Title: Sad Man Walking
Text: Mark 10:17-31
Thesis: If you want your life to count, hold nothing back.
(The idea for this message originated from a message by the same title in a series of stewardship messages written by Bryan Wilkerson, pastor of Grace Chapel in Lexington, MA, Preaching Today.com)
Introduction
I say this tongue-in-cheek… this week I have been exposed to a number of things that matter a great deal…
• Are you aware that K-Fed plays the part of a fast-food worker in a commercial that will be aired during the Super Bowl this evening and that, according to the President of the National Restaurant Association, he has directly insulted the 12.8 million people who work in the restaurant industry? How often does a person have the chance to offend nearly 13 million restaurant industry workers?
• Joseph Biden received a lesson in political correctness this week when he attempted to make complimentary remarks about the candidacy of Barak Obama saying he is “the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice looking guy…” Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson were not pleased. (Consequently, K-Fed and Senator Biden have spent a great deal of time apologizing for their insensitivity.)
• And, did you know that Consumer Report has declared McDonald’s Premium Roast Coffee the best coffee in a taste test over Burger King, Dunkin’ Donut, Starbucks coffees. My world is unraveling…
In some ways the world does seem to be unraveling and I do not mean to make light of the fact that there are some very critical issues that are of grave concern in our world today.
One of the reasons I attempt to practice a daily devotional ritual and one of the reasons I attend church… is to keep reminding myself that there are things in life that truly matter. And that there are things that are of ultimate concern and eternal consequence.
This morning I will be making a number of assertions… I will be assertions about things that matter that arise from the biblical text we are examining today. It is the story of The Rich Young Ruler.
The first principle that emerges from the text is this:
I. Everyone in this room today, to a greater or lesser degree, has what the Rich Young Ruler had going for him.
What do we know about the man at the center of our story?
• He was sincere about his faith - A man came to Jesus and knelt down… “Teacher,” the man said, “I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was a child.” Mark 10:17-20
• He was had money - “…he had many possessions.” Mark 10:22
• He was young - “But when the young man heard this he went away…” Matthew 19:22
• He was gifted - “Once a religious leader asked Jesus this question…” Luke 18:18
He had a faith, money, youth, and ability.
We are all sincere about practicing our faith or we would not be here. By virtue of the fact that 1.3 billion people in the world live on less than one dollar a day, we are all comparatively affluent. We are all alive… we all have time. And we are all capable of serving God and others in some way.
The second principle is this:
II. Even the most wealthy, youthful, and gifted wrestle with the ultimate question.
“Teacher, what should I do to get eternal life?” Mark 10:17
The devout, rich, young and talented man had something on his mind. What
was the nature of the questions he posed to Jesus?
He wanted to know what he had to do to inherit eternal life? When he says “get” he is speaking of an inheritance. To inherit means to “receive by lot.” His perception was that eternal life was a God-given gift, i.e., an inheritance. He was asking Jesus what he needed to do to be sure that eternal life would be his lot.
A woman’s husband passed away and left her $20,000. She told a friend that after all of the funeral expenses the entire inheritance was gone. “But how could that be? the friend asked. “Well,” she said, “I paid $8,000 to the funeral director and the memorial stone cost me $12,000.” “My goodness,” said the friend, “just how big was the stone?” The widow smiled and said, “3 carats.”
What the young man was essentially asking was, how can I stay in the good graces of my benefactor… in this case, God, so I can be sure of an inheritance?
The third principle that emerges from the text is this:
III. Jesus is not insensitive to the fact that his followers, and particularly his affluent followers, may have to make difficult choices
“Jesus felt genuine love for this man as he looked at him. ‘You lack only one thing… go and sell all you have and give the money to the poor and then you will have treasure in heaven. And then follow me.” Mark 10:21
The story relates that Jesus felt genuine love for the young man. The implication is that Jesus actually reached out and touched the young man. And then, Jesus told him that he lacked only one thing... he needed to do only one thing before he became a follower of Christ.
Jesus knew what he was asking was a difficult thing and he knew that the one thing he was asking was the one thing that stood between the man and his total devotion to God.
Once a man of some substance was approached to make a contribution to a financial campaign. The need was urgent and the case was compellingly presented. When asked if he would contribute he responded, “I understand why you think I can give you fifty thousand dollars. I am a man of means… but there are some things you don’t know. Did you know that my mother is in an expensive nursing home? Did you know that my brother died leaving a family of five with no support? Did you know that my son is deeply religious and has gone into social work and makes less than the national poverty level and can barely support his family?
The fund-raiser was a bit taken back and said, “Well, no, I didn’t know those things. “
“Well then,” the man said, “if I don’t give them a penny, why do you think I will give it to you?”
The man in this story had an inordinate attachment to his money. In our story, Jesus is asking the man to break his addiction or his attachment to material things so that he can focus on things spiritual.
However, the man did not take Jesus’ advice well. And, it is apparent that he is holding back in one area of his life. He is resisting the giving up of the one thing that keeps him from being a totally devoted follower of Jesus Christ. The bible says that:
• His face fell… in his mind he was thinking, “The cost of eternal life is just too much.”
• He went away sadly because he had many possessions… he had a distraction. He held back on his commitment to God.
Years ago, when Vince Lombardi was coach of the Green Bay Packers (1959-1967), he strictly enforced an 11 p.m. curfew rule with his players. One night he caught Max McGee sneaking out after hours and the following day, fined him $125, with the promise that the next time would cost him $250. Shortly thereafter, he caught Max again and fined him $250, promising him the next time would cost him $500, and he said, “If you do it again it’ll cost you a $1,000.” And then he said, “Max, if you find anything worth sneaking out for a $1,000, call me and I’ll go with you.”
People hold onto a lot of things and sneak around dong lots of things that simply aren’t worth the ultimate cost. Sometime we hold onto things that are ultimately useless.
I’ve read that one of the ways to catch a monkey is to drill a small hole in a coconut and place some rice in the coconut. A monkey will come along, reach into the coconut, fill his fist with rice and then, because of his greed, he cannot get free of the coconut. The monkey places greater value on the fist full of rice than he does on his freedom.
This little story nudges us to ask what it is that we are clasping in our fists… what in our lives are we hoolding back?
This is the point… to be in a right relationship with God, you and I have to give up anything that is more important to us than God. What does God require? All of me… all of you!
The last principle that emerges from the text is this:
IV. The Christ follower who holds nothing back in his love for God and others is investing in eternity.
“I assure you that everyone who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or property for my sake and for the Good News, will receive in return, a hundred times over… in the world to come. And they will have eternal life.” Mark 10:29-20
Jesus acknowledged that money is a big hang-up for some people. He assures us that that nothing is impossible with God… and he promises that there is an ultimate pay-off for those who hold nothing back from God.
This is a story about God’s ability to save the person who has:
• A desire for eternal life
• A struggle with hanging on to something
• A belief that God will keep his promise of eternal life
• A willingness to commit to following Jesus without reservation.
Bryan Wilkerson cited the following story in his sermon, Sad Man Walking. Author Annie Dillard recounts the story of the failed Franklin expedition to the Arctic in 1845. The expedition ended in absolute disaster… the crew had brought all the wrong things with them. Their ship carried a large library, an organ, china place settings, crystal goblets and sterling silver engraved with the initials and family crests of the officers. When rescuers arrived on the scene, they found men frozen to death in fine silk uniforms. One man was carrying his place setting of sterling silver. One commentator states, “One cannot imagine that any of those sailors would have said in the end, ‘I wish I had brought more silver settings…”
One cannot imagine that any of us would in the end, enter into eternity foolishly hanging onto anything that has kept us from following Jesus Christ fully… in that moment we need to arrive knowing we have held nothing back.
Will it be said of us, “There goes a sad man walking.” Or will it be said of us, “There goes a person who managed his time, mastered his money and used his or her abilities to benefit others and God… there goes a person who held nothing back from God.”
