In Pursuit of GodIn Pursuit of God

Chapter 2: The Blessedness of Possessing NothingChapter 2: The Blessedness of Possessing Nothing

Recap slide

As we start chapter 2: The Blessedness of Possessing Nothing, Let’s turn in our Bibles to:

Matthew 5:1 “And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him.” (NKJV)

As we see here the multitudes continued to flock to Jesus, and he went up on a mountain and sat down. It was the custom of Rabbis to sit as they taught. His disciples came to Him and He began to teach them. What he is teaching here in Matthew 5-7 is known as “the Sermon on the Mount”.

Jesus began His sermon with “the Beatitudes,” which are statements beginning with Blessed are. “Blessed” means “happy” or “fortunate”

Speaking of being fortunate, my husband and I had the privilege of being where they think this sermon was taught and our Jewish tour guides read the Beatitudes in Hebrew and English. 2I have a small clip of them that I thought you would like to hear as you view a picture of the Church of Beatitudes in Israel.

It was really fascinating to hear them read the Beatitudes in Hebrew as we looked over the Sea of Galilee.

So here you have our Lord start out: Matthew 5:3: “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (KJV)

Now, the Pharisees were concerned primarily with external qualities, but the qualities Jesus mentioned here in the Beatitudes, “the poor in spirit,” “those who mourn,” “the meek,” etc. are internal qualities. They come when we place our complete trust in God.

John Wolvoord’s commentary stated: “The sermon showed how a person, who is in right relationship with God, should conduct his life.

So the sermon applies not only to those He spoke to then but to Jesus’ followers today, you and me, for it demonstrates the standard of righteousness God demands of His people.

The poor in spirit here in Matthew 5:3 are those who consciously depend on God, not on themselves; they are “poor” inwardly, having no ability in themselves to please God. —Bible Knowledge Commentary

You can see how Tozer’s interpretation of Matthew 5:3 applies. He says, the “poor in spirit” consider that nothing they have comes before God in importance to them. God is more important than their things. In fact, they do not consider their things to be theirs at all, but God’s.

Now this is a very difficult concept to understand – to have and yet you don’t possess it. It is even more difficult to apply it.

You can say, “Oh I have turned everything over to the Lord and He controls my life and my things.” It is very easy to say isn’t it? But do you really practice it?

If we hold back anything, we are still in control. If we say, God you can have 95% of me; I’ll just hold on to this 5% over here, “we are actually saying that we are still the one who decides what to give and what not to give – we are the controller. God wants us to give everything to Him and Possess nothing!

I have a clip from Pastor Paul Sheppard, who is a pastor in Palo Alto that my husband and I listen to on Christian radio on the internet. In this clip Pastor Sheppard talks about our attitude as we surrender.

Please listen: *

(“Did you say, ok Lord I see that this is your will for this area in my life and you’re doing it, But you are doing it with attitude. That’s not surrender. Surrender is not only, am I saying Yes, but I have no more fight, no more resistance. Your will is the only thing that matters in my

life. I want to see what you’ll do if I will just yield to you and trust you.”)

“Let’s see what God will do if we totally surrender and yield to Him….”

Ladies, Sin has introduced complications and has made those very gifts that God has given us a potential source of ruin to our soul.

Tozer said: Our woes began when within the human heart things were allowed to enter and have taken over and God was forced out.

We end up worshiping the gifts that God had given to us rather than worshiping the giver of the gifts.

Haddon Robinson said: “To live to pursue riches and success is foolish, for these things are not eternal. Obsessions with worldly priorities keep us from hearing what Jesus has to say.”

Luke 12:34: (NKJV) “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

What is important in life? What do you find absorbs your time? Is it the gifts that God has given or God himself?

Luke 12:15 “Jesus said, "Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses." (NKJV)

Ladies, No matter what it is in your life – we all need to take an account and examine what it is in our lives that we find ourselves thinking about. If God is excluded then this is where it becomes a problem.

I liked how Tozer put it - The roots of our hearts have grown down into things, and we dare not pull up one rootlet lest we die. Things have become necessary to us, a development never originally intended. God’s gifts now take the place of God.

When I think of roots, I think about a plant my husband and I planted in our backyard. We needed a plant that would grow on a slope to prevent soil erosion. Well, we had an area that this plant was not doing good and started to look real straggly and so we went to take it out to put something else in its place.

When we went to remove this plant – you would not believe the root system. We literally had to get a jack hammer to dig the roots out. That is the vision I get when I think about how the roots of things digging in to our heart. I could just imagine how painful to rip these roots out will be.

Our Lord referred to this tyranny of things when He said to His disciples,

Matthew 16:24-26 “ Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? (NKJV)

This scripture as well as Mark 8:34 , talks about denying himself. We must deny ourselves decisively (“deny” is an aorist imper.) saying no to selfish interests and earthly securities. Self-denial is not to deny one’s personality, to die as a martyr, or to deny “things”. Rather it is the denial of “self,” turning away from the idolatry of self-centeredness and every attempt to orient one’s life by the dictates of self-interest. Self-denial. The verse continues:

We must take up our cross, decisively (“take up” is also an aorist imper.) saying yes to God’s will and way. Cross-bearing was not an established Jewish metaphor. But the figure was appropriate in Roman-occupied Palestine. It brought to mind the sight of a condemned man who was forced to demonstrate his submission to Rome by carrying part of his cross through the city to his place of execution. Thus “to take up one’s cross” was to demonstrate publicly one’s

submission/obedience to the authority against which he had previously rebelled.

Jesus’ submission to God’s will is the proper response to God’s claims over self’s claims. For Him it meant death on the cross. Those who follow Him must take up their (not His) cross, whatever comes to them in God’s will as a follower of Jesus. This does not mean suffering as He did or being crucified as He was. Nor does it mean stoically bearing life’s troubles. Rather, it is obedience to God’s will as revealed in His Word, accepting the consequences without reservations for Jesus’ sake and the gospel.

In Jesus’ words, Follow Me, “follow” is a present imperative: “(So) let him keep following Me”. Saying no to self and yes to God is to continue all through one’s following Jesus (cf. Rom. 13:14; Phil. 3:7-11).

Tozer said: The blessed ones who possess the kingdom are they who have repudiated every external thing and have rooted from their hearts all sense of possessing.

These blessed poor are no longer slaves to the tyranny of things. They have broken the yoke of the oppressor; and this they have done not by fighting but by surrendering. Though free from all sense of possessing, they yet possess all things. “Theirs is the kingdom of heaven”. .—Pursuit of God, The

Ladies, this is a process, it does not come easy. We need to rip the roots of things out of our hearts and make sure that we are not worshiping the gifts but worshiping the giver.

We need to face the fact that it will be painful. Just as we need to face that fact that Jesus Christ suffered a pain that is beyond anything that we will ever suffer in order that we could have eternal life. Dealing with sin causes pain. But after the pain is a glorious peace and joy that comes beyond our understanding.

Think about child birth - I have not had children myself, but I have heard that child birth is very painful and I am sure a lot of you women can affirm that. But would you trade that pain that you went through

for that little bundle of joy you have in your arms. Through the pain came a glorious ray of sunshine.

Tozer said: “Let me exhort you to take this seriously. It is not to be understood as mere Bible teaching to be stored away in the mind along with an inert mass of other doctrines. It is a marker on the road to greener pastures, a path chiseled against the steep sides of the mount of God. We dare not try to bypass it if we would follow on in this holy pursuit. We must ascend a step at a time. If we refuse one step, we bring our progress to an end.”—Pursuit of God, The

We must ascend a step at a time. Remember, it is not in our power that we can do this – it is only through the power of Jesus Christ. He is our strength and we need to ask Him to help us in our pursuit of Him.

In Genesis 22: 1-18 we see the story of Abraham and Isaac. It is a dramatic picture of the surrendered life as well as an excellent commentary on the first Beatitude.

While we often look at this passage as Abraham’s test of faith, Tozer uses it to stress his point about placing God first in one’s life.

Abraham from the day Isaac was born adored him. Isaac was more than just a son. He represented God’s promises, the covenants, the hopes of the years and the long messianic dream. With every growing day Abraham’s love for his son grew, until a point that God had to step in.

Gen 22:1-2 (NKJV) “Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am." 2 Then He said, "Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you."

Now, we are spared the agony Abraham must have felt. We can only imagine the questions he must have had. How should he slay his son? How could he reconcile the act with the promise, “In Isaac shall they seed be called”? You can just image his heart breaking at the very thought of killing his son.

The story continues in:

Gen 22:7-8 (NKJV) But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, "My father!" And he said, "Here I am, my son." Then he said, "Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" 8 And Abraham said, "My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering." So the two of them went together.

Image looking at your son knowing he was to be the sacrifice. That must have seemed like the longest walk of his life.

But Abraham trusted God. He would offer his son as God had directed him to do, and then trust God to raise him from the dead. He knew what Isaac meant to the covenant and promises.

The story continues in Genesis 22: 9-13. We see how Abraham was obedient and how God supplied an offering:

Gen 22:9-13 (NKJV) Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. 10 And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" So he said, "Here I am." 12 And He said, "Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me." 13 Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son

Now Abraham was a man wholly surrendered, a man utterly obedient, a man who possessed nothing. Yet was this poor man not rich? Everything he had owned before was his still to enjoy; sheep, camels, herds and goods of every sort. He had also his wife and his friends, and best of all he had his son Isaac safe by his side.

He had everything, but he possessed nothing.

There is the spiritual secret. After that bitter and blessed experience I think the words my and mine never again had the same meaning for Abraham.

Abraham knew that he owned nothing, that his real treasures were inward and eternal.

But this experience did not just affect Abraham…ever think about Isaac and how he felt.

As Isaac grew older, what do you suppose he would have replied to anyone who suggested that his father’s God was not real, not alive?

“Do not tell me that God is not a living God,” I suspect he would have replied. “Do not tell me my father’s God is not real. I remember well the day I was on the altar. I know very well the faith of my father Abraham. I live today because God lives and cares. I am aware that I am known personally to Him!” —Men Who Met God

Abraham and Isaac both learned the lesson of clinging to each other instead of God.

We don’t always see how clinging onto things could be harmful. But as we saw with Isaac, by letting him go and surrendering him to the Lord, not only did Abraham’s faith grow but so did Isaac’s.

We hold onto things thinking they are safe with us. And sometimes we don’t even realize that we are holding on to them.

Tozer had an experience similar to Abraham and Isaac’s.

In 1939, A. W. Tozer’s wife Ada gave birth to a girl, Rebecca. After six rambunctious boys and a nine-year hiatus, in their middle years the Tozers joyfully welcomed Becky into their home and hearts. Years later, in a sermon, Tozer reflected on that momentous event: "She was a lovely little thing. After raising six boys—it was just like trying to bring up a herd of buffaloes—this refined, feminine little lady came along with all her pretty, frilly things. She and I became sweethearts from the very first day I saw her little red face through the glass in the hospital. I was 42 years old when she was born."

Tozer went on to tell how they dedicated Becky to the Lord. "We dedicated her formally in the church service, but she was still mine. Then the day came when I had to die to my Becky, my little Rebecca. I had to give her up and turn her over to God to take if He wanted her at any time.... When I made that awful, terrible dedication I didn't know but God would take her from me. But He didn't.... She was safer after I gave her up than she had ever been before. If I had clung to her I would have jeopardized her; but when I opened my hands and said with tears, 'You can have her, God, the dearest thing I have,' she became perfectly safe." (In Pursuit of God, pp. 187-188) —Pursuit of God Study Guide, The

One of the hardest things to surrender is our loved ones. We love them so much that sometimes we hold onto them to hard.

When I first read this chapter, I too sat down in my bedroom and said a prayer surrendering my husband to the Lord. I had developed such a strong love for him that I cherished him more than God. He was my life. I praised God for him every day, but there came a point when I had to say “Lord I give my husband to you, he is in your hands” “He is your child to do with what you please and so am I.” I had to consciously make God number one in my life up and beyond anything else in my life. He was to be Lord of my Life.

As with Abraham and Tozer, the Lord blessed me, he did not take my husband away from me but made our relationship even more beautiful.

We have to remember that he is our loving father and when we commit everything to Him, it will be safe just as we are.

Our gifts and talents should also be turned over to Him. They should be recognized for what they are, God’s loan to us, and should never be considered in any sense our own.

We need to watch that we don’t get prideful and claim our talents as our own. God gave them to us. He gave us the ability to do what we do.

There are going to be some things we may find very difficult to surrender. There are going to be things that we are surprised to find

out that we have not surrendered. But we must, in our hearts, live through Abraham’s harsh and bitter experiences if we are going to experience God blessedness which follows them.

I have another small clip from the message on surrender from Pastor Paul Sheppard: please listen

(“A sacrifice is laying there totally submitted to what God is going to do. And listen, Paul picks that up and he says God wants you to have that level of surrender to Him. He wants you to surrender, to yield your life as a living sacrifice, so that God can do anything in your life he wants to do.”)

We need to surrender our life to God so that He can do anything in our life that he wants to do.

The things that are deeply rooted in our hearts must be ripped out. It may be painful and hard, but in the end you will find a peace that is beyond understanding.

If we are truly set to pursue a deep relationship with God, we will be tested. He will reveal the “things” in our lives that have deep roots in our hearts. We will need to do some excavating to allow God to have His proper place in our heart.

In our homework, we were asked to read Matthew 19:16-30 and relate this passage to the theme of our study.

In Matthew 19:20-21 (NKJV) “The young man said to Him, "All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?" 21 Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."

By Christ asking this young man to sell his goods and follow him, He was forcing him to examine his own heart and determine his priorities. With all of his commendable qualities, the young man still did not truly love God with all of his heart. Possessions were his god. He was unable to obey the command, "Go and sell... come and follow Me."

We need to examine our hearts and ask “are our possessions, whether they are things or loved ones more important to us than God”. If God

asked us to sell everything, would we be able to do it or would we be like this young man and choose his things over God. Now that is not to say that we are to go out and sell everything, God does use the things in our lives to help provide for our needs. For example, God gives us jobs to provide for our families. But are we counting on that job to supply our needs or Christ who gave us the job? So we need to be careful that we don’t take it too far and go the extreme in the opposite direction.

I am reminded of a story my husband use to say: “There was this man who was drowning in the river and he trusted God to save him. A boat came up to help him and he refused their help saying “God is going to save me”. As the man was still floating in the river, barley keeping his head above the water, another boat came and threw him a life jacket. The man again refused the help saying “God is going to save me”. Finally the man could not stay above the water any longer and he drowned. When he got to heaven he said to God “Lord why didn’t you save me?” God replied, “I sent you two boats and a life jacket and you refused them”.

The point is, is that God uses things to provide for us, so we need to make sure that we don’t refuse what God is sending to provide for our needs. Things in and of themselves are not bad – it is what we do with them. Do we worship the gifts and rely on the gifts more than God?

Matthew 6:24 says that we cannot serve two masters.

Matthew 6:24 (NKJV) "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

We were also asked to look at verses:

Mark 8:34-38

Luke 12:15-34

Luke 9:57-62

Luke 14:26-35

Each of these verses reminds us that we need to surrender all to God!

Many people spend all their energy seeking pleasure. Jesus said, however, that a world of pleasure centered on possessions, position, or power is ultimately worthless. Whatever a person has on earth is only temporary; it cannot be exchanged for his or her soul. If you work hard at getting what you want, you might eventually have a "pleasurable" life, but in the end you will find it hollow and empty. The answer to the question, then, is that nothing is of enough value that it can be exchanged for one's soul. Even if a person gained the world, that person would lose his or her soul—and the soul counts for eternity. No amount of money, power, or status can buy back a lost soul.

Believers must be willing to make the pursuit of God more important than the selfish pursuit of pleasure. If we follow Jesus, we will know what it means to live abundantly now and to have eternal life as well.

—Life Application Bible Commentary

So in closing We need to examine our lives.

I like the quote:

Only one life,' Twill soon be past;

Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Do the “things” in your life control you or have you surrendered them to God. When Christ comes, will he find you faithful to Him or dwelling on the “things” in your life.

We only have one life and only what is done for Christ will last. – let’s not waste our life.

I would like you at this point to take out your book, turn to page 30 and read Tozer’s prayer. May this be our prayer.

Father, I want to know Thee, but my cowardly heart fears to give up its toys. I cannot part with them without inward bleeding, and I do not try to hide from Thee the terror of the parting. I come trembling, but I do come. Please root

from my heart all those things which I have cherished so long and which have become a very part of my living self, so that Thou mayest enter and dwell there without a rival. Then shalt Thou make the place of Thy feet glorious. Then shall my heart have no need of the sun to shine in it, for Thyself wilt be the light of it, and there shall be no night there. In Jesus' name. Amen.

—Pursuit of God, The

God Bless, see you next week