have been guilty of being angry with God lately because I don’t sleep as well anymore...
I think Abraham trusted God in the end, that after killing his Son, that God would raise him from the dead, and while not correctly deducing God’s methods, correctly deduced God’s heart, for he never meant to even harm Isaac, but gave a substitutionary sacrifice in a beautiful picture of what Christ would one day do for us. It also brings to life Matthew 16:25
The New King James Version Chapter 16
For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
It is so wonderful to then read Genesis 22:16-18 to see the heart of God, that when we give all up to Him, he blesses us abundantly
16 and said: “By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son—17 blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. 18 In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”
Abraham now was a man totally surrendered to God who was utterly obedient and possessed nothing. God could have worked on the margins of his life and worked inwards, but chose to cut quickly and have a quick and sharp separation.
It might seem cruel, but He practiced economy of method and time, because who knows what may happen to us?
Abraham possessed nothing, but wasn’t this poor man rich? Everything he owned was still his to enjoy, he had everything but possessed nothing. After his experience, I’ll bet the words me and mine never held the same meaning. The sense of possession was gone from his heart, and they were external to his heart.
Conclusion
Conclusion
There is no doubt that possessiveness is one of the most harmful habits in life, and is rarely recognized for the evil that it is, and we often don’t give up our treasures to the Lord for fear of their safety, especially when those treasures are our loved ones. We need not have this fear, for the Lord is good, full of mercy and faithfulness. Everything is safe that we commit to Him.
Everything we have is on loan from him, including our gifts and talents. We can all recognize the symptoms in ourselves, so what do we do?
We should put away all our defenses, and no excuses for yourself and come before the Lord. Whoever defends himself only has himself for defense. If you come before the Lord defenseless then Christ will be your defender. Take all things out of your hear and then let Christ reign in there in power. Name all those things in your heart one by one. If we want to know God more intimately, this path of giving things up is the path we must walk.
24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
Now for the verse that lead me here: Matthew 10:37
37 He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.
This is my possession, I love my wife and daughter, sometimes I think more than God. Like any message, the preacher is part of that message, I cannot preach to you what I can’t preach to myself. I hope this has been encouraging and uplifting. I have found the journey here to be rewarding, but now I need to make this real in my life too.
Let us Pray
Father, I want to know you and your rest and peace. My mind is filled with worries and concerns about the future. Help me rest in you and know you have it in control. My heart is scared and cowardly of giving up what it holds. Help me part with this world in exchange for you, and let my heart be directed heavenward. Take all the things i possess from my heart and may you enter there in their place without rival, and help us to be poor in spirit and possess nothing. I Jesus name, Amen.