Destined To Reign – Part 12 – One Thing You Lack

Dear friends,



Are you struggling to live the Christian life today? Your rest is found at the cross of Jesus. If you want to find an effortless success, then, realize that it is no longer about you doing this or that right. It is about depending on what Jesus has done for you. Look at what man’s own doing has produced. Has any good come from his own effort to keep the law of Moses? When man boasted in the law, the next thing we saw was a golden calf.



God’s goodness Leads Us To Repentance



Some people argue that we have to preach God’s law and His judgment, or there will be no repentance from the people. My friend, God’s heart is never to condemn. Most people want judgment, but God wants mercy. The Bible says that “the goodness of God leads to repentance” (Romans 2: 4). Do you know how Jesus transformed a foul-mouthed fisherman like Peter? Being a fisherman, Peter was probably a very rough guy. So how did Jesus bring him to his knees? Was it by preaching a hard sermon on the law of Moses? No! Jesus blessed Peter with a boat-sinking, net-breaking load of fish, and when Peter saw God’s goodness, he bowed down at Jesus’ feet and said, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” (Luke 5: 8) Now, pay a close attention here. Which came first – Peter’s repentance or the goodness of God? Clearly, the goodness of God came first. It is truly the goodness of God that leads us to repentance!



Nevertheless, there are still people who insist that we have to preach on repentance. Well, I disagree! I think we should do it God’s way – preach the goodness of God and allow the goodness of God lead people to repentance. Such repentance will be true repentance. It will not be a repentance that is motivated by the fear of judgment and indignation. It will be a genuine repentance that is motivated by His grace, unconditional love, and compassion. After all, our ability to love God stems from our first tasting His love for us. It is when we experience His love for us that we can respond with our love for Him. The Bible says, “We love Him because He first loved us.” (1 John 4: 19)



Do you know how the Word of God defines love? Apostle John said in 1 John 4: 10, “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” This is the Bible’s definition of love. It is not about our love for Him, but rather His perfect love for us. As opposed to conventional belief, true repentance from the heart results from a revelation of God’s immense and unyielding love. When Peter saw Jesus’ goodness and love, he fell to his knees in total surrender to Jesus. We must let people come to church to enjoy God’s goodness because when they are impacted by His grace, then repentance, holiness and godliness will surely follow. You cannot separate grace from holiness. In the same way you cannot be under the sun without getting a tan, you cannot be under grace without becoming holy.



Time To Change Your Mind



Do you know what the word “repent” means in the first place? The word repent is the Greek word “metanoeo”, which means “to change one’s mind”. However, due to the influence of our religious upbringing, many of us have the impression that repentance is something that involves mourning and sorrow. The Word of God simply says that “repentance means changing your mind. When John the Baptist said, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” he was essentially saying, “Change your mind, for the kingdom of God is at hand!” Every time we sit under the anointed preaching of God’s Word, repentance is still occurring – because our minds are being changed (transformed) through the preaching of the gospel. As we hear the gospel of Jesus being preached, we are changing our minds about our old beliefs that held us in bondage and receiving the truth that liberates us. Even as you are reading this devotional, repentance is going on because you are renewing your mind with the good news of Jesus. You are becoming more and more conscious of His finished work and your righteousness in Christ. You begin to receive the revelation that you are no longer under the old covenant, but are now under the new covenant of grace. He Bible calls that repentance!



Repentance From Dead Works



Believers are often exhorted to repent from sin. However in the New Testament, we are actually exhorted to repent from dead works. You see, sin is simply the fruit, but dead works are the root. It says in the book of Hebrews that the foundation stone of our faith is “repentance from dead works and of faith toward God” (Hebrews 6: 1) Now, “dead works” are not sins. They are the religious things that people do, thinking that by doing these things, they are gaining righteousness with God. If you pray or fast because you think that praying or fasting make you right with God, that’s a dead work. But if you pray or fast because you are right with God and you know that He loves you, there is power there. Can you see the difference? It is the same activity – prayer or fasting – but the basis and motivation for doing it are completely different. One is dead work while the other is living work by grace.



My friend, have you repented from dead works? Jesus said in Matthew 3: 2, “Repent, and believe in the gospel.” In other words, He was saying to the Jews of His time, “Change your mind and believe the good news – I will shed My blood, and through my suffering and passion, all your sins will be forgiven!” If you are still living under the law and depending on your own efforts to qualify yourself and please God, it is time to repent (change your mind) from dead works and believe the gospel (good news)!



One Thing You Lack



I want to show you two stories in the Bible that effectively contrast law and grace. These stories are found in Luke 18 and Luke 19. In Luke 18: 18-23, we have the story of the rich young ruler who came to Jesus and asked, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Now think about this for a moment. What should the right evangelical answer be? The right evangelical answer should be, “Believe in Me and you will inherit eternal life.” But that was not what Jesus said to him. Instead, Jesus gave him the law of Moses, saying, “You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery’, ‘Do not murder’, ‘Do not steal’, ‘Do not bear false witness’, ‘Honor your father and your mother’” Jesus gave him the Ten Commandments. Why? Because the young ruler came with pride, believing that he could do something to earn and deserve eternal life. Whenever you come boasting in your efforts, Jesus will give you the law of Moses.



Now, listen what the young man said in response to Jesus: “All these things I have kept from my youth.” Amazing! This man actually claimed that he had kept all the Ten Commandments from his youth! Like the Pharisees, some people really think that they are able to keep all the laws of Moses, not knowing that they have lowered God’s law to a place where they think they can keep it. Jesus came to bring the law back to its pristine standard – not only must there be an outward adherence to the law, there must also be an inward adherence. Jesus showed that God’s law is beyond man’s own efforts. The young man was probably expecting Jesus to compliment him on his law-keeping and was feeling really confident on himself. But notice what Jesus said to him, “One thing you still lack.”



You see, every time you boast in your law-keeping. Jesus will find something that you lack. In this case, He told the young man to sell all that he had, give it to the poor, and follow Him. The young man boasted that he had kept all the commandments, but now Jesus was giving him the very first commandment, “You shall have no other gods before Me” (not even money), and look what happened. The young ruler walked away, sorrowful. He was not even able to give one dollar to the Lord!



Think about the amazing privilege to follow Jesus. Jesus gave the man an opportunity to follow Him, but the man could not because he could not bear to part with his wealth. In all his boasting, he could not even keep the first commandment. My friend, if you go to the Lord full of self-righteousness, boasting in your ability to keep the law, He will show you that, according to the Law, there is “one thing you lack.”



Grace Opens Your Heart



Now, let us go over to Luke 19: 1-10. Jesus walked into Jericho and a crowd gathered to see Him. Then, as He passed by a sycamore tree, He looked up and saw Zacchaeus – short, little Zacchaeus who had climbed the tree hoping to catch a glimpse of Jesus as He walked by. He was a corrupt tax collector, a sinner. But, instead of giving him the Ten Commandments, Jesus showed him grace (undeserved favor) and invited Himself to Zacchaeus’ house. Of course, the people in the crowd were displeased and they said, “He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner.”



Now, observe what happened at Zacchaeus’ house. Before the dinner was over, Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.” Jesus smiled at Zacchaeus and said, “Today, salvation has come to this house.”



I believe it was the Holy Spirit who put these two stories side by side. I don’t believe that they happened chronologically. I believe that the Holy Spirit placed them in this divine order to show us the contrasting effects of being under the covenant of law, and being under the covenant of grace. When the rich young ruler came boasting in his law-keeping, Jesus answered with the law. And the young man could hardly give a dollar to Jesus and walked away sorrowful. But, in the very next chapter, when Jesus gave no law but showed his grace, it not only opened Zacchaeus’ heart, it also opened up his wallet. Can you imagine this? It opened up the wallet of a corrupt tax collector. That’s truly the power of grace! It leads only to true repentance. When you experience His grace, you can’t help but be generous.



Our heavenly Father is waiting for us to give up on our own efforts. The moment you begin to “repent” from all the dead works that you have been doing to try to qualify for and deserve God’s acceptance and blessings, God will lavish on you His abundant grace – His undeserved, unearned, and unmerited favor.



God Is After Inward Heart Transformation



You may ask, “If I give up on keeping the law of Moses, what is going to govern my behavior and ensure that it is acceptable to God?” You do not have to worry about how your behavior will be governed without a consciousness of the law. The Word of God says that grace will teach you – “For the grace of God … has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts …” (Titus 2: 11-12) Grace is a teacher and it taught Zacchaeus. Do you remember his response after he experienced the abundance of grace? He said, “I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.” It is grace that leads people to true repentance. Grace does not result in superficial behavior modification, but inward heart transformation.



God bless.



Dedo Suwanda



Taken from "destine To Reign" by Joseph Prince