WEBVTT 00:00:02.000 --> 00:00:02.479 Amen. 00:00:03.919 --> 00:00:04.320 All right. 00:00:06.080 --> 00:00:07.040 I love that. 00:00:07.360 --> 00:00:17.760 Marianne and I, my wife Marianne and I had a chance to be a part of 20 or so people that were part of the core team that left uh Broadway Heights and headed over to Brunswick to start that church. 00:00:17.839 --> 00:00:23.920 And some of us have made our way back here, and uh it's just exciting to see what God is doing there. 00:00:24.000 --> 00:00:29.199 I was able to teach over there last Sunday morning, and it's truly a thriving congregation. 00:00:29.359 --> 00:00:31.440 So I love that we get to celebrate that. 00:00:31.519 --> 00:00:39.759 And there'll be a little more information uh from Pastor Joe and Pastor Josh with a special announcement toward the end of our service today. 00:00:39.840 --> 00:00:42.640 So you're gonna hear a little bit more about that. 00:00:42.799 --> 00:00:49.840 Uh back in 95, 1995, the Cleveland Indians then were in the World Series. 00:00:50.079 --> 00:00:52.320 Our son Alan was 14. 00:00:52.640 --> 00:01:00.960 And like everybody, pretty much everybody else in Northeast Ohio, we were tribe fans, and the city was electric with anticipation. 00:01:01.119 --> 00:01:11.680 So before one of those World Series games, I took Alan downtown to hoping that maybe somehow, some way, we could get tickets to one of those World Series games. 00:01:11.760 --> 00:01:16.640 Maybe somebody on the street would be, you know, selling a ticket or a pair of tickets. 00:01:17.120 --> 00:01:24.719 But but but we were still in those very early church planting years, and I was like a poor church planting pastor. 00:01:24.799 --> 00:01:33.120 Our money was tight, really tight, and I remember those ticket prices like really steep, just too much, and there was just no way. 00:01:33.280 --> 00:01:46.000 Uh I I felt disappointment and disempowered and maybe a little ashamed because as a dad, you know, you want to give your kids those experiences, but I couldn't do it because the pockets just weren't deep enough. 00:01:46.640 --> 00:01:49.120 See, money opens doors. 00:01:49.439 --> 00:01:54.799 If you have enough money, you can buy the hottest ticket in town. 00:01:55.359 --> 00:01:59.840 Money is a master key that gives you access. 00:02:00.319 --> 00:02:04.400 Um, and then wealth can cause us to believe this. 00:02:04.719 --> 00:02:09.919 If something needs to happen, I can make it happen. 00:02:10.080 --> 00:02:16.000 And that mindset might work in a lot of areas of life, but with Jesus, things are different. 00:02:16.159 --> 00:02:19.039 So open your Bibles today to Mark chapter 10. 00:02:19.840 --> 00:02:24.560 Jesus has an encounter with a man that's really revolutionary. 00:02:25.360 --> 00:02:28.879 Because there is a door that money can't open. 00:02:29.199 --> 00:02:35.759 In the kingdom of God, the people who think they can achieve their way in find out they can't do it. 00:02:36.560 --> 00:02:38.719 A young man comes to Jesus. 00:02:38.800 --> 00:02:43.680 He's a successful man, the kind of man everybody assumes that guy's winning in life. 00:02:43.840 --> 00:02:52.000 And he asks Jesus one of the most important questions that anybody could ask, and that is, what must I do to inherit eternal life? 00:02:52.319 --> 00:02:57.039 So I think a word in that question is very revealing, and it's the word do. 00:02:57.680 --> 00:02:59.360 What do I have to do? 00:02:59.680 --> 00:03:02.639 Like, what do I need to add to my portfolio? 00:03:03.199 --> 00:03:07.759 Because you see, rich people are used to making things happen themselves. 00:03:08.080 --> 00:03:20.560 But Jesus is about to show this young man and us that the way into the kingdom is revolutionary, that unless God Himself changes our hearts, none of us would ever enter it. 00:03:20.960 --> 00:03:25.919 So we're going to discover that that basic question is asked really four different ways in this text. 00:03:26.400 --> 00:03:28.879 What must we do to inherit eternal life? 00:03:29.120 --> 00:03:31.759 How can we enter the kingdom of God? 00:03:32.000 --> 00:03:33.360 Who can be saved? 00:03:33.439 --> 00:03:35.520 And what does it mean to inherit eternal life? 00:03:35.680 --> 00:03:38.000 So I got five truths for us today. 00:03:38.479 --> 00:03:47.439 It's simple to enter the kingdom, it's costly to enter the kingdom, it's impossible to enter the kingdom. 00:03:48.159 --> 00:03:51.840 It's miraculous to enter the kingdom, and it's rewarding to enter the kingdom. 00:03:52.000 --> 00:03:54.159 The first one, it's simple to enter the kingdom. 00:03:54.240 --> 00:03:59.360 Now, remember, at this point in Jesus' ministry, he'd kind of gone viral, okay? 00:03:59.520 --> 00:04:02.319 He's trending, he's magnetic. 00:04:02.479 --> 00:04:07.680 The moms and dads are thinking, I gotta get my kid to Jesus to be blessed. 00:04:07.840 --> 00:04:18.079 And the children themselves, when they get close to Jesus, they don't pull away because children like to lean in towards someone or something that's comfortable and safe and secure and strong. 00:04:18.319 --> 00:04:19.680 So that's Jesus. 00:04:19.839 --> 00:04:25.920 Now the disciples are not happy that the kids are with Jesus because you know they're not important enough. 00:04:26.079 --> 00:04:37.600 But Jesus says this back in chapter 10, verse 15 whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it. 00:04:37.839 --> 00:04:42.800 And he took them in his arms and he blessed them, laying hands on them. 00:04:43.600 --> 00:04:52.160 So are you saying that we get into the kingdom of God by leaning in and being held like a little child? 00:04:52.399 --> 00:04:56.319 I mean, that sounds too simple. 00:04:56.959 --> 00:05:01.120 But all you have to do is to come to Jesus and receive his blessing. 00:05:01.360 --> 00:05:10.399 The children here, they're not earning it, they're not working for it, they're not achieving it, they're simply receiving it. 00:05:10.720 --> 00:05:20.079 So to enter the kingdom or to be saved or to get eternal life, the idea is be childlike, not child-ish. 00:05:20.879 --> 00:05:24.240 If you're childish, you throw a temper tantrum when you don't get what you want. 00:05:24.399 --> 00:05:26.000 But be childlike. 00:05:26.720 --> 00:05:32.079 Now, several weeks ago, Pastor Joe taught us that to be like a child is simply to receive. 00:05:34.000 --> 00:05:40.240 Children don't come to the table with a resume, they come with an appetite. 00:05:40.560 --> 00:05:44.959 A child never wonders, you know, did I do enough today to earn dinner? 00:05:45.600 --> 00:05:49.120 They probably did some stuff that means they shouldn't get dinner. 00:05:50.240 --> 00:05:53.839 A child just simply receives the mac and cheese. 00:05:54.079 --> 00:05:55.920 And that's how we come to God. 00:05:56.160 --> 00:06:02.079 We come empty-handed, receiving our place at his table as a gift of grace. 00:06:02.240 --> 00:06:04.639 So it's simple, children. 00:06:04.879 --> 00:06:05.519 Receive. 00:06:05.600 --> 00:06:11.279 Now, simple doesn't mean easy, it means uncomplicated. 00:06:11.839 --> 00:06:23.360 And maybe you're here in the room today and you were kind of taught that if you're going to go to heaven, you got to keep the rules, the rituals, and the regulations of religion, and you better do it really well. 00:06:24.319 --> 00:06:36.319 Or maybe you're here and you're exhausted by the rules of your family or by some church, so you've given up trying to be good enough. 00:06:36.639 --> 00:06:46.319 It all feels really complicated to you, but Jesus says, just be like these children who come to me and they lean in and they're held. 00:06:46.560 --> 00:06:50.079 They listen, they learn, they love, they are loved. 00:06:50.319 --> 00:06:52.800 This is the way to enter the kingdom. 00:06:53.120 --> 00:06:58.240 So I wonder what it would be like for you today to come to Jesus like a child. 00:06:59.040 --> 00:07:02.639 Not achieving, simply receiving. 00:07:03.120 --> 00:07:06.240 That's the way we enter the kingdom, it's the way we stay in the kingdom. 00:07:06.399 --> 00:07:08.399 So, first, it's simple to enter the kingdom. 00:07:08.560 --> 00:07:11.759 Second, it's costly to enter the kingdom. 00:07:12.000 --> 00:07:13.920 Okay, I got five points today. 00:07:14.160 --> 00:07:17.839 Number two is going to go a little longer than three, four, and five. 00:07:17.920 --> 00:07:21.439 Okay, so don't get worried if this goes on a little bit. 00:07:22.240 --> 00:07:27.279 So Jesus then leaves these children and he heads out for more ministry to another place. 00:07:27.360 --> 00:07:37.040 And this next story compares how people who receive Jesus are different from the people who are trying to achieve for Jesus. 00:07:37.199 --> 00:07:44.879 Now, Matthew and Luke, who also tell the life story of Jesus, they mention when they tell this story that this man is a leader. 00:07:45.040 --> 00:07:47.439 Maybe he's a civic leader, maybe he's a business leader. 00:07:47.600 --> 00:07:50.879 And Matthew also tells us that this man is young. 00:07:51.040 --> 00:07:53.120 He's probably in his twenties or thirties. 00:07:53.360 --> 00:07:55.920 So he's a rich young leader. 00:07:56.160 --> 00:07:57.279 Verse 17. 00:07:57.600 --> 00:08:07.439 And as he, Jesus, was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? 00:08:07.680 --> 00:08:10.720 Now you see immediately here a lot of good things about this guy. 00:08:10.879 --> 00:08:11.759 There's urgency. 00:08:11.920 --> 00:08:12.959 He ran up to Jesus. 00:08:13.040 --> 00:08:13.680 There's respect. 00:08:13.759 --> 00:08:15.199 He knelt down before Jesus. 00:08:15.279 --> 00:08:15.920 There's honor. 00:08:16.000 --> 00:08:17.519 He calls Jesus good teacher. 00:08:17.600 --> 00:08:19.600 So this looks pretty good, right? 00:08:19.759 --> 00:08:22.879 He's coming to the right person, he's asking the right questions. 00:08:23.839 --> 00:08:25.040 But we got to be careful. 00:08:25.120 --> 00:08:33.759 We can be like this young man, saying all the right words, even wanting the right outcome, but still miss what Jesus is after. 00:08:34.080 --> 00:08:40.080 So he's asked, good teacher, uh, what do I need to do to get my ticket punched to heaven? 00:08:40.399 --> 00:08:43.679 And Jesus doesn't immediately answer the question here. 00:08:44.000 --> 00:08:48.559 Because I think he wants him to understand who he's talking to. 00:08:48.720 --> 00:08:53.279 Verse 18, and Jesus said to him, Why do you call me good? 00:08:53.759 --> 00:08:56.799 No one is good except God alone. 00:08:57.679 --> 00:09:04.720 Now, as we've been traveling through the book of Mark, who is Jesus is a central theme. 00:09:05.440 --> 00:09:08.240 Some in Mark have said he's a madman. 00:09:08.799 --> 00:09:10.559 Some have said he's a con man. 00:09:11.120 --> 00:09:13.440 Others have said he's a good man. 00:09:13.679 --> 00:09:15.440 Or he's a miracle man. 00:09:15.919 --> 00:09:17.919 But Jesus says there's more. 00:09:18.080 --> 00:09:19.679 I'm going to give you another option. 00:09:19.919 --> 00:09:21.279 Now think with me. 00:09:21.759 --> 00:09:24.240 No one is good but God. 00:09:25.440 --> 00:09:29.519 So if I'm good, then I'm. 00:09:31.600 --> 00:09:33.360 That was a little shaky. 00:09:34.240 --> 00:09:36.480 If I'm good, then I'm. 00:09:37.039 --> 00:09:38.080 All right, all right. 00:09:38.320 --> 00:09:39.200 Thank you. 00:09:41.120 --> 00:09:49.120 Christianity is more than just a list of rules and regulations, of morals and mandates, of rights and wrongs and do's and don'ts. 00:09:50.240 --> 00:09:53.360 It's about a right relationship with God. 00:09:54.639 --> 00:09:57.600 It's about seeing who Jesus is. 00:09:57.840 --> 00:10:00.399 100% God, 100% man. 00:10:01.279 --> 00:10:14.960 And when you make this God man your God, he will empower you to know what's right and wrong, and then to be able to do the do's and don't the don'ts. 00:10:16.320 --> 00:10:18.240 Is he your God today? 00:10:19.200 --> 00:10:21.600 And when did you make him your God? 00:10:22.879 --> 00:10:26.080 You know, I ask people that question sometimes and they go, well, I don't know. 00:10:26.240 --> 00:10:30.559 I just kind of always had Jesus as my God. 00:10:32.000 --> 00:10:34.639 You know, if you were to ask me, hey Rick, are you married? 00:10:34.799 --> 00:10:35.759 Yeah, I'm married. 00:10:35.840 --> 00:10:36.960 Well, when did you get married? 00:10:37.039 --> 00:10:37.759 I don't know. 00:10:37.840 --> 00:10:40.399 I've just kind of like always been married. 00:10:45.360 --> 00:10:49.840 You go, I don't think he understands the question or the situation. 00:10:50.879 --> 00:11:03.039 So if you say, well, I've just kind of always had Jesus as my God, it's like, no, there's a there's a time where you recognize he's not really my God. 00:11:03.279 --> 00:11:05.759 I am making him my God. 00:11:08.000 --> 00:11:10.080 We'll talk about that a little bit later. 00:11:10.639 --> 00:11:14.960 Give you a chance if you've never made him your God to do so today. 00:11:15.200 --> 00:11:17.440 Now, what's Jesus gonna say next? 00:11:17.759 --> 00:11:19.600 He's saying, okay, I'll play your game. 00:11:19.679 --> 00:11:25.519 If you want to know what you have to do in order to earn heaven, let's talk about that. 00:11:25.600 --> 00:11:26.639 Verse 19. 00:11:26.879 --> 00:11:36.559 You know the commandments do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not defraud, and honor your father and mother. 00:11:36.720 --> 00:11:41.279 So basically, Jesus here is giving him the last six of the Ten Commandments. 00:11:41.600 --> 00:11:45.440 He starts with the sixth, goes through the tenth, and circles back to the fifth. 00:11:45.840 --> 00:11:48.559 So, so you want to know what you have to do? 00:11:49.279 --> 00:11:58.799 You have to keep all of the commandments all the time, perfectly, if you want to know what you have to do to go to heaven. 00:11:59.679 --> 00:12:01.200 So, how's the guy gonna respond? 00:12:01.360 --> 00:12:07.759 Verse 20, and he said to Jesus, Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth. 00:12:09.519 --> 00:12:10.159 Really? 00:12:12.720 --> 00:12:19.759 I think Jesus could have launched it to a long rant right here to show this young man just how many times he had broken the commandments. 00:12:19.919 --> 00:12:22.559 You know, you kept all these commandments from your youth. 00:12:22.879 --> 00:12:30.480 You never took any money from your dad out of his wallet when he was taking a nap and didn't tell him about it. 00:12:30.720 --> 00:12:32.399 That's called stealing. 00:12:32.480 --> 00:12:35.360 How many things do you have to steal before you're a thief? 00:12:35.600 --> 00:12:37.120 You're a thief, bro. 00:12:39.200 --> 00:12:43.679 Or you may never have stabbed somebody literally and they bled out and died. 00:12:43.840 --> 00:12:52.159 But you've talked trash about somebody, and figuratively, you've stabbed them in the back, and in God's sight, you're guilty of murder. 00:12:53.039 --> 00:13:01.039 I mean, Jesus could have walked through all those commandments and he knew this guy's past, and he could have decimated the guy, but he doesn't do this. 00:13:01.919 --> 00:13:06.480 Jesus doesn't just want this young man's behavior to change. 00:13:08.080 --> 00:13:10.320 Jesus is after something more. 00:13:11.200 --> 00:13:18.960 Jesus doesn't want just outside in change, he wants inside out change. 00:13:19.840 --> 00:13:21.200 Verse 21. 00:13:21.519 --> 00:13:25.200 And Jesus looking at him loved him. 00:13:25.440 --> 00:13:26.240 Stop there. 00:13:26.799 --> 00:13:31.039 And I like that, that Jesus loved this young man. 00:13:31.840 --> 00:13:40.480 Because Jesus knows that this young man, like all of us, is not a commandment keeper, he's a commandment breaker. 00:13:40.799 --> 00:13:43.840 But that's exactly who Jesus came to save. 00:13:44.080 --> 00:13:48.639 He said, I didn't come to heal the healthy. 00:13:48.879 --> 00:13:51.600 I came for those that are sick. 00:13:52.799 --> 00:14:01.679 And maybe you're here today and you're kind of checking out church for the first time in a long time, and you know in your heart you're a commandment breaker. 00:14:01.919 --> 00:14:06.799 You know you've displeased God, that you haven't lived up to his expectations. 00:14:07.679 --> 00:14:11.360 Man, you haven't even lived up to your own expectations for your life. 00:14:11.519 --> 00:14:13.360 And you failed the people around you. 00:14:13.440 --> 00:14:15.519 That means your life is filled with sin. 00:14:16.399 --> 00:14:25.200 You know, two weeks ago, Pastor Joe uh handled a tough topic from the book of Mark, dealing with divorce and adultery. 00:14:25.440 --> 00:14:33.360 And maybe that caused you to feel guilt and shame, and you're thinking, well, how could God ever want somebody like me? 00:14:34.320 --> 00:14:36.559 Please know that you're welcome here. 00:14:37.200 --> 00:14:43.840 Because we've all sinned here in this room and fallen short of the glory of God. 00:14:44.159 --> 00:14:51.840 But what's more important than you feeling welcomed here is that you need to know that you're welcomed by Jesus. 00:14:52.559 --> 00:14:56.000 He looks at you and he loves you. 00:14:56.480 --> 00:15:03.279 He is love loving, even the likes of me and even the likes of you. 00:15:04.000 --> 00:15:14.960 Now, Jesus is not going to get into some nitpicking uh legalistic argument about whether this man has or hasn't kept the last six of the Ten Commandments. 00:15:15.120 --> 00:15:19.919 Instead, he sees the idol in this young man's heart. 00:15:20.159 --> 00:15:24.879 And so, verse 21, he says to him, You lack one thing. 00:15:26.000 --> 00:15:31.519 Go sell all that you have and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. 00:15:31.840 --> 00:15:33.679 And come and follow me. 00:15:34.960 --> 00:15:37.440 So you say you've kept the last six commandments. 00:15:37.600 --> 00:15:39.679 All right, how about the first one? 00:15:40.240 --> 00:15:47.279 Now he doesn't name the first one point blank, but he exposes the fact that this young man has not kept it. 00:15:47.679 --> 00:15:52.080 And here's the test like, what do you treasure most? 00:15:53.919 --> 00:16:00.399 Commandment number one says, God speaking, you shall have no other gods before me. 00:16:01.440 --> 00:16:14.879 And Jesus is pointing out, young man, if you can't do this one thing, which is sell what you have, give it to the poor, follow me, then you got another God before the one true God, and it's your money. 00:16:16.480 --> 00:16:20.320 He's not giving this young man kind of a works ladder to climb. 00:16:20.480 --> 00:16:23.200 If you do this just the right way, then you'll make it to heaven. 00:16:23.440 --> 00:16:28.000 He's removing the illusion that that ladder even exists. 00:16:29.279 --> 00:16:34.320 This young man is hoping to be ready for heaven because of what he does. 00:16:35.200 --> 00:16:40.399 Jesus shows him he's not ready because of what he loves. 00:16:41.519 --> 00:16:46.960 He puts his finger on the one thing that this man can't release. 00:16:47.279 --> 00:16:57.039 And it's not because selling his possessions would save him, it's because loving his possessions is damning him. 00:16:59.279 --> 00:17:02.240 Now, let me hurry to say, Jesus is not against wealth. 00:17:02.480 --> 00:17:10.319 In the Old Testament, Job was rich, Abraham was rich, David was rich, in the New Testament, Nicodemus was rich, Lydia was rich, Philemon was rich. 00:17:10.480 --> 00:17:12.640 The issue is not, do you have things? 00:17:12.880 --> 00:17:15.039 The issue is do your things have you? 00:17:16.880 --> 00:17:29.920 So he's challenging this man with the very same challenge that he gave back in chapter 8, which is if anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 00:17:31.279 --> 00:17:39.920 Now I wonder if Jesus was going to have a conversation with you, what would be that one thing that he would ask you to release? 00:17:40.799 --> 00:17:51.279 Your idol might not be money or possessions, your idol might be a relationship that you need to give up in if you're gonna follow Christ. 00:17:52.400 --> 00:17:57.039 I mean, you know in your heart that that boyfriend, that girlfriend is keeping you from Jesus. 00:17:58.000 --> 00:18:04.960 Or your idol might be some gender identity that you're gonna have to turn from if you're gonna follow Christ. 00:18:05.680 --> 00:18:12.720 Your idol might be your reputation, your idol might be your career, your idol might be the success of your kids. 00:18:14.480 --> 00:18:18.000 And you're thinking, but this is the one thing that I think will give me life. 00:18:18.160 --> 00:18:20.720 This is the one thing, this person, this goal. 00:18:21.279 --> 00:18:25.119 But but if I'm honest, it's more precious to me than Jesus is. 00:19:33.440 --> 00:19:34.799 So he walks away sad. 00:19:34.880 --> 00:19:37.599 He's not angry, he's not defiant, he's just sad. 00:19:39.359 --> 00:19:42.240 Jesus has said, let your wealth go, then come and follow me. 00:19:42.319 --> 00:19:44.640 And the man says, I can't do it, I won't do it. 00:19:44.799 --> 00:19:45.759 I'm sorry. 00:19:46.000 --> 00:19:49.039 And I think that made Jesus sorry too. 00:19:49.759 --> 00:19:55.920 So at this point, this law-keeping, money-loving man missed eternal life. 00:19:56.240 --> 00:20:01.119 He wanted God some, but he wanted gold more. 00:20:06.319 --> 00:20:09.519 Brenda Leisaker is on our staff here. 00:20:10.319 --> 00:20:19.839 She had a very successful career in the business community here in Northeast Ohio, and she left that behind and joined our team. 00:20:20.079 --> 00:20:22.960 She's the director of our generous life ministry here. 00:20:23.599 --> 00:20:26.880 And I said, Hey, I'm talking about this important topic. 00:20:27.039 --> 00:20:27.839 Give me something. 00:20:28.160 --> 00:20:30.720 Here's what she says: she's on track. 00:20:31.039 --> 00:20:38.079 God does not need your money or possessions because he already owns everything. 00:20:38.799 --> 00:20:41.279 What he desires is your heart. 00:20:42.319 --> 00:20:48.559 If you are unwilling to open your hands and surrender your stuff, does God truly have your heart? 00:20:49.920 --> 00:20:54.960 Jesus is calling us to wholehearted surrender, not halfway devotion. 00:20:55.440 --> 00:21:01.039 And the good news is that what is impossible for us is possible with God. 00:21:01.839 --> 00:21:11.039 So jump in with both feet and begins giving and serving in a way that glorifies Him and shows what you truly treasure. 00:21:14.880 --> 00:21:18.720 Jesus isn't telling this young man, sell something. 00:21:18.960 --> 00:21:21.920 He is saying surrender everything. 00:21:23.279 --> 00:21:29.519 And in the heart of every man, woman, girl, and boy is an idol factory. 00:21:29.759 --> 00:21:39.920 And Jesus is here today, and he's simply walking into our idol factories, and he is saying, that idol right there in your life, that's gotta go. 00:21:40.079 --> 00:21:43.839 Because I don't want just part of you, I want all of you. 00:21:44.640 --> 00:21:47.359 It is costly to enter the kingdom. 00:21:48.000 --> 00:21:52.960 Third, it's impossible to enter the kingdom. 00:21:53.519 --> 00:22:01.759 So Jesus uses this one on one time with his followers to um Teach them something. 00:22:02.240 --> 00:22:13.440 And in verse 23, Jesus looked around and he said to his disciples, How difficult will it be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God? 00:22:14.640 --> 00:22:20.799 Now, in those days, people believed that if I'm wealthy, then that's a sign that I have been blessed by God. 00:22:21.119 --> 00:22:26.559 Evidently, the prosperity gospel was alive and well back in Jesus' day, like it is now. 00:22:26.799 --> 00:22:32.400 If you're wealthy, it's because God's favoring you, he's loving you, he's blessing you. 00:22:34.000 --> 00:22:36.960 Verse 24, and the disciples were amazed at his words. 00:22:37.119 --> 00:22:42.319 But Jesus said to them again, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God. 00:22:42.480 --> 00:22:49.759 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. 00:22:50.000 --> 00:22:55.599 Now, Jesus is not saying that the salvation of a rich person is difficult. 00:22:56.480 --> 00:23:00.960 As we're going to see in verse 27, he's saying it's impossible. 00:23:01.359 --> 00:23:06.720 Getting a camel through the eye of a needle, it's not happening. 00:23:07.039 --> 00:23:11.359 Now, I got a needle here with a little bitty eye in there. 00:23:11.440 --> 00:23:13.279 You can't see it, but I can. 00:23:13.680 --> 00:23:16.880 And I've got a camel today. 00:23:20.240 --> 00:23:23.759 They wouldn't let me bring a real camel to church for some reason. 00:23:24.079 --> 00:23:34.640 But you know, you can't even get a toy camel through the eye of a needle, much less a big old honking real camel through the eye of a needle. 00:23:35.279 --> 00:23:36.960 This is what Jesus is saying. 00:23:37.200 --> 00:23:40.480 And this makes the disciples kind of unravel. 00:23:41.200 --> 00:23:47.519 Because they're thinking, if anybody has an inside track to God, it is somebody like this young man. 00:23:47.839 --> 00:23:52.160 And now Jesus is saying, he can't get in. 00:23:52.880 --> 00:23:56.079 So they asked the obvious question, verse 26. 00:23:56.400 --> 00:24:01.839 And they were exceedingly astonished and said to him, Then who can be saved? 00:24:02.319 --> 00:24:08.240 And I think this is the question that he's wanting them to ask, and he's wanting us to ask. 00:24:08.640 --> 00:24:28.079 If entrance into the kingdom cannot happen by keeping the commandments, if entrance in the kingdom requires total surrender, if even the best among us, like the rich young ruler, can't get in, then what hope is there for anybody? 00:24:29.119 --> 00:24:33.839 It's simple to enter the kingdom, it's costly, and it's impossible. 00:24:34.400 --> 00:24:36.640 Number four, this is the good news. 00:24:36.960 --> 00:24:39.759 It's a miracle to enter the kingdom. 00:24:40.960 --> 00:24:44.960 What we cannot do for ourselves, God does. 00:24:45.680 --> 00:24:48.240 So the disciples had asked, who can be saved? 00:24:48.400 --> 00:24:54.079 Verse 27, and Jesus looked at them and said, With man, it is impossible. 00:24:54.400 --> 00:24:59.119 But not with God, for all things are possible with God. 00:24:59.920 --> 00:25:02.559 And this is the hinge point of the story. 00:25:03.599 --> 00:25:06.880 Because nobody in this room is a commandment keeper. 00:25:07.039 --> 00:25:08.480 We are all in the same boat. 00:25:08.559 --> 00:25:10.319 We're all commandment breakers. 00:25:10.640 --> 00:25:14.319 And no matter how hard you try, you cannot earn your salvation. 00:25:14.400 --> 00:25:15.759 You can't do enough good deeds. 00:25:15.839 --> 00:25:17.039 You can't go to church enough. 00:25:17.119 --> 00:25:18.160 You can't pray enough. 00:25:18.319 --> 00:25:20.559 Good works won't buy you your salvation. 00:25:20.640 --> 00:25:22.799 It's impossible for you to save yourself. 00:25:23.119 --> 00:25:29.519 You can contribute nothing to your salvation except the sin that made it necessary. 00:25:30.720 --> 00:25:35.519 A problem is not mainly external, it's internal. 00:25:36.000 --> 00:25:38.640 We need new hearts. 00:25:38.880 --> 00:25:42.319 And that's what God has promised in the Old Testament to give us. 00:25:42.559 --> 00:25:55.680 In an Old Testament book called Ezekiel, the prophet Ezekiel in chapter 36 says that God wants to take out our hearts of stone and put in us a new heart, a heart of flesh. 00:25:55.839 --> 00:26:04.480 And he wants to put his Holy Spirit inside us, and he wants to reorder our loves so that we are loving him most and loving him best. 00:26:05.359 --> 00:26:11.119 So therefore, salvation is not something that we do, it's something our triune God does. 00:26:11.279 --> 00:26:27.759 God the Father sent God the Son into this world to live the life that we could not live, to die the death we should have died, to be judged the way we should have been judged, and to rise from the grave in order to give us forgiveness and new life. 00:26:28.000 --> 00:26:38.960 And then he sends the Holy Spirit to convict each one of us of our sin and causes us to be born again so that we can repent and believe like a little child. 00:26:39.839 --> 00:26:51.519 So if you're here today and you're saved, if you've entered the kingdom and you've been given the gift of eternal life, I want to remind you, you didn't earn it and you didn't deserve it. 00:26:51.839 --> 00:27:02.720 God did it in spite of you and in spite of me, and he did it for us because you were dead in your trespasses and sins. 00:27:02.960 --> 00:27:06.480 You were blind to the truth of God, but he made you see. 00:27:06.640 --> 00:27:09.920 You were enslaved to yourself in your sin, but he set you free. 00:27:10.079 --> 00:27:12.160 You were lost, now you're found. 00:27:12.400 --> 00:27:16.000 It took a miracle to save you and me. 00:27:19.039 --> 00:27:28.079 It's simple to enter the kingdom, it's costly, it's impossible, it's a miracle, and it's rewarding to enter the kingdom. 00:27:29.279 --> 00:27:37.519 So the disciples are kind of wondering: okay, we see all this interaction between you and that guy, and where does this leave us? 00:27:37.759 --> 00:27:41.119 And of course, you can imagine it's Peter that speaks up first. 00:27:41.440 --> 00:27:46.319 He's thinking about uh what's it cost me, what's it cost our all of us to follow Jesus? 00:27:46.480 --> 00:27:51.920 Verse 28, Peter began to say to him, See, we have left everything and followed you. 00:27:52.160 --> 00:27:54.559 I think this is like typical Peter talk. 00:27:54.799 --> 00:27:58.160 You know, hey, we did what the rich young leader couldn't do. 00:27:59.279 --> 00:28:00.880 What's in it for us? 00:28:01.680 --> 00:28:18.799 Jesus said, verse 29, Truly I say to you, there's no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands. 00:28:19.519 --> 00:28:36.079 I love this because when Jesus says, leave everything behind and follow me, he's not recruiting you into a dull, joyless life where everything gets stripped away and all that's left is religious drudgery, and you'll never laugh ever again. 00:28:37.359 --> 00:28:42.960 Jesus is not calling you away from joy and reward, he's calling you to it. 00:28:44.160 --> 00:28:46.079 The problem is we don't really believe that. 00:28:46.240 --> 00:28:50.559 We think, well, if I follow Jesus, if I sell out, I'm gonna lose too much. 00:28:50.640 --> 00:28:51.440 I'm gonna miss out. 00:28:51.599 --> 00:28:53.839 My life will kind of shrink. 00:28:54.240 --> 00:28:59.680 But Jesus says, no, no, no, no, you're gonna receive a hundredfold now in this present time. 00:29:00.640 --> 00:29:04.559 Now, he's not saying if you give away one house, I'm gonna give you a hundred back. 00:29:05.039 --> 00:29:13.920 He's using hyperbolic language here to say when you follow me, you enter into a new kingdom family, and you inherit a whole new kind of wealth. 00:29:14.160 --> 00:29:19.279 So the hundredfold here is not mainly more stuff, it's more of what really matters. 00:29:20.960 --> 00:29:22.960 I got a bigger family now. 00:29:23.279 --> 00:29:25.279 I got a better purpose now. 00:29:26.480 --> 00:29:30.799 I got more significance now, and more joy and more Jesus. 00:29:34.880 --> 00:29:49.119 Tony and Kaelin here on our staff were missionaries who left South Florida, a home there, and they went to Indonesia to serve for 13 years. 00:29:49.599 --> 00:29:56.079 They gained entrance into home after home after home on the other side of the world. 00:29:56.319 --> 00:29:58.400 They didn't lose, they gained. 00:29:58.559 --> 00:30:02.480 And I've been in some of those homes with Tony and Caitlin. 00:30:03.119 --> 00:30:20.720 A church member like uh Becca Ferguson follows the call of God from South Carolina to Ohio, leaving one mother only to find out she has dozens of spiritual mothers and sisters and daughters. 00:30:22.559 --> 00:30:33.119 The receiving of a hundredfold now in this time is not multiplication of possessions, it's the expansion of relationships and influence and legacy for the kingdom of God. 00:30:34.079 --> 00:30:35.359 Now, don't miss this. 00:30:35.599 --> 00:30:43.519 Part of receiving a hundredfold mothers, brothers, and lands includes verse 30, persecutions. 00:30:44.720 --> 00:30:47.119 All these blessings will come with persecutions. 00:30:47.200 --> 00:30:49.279 In other words, following Jesus will cost. 00:30:50.000 --> 00:30:52.720 We follow Jesus in a world that pushes back. 00:30:53.039 --> 00:30:54.559 And why does the world push back? 00:30:54.720 --> 00:30:56.640 Because we live for a different kingdom. 00:30:56.880 --> 00:30:59.920 And if the world rejected Jesus, it will reject us. 00:31:00.160 --> 00:31:06.240 But gaining Jesus is worth more than any suffering we might be asked to endure. 00:31:07.039 --> 00:31:11.920 And then he says, and in the age to come, you'll have eternal life. 00:31:12.559 --> 00:31:16.960 I think too often we live like there is no eternal life. 00:31:17.359 --> 00:31:21.359 Because we're trying to wring all the fun we can out of this life. 00:31:21.680 --> 00:31:25.519 We want experiences, we want pleasures, and we want it now. 00:31:25.680 --> 00:31:33.039 Give me the boat, give me the car, the motorcycle, the clothes, the addition onto the house, the trip to the beach, the tickets to the World Series. 00:31:33.200 --> 00:31:36.559 You know, I want to see this, I want to taste that, I want to go there. 00:31:36.799 --> 00:31:49.359 We invest our money and all this instant gratification, but Jesus says, even if you get some of that stuff or all of that stuff, you think you're experiencing the good life here and now? 00:31:49.599 --> 00:31:53.680 Just wait until you get a taste of the next life. 00:31:54.000 --> 00:31:55.839 There's an age to come. 00:31:56.400 --> 00:31:57.920 And it lasts forever. 00:31:58.160 --> 00:32:00.640 So lay up your treasure in heaven. 00:32:00.880 --> 00:32:02.240 Why should we do that? 00:32:02.480 --> 00:32:03.680 Verse 31. 00:32:04.720 --> 00:32:08.640 Many who are first will be last, and the last first. 00:32:09.599 --> 00:32:19.119 So he's saying, yes, yes, following me does cost, but in the life to come, the rich young leader will be poor. 00:32:20.160 --> 00:32:25.119 And you guys following me now, even though we're poor, we'll be rich. 00:32:25.519 --> 00:32:29.119 The large will be little, the little will be large. 00:32:32.400 --> 00:32:34.480 You need to choose being last. 00:32:35.359 --> 00:32:39.759 You know, some of you have done very well for yourself in business. 00:32:40.480 --> 00:32:51.839 I just wonder, could God be calling some of you away from business success in order to serve him full time in some capacity? 00:32:52.000 --> 00:32:54.160 You're gonna give up the gold for God. 00:32:54.720 --> 00:32:57.119 You're gonna give up comfort for Christ. 00:32:57.599 --> 00:33:01.440 You're gonna give up temporal success for eternal significance. 00:33:02.319 --> 00:33:07.599 I wonder if Jesus could be using you, could want to use you to do that. 00:33:08.000 --> 00:33:11.200 And some of you here in this room, you've kind of retired, right? 00:33:11.359 --> 00:33:13.599 You're thinking, well, I've worked really hard all my life. 00:33:13.680 --> 00:33:15.200 Now it's time for some fun. 00:33:15.680 --> 00:33:18.079 I'm gonna do what I want to do now. 00:33:18.799 --> 00:33:25.920 And what if that actually makes you more like the rich young leader than like Peter and the disciples? 00:33:26.720 --> 00:33:33.599 I wonder what would happen if you sat down with somebody on the CBC staff and you just asked, How could you use me? 00:33:34.559 --> 00:33:38.079 Here's my experience, here's my skill, here's my know-how. 00:33:38.720 --> 00:33:41.359 How can I help this team, this church here? 00:33:41.599 --> 00:33:43.200 What do you where do you want me to go? 00:33:43.279 --> 00:33:44.799 What do you want me to do? 00:33:46.559 --> 00:33:53.200 What if Jesus is asking you today, here's your one thing, your one thing, you lack one thing. 00:33:53.440 --> 00:33:58.960 What if he's waiting on you today to say, here's my time, my talent, my treasure, my calendar, my life? 00:33:59.519 --> 00:34:00.559 Let's go. 00:34:01.519 --> 00:34:03.440 Jesus is worth it. 00:34:04.160 --> 00:34:13.280 It's simple and costly to enter the kingdom, it's impossible, but a miracle to enter the kingdom, and it's rewarding to enter the kingdom. 00:34:13.519 --> 00:34:18.480 Some of you in this room, I bet, have never really entered the kingdom of God. 00:34:18.639 --> 00:34:21.199 You never have ever made Jesus your God. 00:34:21.360 --> 00:34:26.559 You can't point back to a time or a season of life where this is when it happened. 00:34:29.039 --> 00:34:31.920 You've never said, Yes, I'll follow you, Jesus. 00:34:32.480 --> 00:34:34.960 And you've never received the miracle of salvation. 00:34:35.199 --> 00:34:38.719 And that reward that Jesus talked about, it's not yours, not yet. 00:34:39.280 --> 00:34:41.920 But today, God's Spirit is speaking to you. 00:34:42.960 --> 00:34:45.199 And you're going, I want that. 00:34:45.440 --> 00:34:46.639 Well, you can pray with me. 00:34:46.719 --> 00:34:52.559 There's no magic prayer, but just I'm gonna go through a prayer and in your heart, just whisper it to the Lord. 00:34:52.719 --> 00:34:55.840 Dear God, I'm not a commandment keeper. 00:34:56.079 --> 00:34:58.239 Just whisper it to him right now. 00:34:58.800 --> 00:35:00.880 I'm a commandment breaker. 00:35:01.840 --> 00:35:03.360 I'm sorry for my sin. 00:35:04.719 --> 00:35:08.079 I want to surrender my one thing to you. 00:35:12.079 --> 00:35:15.440 I believe, Jesus, that you lived a life I could never live. 00:35:17.119 --> 00:35:19.760 And that you died the death I should have died. 00:35:20.400 --> 00:35:22.079 So please forgive me. 00:35:23.119 --> 00:35:26.000 And I receive you as my leader and forgiver. 00:35:27.440 --> 00:35:29.360 I want you to be my king. 00:35:30.320 --> 00:35:33.360 And I want that eternal life that you came to give. 00:35:34.800 --> 00:35:37.679 I won't attempt to achieve. 00:35:38.400 --> 00:35:41.840 I will simply receive like a child. 00:35:43.679 --> 00:35:45.440 Thank you for saving me. 00:35:46.880 --> 00:36:01.840 You know, if you prayed to receive Christ, then I just want you to text the name Jesus to our number, 440-276-5575, and we'll help you take your next steps in following Christ. 00:36:02.000 --> 00:36:04.880 So, five quick applications for today. 00:36:05.039 --> 00:36:08.000 Number one, ask courageously. 00:36:08.480 --> 00:36:15.599 We touched on this earlier, but I think we're all probably blind to our biggest idol in our hearts. 00:36:16.480 --> 00:36:22.639 What if you ask somebody who loves Jesus enough and you enough to tell you the truth? 00:36:22.880 --> 00:36:28.239 And here's the question: what do you think I struggle with most to surrender to Christ? 00:36:30.239 --> 00:36:33.119 Two, repent radically. 00:36:34.000 --> 00:36:36.719 Turn from that one thing that's holding you back. 00:36:37.920 --> 00:36:40.719 Smash the idol that's in your heart. 00:36:41.840 --> 00:36:47.679 For one person it might be money, for another it might be a relationship or comfort or sexual freedom or success. 00:36:47.840 --> 00:36:49.679 Don't try to manage your idol. 00:36:49.920 --> 00:36:51.039 Smash it. 00:36:52.880 --> 00:36:55.840 Number three, risk sacrifice gladly. 00:36:57.199 --> 00:37:11.599 So stop thinking, you know, once the market settles down or once inflation drops or once the straight of hormouses opened up or once I have enough in the bank, then I'll start being really generous. 00:37:11.920 --> 00:37:12.800 No, no, no. 00:37:13.039 --> 00:37:15.599 Give until it hurts now. 00:37:15.840 --> 00:37:17.599 Support missionaries now. 00:37:17.760 --> 00:37:20.559 Buy dinner for somebody who can't afford it now. 00:37:22.159 --> 00:37:25.440 Number four, serve selflessly. 00:37:27.440 --> 00:37:37.519 If you've got kids or grandkids and they only see you serving when it's convenient for you, they may never see the beauty and the worth of Jesus through you. 00:37:38.239 --> 00:37:43.199 Your children do not need you to show them a version of Christianity that's shallow. 00:37:44.559 --> 00:37:49.679 Let them watch you serve the last and the least in a way that costs you. 00:37:51.039 --> 00:37:54.400 And number five, go fearlessly. 00:37:55.599 --> 00:38:00.880 Don't automatically assume that the American dream is God's dream for your life. 00:38:01.920 --> 00:38:06.960 Jesus may call you to leave what is safe for the sake of the gospel. 00:38:09.039 --> 00:38:15.679 A great tragedy is wasting your life maintaining your comfort while missing your calling. 00:38:17.519 --> 00:38:28.719 So some of you might be the person who's going to plant a church out of this church someday, like Clay Myatt did at King's Cross Church downtown. 00:38:29.920 --> 00:38:35.199 Or like Josh Stone did in planting that church in Brunswick. 00:38:37.360 --> 00:38:39.280 Serve on a church staff. 00:38:40.400 --> 00:38:43.039 Ditch that career for another one. 00:38:43.280 --> 00:38:48.000 Foster a child, adopt a child, become an international missionary. 00:38:49.679 --> 00:38:51.760 All of us have been called. 00:38:52.239 --> 00:38:53.760 What's he calling you to do? 00:38:53.920 --> 00:39:02.639 You know, I remember over 30 years ago, the wife of a multi-million dollar business leader who attended this church, she said this about me. 00:39:03.199 --> 00:39:07.760 I think Rick could be making some serious money somewhere. 00:39:08.000 --> 00:39:15.679 Like he's a hard worker and he's energetic and he's a good communicator, has a lovely wife and family, he's an entrepreneur. 00:39:15.840 --> 00:39:18.480 I think he'd be great at business. 00:39:19.039 --> 00:39:22.239 I don't know if that's true or not, but that's what she said. 00:39:22.559 --> 00:39:25.760 And I thought, no way. 00:39:26.559 --> 00:39:30.159 God called me to Northeast Ohio to build his kingdom. 00:39:30.320 --> 00:39:34.960 And whatever time, town, treasure I have, I want to invest it in serving Jesus. 00:39:35.119 --> 00:39:38.480 I want to go to heaven and take as many people with me as I possibly can. 00:39:39.519 --> 00:39:42.719 And I want to start a church that starts churches. 00:39:43.679 --> 00:39:54.000 And I just tell you, no seat at a World Series game compares to see somebody transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. 00:39:54.559 --> 00:40:00.800 No earthly accomplishment has a return on investment like serving Jesus does. 00:40:02.079 --> 00:40:10.000 So not being able to afford those World Series tickets, very small price to pay. 00:40:10.480 --> 00:40:23.119 Because eventually you realize you can spend your whole life buying tickets to events that disappear in a moment, or you can spend your life investing in a kingdom that will never end. 00:40:25.039 --> 00:40:27.599 So Jesus, of course, was right. 00:40:29.360 --> 00:40:34.400 Nobody who gives up anything for him ultimately loses. 00:40:35.760 --> 00:40:44.079 He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep in order to gain what he cannot lose. 00:40:46.639 --> 00:40:50.159 You know, we're going to sing one last song here. 00:40:50.320 --> 00:40:54.239 And then there's going to be a very special video announcement. 00:40:54.400 --> 00:41:01.199 So after this last song, I want you to stick around because you don't want to miss this announcement. 00:41:01.440 --> 00:41:09.840 You know, the rich young leader missed eternal life that day because he would not forsake his junk in order to follow Jesus. 00:41:10.400 --> 00:41:24.400 And we're going to sing a classic song written by a believer in India who refused to deny Jesus even after he was persecuted and the loss of his family and the threat to his life. 00:41:25.280 --> 00:41:27.039 He wrote this song. 00:41:27.679 --> 00:41:30.880 Because Jesus is worth more than anything we can leave behind. 00:41:31.199 --> 00:41:36.800 So I pray that this next song will be your prayer from the bottom of your heart.