“You are not far from the kingdom of God.” Mark 12:34
The Lord was showing me many people who over the years were on a path to Yeshua and stopped. They ignored something in their life that needed changing but the person was not willing to change that one or two or how many things it is. They ignore the Spirit in those parts of their life, staying where they are spiritually, separated from God. They come up to the Kingdom but do not enter in because of this.
The other thing Yeshua reminded me of is how many people I have had discussions with and it is clear they are doing this or something similar. And they resent the message of the gospel when you give it to them. No one likes to think someone is more advanced in their relationship with God than they are. And or no one wants to hear they will not enter into the Kingdom of God on the current path they are on. People want to believe that their path is acceptable with God, their religious beliefs and doctrine. And that we are all in the same place with God, he loves us all equally.
Well he does love us all, but that love is not what you think. It is about respect, not some mushy feeling. And like everything else in life there are levels of serving and honor. For example the 12 apostles are sitting as the heads of the twelve tribes of Israel. You nor me will have that opportunity. It was Moses and Abraaham who went to the mount of transfiguration with Yeshua. Not David nor Elijah or anyone else.
In sports we call the best of all time the goat. The point is someone has to be the best, and someone the worst. But either way, there is a minimum to get into the Kingdom of God. We must hear and obey him to the limit, no holding back. It is that one thing you refuse to let into your mind because you know you will need to change things and you do not want to. Normally it is about a family member or finances. It can be something like the couple who sold their goods to give the money to the apostles and kept some back. Or it can be that you love your son or daughter or mother… more than Yeshua and you do their will instead of God’s will. Whatever it is you ignore when that light shines in, it is what is keeping you out of the Kingdom of God.
The interesting thing to me is it can be something so simple, and the outcome if you give in and do it will be better for the person than keeping it hidden in the dark. Yet they do not want to change it for fear of the outcome. And the other interesting thing is that the decision to keep it hidden is what keeps them from receiving the wisdom of God at a much higher level. The wisdom I have is because I stopped doing things my own way, and started to do them God’s way, without holding anything back. It cost me plenty in life, but all the setbacks are a blessing in disguise. And the wisdom I received from obeying far outweighs the pain. Plus one of the biggest things learned is the simple truth that you cannot learn the truth or receive the wisdom until or unless you obey. There is no other way to the Father except through the son. Hearing and obeying him in even the smallest and last details.
When you do this, little by little he cleanses you up, gets rid of the filth in your life, and makes you acceptable to the Father. But it requires obedience to every detail.
The only thing I can brag about is I have the highest level of discipline to do the Lord’s will and not my own. He is the one who does everything else in you. You work out what he works in.
The other interesting thing is how people argue doctrine with you. Paul wrote it is foolish to engage and it is. If the other person wants to argue doctrine when you tell them something the Lord showed you, and you know it is true, but they want to argue the point they learned from this or that man teacher. It goes nowhere. There are many things men argue about in their religious beliefs, but it seems the main two these days are the fake grace doctrine and the bible being the voice of God. There are other things like “I am a good person, surely God will bring me to heaven.”
But the point is men would rather argue these things than seek the truth. When a man argues I simply tell them that it is what Yeshua has shown me, and to not believe me but seek the Lord to confess the truth to you also, and then you will find out it is true. This is the point, seek the truth from the Lord, don’t seek to find men to support your truth of how you think it should be, because it is easy to find them. But it will not lead to salvation, only finding the truth which sets you free will.