Every believer struggles with serving the Lord to their fullest. I'm not talking about serving Him in a mediocre way, nor serving Him when it is convenient. What I'm talking about is serving Him with our whole heart, soul, mind and being.

The church has had too many wimpy Christians, who served God only when it was convenient, or only served Him in ways that they wanted to, or only served Him when it was to their benefit, or even only served Him to look good to others. Where are the bold, radical, full of faith Christians that the Bible calls us to be?

We have been created to serve our Heavenly Father. If that is so, it would seem to follow, that serving Him would be easier than falling down. But, the truth of the matter is the opposite, it is hard to serve the Lord. Everything, or at least almost everything in our lives tries to impede our walk with the Lord and our service to Him. This even includes things that we would expect to help us, such as family, friends, and church members.

What? The church can impede us from serving the Lord? How is that possible?

It's quite possible; and it can happen in many different ways. It could be that some brother in the Lord has a personality that irks you. Or, it could be that the tradition of your particular denomination prevents you from really knowing the Lord as you could. It could even be an offense against your pastor you have guarded in your heart for the last five years. Then again, it could be that you're expecting the pastor to do everything for you, and that is keeping you from studying the Word of God as you should. As I said, there are many ways.

There are general things that impede our walk with the Lord, such as sin, distractions, other activities, other interests, and our own selfish pride. But, in addition, each of us has something specific that is impeding our walk at any particular moment. It seems that we only manage to get through with one of these, before another crops up.

Actually, that's the idea; get through the things that impede us from serving the Lord, so that we can get to the next battle. Each victory we have, brings us that much closer to having the walk with the Lord that we are supposed to have.

Some people go through these battles at a run, as if they are in a contest to get through them as fast as possible. We call these people "people who are hungry for the Lord." Then there are the others. It seems like they battle with the same thing over, and over, and over again; never quite managing to win. Those people never gain the fullness of relationship with the Lord that they could have.

The gospels are full of people who had their own battles with drawing close to the Lord. Some of them actually overcame their struggles, but many didn't.

I don't know about you, but it seems to me if the Lord Himself were walking amongst us, we shouldn't have those types of struggles, but they did. In fact, I think it's safe to say that most of the people who came to know Jesus didn't overcome their struggles. Otherwise, why were there so few of them who actually followed Him? Why were there only 120 people in the upper room awaiting His return, instead of thousands?

And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? ¹⁸ And Jesus said unto him… ¹⁹ Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother. ²⁰ And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth. ²¹ Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. ²² And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.

Mk 10:17-22

This man, often called the rich young ruler, is a classic example of a person who couldn't follow Jesus to the fullest, because of things that impeded him. Although we normally focus on his money, there were actually three different things that kept him from following the Lord. But, I'm getting ahead of myself.

The first question this passage raises is whether or not this young man actually wanted to serve the Lord. The answer to that question is found in the first verse of the story, verse 17. At first glance, it looks like he did in fact want to serve the Lord, because he came running up to Jesus, and kneeled before him. As a rich man, he probably didn't kneel before anyone, except maybe the king. But, his question gives him away. He didn't ask what he had to do to get closer to God, nor to be more holy. He asked what he had to do to inherit eternal life.

He was actually just like many believers who are more interested in having their "ticket to get into heaven" than they are in having a relationship with the Lord, or in serving Him. He ran up to Jesus, and knelt before Him because he understood his own lack, and his need for help. All Jesus was to him was a source to find the answer to his quandary. But, at the same time, he wasn't willing to pay the price necessary to gain what he was seeking.

So, his first problem was his lack of hunger for the Lord. Remember the parable of the pearl of great price? The merchant who found that pearl wanted it so much, that he sold all he had in order to buy that pearl. He was hungry for ownership of that great pearl.

We must understand that having a relationship with the Lord isn't cheap, although many try and have a cheap relationship with the Lord. If we don't have such a great hunger for the Lord, for His presence, and to have an intimate relationship with Him, that we're willing to pay anything, nothing else matters. Whatever price we have to pay will seem too high to us.

Salvation is free, but living a sanctified life isn't cheap. Jesus paid a high price for our salvation, the price of His suffering on the cross. We too have to be willing to pay a high price; not for our salvation, but for the benefits of a sanctified life.

What does that mean? It means that there will be things that the Holy Spirit will remove from our lives. Some of those things will seem to us as if we are paying a high price. But, it's still a much cheaper price than Jesus paid for us. Why do those things have to be removed from our lives? Because, they prevent us from drawing close to the Lord.

Don't misunderstand me in this, but salvation in and of itself isn't enough. God isn't looking for a people who just have their tickets to get into heaven; He's looking for a people who love Him as much as He loves us. He's looking for a people who will separate themselves unto Him, and serve Him with all their hearts, souls, and lives.

Let's go on with analyzing this young man's problems. Jesus answers the man's questions by telling him to obey the commandments. Now, I don't think Jesus was telling him that obeying the commandments would guarantee eternal life. We aren't saved by our works, nor by obedience to the law. We are saved by grace. Obeying the law, and doing good works is how we show that we are saved, not how we are saved.

I can imagine the young man's reaction to this response. He was a Jew, of course he knew the law. He had probably been trained in the whole of the law ever since he was old enough to understand what his parents were saying to him. Whether or not it was true, he believed that he was a good man, obeying every part of the law. Believing so, he answered the Lord quickly, saying, "all these have I observed from my youth."

Liar! Maybe he really thought he had obeyed the law, but he hadn't taken the time to really analyze his life, and assure that he hadn't broken the law.

One of the commandments that Jesus quoted to him was, "Do not commit adultery." Maybe he hadn't actually been in bed with a woman who wasn't his life, but he'd probably thought about a time, or two. According to Jesus, that's the same thing (Mat 5:28). Or, how about the commandment, "Thou shalt not kill?" Again, he probably thought he had never killed anybody, but Jesus said that being angry at your brother is the same thing (Mat 5:21-22). Everyone has committed that sin. Then there was the commandment, "Thou shalt not steal." He was probably just as sure he'd never taken a single thing that belonged to another. But, what about stealing someone's time, their joy, their peace? Finally, Jesus said, "Do not bear false witness." False witness doesn't just refer to being in a courtroom, it refers to all manner of lying. I heard a statistic somewhere that the average person lies 800 times a day. Now, I'm not too sure about that statistic, but I think it's safe to say that all of us say things that aren't quite true on a regular basis.

We could keep going throughout the 10 Commandments and find areas where this young man had broken them, just like we can for ourselves. The point is that he didn't realize he had broken them, or didn't want to admit it.

Jesus told this young man to obey the commandments in order to show him his own fault, and his need for a savoir. But, he didn't catch the lesson. He was blind to his own sin. How is that possible? It's easy, just look at your own life. We are all blind to our own sin, unless we ask the Holy Spirit to open our eyes, and show us our sin.

What makes it so easy to be blind to our sin is that we can always find others who are worse than we are. As long as we are comparing ourselves to ourselves (2 Cor 10:12), we will look good in our own eyes (Pro 12:15; 16:2; 21:2). It is only when we compare ourselves to the standard of the Word of God, and the life of Jesus Christ that we can see how much we lack in being made perfect.

That young man's blindness prevented him from seeing what he needed in order to have what he was seeking. He was blind in two ways, first of all in not seeing what he truly needed, and secondly in not seeing how far he was from the goal.

All right, let's move on to his third area of problem; that was his riches. This is the area that is most easily seen in this story, but for most of us it is the area most hard to apply to our lives. Why is it hard to apply? Because, we all tend to say, it can't apply to us, we don't have enough money for that problem.

One doesn't need to have lots of money to have problems with it. One doesn't need to have even one cent to love riches. Again, we're dealing with an attitude of the heart here, not the outward action that the attitude creates.

For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil, for which: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

1 Timothy 6:10

Typically, we quote the first part of that verse, without the rest of it. But, to really understand it, we need to read the whole verse. Notice it says that "some have coveted after money." The word "covet" means "To have a strong desire of obtaining something that is supposedly good," or "The wish to have more than one possesses." Looking at it in this light, we can clearly see that not only poor people covet money. In fact, it's hard to say if rich people, or poor people covet money more.

When someone doesn't go to church, because they have to go to work, that is coveting money. Okay, okay, let's give them some grace. There are times that come up which are unavoidable, in which someone has to work on Sunday. That's not what I'm talking about. What I'm talking about is the person that puts their job before their service to the Lord. Those people are coveting money, and there's a lot of them in the church.

I don't know from scripture if the rich young ruler had a strong desire to obtain more money, but I do know that he had a strong desire to hand on to what he had. There is a risk in having much, it is that what you own also owns you. It owns your time, your affections, and your labor to take care of it.

One of the most personally freeing things that has happened in my life was when God commanded us to leave the house, and move into motorhome. He did it so that we could travel full time in the ministry. But, one of the things that happened was that we didn't have to spend so much time cleaning and caring for the house, and all the stuff in it.

I didn't realize how materialistic I was until God put me in that situation. Living in a motorhome eliminated the desire to have lots of stuff, because there wasn't anyplace to put it. If we bought something extra, that just about required us throwing something away.

Our modern societies are very materialistic. This is one of the things that the United States is teaching the whole world. There is a constant desire to have more, have better, have newer, and have more luxurious. That is covetousness.

Jesus saw the effect that young man's riches had on him. Apparently this, and not the other things I mentioned, was his biggest problem. Knowing this, Jesus dealt with it directly, saying: "One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me" (Mat 10:21).

There's a lot in that sentence. First of all, Jesus talked about the young man's lack. To deal with that lack, Jesus told him to do four things:

1. Sell whatever thou hast

2. Give to the poor

3. Take up the cross

4. Follow me

Why did Jesus give him this particular set of instructions? First of all, the young man had to get rid of what was holding him back, his possessions. Secondly, Jesus gave him a ministry to complete, that of helping the poor. True love of the Lord will manifest itself in some type of ministry. Finally, Jesus told him that eternal life comes from following the way of the Lord.

In addition, right in the middle of all that, Jesus gave him a promise, "thou shalt have treasure in heaven." What a great promise. He would not lose anything of what he was giving, because he would be depositing it in a heavenly bank account, to be withdrawn, with interest, in his eternal life.

Unfortunately, due to the blindness caused by his possessions, that young man couldn't see how he could do what Jesus told him, and went away sad. Had he truly known scripture, he would have known that giving what he had, and especially giving to the poor, was the path to receiving more. Proverbs tells us: "He who gives to the poor, lends to the Lord, and He will surely repay" (Prov 19:17). Who would repay? God Himself; and when God repays, He does so with a good interest rate. To start giving to the poor would have opened up the windows of heaven, allowing more riches to come to him. He literally would never be able to complete giving away what he had.

Another thing would have happened as well. By giving away what he had, that young man would be participating in a great work in his own heart. His act of giving would change his heart. Instead of having his heart focused on his stuff, he would gain a heart focused upon heaven.

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: ²⁰ But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not steal: ²¹ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Matthew 6:19-21

"Okay," you might say, "that's one example, how about some others?" Glad you asked, there's lots more where he came from. How about the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector:

Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. ¹¹ The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. ¹² I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. ¹³ And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.

Luke 18:10-13

The Pharisees were the strictest, most law abiding, holies of the Jews in the time of Jesus. They did everything they could to honor God, fasted and worshipped regularly, and gave peace offerings to God (the highest form of offering in the Law).

Yet, as we can see from this parable, the Pharisees had one fatal flaw, which kept them from drawing near to God; their pride. They actually thought their legalism brought them close to God, instead of their worship. Over and above this, they were hypocrites. As Jesus said of them, "Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness" (Luk 11:39).

In the Bible, pride is called "the greatest of sins." Yet, these people, who were trying to serve God to the best of their ability, fell into this most dangerous of sins. That Pharisee wouldn't know if he was doing good or bad. Nor would he hear God if God tried to tell him that he was in sin. He'd be sure that the Lord was speaking to someone else, not him.

Pride blinds us to seeing our sin. It also keeps us from putting God in His proper place in our lives. But, more than that, it keeps us out of God's presence. When we are walking in pride, we can't come near to God, no matter what else we try to do.

Pride, more than anything, will prevent the Holy Spirit from working in our life. It causes us to become just like the Pharisee in the parable, full of his own pride, importance, and perceived holiness. It would matter if Jesus Christ Himself manifested in front of someone like that, they wouldn't believe him. They'd be so busy telling the Lord how great they were, and how much they weren't like other men that they wouldn't hear what he had to say about them, and their need for repentance and change.

Let me throw one more biblical example in here, that of Nicodemus:

There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. ² This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him." ³ Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." ⁴ Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?" ⁵ Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. ⁶ That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. ⁷ Do not marvel that I said to you, You must be born again."

John 3:1-7

It is interesting to note that Nicodemus didn't come to Jesus asking anything about being born again, or about entering into the Kingdom of God. However, that's what Jesus talked to him about. Why? Because that's what Nicodemus needed to hear about.

Jesus will always confront a person in their point of greatest spiritual need. That point is always the one thing that is keeping the person from walking closer with Him. In the case of Nicodemus, once again we have a Pharisee; maybe not as bad as the other Pharisee, but still a Pharisee. He was a man well learned in the scripture, especially the law. Jesus confronted his intellect and his knowledge.

When Jesus told Nicodemus of the necessity of being "born again" to enter the Kingdom of God, he confronted all the study and knowledge that Nicodemus had dedicated his life to. As Nicodemus clearly expressed, he could not understand the possibility of being born again.

However, Jesus wasn't talking about a physical birth, He was talking about a spiritual one. This was once again, something that was outside of Nicodemus' understanding, and something that directly confronted his beliefs. Giving credit to Nicodemus, he was at least open to hear what Jesus had to say, and try to understand it. Church history tells us that he was one who accepted Jesus' teachings.

Knowledge can be a great help, or a great hindrance. One who has knowledge can learn things that others can't; simply because he has a basis of understanding. For example, a medical doctor that reads a medical journal understands what he is reading, and can learn more. Why? Because of the education and knowledge that he has. But, someone without any medical training, who reads the same thing, may not learn anything from it. They don't have the basis of knowledge and vocabulary to even understand what is written there.

On the other hand, when a concept is presented that is totally opposite of one's understanding, they have trouble accepting even the possibility of truth in that concept. If we again look at that same medical doctor, and try and tell him about divine healing, he has a problem. Everything he has studied, learned, and experienced tells him that healing comes from the practice of medicine, not from God. He has trouble believing, because of his knowledge.

Of course, there are those that are so sure that they know everything they need to know that they wouldn't accept a new idea if it hit them in the face. They have a little knowledge, and think that's all they need. But, being closed to learning new things is a sign of true ignorance.

When I had been a Christian for five years, I knew that I didn't know much. But, when I had been walking with the Lord for ten years, I was sure I knew everything I needed to know. At fifteen years with Jesus, I was sure I was ready to be an elder in the church. Finally, after twenty years of being a Christian, I realized that I didn't know anything. When I got to that point, the Holy Spirit could start teaching me.

Everything I've written about in 50 books, and over 70 studies has come from what the Holy Spirit taught me after I realized I didn't know anything. We have to realize that we don't know, in order to be open to learn. I now have over 30 years walking with the Lord and I still feel like I don't know anything. But, I'm still learning.

In our modern society, knowledge has increased to levels never before encountered in history. With access to the Internet, which can be found even in remote parts of the world, one has at their fingertips more knowledge than the great minds of the past could even imagine. It doesn't take a lot of money, or a lot of studying to have access to great knowledge.

This is considered a blessing of our modern age. However, when it comes to issues of faith, it isn't a blessing, it's a hindrance. More and more people are struggling to have faith in God, because of their knowledge.

Remember, "Without faith, it's impossible to please God" (Heb 11:6). While all this knowledge is (supposedly) helping society, it is impeding our ability to follow the Lord. All too many times, what we read in the Bible is interpreted through our knowledge of science, instead of using the Bible as the basis to interpret science.

God doesn't want us to draw close to Him in order to question Him about how His Word fits in with man's understanding of evolution. He wants us to draw close to Him out of our love for Him and our desire to be in His presence. If all we can think of is how to adapt God, and His Word to what we know, we will never truly know Him.

What I'm trying to say with all this, is that we need to get these obstructions out of our lives, so that we can draw closer to the Lord. He desires that we are close to Him, but it's up to us to do our part. The writer of Hebrews tells us:

Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

Heb 4:16

What is that throne of grace? It is the throne of Father God. As His beloved children, we have the right to come into the throne room, and sit down at his feet. He desires us to be there, and has made provision for us through His firstborn Son, Jesus. If we allow all these other things to prevent us from drawing close to Him, we are acting as fools.

True Christianity isn't about what church we belong to, nor our title in that church. It isn't even about the work we do for the Lord. True Christianity is about having an intimate relationship with Father God, through Jesus Christ. It's that simple.

All these things that impede our walk with Him are just stumbling blocks placed in our path. We must learn how to avoid them, see ourselves clearly, and allow the Holy Spirit to change us in a way that these things will no longer impede our ability to walk with the Lord.

So, let me ask you, what's impeding you?