The Departure

Based on Matthew 17-19

"The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me."
Matthew 19:20‭-‬21.

Well, we've cleaned the house! We've unloaded some personal burdens shouldn't have been carrying! But what's next?

It's now time to add something (Someone) into the picture: Jesus Christ! With a departure from the connection to stuff, we can have more of a connection to our Savior. We need to make that connection deeper, or we might just end up going back to square 1 (or house 1) and have to de-clutter again! We need Jesus in our midst if we are going to hold it together!

The rich young ruler above was invited to follow Jesus. Just as we've been discussing, he had a lot of possessions cluttering up his home. The attachment to this stuff really made itself obvious when he was asked to give it up:

"But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven."
Matthew 19:22-23.

This man left Jesus for temporary wealth! You might think Jesus doesn't ask this same thing of us nowadays-but He does! That's why it's important to let Jesus come in & clean house. Jesus doesn't always ask us to leave every single item behind, but He does want us to abandon the attachment to those things. After the housecleaning process, are we willing to allow Jesus to move in?

Something miraculous happens in Matthew 17 which helps us keep all the focus on Jesus:

"And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him."
Matthew 17:1‭-‬3.

This must have been an amazing sight, especially because along with Jesus were 2 prophets from the past! Naturally though, Peter thought this meant that he should divide worship among the 3 and build tabernacles for all of them. But then God directed the focus:

"While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid. And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid. And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only."
Matthew 17:5‭-‬8.

They were to listen to Jesus, and in the end, He was the only One left. We are not to put our faith in people of the past, because Moses and Elias (Elijah) were just 2 men reliant on God as well. Jesus is God, and He should be our center focus. It's time for the complete departure from stuff dependance (and dependance on past traditions) and time to completely follow Jesus!

The disciples were not able to cure a demoniac boy, and Jesus said "...O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me." Matthew 17:17.

This may seem harsh at first, but knowing all that Jesus was capable of, the disciples should have been able to cast out this demon. They were trying to do it in their own power without complete faith in God's power:

"...If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting." Matthew 17:20‭-‬21.

Prayer takes us from self-reliance to God-reliance! But if we are reluctant to depart & follow Jesus, we won't be able to see the miraculous! It's not just about getting rid of stuff. It's about adding Jesus to the mix!

"For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."
Matthew 18:20.

We need to join together with Jesus and His plan for our lives! We need to be brave enough to walk away and brave enough to walk toward Jesus. Keep Jesus as the center focus!