Everything But The Main Thing

Over the years, many believe that Warren Buffett has emerged as the greatest investor in American history.

For example, if you had invested $10,000 in “Berkshire Hathaway” when he took control in 1965, your holdings would be worth more than $50 million today.

However, being the second-richest man in the world -

• He still lives in the same house he bought three decades ago for $31,500

• He still drives an old Lincoln Town Car

• He still drinks many cans of Coca-Cola every day

He took control of Berkshire and turned it into one of the largest empires in the world. By the time he was 35, Warren Buffett had amassed 7 million dollars. At 50, he had over 200 million dollars.

Many folks do not agree with Warren Buffet on many political issues, but I admire him because he made his wealth, not on his looks, but by using the intelligence God gave him. It would indeed be an honor to talk to such a man and shake his hand.

The Lord talked with all kinds of people, some were poor and some were rich. In our text we read of a rich young man the Lord encountered!

This young Rich Man represents many in our churches today. They have a desire to be saved, but they have no understanding of what genuine, biblical salvation is all about.

In this passage, the Lord wanted to enlighten this young rich ruler and let him know what he must do to be saved.

First, we need to look at -

I. THE MAN

Look at verse 17, we read, “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?”

We do not know the rich young ruler’s name, but we are told that he was very wealthy, he was young and he was powerful. He was living the good life.

Illus: He reminds me of what Yakov Smirnoff said when he first came to the United States from Russia. He was amazed at the incredible variety of instant products available in American grocery stores.

• He said, “On my first shopping trip, I saw powdered milk…you just add water and you get milk.

• Then I saw powdered orange juice…you just add water and you get orange juice.

• And then I saw baby powder and I thought to myself, what a country!”

God must have thought it was important that we get to know this young RICH MAN, because He records it in three of the Gospels.

Illus: Sometimes we might have pictures of our wife:

• One doing household chores

• One holding a child

• One all dressed up

In every picture it is the same person, but every picture sheds some light on who she is. All of the Gospels reveal the same Savior, but each one sheds more light on WHO HE IS.

Mark tell us:

A. HE HAD YOUTH

Youth can be good and bad. It is bad because a young person does not have the wisdom of age. This is why adults look at some of the decisions that young folks make and we do not say anything because we know it probably would not do any good. We just look at each other and shake our heads! Why? Because we know that they do not know what they are doing!

Illus: This reminds me of a young man that agreed to baby-sit one night so his single mother could have an evening out.

• At bedtime he sent the youngsters upstairs to bed and settled down with a bowl of popcorn to watch a football game.

• One child kept creeping down the stairs, but the young man, with anger in his voice, kept sending him back to bed.

• At 9 PM, the doorbell rang. It was the next-door neighbor, Mrs. Brown, asking whether her son was there. The young man said, “No.”

• Just then a little head appeared over the banister rail and shouted, "I'm here, Mom, but he won't let me come down so I can go home!"

Youth has the disadvantage of lacking the ability to make good decisions because of a lack of knowledge.

B. HE HAD WEALTH

There is nothing wrong with having wealth, but there is something wrong when wealth has us.

In 1 Tim. 6:10, we read, “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”

We live in an age where wealth is an important thing. We now have a television program called, “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?”