The Place of Possessions (Part 2)
Matthew 19:16-30
March 2, 2008
NOTE: THE ME/WE/GOD/YOU/WE FORMAT USED IN MY MESSAGES IS BORROWED FROM ANDY STANLEY’S BOOK, "COMMUNICATING
FOR A CHANGE."
We: I think most people grow up with dreams of making a ton of money and being rich.
Whether it’s through an inheritance or by inventing the next big thing or by discovering gold in your back yard, I think that most all of us have had desires to make big money so we could sit back and get all the stuff we really want, right?
But as we get older, reality sets in and we realize that few find the kind of wealth that would really let us have everything life has to offer.
We begin to see that if we want money, we have to work for it. And usually we have to work hard to get it. And that’s okay.
But I’m also willing to bet that there are untold numbers of people who go home at the end of the day and wish they were rich.
And you know what? I’m no different. Sometimes I get home after a long day and I see the bills just waiting for me.
“Brian’s home! Yee haa! Now he’ll pay attention to us and maybe stuff some money in the envelope!”
And they jump up and down like your dog who’s happy to see you home, right?
No. They just look up at you – mocking you. “Hee hee – I wonder which one of us he’ll actually be able to pay today, bwahahahahaha!”
And like you, I wish some money would come my way that I didn’t have to earn.
I can think of all types of things that I could do with that money. Pay off the house, get newer cars, get season tickets the Minnesota Twins and a helicopter so I could go see the games…
You know, necessities of life!
God: We began looking at an episode of Jesus’ life in Matthew 19, about a rich young man who had approached Jesus to ask one of the most fundamental and essential questions of life.
Jesus’ answer was not at all he was expecting, and he ended up rejecting it.
And there is a lot we can learn from Jesus’ interaction with this guy, so let’s turn there.
Matthew 19:16-30 (p. 696) –
16 Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?"
17 "Why do you ask me about what is good?" Jesus replied. "There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments."
18 "Which ones?" the man inquired. Jesus replied, "’Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, 19 honor your father and mother,’ and ’love your neighbor as yourself.’"
20 "All these I have kept," the young man said. "What do I still lack?"
21 Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
22 When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.
Here is the meat of what we’re going to focus on today:
23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."
25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, "Who then can be saved?"
Stop there for a moment: why would they ask this? Because the Jews of that time thought that wealth was a sign of God’s favor. So if a rich guy couldn’t make it, then what hope did these disciples have?
26 Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
27 Peter answered him, "We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?"
28 Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first."
Three main lessons from this passage:
1. There is nothing we can do to gain eternal life. Eternal life is found only in Christ.
2. When possessions get in the way of following Christ, it can affect our lives – for both now and for eternity.
3. There is reward for following Jesus – eternal life and the “replacement” of those things that are lost.
Last week we looked at the first lesson, basically saying that there is no way to earn or buy our way into heaven.
This week we take a look at the second lesson, and really, I think this is the heart of what the Scripture is trying to communicate to us.
This guy came to Jesus with a simple question: “What do I need to do to be assured that I’ll be in heaven when I die.”
He was looking for something that he could do, outside of the Law that he claimed he had kept from the time he was a boy.
And Jesus sees that he had one huge barrier in his life, and so he told him that he needed to get rid of it – his wealth.
But as we saw last week, in spite of his great wealth, he decided that the price was too high and he walked away without possessing eternal life after all.
Again, I need to point out that Jesus was not saying that the man could earn heaven buy giving away his wealth.
He was saying that the wealth was in the way of this guy seeing what eternal life was really all about – trusting and following Christ.
The young man was possessed by his possessions and missed the opportunity to be with Christ (LACNT).
Adapted from the Life Application Concise New Testament Commentary:
Jesus explained that it was very hard for a rich person to get into the Kingdom of Heaven. He used a common Jewish proverb of a camel unable to go through the eye of a needle to describe the difficulty of the rich entering God’s Kingdom.
And by the way, some people feel that this “eye of a needle” is a small gate where a camel had to get down on its knees and kind of shuffle through.
But that’s not supported by the text. The word Jesus uses is literally a sewing needle. And so you can easily see how hard Jesus makes the situation.
The idea is that it’s impossible for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven – without Christ.
Why is that? It’s because wealth can put up an insurmountable barrier to faith in Jesus.
Wealth can be a stumbling block. The rich, with most of their basic physical needs met, often become self-reliant.
When they feel empty, they can buy something new to dull the pain that was meant to drive them toward God.
Their abundance and self-sufficiency become their deficiency.
And as this guy sadly shows us, people who have everything on earth can still lack what is most important—eternal life.
Important to note that Jesus is not saying it’s wrong to be wealthy.
Nothing in Scripture says that it’s a sin to gain wealth through any honest means.
He’s saying that when your wealth gets in the way of following Jesus, it’s wrong and needs to be set aside for the sake of your eternal destiny.
This same thing can be applied to many things, including a lot of good things.
Recreation is good – but if your recreation gets in the way of following Christ, you need to re-prioritize so you can focus on following Christ.
Music is good – but if your music is getting between you and following Christ, it’s time to re-prioritize so you can focus on following Christ.
Work is good – but if you’re a workaholic and you don’t have time to follow Christ, then you need to re-prioritize so you can focus on following Christ.
Now this is probably where I fall down the most. Between my two jobs, I put in a lot of hours. And I’m not home as much as I should be, and quite often, my to-do list gets in the way of spending time with God.
So I’m not exempt from this stuff!
Sports are good – but if your sports get in the way of following Christ, then you need to re-prioritize so you can follow Christ.
Political involvement is good – but if that involvement gets in the way of following Christ, then it’s time to re-prioritize so you can focus on following Christ, remembering that God’s not as worried about that stuff as you and I might be!
Folks, you have to understand that this episode of Jesus’ life isn’t just about money.
Money is good – but like all these other things, if you’re so focused on money and possessions that it keeps you from following Christ, you need to set that focus aside so you can focus on following Christ.
Because you have to understand something: it’s not just the rich that have this problem. This problem is attached to anyone who puts making money ahead of Christ, whether you’ve got a lot or whether you only have a little.
Do you understand that? Many people become obsessed with money because they don’t have enough of it.
I know – I’ve been there, and my wife can tell you the effect it had on me and the stress level in our home.
And listen – there’s a deeper lesson here: when anything comes between you and God, then that thing becomes an idol, in a very real sense.
I used to bristle at the thought that anything other than a real stone idol, or golden calf or whatever, was an idol.
But I’ve come to the conclusion that it is true – when you allow anything to come before God, it is an idol, and it is sin to do that.
Sports can be an idol; political involvement can be an idol; money can be an idol; recreation can be an idol; even your family can be an idol.
Idols keep us from seeing the true God and our need for Him – just like in the case of this young man.
Folks this is so important. This is truth that will affect your eternal destiny. If you pursue wealth at the expense of pursuing Christ, you will miss out on all Christ has to offer you now and more importantly, you may miss out on the promise of eternal life that He came to earth to bring you.
Billy Graham said, “If a person gets his attitude toward money straight, it will help straighten out almost every other area of his life.” (SermonCentral.com. Contributed by: Glenn Teal)
You: The main idea of verses 23-26 –
Don’t let possessions keep you from possessing eternal life.
I’m not saying you shouldn’t attempt to improve your financial situation. Please don’t read that into what I’m saying.
I’m saying don’t let the pursuit of a “better life” take the place of following and loving Christ, who has promised to meet the needs of those who seek first His kingdom and His righteousness.
I don’t have a list of things for you to do to apply this for today. No “123, ABC” steps to becoming a person who isn’t possessed by your possessions or your pursuit of them.
All I want you to do is think for a moment right now and answer this question in your heart. It’s one of the most important questions you will ever ask yourself:
If my life ended today, would God see that I cared more for money and what it could give me than I cared for Jesus?
Would my life be more defined by the pursuit of money and possessions than by a love for Christ and His Kingdom?
I can’t answer that for you. Only you can do that.
I know that there have been times in my life when the answer wouldn’t have been good. How about you? How would you answer that?
We: One of the more heartbreaking things I see among Christians is how quick they are to discard the inconvenience of following Christ for the pleasures of focusing on themselves.
They say they love Christ, but really, they love themselves, and they’ll do whatever it takes to make sure they have everything they need and want.
What does that tell the world? It tells them that Christians have nothing more to live for than those without Christ.
And that’s not what we need to be showing folks.
We need to show people that our hope isn’t in what we can get in our pockets, but what Christ can do in our hearts.
They need to see that we hold our possessions loosely, and that our priority is Christ ahead of our bank accounts.
Will they see it in you? Will they see it in us? May it be so. For our sake. For the sake of the Kingdom. And for the sake of God’s Kingdom.
