You Talking to Me? – Part 28

When you hear what you don’t like, the response is often, “You talking to me?”

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Genesis 1:3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 21, 24, 26, & 28 – And God said . . .

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Take a few moments and read Mark 10:17-31 before going on with today’s Second Miler.  In reading this passage, perhaps it will be easier to understand that Jesus did not live and minister from a poverty platform.  Think of this.  Rich men don’t come to poor men for the secrets of success.  In this passage, we see a rich young man coming to Jesus for the secrets of success.  He saw the success of Jesus, and it was obviously more than he had encountered on his own personal path to riches.  Think on that.

He came to Jesus.  He had all he wanted except eternal life.  Note closely the first two things that came from the mouth of Jesus.  This is not a quote, but a sound restatement.  Jesus said, (1) put God first, above all other; He is the pattern for life, and (2) go to the Word.  Do you see it?  God and His Word are the two most powerful elements one can use to walk in divine prosperity.    The rich young man’s response to Jesus was without hesitation. “All these have I observed from my youth.  At this point, there is another powerful truth to be seen here.  Having read the passage, you should see this clearly.  It was through the keeping of the commands of the Lord that the young man had already become rich.  But Jesus was not about to bankrupt him.  On the contrary, Jesus was about to make him 100 times richer than he had ever been.  Do you see what the young man was about to gain had he simply taken the step to receive eternal life?  It was a matter of fully yielded obedience to Jesus, or in simpler terms, it was a matter of Lordship.  Had he bowed his will to the will of the Lord, eternal life was waiting, along with the greatest life he had ever known.

When Jesus told him he lacked “one thing,” and then told him what that “one thing” was, the young man went away saddened by what he heard and grieved over the value of his earthly possessions.  We can see at that moment one of the most impactful “You talking to me?” moments anyone has ever faced.  It is only when the “deceitfulness of riches, the lusts of other things, and the cares of life” enter into us that we can be drawn down to a level of allowing a You talking to me?” moment to rule our lives over the commands of our loving God.  The “one thing” the young man lacked was not so much the failing to obey the Lord’s specific command, but a far greater issue.  Who was Lord in his life?  His riches, or Jesus.  What about you?  God is speaking to you.  Will you obey?  And, yes, I’m talking to you.

Manna for Today – Genesis 1; Psalm 119:89; Proverbs 4:20-23; Mark 11:22-26; Romans 3:4