THRIVE IN 2005-"The Rich Young Ruler”-MAKING SURE YOU HAVE THE GOODS
Mark 10:17-27
*Cartoon: Frank and Ernest (Monday)
1. Total commitment to the Kingdom of God is required for us to have a prosperous life.
a. The church in America is suffering from weakness and lukewarmness.
b. Christian Americans have taken Jesus and Eternal life for granted.
c. It has caused the church to become stagnant and irrelevant in many ways
A new Pastor in a small Oklahoma town spent the first four days making personal visits to each of the members, inviting them to come to his first services. The following Sabbath the church was all but empty. Accordingly, the Pastor placed a notice in the local newspapers, stating that, because the church was dead, it was everyone’s duty to give it a decent Christian burial.
The funeral would be held the following Sabbath afternoon, the notice said.
Morbidly curious, a large crowd turned out for the "funeral." In front of the pulpit, they saw a closed coffin, smothered in flowers. After the Pastor delivered the eulogy, he opened the coffin and invited his congregation to come forward and pay their final respects to their dead church.
Filled with curiosity as to what would represent the corpse of a "dead church," all the people eagerly lined up to look in the coffin. Each "mourner" peeped into the coffin then quickly turned away with a guilty, sheepish look. In the coffin, tilted at the correct angle, was a large mirror.
2. Your life and church will THRIVE when Jesus Christ, Salvation and Eternity in heaven becomes the one thing that you never want to dry up, go stagnant, become unimportant, or mocked by others
a. Our relationship with God, and commitment to Christ is one thing that needs to be SURE of to us and to others.
b. What people see is what people get!
2 Cor. 13:5
"When I was a boy, my father, a baker, introduced me to the wonders of song," tenor Luciano Pavarotti relates. "He urged me to work very hard to develop my voice. Arrigo Pola, a professional tenor in my hometown of Modena, Italy, took me as a pupil. I also enrolled in a teachers college. On graduating, I asked my father, ’Shall I be a teacher or a singer?’ "’Luciano,’ my father replied, ’if you try to sit on two chairs, you will fall between them. For life, you must choose one chair.’ "I chose one. It took seven years of study and frustration before I made my first professional appearance. It took another seven to reach the Metropolitan Opera. And now I think whether it’s laying bricks, writing a book--whatever we choose--we should give ourselves to it. Commitment, that’s the key. Choose one chair."
PERSONAL PROFILE
1. A respectable, clean-cut young man comes to Jesus, interested in religion.
a. Mark calls him a ruler, and many Bible scholars think he was a leader in the synagogue, sort of like a deacon or a member of the Board of Trustees!
b. He comes running to Christ, enthusiastic to receive spiritual instruction. Here is an upstanding member of the religious community wanting to know the way of salvation.
c. How many people run up to you asking how to get to heaven?
d. The Gospel is certainly offered to the vilest of the vile-it is also for “the religious.”
e. Some people, like this young man, have “churchianity” but lack authentic faith.
2. The Man had a Sincere Aspiration: “Eternal Life”==verse 17
a. People today need to be interested in Heaven and Hell
3. BUT: He wanted to Make a Deal with Jesus: “What must I DO..”
a. He saw salvation as a TRANSACTION instead of TRANSFORMATION!
b. The first thing he needed to understand is: WHO JESUS IS.
c. We cannot gain Eternal life if Jesus is not the SON of GOD to us!
6 Things to Understand About Eternal Life:
I. A PERSON CAN FEEL GREAT EMOTION AND MISS IT (V.17)
§ He felt URGENCY!—He ran to Jesus
§ He felt REVERENCE---He knelt
§ He felt DESIRE—He left sad (v.22)
1. Nothing but TRUE REPENTANCE makes us acceptable to Jesus
ILL.- A Baptist preacher in Bluefield, West Virginia said, “This well-dressed woman came forward at the salvation invitation. I took her hand and prepared to give her a prayer to repeat after me. The prayer I usually give is, ‘Dear Lord, I know that I am a no-good sinner. I know I can’t save myself. I do need forgiveness for my awful sins. I can’t do without you, Jesus. Please forgive me for my many sins.’
He said, “I took this woman’s hand and began to give her the prayer to repeat after me. ‘Dear Lord, I know I’m a no-good sinner.’ She never said a word. I looked at her and said, ‘Don’t you want to be saved?’
“She said, ‘Yes, I do want to be saved, but I’m not a sinner.’ ‘Then you can’t be saved, Jesus only died for sinners.’ ‘But,’ she replied, ‘I’m a good sinner.’
“’A good sinner! Lady, there are no good sinners. You will have to take your seat. God can’t save you until you become conscious that you are a no-good sinner and need His forgiveness.’
“’But, you don’t understand. I’m really not a bad sinner.’
“I told her to go back and sit down. She held on to my hand with a vise-like grip. Finally she looked me in the eyes and said, ‘Oh, please forgive me. I know I am a no-good hell-deserving sinner. I am a proud, no-good sinner. I do need Christ to forgive me of my sins.’ “’Wonderful! Now, lady, you are ready to do business with God.’”
Brothers and sisters, the way up is still down. No one is ever going to get better until they recognize how bad off they really are. All of us are no good sinners! But that’s not the end of the story.
II. A PERSON CAN BE CONSIDERED A “GOOD GUY” AND STILL BE LOST (v.19-20)
1. This young man had two spiritual problems
§ He was UNAWARE of his spiritual condition
a. He already regarded himself as a likely candidate for heaven
b. Outwardly he was moral and upright
c. He figured he could do whatever God required and felt good enough to go to heaven
§ He had OUTWARD PIETY without true Inner Devotion
a. He kept the letter of the law but the law had not reached his heart
b. Many people’s motives is just to earn the respect of society
(Cecil-Ron)
c. This man was surprised to learn he was an IDOLATER
d. It doesn’t take much to become an IDOLATER: Love your Job, Your Clothes, Your Possessions, Your Hobbies or Sports more than your love God!
e. IDOLATRY is the sin of our Age!
Though we do not face a pantheon of false gods like the Israelites did, we face pressures from a pantheon of false values--materialism, love of leisure, sensuality, worship of self, security, and many others. The second commandment deals with idols. This may be something that most of us can’t relate to--unless we include life goals that revolve around something other than God Himself. What is the object of our affections, our efforts, and our attention? Where does the majority of our time go? On what do we spend the greatest amount of our resources?
III. IF YOU STAND ON YOUR RECORD, IT BETTER BE PERFECT (V. 20-21)
…”you lack one thing”
James 2:10—“for whoever keeps the entire law, yet fails in one point, is guilty of breaking it all”
1. What one thing is keeping you from being all you can be for God?
a. This man recognized there is one thing between him and God: The Love of Wealth
b. What God requires of us all is what this man lacked: Full surrender to God
2. Whenever we are holding back our lives from God we are guilty of breaking the law of God:
Exodus 20:3-17===10 Commandments
a. Whose record are you standing on? Yours or God’s?
3. Jesus tells the man to “FOLLOW ME” (every day Christianity)
a. Nobody will ever sneak in to heaven as secret believers-they will be well known!
b. He expects an open profession of faith!
c. SOME NEED TO START NOW IN SERVING GOD!
At the close of life, the question will not be,
"How much have you gotten?" but "How much have you given?"
Not "How much have you won?" but "How much have you done?"
Not "How much have you saved?" but "How much have you sacrificed?"
It will be "How much have you loved and served," not "How much were you honored?"
IV. JESUS’ HEART CAN GO OUT TO YOU AND YOU CAN STILL BE LACKING (v.21)…..Jesus loved him
1. Whenever someone is disobedient, Jesus is heartbroken!
a. However, in his integrity, he cannot allow his love for us to override the Realities of Eternity.
b. Jesus is faithful to our soul-He will tell us the truth in love-To SAVE us from Sin and from ourselves!
A certain medieval monk announced he would be preaching next Sunday evening on "The Love of God." As the shadows fell and the light ceased to come in through the cathedral windows, the congregation gathered. In the darkness of the altar, the monk lighted a candle and carried it to the crucifix. First of all, he illumined the crown of thorns, next, the two wounded hands, then the marks of the spear wound. In the hush that fell, he blew out the candle and left the chancel. There was nothing else to say.
“He loves us just the way we are but too much to leave us that way”
2. Jesus gave him the command to sell what he has, give to the poor and follow him.
a. Jesus asks him to give up exactly what is Leading his life!
b. The things he loved the most-to prove his dedication to God
EX: Abraham and Isaac
V. A PERSON CAN HEAR THE MESSAGE CLEARLY AND STILL REJECT IT (v.22)
Message: “The man’s face clouded over. This was the last things he expected to hear and he walked off with a heavy heart. He was holding on tight to a lot of things, and not about to let go”
1. Whatever OWNS you will RULE You!
Now I lay me down to sleep
I pray my Cuisinart to keep
I pray my stocks are on the rise
And that my analyst is wise
That all the wine I sip is white
And that my hot tub’s watertight
That racquetball won’t get too tough
That all my sushi’s fresh enough
I pray my cordless phone still works
That my career won’t lose its perks
My microwave won’t radiate
My condo won’t depreciate
I pray my health club doesn’t close
And that my money market grows
If I go broke before I wake
I pray my Volvo they won’t take.
George W. Truett, a well-known pastor, was invited to dinner in the home of a very wealthy man in Texas. After the meal, the host led him to a place where they could get a good view of the surrounding area.
Pointing to the oil wells punctuating the landscape, he boasted, "Twenty-five years ago I had nothing. Now, as far as you can see, it’s all mine." Looking in the opposite direction at his sprawling fields of grain, he said, "That’s all mine." Turning east toward huge herds of cattle, he bragged, "They’re all mine." Then pointing to the west and a beautiful forest, he exclaimed, "That too is all mine."
He paused, expecting Dr. Truett to compliment him on his great success. Truett, however, placing one hand on the man’s shoulder and pointing heavenward with the other, simply said, "How much do you have in that direction?" The man hung his head and confessed, "I never thought of that."
VI. POSSESSIONS HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO DISQUALIFY YOU FROM HEAVEN (v.25)
1. The Eye of a Needle==A Gate that a Camel would have to squeeze through to enter---All of the belongings of the owner would have to be taken off---NO EXCESS BAGGAGE!
a. The point is: A person that is not willing to sacrifice his wealth cannot make it to heaven!
b. FAITH IS MORE THAN FIRE INSURANCE!
c. Faith=A Life of Obedience and is Verified by Conduct
In John’s first epistle we’re told, “The man who says, ‘I know God’, but does not do what God commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”
2. Are you letting anything in your life destroy your CLOSENESS with God?
In The Wounded Healer, Henri Nouwen retells a tale from ancient India:
Four royal brothers decided each to master a special ability. Time went by, and the brothers met to reveal what they had learned.
"I have mastered a science," said the first, "by which I can take but a bone of some creature and create the flesh that goes with it."
"I," said the second, "know how to grow that creature’s skin and hair if there is flesh on its bones."
The third said, "I am able to create its limbs if I have flesh, the skin, and the hair."
"And I," concluded the fourth, "know how to give life to that creature if its form is complete."
Thereupon the brothers went into the jungle to find a bone so they could demonstrate their specialities. As fate would have it, the bone they found was a lion’s. One added flesh to the bone, the second grew hide and hair, the third completed it with matching limbs, and the fourth gave the lion life. Shaking its mane, the ferocious beast arose and jumped on his creators. He killed them all and vanished contentedly into the jungle.
We too have the capacity to create what can devour us. Goals and dreams can consume us. Possessions and property can turn and destroy us--unless we first seek God’s kingdom and righteousness, and allow Him to breathe into what we make of life.
