1 00:00:00,600 --> 00:00:03,960 It's a joy to be with you, and I ask you to invite me in God's 2 00:00:03,960 --> 00:00:08,920 Word in Mark chapter 10 as we look at a very common portion of 3 00:00:08,920 --> 00:00:15,200 Scripture that I pray and hope would bring fresh desire and 4 00:00:15,200 --> 00:00:17,080 love for the person of Jesus Christ. 5 00:00:21,280 --> 00:00:28,840 Mark 10 and meet me in verse 17, and let's read together. 6 00:00:30,880 --> 00:00:35,240 And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt 7 00:00:35,240 --> 00:00:39,880 before him and asked him, good teacher, what must I do to 8 00:00:39,880 --> 00:00:44,320 inherit eternal life? And Jesus said to him, why do 9 00:00:44,320 --> 00:00:48,720 you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 10 00:00:49,480 --> 00:00:53,320 You know the commandments. Do not murder, do not commit 11 00:00:53,320 --> 00:00:58,360 adultery, Do not steal, do not bear false witness, Do not 12 00:00:58,360 --> 00:01:00,960 defraud. Honor your father and mother. 13 00:01:01,680 --> 00:01:06,160 And he said to him, teacher, all these I have kept from my youth. 14 00:01:07,000 --> 00:01:13,560 And Jesus looking at him, loved him and said to him, you lack 15 00:01:14,000 --> 00:01:19,520 one thing, go sell all that you have and give to the poor and 16 00:01:19,520 --> 00:01:20,960 you will have treasure in heaven. 17 00:01:21,280 --> 00:01:28,040 And come follow me. Disheartened by the saying, he 18 00:01:28,040 --> 00:01:33,080 went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. 19 00:01:34,200 --> 00:01:41,120 Today I want to speak to you about the poor young slave. 20 00:01:43,680 --> 00:01:48,000 That might sound like a strange title for a passage that is 21 00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:52,000 famously known as the rich young ruler. 22 00:01:53,040 --> 00:01:56,720 But as you and I examine carefully this amazing 23 00:01:56,720 --> 00:02:01,360 conversation between a seeker and the Savior, I'm sure you 24 00:02:01,360 --> 00:02:03,560 will understand where I'm coming from. 25 00:02:04,320 --> 00:02:07,320 Because what you and I will discover very quickly is that 26 00:02:07,320 --> 00:02:13,960 this young, rich, ambitious ruler is something else. 27 00:02:13,960 --> 00:02:19,040 Beneath the surface is something quite different than what we see 28 00:02:19,040 --> 00:02:22,360 here. Plainly, Mark, as you just 29 00:02:22,360 --> 00:02:26,480 heard, does not refer to this man as a ruler. 30 00:02:27,280 --> 00:02:31,920 Luke does, and Luke 1818. And we do not know the nature of 31 00:02:31,920 --> 00:02:35,920 this man's position, but we do know that it was a prominent 32 00:02:35,920 --> 00:02:38,040 one. It was one that gained much 33 00:02:38,040 --> 00:02:44,640 respect from society. And the idea of him being young 34 00:02:44,640 --> 00:02:48,440 does not come from Mark either. That is something that Matthew 35 00:02:48,440 --> 00:02:51,160 notes, and something that Matthew actually emphasizes. 36 00:02:51,160 --> 00:02:56,280 In chapter 19, verse 20, Chapter 19, verse 22, we are told there 37 00:02:56,280 --> 00:02:59,080 that he was not just a man, he was not just a ruler. 38 00:02:59,080 --> 00:03:03,240 He was young. And it is all the synoptic 39 00:03:03,240 --> 00:03:09,280 gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke who under score that he was 40 00:03:09,280 --> 00:03:12,360 exceedingly wealthy. He was prosperous. 41 00:03:12,360 --> 00:03:17,520 He was very successful, unusually successful as a young 42 00:03:17,520 --> 00:03:22,040 man. This individual is interesting 43 00:03:22,840 --> 00:03:26,120 to say the least, and he has found in three out of the four 44 00:03:26,120 --> 00:03:31,000 gospel accounts for good reason. But before we even dissect and 45 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:35,960 breakdown this story, our hearts should already be impressed. 46 00:03:37,480 --> 00:03:41,240 What I mean by that is simply looking at the simple biography 47 00:03:41,240 --> 00:03:44,160 of this man should teach us something quite valuable about 48 00:03:44,160 --> 00:03:48,240 the human heart. Again, he is wealthy. 49 00:03:48,240 --> 00:03:51,800 Again, he is young. Again, he was a ruler. 50 00:03:52,400 --> 00:03:57,560 And yet with all of this, clearly, as we just heard, there 51 00:03:57,560 --> 00:04:00,720 was something disturbing him. He was unsettled. 52 00:04:00,720 --> 00:04:04,600 There was something nagging down deep inside of his soul, 53 00:04:05,600 --> 00:04:08,880 because, yes, he was rich, but there was something that he 54 00:04:08,880 --> 00:04:11,000 realized that money could not buy. 55 00:04:11,080 --> 00:04:14,720 He was missing something. No matter what he had in his 56 00:04:14,720 --> 00:04:17,560 bank account, no matter what kind of things you can access 57 00:04:17,760 --> 00:04:21,399 the snap of a finger, he could not reach this thing. 58 00:04:22,320 --> 00:04:26,720 And sure, he had the admiration and the respect and the honor of 59 00:04:26,720 --> 00:04:29,080 his fellow man, and from those who have heard of him, 60 00:04:29,320 --> 00:04:32,960 concerning his prominent status. But there was a fear. 61 00:04:33,560 --> 00:04:36,160 There was a fear that this man had of being rejected or 62 00:04:36,160 --> 00:04:40,120 accepted by so many others, rejected by God. 63 00:04:40,600 --> 00:04:44,040 He dreaded that thought, What must I do to inherit eternal 64 00:04:44,040 --> 00:04:48,080 life? And yes, he was somebody who was 65 00:04:48,080 --> 00:04:52,520 young, somebody who had his whole life ahead of him, so many 66 00:04:52,520 --> 00:04:54,520 dreams yet still to be accomplished, though he had done 67 00:04:54,520 --> 00:04:57,880 already so much. There was so much yet territory 68 00:04:57,880 --> 00:05:02,320 to conquer, ideas to innovate, things to accumulate. 69 00:05:03,080 --> 00:05:06,280 And yet, still inside of his heart, he realized that there is 70 00:05:06,280 --> 00:05:10,080 more to this life. There is more to this life. 71 00:05:10,080 --> 00:05:13,400 There is eternal life. I want to know how I can have 72 00:05:13,400 --> 00:05:16,280 it. I want to know how I can secure 73 00:05:16,280 --> 00:05:21,000 it. And so this finely groomed man, 74 00:05:21,000 --> 00:05:28,000 this respected individual, finds himself on his knees in the 75 00:05:28,000 --> 00:05:34,880 dirt, desperately pleading and inquiring about the things that 76 00:05:34,880 --> 00:05:37,240 this world cannot offer. You know what that teaches me 77 00:05:37,240 --> 00:05:39,240 right at the outset of this message? 78 00:05:40,120 --> 00:05:44,160 That you can have the wealth and you can have the respect and you 79 00:05:44,160 --> 00:05:47,960 can have the popularity, and you can have youthfulness, and you 80 00:05:47,960 --> 00:05:51,000 can have strength, and you can have energy. 81 00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:54,840 And you can have so much promise ahead of you and still feel 82 00:05:54,840 --> 00:06:01,200 incomplete and still feel as though something is missing. 83 00:06:03,160 --> 00:06:05,160 I mean, you see this man. You think this is what many 84 00:06:05,160 --> 00:06:09,920 aspire to be? Rich, respected, youthful. 85 00:06:09,920 --> 00:06:12,600 What do you mean, youthful? I mean, everybody is trying to 86 00:06:12,600 --> 00:06:17,000 not age, right? And he had all of that, but he 87 00:06:17,000 --> 00:06:20,120 was still missing something. Ah, I know what he's missing. 88 00:06:20,320 --> 00:06:23,040 This, this fellow is missing some religion. 89 00:06:23,880 --> 00:06:25,640 That's all he needs. He has everything in this life. 90 00:06:25,840 --> 00:06:30,120 He just needs some spirituality sprinkled on his existence. 91 00:06:30,600 --> 00:06:32,040 Well, did you forget he had that too? 92 00:06:33,040 --> 00:06:37,000 Did you hear it as it was read when Jesus confronted him with 93 00:06:37,000 --> 00:06:38,160 the commandments of God? He says. 94 00:06:38,360 --> 00:06:40,760 I have kept all these things from my youth. 95 00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:45,640 That's so fascinating. Here is a man who was ritual 96 00:06:45,640 --> 00:06:52,920 keeping, law abiding, temple attending and yet still with his 97 00:06:52,920 --> 00:06:56,800 observance, with his self respect, with his religious 98 00:06:56,800 --> 00:06:59,640 dignity. He still feels like something is 99 00:06:59,640 --> 00:07:02,400 wrong. He still feels like something 100 00:07:02,400 --> 00:07:05,400 isn't right. You know, I have to say this 101 00:07:05,400 --> 00:07:07,960 because there is a growing this might shock you, but it's true. 102 00:07:07,960 --> 00:07:10,480 Just tune in a little bit into the culture and you'll realize 103 00:07:10,480 --> 00:07:12,720 it. There is a growing attraction to 104 00:07:12,720 --> 00:07:15,720 religion these days saying how can that be? 105 00:07:16,360 --> 00:07:19,080 I get I know what what's taking up on the headlines. 106 00:07:19,080 --> 00:07:22,080 I know what's what direction this nation is headed to do with 107 00:07:22,080 --> 00:07:25,800 the decline of the West. But because of the decline of 108 00:07:25,800 --> 00:07:29,520 the West, you have a remnant, not of those who are believers, 109 00:07:29,520 --> 00:07:31,880 but a remnant people in this crazy culture who are now 110 00:07:31,880 --> 00:07:35,360 realizing what happens when a culture rejects God and they 111 00:07:35,360 --> 00:07:38,960 want nothing to do with it. And so now there's a growing 112 00:07:38,960 --> 00:07:45,320 allurement towards objective truth, some guidelines in life, 113 00:07:45,320 --> 00:07:48,560 some do's and don'ts. People are not talking about 114 00:07:48,560 --> 00:07:51,880 this in podcast. And now you have people, even 115 00:07:51,880 --> 00:07:55,080 these days, having growing interests in things like Islam 116 00:07:56,600 --> 00:07:59,480 and traditional Christianity. Why? 117 00:07:59,480 --> 00:08:02,320 Because they see what's happening in the world and 118 00:08:02,320 --> 00:08:04,680 they're thinking to themselves. I don't want that for myself. 119 00:08:04,680 --> 00:08:05,800 I don't want that for my children. 120 00:08:06,000 --> 00:08:11,080 So let me get some religion. This man had religion. 121 00:08:12,240 --> 00:08:17,000 So what else is missing? You got the money, you got the 122 00:08:17,000 --> 00:08:19,120 future. You got the respect, You got the 123 00:08:19,120 --> 00:08:21,080 popularity. You got the status. 124 00:08:21,280 --> 00:08:25,200 You got the religion. Everything is missing. 125 00:08:25,200 --> 00:08:26,920 Everything is missing except Christ. 126 00:08:28,040 --> 00:08:32,400 Everything is there except the most needed thing. 127 00:08:33,159 --> 00:08:36,280 You can have everything, but if you don't have Christ, you have 128 00:08:36,280 --> 00:08:39,799 nothing. And here's this man who is now 129 00:08:39,799 --> 00:08:44,560 coming to the person of Jesus Christ, and he realizes that 130 00:08:44,560 --> 00:08:48,480 perhaps this man has the answers for me because only the person 131 00:08:48,480 --> 00:08:52,000 of Jesus Christ can offer certainty about eternity. 132 00:08:52,360 --> 00:08:55,520 Only the person of Jesus Christ can offer wholeness in this 133 00:08:55,520 --> 00:08:57,960 world. Only the person of Jesus Christ 134 00:08:57,960 --> 00:09:04,200 can fill that gap in your heart. And if you don't have him again, 135 00:09:04,480 --> 00:09:07,520 you'll always be a wanderer. You will always be searching. 136 00:09:07,520 --> 00:09:10,400 You will always be traveling from 1 broken cistern to the 137 00:09:10,400 --> 00:09:13,960 next, sipping from this and sipping from that, only having 138 00:09:13,960 --> 00:09:17,120 your mouth more dry than it was before. 139 00:09:19,160 --> 00:09:22,720 And so this man comes to Jesus, seems like he has everything, 140 00:09:22,720 --> 00:09:25,720 but he's not a rich young girl. He's a poor young slave. 141 00:09:27,120 --> 00:09:28,160 And now let's read this together. 142 00:09:28,160 --> 00:09:31,040 In verse 17. As he was setting out on his 143 00:09:31,040 --> 00:09:34,080 journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, good 144 00:09:34,080 --> 00:09:37,320 teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? 145 00:09:37,440 --> 00:09:40,240 We're told that Jesus and his band of men are making their way 146 00:09:40,240 --> 00:09:45,080 toward Jerusalem, and as they're walking, something suddenly 147 00:09:45,080 --> 00:09:47,320 happens. There's a panting arrival of 148 00:09:47,320 --> 00:09:50,800 this strange person, at a distance at least, and he comes 149 00:09:50,800 --> 00:09:52,680 to Jesus and interrupts this journey. 150 00:09:52,680 --> 00:09:55,760 And though this event seems to be disconnected from the 151 00:09:56,200 --> 00:10:00,240 previous episode, it is beautifully contrasted with it. 152 00:10:02,080 --> 00:10:04,400 What did Jesus just finished saying? 153 00:10:04,400 --> 00:10:08,000 What we learned last week. This is one of the beauties of 154 00:10:08,000 --> 00:10:09,400 reading God's Word systematically. 155 00:10:09,400 --> 00:10:13,880 When you read it in order. God has a specific way of saying 156 00:10:13,880 --> 00:10:16,200 things and the way He's organized his texts, and you 157 00:10:16,200 --> 00:10:19,040 will know excellence in your experience if you just honor the 158 00:10:19,040 --> 00:10:22,160 flow of thought. The last thing Jesus just taught 159 00:10:22,160 --> 00:10:24,920 that you and I heard last week, was that he gave an analogy of 160 00:10:24,920 --> 00:10:29,160 what it was required of us in order to enter into eternal 161 00:10:29,160 --> 00:10:32,120 life. You must be like a child to 162 00:10:32,120 --> 00:10:35,920 receive eternal life. Again, a metaphor to describe 163 00:10:36,200 --> 00:10:38,680 the admission that is required for us. 164 00:10:38,680 --> 00:10:42,800 And seeing that we cannot acquire the requirements of 165 00:10:42,800 --> 00:10:45,280 righteousness and holiness, we must simply receive it. 166 00:10:45,280 --> 00:10:49,120 As a child receives so much, you must simply accept it with 167 00:10:49,120 --> 00:10:54,360 simplicity and humility. And so Jesus lays this truth, 168 00:10:55,000 --> 00:10:59,600 soul saving truth, so plainly. And that's the backdrop. 169 00:11:00,120 --> 00:11:03,640 And now we continue to read, and immediately, suddenly this 170 00:11:03,640 --> 00:11:06,440 individual crashes into the story. 171 00:11:06,680 --> 00:11:11,840 And what does he ask? What must I do to inherit 172 00:11:11,840 --> 00:11:14,120 eternal life? Does that sound like the 173 00:11:14,120 --> 00:11:18,480 language of someone who can't fend for themselves? 174 00:11:18,920 --> 00:11:23,000 No. This is the actual opposite 175 00:11:23,040 --> 00:11:27,280 attitude of what Jesus presented as a standard for what you and I 176 00:11:27,280 --> 00:11:29,360 need to do to receive eternal life. 177 00:11:30,120 --> 00:11:33,200 So Jesus says you must be like a child. 178 00:11:33,520 --> 00:11:36,040 A child is simply helpless and receives. 179 00:11:36,240 --> 00:11:40,040 And here's this man who comes, a young man, and does he act like 180 00:11:40,040 --> 00:11:43,880 a child? Does he interact with the truth 181 00:11:43,880 --> 00:11:45,080 like a child? No. 182 00:11:45,080 --> 00:11:47,560 He comes and he asks, what do I need to do? 183 00:11:49,960 --> 00:11:52,400 This man did not come to Jesus as his savior. 184 00:11:52,400 --> 00:11:55,240 This man came to Jesus to know how he can save himself. 185 00:11:56,880 --> 00:11:59,120 And there are people who approach Christianity, and they 186 00:11:59,120 --> 00:12:00,840 approach our faith in the same way. 187 00:12:01,440 --> 00:12:04,440 Jesus does not give you guidelines for you to have a 188 00:12:04,440 --> 00:12:10,040 better shot at heaven. Jesus comes and he rescues you 189 00:12:10,040 --> 00:12:13,680 from yourself. You know, it's as ridiculous as 190 00:12:13,720 --> 00:12:17,000 seeing someone who is drowning in the ocean calling for a 191 00:12:17,000 --> 00:12:19,880 lifeguard. And upon the arrival of the 192 00:12:19,880 --> 00:12:22,560 lifeguard, this man, who barely has any breath left, says, how 193 00:12:22,560 --> 00:12:26,320 do I get myself out of this? Can you give me some 194 00:12:26,320 --> 00:12:28,280 instructions to make my way to the shore? 195 00:12:28,720 --> 00:12:30,160 That's not what a lifeguard does. 196 00:12:30,360 --> 00:12:32,520 You call for this lifeguard, He comes, he sees you in your 197 00:12:32,520 --> 00:12:35,120 destitute case, and then he rescues you. 198 00:12:35,280 --> 00:12:39,440 That is the essence of Christ, and this man is starting off on 199 00:12:39,440 --> 00:12:41,560 the wrong foot. He seems eager. 200 00:12:41,560 --> 00:12:45,160 He seems humbled, right. He seems like he wants to do 201 00:12:45,160 --> 00:12:49,440 this the way it should be done, but he is in fact approaching it 202 00:12:49,440 --> 00:12:52,800 the wrong way already, and Jesus is about to address that. 203 00:12:52,800 --> 00:12:57,760 But before Jesus addresses about what he needs to do, he touches 204 00:12:57,760 --> 00:13:00,000 on something else that was mentioned, and perhaps this man 205 00:13:00,000 --> 00:13:01,960 didn't understand the implications of what he said. 206 00:13:01,960 --> 00:13:06,920 Good teacher. And Jesus pauses, looks at him, 207 00:13:06,920 --> 00:13:09,160 and before dealing with this issue of eternal life, ask Why 208 00:13:09,160 --> 00:13:13,800 do you call me good? Why do you call me good? 209 00:13:15,360 --> 00:13:18,520 You know, there are many who want to cast doubt and 'cause 210 00:13:18,520 --> 00:13:21,920 people to deny the divinity of Christ by using this as a proof 211 00:13:21,920 --> 00:13:27,400 text to their erroneous views. You see, Jesus is rejecting any 212 00:13:27,400 --> 00:13:29,360 misconception about him being God. 213 00:13:30,760 --> 00:13:34,400 When he was called good, He denied him being good. 214 00:13:34,400 --> 00:13:38,560 And he said that prerogative, that title belongs to one person 215 00:13:38,560 --> 00:13:40,320 in this universe alone. And that's God. 216 00:13:40,680 --> 00:13:43,440 And I'm not him. Apparently, that's what he's 217 00:13:43,440 --> 00:13:45,320 saying. But if you're honest and if 218 00:13:45,320 --> 00:13:48,560 you're careful in reading what Jesus saying, you realize that 219 00:13:48,720 --> 00:13:51,800 it's the opposite of that conclusion. 220 00:13:53,000 --> 00:13:56,880 When Jesus says and ask why do you call me good, does he say I 221 00:13:56,880 --> 00:14:00,280 am not good? You know what he says in John? 222 00:14:00,480 --> 00:14:02,800 He says I am. Does he say I am the shepherd? 223 00:14:02,800 --> 00:14:05,440 No, no, no, He says I am the Good Shepherd. 224 00:14:06,680 --> 00:14:09,960 He calls himself good. He acknowledges that he is good, 225 00:14:10,840 --> 00:14:12,480 and he does not deny that he is good. 226 00:14:12,480 --> 00:14:16,280 Here he simply asks the question for the sake of this 227 00:14:16,280 --> 00:14:22,200 individual's reflection. Why do you call me good? 228 00:14:23,960 --> 00:14:26,920 In other words, do you realize the implications of such a 229 00:14:26,920 --> 00:14:29,760 greeting? Do you understand that there is 230 00:14:29,760 --> 00:14:32,160 no one in this whole universe who is absolutely good except 231 00:14:32,160 --> 00:14:34,520 God alone? And you are ascribing that to 232 00:14:34,520 --> 00:14:37,160 me. So what are you trying to say? 233 00:14:37,200 --> 00:14:39,120 Do you understand what you're actually trying to say? 234 00:14:39,560 --> 00:14:42,720 This is what he is pressing against the heart of this rich 235 00:14:42,720 --> 00:14:44,720 young man you call me. Good. 236 00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:49,360 What does that really mean? Do you know what that really 237 00:14:49,360 --> 00:14:51,680 means? In fact, this is Christ 238 00:14:51,680 --> 00:14:53,920 confirming his deity more than anything else. 239 00:14:54,320 --> 00:14:57,240 This is Christ confirming it and asking this man who's using the 240 00:14:57,240 --> 00:14:59,520 word good very loosely to do the same. 241 00:15:00,520 --> 00:15:03,120 If anything, Christ is inviting this individual to realize that 242 00:15:03,120 --> 00:15:05,880 by calling him good, he is uniting and identifying him with 243 00:15:05,880 --> 00:15:10,560 the only one who is good. So to use this as a text to try 244 00:15:10,560 --> 00:15:13,240 to deny Christ being God is a great mistake. 245 00:15:14,000 --> 00:15:16,120 And if you think about it further, when Jesus looks at 246 00:15:16,120 --> 00:15:18,600 this man and he says, why do you call me good? 247 00:15:21,000 --> 00:15:24,160 There is no one who is good except God He is. 248 00:15:25,240 --> 00:15:27,840 He's challenging this man to rethink his conception of 249 00:15:27,840 --> 00:15:32,040 goodness altogether. Do you realize what you're 250 00:15:32,040 --> 00:15:35,000 saying by calling me good? Do you realize that God alone is 251 00:15:35,000 --> 00:15:37,520 good because, you know the essence of his inquiry Is this? 252 00:15:37,720 --> 00:15:40,840 How good do I need to be in order to be accepted by God? 253 00:15:40,840 --> 00:15:45,240 How good do I need to be? And Jesus saying only God is 254 00:15:45,240 --> 00:15:49,640 absolutely good? If you meditate on the goodness 255 00:15:49,640 --> 00:15:52,760 of God long enough, then you'll realize very quickly that there 256 00:15:52,760 --> 00:15:55,720 is nothing you can do to reach his standard of goodness. 257 00:15:57,200 --> 00:15:59,760 And the way you and I understand goodness is ultimately by 258 00:15:59,760 --> 00:16:02,320 looking to God. And if you understand who God is 259 00:16:02,560 --> 00:16:04,880 in His goodness, you're going to understand who you are. 260 00:16:04,880 --> 00:16:08,480 And when you understand who He is, you understand who you are, 261 00:16:08,480 --> 00:16:10,320 and then you understand what he requires of you. 262 00:16:12,160 --> 00:16:16,760 So Jesus highlights only God is good. 263 00:16:16,760 --> 00:16:20,200 Reconsider your concept of goodness. 264 00:16:20,440 --> 00:16:23,800 Let me remind you who ultimately is good. 265 00:16:24,840 --> 00:16:28,000 And this man had to understand this from the beginning, but he 266 00:16:28,000 --> 00:16:32,240 doesn't seem to understand it. And so, with that being visited 267 00:16:32,240 --> 00:16:36,040 now, Jesus patiently is going to continue and give an answer to 268 00:16:36,040 --> 00:16:39,240 this desperate question. What must I do to inherit 269 00:16:39,240 --> 00:16:40,640 eternal? What do I need to do? 270 00:16:41,120 --> 00:16:45,480 What do I need to do? What would you do if somebody 271 00:16:45,480 --> 00:16:49,880 asks you that question? What must I do? 272 00:16:50,200 --> 00:16:51,760 And here's Jesus, ready to answer. 273 00:16:51,760 --> 00:16:54,040 And you know what you might you might think, and what I might 274 00:16:54,040 --> 00:16:57,080 think of reading this for this first time especially, surely 275 00:16:57,320 --> 00:16:59,240 you're going to revisit what you just taught Jesus. 276 00:16:59,440 --> 00:17:03,600 That you need childlike faith, you need self abandonment, you 277 00:17:03,600 --> 00:17:07,000 need to deny any work based mentality, and you need to 278 00:17:07,000 --> 00:17:10,400 receive Christ freely. You need to receive salvation as 279 00:17:10,400 --> 00:17:13,200 a gift. Maybe Jesus will answer this the 280 00:17:13,200 --> 00:17:14,880 way he answered in another place. 281 00:17:15,359 --> 00:17:18,680 You remember when a crowd who just experienced Jesus multiply 282 00:17:18,680 --> 00:17:21,880 food in the wilderness, they ended up asking him in John 283 00:17:21,880 --> 00:17:24,920 chapter 6, what must we do to be doing the works of God? 284 00:17:25,880 --> 00:17:28,160 And you remember what Jesus said to them in John 629. 285 00:17:29,080 --> 00:17:31,480 This is the work of God, that you believe in him, who he has 286 00:17:31,480 --> 00:17:35,400 sent. That's that's what's required of 287 00:17:35,400 --> 00:17:38,920 you believe in him who he has sent. 288 00:17:39,520 --> 00:17:41,520 OK, Lord, you're going to ask. You're going to you're going to 289 00:17:41,520 --> 00:17:42,720 give that as an answer, aren't you? 290 00:17:42,880 --> 00:17:44,840 This is what you're going to you're going to you're going to 291 00:17:44,840 --> 00:17:47,320 remove all confusion. You're going to just get right 292 00:17:47,320 --> 00:17:50,520 to the issue and you're going to clarify what you just finished 293 00:17:50,520 --> 00:17:53,320 teaching not too long ago. And what do you read instead? 294 00:17:53,720 --> 00:17:57,120 You know the commandments. What? 295 00:17:59,080 --> 00:18:01,120 You know the commandments. What commandments? 296 00:18:02,000 --> 00:18:04,440 You know the commandments. What do you mean, Lord? 297 00:18:05,680 --> 00:18:09,720 Are you affirming a self producing holiness, a self 298 00:18:09,720 --> 00:18:13,920 achieving righteousness? No, no, no, no, no, no. 299 00:18:13,920 --> 00:18:19,520 Jesus is brilliantly strategic. You see, this rich young man not 300 00:18:19,520 --> 00:18:22,000 only had a limited view of the person of Christ, he had a 301 00:18:22,000 --> 00:18:28,240 limited view of himself, not just of Jesus, of himself. 302 00:18:29,400 --> 00:18:32,280 So Jesus is going to take the mirror of the law and he's going 303 00:18:32,280 --> 00:18:36,480 to show it to this man, this very ambitious man, this very 304 00:18:36,720 --> 00:18:39,160 pure hearted man, at least on the surface. 305 00:18:39,720 --> 00:18:43,560 And he wants to reveal to him just how far he is from actually 306 00:18:43,560 --> 00:18:50,080 winning his justification. You know, often times before 307 00:18:50,080 --> 00:18:55,720 people can hear the invitation of the cross, they need to be 308 00:18:55,720 --> 00:19:01,200 introduced and then rejected by the law before they can hear the 309 00:19:01,200 --> 00:19:05,560 sweet call of the cross. Many, many people first need to 310 00:19:05,560 --> 00:19:11,120 be rejected, denounced, condemned by the law before they 311 00:19:11,120 --> 00:19:13,600 find themselves at the foot of the mercy of Christ. 312 00:19:14,360 --> 00:19:16,200 And this is what Jesus Christ is doing. 313 00:19:16,880 --> 00:19:20,840 He's going to give him the law first, and based on how he will 314 00:19:20,840 --> 00:19:23,160 respond to the law, will determine if he will receive the 315 00:19:23,160 --> 00:19:25,760 gospel. And So what does Jesus say? 316 00:19:26,280 --> 00:19:28,920 Do not murder. Do not commit adultery. 317 00:19:29,160 --> 00:19:31,800 Do not steal. Do not bear false witness. 318 00:19:31,800 --> 00:19:34,600 Do not defraud. Honor your father and mother. 319 00:19:35,760 --> 00:19:39,880 He goes to the Big 10, the Decalogue, and he doesn't 320 00:19:39,880 --> 00:19:42,920 mention all ten. He focuses on the second table 321 00:19:42,920 --> 00:19:45,920 of the law, the ones that deal with our relationship with 322 00:19:45,920 --> 00:19:50,280 others. And so he presses on this man 323 00:19:50,880 --> 00:19:55,480 what God demands in terms of our experience and our interactions 324 00:19:55,480 --> 00:19:57,640 with other people created in the image of God. 325 00:19:58,440 --> 00:20:01,120 But if you're a careful student of the law, then you'll realize 326 00:20:01,120 --> 00:20:03,840 that something doesn't seem right with these commandments. 327 00:20:04,640 --> 00:20:06,640 And if you're at the conference a few months ago, you'll you'll 328 00:20:06,640 --> 00:20:09,400 remember that this was mentioned in one of the sessions. 329 00:20:10,360 --> 00:20:12,400 You look at this again, you realize everything seems to be 330 00:20:12,400 --> 00:20:13,240 right. Do not murder. 331 00:20:13,240 --> 00:20:14,520 Do not commit adultery. Do not steal. 332 00:20:14,520 --> 00:20:16,000 Do not bear false When is. Do not defraud. 333 00:20:16,000 --> 00:20:18,280 Honor your father, mother. They may not be necessarily in 334 00:20:18,280 --> 00:20:20,200 order, but they seem to all be there. 335 00:20:20,280 --> 00:20:24,520 They seem to mirror exactly what is there in Exodus 20, but 336 00:20:24,520 --> 00:20:31,080 something is not lined up. There is actually one of these 337 00:20:31,080 --> 00:20:35,840 commands that Jesus gives that is not found in Exodus 20, and 338 00:20:35,840 --> 00:20:40,760 not only is it not found in Exodus 20, it eclipses one of 339 00:20:40,760 --> 00:20:43,160 those commands in the second table of the law. 340 00:20:43,680 --> 00:20:46,600 Do you know which one it is? Do not defraud. 341 00:20:48,680 --> 00:20:50,160 Go to Exodus 20. If you don't believe me, you're 342 00:20:50,160 --> 00:20:52,560 going to realize that Do not defraud is not in the Big 10. 343 00:20:54,040 --> 00:20:56,440 Does Jesus insert something to the word of God? 344 00:20:58,800 --> 00:21:01,680 You have many people here who try to be academic and try to 345 00:21:03,160 --> 00:21:05,040 argue that Jesus slipped up here. 346 00:21:05,040 --> 00:21:08,200 And no, no, Jesus knows exactly what he's doing. 347 00:21:09,800 --> 00:21:13,160 Do not defraud. Why is the Lord saying that to 348 00:21:13,160 --> 00:21:14,240 this man? You know why? 349 00:21:14,720 --> 00:21:18,400 Because the Lord is getting to the heart of the matter. 350 00:21:18,400 --> 00:21:23,880 In this man's life, the Lord is pinpointing the besetting sin 351 00:21:23,880 --> 00:21:27,200 that this rich young ruler was struggling with. 352 00:21:29,080 --> 00:21:32,880 He was rich. He was very wealthy. 353 00:21:33,920 --> 00:21:36,440 Does it make you wonder by Jesus bringing this up that he knows 354 00:21:36,440 --> 00:21:41,000 how this man accumulated his wealth, how he was able to 355 00:21:41,000 --> 00:21:46,840 attain such success? And so the the Lord here is not 356 00:21:46,840 --> 00:21:51,160 changing the law, he is just making it more personal. 357 00:21:51,440 --> 00:21:56,800 Because if you think about it, defrauding is a manifestation of 358 00:21:57,080 --> 00:22:02,640 what commanded it, cover, coveting, coveting, coveting 359 00:22:02,640 --> 00:22:05,680 specifically. And so you see here that there 360 00:22:05,680 --> 00:22:09,360 is a manifestation of coveting that is known as defrauding, 361 00:22:09,360 --> 00:22:12,160 that in your desire for something you will cheat people, 362 00:22:12,160 --> 00:22:14,680 You will manipulate whether your desires for greater wealth or 363 00:22:14,680 --> 00:22:16,760 whether your desires for greater power. 364 00:22:17,280 --> 00:22:21,480 So this is really an applicational equivalent to 365 00:22:21,720 --> 00:22:25,800 coveting, to defrauding, defrauding here is this in 366 00:22:25,800 --> 00:22:28,120 action, coveting in action. So the Lord is not changing 367 00:22:28,120 --> 00:22:29,920 anything, he's just making it more specific. 368 00:22:30,760 --> 00:22:33,840 And he's telling this man he's trying to awaken his conscience. 369 00:22:35,120 --> 00:22:38,760 In the middle of this list, he says do not defraud, do not 370 00:22:38,760 --> 00:22:42,120 defraud. So the Lord is being very 371 00:22:42,120 --> 00:22:44,000 surgical here. He knows exactly who he's 372 00:22:44,000 --> 00:22:46,880 dealing with. He very likely knew the history 373 00:22:46,880 --> 00:22:50,040 of this man, and he's trying to expose it in a very gentle but 374 00:22:50,040 --> 00:22:53,080 wise way. He wants this man to see his 375 00:22:53,080 --> 00:22:56,480 sin, not just the concept of sin, but his sin. 376 00:22:57,280 --> 00:23:00,440 Do not defraud. The Lord is absolutely majestic. 377 00:23:00,800 --> 00:23:06,560 He is impressive. He is so clever in a holy way 378 00:23:07,440 --> 00:23:11,000 and so he says do not defraud. And you would think, OK, this is 379 00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:13,920 this is going to do it. Here's this man now confronted, 380 00:23:13,920 --> 00:23:17,680 and even not just with a general sense of God's demands, but even 381 00:23:18,080 --> 00:23:22,120 more precisely concerning his life, showing him that he he 382 00:23:22,120 --> 00:23:26,400 failed in a certain area. So what does he do? 383 00:23:28,040 --> 00:23:30,760 The rich young ruler has a staggering response to what 384 00:23:30,760 --> 00:23:35,240 Jesus says he says here in verse 20. 385 00:23:35,240 --> 00:23:39,040 Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth. 386 00:23:40,240 --> 00:23:42,040 All these I've kept from my youth. 387 00:23:42,040 --> 00:23:44,920 What do you mean, all these things you've kept from your 388 00:23:44,920 --> 00:23:48,360 youth? You know, instead of seeing the 389 00:23:48,360 --> 00:23:52,480 law as something that doesn't pave the way to eternal life, 390 00:23:52,760 --> 00:23:56,360 instead of seeing it the way should be seen leading the way 391 00:23:56,360 --> 00:23:59,320 and paving the way to the arms of the Savior, this man double S 392 00:23:59,320 --> 00:24:04,360 down. This man is so convinced that 393 00:24:04,360 --> 00:24:09,680 he's actually righteous, and so he tells the Lord, I've done 394 00:24:09,680 --> 00:24:11,280 this. You know what this is? 395 00:24:11,280 --> 00:24:14,640 This is deception. This is spiritual blindness. 396 00:24:15,280 --> 00:24:17,960 This is an individual here who has convinced himself, and he's 397 00:24:17,960 --> 00:24:22,160 even attempting to convince Christ that he has done all that 398 00:24:22,160 --> 00:24:26,440 he can, and he's done it well to satisfy the divine commands of 399 00:24:26,440 --> 00:24:30,680 God. And unfortunately, this way of 400 00:24:30,680 --> 00:24:32,880 thinking is not inching him closer to eternal life. 401 00:24:32,880 --> 00:24:36,760 It's only dragging him further away from it, because the very 402 00:24:36,760 --> 00:24:39,360 thing that is required for eternal life is what you heard 403 00:24:39,360 --> 00:24:41,120 last week and what I learned last week. 404 00:24:41,520 --> 00:24:44,320 Helplessness. But you can't get to 405 00:24:44,320 --> 00:24:46,880 helplessness until you have humility. 406 00:24:47,400 --> 00:24:51,160 Humility precedes helplessness. And then helplessness when you 407 00:24:51,160 --> 00:24:54,560 realize who's the helper brings you to that place of saving 408 00:24:54,560 --> 00:24:56,960 faith. This man is sorely lacking in 409 00:24:56,960 --> 00:25:00,120 humility. I've kept these things from my 410 00:25:00,120 --> 00:25:02,840 youth. OK, according to what standard? 411 00:25:02,960 --> 00:25:04,440 The Sermon of the Mount Standard. 412 00:25:06,920 --> 00:25:09,840 OK, so you haven't murdered. Did you hate your brother in 413 00:25:09,840 --> 00:25:11,640 your heart? You haven't committed adultery? 414 00:25:11,640 --> 00:25:13,920 Did you look at something on the screen that you weren't supposed 415 00:25:13,920 --> 00:25:19,440 to last night? According to which standard? 416 00:25:19,440 --> 00:25:21,240 The Pharisee Standard or God's standard? 417 00:25:23,000 --> 00:25:26,360 And this man's self deception should remind us of a church, 418 00:25:26,360 --> 00:25:28,920 the last church that Jesus wrote to in the Book of Revelation, 419 00:25:28,920 --> 00:25:33,160 who also felt very strongly believed very, very convincingly 420 00:25:33,320 --> 00:25:35,880 about their own condition, though they were false, and 421 00:25:35,880 --> 00:25:37,400 their assessment of who they were. 422 00:25:38,160 --> 00:25:40,800 You remember what Jesus said to the Church of Laodicea. 423 00:25:41,800 --> 00:25:44,360 Let me remind you one of the scathing statements he makes to 424 00:25:44,360 --> 00:25:47,480 this local church. By the way, this is a church. 425 00:25:47,800 --> 00:25:50,880 What what you're about to hear is Jesus Christ, the head of the 426 00:25:50,880 --> 00:25:55,320 church, saying to his own body and Revelation 317. 427 00:25:55,320 --> 00:25:58,200 He says For you say this is what the church was saying, this is 428 00:25:58,200 --> 00:26:02,800 the whole church. For you say I am rich, I have 429 00:26:02,800 --> 00:26:08,880 prospered, and I need nothing. I need nothing. 430 00:26:10,240 --> 00:26:15,200 And then Jesus says, not realizing that you are wretched, 431 00:26:15,720 --> 00:26:23,000 pitable, poor, blind and naked. Strong words from Jesus. 432 00:26:23,480 --> 00:26:26,120 Very strong words from Jesus. Do you want to know what are the 433 00:26:26,120 --> 00:26:28,040 two most cutting words in that statement? 434 00:26:29,680 --> 00:26:30,640 What? You think it's wretched, 435 00:26:30,640 --> 00:26:34,200 pitable, poor, blind, Naked. No, It's when he said, not 436 00:26:34,360 --> 00:26:38,840 realizing, not realizing. Here's a translation. 437 00:26:39,400 --> 00:26:44,600 You do not perceive reality. You do not perceive reality. 438 00:26:45,680 --> 00:26:48,520 I can't think of a most the a more miserable place to be than 439 00:26:48,520 --> 00:26:49,520 that. Think about it. 440 00:26:49,640 --> 00:26:52,520 What can be more miserable than being convinced something to be 441 00:26:52,520 --> 00:26:54,320 true when in fact the opposite is true? 442 00:26:55,800 --> 00:26:59,520 What could be more earth shaking, heart rattling, than 443 00:26:59,760 --> 00:27:02,280 realizing that you believe something for so long only for 444 00:27:02,280 --> 00:27:07,000 it to be completely false? And Jesus tells this church you 445 00:27:07,000 --> 00:27:11,600 have this sense of confidence about your spiritual condition. 446 00:27:12,080 --> 00:27:14,240 And I want to let you know that you're dead wrong. 447 00:27:16,000 --> 00:27:22,080 I read that I thought to myself, Lord, Lord, how do I escape an 448 00:27:22,760 --> 00:27:27,680 inaccurate self-assessment of my own standing and my 449 00:27:27,680 --> 00:27:31,320 sanctification? How do I how do I avoid this 450 00:27:31,320 --> 00:27:33,720 mistake? You know what the answer is? 451 00:27:33,720 --> 00:27:35,640 You always go with the Lord's evaluation. 452 00:27:36,000 --> 00:27:38,960 Always. God hasn't concealed his mind or 453 00:27:38,960 --> 00:27:41,360 his will. God has given us exactly what we 454 00:27:41,360 --> 00:27:43,560 need to know, to know what we need to know. 455 00:27:44,520 --> 00:27:47,160 It's so clear. And listen, here's the problem 456 00:27:47,160 --> 00:27:49,520 with many people. They go with what they feel. 457 00:27:49,840 --> 00:27:52,120 They go not just with what they feel, because feeling is one 458 00:27:52,120 --> 00:27:53,040 thing. They go with what they're 459 00:27:53,040 --> 00:27:55,880 comfortable with in their minds and their convictions and their 460 00:27:55,880 --> 00:27:57,920 beliefs in their own observation. 461 00:27:57,920 --> 00:28:04,160 They go with what is right to them instead of going to the 462 00:28:04,160 --> 00:28:10,240 Lord and saying Lord, what do you think this rich, young ruler 463 00:28:10,360 --> 00:28:12,360 is kind of like? An individual, individual 464 00:28:12,360 --> 00:28:17,480 expression of the pollution that has come over this church? 465 00:28:17,920 --> 00:28:21,680 Yeah, he wasn't a believer. But the same issue at heart. 466 00:28:23,480 --> 00:28:24,720 I've kept these things from my youth. 467 00:28:25,560 --> 00:28:28,840 You ask a Sinner these days, are you a good person? 468 00:28:28,840 --> 00:28:30,040 What's the answer? Usually. 469 00:28:30,560 --> 00:28:33,080 Have you ever encountered somebody who said I'm not a, I'm 470 00:28:33,080 --> 00:28:39,520 a wretched, miserable no, Rarely you ask anybody on the street. 471 00:28:39,520 --> 00:28:40,600 Do it today. Go to the mall. 472 00:28:40,600 --> 00:28:42,560 Go to the restaurant. Ask. 473 00:28:42,560 --> 00:28:44,800 Hey, are you a good person? What do you get? 474 00:28:44,800 --> 00:28:46,520 Usually, Yeah, I'm a good person. 475 00:28:48,160 --> 00:28:49,240 Are you good enough to go to heaven? 476 00:28:49,240 --> 00:28:50,560 Yeah, I think I am. Yeah. 477 00:28:52,240 --> 00:28:55,000 And then you bring God's word into it and the opinion changes. 478 00:28:55,000 --> 00:28:58,840 If they're honest and not very shortly, Whose standard are you? 479 00:28:58,840 --> 00:29:02,760 Good according to? OK, that's the world. 480 00:29:03,880 --> 00:29:07,200 Jesus spoke to a church. You asked some Christians today. 481 00:29:08,680 --> 00:29:10,960 They are as lukewarm as lukewarm can be. 482 00:29:11,560 --> 00:29:12,760 Maybe you're lukewarm here today. 483 00:29:14,400 --> 00:29:16,160 Anyway, you've been lukewarm for a while, and guess what? 484 00:29:16,160 --> 00:29:20,360 You don't even realize it. No. 485 00:29:20,440 --> 00:29:21,480 No. You're comfortable. 486 00:29:21,600 --> 00:29:23,720 I need nothing. I'm good. 487 00:29:25,320 --> 00:29:26,960 I stayed awake this Sunday Service. 488 00:29:26,960 --> 00:29:31,120 I didn't fall asleep. I'm good. 489 00:29:32,600 --> 00:29:35,360 Are you good? According to who? 490 00:29:36,280 --> 00:29:38,440 Well, I feel good. OK, great. 491 00:29:38,840 --> 00:29:42,160 What does Jesus feel? Have you asked him recently? 492 00:29:42,160 --> 00:29:42,760 Oh, no. That's right. 493 00:29:42,800 --> 00:29:44,040 You haven't talked to him for months. 494 00:29:46,640 --> 00:29:48,840 I'm good. I'm good. 495 00:29:49,640 --> 00:29:51,760 OK? But Jesus has a different 496 00:29:51,760 --> 00:29:54,800 opinion. Is it possible to be in the 497 00:29:54,800 --> 00:29:55,120 good? Sure. 498 00:29:55,120 --> 00:29:56,600 I don't want to condemn everybody here. 499 00:29:57,440 --> 00:30:00,320 It is possible to to be in this sweet place of fellowship with 500 00:30:00,320 --> 00:30:02,800 the Lord where you are in your conscience, knowing that you're 501 00:30:02,800 --> 00:30:04,800 walking with Him, loving Him, worshiping him, that he has 502 00:30:04,800 --> 00:30:08,440 priority over all. But it's possible for an entire 503 00:30:08,440 --> 00:30:12,280 church to think that they are good, not realizing. 504 00:30:12,640 --> 00:30:15,640 Well, how do you realize? Just come to His word constantly 505 00:30:15,640 --> 00:30:18,440 and consistently saying, Lord, is my heart right with you? 506 00:30:18,440 --> 00:30:19,720 Lord, is there anything in my heart? 507 00:30:19,720 --> 00:30:22,200 Can you scan my heart and see if there's anything that needs to 508 00:30:22,200 --> 00:30:23,720 be removed? That's how you're doing. 509 00:30:23,720 --> 00:30:26,080 You live that that way. And he is faithful always to 510 00:30:26,080 --> 00:30:30,440 nudge you and to convict you and to comfort you and to lead you. 511 00:30:32,320 --> 00:30:36,520 And so be reminded today that the Lord He has a will. 512 00:30:36,520 --> 00:30:40,080 He has His word, and it's supposed to be engaged with 513 00:30:40,080 --> 00:30:46,080 constantly. And this man, this man here, 514 00:30:46,080 --> 00:30:51,120 thought he was good. And we would think, like, OK, if 515 00:30:51,120 --> 00:30:55,000 this individual here is kind of like, again, an individual 516 00:30:55,000 --> 00:30:58,160 expression of the Church of Laodicea, then he's about to get 517 00:30:58,160 --> 00:31:01,960 it. The same Jesus who wrote those 518 00:31:01,960 --> 00:31:07,000 words to that church is ready to unleash, ready to unleash on 519 00:31:07,000 --> 00:31:09,000 this guy. He has no idea what's coming. 520 00:31:09,000 --> 00:31:12,800 Prepare, prepare, prepare. What is he going to call him? 521 00:31:12,800 --> 00:31:13,800 Pitable. What does he call him? 522 00:31:13,800 --> 00:31:14,960 Poor. What does he call him? 523 00:31:14,960 --> 00:31:16,200 Bankrupt. What is he going to say? 524 00:31:16,200 --> 00:31:17,760 What is the Lord going to say to wake him up? 525 00:31:17,760 --> 00:31:20,480 And then what do you read in verse 21? 526 00:31:20,480 --> 00:31:29,600 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, loved him. 527 00:31:33,920 --> 00:31:37,000 That word love is none other than the strongest expression of 528 00:31:37,000 --> 00:31:39,040 the word love in the Greek language, Agapeo. 529 00:31:41,160 --> 00:31:45,120 He loved them with the strongest love that you can have for 530 00:31:45,120 --> 00:31:48,800 somebody else. You know why that's so moving to 531 00:31:48,800 --> 00:31:50,920 me? Because Mark didn't say Jesus 532 00:31:50,920 --> 00:31:53,000 loved him after the man accepted him. 533 00:31:54,360 --> 00:31:56,160 He loved him while he was in darkness. 534 00:31:57,880 --> 00:32:03,600 He loved him While he thought that he was actually good when 535 00:32:03,600 --> 00:32:05,880 he wasn't. He loved them when he had a very 536 00:32:05,880 --> 00:32:07,760 skewed understanding of salvation. 537 00:32:07,760 --> 00:32:11,480 He loved them when he had a very poor theological perception of 538 00:32:11,480 --> 00:32:16,200 the person of Jesus Christ. He loved him even though this 539 00:32:16,200 --> 00:32:18,160 man loved something else more than him. 540 00:32:19,880 --> 00:32:22,680 That's when he loved him. OK, what's the conclusion? 541 00:32:22,760 --> 00:32:28,760 Jesus loves sinners. Jesus loves sinners. 542 00:32:28,880 --> 00:32:29,920 Ready for the shocking statement? 543 00:32:29,920 --> 00:32:34,840 While they're sinning, while they're rejecting, while they're 544 00:32:34,840 --> 00:32:37,680 running in the opposite direction of his arms and his 545 00:32:37,680 --> 00:32:43,520 heart, Jesus still loves them. Jesus loved this man. 546 00:32:43,760 --> 00:32:45,760 And you know, Mark is the only one who mentions that. 547 00:32:46,160 --> 00:32:49,080 Matthew doesn't mention it. Luke doesn't mention it. 548 00:32:50,400 --> 00:32:52,880 Why is Mark mentioning it? Well, it shouldn't be a surprise 549 00:32:52,880 --> 00:32:54,040 to us. We've been studying Mark for the 550 00:32:54,040 --> 00:32:57,320 past few months. Mark depicts Jesus Christ as a 551 00:32:57,320 --> 00:33:00,800 perfect servant of God, and by highlighting that Jesus loved 552 00:33:00,800 --> 00:33:04,640 this man as the perfect servant of God, he's modeling for us how 553 00:33:04,640 --> 00:33:06,960 you and I, in serving and engaging with the lost, should 554 00:33:06,960 --> 00:33:11,480 also do and how we should do it. You love the lost. 555 00:33:12,640 --> 00:33:16,920 You love sinners. Let them know that even as 556 00:33:16,920 --> 00:33:18,920 you're ministering to me, even as you're transferring the 557 00:33:18,920 --> 00:33:21,920 truth, that you love them. You know, a few few months ago, 558 00:33:21,920 --> 00:33:24,360 I had a chance to be online in an informal debate with a 559 00:33:24,360 --> 00:33:27,920 Muslim. And this Muslim just invited 560 00:33:27,920 --> 00:33:30,080 people to come on his channel to debate about the deity of 561 00:33:30,080 --> 00:33:32,640 Christ, and if Christ is really God in the flesh and all these 562 00:33:32,640 --> 00:33:34,640 things. And so we just had a chance to 563 00:33:34,640 --> 00:33:37,120 do it and it would turn out to be a few minutes, actually end 564 00:33:37,120 --> 00:33:43,080 up being a few hours. And then at some point in that 565 00:33:43,080 --> 00:33:45,200 conversation going back and forth, and then other people 566 00:33:45,200 --> 00:33:47,360 were included in the conversation on his side. 567 00:33:48,000 --> 00:33:49,800 It was very hostile, very intense. 568 00:33:51,120 --> 00:33:53,360 Yeah, I was just thinking to myself, going back and forth 569 00:33:53,360 --> 00:33:56,520 with the Bible, with the Karana. And I thought to myself, I hope 570 00:33:56,520 --> 00:33:58,400 they're seeing where I'm coming from here. 571 00:33:59,840 --> 00:34:01,560 And so in the middle of that, I just paused and I says, can I 572 00:34:01,560 --> 00:34:03,840 tell you something? Can I just tell you something 573 00:34:03,840 --> 00:34:06,280 Before we move on? Do you know why I'm doing this? 574 00:34:08,080 --> 00:34:11,120 Do you know why I'm spending my Sunday evening where I could 575 00:34:11,120 --> 00:34:13,280 have done so many other things, doing this with a complete 576 00:34:13,280 --> 00:34:15,159 strange. Can I tell you why I'm not here 577 00:34:15,159 --> 00:34:18,280 to win a debate? I'm not here to win an argument. 578 00:34:18,280 --> 00:34:21,320 I'm not here to get an adrenaline rush of proving 579 00:34:21,320 --> 00:34:25,239 somebody wrong. I want you to know Jesus Christ. 580 00:34:26,199 --> 00:34:28,600 I want your soul to be saved. I want you to come to the 581 00:34:28,600 --> 00:34:31,239 sweetness of the gospel, to realize that you can have 582 00:34:31,239 --> 00:34:35,199 everlasting hope in His name. That's why I'm doing this. 583 00:34:35,199 --> 00:34:38,159 And there was just silence for a few moments. 584 00:34:42,040 --> 00:34:43,719 OK? Wherever this goes, at least 585 00:34:43,719 --> 00:34:47,560 they know my heart behind this. Who cares if you win an 586 00:34:47,560 --> 00:34:48,920 argument? Who cares if you look like a 587 00:34:48,920 --> 00:34:49,920 better man? Who cares if you look 588 00:34:49,920 --> 00:34:51,400 intelligent? Who cares if you can quote this 589 00:34:51,400 --> 00:34:54,440 and quote that? Do we love the lost? 590 00:34:56,360 --> 00:35:02,760 Jesus loves sinners. And so looking at him, I wonder 591 00:35:02,760 --> 00:35:05,400 if the love ooze that of his eyes. 592 00:35:09,160 --> 00:35:12,800 I wonder whoever helped mark Penn this gospel account, which 593 00:35:12,800 --> 00:35:15,040 is very likely Peter. I wonder if Peter saw this 594 00:35:15,040 --> 00:35:17,720 interaction. Here's this man on his knees, 595 00:35:17,720 --> 00:35:22,000 and here's Jesus speaking to him, but after telling him about 596 00:35:22,000 --> 00:35:24,520 the commandments and this man claiming that he is satisfied in 597 00:35:24,520 --> 00:35:28,160 Jesus, what did? What did Peter see in that face? 598 00:35:28,160 --> 00:35:31,920 What radiated out of that face for him to say he loved him? 599 00:35:32,720 --> 00:35:37,960 He loved him not just to show us how we are to serve the loss and 600 00:35:37,960 --> 00:35:40,640 reach the loss and engage with the loss, but also in 601 00:35:40,640 --> 00:35:42,480 preparation for what Jesus is about to say. 602 00:35:44,680 --> 00:35:46,360 You know how some people understand love. 603 00:35:47,280 --> 00:35:49,120 If they haven't read this before, they might think in 604 00:35:49,120 --> 00:35:52,720 verse 21 that it would continue in the following manner. 605 00:35:52,960 --> 00:35:56,760 And Jesus looking at him, loved him and said to him, you know 606 00:35:56,760 --> 00:36:02,440 what, you're a good guy, you have a good heart. 607 00:36:03,000 --> 00:36:05,640 I can see that. You know, I know doctrine can 608 00:36:05,640 --> 00:36:10,880 get complicated and there's a wide spectrum of beliefs and but 609 00:36:10,880 --> 00:36:11,960 it seems like you're very earnest. 610 00:36:11,960 --> 00:36:15,800 It seems like you're very interested in spiritual things 611 00:36:15,800 --> 00:36:18,120 and seems like you're really sincere. 612 00:36:18,120 --> 00:36:22,480 I have a hunch that God understands, So be at peace and 613 00:36:22,480 --> 00:36:26,800 go your way. That's what some people 614 00:36:26,800 --> 00:36:27,560 understand. Love. 615 00:36:28,280 --> 00:36:32,720 Is that love? No, that's dangerous and damning 616 00:36:32,720 --> 00:36:37,920 compromise. Jesus didn't look at him, love 617 00:36:37,920 --> 00:36:39,600 him, and then lower the standard. 618 00:36:40,520 --> 00:36:43,280 Jesus didn't look at him and love him and then alter the 619 00:36:43,280 --> 00:36:46,160 message. Jesus looked at him and loved 620 00:36:46,160 --> 00:36:47,920 them and did the most loving thing you can do with somebody 621 00:36:47,920 --> 00:36:50,080 who's in darkness. Give them the truth and love. 622 00:36:53,840 --> 00:36:57,520 He looked at him, he loved him, and he's going to say something 623 00:36:57,520 --> 00:37:00,040 very heavy. Why? 624 00:37:00,320 --> 00:37:02,520 Just just to play with him. Why? 625 00:37:02,520 --> 00:37:06,520 So that he can show him that he can never become one of God's 626 00:37:06,520 --> 00:37:08,280 children? No, because the truth sets you 627 00:37:08,280 --> 00:37:10,320 free. No matter how much it hurts in 628 00:37:10,320 --> 00:37:13,760 the moment, no matter how much you feel uncomfortable with this 629 00:37:13,760 --> 00:37:17,120 introduction in your life. Jesus is about to say something, 630 00:37:17,320 --> 00:37:24,440 and it is all in love, and it is because he loves you know? 631 00:37:24,440 --> 00:37:29,480 Sometimes you hear people from something called the pulpit, and 632 00:37:29,480 --> 00:37:33,000 many people in their strategy to try to seem loving will dilute 633 00:37:33,000 --> 00:37:35,160 their message. That's the most unloving thing 634 00:37:35,160 --> 00:37:38,920 you can do. At the same time, those who 635 00:37:38,920 --> 00:37:42,200 would present the truth, even the the harsh truth, the not 636 00:37:42,200 --> 00:37:44,800 easy to receive truth, you got to do it in love. 637 00:37:46,960 --> 00:37:49,400 You know no matter how intense you are, no matter how much your 638 00:37:49,400 --> 00:37:52,640 voice is elevated, no matter how much you don't smile as much as 639 00:37:52,640 --> 00:37:57,320 another preacher smiles. People can tell if you love 640 00:37:57,320 --> 00:37:59,480 them, even if you preach the truth to them. 641 00:37:59,800 --> 00:38:01,120 They should be able to, at least. 642 00:38:02,760 --> 00:38:06,160 But then there's the opposite strategy that is so dangerous, 643 00:38:06,160 --> 00:38:09,160 and that's to not give them what they need to hear so people can 644 00:38:09,160 --> 00:38:12,720 leave cheerful and happy. Jesus doesn't do that. 645 00:38:13,520 --> 00:38:16,120 This man is about to leave disheartened and sorrowful. 646 00:38:16,120 --> 00:38:18,920 You know, that's possible for a Sunday service. 647 00:38:20,280 --> 00:38:22,520 It's possible for after a Sunday service to for the people to 648 00:38:22,520 --> 00:38:24,720 dodge the pastor at the door because they were offended. 649 00:38:25,560 --> 00:38:27,480 You know what Jesus doesn't do after he gives what he's about 650 00:38:27,480 --> 00:38:28,800 to say. He doesn't run after the guy. 651 00:38:32,640 --> 00:38:34,640 I know, I know, I know. That was a little harsh. 652 00:38:34,640 --> 00:38:36,640 But, you know, I was just, It's just the way my it's my 653 00:38:36,640 --> 00:38:39,040 personality. Let's reconsider what I said. 654 00:38:40,880 --> 00:38:44,160 He doesn't do that one because he's the perfect communicator. 655 00:38:44,160 --> 00:38:46,720 I'm sure that some preachers have to do that at some point. 656 00:38:46,720 --> 00:38:49,560 Maybe. But you never apologize for the 657 00:38:49,560 --> 00:38:52,160 truth. You never apologize for the 658 00:38:52,160 --> 00:38:54,200 truth. That's not love. 659 00:38:55,960 --> 00:38:58,840 So what does Jesus say? Jesus looking at him, loved him 660 00:38:58,840 --> 00:39:00,320 and said to him, you like one thing. 661 00:39:01,360 --> 00:39:03,680 You like one thing goes. Sell all that you have and give 662 00:39:03,680 --> 00:39:05,840 to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven and come 663 00:39:05,840 --> 00:39:08,080 follow me. It seems like the Lord is 664 00:39:08,080 --> 00:39:11,280 compounding on this concept of a workspace salvation, right? 665 00:39:12,560 --> 00:39:15,440 Because you can read that at face value and think, OK, if I 666 00:39:15,440 --> 00:39:18,560 want to be numbered among the redeemed that I got to sell 667 00:39:18,560 --> 00:39:20,720 everything, give it to the poor. Be careful taking this 668 00:39:20,720 --> 00:39:23,480 particular case and making it as a universal call for all 669 00:39:23,480 --> 00:39:27,560 seekers. You can't take this command and 670 00:39:27,560 --> 00:39:30,120 make it a gospel appeal to everybody. 671 00:39:30,160 --> 00:39:33,000 Not everybody is called to sell everything that they have and 672 00:39:33,000 --> 00:39:37,920 give to the poor. What Jesus is doing here, 673 00:39:37,920 --> 00:39:42,000 though, is he's making a personal call, drawn from the 674 00:39:42,080 --> 00:39:45,360 objective principle of what it means to be saved. 675 00:39:45,760 --> 00:39:49,840 Make Jesus your Lord. Can I say that one more time? 676 00:39:50,280 --> 00:39:53,960 What Jesus doing with this man is that he is giving a 677 00:39:54,080 --> 00:39:59,520 personalized call, drawn from a principal, from the overarching 678 00:39:59,520 --> 00:40:02,120 objective truth of what it means to be saved. 679 00:40:02,560 --> 00:40:08,440 Make Jesus your Lord. And making Jesus your Lord will 680 00:40:08,440 --> 00:40:11,440 cause each of our repentance to look differently. 681 00:40:12,480 --> 00:40:16,560 And in the case of this rich young ruler, his repentance look 682 00:40:16,560 --> 00:40:25,960 like surrendering the God of money, repenting from a superior 683 00:40:25,960 --> 00:40:29,320 love, a love greater than his love for God. 684 00:40:29,320 --> 00:40:34,160 And that is his wealth. Jesus was able to scope exactly 685 00:40:34,160 --> 00:40:35,680 what it was. I was hindering this man from 686 00:40:35,680 --> 00:40:39,000 coming to saving faith. And it was his love for mammon, 687 00:40:40,280 --> 00:40:43,720 his love for treasures, his love for possessions, the security in 688 00:40:43,720 --> 00:40:46,840 it, the thrill of it, the pleasure that it offers. 689 00:40:47,000 --> 00:40:50,160 And Jesus says give it all up. Follow me. 690 00:40:54,360 --> 00:40:56,920 That's what repentance is. Faith really looks like when 691 00:40:56,920 --> 00:41:00,120 it's fleshed out, you know, accepting Jesus is not saying, 692 00:41:00,120 --> 00:41:01,560 You know what? I think I have room in my life 693 00:41:01,560 --> 00:41:04,800 for Jesus. And so let me add Jesus here 694 00:41:04,880 --> 00:41:08,000 with these competing and rival desires of mine. 695 00:41:08,480 --> 00:41:12,920 No, accepting Jesus is taking a dynamite to all of your life, 696 00:41:13,600 --> 00:41:19,200 blowing it up and let Jesus take over blank canvas. 697 00:41:19,200 --> 00:41:21,360 Lord, do what you want with my life, that it's what it means to 698 00:41:21,360 --> 00:41:26,080 makes Jesus Christ Lord. And so he says here, give up 699 00:41:26,080 --> 00:41:28,520 everything. Again, that's not the protocol 700 00:41:28,520 --> 00:41:31,720 for salvation. It's a test for this man, a test 701 00:41:31,720 --> 00:41:34,320 to see if he is willing to do what is required of anybody who 702 00:41:34,320 --> 00:41:36,680 would follow Jesus Christ. Are you willing to surrender 703 00:41:36,680 --> 00:41:40,880 anything I ask of you? If you can't surrender 704 00:41:40,880 --> 00:41:43,000 everything, if you can't surrender anything that Jesus 705 00:41:43,000 --> 00:41:44,040 asked of you, then he's not Lord. 706 00:41:44,040 --> 00:41:45,880 And if he's not Lord, then he's not your savior. 707 00:41:46,280 --> 00:41:48,960 It's very simple. And so that's what Jesus is 708 00:41:48,960 --> 00:41:51,840 bringing before this man. And you know, for something to 709 00:41:51,840 --> 00:41:55,840 come to this passage, to try to prove that Jesus is not God is 710 00:41:55,840 --> 00:41:59,160 making a terrible mistake for many reasons. 711 00:41:59,160 --> 00:42:00,400 And one of those reasons is this. 712 00:42:00,400 --> 00:42:03,120 Do you realize that Jesus, when he gave those commandments to 713 00:42:03,120 --> 00:42:06,720 the man, only gave the last six? Where were the first four? 714 00:42:06,720 --> 00:42:10,160 Did you ever think about that? Why didn't you quote from the 715 00:42:10,160 --> 00:42:13,800 beginning? Why did you give the last six 716 00:42:13,800 --> 00:42:16,240 and not the first four that deal with our relationship with God? 717 00:42:18,120 --> 00:42:20,400 What's the first one? You shall have no other gods 718 00:42:20,400 --> 00:42:21,520 before me. Correct. 719 00:42:21,520 --> 00:42:24,080 Did this man have a God before the true God? 720 00:42:24,240 --> 00:42:30,640 Yes, the God of money and Jesus is indirectly applying those set 721 00:42:30,640 --> 00:42:34,040 of commands to this man. Your God is money and your love 722 00:42:34,040 --> 00:42:36,080 for it is greater than your love for the true God. 723 00:42:36,760 --> 00:42:38,240 But you know what Jesus doesn't do? 724 00:42:38,680 --> 00:42:40,840 He doesn't quote the first commandment to him. 725 00:42:42,000 --> 00:42:44,360 He could have. He could have said you should 726 00:42:44,360 --> 00:42:47,360 have no other gods before me. But he doesn't do that. 727 00:42:47,640 --> 00:42:50,560 Why instead? This is so fascinating. 728 00:42:50,560 --> 00:42:55,840 This is absolutely mind blowing. Instead of quoting the 1st and 729 00:42:55,840 --> 00:43:03,200 2nd commandment, he says give up everything, follow me, give up 730 00:43:03,200 --> 00:43:07,640 everything, follow me. Now on what level does Christ 731 00:43:07,640 --> 00:43:10,200 place himself to make make such a statement? 732 00:43:12,040 --> 00:43:17,080 If this man's problem was idolatry, then the law that 733 00:43:17,080 --> 00:43:19,280 applies to him is the first two for sure. 734 00:43:20,400 --> 00:43:26,440 But what does Jesus do? Jesus calls this man to follow 735 00:43:26,960 --> 00:43:29,800 him, to abandon his idols and follow him. 736 00:43:29,800 --> 00:43:35,360 What does that make Jesus God? Any other man who would dare to 737 00:43:35,360 --> 00:43:39,040 say that would be blasphemous. Any other man who would dare say 738 00:43:39,040 --> 00:43:43,360 that would be a heretic and be worthy of death according to the 739 00:43:43,360 --> 00:43:46,040 Old Covenant. But Jesus can say because Jesus 740 00:43:46,040 --> 00:43:48,920 is Yahweh. Follow me. 741 00:43:49,000 --> 00:43:52,240 Wow. Banning your idols. 742 00:43:52,360 --> 00:43:54,200 Oh, that's right. And then and then. 743 00:43:54,200 --> 00:43:55,760 Follow you. Yeah, follow you. 744 00:43:55,760 --> 00:43:59,920 Follow me. Mind blowing. 745 00:44:01,760 --> 00:44:04,440 And here's what this man is registering. 746 00:44:05,960 --> 00:44:08,320 Give up everything and follow you. 747 00:44:11,400 --> 00:44:13,880 What's his response? Joyful. 748 00:44:14,520 --> 00:44:15,760 Did he find a treasure in the field? 749 00:44:15,760 --> 00:44:17,080 Went back? Sold everything to buy that 750 00:44:17,080 --> 00:44:20,880 field? Isn't the gospel good news? 751 00:44:21,400 --> 00:44:26,080 It is good news, but it's ultimately up to you if it's 752 00:44:26,080 --> 00:44:32,480 good news or not. Disheartened by the saying, he 753 00:44:32,480 --> 00:44:38,200 went away sorrowful for he had great possessions. 754 00:44:38,800 --> 00:44:42,600 I wonder what that looked like. Imagine here's Jesus on a road. 755 00:44:42,720 --> 00:44:48,320 Here's this man. Pristine, popular, well combed, 756 00:44:48,680 --> 00:44:51,680 perfumed. And he's in the dust. 757 00:44:51,680 --> 00:44:54,680 And here are the disciples looking at this interaction and 758 00:44:54,680 --> 00:44:58,840 just pure silence and awe. Listening to this man, listening 759 00:44:58,840 --> 00:44:59,960 to Jesus. Listening to this man. 760 00:44:59,960 --> 00:45:04,320 Listening to Jesus. And Jesus says give everything, 761 00:45:05,240 --> 00:45:11,920 follow me and this man. I wonder if he picked himself 762 00:45:11,920 --> 00:45:16,320 up. Dust his knees. 763 00:45:18,080 --> 00:45:19,920 I wonder if you even had the audacity to look him in the 764 00:45:19,920 --> 00:45:30,480 eyes, head down, heart heavy, and turns his back and walks 765 00:45:30,480 --> 00:45:36,520 into the horizon. And there's Jesus looking at 766 00:45:36,520 --> 00:45:39,280 him. And there are disciples looking 767 00:45:39,280 --> 00:45:43,880 at him too, I'm sure. And we'll get to what Jesus will 768 00:45:43,880 --> 00:45:47,200 say next week. But consider verse 22 and 769 00:45:47,200 --> 00:45:51,360 compare it again with verse 17. What does verse 17 say in the 770 00:45:51,360 --> 00:45:55,680 introduction of this man? And as he was sitting out on his 771 00:45:55,680 --> 00:45:58,880 journey, a man ran up and knelt before him. 772 00:45:58,880 --> 00:46:03,520 And what do we see in verse 22? He gets up and walks away. 773 00:46:06,840 --> 00:46:10,360 What do we see again here in verse 17, knelt before him and 774 00:46:10,360 --> 00:46:14,400 asked him, good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal 775 00:46:14,400 --> 00:46:18,520 life? Why do you call me good? 776 00:46:20,760 --> 00:46:24,480 Verse 22, disheartened by the saying, he walks away. 777 00:46:25,040 --> 00:46:30,760 Clearly he wasn't good enough. Oh yeah, in the beginning he was 778 00:46:30,760 --> 00:46:32,000 good. But then when you realize what 779 00:46:32,000 --> 00:46:38,840 he's asking of you, you're good. But there's something better. 780 00:46:40,080 --> 00:46:45,200 My possessions And there are many people who say many things 781 00:46:45,200 --> 00:46:47,240 about Jesus. Many things. 782 00:46:48,000 --> 00:46:50,920 He's God, He's Lord, He's savior. 783 00:46:50,920 --> 00:46:54,760 It's it's OK, it's wonderful to say it, but it's ultimately 784 00:46:54,760 --> 00:46:59,760 proven by lived out conviction. Many people who say many things 785 00:46:59,760 --> 00:47:02,680 about Jesus, many praiseworthy things. 786 00:47:06,640 --> 00:47:11,400 But those things are just vapor if they don't manifest in taking 787 00:47:11,400 --> 00:47:14,800 his words in and saying you're so good to me. 788 00:47:15,360 --> 00:47:18,560 Not just in theory, not just in my ideas of who you are, but 789 00:47:18,560 --> 00:47:20,760 because of who you are and your totality. 790 00:47:21,000 --> 00:47:23,680 I will do anything you tell me. I'll do anything. 791 00:47:23,680 --> 00:47:25,280 That's how good you are. You want me to get rid of the 792 00:47:25,280 --> 00:47:26,280 possessions? I'll do it. 793 00:47:27,840 --> 00:47:29,480 You want me to relinquish my righteousness? 794 00:47:29,480 --> 00:47:31,360 I'll do it. You want me to come to you like 795 00:47:31,360 --> 00:47:32,360 a child? I'll do it. 796 00:47:32,360 --> 00:47:33,720 You want me to forgive my enemies? 797 00:47:33,720 --> 00:47:35,200 You want me to pray for my enemies? 798 00:47:35,760 --> 00:47:39,520 OK, I'll do it. I'll do it. 799 00:47:42,720 --> 00:47:45,880 How do you identify a Christian? Simply like this. 800 00:47:46,680 --> 00:47:50,280 Whatever he says, I'll do. It's simple. 801 00:47:50,280 --> 00:47:53,840 Let's not make it complicated. You want to memorize creeds? 802 00:47:53,840 --> 00:47:55,440 Go ahead and memorize all the creeds you want. 803 00:47:55,440 --> 00:47:58,440 You want to stuff your library with theological literature? 804 00:47:59,280 --> 00:48:03,440 Stuff it away. But what happens to you when he 805 00:48:03,440 --> 00:48:08,800 says something to you? How weighty is his authority in 806 00:48:08,800 --> 00:48:14,520 your life? That's what determines this man 807 00:48:14,520 --> 00:48:18,440 went away sorrowful, you know. You know how great this 808 00:48:18,440 --> 00:48:20,080 invitation was. Think about it. 809 00:48:21,400 --> 00:48:24,920 We understand the idea and the invitation for all men to follow 810 00:48:24,960 --> 00:48:26,680 Jesus. But it could be that when Jesus 811 00:48:26,680 --> 00:48:31,480 said follow me, follow me, that this man could have followed him 812 00:48:31,480 --> 00:48:33,600 physically. He could have been part up to 813 00:48:33,600 --> 00:48:38,800 some extent, the traveling band and even rejects that. 814 00:48:40,040 --> 00:48:41,720 Like that's what he rejected. For what? 815 00:48:42,880 --> 00:48:48,320 For possessions. I wonder if he regrets it now. 816 00:48:50,600 --> 00:48:55,040 I'm sure if he hasn't changed after this moment, he went away 817 00:48:55,040 --> 00:48:57,600 sorrowful. You know what's so amazing? 818 00:48:57,760 --> 00:49:00,440 You can have great possessions and still be sorrowful. 819 00:49:03,200 --> 00:49:08,200 That's the lesson there. You can walk away with your own 820 00:49:08,200 --> 00:49:13,960 bank, never mind a bank account, and still be depressed and still 821 00:49:13,960 --> 00:49:19,720 feel like something is not right because only Christ can complete 822 00:49:19,720 --> 00:49:21,600 you. You know this, right? 823 00:49:22,560 --> 00:49:25,000 I know I'm preaching to the choir. 824 00:49:25,000 --> 00:49:28,680 I know that this room is filled with people who know that truth, 825 00:49:28,680 --> 00:49:32,040 but oh how we need to be reminded of it, especially you 826 00:49:32,040 --> 00:49:33,360 young people. Listen very carefully. 827 00:49:33,360 --> 00:49:34,640 I know you have your whole life ahead of you. 828 00:49:34,640 --> 00:49:36,600 I know you're young, you have strength and you have dreams and 829 00:49:36,600 --> 00:49:38,600 hopes and all these ideas. But never forget. 830 00:49:38,760 --> 00:49:43,040 Only Christ will complete you. Only He will satisfy you. 831 00:49:43,040 --> 00:49:45,280 Only He will soothe you. Only He will give you an 832 00:49:45,280 --> 00:49:47,440 unshakeable peace. Only Him. 833 00:49:49,200 --> 00:49:52,560 Money has kept a lot of people out of heaven. 834 00:49:54,880 --> 00:49:59,640 Money, though neutral in itself, has been the means for many 835 00:49:59,640 --> 00:50:05,280 people to be an everlasting separation from a holy and good 836 00:50:05,280 --> 00:50:08,440 God. And we will talk about next week 837 00:50:08,520 --> 00:50:11,400 how hard it is for the rich to enter into eternal life. 838 00:50:12,160 --> 00:50:14,800 But for now, I hope your heart and hearing this is not 839 00:50:14,800 --> 00:50:17,360 sorrowful. I hope your heart can rejoice. 840 00:50:17,360 --> 00:50:20,800 Because you know that though you have nothing, you have 841 00:50:20,800 --> 00:50:22,680 everything because you have Jesus. 842 00:50:23,080 --> 00:50:25,640 I hope you feel that way. I want that. 843 00:50:25,640 --> 00:50:27,640 What just happened there? I just want it to be fuel on 844 00:50:27,640 --> 00:50:29,440 that fire. That's right. 845 00:50:29,760 --> 00:50:31,720 I have everything because I have Christ. 846 00:50:32,000 --> 00:50:34,600 That's right. Here's a man who's been, who's 847 00:50:34,600 --> 00:50:38,800 been printed on Holy Writ to remind generations to come that 848 00:50:38,800 --> 00:50:41,080 you can be young, you can be rich, you can have status, you 849 00:50:41,080 --> 00:50:43,280 can have religion. But if you don't have Christ, 850 00:50:43,280 --> 00:50:48,600 you don't have life. You have life because you have 851 00:50:48,600 --> 00:50:53,120 Christ. So rejoice, rejoice in knowing 852 00:50:53,120 --> 00:50:54,920 that you have all you need in him. 853 00:51:01,400 --> 00:51:03,320 And maybe you're not convinced of that today. 854 00:51:03,760 --> 00:51:05,840 Is he that good? He's better than what I'm 855 00:51:05,840 --> 00:51:08,760 saying. Is he that real? 856 00:51:08,760 --> 00:51:11,680 He's more real than my voice is to you at this moment. 857 00:51:12,520 --> 00:51:15,920 Is he that satisfying? He is satisfying not just when 858 00:51:15,920 --> 00:51:18,880 you stand before him and knowing that you have eternal life, but 859 00:51:18,880 --> 00:51:23,080 he actually sustains you day by day by day. 860 00:51:24,080 --> 00:51:25,240 What are you going to go back to? 861 00:51:26,320 --> 00:51:27,920 What filth are you going to go back to? 862 00:51:29,160 --> 00:51:30,720 Paul says. How can you? 863 00:51:30,720 --> 00:51:33,560 In some sense, I'm paraphrasing. How can you be tempted and 864 00:51:33,560 --> 00:51:35,920 allured by the things that brought no fruit to you at one 865 00:51:35,920 --> 00:51:37,440 point? Dealing with sin. 866 00:51:37,760 --> 00:51:40,400 That's Romans 6. What do you have to go back to? 867 00:51:40,760 --> 00:51:42,360 You know what that life was like. 868 00:51:42,560 --> 00:51:44,080 You've been there. And if you haven't been there, 869 00:51:44,200 --> 00:51:45,560 hey, listen to me. Trust me. 870 00:51:46,440 --> 00:51:49,480 You're not missing out. You're not missing out on 871 00:51:49,480 --> 00:51:50,920 anything. You have everything in him. 872 00:51:52,720 --> 00:51:54,080 I made reference to lukewarm church. 873 00:51:54,080 --> 00:51:57,200 If you're lukewarm today, which can be very possible for even a 874 00:51:57,200 --> 00:52:04,000 preacher, you know what Jesus said to that church when he says 875 00:52:04,000 --> 00:52:05,920 you're wretched, you're pitable, you're poor, you're naked. 876 00:52:06,120 --> 00:52:08,840 It's like, is this really a church? 877 00:52:08,840 --> 00:52:10,280 It's a real church. You know what he says in that 878 00:52:10,280 --> 00:52:13,560 same chapter, Those whom I love, I rebuke. 879 00:52:15,600 --> 00:52:16,920 He looked at this rich young man. 880 00:52:17,360 --> 00:52:19,120 He loved him, and he spoke the truth. 881 00:52:19,120 --> 00:52:20,600 And he looks at this church at large. 882 00:52:21,240 --> 00:52:23,600 He rebukes them. But guess what he's like. 883 00:52:23,640 --> 00:52:27,960 I do this because I love you. So if your heart is pricked, 884 00:52:27,960 --> 00:52:35,400 like know that that is a touch of love from Jesus saying you 885 00:52:35,400 --> 00:52:36,200 know where you're supposed to be. 886 00:52:36,200 --> 00:52:38,720 You're not there. You're not there. 887 00:52:38,720 --> 00:52:40,480 You're here, but you're not there. 888 00:52:41,880 --> 00:52:44,320 Let my spirit work in you and bring you where you need to be. 889 00:52:44,320 --> 00:52:46,600 Because because right now you're confused. 890 00:52:46,600 --> 00:52:49,480 You're in the dark. You think that you have need of 891 00:52:49,480 --> 00:52:52,720 nothing, but you do. Yeah, you have salvation, but 892 00:52:52,720 --> 00:52:54,640 you need sweet fellowship with me again. 893 00:52:55,160 --> 00:52:56,480 You need that closeness with me again. 894 00:52:56,480 --> 00:52:59,320 I'm here to give it to you, and the Lord is here to give it to 895 00:52:59,320 --> 00:53:01,600 you. If you need salvation, He's here 896 00:53:01,600 --> 00:53:04,160 to give it to you. If you need to be brought close 897 00:53:04,160 --> 00:53:06,720 to him and to know the sweetness of his fragrance again, you know 898 00:53:06,720 --> 00:53:08,040 what he told that lukewarm church. 899 00:53:08,440 --> 00:53:11,720 If you answer the door that I'm knocking, I'll come in and I'll 900 00:53:11,720 --> 00:53:18,760 eat with you. Let's have lunch, let's sit 901 00:53:18,760 --> 00:53:20,880 closely together, and let's commune again. 902 00:53:20,880 --> 00:53:24,320 That's the heart of Christ. We serve a loving Christ, 903 00:53:24,760 --> 00:53:27,440 whether that be with confused souls like the rich young ruler 904 00:53:28,560 --> 00:53:30,960 or compromising churches like the Church of Laodicea. 905 00:53:31,960 --> 00:53:34,960 He's a loving Christ. Thank you for being a loving 906 00:53:34,960 --> 00:53:37,240 Christ, Lord, Thank you. Thank you. 907 00:53:37,240 --> 00:53:43,200 Thank you Lord. With a message like this, we can 908 00:53:43,200 --> 00:53:46,720 either rejoice or be sorrowful. And it is our pray that every 909 00:53:46,720 --> 00:53:49,400 single person here would be absolutely exploding with joy. 910 00:53:49,400 --> 00:53:52,640 Knowing that they have you, knowing that you've made it so 911 00:53:52,640 --> 00:53:54,320 simple. You haven't given us a list of 912 00:53:54,320 --> 00:53:56,480 do's and don'ts. You haven't asked us for a 913 00:53:56,480 --> 00:53:59,760 performance. You just asked us to trust you. 914 00:54:02,600 --> 00:54:06,800 You've asked us to follow you, and to follow you is to believe 915 00:54:06,800 --> 00:54:08,840 in you and from believing in you. 916 00:54:08,840 --> 00:54:12,720 We live for you and Lord. For the person here who knows 917 00:54:12,720 --> 00:54:15,120 these things, who's heard probably a sermon very similar 918 00:54:15,120 --> 00:54:20,720 to this, we just ask that you would help all of us in renewing 919 00:54:20,720 --> 00:54:22,760 the joy that we once had in the Lord. 920 00:54:24,040 --> 00:54:26,880 Help us come alive again. To know that freshness in our 921 00:54:26,880 --> 00:54:30,120 faith. To know that spring to our step. 922 00:54:30,120 --> 00:54:33,200 To know that strength in our singing, to know that desire to 923 00:54:33,200 --> 00:54:34,960 obey. And know you in the word of God. 924 00:54:36,960 --> 00:54:39,360 Although we sing to you now because we are not like this 925 00:54:39,360 --> 00:54:44,560 man, the rich young ruler who is indeed a poor young slave, We 926 00:54:44,560 --> 00:54:48,280 are free. We are free in you, in Jesus 927 00:54:48,280 --> 00:54:49,200 name. Amen. 928 00:54:49,760 --> 00:54:51,320 We stand and worship the Lord together.