MELVIN M. NEWLAND, MINISTER
CENTRAL CHRISTIAN CHURCH
BROWNSVILLE, TX
A. When we read the Bible, one of the things that has to impress us is that God is often calling upon His people to do things they normally couldn’t do by themselves, but that they can do with His help. God is always saying, "Lean on Me, & rely on My power & strength."
ILL. The children of Israel came to the Promised Land. They spied out the land & saw giants. They said, "We are like grasshoppers compared to those giants." It was not until the children of Israel let God go before them that the Promised Land finally became theirs.
The Bible teaches us that "greater is He who is in you, than he who is in the world." And in Luke 18:27, Jesus says, "What is impossible for men is possible with God."
I. THERE ARE FOUR STORIES IN LUKE 18
Let’s look more closely at that 18th chapter of Luke, & at 4 of the events recorded there.
A. The first 8 verses tell about a widow who comes to an unrighteous judge for help against her adversary. Jesus tells the story in just 8 verses. So there must be a lot of the story that we don’t know.
We don’t know if the widow had money or not. Probably she didn’t. So she came requesting legal help from an unrighteous judge, & she wanted him to give her case favorable consideration without any financial reimbursement at all.
The point of the story is that this woman didn’t become discouraged when he turned her down. She kept coming back again & again, until finally, the judge just throws up his hands & says, "Because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice" (Vs. 5). "Just to get rid of her, I am going to do what she asks me to do."
B. Now the next story, recorded in vs’s 9 through 14, is about the tax-collector & the Pharisee. The Pharisee looks very religious. He wears religious clothes. He sounds religious. He does religious things. He assumes that God is looking with favor upon him.
The other man doesn’t look very religious, or sound very religious. He is a tax-collector, not well respected in the community.
Both of them pray. One prays in a spirit of pride, & the other in a spirit of humility. Jesus says, "God heard the prayer of the tax-collector who simply prayed, ’God, have mercy on me, a sinner." It’s a great story!
C. The next story, found in vs’s 15 through 17 is about the children who were brought to Jesus. Now children were considered second class citizens at best. They were to be ignored, to be seen not heard.
But people kept bringing their children to Jesus. Pretty soon they are sitting on his knees, laughing with Him, & He is talking to them.
The apostles are saying, "He is too busy to be talking to your children." But Jesus says to them, "Let the little children come to me, & do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it" (Vs’s 16-17).
D. Then, in vs’s 18 through 25, we see someone who is quite a contrast to the others we have just talked about. It is the rich young ruler.
He is a yuppie. If we could take him out of the Bible & put him into the present Century, he would fit nicely into our culture. He would be driving a black BMW, & sporting monogrammed initials on his shirts. He would be the one who is always in control, who knows exactly what to say.
But something is lacking in his life. So he comes to Jesus & says, "In case I have missed something, would you tell me how to inherit eternal life?"
Jesus talks to him about the Law. Then Jesus says, "Here is the bottom line. Go, sell everything you have, give to the poor, then come & follow me."
You see, Jesus is telling him to become just like the widow, just like the tax-collector, just like the children. He is saying, "Empty yourself of yourself, because it is not until you do that that you are a candidate to receive the blessings that I am anxious to give you."
ILL. John Redhead tells about a man walking along with a bucket filled with water. He said, "Just suppose for a moment that the bucket of water represents your will for yourself. All your dreams, all your ambitions, everything that you hope will come true for you."
But then someone offers to give you all the precious oil that you can carry. And let’s suppose that the precious oil represents God’s will for your life. Now he said, "It just makes sense that you can’t take the oil & put it in the bucket filled with water because there isn’t any room left in that bucket. Besides that, oil & water don’t mix."
"But," he said, "when you empty your bucket of the water, then there is room for the precious oil to be put in."
That is exactly what Jesus said to the rich young ruler. "Your bucket is full of yourself. And I can’t get in there until you empty out the contents. Empty the contents. Let me fill you. Let me come in."
II. "WHO THEN CAN BE SAVED?"
A. The apostles had been listening to all of this. So they come to Jesus & vs. 26 says that they asked, "Who then can be saved?" The apostles responded the same way that we often respond. "If that is the requirement, if that is what we have to do, then how can anybody be saved?"
Jesus replied, "What is impossible with men is possible with God." What is Jesus telling us? He is saying, "You need to be completely empty of yourself before you can really receive all of my blessings."
“Peter said to Him, ‘We have left all we had to follow you.’" Then Jesus promised, "I tell you the truth, no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age &, in the age to come, eternal life."
I suggest to you that is an offer we can’t afford to refuse.
III. TWO LESSONS THAT ARE VERY IMPORTANT TO US
As I read those stories again this week, I came up with 2 lessons that are very important for us to understand.
A. No. 1 is this: "When you’re making plans for God’s kingdom, you need to set lofty goals."
ILL. I like a story that is told about Henry Kissinger. One of his aides came with a report that Kissinger had requested on a conflict in Africa. He laid the report on Kissinger’s desk.
Kissinger didn’t pick up the report, but instead, looked up at his aide & asked, "Is this your best effort?" The man answered, "Well sir, there are some other things that I wanted to check out, but there wasn’t enough time."
So Kissinger said, "Take it back, rework it, & then bring it back to me."
The man took it back &, for two weeks, labored over the report. Finally, he brought it back & gave it to Henry Kissinger. Once again, without looking at the report, Kissinger asked, "Does this represent your best effort?"
The man thought for a moment & said, "Well, some things aren’t too well documented. I could spend some more time in research." Kissinger said, "Take it back & work it over, & bring it back when it represents your best effort."
A week later, after working almost day & night, the aide brought in his report & laid it on the desk. For the third time, without looking at the report, Kissinger asked, "Does this represent your best effort?"
"Yes sir," said his aide, "It represents my best effort." Kissinger replied, "That is all I ever wanted. I will be pleased to read your report."
APPL. I tend to think God is saying that to us, too. "All I want is your best effort. All I want is for you to do the very best you can for Me."
ILL. Bruce Larson tells about an elder in his church who had an incredible faith. He said that this elder would sit in church board meetings & listen to all the plans & dreams & proposals presented. Then he would ask questions.
After he was satisfied, he would always say the same thing. He would say, "Why not? If it is for God & His kingdom, why not?" In fact, his words were so predictable that some of the board decided to see how far they could go & still get the same response.
So they came up with a lavish proposal, an idea that seemed totally ridiculous. There was no way in the world that they could ever raise enough money. No way that they could ever work hard enough to see this proposal accomplished in the church.
So they presented it, & this elder listened. He asked his questions, & when they were through, he said, "Why not? If it is for Christ & His kingdom, why not? If we are doing this for Christ, & God is a part of it, why not?"
APPL. If it is for Christ & His kingdom, why not?
B. We need some "Why not?" Christians who can exercise that kind of incredible faith. We need to be doing some things that cause the world to sit back & scratch its head & say, "How can they do that?"
And the only answer that can be given will be that God is our partner, & that which is impossible with men is always possible with God.
The attaining of lofty goals always requires emptying yourself of yourself. And in our "me" generation, where we have become so self-centered, it is very hard for us to think about sacrificing ourselves.
ILL. I joined a health club a number of years ago. I saw pictures of muscle bound men standing around with bulging biceps. They told me that if I followed their program that within a year I would look like that, that I would be extremely healthy, wonderfully handsome, & totally irresistible in appearance.
I signed up & started going 2 or 3 times a week. They gave me a list of things I could eat & things I couldn’t eat. All the things I liked, I couldn’t eat. All the things I didn’t like, I could eat as much of them as I wanted.
They put me in an exercise program doing 50 sit-ups 2 or 3 times a day. Push-up, pull-ups, lift weights, all kinds of things.
They had a guy who walked around with a big stick in his hand. As you started doing sit-ups he would kneel down beside you & start beating the floor, counting out your sit-ups. He would call you lazy, & make all kinds of insults. He’d say, "You’re fat. You can’t do it." People would get so mad at him that they wouldn’t quit no matter how exhausted they got.
Then I moved away. But just think. If I had stayed with that program, I would be irresistible today. Imagine how totally awesome my body would be if I just hadn’t moved away.
APPL. You see, there are things that we have to deny ourselves in order to be physically strong. There are things that we can’t have, that just aren’t good for us. But our generation doesn’t like to hear things like that.
ILL. Did you read about the drive-through funeral home in Pensacola, FL? They have drive through windows, 6’ by 8’. You drive up, & can look at the departed through the window. You push a button & out comes a tray with a registry so that you can sign your name without ever having to get out of the car. You never even have to shut off the engine.
I wonder how far we are from a drive-through church mentality where we can just drive through & be blessed & be handed the communion & don’t even have to turn off the motor?
But Jesus is saying, "That is not Christianity." Christianity is selling it all, giving it away, coming empty to Christ, & then letting Him fill us with Himself. Before we can ever realize the blessings that Jesus is so anxious to give, that must take place in our lives.
SUM. So the first lesson is that if we are really going to do things for Christ, set lofty goals. "If God is our partner, why not?"
C. Now the second lesson is about commitment. Commitment of ourselves & commitment of all the material things that God has given to each of us.
ILL. James Byrnes, who was secretary of state under FDR, said that the difference between successful people & average people can be summed up in three words. Here are the three words, "and then some." He said, "Average people do what is expected. Successful people do what is expected, & then some."
Average people fulfill their responsibilities but successful people do what is expected, & then some. It is the same way in the church, isn’t it? Average Christians come to church. Successful Christians, who are successfully living the Christian life, come to church & then some.
Average Christians give. Successful Christians give, & then some. Average Christians pray & read their Bible. But successful Christians read & pray, & then some.
God wants some "& then some" Christians who are willing to sell out to Him no matter what the cost.
ILL. Charles Allen tells about his first pulpit ministry which was way back in the mountains. These mountain people lived so remote from society that they didn’t even know what was going on in the world. He said that they didn’t know what jet airplanes were. They had no idea that we had gone to the moon & back.
They would stand around & look at the mountains & they would praise God. He said, "They didn’t really want anything for themselves. They would do whatever God wanted them to do."
"And then," he said, "One day a mailman delivered a mail order catalogue to that little community. Somebody opened up that mail order catalogue & suddenly realized all the things they didn’t have. So they ordered more mail order catalogues & started passing them around through the community."
He said that the personality of that community changed drastically. "Instead of people with a simple faith, who could look at the mountains & see God, they became a people who sat around feeling sorry for themselves because of all the things they didn’t have."
APPL. We’ve been looking at too many catalogues, people. We’ve been looking at too many catalogues. God wants some "& then some" Christians.
CONCL. I have always felt sorry for this rich young ruler. The opportunity of a lifetime was given to him. But because he couldn’t get his eyes off of himself he turned it down.
Every time God’s people gather to worship that same opportunity comes, & God offers it again this morning. It’s His invitation, & it is not a cheap invitation. It never has been. It cost Jesus His blood on the cross to make it possible to extend this invitation.
It is an expensive offer, but it is an offer you can’t afford to turn down. We extend the invitation of God in love & pray you will respond to it as we stand & as we sing.
