Let go of this World to Worship God

Matt 16:26 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? (Mark 8:36; Luke 9:25)

What is worth your soul, or let me rephrase that, what is your soul worth?

Who here today would forfeit their eternity for a few years of pleasure on this earth? So many people would frown at the idea of “selling their soul” but the fact of the matter is, that every day the majority of the people in this world, are giving a piece of their soul away every day, by the way they live.

So again, I ask you, what is your soul worth?

Is it worth worrying about the things of this world? Getting the money you may or may not need, being fed, getting new clothes, or simply getting the things which you desire.

The life of a believer is to rise above these things. In Mark chapter 4 Jesus tells us a parable of the different kinds of people here on earth, who will hear His word, and respond in one of four different ways.

You can read about this in Mark chapter 4 verses 3-20, but today I want to focus on the seed, or the Word of God that falls on the thorny ground. The seeds here sprout quickly but the thorns “choked out the tender blades so that it produced no grain.”

Jesus tells us in detail just what this means to us. In Mark 4:18-19 Jesus says this: “The thorny ground represents those who hear and accept the Good News, 19 but all too quickly the message is crowded out (or choked out) by the cares of this life, the lure of wealth, and the desire for nice things, so no crop is produced.”(NLT)

It is interesting, that Jesus tells us who will produce fruit, in John 15:8. Jesus says: My true disciples produce much fruit. This brings great glory to My Father.”

Now it is only natural for us to worry about such things, Luke 12:30 tells us: "For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things.”
The fact of the matter is that Jesus tells us not to worry about our own lives, as far as what we will eat or drink, or clothe ourselves with. “Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? (Matthew 6:25)” In fact, He goes on to say that we must “Seek first His kingdom, and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).

If we focus on Christ, the kingdom of heaven, and God’s righteousness above all other things, God promises that He will meet us in our time of need, He promises that He will never leave us nor forsake us, and He is faithful to His Word.

Our job here in this world, is to stay attached to God, and let go of all the other garbage that takes our hearts away from God.

We live our lives, hoarding up stuff, always seeking more and more, setting our affections on what ever the latest thing is, or on the different desires of our hearts, which is so silly, because we aren’t going to take it with us. I have never seen a hearse pulling a U-haul, and you won’t either. 1 Timothy 6:7 says “For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either.”

So then, as a believer we need to seek out things that are pleasing to God. Our time should be His, our desires should be His, our lives are to be His, and when they are He will take care of the rest.

In James 1:27 we learn that: Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

The way that we keep ourselves unstained by the world, is by not giving into the shameful ebb and flow of society, being so attached to the many appealing things this world has to offer, and instead shamelessly living a sold out, obedient life, clinging to the Word of God.

You need to live your life, depending on God as your life line. We need to think of God and need God, and seek God, like the air we breathe. If God takes the primary place in your heart, then all other things take a backseat.

Another way is to keep away from things that are impure.

Ephesians 5:5 states this plainly. “For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.”

The fact is, you need to let go of this world and then hold on to God, you cannot serve two masters, and with a tight grip on the things of this world, you cannot hold onto the things of God. Just as Joshua said to the nation of Israel in Joshua 24:15:

"If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."

Let go of this world, and worship God with every part of your life.

In His service,
Brian Bivens