As we neared the very end of this year’s 21-day fast, I continued to pray and seek God for new revelation inside of His Word, and a thought came to my mind and a certain passage of scripture along with it.
All my life growing up in church (mostly charismatic and Pentecostal type churches) I heard a particular phrase quite often. I heard this phrase said by many preachers, evangelists, teachers, and I, Clayton Baird, have even said it before.
The phrase goes like this:
“WHEN YOU ENCOUNTER JESUS CHRIST, YOU CAN NEVER WALK AWAY THE SAME.”
All my life, thus far, I believed this phrase to be true; but I have recently come to the conclusion that I don’t believe the statement in its entirety. Do I believe Jesus Christ can change a man or woman in an instant? Yes. Do I believe there is power in our Lord that is able to completely bring healing, resolve, restoration, peace, and hope to a circumstance right there on the spot? Absolutely! But I also believe to experience true transformation and change it takes more than simply “being” in the presence of Jesus.
Now before you throw stones and call me a heretic (haha)… follow me on this point.
I want to turn on attention to Matthew 19:16-26 (NIV):
The Rich Young Man
16Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?"
17"Why do you ask me about what is good?" Jesus replied. "There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments."
18"Which ones?" the man inquired.
Jesus replied, " 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony,19honor your father and mother,' and 'love your neighbor as yourself.'"
20"All these I have kept," the young man said. "What do I still lack?"
21Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
22When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.
23Then Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."
25When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, "Who then can be saved?"
26Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
Here in Matthew 19 we find the story of a man who encounters Jesus Christ… the same one that healed the blind man, the paralyzed man at the pool of Bethesda, the woman with the issue of blood, and the Centurion’s servant. But the rich young man’s story ended a little differently.
He doesn’t walk away healed, restored, or uplifted. The Bible says he walks away sad, disheartened, and downcast. He came to Jesus asking about salvation, and yet, he left without salvation. He left exactly the same way as when he came.
The difference with the rich young man’s story is simply… FAITH. If he would have believed, fully, in the One he was encountering and had faith that life following Jesus would have been more fulfilling than what he currently had, then I am sure he would have sold all his possessions and followed the Lord. But because of his lack of faith and belief, he was not changed or transformed in his encounter with God.
Fasting is extremely powerful and it certainly gets the attention of our God in heaven, but if we forget to couple our fasting with some extreme FAITH that Jesus can and will bring healing, restoration, and hope to our situations… then, I believe, it is possible to encounter Jesus and walk away the same. But through FAITH, transformation takes place. Jesus is certainly “willing” to do what we ask of Him (Matthew 8:1-4), but is out FAITH at a level that Jesus CAN DO what we are asking of Him?
What the rich young man didn’t know was the promise that was extended to him and anyone else like him in Mark 10:29 when Jesus said:
"I tell you the truth," Jesus replied, "no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel 30will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life.
I believe our encounter with Jesus Christ during this fast must be coupled with extreme faith, that Jesus is who He says He is, and that He is more than enough for what I am going through and what I need in my life.
Twelve disciples were offered the same deal as the rich young man, and they all said, “YES.” And from then on, their life with Christ was the most fulfilling thing they could have ever dreamed of. But one man (the rich young man) missed the opportunity, and walked away the same, because he did not have faith.
Don’t miss your opportunity to never be the same again… it comes when we encounter Jesus and have great FAITH!
Hebrews 11:6
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
Blessings,
Clayton Baird
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