Who is Winning the Election?

 

I

f you are wondering, I am not talking about politics.

Lately, I have been reading in Matthew and I read the story about the rich young man that confronted Jesus. 

 Mat 19:18

¶

He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,

 Mat 19:19

Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

 Mat 19:20

¶

The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?

 Mat 19:21

¶

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.

 Mat 19:22

¶

But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.                                                           

Its a pretty sad story right? But when I looked at that story, it wasn't sin that kept him from Jesus, it was his possessions.

It wasn't like he was trapped in sin but rather the stuff he had.

And sadly, his flesh won that election.

Every single day is a spiritual election we take part in.

And our actions determine the vote.

There are 2 competitors in this election.

The first competitor is the Flesh. And sadly it wins a LOT in our lives.

The second competitor is Jesus. But often, he doesn't win.

 I found this very interesting. 

For example, on Sunday my alarm went off. I was VERY tired. Let me repeat. VERY tired. So I ignored the alarm. Next thing I knew it was 30 minutes later and I had to hurry to get dressed for church. And sadly I missed out on my devotions and my walk with the Lord. That action was a vote for the flesh.

The next day, I had a free afternoon and instead of doing something that matters, I played around 2 hours of Madden. Is there anything wrong with Madden. No. Actually I reworked my defensive scheme and signed a free agent to help my receiver room. But yet after looking at the end of the day, it was a vote for the flesh. 

I'm not saying video games or sleeping longer is bad. But for me it was a vote for the flesh. 

Over the course of my day there is a battle within me to get votes. Each action i take is a vote for either side.

On one side, the flesh wants to watch more TV, eat more junk food and forget my alarm. 

And on the other side, God wants me to pray for our church, pass out a tract or help my mom wash the dishes.

Every action is a vote for the other side. And at the end of the day, the election is over. The votes have been tallied. And the sad reality is that often the flesh wins the election.

Now back in the story, The rich young man had a huge problem. A ME problem. And sadly when the vote came for him to choose his flesh or choose Jesus, he chose himself. 

And sadly that is what often will keep you from being a mighty Christian. It is not always the big sin problem that keeps you from Jesus but rather all the elections won for the flesh.

Now lastly, Doing something you like or enjoy is not wrong. But when pleasing yourself becomes essential and  pleasing God becomes optional, thats when you'll find yourself in the same problem the rich young man had.

So, who is winning the election in your life??

Acts 20:24

But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God