Mensa Otabil - The Way to Eternal Life
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Welcome to day number eight of our 40 days of power. If you’ve been following since day one, I trust that you’ve gone through our prayer and fasting for the seven days, and now we are on the eighth day.
Matthew chapter 19, verse 16: «Now behold, one came and said to him, 'Good teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life? '» This is a person who comes to Jesus Christ looking for the way, for guidance, for direction to have eternal life. In the Bible, he is described as a rich young ruler, a very sincere young man who is rich and wealthy. He is a leader of his community but still has a hunger for God. He goes to Jesus to seek the way to eternal life.
This quest of his, of a man looking for God, is shared by many people who are searching for God. All over the world, there are people seeking God, looking for God, and they want to find salvation. They want to find eternal life. They want to find a relationship with God. But sometimes that question can be asked of the wrong person. In this case, the person asked Jesus. But what if the person had asked somebody else, maybe a Pharisee, a Sadducee, or a scribe? The answer they would have received would be very different from what Jesus gave to this rich young ruler.
There is nothing more comical in this world than a person who finds himself lost. Maybe you go to a neighborhood, find yourself lost, and ask for directions from someone who is clueless about the area but still wants to give you directions. So you’re asking for directions, and they provide them, although they don’t know the way. You follow their directions and become more lost than you were before, and then you find another person, ask for directions, and they take you further away from your target.
Sometimes in life, we seek guidance from the wrong people. And sometimes it may not just be wrong people, but it could be wrong beliefs and sometimes even wrong religions. So there are individuals seeking God in the wrong places, and they don’t find the way to God. There are people looking for salvation from others who themselves are lost, who don’t know the way, and have no means of pointing you to the way. The way to God is through Jesus Christ.
As we focus on guidance for this week, the greatest guidance we need is the guidance to eternal life — to have life in Christ Jesus. The Holy Spirit is the one who points us to Jesus Christ. He speaks to our hearts, convicts us of our own sins, and helps us recognize Jesus for who He is. Jesus Christ is known through the Holy Spirit.
Anytime you feel guidance in your heart or something in your heart that points you to Christ, it is the Holy Spirit directing you. May God guide those who are seeking the way to eternal life to find Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. But that’s not all. It’s not just about the salvation of our souls and eternity; God also wants us to make godly choices here and now in our lives. God wants us to enjoy a good life, and the way to enjoy that is for Him to guide us in the way of life.
So today, I pray that God will guide everyone seeking the way of salvation to find that way in Christ Jesus. And for everyone looking for a better life, I pray they will not ask the wrong person, nor go to the wrong place seeking that better life, but that they will find that better life in the right way through the help of the Holy Spirit. May He guide you, may He order your steps, and help each one of us find the way of peace with God, the way of eternal life, and the way of salvation in Christ Jesus.
Let us pray. Say with me, «Heavenly Father, I receive the guidance of Your Holy Spirit. Lead me towards life and abundance in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.»