CHAPTER 17
THE BLESSEDNESS OF POSSESSING NOTHING
In the beginning, before God made man, He made a world and filled it with items for man’s
use, for man’s pleasure and delight. These things were all external and were to be under
man’s dominion. In man’s heart however, God created a deep place inside of man that only
God was to abide in and fill. He alone was worthy to come into that inner place in a man’s
heart. Within man’s heart was God and outside of man were the thousands of gifts that God
had showered man with.
Then sin came, resulting in these gifts becoming a potential source of ruin to the soul. God
had become dethroned; instead things and people had become enthroned in man’s heart.
The words like “my and mine” became significant in man’s vocabulary. These words
reflected a deep desire to possess, cling to and clutch. These words were a verbal
indication of a deep disease. Jesus said, “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and
whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it” (Matt 16:25). By clinging, grasping,
trying to protect or hang on to ANYTHING we are saving our life.
To give up all FOR CHRIST is to loose NOTHING, but instead to preserve everything! We
need not fear! Jesus came not to destroy but to save. “For I know whom I have believed
and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I’ve committed unto Him against that
day” (II Tim 1:12). Everything is safe that we commit to Him. Nothing is truly safe that is
not committed to Him. We can have EVERYTHNG but POSSESS nothing! “For who regards
you as superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why
do you boast as if you had not received it? (I Cor 4:7).”
How can I do this? How can I commit everything and everyone to Him? I can do this by
seeing that everything belongs to Him. They are gifts that He has blessed us with, for the
moment, for our use or enjoyment. All that we have we are to be a steward of for God
(caretakers – as Adam was to be a caretaker of the Garden of Eden for God), for as long
as He wills us to do so. We must have the mind set that we will not be possessive, idolizing,
worshipping or clinging to anything that He has entrusted to us. For I possess nothing. I
own nothing and I have nothing. I came into this world with nothing and I go out of this world
with nothing. All is His and His alone. He is the Great Creator, the Possessor, The Giver
and the Purchaser of our very souls. WE are not even our own, but His.
A Caretaker – what is their role? They care for the things of their Master. Each one of us is
given certain things to care for. How dare we be selfish with that which is not our own?
What a fool we are and how blinded we have been by the Fall, when we do not see that all
the things that we have, come from God. This includes our: home, furniture, dishes, clothes,
cars, bank accounts, time, talents, abilities, children, husbands, relatives and friends. They
ARE all blessings to us. They are to be loved and cared for by us. None-the-less, they still
belong to the Lord.
We are also distributors. That is a wonderful concept, because it means that we have been
entrusted by God with something to distribute to others. He actually trusts us with
something. If He tells us to give to this or that, we don’t cling, we say “Yes” Lord. We then
can fully trust in His provision for our lives as we are obedient to do as He tells us to. We
can have confidence in God, knowing that He owns the cattle on a thousand hills and that He
will re-distribute to us in our need, as we distribute to others in their need. As we yield to
the Holy Spirit, He directs us. It is His promise!
If someone comes to your house and breaks your expensive dish, decoration on your coffee
table or even a glass coffee table top itself, which are all things that we have been entrusted
with, we need not get upset. Does the Master get upset? Does He go into frenzy, hold a
grudge, and want to be reimbursed for the broken item. Does He show His extreme
displeasure at the person who broke the item? No! Does He not own more? If the Owner
does not get upset, why should we? Can He not replace the item if He desires to? If He
wants it fixed, He will supply the means to do so. If not, then I will care for it as it is or throw
it away. He doesn’t need that dish, that mirror or that carpet that got stained with grape
juice, since it is really is His, why should I get out of faith over it? We just don’t remain the
caretaker for that person, place or thing any longer.
There is so much freedom when we see clearly. These are gifts to us for the Present! Our
children we raise FOR the Lord. Our husbands are His not ours to possess and we are not
to run their lives. They already have a head, which is Christ the Lord. Our time belongs to
the Lord to do with as He directs. We want to come to the place where we relinquish
EVERYTHING to its proper OWNER, God. Therefore, these can never become an idol,
filling that special place in our hearts where God alone is to be enthroned and dwell. We
should pray, “Oh Lord, I would rather have nothing at all than to have anything or anyone
take your rightful place in my heart.”
Do you remember Abraham? He waited and waited for the promise of the covenant to be
fulfilled. Finally it did happen through his son Isaac. Abraham loved Isaac so much. He was
so happy with his son and took such delight in him. As Isaac grew older their hearts just
seemed to knit together closer and closer. God had to intervene at that point to save them
from an unhealthy love. God tested Abraham to see if he loved Isaac or God more, and to
see if Isaac had filled that place in Abraham’s heart that only God was to fill. Now God
knew whom Abraham would choose, but Abraham didn’t know it, at the time. After God told
Abraham that He wanted Abraham to take his son the next morning up to Mt. Moriah and
sacrifice him there, Abraham must have gone through a terrible battle that night. He
probably wrestled and wrestled with his heart and was in mortal pain beyond description, as
he was asked to slay his own dear son. Abraham could not reconcile this act with the
Promise he was given by God. Finally, Abraham resolved that if God had asked him to do
this, then God would bring Isaac back to life again. After reconciling himself to that fact, he
took Isaac up the mountain, and had the knife ready to plunge into Isaac’s heart, when God
stopped him. He had passed the test. You see God wanted to remove Isaac from the
temple of Abraham’s heart so that He might reign there unchallenged. Abraham had been
given a great promise. God was preparing Abraham to be the Father of Faith. He was
preparing Abraham to be the “Father of Many Nations.” But first God had to prepare
Abraham for this promise. Now Abraham was called the FRIEND of God (wouldn’t we like
to be called the FRIEND of God)? He was a man wholly surrendered to God, utterly
obedient and a man possessing nothing. He had consecrated ALL to God in Isaac. He had
everything: cattle, sheep, a beautiful wife, friends, wealth and Isaac, but now he
POSSESSED nothing.
If we would KNOW God intimately, we must go the way of renunciation (turning
EVERYTHING, ourselves included, over to God). It is not enough to do so mentally, on
paper or verbally. These are ok, but after doing so, we too will be tested. Abraham did not
know he was being tested, yet if he had chosen to spare Isaac, all the history of the Old
Testament would be different. God would have found his man, but the loss to Abraham
would have been tragic beyond words.
We will be brought to the testing place and may never know we are there. There may be
choices that we make that will forever determine our destiny and the destiny of others. All
those who pursue God are tested. Remember Job, but he too passed his test, and in the
end he was able to say, “The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away, blessed by the name of
the Lord” (Job 1:21). Here is a man who possessed nothing!
All of these tests are really great preparations for each one of us. God has a plan for each
of our lives and He prepares us for fulfilling the mission that He has created us for. But
sometimes things have to be eradicated from our hearts. Attitudes need to be changed; old
habits need to be removed from us. The Lord knows just how to make the gold come forth
and the sludge come to the top; in order to skim it off to make us pure as gold. Then we will
be ready, for the great things that He has planned for us to accomplish in His kingdom, on
His behalf. So do not think God is being hard on you. Know that He is preparing you, and
ALWAYS has your best interest at heart. You will be challenged, but you will pass the test,
and you will be prepared!
Oh Lord, Let there be no idols in our hearts. We want only YOU to be enthroned there. We
surrender all to you right now and love you with all our hearts! We bless Your holy Name!
THE BLESSEDNESS OF POSSESSING NOTHING
In the beginning, before God made man, He made a world and filled it with items for man’s
use, for man’s pleasure and delight. These things were all external and were to be under
man’s dominion. In man’s heart however, God created a deep place inside of man that only
God was to abide in and fill. He alone was worthy to come into that inner place in a man’s
heart. Within man’s heart was God and outside of man were the thousands of gifts that God
had showered man with.
Then sin came, resulting in these gifts becoming a potential source of ruin to the soul. God
had become dethroned; instead things and people had become enthroned in man’s heart.
The words like “my and mine” became significant in man’s vocabulary. These words
reflected a deep desire to possess, cling to and clutch. These words were a verbal
indication of a deep disease. Jesus said, “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and
whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it” (Matt 16:25). By clinging, grasping,
trying to protect or hang on to ANYTHING we are saving our life.
To give up all FOR CHRIST is to loose NOTHING, but instead to preserve everything! We
need not fear! Jesus came not to destroy but to save. “For I know whom I have believed
and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I’ve committed unto Him against that
day” (II Tim 1:12). Everything is safe that we commit to Him. Nothing is truly safe that is
not committed to Him. We can have EVERYTHNG but POSSESS nothing! “For who regards
you as superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why
do you boast as if you had not received it? (I Cor 4:7).”
How can I do this? How can I commit everything and everyone to Him? I can do this by
seeing that everything belongs to Him. They are gifts that He has blessed us with, for the
moment, for our use or enjoyment. All that we have we are to be a steward of for God
(caretakers – as Adam was to be a caretaker of the Garden of Eden for God), for as long
as He wills us to do so. We must have the mind set that we will not be possessive, idolizing,
worshipping or clinging to anything that He has entrusted to us. For I possess nothing. I
own nothing and I have nothing. I came into this world with nothing and I go out of this world
with nothing. All is His and His alone. He is the Great Creator, the Possessor, The Giver
and the Purchaser of our very souls. WE are not even our own, but His.
A Caretaker – what is their role? They care for the things of their Master. Each one of us is
given certain things to care for. How dare we be selfish with that which is not our own?
What a fool we are and how blinded we have been by the Fall, when we do not see that all
the things that we have, come from God. This includes our: home, furniture, dishes, clothes,
cars, bank accounts, time, talents, abilities, children, husbands, relatives and friends. They
ARE all blessings to us. They are to be loved and cared for by us. None-the-less, they still
belong to the Lord.
We are also distributors. That is a wonderful concept, because it means that we have been
entrusted by God with something to distribute to others. He actually trusts us with
something. If He tells us to give to this or that, we don’t cling, we say “Yes” Lord. We then
can fully trust in His provision for our lives as we are obedient to do as He tells us to. We
can have confidence in God, knowing that He owns the cattle on a thousand hills and that He
will re-distribute to us in our need, as we distribute to others in their need. As we yield to
the Holy Spirit, He directs us. It is His promise!
If someone comes to your house and breaks your expensive dish, decoration on your coffee
table or even a glass coffee table top itself, which are all things that we have been entrusted
with, we need not get upset. Does the Master get upset? Does He go into frenzy, hold a
grudge, and want to be reimbursed for the broken item. Does He show His extreme
displeasure at the person who broke the item? No! Does He not own more? If the Owner
does not get upset, why should we? Can He not replace the item if He desires to? If He
wants it fixed, He will supply the means to do so. If not, then I will care for it as it is or throw
it away. He doesn’t need that dish, that mirror or that carpet that got stained with grape
juice, since it is really is His, why should I get out of faith over it? We just don’t remain the
caretaker for that person, place or thing any longer.
There is so much freedom when we see clearly. These are gifts to us for the Present! Our
children we raise FOR the Lord. Our husbands are His not ours to possess and we are not
to run their lives. They already have a head, which is Christ the Lord. Our time belongs to
the Lord to do with as He directs. We want to come to the place where we relinquish
EVERYTHING to its proper OWNER, God. Therefore, these can never become an idol,
filling that special place in our hearts where God alone is to be enthroned and dwell. We
should pray, “Oh Lord, I would rather have nothing at all than to have anything or anyone
take your rightful place in my heart.”
Do you remember Abraham? He waited and waited for the promise of the covenant to be
fulfilled. Finally it did happen through his son Isaac. Abraham loved Isaac so much. He was
so happy with his son and took such delight in him. As Isaac grew older their hearts just
seemed to knit together closer and closer. God had to intervene at that point to save them
from an unhealthy love. God tested Abraham to see if he loved Isaac or God more, and to
see if Isaac had filled that place in Abraham’s heart that only God was to fill. Now God
knew whom Abraham would choose, but Abraham didn’t know it, at the time. After God told
Abraham that He wanted Abraham to take his son the next morning up to Mt. Moriah and
sacrifice him there, Abraham must have gone through a terrible battle that night. He
probably wrestled and wrestled with his heart and was in mortal pain beyond description, as
he was asked to slay his own dear son. Abraham could not reconcile this act with the
Promise he was given by God. Finally, Abraham resolved that if God had asked him to do
this, then God would bring Isaac back to life again. After reconciling himself to that fact, he
took Isaac up the mountain, and had the knife ready to plunge into Isaac’s heart, when God
stopped him. He had passed the test. You see God wanted to remove Isaac from the
temple of Abraham’s heart so that He might reign there unchallenged. Abraham had been
given a great promise. God was preparing Abraham to be the Father of Faith. He was
preparing Abraham to be the “Father of Many Nations.” But first God had to prepare
Abraham for this promise. Now Abraham was called the FRIEND of God (wouldn’t we like
to be called the FRIEND of God)? He was a man wholly surrendered to God, utterly
obedient and a man possessing nothing. He had consecrated ALL to God in Isaac. He had
everything: cattle, sheep, a beautiful wife, friends, wealth and Isaac, but now he
POSSESSED nothing.
If we would KNOW God intimately, we must go the way of renunciation (turning
EVERYTHING, ourselves included, over to God). It is not enough to do so mentally, on
paper or verbally. These are ok, but after doing so, we too will be tested. Abraham did not
know he was being tested, yet if he had chosen to spare Isaac, all the history of the Old
Testament would be different. God would have found his man, but the loss to Abraham
would have been tragic beyond words.
We will be brought to the testing place and may never know we are there. There may be
choices that we make that will forever determine our destiny and the destiny of others. All
those who pursue God are tested. Remember Job, but he too passed his test, and in the
end he was able to say, “The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away, blessed by the name of
the Lord” (Job 1:21). Here is a man who possessed nothing!
All of these tests are really great preparations for each one of us. God has a plan for each
of our lives and He prepares us for fulfilling the mission that He has created us for. But
sometimes things have to be eradicated from our hearts. Attitudes need to be changed; old
habits need to be removed from us. The Lord knows just how to make the gold come forth
and the sludge come to the top; in order to skim it off to make us pure as gold. Then we will
be ready, for the great things that He has planned for us to accomplish in His kingdom, on
His behalf. So do not think God is being hard on you. Know that He is preparing you, and
ALWAYS has your best interest at heart. You will be challenged, but you will pass the test,
and you will be prepared!
Oh Lord, Let there be no idols in our hearts. We want only YOU to be enthroned there. We
surrender all to you right now and love you with all our hearts! We bless Your holy Name!
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