Digging deeper
Matthew 19:16-24
16 Someone came to Jesus with this question: "Teacher, what good things must I do to have eternal life?" 17 "Why ask me about what is good?" Jesus replied. "Only God is good. But to answer your question, you can receive eternal life if you keep the commandments." 18 "Which ones?" the man asked. And Jesus replied: "’Do not murder. Do not commit adultery. Do not steal. Do not testify falsely. 19 Honor your father and mother. Love your neighbor as yourself.’" 20 "I’ve obeyed all these commandments," the young man replied. "What else must I do?" 21 Jesus told him, "If you want to be perfect, go and sell all you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." 22 But when the young man heard this, he went sadly away because he had many possessions. 23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is very hard for a rich person to get into the Kingdom of Heaven. 24 I say it again – 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!"
Q: How do I get deeper in Christ and far away from sin?
I. You have to want to go deep. (v.16)
a. You have to go to Jesus yourself.
• Take the initiative.
• Marks version of this story (10:17-31) says the man came and knelt down.
• We have to come to Jesus in reverence.
b. Jesus is not a mind reader
• Of course he knows all, but he wants you to know that he knows all.
• He is not going to do for you, what you can do for yourself.
• Going to Jesus is a sign that you honor his royalty.
c. Lip service is not going to cut it.
• You have to back up what you say, otherwise you are a phony. PLAIN AND SIMPLE!
• You have to do it yourself; you cannot talk anyone into doing it for you.
• There are people who walk the walk, and who talk the talk, when its time to walk, people who walk, walk. The people who talk, talk people into walking for them. That can’t get done here.
II. Control your focus.(v.17)
a. Stop focusing on doing “stuff” in church (business of God vs. “busy-ness of God”)
• Don’t get so busy in doing things that you miss the point.
• This man was asking Jesus what he could “physically” [maybe even financially] do to get into heaven, as if it were a one time entrance fee. (This aint great adventures!!!!)
• There is no one shot deal. Christianity is a process, you wont be done until he comes back.
b. Don’t try to act like a Christian.
• Your act will eventually get you exposed, sometimes in the worse place.
• Its not about acting, its all about “being”
• You will never if you are acting like someone who hasn’t really read the script!
c. Know there is only one way you can obtain eternal life.
• John 3:16-17 [6 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.]
• Ezekiel 33:12 Son of man, give your people this message: The good works of righteous people will not save them if they turn to sin, nor will the sins of evil people destroy them if they repent and turn from their sins.
III. Don’t just do the normal.(v.21)
• Jesus mentioned six commandments to the gentleman that had one thing in common, what is it? [Jesus must have been the perfect person to ask a question. He never said more or less then he has to.]
• He put the bait out for this guy to bite and he did.
• Personally I think this guy was being slick and wanted to see if he get buy because of his financial status.
• What are the other commandments that Jesus left out?
Exodus 20:3-11
a. v.3: People: There are some people that are in our lives that we put on pedestals and that causes us to put God in the back seat. It may not be their doing, it might just be you trying to fit in, or wanting to be accepted or maybe even loved by them. You might even be doing things that you know should not be doing. But we do it just to please them. We have got to put God in the right place when it comes to our life. 1 Thessalonians 5:22, says to flee from the very APPERANCE of evil.
b. v.4: Idols: There are some People who put their love in things. “Make Idols” in the Greek reads create illusions. Those things are an illusion of the one who cares for us, who loves us unconditionally. The one who wants the best for you, and the one who died for you.
God said that he is jealous, and whoever puts their affection, love and attention on other things affects not only himself, but his children and their children. This might help explain why when a father puts his love other places his children usually follow and their focus is off as well [Alcoholism, drugs other hobbies that form into addictions]. It’s when you begin to love god and keep his commands that he will begin to separate you from what holds you.
c.v.7: Gods name: There are many times when we take God’s name and attach it to a curse and think it is totally fine. Or we bad mouth the things of God. In fact what we are doing is watering down the effect of God’s name. We take it lightly when we joke around. Instead we respect it to with the highest regard.
d.v.8: “The Lords Day”: We all need to set time aside solely for Jesus, and fellowship with the saints. It is there where we find a common ground, where we understand that we have brothers and sisters who care about how we feel, and come to find out that they feel the same way, or share the same concerns and problems.
The Lords day is called the Sabbath; it was noted as being the “seventh day” in the Old Testament. The Bible gives freedom regarding the Sabbath in Romans 14 (4-6). The reasoning for the Lords day big move to Sunday is that all four gospels record that Jesus’ resurrection was on the first day of the week [Matt. 28:1; Mark 16:2; Luke 24:1; John 20:1, 19]. After that the scriptures say that the Early Church met on the first day of the week. [Acts 20:7]
• Q: What was the difference between the commandments that Jesus said and the ones that he didn’t say?
• A: The commandments Jesus said were rules on how to deal with what people saw, the others were talking about how he should deal with God saw.
IV. It’s ultimately on you!
a. Jesus is a gentleman.
• He will never force himself on you.
• He will knock on your heart and the rest is up to you.
b. He will give you all the information.
• He will let you know what is needed to get by in mans eyes.
• He will also let you know the whole deal.
c. But once you hear the word that’s it! You are accountable for it.
Personal feeling: This guy was being slick, I believe he knew the answer to his question he was just hoping that Jesus wouldn’t say what he said, now that he did, the man is accountable for what he heard [Romans 14:10-12]
Question:
Do you want to be a regular person who waves back and forth with troubles? A person who puts on an act so people can see what they are doing. Or are or you going to be a dedicated Christian who puts God first and cares about what he thinks. Its up to you.
