When you read about Jesus you see him connecting with all kinds of people. Some of them have broken and shattered lives. Some of them are pretty well off. The man the gospels call “The Rich Young Ruler, asked Jesus what he had to do to inherit eternal life.” He got an answer he didn’t expect and he couldn’t handle. It is an answer that many struggle with today.
Luke 18:18-27 (NCV)
A Rich Man’s Question
18 A certain leader asked Jesus, “Good Teacher, what must I do to have life forever?”
19 Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? Only God is good. 20 You know the commands: ‘You must not be guilty of adultery. You must not murder anyone. You must not steal. You must not tell lies about your neighbor. Honor your father and mother.’ ” b
21 But the leader said, “I have obeyed all these commands since I was a boy.”
22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “There is still one more thing you need to do. Sell everything you have and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come and follow me.” 23 But when the man heard this, he became very sad, because he was very rich.
24 Jesus looked at him and said, “It is very hard for rich people to enter the kingdom of God. 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”
Who Can Be Saved?
26 When the people heard this, they asked, “Then who can be saved?”
27 Jesus answered, “God can do things that are not possible for people to do.”
Planning for the Future
When you make a plan for the future it critical to define the goals. Everyone sets goals…
We do it all the time and there are lots of goals in every part of our lives. From our youth up we set and attempt to achieve goals with varying degrees of success: Making the football team or the cheerleading squad; applying to colleges and universities, saving for that car, starting a family, purchasing a house, preparing for retirement, being secure and safe.
There are as many goals as there are potential destinations and possible routes to get there.
The major reason for setting a goal is for what it makes of you to accomplish it. What it makes of you will always be the far greater value than what you get.
When Andrew Carnegie died, they discovered a sheet of paper upon which he had written one of the major goals of his life: to spend the first half of his life accumulating money and to spend the last half of his life giving it all away. And he did!
Goals. There’s no telling what you can do when you get inspired by them. There’s no telling what you can do when you believe in them. And there’s no telling what will happen when you act upon them. We all need lots of powerful long-range goals to help us past the short-term obstacles.
The ultimate reason for setting goals is to entice you to become the person it takes to achieve them.
Don’t set your goals too low. If you don’t need much, you won’t become much. When you go to work on your goals, your goals will go to work on you. When you go to work on your plan, your plan will go to work on you. Whatever good things we build end up building us.
We all have two choices: We can make a living or we can design a life.
When you look at goal setting this way there is only one real goal that matters. I call it the ultimate goal. It is the same for every person. It is a desire in us that is built into the fabric of our very being.
The Ultimate Goal in Life is “LIFE” – FOREVER!
This wealthy, youthful, leader asked the right question. He asked how to obtain eternal life “LIFE” – FOREVER! Real life – joyful, satisfied, contented, and abundant. No regrets living!
His desire for life is what everyone of us really wants in life. It isn’t money. It isn’t stuff. It isn’t food. It’s that deep sense of peace and contentment we call joy.
Listen – figuring out the goal is the easy part!
This rich young ruler and even you and I can figure out the goal. But achieving the goal is another matter. We all really have the same goal but we fail in the achievement of the goal.
This man – was doomed to fail because… He counted on his own goodness
Luke 18:18-21 (NCV)
18 A certain leader asked Jesus, “Good Teacher, what must I do to have life forever?”
19 Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? Only God is good. 20 You know the commands: ‘You must not be guilty of adultery. You must not murder anyone. You must not steal. You must not tell lies about your neighbor. Honor your father and mother.’ ” b
21 But the leader said, “I have obeyed all these commands since I was a boy.”
He really saw himself as a really good person. He is not unusual. There are lot’s of people in this world who are counting on their goodness to give them what they are ultimately looking for – but it doesn’t work for a couple of reasons.
First: He viewed “goodness” as generic term reflecting a station in life. There are good people and bad people. Some people live on the right side of the tracks and some live on the wrong side of the tracks. Some live in the getto and some in the suburbs. His view of goodness was superficial and vacant.
Jesus said only God is good. Jesus understood goodness as a radiant quality of inner rightness with everyone and everything.
Second: He was not as good a person as he thought he was. Not uncommon for self-righteous people to have great vision when looking at others and be as blind as a baseball umpire when looking at themselves.
Little boy in restaurant. I heard about a little boy in a restaurant with his family. This six-year-old son asked if he could say grace. As the family bowed their heads he said, "God is good. God is great. Thank you for the food, and I would even thank you more if Mom gets us ice cream for dessert. And Liberty and justice for all! Amen!"
Along with the laughter from the other customers nearby a woman remarked, "That’s what’s wrong with this country. Kids today don’t even know how to pray. Asking God for ice-cream! Why, I never!"
Hearing this, the boy burst into tears and asked his father, "Did I do it wrong? Is God mad at me?"
As the dad held him and assured him that he had done a terrific job and God was certainly not mad at him, an elderly gentleman approached the table. He winked at the boy and said, "I happen to know that God thought that was a great prayer."
"Really?" the boy asked.
"Cross my heart." Then in a theatrical whisper he added (indicating the woman whose remark had started this whole thing), "Too bad she never asks God for ice cream. A little ice cream is good for the soul sometimes."
Naturally, the father bought his kids ice cream at the end of the meal. The boy stared at his for a moment and then did something that will be remembered the rest of the father’s life. The little boy picked up his sundae and without a word walked over and placed it in front of the woman.
With a big smile he told her, "Here, this is for you. Ice cream is good for the soul sometimes, and my soul is good already."
The truth is that God is good; little boys and girls are good; but the older we get the more we aren’t so good anymore…
His own goodness was not enough to achieve his goal of LIFE – forever! But that didn’t really matter because while he was counting on his goodness…
He depended on his wealth... His goodness was simply a safety net he looked to for security. He was really depending on his money and stuff. His dependence was not on moral goodness. He really depended on economic success. We know this is true because when Jesus challenged his foundations for living this wealthy, sophisticated, urbane, young, leader at the front of the pack, turned away sadly. He couldn’t, or more properly wouldn’t let go of the stuff in his life.
Too many people are addicted to stuff. It is as addictive as alcohol, nicotine, cocaine, or hash – and even more destructive. It comes in far more varied forms and many of them seductively powerful. We call it by a variety of names and use a host of methods to exchange, aquire, and create it.
It’s all stuff. And we are addicted to it. JP Morgan was asked, “How much money is enough?” His answer? “One more million.”
Money and wealth are dangerous to the accomplishment of the ultimate goal: LIFE - forever. In fact Jesus said, that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of the needle than it is for a rich man to enter heaven.
He used this hyperbole to illustrate a truth – money gets in the way of the achievement of the ultimate goal.
He could have achieved this goal… If he followed Jesus
Luke 18:18-27 (NCV)
22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “There is still one more thing you need to do. Sell everything you have and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come and follow me.”
23 But when the man heard this, he became very sad, because he was very rich.
24 Jesus looked at him and said, “It is very hard for rich people to enter the kingdom of God. 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”
26 When the people heard this, they asked, “Then who can be saved?”
27 Jesus answered, “God can do things that are not possible for people to do.”
Jesus told him and us how to achieve the ultimate goal – Life! I can picture the expression on the man’s face - going from extreme confidence (cockiness) to that deer in the headlights look. What did you say? You want me to do what? Could you repeat that one more time??
I’d like to make a series of quick observations about money and stuff in our lives… Are you ok??
Use your stuff to help others. Decide to “Hold on to stuff loosely”. Jim Elliot, martyred in Ecuador in the 1950’s, wrote in his journal,
“He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”
Turn your stuff on earth into treasure in heaven
Decide to invest in the Kingdom of God and Return the Tithe.
This is an important year at MCC – Year of Good News
Help People Find Their Way Home. We cannot do it without your help…
Spent last five years getting ready…
1. We have a God-Given Mission to make disciples
2. We have a vision of MCC as the home of God… where everyone is welcome; where we teach and train his people; nurture his kids; and reach our to this community.
3. We have built-up the leadership in ministry and shepherding
4. We have invested heavily in staff – worship; children; youth; Home Groups; Ministry development; and connecting.
5. Now we need to invest heavily in this community by reaching out to them.
MABA – March 8th
Spring EGG Hunt – April 19th
Summer Festival of Praise in the Park – August 2nd
Third Annual Open House – 700 people in attendance – Nov 2nd
Free Christmas Day Breakfast @ the Frandor Flapjack – For people who need a family that day – Dec 25th
Tithing and offering giving is a good goal for you and an investment in your treasure in heaven.
Follow Jesus. The Imitation of Jesus is the only way to the ultimate goal? Decide to follow Jesus
Then who Can Be Saved?
26 When the people heard this, they asked, “Then who can be saved?”
27 Jesus answered, “God can do things that are not possible for people to do.”
Who then can be saved?
"It is not possessing riches that keeps people out of heaven, for Abraham, David, and Solomon were wealthy men. It is being possessed by riches and trusting them that makes salvation difficult for the wealthy. Wealth gives people a false sense of success and security, and when people are satisfied with themselves, they feel no need for God." Warren Wiersbe
What are you counting on?
Is it your own Goodness?
What are you depending on?
Is it the accumulation of a lifetime of stuff?
Who are you relying on?
Is it God? He can do the impossible. He can give you your ultimate goal. Let go of your stuff and follow him.
