Charlie Kirk
18 And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
The context here is of spiritual warfare and paying the cost.
19 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God.
The man does not disagree so we have a ruler that is calling Jesus God, but being discreet about it.
20 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother.
This man knows the word of God.
21 And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up.
This man is keeping the word of God for his whole life. He is just like the Pharisee who was thankful he had not become one of those other things that those who live their whole life in the kingdom of darkness will become.
22 Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.
So let's bring this into the 20th century. This is a pastor. He has spent his whole life learning the word of God and keeping it, he is confessing that Jesus is God, He is discreet, and He is called a ruler, which is what a pastor of a church is. But even though he has cut the cords of sin he is still controlled by one cord, and that is all the things he has. A 501c3 church will have a board of directors. The people on this board are the ones who are most influential in paying the bills of the church. When you see a church with a multi million dollar construction budget and a million dollar sound system, that money did not come from the congregation. These people come in with millions of dollars, get on the board of directors and then direct the church to focus on growth and avoid anything that will scare people away. Don't talk about hell or sin. Don't talk about the Antichrist or prophecy being fulfilled. Instead focus on the power of positive thinking, focus on blessings, etc. This pastor is still a puppet on a string. Now if you were to sell this church and all it has the money and assets must go to another 501c3. So Jesus is telling him the only way out of this is to sell all, give it to a soup kitchen which is also a 501c3 and come follow Him.
23 And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich.
The Lord's advice is the path that leads to salvation. Don't be sorrowful, pray for discernment, pray for your eyes to be opened to see the wisdom in this advice. For example, it seems clear to me at this point that this is what happened to Charlie Kirk. He got to the point in his ministry when he realized the most important thing was inheriting eternal life. Getting some politician elected was not it, and being manipulated by the mega donors trying to direct his ministry was no longer tolerable for him. Can you imagine if he had to sell all, that was a very big ministry he would have to give up. But instead he wanted to reform it from within with a DOGE style audit. He thought the problem was not that he was being manipulated by the mega donors but rather he was being manipulated by a few of the mega donors. This is the guy refusing to sell all, give to the poor, and follow the Lord. There was a mixture and it was hard to see until the Memorial service. You might have thought he already was following the Lord, but at the Memorial you saw how the political powers that be had their hooks in that ministry.
24 And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! 25 For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
Do not think that if you are going to be faithful to the Lord that this means you must be assassinated like Charlie Kirk. Instead think that our ministry must thread the needle. In order to do that we can't be a camel weighed down with a giant ministry that is like a big tree with foul birds roosting in the branches. Paul is a great example, if you count every single person he names as a coworker or colleague it is less than 20, I count 17. If you count up all who abandoned him it is four people by name and also "all who are in Asia". I don't think any of us could have a more impactful ministry than Paul. Now of those who actually were accompanying him in his ministry it is six. My dad told me if you have twelve one will be a Judas. Paul had six.
When I was younger I did a lot a hiking and camping. You did not want to bring food that would attract bears, mountain lions, etc. So we would eat freeze dried food. You don't have to, you can use a rope to hang your pack from a tree high enough that bears and lions can't reach, but then you have to carry rope and you also will attract these animals to your campsite. My point is that I see ministry the same way. It is best to not have any money involved, because money will attract the beasts like the son of perdition. But if you are sure that is the way the Lord is leading you then you must take all these other things to make sure the wild animals don't get to the food. It seems to me that Charlie discovered the wild animals had gotten to the food.
Second, six people are really the best for a hike. You don't want to go alone, if you were to break your leg you are alone. Two people is hard because one goes for help and leaves the other alone. Three is better, four is better still, and six is ideal. But eight people would be better off as two groups of four.
I realize just about everyone who reads this will think I am nuts. Pray about it, lay it before the Lord. Do you want to hire a security team or would you rather have angels as your security team? On the Sabbath day you don't collect manna because it will breed worms. In my experience if you have a 100 million dollar endowment to your ministry it breeds worms.
26 And they that heard it said, Who then can be saved? 27 And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.
I am not talking about salvation. Charlie can be in charge of a multi million dollar ministry and still be saved. However, he will not be able to avoid the worms, and the wild beasts. I remember the bank robber who was asked why he robbed banks and he said "because that is where the money is". The easiest way to repel thieves and robbers from your ministry is to not have any money.
28 Then Peter said, Lo, we have left all, and followed thee. 29 And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God's sake, 30 Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting.
What a wonderful promise. But look at what He is saying, Jesus understands that if you take this way He is suggesting, selling all and giving to the poor, that it will mean forsaking houses, and perhaps family members will also abandon you. It is very possible that your wife would be happy to live with you as long as you are the pastor of a big church, but if you sell all and follow the Lord she may decide that life is not for her and leave you.