Dr. 10, starting at the 17th verse. Now, as Jesus was studying out in the journey, a man ran up to him and now before him and began asking him, good teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said to him, why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments. Don't murder, commit adultery, steal, bear false witness. Don't defraud, honor your father and mother. He said to Jesus, teacher, I have kept all these things from my youth up. And looking at him, Jesus felt the love for him and said to him, one thing you act, go sell all you possess, give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven and come, follow me. But at these words, his face fell and he went away grieved for he was one who owned much property. And Jesus, looking around, said to his disciples, how hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God, and the disciples were amazed at his words. And Jesus answered again and said to them, children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God. It's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. And they were even more astonished and said to him, then who can be saved? Looking upon them, Jesus said, with men, it's impossible. But not with God, for all things are possible with God. A Peter began to say to him, behold, we've left everything in followed you. Jesus said, truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house, brothers, sisters, mother, father, children, or farms for my sake and for the gospel's sake, but that he shall receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and farms, along with persecution, and in the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last and the last first. Amen. Let's pray together, Father God, for so many coming to church, a church that there's the notion that church is a place we should go, particularly when we are empty and when we are burdened and when we are troubled. The Lord, it concerns me that many who come leave feeling more guilty and more burdened. Father, I pray that this day you will be the burdened lifter in this place, and that folks will leave this place, not so much more in love with you, but with a greater grasp of how much you have loved us, not so much leaving this place, ready to try harder for you, a Lord with a greater grasp that you're the Savior, and you've accomplished our salvation, and you call your people to rest in you and enjoy what you've done for us, Father, give us insight in understanding, help us to get it, but this faith is about what we do, it's about what you've done and continue to do on behalf of your children. We stand, we stand in awe of you Lord, and we worship you now in Jesus' name, amen. In the presidential election this fall, there was no, perhaps no more, crucial topic for the candidates to properly address that they had any hope of winning than a retirement. They had to provide assurance to current retirees that their benefits would not be pampered with and that their future would be secure, and they had to provide assurance to future retirees that they had the best plan to ensure the most lucrative future for the current workers in America. You remember one candidate promising to take those social security payments and put them in a locked box, you know. So this was it, secure the future. That was, and it's always been a prime importance, hasn't it? Particularly at this time of year, when we turn the year into a new year, we often stop and think about our investments, our portfolio, our future planning. Are we making the proper steps to secure the future? Very often seniors in our midst or maybe in your life, your parents or grandparents, or someone in your early days of marriage and family and working will tell you don't neglect to put some away for your retirement, right? And you'll get that message from someone in your family. It sneaks up on you before you know it, you'll be retiring. You know, don't neglect to secure your future. Reading along in Newsweek magazine last week and I come across this advertisement right in the middle of magazine and it's saying, fidelity, fidelity investment company, if you had to put money last year in their mid-cap stock fund, it would have paid 69.95% last year. Now what happens when you read those kind of ads? I didn't get looking for this ad, it just jumped in front of me as I was reading Newsweek, what happens when you read ads like that? You say it doesn't matter to me what other people made, I'm glad for their good fortune, I'm very happy with the 3% that I glean. Is that our typical response? What this early rise is up in us? I strangled my stock lover, you know, or why didn't I, you know, that's what I want, that's what I want, I want 70% return every year. You know that'd be great, why doesn't that be white? You know, so we have this desire and a sense that we ought to be using what we have to produce the maximum return in the future. In Mark chapter 10, a young man comes to Jesus and he says, my present is handled. I've got right now everything I could possibly need but my future is not secure. And he asked Jesus, what must I do to acquire? What? What must I do to acquire? Eternal life. My future is not secure. Jesus tells him and he walks away, disappointed. I don't want that to happen this day. I don't want that to happen to you. I don't want you to walk out of this place, this consolation. I want, I want us to talk together about how to secure a glorious future. The auction is old. I've got an investment for you. You think making 70% is great? I've got an investment opportunity. You put 5,000 in. I'll promise you 500,000 in return. Oh yeah, what is this guy? That sounds suspicious to me. I'm talking 100 to one return. Do you doubt me? Keep working. I'm telling you the Bible says that what we do now has everything to do with securing our future. It's in our best interest to look to that. The rich young ruler ends up with what? With everything the world had to offer but he lacks the one thing needful. Don't let that be said of you. You have a sermon outline. Take it and let's look together about securing our future. To secure our future the first thing we have to do is realize that there's a standard that must be met. To secure our future there's a standard that must be met but it's a standard we cannot meet. Now that's good news or bad news. There's a standard that must be met but we can't meet it. I like to ask myself when I'm preparing a message. When I'm all done well people walk away burdened by what I've just said. Well they walk away feeling a heavier load or will they walk away feeling encouraged by what Subben said. So I want to know is what I'm saying to people good news or bad news. Now you could say what's bad news to be told but there's a standard you must meet and you can't meet it but in fact that's not bad news. That's good news to know isn't it. But what's bad news is to not know that there's a standard that you must meet that you can't meet because you might spend your whole life trying to do what. Trying to meet a standard that you can't meet that's bad news. That's frustrating. That's what a great deal of people who go to church experience their whole life trying to push something that's immovable as a frustrating to tell you there's a standard you must meet but you cannot. Might well send you looking for someone who can meet that standard and that would be good news. So let's together the rich young ruler comes to Jesus and he says what do I do to secure my future right what do I do to be sure that I have eternal life and Jesus says then we'll have about the commandment and they scroll through the commandments and what does this young man say I've nailed them all right I got them all I kept them all every one of them and Jesus in one swift surgical stroke completely exposes the superficiality of that response and opens this man up and reveals the corruption of his heart and the fact that he hasn't kept all the commandments in fact he hasn't kept any of the commandments because he hasn't kept the first commandment which is thou shalt love God first right no other gods before me you shall have no other gods before me and so Jesus just just with this just with this request says okay you want to secure your future sell everything you have give it to the poor build up treasure in heaven and come and be my follower and the Bible says expose the rich man walks away okay this is no casual encounter I mean this isn't the Pharisees who had come to Jesus who are angry and bitter and and trying to trap him and this is a young man who who comes and falls on his knees and treats Jesus with respect Reboni teacher good teacher and he makes this request and but Jesus exposes that the young man has an idol in his life that which is first in his life and first in his heart has to be removed okay now in Jesus says and see when the disciples see this whole transaction happen what's what's their response it's incredulity they can't believe what they've just witnessed because in the the conventional wisdom of the time you need to realize that it was understood that if anyone was going to heaven it was the it was the rich now why well very simple it was thought that that riches were a sign of God's favor so if you were rich it you know I mean you're trying to figure out whether someone's going to heaven or not if they were rich well then God's kind of tips his hand right he's kind of showed his cards if they're rich it means that God obviously likes them so they're like some they're going to heaven so if you're making a list of who's going to heaven and who's probably not going to make it and you're going to start at the top you'd risk the rich people do you work your way now very simple they understood it clearly God loves rich people they wouldn't be rich right and what did Jesus turn around and say in chapter 10 that just astounds his disciples how hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God the disciples are amazed and Jesus said so hard to be I mean it'll be like swarrowing an elephant that what he said oh that's kind of what he says right he's the same kind of you know it would be like a camel passing through the eye of a needle now we could get that camel through that eye of the needle except for those humps you know they get hung up on the hump Jesus in the most vivid way says that that it's impossible there's a standard but the standard is perfectly keeping the commands of God this young man cannot meet the standard nobody can meet the standard it is impossible to meet the standard of God if that's the way you're going to find favor with God and secure your future is by meeting his standard then you're going to strike out every time so how in the world can anybody meet the standard and we have to meet it how can anybody meet that standard there's two clues in the passage the first is in verse 18 if you have to be perfectly righteous to be in God's favor what did Jesus say to this young man why do you call me good only what only God is good there's somebody who can meet the standard and he's standing right in front of this man this young man has not kept all the commandments this young man doesn't love God with all his heart, mind, soul and strength but somebody in this conversation does right only God is good further in the passage of the disciples I mean throw up their hands at this discussion of how hard it is for the rich to go to heaven and they say to Jesus we're in it's impossible for anybody to be saved and Jesus said with men it is but it's not with with God with God it's not impossible there is a standard that must be met you cannot meet it it doesn't matter how many Bible verses you memorize it doesn't matter how many times you volunteer in the nursery it doesn't matter how much you give it doesn't matter how many years you sing in the choir there's a standard that you cannot meet and do you understand that a great deal of the church going religious community in North America and for that matter around the world is spending their religious energy trying to do what meet a standard they cannot meet you know how frustrating that is you know I so many people throw up their hands and leave church and say church is a place where where I went week and empty and burdened and I left with a greater burden all I all I seem to be told was to try harder to please God to earn God's favor to marry God's favor clean up your life stop doing certain sins get your act together give more serve more love people more and I went out and guess what I found out I I couldn't give a little four year old a big adult basketball and put them under one of these baskets here and say you've got to make a basket you got to make a basket to get your dinner what's that experience going to be like for that kid he can kick it he can throw it with both hands he can grunt he can groan he can probably even stack a couple chairs up and he's not going to get that ball in that basket there's a standard to meet he cannot meet it doesn't matter the effort he puts in imagine how frustrating it must be to have to have the standard way before you a standard that you cannot reach because of our own simpleness and our own fallibility but there's somebody who's met the standard Jesus said you want eternal life there's one thing you must do what do you tell the young man sell everything sell out give it to the poor is anybody ever done that who did that nobody has ever done that but Jesus nobody ever gave away everything including their own life but Jesus nobody has ever met the standard of God nobody has ever obeyed every law every God every title every requirement of his father but Jesus so how how do you secure your future it's called plagiarism you commit spiritual plagiarism you know what plagiarism is it's when you turn in somebody's work to get credit for it yourself somebody else's work that's exactly what the Bible says to do only the Bible calls it faith put your faith in what Jesus has done his work it's not about your striving and about your laboring this is what a God's people discovered there is a righteousness from God not a righteousness that we produce there's a righteousness that Jesus produces and so our sins and our corruption just put on him and his perfection his meeting the standard his loving the poor his obedience to his father is given to us and we turn in his righteousness as our life as our record and the standard is met and we experience life as a father feel about the sun this is my beloved son in whom I am what the Bible say oh I'm in love with him how do you secure your future to secure your future to have the favor of God the ancient world they assumed it was the rich who had the favor of God you know as the favor of God it's the poor not those who are poor financially it's those who are poor enough spiritually who recognize that they have nothing no nothing to offer and so they go and and open their hands and ask for the righteousness of Christ to be given to them they stand before God covered with the righteousness of Christ and we have his favor you want to secure your future you want to get off the treadmill of the exhaustion running here a pastor said you get off the horse you're riding so hard to try to please God and realize Jesus please God for you and start to enjoy being the beloved of God the apostle John when he referred to himself in his gospel describes himself as the disciple that Jesus the one whom Jesus loved could you say that of yourself Mary the one whom Jesus loved you see signing your letters that way Paul sign all his business correspondence Paul the one whom God loved you see through that Jane Johnson the one whom God loved that we would begin to have that kind of identity about ourselves so theologists say that they have a theory that that what we become is what the most important person in our life tells us we are we know that right we know that there's some truth to that we know that we'll hear somebody who's a great author and you last will how do you become a great author and often they'll say you know back when I was in fifth grade and I was writing out my first composition I still remember Mrs. Smith you know she came often and she had my composition in her hand and she let the whole class go to recess and she had me stay behind and she said son you're a writer don't ever let anyone tell you you're not a writer and that you know now now in their 50s that personal say I still remember that day I still remember that moment when when when something was in a nurtured in me become what the most important person in your life think you are what does God think of you could you say I am the one whom you are I love Brennan Manning's story of an Irish priest walking through his parish in a rural village he saw peasants the simplest of men on his knees in rapturous prayer and he stopped and said to the peasants you must be very close to God and the peasant looked up with a broad smile on his face and said oh yes he's very fond of me could you say that your future isn't secured until you can he's very fond of me covered with the roads of the righteousness of Jesus I don't have a God who stowls at me I have a father he's very fond of me oh beloved be set free with that true now second if you wish to secure your future the passage has has some warning to it doesn't it that there will be a rival for our affections there's a rival we must resist if we're to secure our future what might that rival be what's the temptation seeking first the kingdom of God because our temptation will be to seek first our kingdom our father flag and heaven how will it be by name not how will it be by name it's thy kingdom come the temptation is that our passion will be to advance our kingdom in this world to secure our future we must be investing properly in the right kingdom the kingdom that's going to thrive in the future okay now here's the questions before there is a rival there is a there is a love interest there is a siren that will beckon us onto the shoals if we follow it and and we know that there is a tremendous draw towards material things towards money particularly in North America it's the Achilles heel of our spirituality so here's the question Jesus tells this rich young man sell everything you have and give it to the poor are we obligated to do that too does he tell us to do that and the answer is no so the doctor you can't say because the doctor prescribes a certain kind of medicine to the to the patient prior to you that therefore everybody ought to take that medicine right this is the surgeon in the heart of this young man who knows what this young man's heart needs and he prescribes it it'll be a different medicine for you it may be equally it will be equally challenging because Jesus asks every man to die to die for him but but that doesn't mean he's gonna and of course it doesn't make sense either because if Jesus were to ask all those of me to give up everything they had for the poor then we would all be poor and there would be no one to help the poor and there's much in the Bible that tells us to be generous and share and not be greedy but to the best ourselves of everything it doesn't even make logical sense you know that's the problem we get in the church and we start to set standards of what the appropriate level of living for a Christian would be you know what I mean like the square footage of a house could be this but if somebody builds a house a little bit bigger a little bit bigger than that then they clearly cross the lines and they're totally in love with themselves right and we could do that with everything well you could buy this kind of shoes you can jump and pay less you could buy shoes of pennies but you can't buy shoes at a belt sir you know and we would start pulling out our hair to try to decide let's see appropriate level of self-denial you know you you can eat you know Christians can eat Chateau Brio because that's wait for this people to know that nothing eat and what are we were doing buying this expensive kind of meat well can you eat ribeye can you eat you know can you prime rib can you eat you know all the way down and till you say well obviously all we can eat is cannulation it'll nourish us it'll keep us alive and that's the ultimate dedication to God I eat nothing but cannulation you understand the the the ludicrousness of trying to draw lines somewhere and saying if you live above that line you are clearly you know living in an opulent way if you live below that that'd be ridiculous every man has to go before God and wrestle with these things in their hearts so the Bible does tell us the best of yourself of everything you have and give it away but let me tell you what the Bible does say whatever stands between you and putting God first must go it must go and for some that that may be a relationship God might not say empty your bank account and give us a poor he might say the boyfriend has to go right he might say that job has to go he might say um you know that practice of yours the business practice or that way you act that has to go because it stands between you and me there is that being said what's not to amiss the the warning of this passage or the corrosive effective material things on our soul throughout the Bible Jesus you cannot have two masters you cannot love the things of this world you cannot love man and me we cannot coexist I will not allow that mistress to live in our relationship right you are to put your treasures in heaven don't lay them up on earth the rich fool build bigger and bigger barns you know for himself storing up hoarding more and more and and and he's called nothing but a fool again and again the Bible says beware of the corrosive effect on your soul of the love of money you know my experiences North American Christians are blind to how in rapture they are by material things when you talk about money in the church people really get you know they really get uncomfortable and here goes the picture again everything get it here to test them out and and North American and it's amazing because you ask them about and they'll say listen I'm not in love with my money I'm not the whole but I should give it away I doesn't mean anything to me if it was taken away it wouldn't mean a thing liar liar pants on fire we are in love with it and we depend on it for our significance and our security mind goodness let's tell the truth if I stood up here and said to you you don't God's giving me some insight and you've got to give up all eating of green vegetables for him zucchini must go take all your zucchini and give it to the poor and come follow me there will be no resistance because you're not going to do it but we are beholden to our stuff we earned it it's ours it's our security we're depending on it so face the fact one of the best things we can possibly do if we say listen I am not attached to my stuff the only way you can know that is to become detached from some of it from time to time as a great test for your heart the Bible just says simply this stop living for your kingdom and your retirement and invest your money in the kingdom of God if you believe the church is the hope of the world if you believe the church is the bride of Christ then you invest in it you lay up for yourself treasure in heaven
let me say this when the people get the gospel of the awesome level of God and the Christianity is about what God's done for us and that we are his beloved something amazing happens in terms of generosity and people start sharing liberally it happened in the new church didn't it remember in the book of Acts what happened the new Christians began selling their surplus property bringing the money and giving it to the leadership of the church and saying give it to whoever has need you figure out who needs it and you give it to them man in fact so much money came in that they had to create a whole new church office to distribute that money that church office was called the office of the
the office of the deacon okay the office of the deacon and guess what the deacons in our church want to do they want to do the exact same thing they want to search out where people are struggling and take take the gifts of the congregation and share them with those who have need that's why the session is authorized in our church the forming of what will be called the deacons fund and that's simply that that you've given your ties and your offerings and your building fund gifts and such and there are times in our life where you say I've got some more and I'd like to share some of what I have that I could keep I could use it but I want to share it with people in the congregation who perhaps have less we're not talking about paying necessarily the right bill of people or are people got two beans to their name and if we don't give them money no we're just talking about some of us have it all easier in life than others and because we care because we want to we want to share with them their families in our church they get four or five kids they drive an old station wagon the car doesn't have air conditioning now you need air conditioning to live in Florida no no it's just great driving around with those with five kids in a car with no air conditioning all summer long you don't need it though and you know what they'll never come and ask because they couldn't justify asking there's the husband can get to work in that car they can get to school and get to church they got transportation they're just awfully uncomfortable but they don't need it right they don't need it they don't have to have air conditioning to live but some of us have cars in which every each individual is seen as its own air conditioner right you've got climate controls for each seat the club compartment has its own air conditioner you know some of us have more and can give it to those who have less that's what the deep and fun will be all about and you'll hear more about it in the days to come the Bible says if we're going to secure our future we must do what we must count on the one who can meet the standard of God and not try to meet us ourselves secondly we must guard our hearts against the rival for our affections and thirdly we must remember the promise we must remember the promise that Jesus makes because Peter comes to Jesus and he says Lord that that young man would not leave everything and follow you but we have right Jesus says to Peter you know what you have you really have and look at the promise he makes and I think it's in verse 29 truly I say to you there is no one who has left house brothers sisters mother father children or farms for my sake and for the gospel's sake but that he shall receive a hundred times as much now remember I said to you I got an investment for you you put in five thousand you'll go half a million what did Jesus say whatever you leave you shall receive a hundred times as much now in the present age and in the age to come what what does it say eternal life okay can we talk here's the bottom line if some preacher tells you being a Christian is easy grab your Bible get up and run you're in the wrong place if somebody tells you being a Christian will make you rich in this world grab your Bible get up and run because of the almighty about sounds the almighty about everything Jesus said in this world you'll have great reward but you'll also have persecution he says there but there's a promise and here's the promise Jesus makes he is no man's debtor whatever sacrifice Peter and the others were making their reward would be so much greater do you think you invest with God and end up the loser ever it's hard it is hard to put yourself last it is hard to be a servant I love seven churches I remember after the christmas Eve service I walked down I was you know tired it'd been a big day three services and sitting right back in that section was a member of the church and she looked up at me and everyone had left and she was just sitting in mobile I was looking around the white twinkling I love this life I did too came in drove in here third day morning thinking about the pastor's class we had over 80 people in the pastor's class the other night thinking about that young girl in the pastor's class that teenager that um that that that a young mother in our church is rescuing her she lives out in Timbuktu they drive out their picker up bring her to church bring her to pastor's class now though her family are not believers she's enrolled in the christian school by her profession of faith of the teenager so do you think pays or tuition just young mother in our church it's just one story of story we've got families that have adopted um children families that have adopted troubled teenagers people that are mentoring um folks who are struggling in life we had a testimony in pastor's class the other night of a woman who was homeless and a family in our church found out and they provided her with a home and a car and a job and they brought her to seven her church where she met Jesus and now she's in the leadership of this church matter fact before this morning is over you have been served by her you don't even ever see it the whole room is filled with stories of people serving like that but don't let anybody tell you the serving is easy if it was easy it wouldn't be called serving with it hard Jesus would say to you this morning don't grow weary in your well-doing for in due season you shall read you know Mrs. Robinson was a good teacher he tried to love all the kids the same but that's impossible it's impossible for parents let alone schoolteacher and it was one kid she really didn't like the name was Teddy he was slow he was um unresponsive he was poorly dressed he slept in her class this is fifth grade she treated him with disdain she didn't want to but she did she didn't like him she should have known better if she'd have scrutinized his records better she may have read the first grade teacher writing that Teddy was bright an eager learner second grade teacher saying that Teddy is too serious all the time his mother's sick the third grade teacher writing that Teddy's becoming withdrawn his mother died this year the fourth grade teacher writing Teddy is a social misfit his father has abandoned him he lives with an aunt he needs professional help the turning point came at Christmas when all the kids brought her a present wrapped beautifully in the department stores Teddy's was wrapped in a lunch bag and she ripped it open out fell a gaudy rhinestone bracelet with some of the stones missing and a half-filled bottle of cheap perfume she was wise enough to know that these were things that had once belonged to Teddy's mother put on that bracelet to dabbed on the perfume she made a big deal out of that gift the kids in the class last but when all the kids left for Christmas that day Teddy stayed behind and said Mr. Robinson you smell so good smell just like my mom her heart changed when Christmas was over she gave herself to this kid and he was bonded and he shot up because somebody somebody owned this kid it was some years later she received the letter in the mail Mr. Robinson just thought you should know he's finishing high school next week second in the class four years later Mr. Robinson I guess you ought to get used to these letters the university was much harder than I thought it'd be but I finished first in the class and then a number of years later Mr. Robinson I guess you can call me doctor Teddy's dollars now I finished medical school I'm getting married on July 27 you've got to come I want you to sit in the front row where my mom would sit don't grow weary in your well-doing for in due season you shall reap what you so you shall reap the Bible says and what does Jesus say he says there is an awesome reward for those who leave all to follow him he said in this world you'll have a whole new family
how many people the world over because they followed Jesus lost their whole family their family rejected them through them out or had their family killed Jesus said in this world you'll have a whole new family and is that not the case what could be better than watching Callie Brockett grow up
Caroline Brockett what could be better than that a homeless family what could be better than walking with Jane Johnson through the dark valley of her life what could be better than been watching folks live in a retirement year faithful to Jesus what could be better than seeing little babies grow up and get baptized here and come up and make the session of faith and go off the college what could be better than that if you have a better life out there you can go run do it I'm telling you Jesus said you want you want to secure your future I'll give you a taste of it now come follow me and I'll give you more family than you could even dream and on top of that eternal way the brothers and sisters that said have you secured your future Jesus says sell out sell out come follow me and you'll be rich you will have treasure in heaven you think anybody on their deathbed says I wish I'd hung on to more for myself I don't think so