Mark 10:21-22(NKJV) Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.” But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
In this passage, Jesus was speaking directly into the life of the rich young ruler. Jesus was helping him to realise that his trust in money was hindering his faith in God because money was an idol and stronghold in his life. The solution for him would have been just to have simple faith in Jesus and deal with his trust of money in his life, but He trusted in Mammon more than God, and He couldn’t let go of his wealth. Similarly, there are people today who cannot change their unethical methods of conducting business in order to follow Jesus because they are afraid to acknowledge God as the source of their wealth and success. These Christians are half-hearted about following God because they are afraid of losing their wealth. We need to remember that God is a jealous God, and He doesn’t like us to be lukewarm or half-hearted towards Him—He wants all of us!
Mark 10:29-30 (NKJV) So Jesus answered and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s, who shall 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.
We need to renew our minds that God can give us the power to get wealth if we are called to be a businessman or an entrepreneur, and we can become leaders in our fields if our hearts are in the right place and God is first in our lives. God can also grant grace and favour to help us be promoted to positions of significance. However, we cannot bargain with God that we will only love Him if we are promoted or when our business is doing well. Instead, we worship and honour God because He has sent His only Son to redeem us from our sins. We need to believe that if God did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, there is no other good gift that He will withhold from us. If we are convinced that God is the source of our provision and success, then we will not compromise with the world.
Sermon Series: Seriously?
相信并拥有单纯的信心
马可福音10：21-22 耶稣看着他、就爱他、对他说、你还缺少一件，去变卖你所有的、分给穷人、就必有财宝在天上，你还要来跟从我。他听见这话、脸上就变了色、忧忧愁愁的走了，因为他的产业很多。
在这段经文中，耶稣直截了当地对着那位富家少年官的生命说话。耶稣在帮助他意识到他对金钱的信靠妨碍了他对上帝的信心，因为金钱成为了他生命中的偶像和坚固营垒。而他所需要的解决方案只是单纯地相信耶稣并处理他生命中信靠金钱的问题，但是他更相信玛门（金钱）而不是上帝，他无法放下他的财富。同样地，当今也有不少人无法为了跟随耶稣而改变他们不道德的商业行为，这是因为他们害怕承认上帝是他们财富和成功的源头。由于害怕失去他们的财富，这些基督徒在跟随上帝这件事上表现的三心二意。我们需要记住，上帝是忌邪的上帝，祂不喜欢我们对祂不温不火或是三心二意，祂要我们完全属于祂！
马可福音10：29-30 耶稣说：“我实在告诉你们，人为我和福音撇下房屋，或是弟兄、姊妹、父母、儿女、田地， 没有不在今世得百倍的，就是房屋、弟兄、姊妹、母亲、儿女、田地，并且要受逼迫，在来世必得永生。“
我们需要更新我们的思想意念，如果我们被呼召成为商人或企业家，上帝可以赐给我们获得财富的能力，如果我们把心摆正，把上帝放在生命的首位，我们可以成为我们领域的领导者。上帝也就可以赐下恩宠和喜悦，来帮助我们被提升到重要的位置。然而，我们不能与上帝讨价还价，只在自己被提升或生意做得很好时才爱我们的上帝。相反，我们敬拜并尊荣上帝，因为祂差遣祂的独生子为我们赎罪。我们需要相信，如果上帝连自己的儿子也不赦免，却为我们众人舍弃了祂，还能有什么美物是祂不舍得赐给我们的呢？如果我们确信上帝是我们供应和成功的源头，那么我们就不会向世界妥协。
讲章系列：认真的吗？
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