"The Magnetism of Materialism"
Mat 19:16 And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
18 He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,
19 Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
20 The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?
21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.
INTRODUCTION: How many of you have ever watched a TV show called "Hoarders?" I did recently and to be honest, I was amazed and astonished at the degree to which some folks will hold on to things (stuff). This person (the hoarder), had so much stuff that she didn't even have a place to sleep or sit down! What was heartbreaking was that these episodes are really interventions on the part of family members and friends who are trying to help the hoarder to break this destructive habit or lifestyle. The more I thought about this it occurred to me that programs like American Pickers (these folks don't call themselves hoarders, they are collectors) and Storage Wars (folks who have so much stuff at home that they need extra space to store it all) might also be symptomatic of this problem. Now, before we form any opinions one way or the other let me say that it has been my observation that we all have issues with material things to one degree or another. We might not characterize ourselves as hoarders or even collectors but we all have issues! There is a lesson for all of us in the dialog between Jesus and this young man.
I. His trouble
a. He was a ruler (Luke)
He must have led an exemplary life to a risen to a position of authority in the church at such a young age.
b. He was rich (Luke)
He was affluent and had everything that this world could offer in terms of creature comforts.
c. He was respectful (good Master - Rabbi)
Although there is no indication that he recognized Jesus as Messiah, he did show respect for him as a teacher
d. He was religious (kept the Law)
He lived a life dedicated to living out the commandments in every detail.
e. His request (what can I do?)
"He had attempted to keep all the commandments. He had been taught by his Jewish teachers that people were to be saved by doing something - that is, by their works; and he supposed that this was to be the way under every system of religion. He had lived externally a blameless life, but yet he was not at peace: he was anxious, and he came to ascertain what, in the view of Jesus, was to be done, that his righteousness might be complete. To "have eternal life" means to be saved. The happiness of heaven is called "life," in opposition to the pains of hell, called "death," or an eternal dying." Barnes Notes Vance Havner wrote: "The rich young ruler had morals, manners, and money and would be welcomed into most churches today with open arms. Sadly, he would be just another unsaved church member trying to live a changed life without being changed by the Master. Jesus said he lacked one thing but oh what a thing it was for it was everything!"
f. His restlessness
Notice that one of the Gospel writers says that this man came "...running to Jesus..." and in his haste to come to the Lord I believe we can see something that might give us a window into this man's heart. As we observed in the earlier part of this message there was a certain restlessness; a want of peace, a lack of satisfaction with his life. This is surprising, especially in consideration of all his other attainments. He certainly looks like a man who has it all in terms of this worlds good but he has come face to face with someone who is more than a teacher, He has met the searcher of men's hearts, the omniscient one, the all-knowing one, the one who knows the deepest things in a man's heart and mind.
1 Samuel 16:7 But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.
II. His treasure
a. The admonition
If thou wilt be perfect (whole) - Ôåëåéïò åéíáé, To be complete, to have the business finished, and all hinderances to thy salvation removed, go and sell that thou hast - go and dispose of thy possessions, to which it is evident his heart was too much attached, and give to the poor - for thy goods will be a continual snare to thee if thou keep them; and thou shalt have treasure in heaven - the loss, if it can be called such, shall be made amply up to thee in that eternal life about which thou inquirest; and come and follow me - be my disciple, and I will appoint thee to preach the kingdom of God to others. This was the usual call which Christ gave to his disciples. See Mat_4:19; Mat_8:22; Mat_9:9; Mar_2:14; and it is pretty evident, from this, that he intended to make him a preacher of his salvation. How many, by their attachment to filthy lucre, have lost the honor of becoming or continuing ambassadors for the Most High! See on Mar_10:21 (note). Clarke's Commentary
b. The attachment
Solomon was a man who knew something about wealth (he was the richest man on the planet) and he made this observation:
Ecclesiastes 5:10 He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver...
UNSATISFIED
French author, Guy de Maupassant was one of the greatest writers of short stories the world has ever known. Within ten years he rose from relative obscurity to fame. Just what he thought he'd always wanted. His material possessions showed a life of affluence...a yacht in the Mediterranean, a large house on the Norman coast, a luxurious apartment in Paris. It was said of him that "Critics praised him, men admired him and women worshipped him." He had all the trappings of what the world would call the "fulfilled dream life." Yet at the height of his fame he went insane, brought on by what those close to him called a "Promiscuous lifestyle." On New Years Day in 1892, he tried to cut his own throat with a letter-opener, and lived out the last few weeks of his life in a private asylum on the French Riviera. He died at the age of forty-two, but before he went insane he prophetically wrote what was to be his epitaph. Guy de Maupassant wrote, "I have coveted everything and taken pleasure in nothing."
SOURCE: Richard Jones, North Salem Baptist Church.
c. The answer
What was his answer to the Lord's invitation to "...follow me...?" He went away "...sorrowful for he had great possession..."
III. His tragedy
1 Timothy 6:9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.
a. The love of the Savior
Mark 10:21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.
b. The life of sorrow
1 Timothy 6:10 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.
ILL - A woman in West Palm Beach, Florida, died alone at the age of 71. The coroner's report was tragic. "Cause of death: Malnutrition." The dear old lady wasted away to 50 pounds. Investigators who found her said the place where she lived was a veritable pigpen, the biggest mess you could imagine. One seasoned inspector declared he'd never seen a residence in greater disarray. The woman had begged food at her neighbors' back doors and gotten what clothes she had from the Salvation Army. From all outward appearances she was a penniless recluse, a pitiful and forgotten widow. But such was not the case. Amid the jumble of her unclean, disheveled belongings, two keys were found which led the officials to safe-deposit boxes at two different local banks. What they found was absolutely unbelievable. The first contained over 700 AT&T stock certificates, plus hundreds of other valuable certificates, bonds, and solid financial securities, not to mention a stack of cash amounting to nearly $200,000. The second box had no certificates, only more currency--lots of it--$600,000 to be exact. Adding the net worth of both boxes, they found that the woman had in her possession well over a million dollars. Charles Osgood, reporting on CBS radio, announced that the estate would probably fall into the hands of a distant niece and nephew, neither of whom dreamed she had a thin dime to her name. She was, however, a millionaire who died a stark victim of starvation in a humble hovel many miles away.
c. The loss of his soul
Mark 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
35 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it.
36 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
37 Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
38 Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.
Conclusion: I want to close this message by asking some questions.
1. Do you possess your possessions or do they possess you.
2. What occupies your thoughts throughout the day; is it your things?
3. Do you have more than you need or could possibly use?
4. Are there those you could help by sharing some of God's material blessings with them?
5. Do you have so much stuff that you have to keep adding storage space to keep it all? (Rentals, out buildings etc.)
ILL - Imagine that the American economy was going to be changed entirely to Euros -- and the day the switch came, dollars would be worthless. And you didn't know when the change would happen. The smartest thing to do would be to start changing your dollars into Euros keeping just enough dollars to live on. Then when the change came, you wouldn't get caught with a pile of worthless dollars. The fact is, something very like that change IS going to happen: the day we die, all our money -- as well as all of our possessions -- will become worthless. All that really matters is how much of it we have invested in the bank of Heaven.
From Richard Foster's "Challenge of the Disciplined Life"
