17 God Seems Far Away!
This small tract has been written to show believers why at times they have doubts about whether or not they are where they should be with God.
Jesus has given us a great deal of good advice about how to live a life that is pleasing to God, some of what He said was by way of commandment. I will deal with one of the most difficult commandments for humans to understand and do.
Giving Up All Our Possessions
"So therefore, no one of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.” Luke 14:33
This at first glance seems to be a “hard saying” but it is a must for all people to accept if they want to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. This principle is not often taught in the denominational churches today, and so it seems to be “a little over the edge.” At first glance it seems to be fanatical, but it isn’t, it is a distinct command of the one who was sent with no other purpose but to save us!
We were born into this world unregenerate and lost, this can be said another way by saying, we were born into this world selfish, very selfish! This is the main difference between a person who is regenerated and one who is unregenerate, “selfishness.” The Lord must deal with this, and He does in all of His teachings, especially His sermon on the mount.
Almost all of the time when a believer feels like they are at a distance from God you can be sure that they have recently exercised selfishness of some sort or the other.
A Few Other Scriptures That Confirm This Fact
Luke 12:33-34 "Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves purses which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near, nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Acts 2:44-45 And all those who had believed were together, and had all things in common; “And they began selling their property and possessions, and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need.”
Acts 4:32-35 “And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own; but all things were common property to them. And with great power the apostles were giving witness to the resurrection of the Lord
Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all. For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales, and lay them at the apostles' feet; and they would be distributed to each, as any had need.”
This wasn’t some wild sort of enthusiasm that took possession of the first believers; this was the Spirit and will of God that had taken possession of them. This was not only the birth of Christianity, but also the birth of a new type of God’s creation, a people void of selfishness! I have heard many preachers discussing the early Church and stating that they believe that it was all too enthusiastic, and they point out that it doesn’t happen today. It is true for the most part that it ended, but when it ended, so did the true witness of the true Church of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! What we see in the early chapters of the book of Acts is God’s pattern for the Church and for all believers! We have never known a time of such Spiritual power in the Church as took place at that time. Don’t allow any devil to tell you that what is going on today in the Church is superior to what had taken place in the early Church, because that is a lie!
Let’s examine what the Apostle Paul taught in Romans 12:1-2 “I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Notice the urgency in what he is saying, “I urge you therefore” he is urging us because of the importance of the issue. Also he uses the phrase “By the mercies of God” This phrase is used because the Apostle knows that if it wasn’t for the “mercies of God” we would never really do it. And what is it he wants us to do? To present our bodies as a “living and holy sacrifice” take note of the word “sacrifice”
1. Giving up what you want so that other people can have what they want.
2. Giving up or forfeiting something valuable for the sake of another person.
3. Destruction or surrender of something for the sake of someone else.
4. A loss entailed by giving up or selling something at less than its value.
5. To give up something that is valuable to you in order to help another person.
I used five different dictionaries to show the meaning of what the Apostle is saying. God is telling us in Romans 12:1-2 that we must give up our lives as a LIVING, HOLY, SACRIFICE.
This is not something new in the Gospel, for Jesus already commanded us to do this very thing in Matthew 16:24, Mark 8:34 and also here in Luke 9:23-24 And He was saying to them all, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it“ All three of the parallel Gospels have this command, Matthew, Mark, and Luke!
Denying our self is really what being a Christian is all about; without denying ourselves, we are no different than all of the unregenerate people of this world. God wants us to be a light in this very dark world that we live in. Matthew 5:13-18 "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how will it be made salty again? It is good for nothing anymore, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. (Jesus is saying that if we lose our savor, unconditional love, we are worthless!) "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. "Nor do men light a lamp, and put it under the peck-measure, but on the lampstand; and it gives light to all who are in the house”. "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill.” (This is the point of Jesus coming to reunite us in loving obedience toGod, our Father!) "For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter
or stroke shall pass away from the Law, until all is accomplished.”
Can you see that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is not a license to sin with impunity, but a license to be free from sin and to be a light to others that live in this very dark world?
Luke 12:15 And He said to them, "Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions."
Luke 12:33-34 "Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves purses which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near, nor moth destroys. "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
Acts 2:44-45 And all those who had believed were together, and had all things in common; “And they began selling their property and possessions, and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need.”
Acts 4:32-35 “And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own; but all things were common property to them. And with great power the apostles were giving witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all. For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales, and lay them at the apostles' feet; and they would be distributed to each, as any had need.”
The reason for Giving Up All Our Possessions
This command seems unfair in the beginning of our walk with God, but this is because of the deeply rooted selfishness that is embedded so very deep within our heart. Until the light of His glory shines into our hearts we will never even know that it is there.
It is very important that you see the depth of God’s love toward us, for it is this very love that draws us into a repentance that we shall never
repent of. “For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of but the sorrow of the world worketh death.”2 Corinthians 7:10
Look at what God has done for us, He created us, in the beginning, Holy beings, but our original father and mother Adam and Eve sinned, they fell from the high place of glory that God had ordained for them. When we are born we all choose to be in a state of consecrated selfishness, we do not have to be taught how to be selfish, selfishness is the natural choice of our lives until a humility that comes down from above is born within us.
As a rule we go about life unaware that we are so selfish, which is easy, because most of the people in this world, rich and poor, black or white, and every other color in between, are also naturally, very selfish. It matters not our nationality, we won’t yield to God, as a rule, until by some calamity we discover the wretched state that we are in. Sometimes by making a perfect mess of our lives, generally by running off our spouse or ruining a relationship with someone who is dear to us; or, perhaps by ruining ourselves financially, then we, with our pride temporarily shattered, turn an ear and perhaps even an eye in the direction of God.
God always has His ears and His eyes in our direction because of His great love with which He loves all of us. He only needs our permission to come into our life and perform His miracles of life, which can transform us into a perfect, living example of Jesus Christ.
God requires one great thing from us in order to perform His miracles of life, and this one thing is repentance, turning from our sin in shame and disgust, and wanting to be as Holy as our God is Holy! When we see our absolute need of God’s presence in our lives, we will call upon Him in truth and sincerity!
At this time, when we see the love of God in truth, we won’t want a “get-out-of-Hell-free card!” We will only be satisfied with the continual presence of God’s great love
in our lives. As 2 Corinthians 7:10 states “For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. We must all come into this state of Godly sorrow, for if we do, we have a promise from God, (and He never lies) that we will not repent of coming to God in this way. So very many people come to God for the wrong reasons; they are unhappy and want to be happy; they have very large problems that they know they cannot solve, and so they come to God; God fixes the problem, and then they don’t “need” God, and so return in their heart to the way they were before they came to God! They may continue for a while going to Church and talking the talk, but, now their heart is not in it.
We must acquire this Godly sorrow; we must see that our choices and our way of life are not good. God is everything, He is just, He is love, He is mercy, He is gentleness, He is patience, He is meekness, He is humility, He is faithfulness, He is. . . I could go on and on, but I think you get the picture.
This is the last part of God’s work in our lives while we are here on earth, to bring us into a consecrated life, a life lived for others as Jesus Christ demonstrated everyday He lived here on earth. He lived for God’s glory and the redemption of mankind. He is truly our example. 1 Peter 2:21-24 “For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.” This Scripture clearly shows us the will of God for our lives, “For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps.” Peter had another thought on God’s will for our lives and it is this; 1 Peter 4:1-2 Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. Prayerfully read these Scriptures again starting with 1 Peter 2:21. Allow God’s Spirit to speak to you; He will, if you allow Him to! (Prayer is so very important!)
We must be fruitful, it is God’s will for our lives; for just as God loves you and is at this very moment trying to redeem, fulfill or consecrate and bless you, He also wants to do this for everyone, and He wants you, after you have been filled with His Spirit, to live for the same purpose that Christ lived for, to seek the lost and introduce them to the Lord of glory, Jesus Christ. You must see God’s purpose for your life as the most important and never allow any other purpose in your life but this, to be about your Father’s business and live as a Holy vessel completely filled with the presence of God.
Why We Must Give Up All Of Our Possessions
Our hearts and minds must be on the things above, not on the things of this earth. Colossians 3:1-17 “If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory. Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. For it is on account of these things that the wrath of God will come, and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them. But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circum-cised and
uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all. And so, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also
should you. And beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father”
Let go of every thing your eyes can see, for they are of this earth, earthy, and really worthless in comparison with the things that are above. If you don’t do this you will never be fruitful in God’s Kingdom. Selfishness wants to have everything for itself; love wants others to receive. Don’t hold on to a bag of garbage and have your hands so full that you can’t hold on to God’s Kingdom, for this would be a great mistake! Fix your eyes on things above!
Luke 13:6-9 . . ."A certain man had a fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it, and did not find any. "And he said to the vineyard-keeper, `Behold, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree without finding any. Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground?' "And he answered and said to him, `Let it alone, sir, for this year too, until I dig around it and put in fertilizer; and if it bears fruit next year, fine; but if not, cut it down.'"
Are you like this fig tree? How many years has it been since you professed a relationship in Christ? (The Vine) God has, and is doing everything in order for you to bear fruit, When will He say of you CUT IT DOWN!