Title: What Shall I Do To Inherit Eternal Life?
Series: The Harvest Is Ripe
Text: Matthew 19:16-22
Introduction: Near Death Experiences
The March 1985 issue of Omni magazine reported a study by Dr. Maurice Rawlings, cardiologist and professor of medicine at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Chattanooga. He and his emergency room colleagues are constantly treating such cases. It is now standard that those who have near death experiences later speak of having experiences of light, lush green meadows, rows of smiling relatives and tremendous peace.
However, in his study, also reported in his book Beyond Death’s Door, Dr. Rawlings obtained new information by interviewing patients immediately after resuscitation while they are still too shaken to deny where they have been. Nearly 50 percent of the group of 300 interviewed reported lakes of fire and brimstone, devil-like figures and other sights hailing from the darkness of hell.
He says they later change their story because most people are simply ashamed to admit they have been to hell; they won’t even admit it to their families. Concludes Dr. Rawlings, "Just listening to these patients has changed my whole life. There’s a life after death, and if I don’t know where I’m going, it’s not safe to die." (James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988) p. 151.)
I. TO INHERIT ETERNAL LIFE I MUST COME TO JESUS. (Matthew 19:16)
Illustration: It’s Me Jesus!
At a religious meeting in the South of London a timid little girl desired the prayers of Christians for herself that she might be saved; so she said to the gentleman conducting the meeting, "Will you pray for me in the meeting, please? But do not mention my name."
In the meeting that followed, when every head was bowed silently in prayer, this gentleman prayed for a little girl who wanted to come to Jesus, and he said:
"O Lord, there is a little girl who does not want her name known, but Thou dost know her; save her soul, Lord."
There was perfect silence for an instant, then away in the back of the room a little voice said, "Please, it’s me, Jesus -- it’s me!"
She did not want any doubt or uncertainty. She wanted to be saved, and she was not ashamed to arise in that meeting, little girl as she was, and say, "It’s me, Jesus, it’s me."
Are we willing to confess our needs and make our wants and wishes known? (Source unknown)
James 4:8-10
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.
A. Come Totally Trusting Christ. (Luke 13:24)
Illustration: Carried To Eternal Rest
I heard of a little lad named Kenny who developed leukemia. The disease progressed rapidly. Soon he was unable to go to school, then unable to go out at all, and finally confined to his bed. One day he asked the question his mother had most feared hearing. "Mother," he said, "what is it like to die?" Though she’d steeled herself for that moment, she couldn’t handle it when it came, so she excused herself and went out of the room. And there in the bathroom she prayed, her knuckles as white as the porcelain in the sink top.
Then, guided by God’s Spirit, I believe, she went back into the bedroom and said, "Kenny, you remember how when you were a very little fellow you sometimes would fall asleep in my bed? And how the next morning, when you would waken, you would find yourself in your own bed and in your own room? Do you know how that happened? That happened because while you were sleeping, your big brother came, or your father came, and he lifted you up and carried you so gently to your own bed and to your own room. That, Kenny, is what death is like."
The youngster smiled, for he understood. A few weeks later he fell asleep, and while he slept, his elder Brother and ours, his Father and ours, came and lifted him up and took him off to his own room and to his own bed. (Source unknown)
1. The young ruler realized an emptiness in his life that he could not identify.
2. He was highly regarded in the world, but did not possess the peace and assurance that comes from knowing Jesus Christ.
3. He did not come trusting Christ, and walked away empty handed.
B. Come Sincerely Seeking Christ. (Matthew 15:8-9)
C. Come Desperately Desiring Christ. (2 Corinthians 7:9-11)
Illustration: Don’t Make Me Go Forward
I was saved when I was eleven years old. My parents had started taking us kids to a small Baptist church, and it wasn’t long before the Lord began to prompt me toward salvation. But I was a shy lad, and I simply did not want to go to the altar in front of all those people. Naturally, I really didn’t have to go to an altar in church to get salvation, but like the young man’s riches, it was the act of go forward in public that held me back from saying yes to the Lord.
Finally, with the help of my pastor, I was able to overcome my fear and shyness because my fear of going to hell conquered my fear of public profession. When I became desperate enough, I didn’t care any more about going forward in public.
II. TO INHERIT ETERNAL LIFE I MUST CONFESS MY SIN. (Matthew 19:17-20)
A. Religious Ritualism Cannot Produce Eternal Life. (Matthew 19:17-19)
Note: The Lord’s abrupt and seemingly evasive words, "Why are you asking Me about what is good?" reveal that He could read the man’s heart. He had asked about eternal life verbally, and his heart was longing to know what good work could bring him that life. Jesus’ comment that "there is only One who is good" was perhaps a means of prying out of the man just who he thought Jesus was. Did he realize that the One whom he was asking about what is good was Himself the One who is good, namely, God? Had he come to Jesus for divine help because he believed Jesus Himself to be divine? Because the man made no response concerning the only One who is good, it seems certain that he viewed Jesus as no more than an especially gifted human teacher. He had indeed come to the right source for the answer to his question and the fulfillment of his need, but he did not recognize that Source for who He really was. (The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, (c) Moody Press and John MacArthur, Jr., 1983-2002.)
Illustration: Under New Management
Let me put it to you with the story of a simple, illiterate man who was converted through the work of the Salvation Army. He went regularly to the Salvation Army citadel. One day he came home rather disconsolate. His wife said, "What’s the matter?" He said, "I’ve just noticed that all the people in the Salvation Army wear red sweaters, and I don’t have a red sweater." She said, "I’ll knit one." So she knitted him a red sweater.
The next Sunday after he went to the citadel, he still wasn’t happy. His wife said, "What’s wrong this time?" He said, "I just noticed all their red sweaters have yellow writing." They were both illiterate, but she said, "Don’t worry about it. I’ll embroider some writing on for you."
She had no idea what the yellow writing on the red sweater of a Salvation Army man said--Any of you know what it is? They have a yellow circle, and in it, BLOOD AND FIRE. That’s their motto. The man’s wife had no idea what the letters said, and she couldn’t read anyway. So copying a sign from a store window opposite their home, she embroidered the words of that store sign onto his red sweater.
When he came back the next Sunday, she said, "Did they like your sweater?" "They loved my sweater. Some of them said they liked my sweater better than their sweater."
What neither of them knew was that the sign on the store window she had copied read, THIS BUSINESS UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT. That’s what it means to get saved. That’s what it means to get converted. That’s what it means for the Holy Ghost to come upon you: this business under new management. (Stuart Briscoe, "Christmas 365 Days a Year," Preaching Today, Tape 135.)
1. When we come to Christ, He tests our true purpose and motivation.
2. We must have a sense of our own sinfulness.
3. Many people will come to Christ with great interest in Him, but their hearts are not yet ready to believe.
Note: The Lord did not mention the first four of the Ten Commandments, which center on man’s attitude toward God, or the first and greatest commandment, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” Those commandments are even more impossible to keep than the ones Jesus quoted. The Lord therefore challenged the young ruler against the least impossible of the commandments, as it were. (The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, (c) Moody Press and John MacArthur, Jr., 1983-2002.)
B. Prideful Proclamations Cannot Produce Eternal Life. (Matthew 19:20; James 2:10)
1. The man responded from a sense of pride in his life’s accomplishments.
2. It’s easy to believe we are righteous when we compare ourselves to others, especially those whom we consider to be of a lesser quality than ourselves.
3. We convince ourselves that God only sees the good things we do, and doesn’t consider our sin.
4. We develop our own list of rules that we believe will make us righteous.
5. We are good by our own standards, but that is not the standard that God uses. (Matthew 23:27)
III. TO INHERIT ETERNAL LIFE I MUST SUMBIT TO CHRIST. (Matthew 19:21-22)
Quote: "He is no fool who gives up that which he cannot keep in order to gain that which he cannot lose." (George Martin, former NFL defensive lineman, on a Billy Graham telecast, 12-4-91.)
Note: Our Lord gave this young man a test. He had to make a choice between Christ and his possessions and sin, and he failed the test. No matter what he may have believed, because he was unwilling to forsake all, he could not be a disciple of Christ. Salvation is for those who are willing to forsake everything.
The incident recorded here gives insight into how some people who show great interest in the gospel never come to a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. This young man went away from Christ not because he heard the wrong message or because he did not believe but because he was unwilling to admit his sin, forsake all that he had, and obey Christ as Lord. (The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, (c) Moody Press and John MacArthur, Jr., 1983-2002.)
Illustration: Terrified By The Unknown
An Arab chief tells a story of a spy who was captured and then sentenced to death by a general in the Persian army. This general had the strange custom of giving condemned criminals a choice between the firing squad and the big, black door. As the moment for execution drew near, the spy was brought to the Persian general, who asked the question, "What will it be: the firing squad or the big, black door?"
The spy hesitated for a long time. It was a difficult decision. He chose the firing squad.
Moments later shots rang out confirming his execution. The general turned to his aide and said, "They always prefer the known way to the unknown. It is characteristic of people to be afraid of the undefined. Yet, we gave him a choice."
The aide said, "What lies beyond the big door?"
"Freedom," replied the general. "I’ve known only a few brave enough to take it." (Don McCullough, "Reasons to Fear Easter," Preaching Today, Tape No. 116.)
A. I Cannot Make An Empty Profession. (Matthew 7:21-23)
1. If I make a profession of faith that is not accompanied by a change of heart, attitudes, and behavior, I have come in vain. (Luke 6:46)
2. If I make a verbal profession but have no love for God, no interest in the Bible, no desire to pray, and no longing for fellowship, I cannot confidently claim eternal life. (James 2:19)
B. I Cannot Hang On To Favorite Sins. (2 Timothy 2:19b)
1. Every sin must be confessed and forsaken.
2. This does not mean that I will never sin again, but it does mean that I no longer enjoy my sin.
C. I Cannot Regard Iniquity In My Heart. (Psalms 66:18)
Illustration: Don’t Stay In The Water
You don’t drown by falling in the water, you drown by staying there. (Chinese proverb, Christian Reader, Vol. 34.)
1. I must confront my sinfulness and helplessness to be saved.
2. It is impossible to realize my need for mercy until I realize the magnitude of my guilt.
Note: The young man did not want Jesus either as Savior or as Lord. He was not willing to give Him his sins to be forgiven or his life to be ruled. Therefore when he heard Jesus’ statement, he went away grieved; for he was one who owned much property Contrary to his own self-assessment, he did not live up to any of God’s law, but he was especially guilty in the area of materialism. The property he thought he owned really owned him, and he would rather be its servant than Jesus’.
He went away grieved because, although he came to Jesus for eternal life, he left without it. He did not desire it above the possessions of his present life. He wanted to gain salvation, but not as much as he wanted to keep his property. (The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, (c) Moody Press and John MacArthur, Jr., 1983-2002.)
Conclusion: Thank You For Tomorrow
He was just a little fellow. His mother died when he was just a child. His father, in trying to be both mommy and daddy, had planned a picnic. The little boy had never been on a picnic, so they made their plans, fixed the lunch, and packed the car. Then it was time to go to bed, for the picnic was the next day. He just couldn’t sleep. He tossed and he turned, but the excitement got to him. Finally, he got out of bed, ran into the room where his father had already fallen asleep, and shook him. His father woke up and saw his son. He said to him, "What are you doing up? What’s the matter?"
The boy said, "I can’t sleep."
The father asked, "Why can’t you sleep?"
In answering, the boy said, "Daddy, I’m excited about tomorrow."
His father replied, "Well, Son, I’m sure you are, and it’s going to be a great day, but it won’t be great if we don’t get some sleep. So why don’t you just run down the hall, get back in bed, and get a good night’s rest."
So the boy trudged off down the hall to his room and got in bed. Before long, sleep came--to the father, that is. It wasn’t long thereafter that back was the little boy. He was pushing and shoving his father, and his father opened his eyes. Harsh words almost blurted out until he saw the expression on the boy’s face. The father asked, "What’s the matter now?"
The boy said, "Daddy, I just want to thank you for tomorrow."
When I think of my past and the fact that a loving Father would not let me go, reached down in his divine providence, and lifted me off of the streets of Harlem, when I think of what he has done for me and then think that he is planning a new thing for me that will surpass the past, let the record show this night in this place that Benjamin Reaves testified, Father, I want to thank you for tomorrow! (Benjamin Reaves, "Living Expectantly," Preaching Today, Tape No. 65.)
